Smoked Duck with Asparagus

Saturday October 10

Since it was Canadian Thanksgiving, or at least that weekend, we had to have a festive bird. And as two people and a turkey is just as close to eternity as two people and a ham, we chose a lesser fowl, to wit (and to-whoo, though not an owl), a duck.
(Hold on, I have to catch my breath after that outbreak of mock-Shakespearean whimsy. There, that's better.)
The weather had cleared up into a beautiful blue and gold day, typical of autumn in Cincinnati. So we hauled out the old smoker and fired it up, and Holt smoked the duck on a nest of fresh thyme that Barbara had just trimmed out of the herb garden, while the charcoal fire was feed with all the old, dried, herb clippings.
We had the breasts elegantly sliced, with roast asparagus, and the smoky flavor was perfect for the rich, unctuous duck. Add a crisp, appley Chardonnay and a couple more adjectives, and it's a sophisticated Toronto take on Thanksgiving.