Reader Requested Recipes - Part II

Happy New Year!  As many of you know, I have been doing a lot of cooking and trying out recipe variations over my winter break, and I am glad that so many of you have asked for the recipes.  As it is 10 degrees outside, I am going to post three of those recipes today - under separate Blog posts. I'm sure not going anywhere! It's too cold! This first one is a great appetizer/entertaining recipe that is wonderful with cocktails and contains Bourbon - one of my favorite ingredients!  The other two dishes are just perfect for the weather we are having now - rich, cheesy, spicy and comforting.

Recipe:  Bourbon Chicken Liver Pate'

(adapted from epicurious)

Ingredients

One stick of unsalted butter

One cup of finely chopped onion

One large garlic clove, minced

One quarter teaspoon dried thyme

One quarter teaspoon dried majoram

One quarter teaspoon dried sage

Three quarters teaspoon Kosher salt

One quarter teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

One eighth of a teaspoon of ground allspice

One pound of chicken livers, trimmed (make sure all of the sinewy bits are pulled off)

Two tablespoons of Bourbon

A one cup or two 1/2 cup ramekins or Welke Jars

Technique

Melt the butter in a large non-stick skillet over moderatly low heat, add the onion and garlic and stir it until they are softened.  This will take about five minutes.  Add all of the herbs, the salt and pepper, the allspice and the chicken livers.  

Cook the mixture until the livers are cooked outside but still pink on the inside.  This will take about eight minutes.  Be careful to keep the livers pink inside; you don't want them overcooked.

Stir the Bourbon into the mixture and remove the pan from the heat.  Let it cool a bit.

Puree the mixture in a food processor until it is smooth.

Transfer the mixture to one or two ramekins or jars -whatever you are using.  Smooth the top.

Chill the pate' for at least two hours or more before service.

Serve with toasted baquette slices or crackers.

Note:  You can keep the pate' up to two weeks if you top each ramekin with a "seal" of clarified butter.  Use Ghee or make your own and pour enough over the top of the pate' to cover the top.  Put it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes until the clarified butter has solidified, then cover tightly with plastic wrap.  This process will definitely preserve the pate'.  I just never have to preserve it because it is gone pretty quickly!

Enjoy!