The glorious silken mouth feel of Foie Gras is irresistible. The decedent bit of contrast between the perfectly seared, browned exterior and the soft, luscious interior is sublime. It is hard to find in restaurants, and expensive when it is.
But what of home preparation? Irrelevant to discuss I suppose as the eminent ban on this delicacy is upon us. But my lovely bride gifted me a 1/2lb lobe, $31, frozen, for Christmas and it's fate was a sizzling hot pan, brioche and balsamic. Last night was the night, with fellow foodies.
In fear of having too much to coordinate in delivering the final dish, I passed on the sweetened fruit, caramelized pears or such. I just keep thinking about Thomas Keller advice...something like "it's not difficult to prepare, just don't look away while it's in the pan or you'll be left with an expensive puddle of duck fat".
Epicurious' Sauteed Duck Foie Gras. Dead easy, hot oil, livers in, 30 or so seconds, livers out, balsamic in a bit of the fat and make that a bit syrupy. Pour over the Foie Gras. Very easy. I would only say that the livers shrink a bit, so be generous when carving the pieces to cook. They cook VERY quick, keep a close eye.Also, a Gordan Ramsey trick, lightly crosshatch cuts in the surface of the livers. This opens the surface up a bit and makes the browning more effective and attractive.
I served it over toasts carved out of brioche hamburger buns from Whole Foods and poured a Alvear Solera 1927 sticky dessert wine. All in all a success, a real treat.
I'm ready to experiment more, but only 4 months left....
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Where are you Dottie?
Some things never change....beautiful February mornings in the city, obnoxious protesters picketing a hotel with bull horns that that I can hear from my unpicketed hotel a block away, and a line at Dotties.
As usual, a Friday night stay in SF is followed by a foggy headed Saturday morning walk to Dottie's seeking the egg and pig based antidote. One block west, one block south, I can do this...wait, I know it's this block, no line, no blue awning, no fix!!! Good god Dottie's gone, what am I to do? No idea they moved shop due south to 6th street.
Nervously wondering if they could keep their mojo, their terroir if you will while upsizing I stumble the 5 or 6 blocks south to the new digs.
They certainly kept their sketchy neighbors, the panhandlers. A much larger, attractive dining space is accompanied by what strangely appears to be the same 2'x2' griddle from which the same grumpy chef (owner?) deftly delivers his bounty. The more comfortable space is duly equipped with the same capable staff.
The menu's the same and the specials interesting, but my system sought the confluence of bacon and jack cheese that only an omlette can deliver. They deliver the beautiful heap of joyful relief and as I fumble to pick up utensils, they just as quickly wisk it away without explanation..."one second" is all I hear. Maybe they realized my potatoes weren't crispied up as I ordered...nice. It returns, not one but hundreds of seconds later looking suspiciously like the exact plate they took away, soft spuds and all. The omlette was perfect, generously studded with their excellent bacon, just damp in the center. But is it really that difficult to brown potatoes....like the plates to my left and right?
Great place, food and service delivering the goods like the Jones location, but I wonder about the logic of the move. They certainly needed more space, and the line was out the door, but Jones St was so close to the Union Square hotels and while the hood was tough, you didn't feel for your safety. Now those same tourists have to wade through the Ellis, Eddy, Turk swamp of crack heads and cross Market to get their fix. Good luck
As usual, a Friday night stay in SF is followed by a foggy headed Saturday morning walk to Dottie's seeking the egg and pig based antidote. One block west, one block south, I can do this...wait, I know it's this block, no line, no blue awning, no fix!!! Good god Dottie's gone, what am I to do? No idea they moved shop due south to 6th street.
Nervously wondering if they could keep their mojo, their terroir if you will while upsizing I stumble the 5 or 6 blocks south to the new digs.
They certainly kept their sketchy neighbors, the panhandlers. A much larger, attractive dining space is accompanied by what strangely appears to be the same 2'x2' griddle from which the same grumpy chef (owner?) deftly delivers his bounty. The more comfortable space is duly equipped with the same capable staff.
The menu's the same and the specials interesting, but my system sought the confluence of bacon and jack cheese that only an omlette can deliver. They deliver the beautiful heap of joyful relief and as I fumble to pick up utensils, they just as quickly wisk it away without explanation..."one second" is all I hear. Maybe they realized my potatoes weren't crispied up as I ordered...nice. It returns, not one but hundreds of seconds later looking suspiciously like the exact plate they took away, soft spuds and all. The omlette was perfect, generously studded with their excellent bacon, just damp in the center. But is it really that difficult to brown potatoes....like the plates to my left and right?
Great place, food and service delivering the goods like the Jones location, but I wonder about the logic of the move. They certainly needed more space, and the line was out the door, but Jones St was so close to the Union Square hotels and while the hood was tough, you didn't feel for your safety. Now those same tourists have to wade through the Ellis, Eddy, Turk swamp of crack heads and cross Market to get their fix. Good luck
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