February 29
Gioacchino Antonio Rossini's Birthday
 

Rossini was the nineteenth century equivalent of the Beatles. His music completely swept both Europe and America unlike any other composer who had ever lived and there was Rossini-mania everywhere. Even today more Americans are acquainted with Rossini' s music that that of any other operatic composers' since the producers of the radio and subsequently television versions of The Lone Ranger used the overture to his last and now seldom performed opera, Guillaume Tell (William Tell), as its theme song.

Rossini was one of most prolific composers in history, and wrote thirty-nine operas, many of which were turned out in a few days. When it was reported that his masterpiece, Il Barbiera di Siviglia, was written in less than three weeks, his fellow composer Donizetti, remarked, "but then Rossini always was lazy."  He was so successful that he was able to go into semi-retirement with essentially financial independence at age thirty-two and stopped composing operas at thirty-seven after completing Guillaume Tell, the reasons for which remain a mystery.

  

Gioacchino Antonio Rossini


Rossini 's brilliant success provided him with the opportunity of indulging in his passion for  food. When he moved to Paris in 1823, Rossini quickly established himself as one of the great epicureans of the city. His lavish presents to the great Parisian chefs soon prompted many them  of the to the create of many classic dishes named after the composer, including Tournedos Rossini,  Poularde a la Rossini, Ris de Veau Rossini, etc. All of these dishes have a common garnish of croutons, foie gras, and truffles, and are served with a Madeira sauce.

There is some controversy over who created Tournedos Rossini. The great chef Escoffier is sometimes credited with the dish.  However, there is more evidence that suggesting  that they are the creation of Modeste Magney who owned the popular Restaurant Magney in the rue Mazet in the Latin Quarter. The Restaurant Magney was frequented by most of the French literary and artistic society, including Flaubert, George Sand, Gautier, Turgenev, and the Goncourt brothers. There is also a tornado alla Rossini (a round slice of steak, cooked in a casserole with ham, mushrooms, parsley and lemon) which is a provincial dish from Pesaro, Italy, Rossini' s birthplace.

Tournedos are small, circular slices of beef tenderloin weighing between 3-1/2 and 4 ounces. Tournedos measure about 2-1/2 inches in diameter compared to the filet mignon which averages about 2 inches. Tournedos Rossini ware featured in the 2007 film La Vie en Rose as the dish that Édith Piaf (brilliantly portrayed by Marion Cotillard) ordered on her first date with boxer Marcel Cerdan (Jean-Pierre Martins), in lieu of of the pastrami sandwiches that Marcel initially ordered.

Don't serve Tournedos Rossini if you invite Pope Benedict or Roger Moore (the former James Bond) over for dinner.  They are just two of the thousands of officials and celebrities who have spoken out against the cruelty of the forced feeding of ducks and geese to produce foie gras (French for "fat liver). Thee forced feeding is effected by  inserting a tube into their throats twice a day and partially cooked corn is pumped down the esophagus. Foie gras production has been  outlawed in the U.K., Germany, the Czech Republic, Finland, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark, and Israel. In 2004, California passed a law banning the sale and production of foie gras effective in 2012. The Chicago City Council banned the sale of foie gras in April, 2006 over the objections of Mayor Richard Daley who called the ban "silly" and said that it made Chicago "the laughingstock of the nation." Daley was finally successful in having the ban overturned in May, 2008.
 
Tournedos Rossini
 

Ingredients
 

6 tournedos, 1" thick
6 slices white bread, 1/4" thick, cut into 2-1/2" circles
6 slices canned foie gras, 1/2" thick
6 slices of truffle
I tsp cornstarch

* See Appendix A

4 TB Madeira
4 TB brown glace de viande*
8 TB unsalted butter
2 TB peanut oil
salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

 


Instructions
 

  1. Sauté bread in 4 TB butter on both sides in a skillet over medium heat until browned into croutons. set aside.

  2. Marinate foie gras in Madeira and glace de viande in a covered pan for 1 hour.

  3. Warm 1 TB oil and 4 TB butter in skillet over moderate heat. When foam subsides. sauté each tournedos 3 to 4 minutes per side (3 minutes = rare /4 minutes = medium rare). Remove from heat. salt and pepper to taste. Place on a warm platter and place in a warming oven.

  4. While sautéing tournedos, place pan containing marinade and foie gras over low heat and bring to a simmer. Remove foie gras and place on a warm platter in a warming oven.

  5. Mix cornstarch and 2 TB of marinade. set aside. Pour remaining marinade in sautéing skillet and bring to a boil, scraping up bits of meat left from sautéing tournedos. Add cornstarch mixture and simmer for 1 minute. Salt and pepper to taste.

  6. On a fresh heated platter, arrange croutons. Place tournedos over croutons and top with foie gras slices. Pour sauce over slices and place a sliced truffle over foie gras slice and serve immediately.

Serves 6