This week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe (p 194) should have been so simple. Coddled eggs sitting on a little foie gras with some cream, steamed (or oven-baked) for a few minutes. Simple huh?
Well here’s the thing. I’m all for a little bit of foie every now and then but I didn’t want to buy a whole huge slab of it since I am on my own here in Paris. So I found a 40g package at the store but it was something like $7. Which I happen to think is a little excessive (I could buy 2kg of cherries at the market for that same price!). Also, since I only needed a tiny amount (like 10g) for one serving, I just couldn’t justify. Of course I could have eaten the rest, no problem, but I tend to go out for apéro if I’m doing that and I didn’t want it to go to waste – even that tiny amount. So I bought “mousse de canard au Porto“. At a much more reasonable price in a tiny portion as well.
Once I’d figured out my ingredient conundrum, I had another issue. Right now (and perhaps until I head South again at the end of the month) the oven in my apartment is not working. It doesn’t look like it can be replaced, although the new one is sitting on the floor in a box, for whenever they can figure out how to remove the old oven from where it is in the kitchen which is too narrow for it to fit through. I guess they built it in when the apartment was renovated, not thinking about how to get it out (or a new one in) in case they needed to… It’s causing me all sorts of grief actually – I have a bunch of recipes I need to test, and other recipes I am working on that require an oven. Like, these eggs. I would normally coddle an egg in the oven quickly – that’s how I have done them in the past. Dorie’s recipe called for steaming them which would have been fine had I had a steamer. Which I didn’t. Or a ramekin…. I didn’t really want to go and buy ONE ramekin and a steamer so I did a little kitchen hack that I thought would work…
1x chocolate mousse pot
1x wire sieve/ strainer
1x saucepan
1x bowl upturned on top of saucepan (what’s with buying saucepans with no lids?)
Sadly, this was most definitely not a good hack – the glass dish got VERY hot very quickly and my egg was more “cooked” than “coddled” (in a very short amount of time). It did taste good though and I’d make it again – love the idea of the little “surprise” of the foie/ pâté at the bottom and it provided much-needed saltiness. I was thinking as I made this that bacon would have also worked – different texture but similar idea. Next time…
Get the recipe for Dorie’s coddled eggs with foie gras here.
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Bravo for creatively working through your conundrums.
Good luck with your oven. It sounds like the only way the old one is coming out is in pieces!
Good job done even without proper kitchen equipment! Your presentation is picture perfect!
You are a trooper, Mardi! The bacon idea sounds wonderful!!!
I am with you – I’d rather have all of those cherries than a tiny amount of foie gras. I think you did a great job!
Mardi without an oven: une catatastrophe!
I think I’d like these, properly done…
Good troubleshooting skills!
Lots of credit for attempting the recipe under those conditions. At least it tasted good.
Enjoy your time in Paris, wish I was there.
Oh no, that sounds terrible to be without an oven! Then again, I’m guessing that your little Paris appartment is not air conditioned, so maybe it’s all for the best. Way to get creative this week!
You gave it a good try, Mardi! If I had to be without an oven Paris would be the perfect place to be!
Mardi, mousse de canard au porto sounds like a wonderful substitute for the foie gras and your “coddled egg” looks perfect to me – what a lovely presentation!
Hope the weather in Paris is not as warm as it is here!
Andrea
Loved the story. Definitely worth the write-up. When necessary we can be very inventive, I think, and I salute you for your efforts. I wish you had taken a photo of the strainer/saucepan/upside down bowl “look”. I definitely feel your pain with your oven a no-go. My oven went out two months ago – just the temperature guage – but I couldn’t use it. I went flying down to the front office, told them it was an absolute emergency (meaning no more treats for them until the oven is fixed). They had a genius mechanic here in three hours, the part ordered and installed within three days. But, my dear Mardi, I know that’s not how things operate in France. Hang in there until you go South.
So I am not the only battling stove issues 🙂 I looked as the new one sit in place (as we piled things on top of it in the kitchen) for over a month before a gas line was installed to the kitchen. In France, I can only imagine how long that would take. But in France I would be pretty distracted 🙂 Great adventure, great eggs and I look forward to catching up on your trip in France this year- I will definitely be following along.
Good job making it work (mostly…)! I was without an oven for a few weeks a while back, and it was hard! I hope you get your new one soon.
Necessity is the mother of invention. Sorry to hear it was a little over-cooked. I’m waiting to here how (if) the oven gets replaced while you are still there. It must be hard for you not to be able to bake.
What an adventure you’re having!! And I’m glad you liked your creative alterations.
This one wasn’t a big hit, but not bad. It was an interesting method though.