Rustic Chicken Liver Pâté with Pistachios

 

With the leftover turkey and sides recycled, there is still the turkey livers to be made into something and found this recipe which is very interesting.  While classic pâtés are creamy smooth, this version is dubbed “rustic” because of the several added ingredients that give the pâté texture and crunch as well as a wonderful complexity of flavors. Everyone fell in love with this variation,  like as though Cupid had double shot his arrow..

Ingredients:

•3 Tbsp olive oil
•1 celery stalk, finely chopped
•2 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
•8 oz chicken livers - cut into small slices
•1 tsp chopped fresh sage
•1/4 cup marsala (or sherry or Madeira)
•2 anchovy filets, drained and coarsely chopped
•1 Tbsp capers, drained
•1/4 cup shelled pistachios plus 2 Tbsp chopped for garnish
•Freshly ground pepper

Method:


1.Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat, add the celery and garlic and cook until fragrant.
2.Turn the flame up to high and add the chicken livers. Cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until the livers are crisp outside but still a bit pink inside.

3.Stir in the sage and deglaze briefly with the marsala. Transfer all to the bowl of your food processor.

4.Add the anchovies, capers and whole pistachios. Process until fairly smooth, but not puréed. Taste and adjust the seasoning. The anchovies are salty enough that you should not need to add more salt.

5.Transfer to your serving dish and serve warm or at room temperature. Serve with thin slices of toasted baguette or crackers.  It can be dressed up by using it to fill individual endive leaves.

6. Garnish with the chopped pistachios.

Confession:

I did not have all the ingredients mentioned above so i have to improvise.  I used 1/2 tsp ground sage as i did not have fresh ones.  I had some Riesling leftover from Thanksgiving, so it was used instead of marsala  I thought i have a can of anchovy but after looking high and low and could not find it,  forget about looking, think fast - ok got it  - i used a tiny piece of salted threadfish in oil (malaysian salt fish/hum yee).  All these subs must be alright as not only me but everyone who tasted it, gave a thumb-up.

Serves
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Palmiers

A quick cookie, something simple, yet flashy, with very little work on my part, but not so quick if you are to make the pastry from scratch but i guarantee a quick rendezvous in the kitchen with near instant cookie gratification. This cookie conundrum is the PALMIER, or elephant ear cookie, or little hearts which is a French Classic.

This cookie, due to its simplicity, pairs well with many other desserts or after dinner espresso, coffee, and tea. What a very fragrant way to end a meal!  A simple addition of spices such as nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom or vanilla sugar together with nut powder, is a good variation. The palmier can also be reworked into a great savory "appetizer" if you want; instead of using sugar, nut powder and spices, replace the sugar with grated Parmesan and roll into it a very thin layer of pesto.

Ingredients:

Lots of granulated sugar


Puff pastry or Pastry Dough for Apple Turnovers

Parchment Paper or a Silpat baking mat
Method:

Preheat the oven to 425f.

Sprinkle half of the sugar on a cutting board. Unfold the puff pastry and press it down into the sugar. Sprinkle the other half of the sugar on top of the puff pastry and spread it around with your fingers, brushing off the sugar that doesn’t stick to the pastry.

Fold the sides of the puff pastry in to the center. Fold the pastry again so there are four layers. Using a sharp knife, cut the pastry across the short side into 1 inch slices. For the best results cut straight down, not back-and-forth like with bread or steak.

To bake, take the sliced pieces and place them cut side down on the baking sheet. Unfold them slightly and pinch the center bottom so as to form a V shaped cookie  Bake until the tops are slightly golden (about 7 minutes) and remove from the oven. Flip them over and put back in the oven another 4 or 5 minutes or so - until the tops and sides are nicely browned  and the sugar has caramelized.

 Remove and let cool, then eat!

Serves
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Conch, Dried Scallops, Mushrooms Herbal Soup

CONCH (pronounced 'konk') is a common name for certain large marine snails. Conch meat has a mild, sweet clam-like flavor, and the sliced dried conch meat is exceptionally delicious in soups.  The meat will taste like abalone after it has been cooked for a long period of time.

