Greetings Ian;

Thanks for posting your pate recipe a while back. I like the kind of
recipes that aren't too precise and therefore I don't feel guilty about
modifying them to my taste the first time round. :>)) In the case of your
pate, I only veered to the extent of deglazing the pan with a smallish touch
of Amontillado after the sautéing process.

The result is just the kind of pate I really prefer.... light, smooth,
slightly pinkish and subtly flavoured. This goes under the heading of
keeper.....
--
Many thanks
Chuck
So much wine; So little time!

To reply, delete NOSPAM from return address

Chuck, would you post that recipe as I cannot locate.

dick

"Chuck Reid" > wrote in message
...
> Greetings Ian;
>
> Thanks for posting your pate recipe a while back. I like the kind of
> recipes that aren't too precise and therefore I don't feel guilty about
> modifying them to my taste the first time round. :>)) In the case of
your
> pate, I only veered to the extent of deglazing the pan with a smallish
touch
> of Amontillado after the sautéing process.
>
> The result is just the kind of pate I really prefer.... light, smooth,
> slightly pinkish and subtly flavoured. This goes under the heading of
> keeper.....
> --
> Many thanks
> Chuck
> So much wine; So little time!
>
> To reply, delete NOSPAM from return address
>
>

Sure Dick;

Ian's Pate;

(Sauté chopped onions and garlic in butter with a faggot of herbs, add
tidied up livers, cook on high heat three mins until coloured on outside,
pink inside. Remove herbs, scrape rest into blender, cool a bit then whiz
adding remainder of butter (start with half weight of livers, and use 1/4 of
that for frying). Season carefully, and add a good dollop of brandy. Tip
into dish and allow to set, before covering with clarified butter.

I modified the recipe to the extent of using one shallot with the onions and
garlic because I had one left and it needed using; a "faggot" of fresh
thyme only; deglazing the pan with Amontillado after the sautéing; adding
a bay leaf to the top as decoration in the melted clarified butter.

Shared it with family and friends at yesterday's Thanksgiving dinner and
couldn't resist it this morning on a bagel for break fast. Yum Yum.

Salut/Hi Chuck Reid,

le/on Mon, 13 Oct 2003 09:46:03 -0400, tu disais/you said:-

>Ian's Pate;

I suppose I'd better post the "real" recipe, if only to give credit where
credit is due.

----- Now You're Cooking! v5.62 [Meal-Master Export Format]

Title: Pate Maison (Chicken Liver)
Categories: french, offal, poultry, starters
Yield: 8 servings

225 g chicken liver
112 g butter
1 md onion; finely chopped
1 sm bouquet garni
1 garlic clove; finely chopped
1 seasoning
1 tb brandy
1 clarified butter; to cover

Chop the onion and garlic finely and soften in 1/4 of the butter until
just turning colour. Add the liver, herbs (bay, thyme parsley) and
seasoning and fry together over highish heat for about 3 minutes. The
livers should be well stiffened and slightly coloured, without
becoming leathery. Cool a little then chop very finely, or mince if
the quantity is large. (I do this in a blender - IMH). Pass through a
fine sieve (not if blended) and work in remaining butter, well
creamed (in blender, just add and whirl a bit). Add the brandy, check
the seasoning and then fill into a china pot. Smooth over the top and
cover with a layer of clarified butter.

Recipe "Cordon Bleu cookbook" Hume & Downes
Mmed IMH c/o Golam BBS Fido 2:320/116.14

-----

--
All the Best
Ian Hoare

Sometimes oi just sits and thinks
Sometimes oi just sits.

Sojourner > wrote in
:

> Hello Ian,
>
> You wrote:
>
>>I suppose I'd better post the "real" recipe, if only to give credit
>>where credit is due.
>>
>>----- Now You're Cooking! v5.62 [Meal-Master Export Format]
>>
>> Title: Pate Maison (Chicken Liver)
>>Recipe "Cordon Bleu cookbook" Hume & Downes
>>Mmed IMH c/o Golam BBS Fido 2:320/116.14
>
> Thanks for that. Approximately a month ago, shortly before my last
> expedition to Burgundy, you mentioned having bought a shoulder of pork
> at your local market with the intention of making a humungous amount
> of terrine. While accepting fully that this is the wine NG and not
> any of the food ones, I wonder whether you'll be good enough to post
> the recipe either here or in e-mail? I love a good terrine but
> haven't yet managed to make one.
>
> Regards,
>
> John
>
> To reply by e-mail, remove the obstruction from my address
> Si vous souhaitez répondre par e-mail, enlevez l'obstruction de mon
> adresse
>

make that 2

On Mon, 13 Oct 2003 23:04:30 +0100, Sojourner
> wrote:

>Hello Ian,
>
>You wrote:
>
>>I suppose I'd better post the "real" recipe, if only to give credit where
>>credit is due.
>>
>>----- Now You're Cooking! v5.62 [Meal-Master Export Format]
>>
>> Title: Pate Maison (Chicken Liver)
>>Recipe "Cordon Bleu cookbook" Hume & Downes
>>Mmed IMH c/o Golam BBS Fido 2:320/116.14

Food? At first I thought this was about a bald spot on Ian's head, and
now it begins to look like a discussion of a small furry canine?

