Work In Progress

[pixelchef]

Hi everyone,

I'm in the process of creating a foie gras dish for an upcoming special occasion, and I'm looking for your opinions on whether or not you feel the flavours I'm dealing with work well, and possibly some advice on how to improve it.

What I'm planning is:

Seared foie gras on banana bread round w/ balsamic-poached figs and warm maple syrup drizzle.

Yes, no? Ridiculous, ingenious?

Thanks for your time everyone.

[Jason Perlow]

Too sweet. Get some more savory stuff in there. I think the maple syrup goes over the top a bit.

[pixelchef]

Gotcha, and I agree. Would crispy bacon work here, do you think? (pancetta)

[Jason Perlow]

Why not make it a fig bread? and do the bacon, maybe with some kind of a wine reduction sauce or something?

[pixelchef]

Hmm, a fig bread. That sounds like an awesome idea. I'm gonna have to make a couple batches of just the bread to get the flavours right, but I'm definitely going to try that.

So..

Seared foie gras on toasted fig bread, crispy pancetta, Port reduction

Sounding better?

[Jason Perlow]

Yes, definitely in the right direction. Maybe with some bleu cheese too.

[Xanthippe]

Yes, definitely in the right direction. Maybe with some bleu cheese too.

Ah, a bleu cheese! Fourme d'Ambert would be lovely with the seared foie gras/toasted fig bread/crispy pancetta/Port reduction!!

Wow, yum . . .

[indiagirl]

i've never eaten foie gras, being vegetarian most of my life, but i am in the process of changing that. fwiw, even to me, the latest version of the dish sounds appetizing

so, some education, please?

isin't foie gras a paste? how does one sear that? doesn't it burn immediately?

[Jason Perlow]

i've never eaten foie gras, being vegetarian most of my life, but i am in the process of changing that. fwiw, even to me, the latest version of the dish sounds appetizing

so, some education, please?

isin't foie gras a paste? how does one sear that? doesn't it burn immediately?

It can sometimes be prepared as Pate de Foie Gras , but its a lobe of the liver of a Goose. This is usually sliced and then seared or cooked, etc.

[newguy]

Why not try to add a little sour component to the dish as well? This dish sounds fantastic, but it may need a slight balance of all those rich flavors and textures with a drop of sour and I'm not sure the port sauce will do it. Why not a gastrique? Maybe a port gastrique with a flavored vinegar of some kind?

[indiagirl]

aah, i see. i thought foie gras was short hand for pate de foie gras and i had assumed that it was always a paste of marinated goose liver, truffles and things of that nature.

thanks much

[pixelchef]

newguy, you totally read my mind. I'm thinking of doing a sparkling ice wine/ champagne vinegar gastrique. The logic behind this is of course what you already mentioned, and the fact that champagne/sparking wine is a great compliment to fatty foods.

Good, yes? :)

[newguy]

Love the ice wine idea. I'm thinking that since that is SO sweet, is there something more sour than champagne vinegar? Maybe some type of citrus?

How about you slice the pancetta in real thin rounds, and bake it off so you have a very crisp "craker" like texture in the dish

[pixelchef]

I'll test it and see. If needed, I'll spike it with Yuzu.

Yep, that is exactly how I was planning to prep the pancetta (hence me referring to it as crispy pancetta) :)

Thanks for all the help with this Jason and newguy, I appreciate it.

[Jason Perlow]

icewine gastrique would be a good idea, considering that its a product native to Canada where you live.

Inniskillin?

Take a digital photo of the dish when you are done, if its possible.

[newguy]

I wasn't sure if you were talking a thin wafer like slice of pancetta or say a brunoise that was rendered of fat, leaving little crunchy bits.

Actually I have made a sweet and sour jus. It was lots of shallots completely covered with sherry. Reduce that sec, then cover again with sherry vinegar, reduce that sec and cover with red wine vinegar. Repeated twice. The shallots are then added to a stock of some kind last minute with a brunoise of pancetta. Fantastic sauce.

[pixelchef]

Jason,

Yea, Inniskillin for sure. I'm in love with their ice wines. Vineland Estates makes great ice wine as well. I always have at least a full bottle in the fridge. Mmm. Sure, I'll take a picture of it when I'm done. I don't own a digital camera, but being that I'm planning this sooo far in advance, I'll borrow one for the occasion.

newguy,

that sounds like an incredible sauce indeed. Very nice!

As an aside, I absolutely love those two-serving pre-packed foie gras packages from D'Artagnan. So perfect for my purposes.

[newguy]

I definitely want to know how this final dish plays out...