Weekend Dish - Freezer Clean Out.

The freezers - Always filled to the gills for winter cause you never know when that giant snow storm will roll in and find yourself with only tomato soup and crackers. Since I refuse to run and panic food shop with the rest of the county , I start stocking up in the freezer and pantry with all kinds of goodies during early fall. When March finally rolls around we begin the springtime freezer clean out, cause by now there is so much stuff jamed in the freezer I can't even find the ice maker! To celebrate the budding of spring we begin cooking from the freezer and the pantry, then supplement with fresh veggies from the market. It's a great way to experiment and be creative. I  recommend always having  frozen pizza in your arsenal in case of a disaster! So today,  I went freezer digging and struck gold - a duck breast! (I know, right!) Next I went pantry shopping - how about some Israeli couscous. Next up some Chardonnay from the wine stash and we are almost set. Need to figure out a sauce to go with the duck, gotta have some greens and will dig for some kinda grated cheese in the refer for the couscous. Only need a few things from the market to fill in the gaps.
Here's what we are going to make today. Seared duck breast with Pomegranate sauce, baby arugula salad with lemon olive oil dressing and Israeli couscous with Grana Padano cheese and chives.

So start digging deep into your freezer and your pantry. I know you've got stuff in there screaming to be cooked! Maybe not a duck breast but chicken, veggies, left overs from the holidays - you know it's in there! And who can afford to throw food out when gas prices are about to hit $4/gallon or more for summer.  Find a frozen or pantry main igredient and Google your way through a recipe. 
Its a great way to have some fun with food while saving money cause you probably have most everything that you need at your finger tips!

Duck Breast with Pomegranate Sauce and Arugula Salad.

Ingredients

Salad:

2 handfuls of baby arugula
4 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Squeeze of fresh lemon to taste
Throw in some of your favorite cheese if you like (I used grated Parmesan Romano)
Toss

Pomegranate Sauce:
1 cup pomegranate juice
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Duck:
2 (4 to 6-ounce) duck breasts
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon grapeseed oil

Directions

For the sauce: In a small saucepan over medium heat, cook the pomegranate juice, vinegar, and sugar for 10 to 12 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the cinnamon, and cook for an additional 4 to 5 minutes, allowing the sauce to thicken to almost a syrup consistency. Once reduced, remove the sauce from the heat, whisk in the butter, allowing the butter to fully incorporate into the sauce. Hold at room temperature.

For the duck: Place the duck breasts on a cutting board, skin-side down, and slice from top to bottom into 6 or 7 (1/8-inch) thick slices. Cut the fat only -  try and stay away from the flesh.  Season with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat the oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat until wisps of smoke appear. Sear duck fat side down for 4 minutes or until skin is crips.  Turn over and sear duck breast on non fat side for another 4 - 5 minutes till medium rare.  Remove from pan, place on a cutting board, let rest for 5 mintues and slice at an angle.
Couscous

Follow preparation directions on couscous container
Add a little olive oil to the water before adding couscous.   You can also use chicken stock instead of water - gives the couscouse a nice rich flavor.
Meanwhile, saute 1/4 of sweet onion in large frying pan in olive oil till tender.  When couscous is done cooking in the water/chicken stock -  add to frying pan/onion mixture and cook for another few minutes. 
Then add:
3 tablespoons of butter
Add 1/2 grated cheese

Salt, pepper and chives to taste.