This recipe uses beef tenderloin and pairs beautifully with the figs.
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 tbsp. pink peppercorns, coarsely cracked*
- 1 tbsp. green peppercorns, coarsely cracked*
- 1 tsp. salt
- 2 – 2 1/2 lbs. premium beef tenderloin, center cut, tied
- 6 whole fresh figs, cut in half
- 16-18 small shallots, peeled
- 1 cup ruby port
- 1/4 cup fig balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp. fresh thyme, minced
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, cold, cubed
- salt and pepper (freshly ground)
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Rub 1 tbsp. olive oil, cracked pepper and salt over the tenderloin.
Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil in an ovenproof medium sized skillet on high heat. Sear the meat on all sides for 1 minute per side. Transfer to a plate and cover loosely with foil.
Using the same skillet, add 1 tbsp. olive oil and sear the fig halves for 2 minutes per side until caramelized. Remove and reserve with the tenderloin.
Again, using the same skillet (one pan meal?) add 1 tbsp. olive oil and add the shallots, cooking for 8-10 minutes until soft. Add the port, balsamic vinegar, thyme and bring to a boil.
Place the tenderloin on top of the shallots and set the figs around the tenderloin. Place in the middle of the oven and cook for 50-65 minutes or until desired doneness. For medium-rare, bring the internal temperature to 140 F degrees or if to a medium doneness, 160F degrees.
Remove the tenderloin and figs and tent with foil. Bring the remaining sauce to a boil and reduce to 1/2 cup. Whisk in the butter and lightly season with salt and pepper. Slice the tenderloin in 6 pieces and plate each one equally with figs and shallots and spoon the sauce over the tenderloin.
OMG! This is so tasty. You will want to run out and buy another tenderloin to repeat this.
* to coarsely crack the peppercorns, use a mortar and pestle or if you don’t have one, place in a plastic bag and use a rolling pin.
Cheese And Ham Tartlets
This is an easy recipe because you can use the frozen unbaked tart shells. Okay, sometimes I cheat….just a little.
- 2 cups grated Swiss cheese
- 2/3 cup finely chopped cooked ham steak, fat removed
- 1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- pinch of salt and pepper
Combine the cheese, ham, shallots and sour cream in a medium bowl and mix really well. Add the salt and pepper.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Arrange the tart shells on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven.
Evenly distribute the cheee mixture in the shells and return to the oven and bake a further 10 minutes (until the cheese mixture is hot right through and the cheese is melted.
Serve warm. There won’t be any leftovers, I promise!
Chicken Liver Pate With Brandy
This recipe is a great go-to when you are preparing a gathering of the clan or some kind of special celebration. Read it, try it and become the “star” hostess. When you add a decoration set in the butter topping, you will get oooohs and aaaahs and you can say to yourself “damn I did this”.
- 3 tbsp. butter, plus an extra 1/4 cup for sealing in the pate
- 1 cup finely chopped shallots
- 1 tbsp. finely chopped garlic
- 1 tbsp. fresh thyme, finely chopped
- 3/4 tsp. allspice
- 3/4 cup brandy
- 1 1/4 lbs. chicken livers, rinsed
- 2 tsp. sugar
- pinch of salt
- 3 tbsp. heavy cream
Heat 3 tbsp. of butter in a saute pan and saute the shallots, garlic and thyme until the shallots are translucent (about 4-5 minutes). Do not brown.
Add the allspice and brandy to the pan, reducing until the brandy thickens slightly (about 40-45 seconds).
Increase the heat to medium and add the chicken livers. Saute until the livers are cooked on the outside but still pink on the inside (about 5 minutes). Do not cook through all the way.
Immediately scrape the liver mixture into a food processor, add the cream, sugar, salt and puree until smooth. Scrape this into a 1 1/2 cup ramekin or pretty bowl. Place the edible flowers in a pretty pattern or herb leaves on top of the pate.
Melt the remaining butter and let it the milk solids settle. Skim the froth off the top and discard. Pour the clarified butter over top, covering the design. Set in the fridge until it becomes solid. Cover with plastic wrap, letting it sit for a day or two for the best flavours.
This will keep for a week…..but trust me, you won’t have any leftovers. This pate will serve 6.
Crispy Potato Cakes (Rosti) with Lemon Cream
This is a great Hors d’Oeuvres. In fact, for our dinner on Saturday, we will be serving these. I promise, we will take pictures. These are soooo tasty, my mouth is watering.
- 2 tbsp. butter, divided
- 2 shallots, chopped really fine
- 2 large, new baking potatoes, coarsely grated
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
Heat 1 tbsp. of butter in a skillet, add the shallots and cook until soft. Add the potatoes, stirring until the mixture becomes quite sticky. Set aside and cool.
Shape the cooled mixture into small rounds with wet fingers and flatten slightly. Melt the remaining butter and add the rounds, cooking until brown on both sides.
