Brandon’s birthday was the other day and neither one of us wanted to gorge out on birthday cake, but believe me, that does happen every once in a while. So I decided to challenge myself by making something that was “health-bent” and still better than edible. Gotta say, I’m tootin’ my own horn with this one. No almond flour is involved. All the ingredients are pretty dang cheap. Hope ya’ll can find a special occasion to show off this show stopper.

On a side note: Yes I’m using sugar. Yes I’m using dairy products. But hopefully you all understand this is a special occasion treat and we use sugar very sparingly. Also, dairy is something that is quite controversial in the Paleo world. We source raw (unpasteurized, non-homogenized ) and grass fed dairy products–and that’s the only way we’ll eat them.

I have a difficult time talking myself into making ceviche at home. Even though we’re not far from the coast here in Columbia, South Carolina, it is quite difficult to source fresh, wild ceviche-makin’ seafood. Insert lightbulb overhead. Why don’t I just pre-cook some seafood like shrimp and scallops, chill it and then make the tasty “broth” to go with. Wonder if you can tell the difference, we sure couldn’t.

This sounds hard and daunting and complicated and messy. Looks are deceiving. I really, truly strive to cook dinner as quickly as possible while messing up as few dishes as possible. I really, really hate cleaning dishes. If you can’t find/afford/like duck, a Frenched chicken breast–a bone-in, skin-on chicken breast with the wing attached, would be an equally flavorful and very affordable substitution. We’re submitting this recipe to MarksDailyApple.com for his recipe contest. Wish us luck!

Ingredients for Roasted Veg

• a few glugs of olive oil
• 1 bunch asparagus, cut the stalks into 1/4′s
• 1 lb. various mushrooms, sliced (we used shiitake and plain ole button)
• S&P

Ingredients for Duck

• 1 T fat of your choice
• 1 lb. duck breast
• liberal amount of salt and pepper

Ingredients for Vinaigrette

• 4 tangerines, juiced
• zest of 1 tangerine
• 2 T wheat free soy sauce
• 1 T vinegar
• S&P

Method

Get your oven to 450°F.

Add a few glugs of olive oil on a baking sheet. Add the asparagus, mushrooms and S&P. Drizzle the veg with a bit more oil, toss it around with your hands and put in the oven. Roast until browned and crispy, about 3o minutes.

While the veg is roasting, add 1 T of fat to a saute pan and place on medium heat.

Take a sharp knife and score the skin of the duck at an angle, all the way from the top to the bottom. Turn the duck and score at the opposite angle. You’re just making little diamonds or squares. Why? Because it’s pretty and more importantly, it helps the skin cook faster and the end result is much crispier.

Liberally pat salt and pepper on the duck. Place the duck, skin side down into the saute pan. The goal here is to get the skin to render (get crispy) without overcooking the duck or burning the skin. Make sure your heat is around medium-low to medium. Saute, with the skin side down, for about 20 minutes. Flip the duck onto the other side and saute for approx. 10 minutes. The internal temperature should reach around 150°F for medium rare. Let the breast rest for about 7 minutes and slice as thinly as possible.

Duck releases a ton of fat. SAVE IT! If you think bacon fat is tasty, wait until you use duck fat!

To make the vinaigrette, combine all ingredients into a jar with a screw top lid and shake, shake, shake. Toss the dressing with the roasted veg, reserving some to spoon over the top of the duck.

Don’t be turned off because it takes a long time to cook this baby, it’s totally worth it. This recipe is great for a Saturday or Sunday when you’re home all day. You can roast a couple pork butts at one time, pull them and freeze them too. We served this over a sweet & spicy cole slaw. I’d post the recipe, but I’m still tweaking it.

Tangy, sweet and salty. This recipe hits all my taste buds. Brandon probably tires of this, as I make it ALL THE TIME. Yum!

Ingredients

• 1 pork tenderloin, trimmed of fat
• 3 T rosemary, minced
• 3 T EACH prepared horseradish, mayo & Dijon mustard
• 1 t black pepper
• 2 sweet potatoes
• 2 tart apples, diced
• 3 T coconut oil, melted
• 1 orange, zested & juiced
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1/2 t nutmeg

Method

In a small bowl, combine the rosemary, mayo, mustard & horsy– mix until combined. Put 1/2 the sauce in a plastic storage bag and add the pork. Marinate in the fridge until ready to cook. Grill or bake the pork until it’s internal temp is a bit below 165F. Don’t overcook or it will for sure be dry as a bone. Let the loin rest for a couple minutes, then slice and top with the reserved mustard sauce.

For the Sweets & Apples

In a bowl combine all ingredients and mix well. Transfer to a baking sheet (make sure to add all the juices) and roast until the juices have turned syrupy and the potatoes have cooked through, about 20-30 minutes at 400F.

{The smaller you dice the sweet potatoes and apples, the faster they’ll cook through.}

{Make sure, while baking the sweets & apples, to toss everything around a few times to distribute the syrupy juices.}