April 12, 2009

appy Easter! Although I have not done any in awhile and my kistkas are AWOL, I love to work on Ukrainian eggs. I took a photo a couple weeks ago of a lady working on some. These eggs are also called Pysanky. Pysanky is the ancient Eastern European art of egg decorating, of which the Ukrainian version is the most famous. I probably started dabbling with them about 15-20 years ago when I picked up a kit from Powell's Bookstore when I lived in Oregon. They usually carry them at the Beaverton store, but you can order kits online.

You start with the lightest color, usually white. Everything that you want to remain white, you cover with wax, using the kistka. Then, you dye the egg, usually yellow. Wherever there is wax, the yellow dye will not be able to penetrate. This preserves the white part of the design under the wax. On your yellow egg, you mark with wax all the parts of the design that you want to remain yellow. Then dye it in the next dye bath, going in progressively darker colors, and add more wax. In the end, you will have an egg with a great deal of wax on it - if black is your finishing color, you will end up with a virtually black egg. Then, using the side of a candle flame, you melt away the wax (and use paper towels to soak up the beeswax), revealing the colors that were protected underneath.

It can and usually does take hours to complete each egg. None of the eggs are blown out, just over time, the contents turn into a powdery dust. I made some lovely ones for my family and when their home was robbed, the thieves broke many of them. One day I will make some more, but probably during the winter months. 

In the middle of cooking all the other meats, I am roasting a duckling for Easter dinner tonight. It was that or lamb and I am not a huge lamb fan, preferring goat much more. 

Orange Glazed Duck

• 1 (4-6 lbs.) whole duck
• 2 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 3 organic oranges, quartered, washed, and labels removed
• 1 large onion, cut into large pieces
• 3 parsley sprigs
• Kitchen string (which I do not always use)
• 1 (12 oz.) jar orange marmalade (homemade is easy!!)
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 3 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Rinse the duck, and pat dry. Remove all excess fat and skin from the duck and rub with salt and pepper. Squeeze juice from 1 orange quarter into the duck cavity. Fill the duck cavity with remaining orange quarters, onions, and parsley sprigs. Prick legs and thighs with a fork, avoiding the breast area. Tie legs together with kitchen string. Place the duck, breast side up, on a wire rack in a shallow roasting pan.

Stir together marmalade, orange juice, honey, lemon juice, ginger, and red pepper in a small saucepan. Cook mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly, 2 to 3 minutes or until the marmalade is melted. Remove and reserve 3/4 cup of the mixture.

Bake the duck at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes per pound. Brush evenly with orange sauce, and bake 25 to 30 more minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into thickest portion of thigh registers 180 degrees. Serve fully cooked duck with reserved 3/4 cup orange mixture.

Brussels spouts with cheese sauce, yams and a spinach salad with ginger-seasame dressing are completing the meal.

Photo Above: Our orange glazed duck tonight. I used to not care for duck, but I could have eaten this whole beast alone. It fell right off the bone and was very tender.

Photo Above: Our orange glazed duck tonight. I used to not care for duck, but I could have eaten this whole beast alone. It fell right off the bone and was very tender.