RECIPE: Foie Gras Bouchees

Foie Gras in Puff Pastry Bouches
Makes 18

2 9” x 12” sheet puff pastry
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 anjou pear
1 cup framboise liqueur
½ block rougie foie gras

Pour the framboise into a high walled saucepan. Bring to a boil. Be careful and stand back, the liqueur might ignite it the walls of the saucepan aren’t high enough. But, if it does, just let the alcohol burn off. Lower heat to a simmer and reduce to 1/4 cup.

To make the bouches, place puff pastry on cutting board. With 1 ½” biscuit cutter, cut 18 rounds and place on a baking sheet. Cut another 18 rounds then with a ¾” biscuit cutter or apple corer cut the center out of the rounds to make rings. Place the rings on top of the rounds and press together. Brush the pastry with egg wash. Prick the center, not the rings, with a fork all over it. Place the baking sheet in refrigerator. Preheat oven to 400 F. Once it reaches temperature, place the baking sheet in oven for 10 minutes. Take out of the oven. Reduce temperature to 350 F. Pierce the center again with a fork and push the center down. Place back in the oven for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel and core the pear. Slice into 1/8-1/4” pieces. Cut rounds with the small biscuit cutter or the apple corer. Take the baking sheet out of the oven and push the pear rounds into the center of the puff pastry bouches. Place back in the oven for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, slice the foie gras into thin slices and cut into rounds with the small biscuit cutter or the apple corer. Take the bouchees out of the oven and place the foie gras rounds on top of the pear. Place on serving platter. Drizzle with framboise syrup. Serve.

RECIPE: Pate with Fig Puree

Pate with Fig Puree
Makes 36

36 Mini toasts
1 block Rougie Foie Gras
3 tablespoons Fig Puree

Place the mini toasts on serving platter. Slice the foie gras thinly, about 1/8” thick, into squares that will fit onto the mini toasts. Place squares of foie gras onto the mini toasts. Drizzle 1/4 teaspoon of fig puree on top of each foie gras mini toast. Serve.

RECIPE: Roast Pears

Roast Pears

RECIPE: Roast Goose with Pears

Alsatian Goose with Pears
Serves 6

1 12-pound goose
Salt
Pepper
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 orange, sliced
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
8 Pears, peeled, each cut into quarters
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
6 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 cup William Pear Liqueur
2 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon flour

Preheat to 325°F. Remove giblets and neck from cavity. Pull out any lumps of fat. Using a sharp fork, pierce the skin of the goose all over. Place the fork almost parallel to the skin so the skin, not the meat is pricked. Rinse goose inside and out; pat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle inside and out with salt, pepper, and 1 teaspoon ginger. Make a few slits in the skin place garlic slices into slits. Place the carrots, onion, and celery into the body cavity. Truss the bird. Place goose on rack, breast side up, in large roasting pan. Place the orange slices on top of the bird.

Roast goose 1 1/2 hours, basting occasionally with drippings and remove some of the excess fat that has dripped down; reserve 6 tablespoons fat. When the wings begin to brown, cover with tinfoil. Turn goose over, breast side down. Cover the wings with tinfoil. The roasting pan will have accumulated lots of fat; spoon the fat into a metal bowl and reserve. Roast another 1 1/2 hours until a thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 175°F. Let rest, covered, for 10 minutes. The temperature will increase to 180°F.

Meanwhile prepare the pears so they can be roasted with the goose for one hour. Toss pears and lemon juice in large bowl. Pour 6 tablespoons goose fat into large baking dish. Place the pears in baking dish and toss with fat. Add sugar, 1/2 cup liqueur and remaining ginger to pears; toss. Bake pears alongside goose until very tender and golden, about 1 hour. Spoon the pears into a serving dish with a slotted spoon to reserve as much liquid as possible. Pour liquid into a saucepan, add stock, remaining liqueur. Bring to a simmer and reduce by half a cup. Sprinkle in flour while whisking and continue to cook a few more minutes so it is slightly thickened. Serve goose with caramelized pears.

RECIPE: Christmas Ham

Glazed Ham Recipe

EVENT: Fall Salads Update

Hello Everyone,

The Fall Salads Round up will be a bit delayed. My husband suddenly had to be rushed to the hospital last week. We just found out that he has diabetes. So I have not been able to keep up with the blog at all as you can see. I also have been taking care of my two sick children, bronchitis and ear infection. And then of course, I got a fever and a bad cold and a sinus infection so I am trying to crawl out from under it all.

I am very excited to go through all the recipes and do the round up but it will take a couple of days. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

xo Gabriella

EVENT: Fall Salads At Reluctant Housewife

The chill is in the air. Well maybe not in Southern California on most days. But I do remember the bliss of putting on a warm, thick sweater a pair of jeans and going for a nice walk in the country or down the streets of New York City to meet up with some friends for brunch on the weekend.

I know that many of us had fun with the Summer Salads at Reluctant Housewife - and the three large recaps: Round Up1 Round Up 2 Round Up 3 a few months back and wanted to bring us all together to share some of our favorite Fall Salads.

If you would like to participate in this event please email me at: msgabriellatrue @ aol dot com by Sunday, December 3 with the following information and I will post a round-up a few days later. Within your blog, please be sure to include a link to My Life As A Reluctant Housewife and this Fall Salads Event within your entry.

The name of your recipe
- The permalink URL of your ice cream entry
- Your name
- Your blog’s name
- Your blog’s front page URL

. Thanks!

RECIPE: Berry Smoothies

Berry Smoothies

2 cups Berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries)
1 cup soy milk or milk
2 teaspoons lavender honey
3 bananas
Garnish with mint

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Process until smooth.

Tip: It is really refreshing to used frozen berries and bananas. If you have bananas and/or berries that are starting to get a little old, simply place them in Ziploc bags and freeze. This way there will be no waste and they will already be frozen.

Reluctant Housewife Recipes
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