Our recipe for Tournedos Rossini takes this already decadent classic dish made of filet mignon, seared foie gras and fresh black truffles to another level of indulgence.  This divine dish is made with Australia’s finest 100% Wagyu beef filet mignon, a homemade veal stock which simmers for 24 hours (rendering an intensely flavored stock as the base for the demi-glace sauce), fresh Perigord truffles, perfectly seared foie gras, served on a creamy white truffle celery root puree.

One might think this dish could be too rich to consume.  After all, Blackmore 100% Wagyu beef has a marbling score close to Japanese Kobe Beef, and is so rich and tender, it almost melts in your mouth.  Amazingly enough, even with the addition of buttery foie gras and a rich black truffle infused demi glace, the overall dish does not seem excessively heavy.  It’s rich, satisfying, and wonderfully delicious.

Tournedos Rossini is typically served on a piece of toasted bread or brioche. To make this classic version, simply omit the celery root puree and use the toasted bread as the base of the dish instead.

 

Ingredients:

Two 6-oz Blackmore 100% Wagyu Beef filet mignon steaks, at room temperature

Two 2-oz slices foie gras

1/2 ounce fresh black truffle

1 cup veal stock, preferably home-made

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup minced shallots

1/2 cup Madera wine

1 small bay leaf

3 sprigs fresh thyme, 1 for the sauce, 2 for garnish

1/2 teaspoon white truffle balsamic vinegar

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and diced

Celery root puree or two pieces of toasted bread

Instructions:

If using homemade veal stock, begin preparing the stock at least 24 hours in advance.  (veal stock recipe).  If serving the dish with celery root puree, prepare the puree prior to making the sauce and keep warm or gently reheat at serving time.

To make the sauce, melt a tablespoon of butter in a small saucepan. Add the shallots and cook over low heat until translucent, about 3 – 5 minutes.  Add the Madera wine to the shallots and cook until the wine is reduced by half and is somewhat thickened.  Add the bay leaf, thyme, and veal stock and cook until reduced by half again, leaving about 3/4 cup of sauce in the pan.  Add the balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper to taste.  Slice the black truffle thinly with a truffle shaver or sharp knife and set aside.  Whisk in the cold, cubed butter to the sauce a few pieces at a time. When the butter has been incorporated into the sauce, add the truffle slices.  Keep the sauce warm over a double boiler for at least 30 minutes, allowing the black truffle flavor to permeate the sauce. Alternatively, allow the sauce to sit, covered, for 30 minutes, then gently reheat when ready to serve the dish.

Heat a frying pan to medium. Melt 2 teaspoons butter in the pan. Sprinkle the Wagyu Beef filet mignon with sea salt and pepper.  Add the steaks to the pan and cook on each side about 2 minutes or until the steaks are rare.  Set aside and cover with foil.

Sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of the foie gras. Sear the foie gras in a frying pan over medium heat, about 1 1/2 minutes on each side.  Set foie gras on a paper towel.

To serve, place about 1/2 cup celery root puree in the middle of a heated plate. Place the filet mignon on top of the celery root puree and top the filet with a piece of seared foie gras.  Spoon the warm sauce and black truffles over the foie gras and steak, allowing a pool of sauce to remain in the plate.  Garnish with fresh thyme.

 

It took two tries to get the recipe for foie gras hollandaise to come out correctly, but man oh man, the results are fabulous!  This luxurious sauce could be paired with almost anything: fish, duck, squab, lamb, vegetables, potatoes and who knows what else.  After my first failure where the sauce separated, I finally figured out how to make this foie gras hollandaise properly.  It’s a little tricky to just heat the egg yolks enough, but not to cook them too much before adding the foie gras butter.  Keep the heat low, and begin adding the foie gras butter mixture well before the egg yolks start to thicken.

I served the foie gras hollandaise with panko crusted tilapia, vegetables julienne, and rosemary roasted potatoes.  It was delicious!  The tilapia was dipped in egg yolk, covered with panko, and pan fried in olive oil. The vegetables were a combination of onions, garlic, zucchini, carrots, and white asparagus, and cherry tomatoes pan fried.  The potatoes were oven roasted with olive oil and fresh rosemary.  The foie gras hollandaise was the perfect sauce to tie all the flavors together.

Here is the recipe I used for the foie gras hollandaise.

Ingredients:

2 egg yolks

2 teaspoons rice vinegar

3 tablespoons raw foie gras

3 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon white truffle oil

salt and pepper

Instructions:

Puree the foie gras and butter in a blender or food processor until smooth.  Wisk the eggs yolks and rice vinegar in a double boiler or a bowl placed over boiling water until aerated.  Quickly begin mixing in the foie gras and butter mixture bit by bit, whisking constantly.  When all the “foie gras butter” has been incorporated, whisk in the white truffle oil.  Season the foie gras hollandaise with salt and pepper to taste.  Makes enough for 4 – 6 servings.

