Happy New Year everyone! Sorry it has taken so long to make a new posting on the blog. Even though the Winter season of The Baker’s Market was over the mayhem of Christmas took up a lot of time.
Like we promised here are some more recipes which we hope you’ll try. If you received a jar of The B.O.M. over the holidays here is a Chicken Liver Pate recipe that you can serve as an accompaniment. Some people find that liver is unpalatable because of its strong flavor. The liver-y flavor was mild in comparison to other pates that I’ve had. I’m not sure if it is because I used chicken livers or because of the amount of butter I used.
It’s rather strange that a pate, a dish that is considered to be so refined is made from a so called meat “by-product”. I know that I didn’t know how to appreciate such things when I was younger, but I’m glad I came around.
Once again I used my trusty skillet to tackle the job of browning the livers in some butter.
I couldn’t resist leaving all those tasty brown bits in the pan. So I deglazed it with a bit of brandy and scraped off what I could.
Everything went into the food processor for a spin.
Everything blended together.
Then it was all pushed through a sieve to achieve a silky smooth texture.
I didn’t think it through too well when I packed the pate in a tupperware container and put it in the fridge. When I went to see how it turned out the next day it turned out to be a big gray block. wonk wonk…
So i left the pate out for a little while to soften so that I could re-pack it. I need to think of a better way of doing this the next time I decide to make a pate.
I thought it would be nice if a garnish on the pate. So I lined the inside of a small jar and a ramekin with some saran wrap and placed two bay leaves at the bottom of both.
Again, it would’ve been much easier to pack the pate into the dishes immediately after passing it through the sieve while it was still soft and pliable. Oh woe, the trials and errors of cooking…
After another night in the fridge I unmolded one of them. All those little imperfections would’ve been avoided had I put it in the ramekin in the first place. If you try this make sure to use an extra large sheet of saran wrap. Mine was tearing a little making it a rather difficult to take it out of the ramekin. If you want make this without a lot of fuss just serve it in the ramekin. Kinda looks like cat food, but I assure you that it was delicious.
I served this with some brioche toast points and Balsamic Onion Marmalade. I put the other container in the freezer and brought it to our family Christmas dinner a few weeks later.
Hope some of you give this a try!
Chicken Liver Pate
Serves 6 or more
1lb Chicken livers, rinsed and pat dry
1 cup Butter, divided
2 Tbsp Brandy
1 pinch Nutmeg
2 tsp Salt or to taste
1 tsp Pepper
Instructions:
In a skillet melt 2 Tbsp butter over medium heat. Add Chicken livers in an even layer and fry both sides until golden and cooked through. Livers should still be pink inside.
Transfer livers directly to food processor. Then deglaze skillet with 1 Tbsp Brandy and transfer mixture to food processor along with remaining butter, brandy, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Blend until smooth
Pass the pate through a fine mesh sieve. Discard remnants in the sieve then spread the pate evenly into ramekins then chill overnight. Bring to room temperature before serving.
