Cooking Class: Foie Gras PB&J at The Twisted Frenchman
Cooking Class visits the kitchens of area restaurants, whose chefs share their popular recipes.
Andrew Garbarino fell in love with French cuisine during family visits abroad as a child. It inspired him to become a chef and is the impetus behind his restaurant, The Twisted Frenchman, at 128 S. Highland Ave. in East Liberty.
“The ideology behind French food is that it should be beautiful and well-balanced, with great attention to detail,” says Garbarino, formerly of Spoon and Il Pizzaiolo and a 2009 graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. “The French believe every meal should be enjoyed as if it were your last meal.”
While Garbarino has created a fine-dining destination with a sophisticated, seasonal menu featuring truffles, foie gras, smoked salmon and duck, he strives to cultivate a relaxed ambience by adding elements of tableside whimsy.
“We pay attention to all the steps of service for fine dining but with a casual feel,” Garbarino says.
One cured-salmon entree with roe and “everything bagel” is served on a marble slab under a dome filled with smoke. “The smoke dissipates when the server lifts the lid, but leaves an essence of smoke, enough to perfume the salmon,” he says. “That little bit of theatrics makes it fun.”
Garbarino personally serves the chocolate mousse dessert over which he pours liquid nitrogen to freeze the surface to a hard crust. “It intrigues the senses with more of a texture than anything else,” he says. “When I shatter the crust, there's this wonderful, fluffy mousse underneath.”
Menu starters include foie gras with onion-raisin marmalade, pheasant consomme with duck confit and tartare with burgundy truffle, escargot caviar and foie gras pate. One of Garbarino's personal favorites is a dish featuring pickled, roasted, fried, powdered and raw beets.
Entrees include Bordeaux-marinated duck, Elysian Fields lamb-wrapped lamb-chop and ricotta and truffle agnolotti. A vegetarian dish can be custom-prepared.
The restaurant seats 32 and the decor is simple, save for a 15-foot-long colored-glass ceiling sculpture crafted by local artisans. Walls are a tranquil shade of blue, and dried-flower nosegays are suspended over linen-clothed tables.
“We wanted a space that wasn't overpowering,” says Garbarino, a Johnstown native now living in East Liberty. “The art here is the food.”
Window seating is often reserved for guests indulging in the eight-course chef's tasting and wine pairing, or the 14-course chef's table that is a 3 1⁄2-hour event.
“It makes for something memorable,” says Garbarino, “a true night out on the town.”
Deborah Weisberg is a Tribune-Review contributing writer.
Foie Gras PB&J
One of the Twisted Frenchman's most popular dishes is foie gras — the liver of a specially fattened duck — served on brioche with pine-nut butter and onion-raisin marmalade. Chef Andrew Garbarino calls it an adult PB&J.
“The liver has a super-buttery deliciousness,” he says. “The dish gives you sweet, salty and savory all in one bite.”
The key is to not overcook the liver, Garbarino says. “It's a matter of timing. You want to quickly pan-sear the liver to a nice roasted color and then turn it over and let the oven finish the work, which will take three to five minutes.”
“When done, the liver should be tender and have a springy touch.”
Garbarino suggests ordering foie gras from D'Artagnan's website or calling the restaurant because he usually has extra. He recommends buying brioche from La Gourmandine in Lawrenceville.
4 slices (2 ounces each) foie gras
Canola oil
Brioche
Chives, for garnish
For the onion marmalade:
2 medium-size red onions, finely diced
1⁄2 cup golden raisins
1 cup red wine
1 cup red-wine vinegar
1⁄2 gallon water
Salt, to taste
For the pine-nut butter:
2 cups pine nuts, toasted in oven until deep golden brown
Oil, if needed
Salt
To prepare the onion marmalade: Place all marmalade ingredients into a pot and set on stove top. Cook on low heat until the mixture starts to acquire a jamlike consistency. Stir to ensure it isn't sticking to bottom of pot. Cooking should take upward of 2 hours.
To prepare the pine-nut butter: Blend in food processer. If oil is needed, add very small amounts at a time.
Season with salt.
To prepare the foie gras: Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Cook the livers in canola oil in a very hot pan for about 90 seconds, then place in the oven for 3 to 5 minutes. Remove and place on a sheet-tray to cool.
Cut brioche into 2-inch by 3-inch rectangles and toast in the pan's foie gras fat.
Spread toasted brioche with pine-nut butter. Place livers on top of brioche, and spoon marmalade on top of livers. Garnish with sprigs of chives.
Makes 4 servings.
