Foie Gras Bonanza

The Foie Gras ban in California was lifted again and as soon as I got the notification, I went online and stocked up on Foie Gras. The idea to have a Foie Gras Bonanza meal was inspired by our trip to Montreal when we had a chance to eat at Au Pied the Cochon. The meal was so memorable and so decadent as we never had so much foie gras in one seating. I talked about this meal many times but with the foie gras ban it was impossible to even think of duplicating a meal as such. Now that the ban is over, and I been able to stock up on foie gras to made this concept a reality. Kevin loves foie gras and so it is just perfect to have a foie gras bonanza for his birthday.

Because of COVID I am keeping the headcount small. I let our guests choose their own seat and here I am just going around to distribute the menu.

The menu consist on an Amuse bouche, 3 duo starters (each duo consists of a dish with a foie gras and a dish without foie Gras), 2 small plates and desserts.

Phuc and Huyen brought 3 different type of Sauternes for this meal. We are starting with a Château Rieussec grand Cru 2001.

The flavor of the Sauternes is burned apple which is perfect with the Foie Gras Torchon served with caramelized apple

I was supposed to served the foie gas beignet first but my batter needed more time to rise so I am changing the order of the menu. We are starting with the 1st duo:

Home made Foie Gras (1lb.) served with caramelized apple, in the middle are coarsely crushed peppercorn, an assortment of salt (Fleur de sel de Camarge, Brown sea salt, Pink Himalayan sea salt, and black Hawaiian salt), on the right is a salmon toast.

The torchon simply melted in your mouth, very lovely. The Salmon toast was also so delicious.

A reduction of balsamic sauce is drizzled on top of the beignets... They are ready to be served now.

Phuc paired the foie gras beignets with Château Suduiraut sauternes 2001 (Citrus flavor).

We are so spoiled now with the Sauternes as they really enhanced the foie gras. I cannot even imagine eating foie gras without Sauternes.

Each beignet is filled with an ounce of Foie Gras. OMG!, so decadent and to die for with a great glass of sauternes.

The 2nd Duo is a Foie gras negiri inspired by au Pied de cochon and a pan seared duck breast with grated ginger, green onion in hot oil, and wasabi.

Phuc paired the foie gras negiri with Château Guiraud sauternes 2001 (honey flavor) and for the Duck we opened a bottle of Chateauneauf du Pape.

A few people were skeptical about the combination of sushi rice and foie gras but once they tried it, no one could believe how tasty this bite is.

At Au pied de Cochon the foie gras was barely seared, but here at home, I really seared it to get a nice caramelized crust and it does make a huge difference.

Crispy ginger sweet rice are platted first, topped with butter poached shrimps, and to make it super decadent I am placing a seared foie gras on top.

The shrimp bisque has an incredible shrimp flavors. I used the head and shells of the shrimps to make the broth and it is so delicious.

This is a Carpaccio of filet mignon beef rubbed with wasabi and mustard grain, served with a Wasabi celery root remoulade.

I am so glad I served this dish as it is cold dish to cut down on all the fatty dish that was previously served. The celery root remoulade was perfect with the beef as it is a woodsy with a celery taste like, and here it is a bit spicy with the addition of the wasabi.

For this dish, a top grade filet mignon is a must as it has to be tender and should melt in your mouth.

Least but not last is a roasted quail served with home made chutney made with saffron, orange juice, orange peels, pears, apples, and raisins.

Originally a piece of seared foie gras supposed to be served with the breast but I just skipped and served it just as is.

The quails are poached at low heat in duck fat and then pan seared just before serving. The chutney is also lovely with a sweet/acidic/citrus flavor.

For dessert we served a profiterol (one per couple) with foie gras ice cream and drizzled with salted caramel and toasted nut.

Omg, you can definitely taste the foie gras in the ice cream. This is something you will not get to eat every day.

I have root beer float and chocolate cookies but we were all so full that I had to skip.

Here are the 3 bottles of Sauternes that was consumed during this meal. There are also many bottles of wine that was served but Hoa forgot to take a picture.

I used a total of 4 lbs. of foie gras for this meal, so naming this dinner Foie gras galore is definitely appropriate.

It was a great meal but I don't think I will do a repeat any time soon as it is so rich that we can definitely not eat this way very often.