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Saturday, January 24, 2009

ESCARGOT



Escargot is a dish of cooked land snails, usually served as an appetizer. The word is also sometimes applied to the living snails of those species which are commonly eaten

It is known that escargot are sea snail and have existed as a culinary item since ancient times.[3] A number of archaeological sites around the Mediterranean have been excavated yielding physical evidence of culinary use of several species of snails utilized as escargot.[4] The Romans, in particular, are known to have considered escargot as an elite food, as noted in the writings of Pliny. For example the species Otala lactea of edible snails has been recovered from Volubilis in present day Morocco.[5] This archaeological recovery is from an era of Roman Empire occupation of this provincial capital, which site was known to embody a very highly developed ancient civilisation
Preparation

Escargot cooked with garlic and parsley butter in a shell (with a €0.02 coin as scale)
Escargot cooked with garlic and parsley butter outside of its shellIn Western Culture, typically the snails are removed from their shells, gutted, cooked (usually with garlic butter or chicken stock) and then poured back into the shells together with the butter and sauce for serving, often on a plate with several shell-sized depressions. Additional ingredients may be added such as garlic, thyme, parsley and pine nuts. Special snail tongs (for holding the shell) and snail forks (for extracting the meat) are also normally provided.

Foie gras

Lets talk about FOIE GRAS.........................
Foie gras (pronounced /fwɑːˈgrɑː/ in English; French for "fat liver") is a food product made of the liver of a duck or goose that has been specially fattened. This fattening is typically achieved through gavage (force-feeding) corn, according to French law,[1] though outside of France, high quality product has also been produced using natural voluntary feeding. Pâté de foie gras was formerly known as "Strassburg pie" in English due to that city being a major producer of this food product.[2]
Foie gras is one of the most popular and well-known delicacies in French cuisine and its flavour is described as rich, buttery, and delicate, unlike that of a regular duck or goose liver. Foie gras can be sold whole, or prepared into mousse, parfait, or pâté (the lowest quality), and is typically served as an accompaniment to another food item, such as toast or steak.
Cold preparations
Traditional low-heat cooking methods result in terrines, pâtés, parfaits, foams and mousses of foie gras, often flavored with truffle, mushrooms or brandy such as cognac or armagnac. These slow-cooked forms of foie gras are cooled and served at or below room temperature.

Hot preparations
Given the increased internationalization of cuisines and food supply, foie gras is increasingly found in hot preparations not only in the United States, but in France and elsewhere. Duck foie gras ("foie gras de canard") has slightly lower fat content and is generally more suitable in texture to cooking at high temperature than is goose foie gras ("foie gras d'oie"), but chefs have been able to cook goose foie gras employing similar techniques developed for duck, albeit with more care.