Gingerbread stuffing

There is no better accompaniment for duck than my gingerbread stuffing, it is absolutely packed with flavour, it does not only work a treat with duck, but is excellent with pork and goose, it embodies all the flavours of christmas, and only takes 10 minutes to prepare, easier and more rewarding than opening a packet of that awful well known stuffing. Try this recipe with your sunday roast. Don't not be alarmed when it looks very dark when cooked, this is because of the spices in the stuffing.

You will need:

1 large chopped shallot

50g of butter

150g of crushed ginger snaps

500g of really good quality sausage meat

75g of fresh bread crumbs

1 large egg

200g of  finely chopped chicken livers

1/2 tsp of ginger

1/4 tsp of all spice

1 tbsp of onion chutney

the zest of one orange

4 chopped sage leaves

Fry the shallots in the butter until softened, add the spices and cook for a further minute, then allow to cool. In a bowl mix the cooled onion, bread crumbs, crushed ginger snaps, onion chutney, orange zest, sausage meat, the egg, chopped sage and the chopped liver, and mix until fully combined. Place into a cooking dish and cover with foil and cook for 40 minutes at 180 degrees and then a further fifteen minutes uncovered until browned. 

Triple Sec Duck

Turkey is traditional in this country for the main event at the great british christmas, but when there is only a small number of  diners I always opt for Duck. I cooked the duck in this way the very first christmas that my husband and I spent together and he has never forgotten it, he will regularly ask for this meal again and again. Duck has so much more flavour than turkey and is great to cook for a dinner party, no basting required. If you are having a small new year dinner party this year, I urge you to try this, maximum flavour with minimum effort, plus you don't even need to buy duck fat for your roasties.

You will need:

2.5 kilo duck
3 tbsp of Triple sec (an orange liqueur) 
the juice of an orange
1 leek chopped into quarters
2 shallots peeled and chopped in half
2 sprigs of thyme
6 bay leaves
1 fennel bulb cut into quarters
1 tbsp of salt
2 tsp of pepper

I use a disposable foil roasting tray, I placed half of the veg at the bottom and a trivet for the duck, and then placed the rest inside of the bird and around it. Season the inside with a tsp of the salt and pepper and a tablespoon of the triple sec. Squeeze the juice of the orange over the duck and the remaining triple sec. Season the skin with salt and pepper and place the herbs under the bird. Leave overnight for the flavour to infuse and cook at 180 degrees c for 1 and a quarter hours, once cooked leave to rest for at least half an hour.