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DEL.ICIO.USTerrine Talk
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ABOVE: The ham knuckle and foie gras terrine at Posh. Is it still on the menu?
Photo: Charlotte B. Teagle/AJC Staff
Before the Napoleon, nay — before the stack — there was the terrine. Yes, that classic, alluring layering of silky meats and pate (and sometimes vegetables, though the latter is rarely silky).
It’s the stuff culinary school legends are made of. Line a pullman-like loaf with a little pork fat, layer it with some meaty yummies, and voila — you’ve got a terrine. Like so many items that are the showcase of garde manger (the “keeper of cold foods” in the traditional French kitchen), the terrine has taken its hits over the years, showing up on the menus of only the most accomplished — or overreaching — kitchens.
A new cookbook focuses on the tertiary tact of the terrine, from French chef and restaurateur Stephane Reynaud, who stormed the culinary world last year with his incredible bible of butchering, “Pork and Sons.”
With “Terrine,” Reynaud brings terrines of all sorts, including desserts (strawberry and mint, apples in Calvados, diplomat pudding) and cheese (gorgonzola, mascarpone and nut terrine) in addition to the more traditional offerings of meat, fish and vegetables.
In some ways, the book is a tome only a culinary school super foodie can appreciate. It doesn’t exactly offer the kind of recipes Aunt Marge will cook up for the next family picnic.
But like “Pork & Sons,” “Terrine” is brilliant in it technique and approach, offering straightforward explanations in each recipe, as well as a gorgeous photo illustration. “Terrine” will be available in May from Phaidon Press for $29.95.
Like its sister chaud froid in the cold meat room, terrines don’t often show up on menus. The last time I remember trying on was at Posh, in Buckhead, which was serving a terrine of ham knuckle and foie gras that was a salty mass of ham surrounding smooth pate, with smears of lovely pea puree and walnut oil. There was a clumsiness to its presentation, but I remember enjoying it very much.
Have you tried a terrine somewhere? What was it like?
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