Sous Vide Duck Breast with Ultra Crispy Skin; Crispy Duck Leg Confit; Sous Vide Carrots and Asparagus; Wild rice pilaf

Definition of underwater From Merriam-Webster.com:

​1 :  lying, growing, worn, performed, or operating below the surface of the water underwater plants
2 :  being below the waterline of a ship
3a :  having, relating to, or being a mortgage loan for which more is owed than the property securing the loan is worth
3b :  having, relating to, or being a stock option for which the price of the option is higher than the current market value of the stock

​The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever. – Jacques Yves Cousteau

Sake To Me

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Duck Breast with Ultra Crispy Skin, Crispy Duck Leg Confit, Carrots and Asparagus -- all cooked sous-vide

​We interpreted the theme two ways: Some items were cooked under water using the sous-vide technique and the Joule sous-vide tool. We also prepared some foods that are grown or found under water (wild rice, cranberries, water chestnuts and lotus root). Since the duck’s legs and breast are below the water level when they swim around, both interpretations of “under water” apply to the sous-vide duck legs and breast.
 
Dishes cooked sous-vide: using Joule immersion circulator sous-vide tool 
 
Duck Legs: Because the duck legs must cook 16 hours, we prepped this the evening before. In addition to the recipe’s recommended orange peel, fresh thyme and bay leaf, we added crushed juniper berries since they serve to counteract gaminess in wild meats. After cooking I drained and saved the juices, frenched the legs, removed the herbs and then placed the duck back in the bags and stored them in the refrigerator; later I returned the bags to the pot to gently warm up prior to the final broiling to crisp the skin before serving. I used the stripped leg skin along with the herbs and cooking juices to make a broth; I augmented this with some chicken broth to make enough for a gravy. I saved the duck fat from searing the duck breast for the roux for the gravy. After straining the broth and thickening it with the roux, we added some chopped fresh sweet cherries to make a cherry-flavored duck gravy to accompany the meal. Because the juices included the sugar-salt brining cure, the gravy can tend toward being a bit salty so taste and adjust as best you can.
 
Duck Breast: I used the side burner on the barbecue grill outside because searing the duck breast in a HOT skillet (I used a carbon steel skillet for searing the duck breast) creates quite a mess. Since the duck breast cooks at a lower temperature than the legs, we had to let the water cool down before cooking the duck breast sous-vide.
 
Carrots: We cooked these two days before and warmed them up in the sous-vide pot prior to sautéing in butter.
 
Asparagus: We cooked these two days before and warmed them up in the sous-vide pot prior to serving.
 
Foods that grow under water: Wild rice pilaf with dried cranberries, water chestnuts and lotus root 

Inspired by Dan and Greg’s pool party dessert, we determined to create an underwater dessert featuring, you guessed it—blue Jello! We served it in a trifle dish and lightened the “natural” Jello blue by adding some unflavored gelatin, so that you could see the fresh fruit (grapes, strawberries, blueberries, and cherries) that composed the ocean floor and the Swedish fish swimming inside. We also stuck gummi worms (cut in half the long way) to the sides of the trifle dish to suggest seaweed/coral. Assuming that Jello would not particularly appeal, we doctored the water with Cointreau and a little brandy. 
 
We decided that we would also highlight those items washed up from oceans onto the world’s beaches. We used a base of blondies, with the addition of brandy-soaked Craisins, and covered the base with buttery crushed graham cracker crumbs. We then littered our beach with candy-coated chocolate sea shells and rocks, Nik-L-Nips, and gelt.

We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch - we are going back from whence we came. – John F. Kennedy

Spanish-style Gin Tonic -- yes, that's a big glass for a big thirst!

* The Copa de Balon glass: A Copa de Balon is a type of glass that is perfect for drinking gin and tonics. The glass is typically bulbous in shape, like a balloon, and sits on a stem almost like a red wine glass. The Copa de Balon glass dates back to the 1700s in the Basque region of northern Spain. While the English would use a long Tom Collins glass, the Spanish – who are said to be the largest drinkers of gin in Europe – developed the ‘balloon cup’ instead.
                                                                                                                                    -- Metro.co.uk

Monkey 43 gin: 1 blackberry; 2 juniper berries; 2 lime strips; 1 dash lavender bitters; Spritz of some essential oil inside the glass; Dry ice treatment

Blackwoods gin: 3 juniper berries; 1 small piece of cinnamon; 1 lime slice; 2 orange peel strips; 2 lime peel strips; 1 dash of lime bitters; Spritz of some essential oil; Dry ice treatment

Our favorite was made with a Spanish gin – Gin Mare – which features Mediterranean flavors. Recipe below.

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Spanish ham, salami, cheese and olives make a great accompaniment to Spanish-style Gin Tonics