Foie Gras "Black & Whites"

Ingredients

Vanilla Half:
3 oz foie gras, deviened and divided into small pieces (grade B is fine)
3 egg whites
½ tsp demi-glace (duck or chicken stock will do in a pinch, though)
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp Kosher salt
six to eight grinds of black pepper, to taste

Chocolate Half:
4 Grade A foie gras medallions, about 3/4 inch thick, slightly larger around than the size of a ramekin
3 oz 70% dark chocolate
Flaky sea salt (preferably Maldon)
Pepper, fresh ground

Sauce, etc:
2 tbl unsalted butter, chilled.
1/2 cup of diced seasonal fruit - raspberries, strawberries, figs, and apples are all very complimentary.
1/3 cup Marsala

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Method

Note: you will want to make the foie gras the night before serving, or the morning of, as it requires long (at least 12 hrs) refrigeration time.

Vanilla Foie:
Whip egg whites into a foam. Add remaining ingredients and put in blender until homogenous - about two minutes. Don't use a food processor for this or it will break down the egg whites too much. Pour in 4 ramekins. Oven bake in water bath at 250F for 40 minutes. Refrigerate until set.

Choco-Gras:
Pack foie gras into ramekins and let chill in the refrigerator, covered with plastic wrap, at least 1 hr.
Melt chocolate in double boiler. Unmold foie gras, sprinkle with pepper and fry over very high until both sides are seared and cooked about halfway, about one minute per side. Be careful it doesn't shrink too much - you want it to retain it's circular shape. Place medallions on a chilled dish and quickly apply a light coat of melted chocolate over the top of each. Sprinkle with sea salt. Refrigerate at least twelve hours, uncovered, allowing the chocolate to harden.

Finish:
Melt one tbl butter over medium-high heat. Add fruit and sautee until nicely carmelized and softened but not completely broken down. Set fruit aside. Deglaze pan with Marsala. Reduce by about 1/2, maybe a bit more, until it starts to become a little syrupy. Add chilled butter and whisk hard to emulsify. Take off heat.

Service:
A half-hour prior to service remove the foies from the refrigerator and allow them to come to just below room temperature. Carefully unmold vanilla foies by running a knife around the edge. You can place the ramekin in a shallow pan of hot water for a second or two to loosen if you need.

Slice all the foies in half. Place one half-circle of each foie on the plate, forming a circle. The chocolate foie may have shrunk a bit during cooking, so trim the vanilla foie to match if you're a stickler for presentation. Drizzle a circle of warm Marsala sauce around each. Divide the fruit among the plates.