Foie, Remade

Today I used the rest of the Foie Gras that Jennifer's parents sent back with us. I feel like I am on Top Chef in saying that the theory of it was good, but the execution was just lacking (however, I did kind of like the presentation piece as well). What I attempted was foie gras with polenta and a port wine reduction. I'll start with the high notes.

1. The port wine reduction was pretty good. I mean really, most of the time, when you take 1 cup of a tasty liquid, and then reduce it to 4 tablespoons, it is going to taste pretty good. So here is what I did. I took:

1 Cup Port

2 Tbls. Honey

Pinch of Thyme

2 Shallots

Following the pattern of Farallon's recipe, I minced the shallots, and then combined everything in a saucepan. I let this simmer for 20 minutes, and then strained out the solids and returned the liquids to the heat, reducing it to 1/4 - 1/8 of a cup.

2. Polenta is fun because it can take on any texture that you want. It can be runny and creamy if you want (in that case you do a 5-to-1 ratio of liquid to polenta), or, as in this case, it can be a bit more firm just a 3-to-1 ratio. I chose to do the firm polenta because I wanted a contrast in texture between the polenta and the foie gras. Foie gras has a texture that is smooth and buttery, and even though I seared it to give it a little crust, it still has a very velvety mouth-feel. Sorry...I digress.

1 Cup Polenta

3 Cups Water

.2 lbs Gruyere Cheese

1 1/2 Tbsp. Butter

Salt and Pepper to taste

To make the polenta, bring the desired amount of water to a boil, and add a large pinch of salt. Add the polenta to the boiling water, stirring the entire time. Actually, you want to stir the polenta until it has finished cooking, in this case, about 5 minutes. At this point, you can get creative with the polenta. I added about .2 pounds of gruyere cheese, 1 1/2 Tablespoons butter, and salt and pepper to taste. After cooking the polenta, I poured it into a baking dish and spread it to about 1-inch thick. Go ahead and put the dish in the oven to dry it out a little bit more (Jennifer had a stew in the oven, so I dropped the polenta in there with it). When it is dry enough for you (I left mine in for 10 minutes), I took it out and cut it into the desired shape.

3. Now, all you have to do is cook the foie gras as I mentioned in the last post, and you are all set.

Put a piece of the polenta down on the plate, top it with the foie gras, and drizzle with the port reduction. Bon Appetit