num_pages: 288
description: A delicious memoir about the eight months food writer David McAninch spent in Gasconya deeply rural region of France virtually untouched by mass tourismmeeting extraordinary characters and eating the best meals of his life.Though hed been a card-carrying Francophile all of his life David McAninch knew little about Gascony an ancient region in Southwest France mostly overlooked by Americans. Then an assignment sent him to research a story on duck. After enjoying a string of rich mealsArmagnac-flambed duck tenderloins; skewered duck hearts with chanterelles; a duck-confit shepherds pie strewn with shavings of foie grashe soon realized what hed been missing.McAninch decided he needed a more permanent fix. Hed fallen in lovenot only with the food but with the people and with the sheer unspoiled beauty of the place. So along with his wife and young daughter he moved to an old millhouse in the small village of Plaisance du Gers where they would spend the next eight months living as Gascons. Duck Season is the delightful mouthwatering chronicle of McAninchs time in this tradition-bound corner of France. There he herds sheep in the Pyrenees harvests grapes attends a pig slaughter hunts for pigeons distills Armagnac and of course makes and eats all manner of delicious duck specialtieslearning to rewire his own thinking about cooking eating drinking and the art of living a full and happy life.With wit and warmth McAninch brings us deep into this enchanting world where eating what makes you happy isnt a sin but a commandment and where to the eternal surprise of outsiders locals life expectancy is higher than in any other region of France. Featuring a dozen choice recipes and beautiful line drawings Duck Season is an irresistible treat for Francophiles and gourmands alike.
language: English
title: Duck Season: Eating, Drinking and Other Misadventures in Gascony, France's Last Best Place
publisher: Harper