 

This foie gras stuffing is not cooked in the bird and has an untraditional combination of ingredients.  It’s really pretty easy to prepare, but it is probably best prepared shortly before serving.  We’ve still included this recipe in our “make ahead Thanksgiving recipes” category, because it can be fully prepared ahead of time and reheated before serving.  If you plan to prepare the foie gras stuffing before serving, be sure not to cook the foie gras too much.  Otherwise, when it is reheated, the foie gras may get overcooked.  When prepared just before serving, the bread cubes (more like croutons) have a lovely crunch, which pairs well with the soft almost caramelized apples, rich foie gras, cranberries and wilted arugula.  For a more traditional, moister stuffing, simply add more jus.  When this foie gras stuffing is refrigerated and reheated, it will be much moister, and the bread cubes will be soft.  Reheating in a saute pan seemed to work just fine…

While a whole lobe of foie gras can be cut into 1 inch cubes, pieces of foie gras cut into small, but irregular pieces works fine too.  Hudson Valley’s Foie Gras Cubes are really perfect for this recipe and at $50 per pound, it’s a more economical product.

We prepared this foie gras stuffing with fresh duck breasts and used the juices from the duck breast along with some chicken stock.  This stuffing would also go well with turkey, chicken, quail, or squab.

2 pounds fresh foie gras, cut into 1-inch cubes (foie gras cubes work great)
6 medium-sized Honey Crisp or Fuji apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1 ½ inch pieces
1 cup dried cranberries
2 cups chestnuts, roasted and peeled, cut in half or quartered
5 cups arugula, stems removed
1½ cups cippolini onions, peeled and cut into 1 inch wedges
6 ½ cups foccacia bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 Tablespoon garlic, minced
2 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
3/4 – 1 cup roasted duck, turkey, or chicken drippings/jus
4 Tablespoons Italian parsley, chopped
2 Tablespoons sage, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Once all the ingredients above have been prepared, put the cubed bread in a bowl and toss with the minced garlic and olive oil. Toast the bread cubes in a 450 degree oven until golden brown, 5 – 10 minutes.

Heat a very large heavy sauté pan over medium high heat. Season the chunks of foie gras with salt and pepper and sear until golden brown, about 2 minutes. (If the heat is too high, the fat will turn brown, which is not optimal.) Remove the foie gras from the pan, leaving about ¾ cup of the foie gras fat in the pan. Set aside any extra foie gras fat for another use. Add the onions and apples and cook until golden brown. Towards the end of the cooking time, add the chestnuts. Season the mixture with salt and pepper and transfer to a large bowl. Wilt the arugula in the warm pan with some of the remaining fat, then add to apples, onions and chestnut mixture. Add the dried cranberries, the chunks of foie gras and the toasted bread cubes and mix well. Season with salt and pepper if needed and add the chopped herbs and duck, turkey, or chicken jus. The bread cubes will still be crisp. If a more moist stuffing is preferred, add more jus or use a high quality stock.

Serves 10 – 12.

This excellent foie gras recipe was submitted to our recipe contest by Jamie Brown-Miller of Napa, California. Jamie told us she makes this recipe every year and I can see why.  The combination of ingredients is unusual, the preparation is easy, the presentation is striking, and most importantly, it’s delicious!

Jamie won a $100 gift certificate to our store for her winning foie gras recipe submission.

Tangerine Seared Foie Gras on Brioche with Rum Reduction

Ingredients:

18 ounces foie gras
6 tablespoons tangerine zest
1/2 cup butter
Juice from 6 tangerines
2 cups dark rum
6 slices brioche (trimmed of crust)
6 ounces herbed goat cheese
6 basil leaves, finely chopped
Additional supreme of tangerine for garnish

Instructions:

Portion the foie gras into six equal square or rectangular slices. Press equal amounts of tangerine zest onto each side of the foie gras portions and place on a plate. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

While the foie gras is in the refrigerator, make the rum reduction. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Add the tangerine juice and rum, then bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, then reduce heat to medium low, stirring occasionally. Cook until mixture is reduced to a syrup, about  1/4 to 1/3 the original amount. Keep warm on a burner at its lowest heat setting until ready to use.

Cut the slices of brioche to approximately the same size as the slices of foie gras. Toast to a medium golden brown using a toaster, then spread with the goat cheese. Place each slice in the center of a salad plate or shallow soup bowl.

Heat a large skillet to high heat. Remove foie gras from refrigeration and sear each side for 2 minutes or until golden brown on the outside and just set in the inside. Place one slice of seared foie gras onto each slice of brioche. Drizzle rum reduction over the foie gras and top with the supremes of tangerine and/or chopped basil. Serves 6.

This recipe for Chinese Spiced Duck Breast w/ Seared Foie Gras, Caramelized Mango, and Asian Vegetables has a colorful presentation and complex flavor combination.  The bright green snow peas and baby bok choy presented with the intense orange mango, and red rare duck breast creates a beautiful visual on the plate.