Seriously though, we've been doing a wonderful quick pate with chicken
livers for years. Quick saute chicken livers, place in a blender warm
then add about two sticks of melted butter, a dollop of cognac and
maybe a sprig of fresh parsley. Chill and enjoy.

>Quick saute chicken livers, place in a blender warm
>then add about two sticks of melted butter, a dollop of cognac and
>maybe a sprig of fresh parsley.

Ed - good quick recipe. but I use a shot of Calvados - the flavour works very
well with the pate, and grind coarse peppercorns on top.

Salut Ian;

I really liked the more free form version :>)) Gives me lots of room to
swing my elbows.
--
Regards
Chuck
So much wine; So little time!

To reply, delete NOSPAM from return address

"Ian Hoare" > wrote in message
...
> Salut/Hi Chuck Reid,
>
> le/on Mon, 13 Oct 2003 09:46:03 -0400, tu disais/you said:-
>
> >Ian's Pate;
>
> I suppose I'd better post the "real" recipe, if only to give credit where
> credit is due.
>
>

Salut/Hi Chuck Reid,

le/on Tue, 14 Oct 2003 09:59:12 -0400, tu disais/you said:-

>Salut Ian;
>
>I really liked the more free form version :>)) Gives me lots of room to
>swing my elbows.

I guessed that might be your response! Makes no odds to me if anyone wants
to very/improve/play with any recipes I post, though when it's a recipe of
my own, I'd prefer it if people would try it _exactly_ as writ just once.
The terrine that John and Josh have asked for the recipe of is a case in
point. I've been fiddling with this for about 6 years now, first getting
the types and proportions of the meats right to my taste, then the
seasonings and finally the texture. I'm pretty happy with it now, and all I
ask is that if anyone passes it on as "Ian's", they respect the recipe as
it is - by all means adding "Chuck's comment - add more pepper and use
cider insteads of wine " or whatever.

The only point I get twitchy about is if I post a recipe for a great
classic. As I said one in another place "You can cook shoe leather in axle
grease if you like, and call it what you like. BUT if you post the recipe
under the name of "Coq au Vin", I will point out that with neither cock nor
wine, it _isn't_ "Coq au Vin"." So if I post a recipe for a great classic
dish, if you don't want to try it unchanged, fine, but don't call it by the
classic name.

Anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed my "free form version."


--
All the Best
Ian Hoare

Sometimes oi just sits and thinks
Sometimes oi just sits.

Salut/Hi John,

le/on Mon, 13 Oct 2003 23:04:30 +0100, tu disais/you said:-

>Thanks for that. Approximately a month ago, shortly before my last
>expedition to Burgundy, you mentioned having bought a shoulder of pork
>at your local market with the intention of making a humungous amount
>of terrine.

Yes, it was for a club to which I belong and it was their "start of the new
year" party.

> While accepting fully that this is the wine NG and not any of the food ones, I wonder whether you'll be good enough to post
>the recipe either here or in e-mail?

I don't think with the [OT] flag anyone minds the odd really good recipe.
As it happens, I made it again last week to eat today, though in smaller
quantities.

> I love a good terrine but haven't yet managed to make one.

First rule, get decent quality pork (not those obscene battery farmed
things sold off cheap).

Second rule. Don't skimp on the fat. Like decent sausages, terrines _must_
have a modicum of fat. My recipe is right at the lower end of what's
acceptable.

Third rule. Watch out for the texture. If the ingredients for a terrine are
"worked" together too much they turn into a wodge, and make a heavy
terrine. When I mix seasonings etc, I do it with a chef's fork.

Fourth rule. To avoid over workng, while keeping uniform seasoning. Powder
all the initial flavourings with the salt, in a coffee grinder, and
sprinkle over the _mixed cubed meats_. Mix very thoroughly and THEN mince.

These rules apply to all terrines with some texture, rather than smooth
pates like the chicken liver one.

OK, here's the recipe. It's long, but not particularly hard to do. I use
the coarse blade on the kenwood mincer (single pass) to mince the meats
myself.


