November 9, 2009 7:40 pm

Insanely Delicious: Cassoulet D'Artagnan

I'll just go ahead and say it: I have some good friends. For proof, I point to a few weeks ago, when one of them sent me and my husband this for our first anniversary. That's right, she sent us, in the mail, all the ingredients to make a Cassoulet of duck and sausage, which just happened to be one of the items on our wedding menu.

Only too happy to oblige her culinary wishes for us, we quickly printed out the menu, got the few additional ingredients we needed, and got to work. And oh, what fun work it was. We soaked beans, cubed ventreche (French bacon), chopped onions, peeled garlic, and wrapped fresh herbs and seasonings up in a fragrant cheesecloth bouquet. There were 6 whole duck legs, duck and Armagnac sausage, garlic sausage, and of course the obligatory duck fat. Everything went into a Dutch Oven for a couple hours until it was a bubbling mass of tender meat and complex spices. Dreamy sigh.

When you look at all the ingredients that go into Cassoulet, it can be a little intimidating, so I was pleasantly surprised at how easy the whole thing was. D'Artagnan's directions were easy to follow, and it basically cooks itself into a delicious fall-off-the-bone duck stew. If you have a special occasion and feel like spoiling yourself with food, I would highly recommend giving this a try.

— Written by Kristy Kershaw

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