Much of the preparation for this dish can be done ahead of time; however, there is a lot of sauteing that needs to be done right before serving.  In four separate pans, you will need to cook the mushrooms, the duck breasts, the foie gras, and the cabbage.  All of these things will be done almost simultaneously, starting with the duck breast, which will take about 10 – 13 minutes to cook, the mushrooms, cabbage and mango all take about 6 – 10 minutes, and the foie gras will take 3 – 6 minutes, depending on the cooking technique used.  The bok choy and snow peas will be served at room temperature, therefore, I suggest cooking them before the duck breasts.  Keep in mind also that the duck breasts need to marinate for 6 – 24 hours before cooking them.

This recipe is from Michael Ginor’s fabulous cookbook titled “Foie Gras A Passion“, a book which contains 80 foie gras recipes written by 80 different chefs.  We’ve prepared about half the recipes so far, and every recipe has been very good.

Ingredients:

Duck Sauce

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 scallion, chopped

2 large garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger

1 cup dark chicken or duck stock

1/2 cup water

1 dried shitake mushroom

1 tablespoon mushroom soy sauce or regular soy sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons hoisin sauce

1/2 teaspoon Chinese chili paste with garlic

Pinch Chinese five-spice powder

Coarse salt

Chinese Spiced Duck Breast

2 duck breasts (magret de canard) about 1.75 lb. total weight

2 teaspoons Chinese five-spice powder

Coarse salt

Black pepper, freshly ground

2 scallions, finely sliced

1 piece giner, 3 inches long, peeled and sliced

1/4 cup cilantro chopped

Asian Vegetables:

4 baby bok choy, about 4 ounces each, bottoms trimmed so they will stand on the plate when cooked

20 snow peas, trimmed

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

16 mushroom caps

Coarse salt

White pepper, freshly ground

1 small head Napa cabbage

Caramelized Mango

2 tablespoons butter

2 teaspoons canola oil

2 tablespoons sugar

2 ripe mangos, peeled, pitted, and cut in half

Pinch coarse salt

Foie Gras and Garnish

Four  3 oz slices of duck foie gras or  eight  2  oz slices

Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

Scallions and cilantro for garnish

Instructions:

Duck Sauce

In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the scallion, garlic, and ginger and cook, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes, until the mixture is softened and fragrant.  Add the remaining ingredients except the salt, and bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the liquid reduces to about 1 cup.  Add salt, if necessary, and strain into a small saucepan.

Chinese Spiced Duck Breast

Trim away any excess skin and fat from the edges of duck breasts, leaving one side of the breasts fully covered with skin and fat.  Using a sharp knife, score the skin lightly in a crosshatch pattern being careful not to pierce the flesh.  Season the duck breasts on both sides with the five-spice powder, salt and pepper.  Spread the remaining ingredients equally over the breasts.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, but not more than 24 hours.

Season the duck breasts with additional coarse salt, and place in a cold, nonstick saute pan.  Place the pan over medium heat and cook until the skin is browned and crisp, about 10 minutes.  Turn the breasts over and cook for 2 minutes, to rare or medium rare.  Transfer to a plate and lightly tent with aluminum foil.  Let rest 5 minutes.

Asian Vegetables:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Ad the bok choy and cook until just tender but still firm, about 4 – 5 minutes.  Remove the bok choy from the pot and shock in a bowl of ice water.  Bring the water back to a boil, add the snow peas, and cook for 1 minute, until they are bright green.  Remove the snow peas and chock in the ice water.  When cool, remove the vegetables fro the ice water, dry, and set aside.

In a saute pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil.  Add the mushroom caps and cook for 3 minutes.  Turn the caps and cook for another 2 minutes, until tender.  Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Cut the cabbage into quarters, leaving the core intact.  Heat the remaining oil in a saute pan, over high heat until very hot.  Add the cabbage pieces, cut side down, and cook until the cut side is golden brown, about 3 minutes.  Turn and cook for 3 more minutes, until the other cut side is golden brown. Season with salt and pepper.

Caramelized Mango

Heat the butter and oil in a saute pan set over low to medium heat.  Add the sugar and cook until the sugar begins to caramelize, about 6 minutes.  Season the mango halves with slat and add to the saute pan.  Cook until caramelized, about 5 minutes.  Remove form the pan and keep warm.

Foie Gras

Score the foie gras and season with salt and pepper.  If using fresh thawed foie gras, set a saute pan over medium high heat and sear the foie gras for about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes on each side.  If using flash frozen foie gras, place the still frozen foie gras slices in a cold saute pan.  Set the pan to medium heat and cook the foie gras for about 2 – 3 minutes on each side.  Either way, cook the foie gras until the outside is golden brown and slightly crisp, and the inside is just set.

Service and Garnish

Warm the duck sauce.  Spoon 2 tablespoons of duck sauce in the middle of four warmed serving plates.  Slice the duck breasts into 1/4 inch-thick slices.  On each plate, place 1/4 of the sliced duck breast over the sauce, fanning the slices.  Stand the bok choy above the duck breast and arrange the leaves to create a petal effect.  Place a piece of the sauteed cabbage on each plate next to the bok choy. Place the caramelized mango slightly overlapping the duck breast, and place the foie gras on top of the mango. Place 5 snow peas and 4 mushroom caps on each plate and garnish with scallions and cilantro.