Foie gras and caviar are pure elegance. Even though I serve this stuff daily, I personally can’t get enough. It’s not something that you sit around and eat every day, of course. It’s pricey.

The first time I ever ate caviar was when my father ordered it at a restaurant in San Francisco. I remember him eating it and just grinning. I’ve been hooked ever since. I bought my dad a tin of Petrossian Beluga for his birthday. It set me back a pretty penny, but it’s his most favorite food in the world. Besides, if it weren’t for him and my mom, I wouldn’t be doing what I do. What do you get the man who has everything? A tin of caviar.

The best way to experience caviar is cold with a spoon and a glass of champagne. Nothing more, nothing less. Okay, maybe a little bread and unsalted butter. And never ever chopped eggs, onions or capers - it just obliterates the taste. You pay good money for this, why adulterate an already fine flavor? The very best I’ve had is the fabulous Golden Oscietre - the eggs are bigger and have a slight golden tint to them than regular Oscietre. They have that great “pop” sensation on the roof of your mouth - that’s one characteristic of caviar that we are seeing less and less of. If you have the opportunity to try it, I heartily recommend you do so.

Foie Gras is comfort food. You put it in your mouth and it just melts. It’s a treat and about as far away from the liver of “liver and onions” fame as you can get. I’ve been cooking it for a long time and am happy to see its renewed popularity on restaurant menus. Cooking foie gras is not what you think it would be. When you put it in the pan or on the grill, it’s firm. The more you cook it, the softer it gets. When it’s just right, it’s a silky plump pouch, exactly the opposite of what happens when you cook a steak, which gets firmer as you cook it.

The best way to cook foie gras is sautéing, which doesn’t add any additional flavors. It’s just the simplicity of the seared meat that’s accented with a little kosher salt and pepper that makes foie gras so delicious to me. Foie gras is pure magic

I’ve categorized these as indulgences not because of their hoighty toighty history, but because they are a little more expensive and they are a treat. They feed something deep inside you besides a hunger pang. That, to me is the definition of indulgence - a once in a while experience one shouldn’t pass on. (more)