I had no time to blog for probably a month or so and I want to wrap up 2008 before I go on into 2009…
Our New Year’s eve had a traditional component – a roasted Goose, a festive, fatty, deliciously smelling Goose (with a capital G) with apples and cranberries which are the staples of the season.
{sprinkle goose with salt and pepper and roast in a dutch oven for 2 hours at 400F, pour off the fat leaving a thin layer on the bottom, lift the goose and place apples, cranberries, sugar, black peppercorns and cloves on the bottom, put the goose back and brush it with cranberry gelee and roast with the lid off for another 20 minutes or so until the skin is crispy and golden brown}
When I unpacked my Goose I discovered it had all sorts of things inside it and they weren’t in a bag (like gizzards usually are) and I thought to myself “great…they didn’t clean it inside and now I have to do it myself” but after a closer observation I discovered, to my surprise, only three components – neck (which would be good for a sauce or stock), liver and some other un-identified organ which I discarded. The liver was a nice surprise and gave me an instant solution for my first course – liver pate (genius, I know…). Making pate (on an amateur spare of the moment no recipe required way…) is incredibly simple – melt some butter in a pan, grate in a shallot and sprinkle with some salt – saute the liver (duck, goose, chicken etc…); deglaze the pan with a tiny splash of cognac or brandy (I used Calvados) add it to the liver; puree with a tiny bit of cream and let chill (if too runny, use some gelatin).
I served mine with some fleur de sel, pink peppercorns, toasted sourdough and strawberry-ginger preserves – yum!
Last but not least was THE cake, a chocolate-hazelnut cake that turned out just unbelievably good!
So a sweet and yummi year is practically guaranteed :)
