Pan-Roasted Duck Breasts with Butter-Braised Radishes, Broccoli, and Brussels Sprouts

Our friends at EatMore DrinkMore are obsessed with Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc at Home Cookbook. They’ve slaved over his recipes, dined at his restaurants, and have even spotted the legend himself. Seeing so much enthusiasm for him, when my mother asked me what kind of cookbook Chuck might like for his birthday, I immediately responded: Ad Hoc. We couldn’t believe how large the book is (very very heavy), but love the beautiful pictures, and the layout of the book. We chose duck for our first recipe because it is simply something we have no experience cooking. Most of the recipes in Ad Hoc suggest sides for main courses, so we went with the Butter-Braised Radishes, Kohlrabi (we substituted broccoli stalks), and Brussels Sprouts. The duck was cooked perfectly tender, and the veggies, well it made me like them more. I must say, the dish deserved an A+ and we will be using this book for many meals in the future.

MMMMmmmm...Brussels Sprouts

When I was little and thought of something "yummy," Brussels sprouts were at the bottom of the list with grape cough medicine and my brother's boogers. Like many kids, I had a deep rooted fear of vegetables. My parents enacted a "three bites"policy, forcing me to have three bites of vegetables before I could move on to dessert an be excused from the table. Something must have changed in the last 15 years because for some inexplicable reason, I like my veggies now. I am by no means going to swear off meat and eat veggies for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but when prepared correctly vegetables can be awesome.

I was really excited when Chuck agreed to buy Brussels sprouts at the farmers market (he too shared my vegetable phobia).  I had never cooked fresh Brussels sprouts and Chuck (at 26) had never eaten one. With pressure like this, I wanted them to be good so I selected a recipe that featured bacon, because bacon makes everything better, even Brussels sprouts.

Recipe after the jump!