foie gras en terrine

14 ounces	fresh foie gras de canard
	Pineau de Charentes
	salt and fine, freshly ground pepper
	pork fat back, 1/16 inch thick
	flour and water mixed into a thick paste
12 to 18	baguette slices, lightly toasted

1.	Devein foie gras. Place in a non–reactive bowl and sprinkle with pineau, salt and pepper. Mix and set aside overnight.
2.	Line a 600 gram rectangular terrine with fat back allowing sufficient excess to fold back over top of terrine. Tightly pack foie gras into the terrine and level top. Fold fat back over the top of the foie gras. Place lid on top of terrine and seal with flour and water paste.
3.	Preheat oven to 300° F. Place terrine a bain marie and fill with hot water half way up the side of the terrine. Bake for about 50 minutes or until a skewer placed through the vent in the terrine lid feels warm when touched to the wrist.
4.	Remove from bain marie and refrigerate terrine overnight.
5.	To unmold, carefully run a knife around the inside surface of the sides of the terrine. Turn upside down and shake to loosen. Scrape yellow foie gras fat from surface and save for other uses. Trim one end to expose foie gras and serve with baguette slices.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

Source: Pierre Corre, Auberge de la Truffe, Sorges, France, 1997.

crème d’asperges

3/4 pound	fresh asparagus, trimmed
dash	salt
3 cups	chicken stock
3 tablespoons	butter
2 tablespoons	all purpose flour
	salt and freshly ground white pepper
	fresh ground nutmeg
3/4 cup	heavy cream
1	egg yolk, beaten
3 tablespoons	fresh Italian parsley, chopped

1.	Separate asparagus tips from stalks. Boil both in 1 cup water with dash of salt until just tender. Remove and cool in cold water. Drain and set aside. Process asparagus stalks and cooking water in a food processor and strain.
2.	Add broth to asparagus puree, mix and simmer for 15 minutes to reduce
3.	In a separate sauce pan, melt butter and mix with flour. Slowly add 3 to 4 ladle–fulls of asparagus broth to roux to thin it.
4.	Remove from heat and add salt, pepper and nutmeg. Mix cream and egg yolk; whisk into soup.
5.	Just before serving, return to heat and bring just to a boil. Remove from heat; add parsley and reserved asparagus tips.

Yield: 3 servings.

Source: Peter Grunauer & Andreas Kisler, Viennese Cuisine: The New Approach, 1987, pg. 44.

saumon à la vapeur, sabayon de pommes de terre à l’ail

2 (about 8 ounces each)	salmon fillets, skin removed
	salt and freshly ground white pepper
1 tablespoon	minced fresh parsley

sabayon:

4 ounces	russet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2" thick slices
3 or 4 large cloves	garlic, trimmed and peeled (about1-1/4 ounces)
1 tablespoon	lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon	salt
1/8 teaspoon	white pepper
2 tablespoons	hot water
2 tablespoons	olive oil

1.	Place potato in a saucepan with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil. After 5 minutes add garlic and boil both for another 15 minutes.
2.	Sprinkle both sides of fillets with salt and pepper and set aside. Prepare steamer.
3.	When the potatoes and garlic are about 5 minutes from being done, start steaming salmon. Steam for 4 to 6 minutes, depending on thickness. When done remove from steamer and set aside.
4.	When potatoes are very soft, drain potatoes and garlic and place in a food processor. Add lemon juice, salt, pepper and hot water and process until smooth. Add olive oil and process to combine.
5.	Spread a generous amount of sauce on each plate and top with a salmon fillet. Serve with a sprinkling of parley on top.

Yield: 2 servings.

Source: Gerald Hirigoyen, Bistro, 1995, page 53.

carottes glacées

1/2 pound	prepared (2" long) baby carrots
2 tablespoons	butter
1 teaspoon	sugar
	salt & freshly ground pepper

1.	Place carrots in a small sauté pan over medium heat with butter, sugar, salt and pepper. Add water to barely cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the carrots are tender and the water has evaporated.
2.	Check seasoning and serve.

Yield: 3 to 4 servings.

Source: Pierre Franey, Pierre Franey’s Cooking in France, 1994, page 33.

pudding de pain, sauce au cognac

pudding de pain:

1/4 cup	golden raisin
2 tablespoons	cognac
1/2 pound	French bread, about 4 cups, torn into bite–size pieces
2-1/2 cups	whole milk
1	cinnamon stick
1/2 teaspoon	vanilla extract
3	eggs
1/2 cup	sugar

sauce au cognac:

1	egg white, beaten
1/4 cup	sugar
4 tablespoons	butter, melted

1.	Soak raisins in cognac for at least 30 minutes (but best if soaked overnight).
2.	For pudding de pain: butter a 1-1/2 quart soufflé dish and set aside. Preheat oven to 350° F.
3.	Drain raisins, reserving coganc, and mix with bread.
4.	In a sauce pan, combine milk, cinnamon and vanilla and cook over moderate heat until bubbles begin to break the surface. Beat eggs and sugar. Discard cinnamon and gradually whisk in scaled milk into eggs and sugar.
5.	Combine mixture with bread and let soak for 10 minutes. Fill the soufflé dish with the soaked bread. Place the soufflé dish in a 9" x 9" glass pan with hot water. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
6.	For sauce au cognac: whisk the beaten egg white with sugar in a heat–proof bowl over a simmering water bath until the mixture is nearly doubled in volume, about 3 minutes.
7.	Whisk in the melted butter, a little at a time. Whisk in reserved cognac.
8.	Serve bread pudding with warmed sauce drizzled on top.

Yield: 6 servings.

Source: John Martin Taylor, Food & Wine Magazine, February 1995, page 102.

© 1999 Peter Hertzmann, Inc. All rights reserved.