Chicken Liver Pâté

This is a great pâté and one of my favourites. Its great with toast, crackers or melba toast.

We would often have "Dip" parties - everyone would bring a dip and a bottle of wine and we would spend a great evening!

I know some people are scared of liver, or dislike the taste but they should give this a try!

Ingredients

1kg of chicken livers ( washed, trimmed and cleaned)

some olive oil,

1 tsp fresh rosemary, very finely chopped

1tsp sage very finely chopped

zest of one small orange,

2 cloves garlic, crushed,

salt and pepper to taste

100ml of brandy,

100ml of red wine,

250g of butter,

2 bay leaves.

About 8 bacon rashers (fry - or grill - and put on paper towels to remove the oil. Don't let the bacon crisp however, it has to be cooked just enough)

Method

Fry the chicken livers in the olive oil, and add the herbs, orange zest and garlic.

Do not over fry or the livers will get tough. they should be brown on the outside but left pink inside.

Season, remove from the pan and put into a blender

Put the pan back heat and pour in 100ml of brandy, 100ml of red wine, and bring to the boil, stirring and scraping any residue from the sides.

Pour this into the blender along with 200g of butter and process until smooth.

Line a terrine with the cooked bacon strips

Pour the pâté into a suitable terrine and decorate the top with a bay leaf or two, a couple of sprigs of rosemary and some curls of orange zest.

Melt 50g of butter very gently over a low heat – do not allow it to bubble – and carefully pour the clear part of the butter over the top of the pâté, making sure all is under a thin layer of clarified butter.

Leave it to cool, and then put it in the refrigerator, covered with a lid or foil.

You can turn it out to serve, it looks rather pretty - or else just leave in the terrine.

Bollito

Boiled meats...hmmmm....doesn't sound very appetizing but when accompanied with Mostardo di Cremona it is a unique and really good dish - as well as being dead easy to make!

I first tasted it in Lugano, the Italian part of Switzerland. We bought the mostarda the first time then made it ourselves!

The variety of meats used is important because each compliments the other, producing the unique concoction.You should include beef, veal, pork, chicken, tongue, zampone or cotechino, and feel free to add whatever other cuts of meat you feel might work. The pieces should be from older animals, because they will be more flavorful, and should also be large - this means that a good bollito misto is ideal for a convivial meal with friends, or for when you want to make something that will provide leftovers for several meals. In terms of cooking technique, preparing a bollito misto is extremely simple.

Bollito =Boil - and that’s it!

INGRIDIENTS

2 1/4 pounds beef -- the cut used in Italy is shoulder; beef brisket should do

2 1/4 pounds neck or breast of veal

1 lb lean pork

1 veal's tongue, weighing 1 1/4 pounds

1 chicken, weighing about 2 1/4 pounds

1 cotechino weighing about 3/4 pound (pork sausage, available in Italian delicatessens.You can also use a zampone, which is a stuffed pig's trotter.)

2 carrots

2 sticks celery

2 onions, stuck with 2 cloves each

Salt

METHOD

Cut meats into large chunks

Fill a large pot with water sufficient to cover the meat.

Lightly salt the water, add the vegetables, bring the water to a boil before adding the beef (the heat will seal in its juices).

Reduce the flame to a simmer, and after about an hour, add the breast of veal, pork and chicken

In the meantime, set a second pot of lightly salted water on the fire, bring it to a boil, and begin simmering the tongue when you add the veal and chicken to the beef.
If you are using a fresh cotechino or zampone set it in a pot of cold lightly salted water at this time (prick the cotechino all over, or loosen the string of the zampone first) and begin simmering it. If you instead buy precooked sausage, follow the instructions on the package. The meats will be done when they are fork-tender, this will take about an hour or slightly more from when you add the veal and the chicken to the beef.

This should be served with Mostarda di Cremona (see recipe) boiled potatoes or other vegetables and Italian-style bread.

Mostarda di Cremona is what most Italians think of when they hear the word mostarda. It has a very particular taste but can end up being really addictive. Mostarda is a must with Bollito

Ingredients:

12 ounces (300 g) pears

8 ounces (200 g) quinces

6 ounces (150 g) cherries

8 ounces (200 g) apricots

10 ounces (250 g) figs

8 ounces (200 g) peaches

3 tablespoons powdered mustard seed

3 1/2 cups (800 g) sugar

2 cups white wine vinegar

Preparation:

Wash and Dry the fruit and cut in quarters.
Heat about a quart of water in a large pot, and when it begins to simmer slowly stir in the sugar. When it has all melted, add the quinces.

Simmer 20 minutes, then add the pears.

Then the peaches, apricots, and cherries & figs, at five minute intervals.

When you've added everything, simmer the mixture for 10 minutes, then turn off the flame and let it cool.
In the meantime, heat the vinegar, and stir in the mustard, then let the mixture cool.
Transfer the fruit from the syrup to sterile jars with a slotted spoon. Mix the syrup and the vinegar mixture, pour the resulting sauce over the fruit, seal the jars, and store them in a cool dry place.

Serve with the bollito!