DRIED SCALLOPS or Conpoy is a type of dried seafood product made from the adductor muscle of scallops Conpoy is a loanword from the Cantonese pronunciation of gonbui (乾貝, Cantonese: gon1bui³; Mandarin: gān bèi ; Hakka:gorn boy), which literally means "dried shell(fish)".Its taste is rich and umami due to its high content of various free amino acids, such as glycine, alanine, and glutamic acid. It is also rich in nucleic acids such as inosinic acid, amino acid byproducts such as taurine, and minerals, such as calcium and zinc.

 MONKEY HEAD MUSHROOM is called hóu tóu gū.in Chinese, in Japanese it is called yamabushitake and in Vietnamese it is called nấm đầu khỉ.  In traditional Chinese medicine this mushroom has long been considered a medicinal mushroom and a study on rats in 2005 showed that some compounds in the mushroom, like threitol, D-arabinitol, and palmitic acid may have antioxidant effects, may regulate blood lipid levels and may reduce blood glucose levels. 


DRIED SHITAKE MUSHROOMS  have a wonderful smoky flavor and a meaty texture. They are one of the most culinarily versatile mushrooms for their economical price.Shiitake are not only a delicious addition to just about any recipe, they are also a healthy one. These mushrooms are not only a source of high quality protein because they contain all essential amino acids, but shiitake also are a good source of minerals and vitamins. Having high fiber and few calories makes these mushrooms a close to perfect food! All these dietary attributes are part of the reason the shiitake mushrooms has long been a symbol of longevity in China. In fact, a growing body of evidence show that the health benefits of eating shiitake do not end at the mushroom's nutritional benefits.


STRAW MUSHROOM gets its name from being cultivated on straw that has been used on a paddy. They are also known as paddy-straw mushrooms and grass mushrooms Straw mushrooms are cold in nature and is especially good for summer, they clears Heat, benefits "Yin" energy and promotes the production of body fluid. They contain protein, fat, iron, zinc, various amino acids and large amount of vitamin C. They have healing function for hypertension patients and those with high blood cholesterol level. They have been used as an auxiliary treatment for cancer and diabetes patients.


WOLFBERRY is the most commonly used English name, while gǒuqǐ (枸杞) is the Chinese name,  has been used in China for thousand of years.  Wolfberry was considered as Yin and its health benefits, include strengthening the eyes, liver and kidney and nourishing the blood. Chinese people have been using wolfberry to make tea, soup, stew and wine or chewed them like raisins.


YUK CHUK akaYu Zhu (Solomon's Seal Rhizome, Polygonatum) nourishes Lung and Stomach Yin, Moistens Dryness, Treats dry cough, dry throat, irritability, and thirst. Also for cough with scanty, sticky sputum or chronic respiratory disorders with a consumptive cough.

The above ingredients are used to make a pot of nutritional soup.

Ingredients:

Dried Conch
Dried Scallops
Monkey Head Mushrooms
Dried Straw Mushrooms
Dried Shitake Mushrooms
Wolfberry
Yuk Chuk
1 whole chicken - cut into 8 - 10 pieces

Method:

Soak the dried conch, dried scallops until they are reconstituted.

Soak all the mushrooms.
Put chicken pieces in a pot and cover with enough water to cover the chicken pieces, bring to the boil and continue to boil until all the scums float to the top.  Turn off heat and discard the scumpy water and wash the chicken pieces with cold water.

Return clean chicken pieces to the pressure cooker, add in the reconstituted conch, scallops, mushrooms, wolfberries, yuk chuk and enough water to cover the ingredients.  Close the lid of pressure cooker and when pressure builds up to 15 lb, reduce heat to maintain pressure for 45 minutes.

Release pressure before opening lid of pressure cooker.

Adding more hot water(according to how many servings you need) to the soup and bring back to the boil.

Using a gravy separator, remove the oil from the soup.

Serve soup while it is hot.

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