It's been ridiculously busy on our end. We're patiently (well, I'm not the patient one) waiting on the building of our home. Our closing date was supposed to be March 1, however we were informed that we're about second in line for the framing to get done on our house, meaning they're running a month or so behind. It's been brutally cold this winter, even worse than it usually is and that's why they're running behind on everything. It's just too hard for people to go out and build shit in this cold, apparently. The only thing I wish this cold would do is push some of the trash that doesn't belong here out of the oil patch.. Hey, I can dream, can't I??
Mom called a couple weeks before Christmas and told me she decided she's not cooking for the 24th and that we were all supposed to figure out some sort of app or hor d'oeuvres to bring. I got super excited (love you Pinterest!! XOXOX) and decided I was going to make two things... I was going to make pizza balls, because who doesn't like pizza? And then I wanted to make some pâté that I had found a recipe for, again, on Pinterest which then linked me to this lovely little site.
Pâté is one of those things that you either love or hate. I really enjoy it, which is strange because a month before I made this pâté I was freaking out because I was making chicken and dumplings for my darling boyfriend and he had talked me into getting the one chicken that was less expensive. Everything was the same as the other thing on the chicken I usually buy. Buy it, he says. It's the same, he says. Everything was great until I unwrapped the chicken and went to give it it's little chicken bath... And I saw why the chicken was cheaper. It still had it's little giblets, or whatever they're called, and the neck on them! Me: [listen here]. I had no idea what to do!! My knife wouldn't scrape it's little kidneys and what not off of his body cavern and what the hell was I supposed to do with that neck? I told my mother I was thankful I didn't grow up when she did when I'd have to buy the chicken at the store and clean it out myself.
Ugh.
Anyway, I drag Brent to the store with me in search of my ingredients and he keeps mentioning I'm going to be eating something from inside of a chicken that I wouldn't clean out when cooking the whole body. Clearly he doesn't understand. Someone already pulled these out of the chicken for me. Duh.
So, here's what you'll need:
1 pound chicken livers
6 tablespoons butter at room temperature, divided
2 slices bacon, chopped
1 cup chopped shallots (about 4 small shallots)
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and chopped into 1/2-inch cubes
1 tablespoon sage, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
1/4 cup apple brandy or bourbon
1 teaspoon salt
Pepper to taste
2 tablespoons - 1/4 cup clarified butter, melted (optional)
Thyme and sage sprigs (optional)
Sliced baguette, crackers or mini toasts, for serving
First, rinse the livers and trim them of any excess fat (I kept telling myself I was trimming fat from dark meat so I wouldn't get queazy). Store them in the fridge for the time being. To get a milder flavor, soak your chicken livers in milk for a few hours or overnight.
Melt 2 tbsp of butter in a large skillet and cook that bacon up, stirring occasionally, until it starts to brown on the edges.
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| Cooking bacon in butter. Powla Deen, Y'owll! |
Add your garlic and shallots and cook until shallots are soft and browning on the edges.
Add the livers, apples, sage and thyme and cook, stirring occasionally, until the livers are just barely pink inside and the apples are soft. Honestly, the livers cooked super fast so I didn't notice any "pink" on the inside.
Brent came home about this time. He said he could smell it in the hallway and as he was walking down the hall to our apartment was saying, "Please don't be my home.. Please don't be my home.." I got shit for the food smell for a week. He refused to try the finished product at my parent's to protest the smell. What a brat. It really wasn't that bad. I really think that cooking in an apartment intensifies any food smells because you really cannot vent anything out.
Transfer the liver mixture to the bowl of a food processor. Pour the booze into the pan and scrape up any browned bits that may have stuck to the skillet. Let it boil for one minute to reduce some and then pour over the liver mixture in the processor bowl then add your salt. Process the mixture until very smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
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| At this point I gagged and wondered why I was doing this. |
Transfer the mixture to a bowl and mix thoroughly with the remaining 4 tbsp of butter (I'm not gonna lie... I just threw it in after I was done processing everything. No point in dirtying another bowl).
Package into small jars or ramekins, smoothing the top with a spoon or spatula. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it against the top of the pâté.
For longer storage, pour enough clarified butter to cover the top of each ramekin and add a decorative herb sprig. Chill until butter is firm and cover with plastic wrap or a lid. For best flavor, refrigerate at least overnight before serving. I really did make my own clarified butter!
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| Ooh! Fancy! |
Let soften at room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving with crackers or baguette slices. Pâté will keep refrigerated for up to one week, or up to two weeks with the clarified butter seal.
I'm really glad I made this! It was a huge hit and even people who didn't like pâté all that much enjoyed it! And my dad LOVED it. He asked if he could keep the second jar there to eat. Brent wouldn't eat it so of course I left it there.
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| Thanks for being my hand model, Rod! |
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