----- Now You're Cooking! v5.62 [Meal-Master Export Format]

Title: Pate De Campagne - Basic Pork Terrine
Categories: french, patties, pork, starters
Yield: 36 servings

------------------------------AMERICAN UNITS-------------------------------
1 1/2 lb lean, boned shoulder of pork
3 oz veal or ham or lean beef
1/2 lb flair (leaf,flead,body) fat
10 oz back fat; in strips -=or=-
10 oz streaky bacon rashers
1/2 lb belly of pork
1/2 lb pigs liver
1/2 lb onions; chopped
3 oz butter or lard
5 fl dry white wine
3 fl brandy, calvados marc etc

-------------------------------METRIC UNITS--------------------------------
750 g lean boned shoulder pork
100 g veal/ham/lean beef
250 g flair/leaf/body fat
250 g belly of pork
250 g pigs liver
250 g onions
90 g butter or lard for frying
150 ml dry white wine; use less if
-canning
90 ml eau de vie (see above); use
-less if canning
250 g back fat/bacon for lining

-----------------------------------COMMON-----------------------------------
6 tb pistachio nuts
1 tb flour
1 lg egg; beaten
40 fl terrine
1 tb salt
1/2 ts pepper
2 garlic cloves

---------------------------SEASONINGS ANY FROM----------------------------
1/4 ts quatre-épices, nutmeg, mace
1 pn allspice, crushed juniper
1 ts thyme, parsley, etc.

----------------------------------OPTIONAL----------------------------------
1 duck fillet; cut in strips
1 herbs
1 wine or madeira or cognac

If the butcher won't cut the back fat into thin slices, and you can't do it
without slicing yourself, cut it as thin as you can safely manage, then
beat it out with a wooden mallet. Salt & pepper lightly, leave in the cool.
Caul fat, softened in tepid water is a good substitute. Using bacon, the
rashers should be as thin as possible, and de-rinded. If using, cut the
magret into strips, (to be marinated separately) and have the rest of the
meats minced very coarsely. Mix in the seasonings you have chosen, and the
alcohols, and leave to marinade overnight.

Next day, cook the chopped onions gently in the butter or lard until they
are a golden hash, do not brown them. Beat the flour and eggs together to a
smooth paste, and add with the onions to the meat mixture. The seasoning
of ptés is a personal affair, but allow for the fact that foods to be
eaten cold need more seasoning than foods to be eaten hot. It's prudent to
take a small tablespoonful of mixture, and fry it, pressed down flat, in a
little oil in a frying pan. Taste for seasoning and correct if need be,
before irrevocably committing the pté to the oven. (Tip. Before frying to
check seasoning, touch a finger against meat mixture and lick finger. If
the mixture is correctly seasoned, you can tell, without really consuming
any raw meat. Wash finger before re-tasting! IMH)

Grease one or more terrines and line with pork strips. Up to you how you
organise them but the volume should be about that shown in the ingredients
list. Line terrine with strips of pork fat, or bacon rashers, in such a way
as they overlap the sides enough that they will meet when folded over the
top. Fill the terrine absolutely full with the meat mixture, layering in
the optional magret strips, and mound over the top - it will shrink in the
cooking. Fold the fat/bacon strips over the top and lay a further lattice
of fat pork/bacon strips over the top. Cover with foil. Stand the terrine
in a larger pan of hot water, which should come halfway up the side, and
bake in a slow (325°F ) oven for 1 1/2 to 3 hours according to the depth of
the dish. Small but deep dishes of pté take longer than wide shallow
ones. Several small dishes take less time than one large one.

The pté is done when it appears to swim in fat, quite free of the sides of
the terrine; you can also test it with a metal knitting or larding needle
- if it comes out clean the pté's cooked. You can also cook ptés liked
steamed puddings, on top of the stove. If you want an addition to the store
cupboard, try bottling the pté in preserving jars like fruit. It needs 2
hours cooking (plus 1 1/2 hour to come to boiling IMH). This is widely done
in France. Pté can be served straight from the cooking dish. If you do
this remove the foil 20 minutes before the end of the cooking time so that
the top can brown appetizingly. Cool for an hour, then weight it gently.
Remember that it will taste better the next day. If the pté is to be the
main dish of a meal, serve a green salad with it, and some small pickled
gherkins. In France, crusty bread is served too, but English factory bread
is flabby and needs toasting, or, better still, baking in thin slices to a
golden brown crispness.

Although bottling is the best way of keeping pté, it also keeps well under
a half inch layer of lard, in a cool dry larder. A month is a safe length
of time. To do this, allow the pté to cool for an hour, then weight not
too heavily (a dish with a couple of tins on top, or a foil covered board).
Next day melt plenty of good quality lard and pour it over the pté, so
that it is completely covered to a depth of a full half inch. When the lard
has set, cover it with aluminium foil, smoothing it on right close to the
fat. then put another piece of foil over the top as if you were finally
covering a jam pot. Store in the fridge if possible.

Recipe after Jane Grigson "Charcuterie and French Pork Cookery"

Contributor: IMH

-----



>
>Regards,
>
>John
>
>To reply by e-mail, remove the obstruction from my address
>Si vous souhaitez répondre par e-mail, enlevez l'obstruction de mon adresse

--
All the Best
Ian Hoare

Sometimes oi just sits and thinks
Sometimes oi just sits.