Monday, October 6, 2008

Cooking with Ben and Ellen, en France!

So, you go to stay with your parents in a lovely little gîte in the Dordogne region of France for a week. It's very relaxing, très beautiful. The region is known for it's foie gras (delicious!), goat cheese (delicious X 2!), and various duck products (Mmm....). It is, however, a little lacking in the nightlife department. What to do, what to do...


We shall do zee cooking en famille!


My love of cooking was passed down to me by two very foodie parents, so it seems only natural that visits with them are celebrations of food, and this visit I referred to more than once as foodapalooza. There were a lot of good meals, wine, cheeses, and desserts. And it was all great, but I thought since we were in France with fellow food lovers, we should take advantage and go all out.

We decided on duck because we're all about using what the area has to offer so after much searching and ooooohing at epicurious, we picked fig balsamic-glazed duck with pearl onion and pear hash with a romaine and mushroom salad on the side and chocolate honey mousse for dessert.

So we headed off the to local canarderie (is that a real french word? Maybe, maybe not) and the supermarché and came back and got to work.


Don't these magrets look merveilleux?

And the pearl onion and pear hash became shallot and pears because, honestly, shallots are always better. Trust me, we voted, and the overwhelming love of shallots in our family won.


The finished product:


As good as a real french bistro, less expensive and more fun!

Zee recipe, pour vous mes amis:

Fig balsamic-glazed duck with pearl onion and pear hash

Bon Appétit - January 2005

Servings: Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients
4 duck breasts
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 ripe pears, halved, cored, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1 10-ounce bag pearl onions, blanched, peeled, halved
4 medium Yukon Gold potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds), boiled until just tender, peeled, cut into 1 1/4-inch pieces
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage

3/4 cup low-salt chicken broth
1/2 cup fig balsamic vinegar

Preparation
Using small sharp knife, score duck skin in 1-inch-wide grid pattern. Season duck generously with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add duck; cook about 6 minutes per side for medium. Transfer to cutting board; tent with foil. Discard all but 1/4 cup drippings from skillet. Heat drippings in skillet over high heat. Add pears, onions, and potatoes; sauté until beginning to brown, 5 minutes. Stir in sage; season with salt and pepper. Transfer hash to bowl; cover to keep warm.

Heat same skillet over high heat. Add broth and vinegar; bring to boil, scraping up browned bits. Boil until reduced to glaze, about 5 minutes. Season glaze with salt and pepper.

Divide hash among plates. Cut duck into 1/2-inch-thick slices; fan over hash. Drizzle glaze over and serve.

*We used shallots instead of onions, and I made my own fig balsamic vinegar by soaking some figs in vinegar for a while and then pushing it all through a strainer. Don't skip the fig balsamic vinegar! It was soo good that we were practically licking the plates. Okay, I may have actually dipped my finger in it and licked it once or twice, but that can be our secret, oui?


And let's not forget the dessert!

When we make this at home, it's the super-easiest mousse ever and so so delicious. Here, without a mixer, it's not quite as easy

But we all worked our arms on the whipped cream and found that it is still delicious, especially with a dollop of crème fraîche and a drizzle of honey. Mmmm!

Bon appétit¡

2 comments:

Marc Burgett said...

You summed up the experience quite well! It made me want to be there with you. Oh, wait! I was! And very fortunate to have been.

DAD

MommieDearest said...

And I also can attest to the deliciousness of this meal.
I cooked some duck maigret also but used apple and shallot instead. And I have made the chocolate honey mousse twice even my arm nearly fell off whipping the cream - I have yet to see an egg beater or an electric mixer anywhere in the french stores. Zut alors!

MOM