Two of my most favorite people to dine with and/or cook for are Simon and Sybil. This is the Simon Majumdar of the doshermanos blog (see my links) and the Simon who is about to publish an extraordinary book Eat My Globe: One Year to Go Everywhere and Eat Everything
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Eat-My-Globe-Every…6772&sr=8-1
Cooking for Simon is a bit daunting as he knows good food plus asks excellent questions as to preparation. It is also a joy to cook for him because he is so appreciative and recognizes the effort it takes to produce a good meal. Sybil is equally wonderful in that despite her petite frame, she relishes every bite and eats with the gusto of someone 4 times her size.
Simon has already written up the goose dinner here:
http://www.doshermanos.co.uk/2009/01/herma…ose-caviar.html
Of course, I have a couple of additional comments. One of the joys of cooking goose is the incredible goose fat that you get.
I was unhappy that the stuffing wasn’t livery enough since one of the key ingredients in the stuffing is the goose liver from the bird.
This is the all the liver I got from a 12 pound Goose
Yes, I have emailed the president of the company to complain. I did speak to him today. His explanation is that they dump all the insides, then package them separately, some livers “don’t make it” and I should be glad that I even got one liver. Personally, I feel that the package should say one lobe of liver, not from that bird. Those of us who spend 4 days making a stock deserve that. He did say I could special order next year, but what about the dinner that was less than what I expected this year?
The name of the company is:
Schiltz Foods, Inc
7 West Oak Street
Sisseton, South Dakota 57262
E-Mail: Jim Schiltz
Phone: (605) 698-7651
Fax: (605) 698-7112
Schlitz sells young goose livers. I wonder if this is where some of my goose liver went?
From their web site:
Young Goose Livers
At last, Animal Friendly, All Natural Goose Livers are Available! All our goose livers are from geese raised in an animal friendly environment with no force feeding. From left to right: standard goose liver, standard goose liver with no antibiotics administered, Grade 2 Natural Fatty Goose Liver that is fattier than standard goose liver, and Grade 1 Natural Goose Liver that is the fattiest liver we were able to make under natural conditions.
My argument with Schliltz is that it markets geese with the giblets. In fact, I called Schlitz to verify that the liver is included and I was assured of course. I just don’t think a 1.3 ounce cleaned lobe of liver qualifies as of course you get the goose’s liver. The giblets were huge, but the liver tiny. I just question where those goose livers advertised on their site came from. At the very least, Jim Schiltz could have sent me a 2 pound package of goose liver ($16.00) as a good will gesture, apologize and I just might have ordered another goose.
A GOOD FARMER
Dominic Palumbo is a true farmer who is completely dedicated to the task of raising animals the way it should be done. He doesn’t ship, but you won’t get the mass produced “You are lucky to get one liver stuff!” He was kind enough to spend almost 30 minutes with me on the phone – a complete stranger – and was wonderful. I highly recommend you visit him.
http://www.greenpeople.org/webpage.cfm?mem…inthepond%2Ecom
I did post the roast goose recipe on this site:
https://lizziee.wordpress.com/category/reci…stnut-stuffing/
Even though you don’t get much meat from Goose, we did have enough for a re-run. The most the time-consuming part of the recipe is the sauce, but it is worth it.
You will have to look at Simon’s site for the pics of the finished product, but here is the recipe for the cheesecake.
The Cheesecake recipe:
Prepare the pan – use a 9” springform pan. Lightly butter the sides and bottom. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and lightly butter the parchment. Cut the excess parchment off (after closing the sides of the pan.) Line the exterior of the pan with tin foil to prevent leakage.
Chocolate Cookie Crust
11 Oreo cookies (finely ground in the cuisinart)
3 Tablespoons butter, melted
In a small bowl, stir together the ground Oreos with the butter. Press crumb mixture evenly onto the bottom of the pan, best done using the back of a spoon. Make sure the entire bottom is evenly covered.
Place the prepared pan in the refrigerator to chill.
Banana Rum Filling
Make sure that the cream cheese and eggs are at room temperature.
24 ounces cream cheese
¾ cup sugar
5 teaspoons cornstarch
3 eggs
1 egg yolk
3 tablespoons crème de banana (Dekuyper brand)
3 tablespoons white crème de cacao
3 tablespoons light rum
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
In a large bowl combine cream cheese and sugar. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth. You must stop the mixer at least 3 times, scrape the bowl, scrape the beaters and re-mix. It is very important to have a smooth batter. Add cornstarch and banana puree and mix some more. Again, you must stop the mixer 2 times to insure a smooth batter with no lumps.
One at a time, add eggs and egg yolk, beating well after each addition. The trick here is to incorporate each egg, but not to overbeat. You don’t want to have an airy batter. After you have added 2 of the eggs, stop the mixer and scrape. Do the same thing (scraping) after the last egg and egg yolk.
Combine liquers and vanilla and beat into mixture. Pour the cream cheese mixture over the crust.
Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Lower the temperature to 225 and bake for 1 hour or until the center no longer looks wet or shiny. The center will jiggle.
Remove the cake from the oven and run a small spatula around the inside edge of the pan. VERY IMPORTANT – this prevents cracks.
Turn the oven off; return the cake to the oven for an additional 30 minutes. Chill, UNCOVERED, overnight.
The next day, place in the freezer and freeze until solid. Then unmold the cheesecake, wrap in saran wrap and freeze until needed.
Bottom line – I have to figure out another good meal for Simon and Sybil.
Refined Palate 