Seared Foie Gras with Peaches and Red Onion Compote

  

  
Sometimes, the best part of cooking isn't the cooking, or even the tasting, it's the laughing.  Yes, taking on a gourmet menu with intricate sauces and foreign ingredients will force you to grow as a craftsman.  Tasting dishes in their new and succulent combinations will allow you to grow your palette.  But, cooking also allows you to grow your relationships.  In some ways, the food doesn't matter, it's about the human connections you share and foster.  On the other hand, cooking special food and serving it in a special setting shows people that they are important to you, and that new and exciting experiences can occur together.  So it was when I hosted a dinner party with friends and colleagues.  The food was great, all recipes from the San Francisco chef Gary Danko.  The ingredients were over the top.  I believe one should never eat foie gras more than once a year.  But the most rewarding part for me was hearing the laughter, the uproarious, lusty, throaty laughing emanating from the dining room as I plated dishes, the cheers and by now running jokes as we progressed through the courses.  
     
That was the reason I prepared the dish below, and the several recipes which will follow in future posts.  The picture above is from a dish served at the restaurant (mine of course looked exactly the same ;) ), and the recipe came from the Gary Danko online site.  On the dinner party preparation, to avoid feeling more like a harried line cook than a host, think about preparation timing and what can be made in advance.  Here, I made the onion compote the day before and reheated it when the guests took their seats.  The sauce I made in the morning and rewarmed it starting in the evening before the guests arrived.  And the peaches I prepared in the afternoon, and rewarmed them in the same pan as was used to sear the foie gras as I plated the compote and foie gras.  Serves 6.
    
Ingredients:
3 lbs red onions, peeled and thinly sliced
2 tbsp butter
2 cups chicken stock
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
3/4 tsp dried thyme
4 tbsp honey
1 tbsp shallot, minced
2 tbsp cognac
1 cup + 3 tbsp orange muscat dessert wine, such as Essensia
4 tbsp honey
4 tsp sherry vinegar
2 cups veal stock
2 tbsp olive oil
2 large peaches, pealed and cut into wedges
1 lb foie gras sliced into finger-width slices
baby mixed greens
     
Directions:
Prepare the compote by melting the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the onions, chicken stock, vinegar, thyme, honey and salt.  Stir occasionally, turning down the heat if needed to avoid browning the onions.  Cook until the onions are cooked down and finally are caramelized, perhaps 30 minutes.  Add more stock if needed as the onions reduce.  Prepare the sauce in a saucepan over high heat, combine the shallot, cognac, wine, honey, vinegar, and veal stock.  Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to a simmer until reduced by half.  Strain and season to taste, keeping warm in the pan until needed.  Prepare the peaches by heating a non-stick saute pan over medium high heat with 2 tbsp olive oil.  Sear the peaches until golden-brown on both sides, a few minutes each side.  Remove to a bowl.  Prepare the foie gras with a saute pan over medium-high heat.  Add the foie gras and sear until golden brown.  Take care to not over cook the foie gras, which will cause it to melt and start loosing its shape.  Remove rendered fat from the pan with a paper towel if needed.  Turn the foie gras and press down if needed to achieve a sear on the other side.  Remove and drain on paper towels.  Return the peaches to the pan and rewarm.  Plate by first laying down a portion of the compote, then laying 5 or 6 of the peach slices next to each other beside the compote.  Lay a piece of foie gras partially on both.  Place a small portion of the greens beside the compote, opposite the peaches.  Spoon sauce an top of the foie gras and peaches.  Serve.