Chinese Five-Spice, Tawny Port, and Amanda Hesser's Duck

My mother wanted Chinese duck for Christmas dinner. Until now, our family recipe has been Cattherine Turney's blend of soy sauce and honey (Cathy was a distinguished screenwriter--"Mildred Pierce," "Of Human Bondage"--and a great cook). But I Googled Chinese duck recipes anyway. I was referred again and again to Amanda Hesser's Ginger Duck from "Cooking for Mr. Latte: A Food Lover's Courtship, with Recipes." I found the recipe on "The Splendid Table's" website. Decided to make Hesser's duck instead of Cathy's because much was made of the succulence of the meat. The technique was to simmer the ducks with spice, soy sauce, and sugar the day before, chill it, then roast to heat and glaze for serving.
When I picked up the two thawed ducklings from the butcher (we were going to be eight), I happened past the spice aisle. A jar of Chinese Five-Spice beckoned and I grabbed it.
I decided to use this blend in place of just ginger to intensify the Chineseness...star anise is the predominant flavor, other elements were Szechuan pepper, ginger, cloves, and Chinese cinnamon...fennel can also be added, and/or cardamom.
Hesser's simmering technique is fun and easy and it was clear the ducklings would be delicious. Before I put the brace in the ice chest in the patio to chill overnight (the fridge was chockablock), I took a spoonful of the broth and a morsel of the meat to my mother. She closed her eyes, then opened them, exclaiming, "The best I've ever tasted!" I sagged with relief--she has so loved Cathy's recipe all these years.
Last night just before putting the ducks in the oven came my second change in the recipe. As can happen when I'm cooking a complicated meal and there's a lot going on in the kitchen and out, I forgot to recheck the ingredients' list. Dumb. I was supposed to add sherry to the broth.* I couldn't believe it, but I scoured my mother's bar and cupboards, and there was no sherry in the house. But there was tawny port. Huzzah. I think it was what the Chinese (or is it the Japanese?) call a happy accident. The fruity warmth of the port was perfect.
While the ducks were roasting, wafting a heavenly fragrance through the house, my dear mother--99-1/2 years old--sat writing an ode to them.
My only disappointment was that the ducklings' skin did not crispen in the oven. That could be because I roasted them in a Vallauris (French earthenware) gratin dish, not a roasting pan. Metal might have reflected more heat and glazed the skins.
I served the ducks with "The Silver Palate's" divine recipe for pureed sweet potatoes and carrots. (Change I made in THAT was because I--again--didn't check the ingredients, I had no creme fraiche so I softened cream cheese and used that. Another happy accident. At least my reputation was redeemed from the canned Thanksgiving sweets...) I also served brussels sprouts sauteed with pecans, Blue Lake green beans with threads of fresh ginger. Salad was delicate mixed greens with Comice pears, pomegranate seeds, and crumbled blue cheese. For dessert, my grandmother's traditional steamed Carrot Pudding (essentially a plum pudding) and very hard Hard Sauce (courtesy of Jack Daniels).
As I was tucking my mother in bed, she beckoned me to come close and she said, "I want you to get nine ducks next week and make them for me," and then she sweetly fell asleep. It was a very merry Christmas!
*Even though the two ducks simmered in one pot--I used my canning kettle--I doubled broth ingredients, all except salt...customarily I only use half-again as much salt.