Tuesday night my friend Peter’s neck was hurting and he offered me a barter: fix it for food. I brought a bottle of Barbera D’Asti and expected duck.

Peter’s dinners are always wonderful and seemingly effortless, I don’t know anyone who seems so comfortable in the kitchen and works so quickly. I often find myself wondering when he had time to chop something or how he remembered to turn the oven on AND managed to cook three items perfectly at the same time, while chatting. Here’s what he made.

Peter made a fantastic soup (more like a dashi in my opinion) with yuzu “juice”, scallions, shiso and a poached oyster in each bowl. The presentation was simple and beautiful.

Then, I was thinking I wasn’t starving, but could have participated in having lemon pasta in a creamy Uni sauce (with whole peices of uni). It looked and smelled good, but I was holding out for the promised duck.

Duck breast cooked with a new technique: salt sprinked onto a very hot cast iron pan, duck breasts scored and fat side down into the pan for a good amount of time. Some chopped Fuji (?) apples at the last minute, and into the oven to finish cooking to delicious medium rare (he has never failed at this).

Meanwhile, he sauteed some whole crushed garlic cloves, raisins, and chili flakes in oil–then spinach, all together, and a touch of lemon juice at the end. The duck came out of the oven, was plated, and the apples were then flambe’d with calvados.

Thus, crispy duck breast with calvados apples and spicy spinach. So_Delicious.

And it didn’t end there. He admitted to copying this last idea, but I have to say every dining experience with Peter is different and I am baffled and endlessly interested int he combinations of flavors he puts together. Rarely do they not work wonderfully.
Dark chocolate gelato with bergamont olive oil & sea salt. Divine.

I’m so lucky to have such talented, generous, food-driven friends. Wish I had some pictures, I need to start carrying my camera around, especially at dinner time.