The duck feast includes sliced smoked duck breast, duck prosciutto, duck leg confit and shavings of duck foie gras.
And I need only a few ducks to maintain a tradition that has evolved from the hunt: My companion, Ruth Kirchmeier, and I always have wild duck for dinner on Christmas Eve, and early on in the New Year my youngest son, Jeff -- who frequently accompanies me on my waterfowling trips -- and his youngest son, Sam, join Ruth and me for a roast duck feast.
Kulp infuses gnudi (gnocchi made from ricotta cheese and a little bit of flour) with lavender, turns whole Muscovy ducks into feasts worthy of a Peking dynasty, and bakes incredible sponge-like, squid-ink bread that looks like something you'd find while scuba diving in the Seychelles.
Not to mention the unseemliness of journalists sharing red carpets with the stars of "Scandal" or "Duck Dynasty," or feasting on corporate-funded cocktail buffets at an ever-growing array of unaffiliated parties that piggybacked on the WHCA buzz in recent years — two trends that have been dramatically halted with the first dinner of the Trump era.
"Liver has a really neat consistency," sous-chef Ben Robert told me while prepping a panoply of raw duck livers before the feast, whose courses (including, among other things, cheese-and-chocolate ravioli paired with Borra Vineyards Heritage Blend) he crafted with chef Joshua Oakley of Tango & Stache.
As the winter wears on, we see the first of the turkeys dressed for the feast, fat ducks and hams ready to boil, bake and slice.
His reluctant host, who is expecting dinner guests imminently, is putting the finishing touches on a yummy-looking feast of roast duck and vegetables.
Some flock to hike through China's remote corners, past rice paddy terraces and tea plantations, while others come to feast on Peking duck in Beijing, slurp soupy noodles from Shenzhen street hawkers and sample Shanghai's dazzling nightlife.
A Mr Chow feast-formula – Beijing duck, glazed prawns with walnuts, drunken fish – that's unlikely to win any awards but is dependable.
The feast begins with appetizers like duck prosciutto and foie gras pops and continues through to ballotine with chanterelles and duck mousse.
Audubon's whooping crane, for example, bends down to swallow a baby alligator; his hawks feast on fresh-killed ducks.