Serve warm with the Lemon cream.
Lemon Cream With Chives
- 4 oz. cream cheese
- 2 tbsp. sour cream
- grated lemon rind
- 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
- 1 tbsp. chopped fresh chives
Beat the cheese and cream until completely smooth. Add the grated rind, lemon juice and chives, mixing well. Place a dollop on each of the potato cakes. Serve warm.
in a word….YUMMY!
Duck Terrine
We have had a couple of requests for this recipe. Trust me, it takes a long time but you will never taste anything better. (Actually 3 days) Read through first.
Serves 10-12
Terrine:
- 1/3 cup milk
- 2 Moulard duck breasts (1 3/4 -2 lbs total)
- 4 tsp. kosher salt
- 1 tsp. ground black pepper
- 1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
- 1/4 tsp. ground allspice
- 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
- 2 tbsp. Port (amber)
- 1 tbsp. brandy
- 1/2 cup whipping cream
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup shelled pistachios
Freeze milk in a shallow dish, scraping once or twice with a fork to break up the crystals until completely frozen. This should take about 1 hour. Remove the skin and any fat with your fingers. When needed, use a knife.
Set a medium bowl inside a larger bowl filled with ice and water under the grinder to catch the meat, then feed only the meat through a second time, adding spoonfuls of the frozen milk as you go. Chill and cover with plastic wrap, in the fridge.
Using the same method, feed the duck skin with fat through twice then add to the duck meat and leave the bowl in the larger bowl of ice.
Add the remaining terrine ingredients and mix with your hands to combine well. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 8 hours.
Glazed Shallots.
- 1 1/2 cup dry red wine
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
- 1 thyme sprig
- 1/2 bay leaf
- 1/2 lb. small shallots, peeled and trimmed
Bring the ingredients to a boil in a 1 quart saucepan stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Add the shallots (whole) and cover the surface with wax paper and simmer vigorously until tender (about 45 minutes). Transfer from the cooking liquid with a slotted spoon to a bowl and discard the sprig of thyme. Boil the liquid until it is about 1/3 cup. Pour over the shallots and cool.
Line and bake the terrine
Set the rack in oven to the middle and preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line the bottom and all sides of the terrine pan with proscuitto, overlapping the edges slightly and be sure to leave about 2 inch overhang on the long sides. Rub some of the duck mixture on the proscuitto to ensure the rest with stick to it and pack in two thirds of the remaining duck.
Make a trough down the middle with the back of a spoon. Gently push the drained shallots pointed end down in the trough. Pack the balance of the duck mixture on top and bring the overhang of proscuitto over the top (add more if you have to). Wrap in a double layer of tin foil. Rap the mold sharply on the counter to compact the mixture.
Bake the terrine in a water bath for about 2 hours. Remove the foil and cook on a rack for half an hour.
To weigh the terrine, place in a clean baking pan and place a piece of parchment paper on top. Place a piece of wood or cardboard the exact size of the terrine that has been wrapped in foil on top and add a couple tins of soup. Chill this now for about 4 hours. Continue to cool without the weights for at least 24 hours to allow the flavours to develop.
Serving
Run a knife around the edge of the terrine and let stand in about 1 inch of hot water to loosen the bottom for about 2 minutes. Tip the terrine, making sure you have a hand on the top, to drain excess liquid; reinvert on a cutting and with a paper towel gently wipe the excess liquid off the Proscuitto. Let stand for about 30 minutes then cut into 1/2 inch slices and serve on plates that have been drizzled with the wine syrup.
This will keep well if wrapped in plastic and kept chilled for about 1 week.
Oh yeah, read this through first and loudly proclaim “damn, I can do this!”
Trout with Calvados Cream Sauce
- This can be an elegant main course or, if smaller portions made, can be used as an appetizer.
You will need:
- 3 tbsp. unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup findly diced shallots
- 2 tsp. fresh thyme, finely chopped
- 2 tsp. fresh garlic, finely chopped
- 3/4 cup Calvados
- 1 cup whipping cream
- salt and white pepper to taste
- 4 trout fillets, skinned and boneless
- lettuce of your choosing
In a small saucepan, melt 2 tbsp. of the butter, along with the shallots, thyme and garlic and cook until the shallots are transparent.
Add Calvados and reduce by half, add cream and cook until a light sauce consistency is achieved (about 6 minutes). Season lightly with salt and white pepper.
While sauce is reducing, melt the other tbsp. of butter in a non-stick fry pan. Sear trout in butter until golden brown on one side. Be sure to place the right side up in the butter first (the no skin side). Brown this for about 3-4 minutes and turn over and cook for 4 minutes. This will vary if the salmon is too thick.
On a pretty dinner plate, place your lettuce, trout on top and divide the sauce over the 4 fillets. Truly amazing main course.