Saturday night I made the sauteed duck and artichoke from The Cook and the Gardener . The biggest mishap was the guy at Puritan Poultry selling me four duck breasts instead of two, but that wasn't a big deal- leftover duck is pretty easy to use. I was mainly worried about trimming the artichoke. I turned to The Cook's Bible ,which I always turn to for advice on tasks like this, because it has pictures. The trimming was fairly straightforward, though, and despite the recipe's appearance of complexity- sauteeing the duck and then finishing it in the oven, boiling the artichoke and then sauteeing it in rendered duck fat- it was a snap. And delicious.