As much as I love to cook, I am always grateful for an invitation to dine in the company of fellow foodies, and in this case Stacey and Eric prepared a delectable meal for a group of six adults and two children: Roast Goose with Cherry Compote, served with Shredded Brussels Sprouts.
The goose recipe was inspired by combining two recipes Eric found online. The goose recipe started by looking to Allrecipe.com, but he replaced the port with red wine, and he choose to give the goose a pre-roast soak in a bring for added flavor. Take a look at this quirky but educational video by Alton Brown to learn all about brinning:

  And one of my favorite things about this meal, serving the goose with a fabulous cherry compote. As stated by Stacey, "I don't usually care for fruit sides but since the cherries were fresh and not a ton of sugar was added, they were very good. I wish I hadn't waited until my last bite to try them". Poor Stacey, at that time they were all gone. The recipe for the Cherry compote was found on SmittenKitchen.com; however fresh, regular cherries were used (not sour cherries). The cherries need to be pitted, so having a cherry pitter is a handy tool for this recipe if you want to keep your cherries whole.

Roast Goose with Cherry Compote

BRINING THE GOOSE
Recipe inspired by Alton Brown

Ingredients

• 1 Gallon vegetable or chicken broth (do not use low or no sodium, you want the salt)
• 1 cup of kosher salt
• 1/2 cup of light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon of whole black peppercorns
• 1 tablespoon whole allspice berries
• 6 bay leaves
• gallon of heavily iced water

Directions

1. Place all ingredients in a large pot and bring to boil, stirring to be sure all ingredients are dissolved.
2. Turn off the heat and let it cool down to room temperature.
3. Place pot in the refrigerate until completely chilled, overnight is best, leaving the lid on the pot.
4. Early the morning you will cook your roast, or the night before, add your brine to a large, clean bucket; then add the gallon of iced-water
5. Breast down, place the goose into the brine and let stand for 6-8 hours in a cool space. If its winter you can leave outside (covered of course)
6. Halfway through the brining process, turn the goose over to ensure the meat is perfectly seasoned

ROAST GOOSE
Recipe by Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1 (10-12 pound) fresh goose, giblets and neck removed
• 3 onions
• 2 stalks celery
• 4 slices French bread
• 2 carrots
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1/4 cup tawny port wine  (we used red wine)
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 cups chicken broth
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Discard loose fat from goose. Remove neck, cut into large pieces, and reserve.
2. Rinse goose inside and out, and pat dry. Pierce skin of goose all over, and season with salt and pepper.
3. Loosely pack neck cavity with enough bread to fill out cavity. Fold neck skin under body, and fasten with a small skewer.
4. Quarter 1 onion and all the celery, and place inside the body cavity of the goose. Tie legs together loosely with kitchen string, or insert legs through slit in lower skin flap.
5. Transfer goose, breast side up, to a rack set in a deep roasting pan.
6. Cut remaining 2 onions and carrots into 2 inch pieces. Scatter onion and carrot pieces, neck pieces, and giblets in roasting pan. Roast goose at 425 degrees C (220 degrees) in the middle of the oven for 30 minutes.
7. Reduce temperature to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Carefully pour boiling water over goose; juices may splatter.
8. Continue roasting goose, skimming off fat and basting with pan juices using a metal bulb baster every 20 minutes. Cook for 2 to 2 1/2 hours more, or until a meat thermometer inserted in fleshy part of thigh registers 175 degrees F (80 degrees C).  When done, the juices should run clear when thigh is pierced with a skewer.
9. Transfer goose to a heated platter. Remove skewer and discard string. Keep goose warm, loosely covered with foil, until ready to serve.

MAKING THE GRAVY

1. With a slotted spoon discard vegetables, neck pieces, and giblets from pan. Spoon off fat from pan juices, and reserve.
2. On top of stove, deglaze pan with white wine and port (or red wine) over moderately high heat; scrape up brown bits.
3. Add chicken broth, and boil mixture until reduced by about half.
4. In a 3-quart heavy saucepan, whisk together 1/4 cup reserved fat and flour; cook roux over moderately low heat, whisking to prevent lumps.
5. Whisk chicken broth mixture into the roux. Bring gravy to a boil, whisking constantly. Turn down heat. Simmer gravy, whisking frequently, for 5 minutes or until thickened.
6. Season gravy with salt and pepper.
7. Transfer gravy to a heated sauceboat.

CHERRY COMPOTE
Recipe by SmittenKitchen.com
Makes 2 cups

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup water

• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

• 1/2 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise

• 2 1/2 cups (1 pound) cherries, pitted

Directions:

1. Combine water, sugar and lemon juice in heavy medium saucepan.
2. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean into saucepan; add bean.
3. Bring to boil over high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Boil until thin syrup forms, about 7 minutes. Reduce heat to medium; add cherries. Stir 1 minute. Simmer for about 3 minutes
4. Cool the compote, then cover and chill until cold.

SHREDDED BRUSSELS SPROUTS WITH CANADIAN BACON
Recipes found on Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound sliced Canadian bacon, or regular bacon if you prefer
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2/3 cup pine nuts
• 2 pounds Brussels sprouts, cored and shredded
• 3 green onions, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt
• pepper to taste

Directions

1. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until crisp. Drain, reserving 2 tablespoons grease, set aside.
2. If using Canadian bacon, let cool and then slice into small pieces or strips; or crumble the regular bacon. Set aside
3. In the same skillet, melt butter with reserved bacon grease over medium heat.
4. Add pine nuts, and cook, stirring until slightly browned.
5. Add Brussels sprouts and green onions to the pan, and season with seasoning salt and pepper.
6. Cook over medium heat until sprouts are wilted and tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in crumbled bacon just before serving.