CutandBaste.com

Duck:
Score the skin of the breast and season heavily with salt and pepper.  Saute (skin down) in olive oil over high heat until the fat has melted and the skin is brown and crisp.  Remove and reserve most of the duck fat.  Flip the breasts over in the saute pan and finish in the oven around 350.  Once finished, deglaze the pan with some white wine and apple cider and reduce to a desired consistency for sauce.  Taste for salt and pepper.

Wild Rice:
Cook wild rice (1 cup rice to 2 cups stock) according to package instructions.  Separately, saute wild mushrooms (this time I used chanterelles and creminis) in some some of the duck fat and butter.  Add some minced garlic and cranberries when the mushrooms are almost cooked through.  Fold into rice.

Florence Meat Market on Jones and West 4th in the West Villiage has a special cut of meat called the Newport Steak, which is a sirloin cut.  It needs nothing other than salt and pepper and a quick pan fry and butter baste.  Here the steak is served with cauliflower and a puree of potatoes, a young sheep’s milk cheese called Abbaye de Belloc, and lots of roated garlic.