Prepare a stock with 2 quarts of water, the diced onion and carrots, the bouquet garni, the duck necks and the calf╒s tails. Season with salt and pepper and cook for 3 hours. Remove the meat bones and set aside. Prepare the sauce: reduce the wine, the Cognac and the port down to 1/2 a cup. Add the veal stock and reduce by a quarter. Add the cream and reduce again by a quarter. Check the seasoning. Place the duck and veal into the sauce. Dice the foie gras into 1/3 inch thick cubes. Prepare a potato purÄe in the usual way, by boiling the potatoes in salted water, putting them through a food mill and mixing them with the butter and the cream. Spread a layer of mashed potatoes in the base of 6 individual earthenware dishes. Cover with a layer of meat sauce and foie gras and top with another layer of mashed potaoes. Sprinkle the surface with bread crumbs and bake the shepherd╒s pies for 40 minutes in a low oven (250F). Serve hot.
