That's what was for dinner. The recipe is based on the one from _Odd
Bits_ by Jennifer McLagan which calls for calf's liver but lists pork,
lamb, or chicken liver as alternatives. I used duck liver and goose
fat. I also used the zest from a quarter of an orange, not from a whole
one as called for in the recipe. That much orange zest would overwhelm
the dish, I think. These were the only changes I made. The dish was
rather good, with unusually flavoured sauce. This is going to be one of
the alternatives to liver with beetroot sauce (I posted a recipe
before).

Victor

Liver with Dubonnet and Orange
Serves 4

Today English cooking is getting more respect than it has for a long
time, but the renaissance didn't start with Nigella, Jamie and Gordon.
Margaret Costa was one of England's great cookery writers. In 1965, she
took over from the colourful Robert Carrier at the /Sunday Times/.
Later, she published her book /Four Seasons Cookery/ and ran a
restaurant with her husband, Bill Lacey, in London during the 1970s.
The recipe is a version of one of the most popular dishes at her
restaurant; it makes it worth adding Dubonnet to your liquor cabinet.

1 orange
2 tablespoons flour
Coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
About 17 1/2 ounces / 500 g calf's liver cut into 1/2-inch- / 1-cm-thick
slices
3 tablespoons duck fat or lard
2 shallots, finely sliced
1/2 cup / 125 ml red Dubonnet
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

Preheat the oven to 200°F / 100°C. Place a serving dish in the oven.

Finely grate the zest from the orange, then squeeze 2 tablespoons of
juice; set the zest and juice aside separately.

Put the flour in a shallow dish and season with salt and pepper, then
dip in the liver to coat lightly, shaking off the excess.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the fat in a large, heavy frying pan over
medium-high heat. When the fat is hot, add the liver in a single layer,
in batches if necessary, and cook until you see beads of blood on the
top surface of the liver, 45 seconds to 1 minute. Turn an cook on the
other side for about 30 seconds, or until you again see the blood beads
form. Transfer the liver to the warm serving dish in the oven and turn
the oven off.

Wipe out the pan, place over medium heat, and add the remaining fat.
Add the shallots and cook until just beginning to soften. Pour in the
orange juice and Dubonnet and deglaze the pan, using a wooden spoon to
scrape up the bits from the bottom. Boil until reduced to about 1/4 cup
/ 60 ml, then add the zest and parsley and pour the sauce over the
liver. Serve immediately.

"Victor Sack" > wrote in message
...
> That's what was for dinner. The recipe is based on the one from _Odd
> Bits_ by Jennifer McLagan which calls for calf's liver but lists pork,
> lamb, or chicken liver as alternatives. I used duck liver and goose
> fat. I also used the zest from a quarter of an orange, not from a whole
> one as called for in the recipe. That much orange zest would overwhelm
> the dish, I think. These were the only changes I made. The dish was
> rather good, with unusually flavoured sauce. This is going to be one of
> the alternatives to liver with beetroot sauce (I posted a recipe
> before).
>
> Victor
>
> Liver with Dubonnet and Orange
> Serves 4
>
> Today English cooking is getting more respect than it has for a long
> time, but the renaissance didn't start with Nigella, Jamie and Gordon.
> Margaret Costa was one of England's great cookery writers. In 1965, she
> took over from the colourful Robert Carrier at the /Sunday Times/.
> Later, she published her book /Four Seasons Cookery/ and ran a
> restaurant with her husband, Bill Lacey, in London during the 1970s.
> The recipe is a version of one of the most popular dishes at her
> restaurant; it makes it worth adding Dubonnet to your liquor cabinet.
>
> 1 orange
> 2 tablespoons flour
> Coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
> About 17 1/2 ounces / 500 g calf's liver cut into 1/2-inch- / 1-cm-thick
> slices
> 3 tablespoons duck fat or lard
> 2 shallots, finely sliced
> 1/2 cup / 125 ml red Dubonnet
> 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
>
> Preheat the oven to 200°F / 100°C. Place a serving dish in the oven.
>
> Finely grate the zest from the orange, then squeeze 2 tablespoons of
> juice; set the zest and juice aside separately.
>
> Put the flour in a shallow dish and season with salt and pepper, then
> dip in the liver to coat lightly, shaking off the excess.
>
> Heat 2 tablespoons of the fat in a large, heavy frying pan over
> medium-high heat. When the fat is hot, add the liver in a single layer,
> in batches if necessary, and cook until you see beads of blood on the
> top surface of the liver, 45 seconds to 1 minute. Turn an cook on the
> other side for about 30 seconds, or until you again see the blood beads
> form. Transfer the liver to the warm serving dish in the oven and turn
> the oven off.
>
> Wipe out the pan, place over medium heat, and add the remaining fat.
> Add the shallots and cook until just beginning to soften. Pour in the
> orange juice and Dubonnet and deglaze the pan, using a wooden spoon to
> scrape up the bits from the bottom. Boil until reduced to about 1/4 cup
> / 60 ml, then add the zest and parsley and pour the sauce over the
> liver. Serve immediately.


This sounds fantastic.

Christine Dabney > wrote:

> I had asked Bob T about her other book, Bones. I am wondering about
> getting this book, Odd Bits, and based on this and a few other recipes
> I saw from it, I think I will. I really like her book Fat...

_Odd Bits_ is a good book, written by an author who writes well and who
has obviously read some of the previous books on the subject. All the
recipes seem to be good and I just wish there were more of them.

Victor