Chicken Liver Mousse

__________________________________________________

            FOOD FUNNY
__________________________________________________

Thanks to Elizabeth Siefker of La Porte, Indiana for sending us
this one:

A man and his wife are seated in a fancy French restaurant for dinner.
After the waiter arrives the man says, "I'll have your biggest, thickest
Porterhouse steak." The waiter replies, "Monsieur, what about ze
mad cow?" The man replies, "She'll have a salad."

__________________________________________________

            TODAY'S RECIPE
__________________________________________________

If you've been a subscriber for very long you already know of my
deep admiration for Julia Child and her influence on all things
related to food in the United States. I have done "favorite cookbook"
themes based on her work in the past*, and "The Way to Cook"
is her last and possibly greatest work. In it she not only offers hundreds
of great recipes and detailed explanations of every technique a
master cook needs to know, but underlying everything is her trademark
"everything in moderation" philosophy which ignores food trends,
eschews fad diets, and scorns food phobias. Julia said it best herself
in the forward to this wonderful book: "The pleasures of the table - that
lovely old-fashioned phrase - depict food as an art form, as a delightful
part of civilized life. In spite of food fads, fitness programs, and health
concerns, we must never lose sight of a beautifully conceived meal."
Here is a selection of recipes which I hope Julia would have deemed
a beautifully conceived meal:

* See http://www.wwrecipes.com/cookbooks.htm

(Recipes in brackets are in the PLUS Edition only.)

Monday's Starter
Chicken Liver Mousse
[Quick Gravlax]

Tuesday's Soup or Salad
Black Bean Gazpacho
[Curried Onion Soup]

Wednesday's Side Dish
Brussels Sprouts in Brown Butter
[Steamed Eggplant with Parsley Sauce]

Thursday's Entree
Ragout of Chicken
[Calf's Liver in Wine and Mustard Sauce]

Friday's Dessert
Layered Ice Cream Cake
[Cranberry Crisp]

All recipes this week are adapted from "The Way to Cook" by Julia
Child. It is available from Amazon.com in hardcover at
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0394532643/worldwiderecipes
and in paperback at
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0679747656/worldwiderecipes

Even though her writing and television shows were aimed at the
average American home cook, Julia never lost sight of her classical
French training, as demonstrated by this recipe.

Chicken Liver Mousse

1 envelope (1 Tbs, 15 ml) unflavored gelatin
3/4 cup (180 ml) chicken stock
12 Tbs (180 ml) butter
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 lbs (675 ml) chicken livers
1/2 cup (125 ml) Madeira or Port wine
1/4 tsp (1 ml) dried tarragon
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 cup (250 ml) cottage cheese

Soak the gelatin in the chicken stock and set aside. Heat 4
tablespoons (60 ml) of the butter in a skillet over moderate heat and
saute the onion until tender but not browned, about 5 minutes. Add
the chicken livers and saute until lightly browned but still pink in the
center, about 3 minutes. Add the wine, tarragon, salt, and pepper
and bring to a boil. Transfer the chicken livers to a bowl with a slotted
spoon, leaving the cooking liquid in the skillet. Stir in the gelatin mixture
and bring to a boil, stirring to completely dissolve the gelatin. Add the
remaining butter, stirring until it is melted. Combine the cooking liquid,
chicken livers, and cottage cheese in an electric blender or food
processor and puree until smooth. Press through a fine sieve into a
serving bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Serve with toast points
or crackers. Serves 6 to 8.
Received on Mon Oct 17 06:11:43 2005