Quick Chicken Liver Pat

J

joe

Well-known member
I had guests coming for lunch last week and some chicken livers defrosted--I read Julia's recipe for Chicken Liver Mousse but ended up just winging it because I was in a hurry. I hope I can duplicate it because it was really good.

Cooked a big handful of chopped onion in a little butter until transparent, added about 1-1/2 cups chicken livers and tossed over high heat until slightly browned Added salt, pepper and tarragon. Poured in some dry white vermouth and let it cook down--by then the livers were just cooked, still a little rosy inside.

Off heat, added 4 Tbs. butter and let it melt. Pureed the whole mess in the processor with a dallop of sour cream, poured in a bowl, and chilled until firm. (I put it in the freezer and stirred it a few times to hurry it along.)

This is really a mousse and not a paté, but when I offered it to one of the guests she thought I had said "moose." The look on her face was priceless.

 
Tooooo funny! We used to have an awesome French restaurant on the beach that served

the most awesome liver pate; about year 1970. They (Careless Navigator) closed and I've never had it since, but I still remember, it made that much of an impact on my taste buds!

 
here's another: Poor Man's P

i've made this several times and it always goes over well.

Poor Man's Pâté De Foie Grassize
by Morrison Wood

1/2 lb. liverwurst sausage
1 3-oz. pkg. cream cheese
4 tbsp. mayonnaise
1/3 cup cream
1 tbsp. melted butter
1/2 tsp. curry powder
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp. dry sherry wine
1/4 tsp. each salt and pepper .
Tiny pinch cayenne pepper
Tiny pinch grated nutmeg

With a fork mash and blend the sausage, cream cheese, mayonnaise, and cream. Then add the remaining ingredients, blending everything thoroughly (an Osterizer electric blender does the job perfectly). Let chill in the refrigerator before serving.

I might say, due to the difference in curry powders, that you should start with 1/4 teaspoon of curry powder, and taste. If necessary, add a little more, pinch by pinch, until you have the right effect. The curry powder should not be discernible, as such.

At La Maison Wood, when we dine en famille, we always have two cocktails apiece an hour or so before dinner. With the cocktails we sometimes munch on a few nuts, sometimes on a little garlic cheese or anchovy cheese, (these are packaged commercially, and are really excellent) spread on crackers, and sometimes on our .own special canapés. They are the most taste-teasing, tantalizing, and terrific canap6s I have ever tasted (I know I'm immodest, but please forgive me). But one needs real will power to keep from devouring several, and thereby spoiling one's dinner. Take my advice, and don't make more than three apiece.

 
Dried, but I wouldn't argue with fresh. The tarragon is from a later Julia recipe...

in "The Way to Cook" which also calls for gelatin and cottage cheese. Her original buttery recipe from "Mastering" is the one I winged, but it calls for thyme and allspice. I prefer the tarragon.

 
Oh good, my tarragon is always in abundance even after the

friggin deep freeze we just went through. I'm always looking for ways that I can sneak it in. OK, John is not crazy about it but I have learned that he doesn't HATE it, just not in huge amounts. I love growing it because it is so pretty with yellow flowers. I think it's interesting that most herbs you need to pinch off any flowers so it doesn't go into seed but doesn't matter with tarragon. It is a wimpy herb though...whines and droops when it is hot until it gets water but also did that with the freezer blast we just had. Wimp!

P.S. Please no one point all my whining a few days ago.

 
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