Blue Crab Salad
Ingredients:
Blue Crab - 1 Pound
Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 2-3 Tablespoons
Chives - To Taste (Start with a pinch)
Parsley - To Taste Start with a pinch)
Salt and Pepper

Pear Compote
Ingredients: 
Pear- 4 Medium Pears
Riesling- Quarter Cup
Pepper- To Taste
Red Chile (Cayenne)- To Taste

Pear Dressing
Ingredients: 
Pear- 4 Medium Pears
Pear Liquor- 2 good splashes (reserve extra to adjust if necessary)
Salt and Pepper- To Taste
Star Anise- Pinch
Red Chile (Cayenne)- Pinch

Arugula Salad
Ingredients: 
Arugula- About a pound (2-3 Bunches)

Pear Dressing
Ingredients: 
Start with 2-3 tablespoon (reserve extra dressing to adjust (if necessary) and for the plate)
Salt and Pepper

Duck Breast
Ingredients: 
Duck- 8 Each
Salt and Pepper

Roasted Pear
Ingredients:
Pear- 12 Medium Pears (Reserve 4 for the pear dressing)
Olive Oil- 2-3 Tablespoon
Salt and Pepper- About a quarter teaspoon
Spice Mix- About a quarter teaspoon

Quinoa
Ingredients:
Quinoa- 1 Pound 4 Ounces

Vegetable Stock (or water)
Ingredients:
2 Quarts (plus extra if necessary)
Chive- Pinch
Parsley- Pinch
Salt and Pepper- To Taste

Baby Green Bean
Ingredients:
Green Bean- 1 Pound
Vegetable Stock- 2 Quarts
Salt and Pepper- 2 Pinches, To Taste

Duck Jus
Ingredients:
Duck Stock- 1 Quart
Star Anise- 4 Each
Rosemary- 2 Sprigs

Cabernet Poached Pear
Ingredients: 
Pear- 8 Each
Cabernet- 1 Bottle (750) Milliliter)
Honey- 400 Grams
Star Anise- 4 Each
Bay Leaf- 6 Each
Red Peppercorn- 18 Each

Method of Preparation
Blue Crab Salad: 
Pick crabmeat (to remove any cartilage). Gently toss crabmeat with extra virgin olive oil, chive, parsley, salt and pepper. Taste. Adjust seasoning if necessary.

Pear Compote:
Dice Pear. Marinate pear in Riesling, pepper, and red chile. Taste. Adjust seasoning if necessary.
** Note- Since the Riesling is not being heated it is important to use a good Riesling.

Pear Dressing:
Peel 2 of the 4 roasted pears. Combine the pears (2 peeled and 2 not peeled) in a blender. Puree pears with pear liquor, salt, pepper, red chile, and star anise. Taste. Adjust seasoning and/or liquor if necessary.

Toss three quarters of the arugula with the pear dressing. Season with salt and pepper. Taste. Adjust seasoning if necessary.

Duck Breast:
Heat a thick-bottomed sauté pan until it is smoking, reduce the heat slightly. Season the duck with salt and pepper. Add olive oil then duck to the sauté pan and cook for about a minute and a half each side (depending on the thickness of the duck breast). Remove duck from the pan and rest for 2 minutes on a cutting board. Slice duck thinly, serve with the quinoa, baby green beans the roasted pear and the jus. Enjoy!

Roasted Pear:
Set oven to 350 degrees. Drizzle olive oil onto pears. Season with salt, pepper and spice mix. Roast pears on an ovenproof tray until a pairing knife easily slides into the center of the pear.

Quinoa:
Bring vegetable stock (or water) and quinoa to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until the quinoa absorbs the liquid and is fully cooked. Add chive, parsley, salt and pepper. Taste. Adjust seasoning if necessary.

** Note- You may need to add more liquid to the quinoa for it to be fully cooked, or when you are seasoning it to serve. As always, it is important to taste and adjust seasoning (and liquid) if necessary.

Baby Green Bean:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. (Have a bowl of ice water ready) Add two pinches of salt. Blanch green beans until they are tender, remove from the water and transfer green beans to the ice water. Heat vegetable stock, add green beans. Season with salt and pepper. Taste. Adjust seasoning if necessary.

Duck Jus:
Reduce duck stock to nappe (the stock should lightly coat the back of a spoon), about 1 cup. Steep star anise and rosemary (ten minutes).

Cabernet Poached Pear:
Peel and core the pears. Trim the bottom of the pears so that they will stand up. In a medium sauce pot, bring the honey and red wine to a boil, remove from the heat and add the star anise, bay leaf, and peppercorn. Steep 10 minutes. Add the pears to the liquid and simmer about 10-15 minutes (or until a paring knife slides into the center of the pear without much resistance (The time necessary to poach the pears will vary depending on the ripeness of the pears.)

When pears are tender, remove from the poaching liquid and cool. Reduce the poaching liquid to about a cup (nappe- coats the back of a spoon) and use this as a sauce for your pears. Enjoy.

** Note- You may need to adjust the amount of honey in the poaching liquid based on how ripe the pears are.