A Better Duck I have Yet to Eat

It all came together like a symphony orchestra after a long tuning. Frankly, I don't know what I was agonizing about. The duck itself was the easiest thing out of everything to make. I literally had to cool my heels most of the afternoon, because making it ahead was not an option.

As I mentioned before, the sauce was fantastic, after the addition of some wild honey and mustard:

Sauce for Magret de Canard
Ingredients
2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 lb. Shiitake mushrooms (about six large ones) stemmed and sliced
1/2 lb. Pleurot mushrooms (about 2 large ones) stemmed and sliced
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon flour
Handful Italian parsley, chopped
Handful fresh tarragon, chopped
1 cup good white wine
1 ½ cups veal or chicken stock
1 teaspoon wildflower honey
1 tablespoon piment espelette mustard (any dijon-style will do)
3/4 cup heavy cream (35%)
Salt and pepper to taste
Love

Method
Sauté the mushrooms in butter on medium heat until browned and have lost their liquid. Set aside. Sauté onions and garlic in butter until done; approximately 8 minutes.

Add wine and reduce to approximately half; add broth and reduce further, maybe 15-20 minutes all together. Add back the onion mixture, parsley and tarragon, cook a couple of minutes further. Purée everything with a hand blender and return to pan.

Tastes a lot better than it looks

When ready to finish the sauce, reheat on medium. Add honey and mustard and combine well. Add back mushrooms. Add cream and reduce on medium low heat, about 7 minutes. Adjust for seasonings. Serve!