Smothered Onions

Smothered Onions

This is one of the two base recipes for French Onion Soup, the other is Beef Stock. Both recipes will be published on this blog and linked to this post in the future.

This recipe takes all day, it isn't much work, but the onions need 8+ hours, and should be stirred a couple of times an hour.

8 pounds yellow onions
1 stick unsalted butter

1 tbs salt

Also the photos are of a 20 pound batch, it scales up very well just takes more time.

Twenty pounds of onions.

Take off enough of both ends of the onion that the slices won't be held together by the core. Thomas Keller would have you remove the core, but I prefer it.

 Cut the onion in two, end to end.

Peel

Slice from pole to pole, thin slices, cut through the core with each slice.

After a while you will need to let the onion fall on its new long side and continue to cut. 

Get your pan, rinse it off and put it on a very low burner. Let it dry off. That pan is also used to boil bagels and for canning half pints and smaller jars.

Put in the butter and salt and let it melt.

Add the onions, stirring from time to time.

After two hours, increase the heat but not much.

You are not trying to saute the onions, this is a slow caramelization, where the sugar in the onion will slowly turn brown. This batch will still be going at 8 PM and I started it at a 9 AM.


Freeze in cup and one half put ups, in this case with holding enough for tomorrow's lunch.

These also work really well if you wish to saute them for a steak. 

Dishes where you are throwing prepared ingrediants together for a fast meal. Don't use them in a stew, as the stew needs to cook long enough to cook onions in it.

Camera Nikon D-90 with internal flash.

Lens(es) AF-S NIKKOR 18-55mm f2.5-5.65G

                AF-S NIKKOR 70-300mm f4.5-5.6G

                AF-S NIKKOR 35mm F1.8G

                AF-S NIKKOR 50mm F1.4F

                AF DC-NIKKOR 105 mm F2

Recipe with pictures Downloadable PDF  Link doesn’t work 

on the PDF itself

Recipe without pictures Downloadable PDF Link doesn't work

 on the PDF itself

As always feel free to use and distribute, if you use our pictures 

and/or text then give us credit – thanks.

If you do use the recipe drop us a note in the comments, a link to your post or just what you thought.

© 2012 Virginia L. Dyson & Warner W. Johnston  

Bourbon Chicken Liver Mousse

Bourbon Chicken Liver Mousse

This is an appetizer than can be made a couple of days in advance. I don't know yet if it is worth freezing as I let it sit in the refrigerator  too long after initial service the time I made it.

You will need:

1/4 tsp white pepper 
1/4 tsp thyme - dry
1/2 tsp curry powder (on the hot side of mild)
4 tsp fine spices (a mix sold by most brands)
2 tbs sage- dry

2.5 lbs chicken livers
1 lb unsalted butter, in 1 inch cubes
1/2 lb mascarpone (likely in deli not dairy).

4 oz good thick cut bacon, chopped uncooked
1-1/4 cup onion, diced
1-1/4 cup apple (I used unpeeled Granny Smith)
1-1/4 cremini mushrooms, chopped
6 cloves garlic, fine dice (can be reduced but we have a vampire problem)

 3 oz butter for saute

1 cup good bourbon (I used Jack Daniels, which isn't a Bourbon or Old Grand Dad - 80 proof)

Mix the spices (white pepper, thyme, curry powder, fine spices and sage)

Rinse, drain and pat dry the chicken livers.

In a deep frying pan, saute the bacon, apple, onion and mushrooms in butter. At the end add the garlic and spices. Remove from heat

Over high flame, saute half of the chicken livers until brown on all sides. Livers must be cooked through.

 Turn off flame, pour in half the bourbon, turn on flame and deglaze.

Scrape liver in with the sauted vegetables and bacon. Mix well.

Repeat with second half of liver.

Put half the butter cubes, half the mascarpone and half the liver vegetable mixture into food processor and run until smooth.

Put this puree through a food mill or fine sieve.

Repeat with second half

Put into serving dish(es) cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until service, up to 72 hours. 

Serve with water crackers.

Camera Nikon D-90 with internal flash.

Lens(es) AF-S NIKKOR 18-55mm f2.5-5.65G

                AF-S NIKKOR 70-300mm f4.5-5.6G

                AF-S NIKKOR 35mm F1.8G

                AF-S NIKKOR 50mm F1.4F

                AF DC-NIKKOR 105 mm F2

Recipe with pictures Downloadable PDF  Link doesn’t work 

on the PDF itself

Recipe without pictures Downloadable PDF Link doesn't work

 on the PDF itself

As always feel free to use and distribute, if you use our pictures 

and/or text then give us credit – thanks.

If you do use the recipe drop us a note in the comments, a link to your post or just what you thought.

© 2012 Virginia L. Dyson & Warner W. Johnston  

Bourbon Chicken Liver Mousse

To be added soon

See the other recipe for Bourbon Chicken Liver Mousse

Mushroom Pate

Charcuterie is far more than just making sausage. My first attempt at anything like charcuterie was chopped chicken liver made with a friend back in the early 60s when I was still in high school. It worked.

Some years later, in the early 80s I made another attempt at this craft. This time a Country Pate, from which this Mushroom Pate is derived. My wife and I were so lacking in knowledge of this that we tried to eat it the day I made it and were terribly disappointed. At the suggestion of a more sophisticated couple she knew we attempted the pate again after it had sat for two days. Thank you Larry and Leo, without your advice that day I'm certain I would not have attempted it again.

I make the country pate yearly, if not more often, as we like it, it will probably start alternating with the Mushroom pate, especially if the latter freezes.

First we need to gather our ingredients. This does use a fair bit. The pate contains 7 pounds of meat, most of it pork

The ingredients:

2 lb boneless fatty pork, (I take it off a fresh butt or foreleg. I suppose you could use fresh ham.)

1 lb boneless veal,  (I trim leanish meat off a veal breast)

1 lb chicken liver (or pork liver)

½ pound prosciutto, ¼ inch thick cut into ¼ x~3” inch batons.
½ pound slab bacon, cut into ¼ x ~3” batons. This should be a good fully smoked bacon.

10 oz various mushrooms, very coarse chop, ½ inch or larger

8 slices Portobello mushrooms, ¼ inch for top garnish

2 lbs Black Forest Ham in 1/8 slices - Costco is fine.

1 large onion, finely chopped and sautéed in until soft in 2 tbsp butter

3 garlic cloves, crushed to a paste with½ tsp salt

2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

2 tsp mixed spices (paprika, cayenne, mustard, fresh ground pepper, whatever)

1 tbsp mixed dry herbs (fresh is better if you can get them. Tarragon, rosemary, chive, thyme, whatever)

1 tbsp salt

2 cups  breadcrumbs

6 eggs

½ cup cognac

If you don't have a meat grinder then the fatty pork, veal and pork liver will need to be ground, at purchase and the second grind done with a food processor.

Veal breast, trim one pound of lean veal from this, save the rest for stock.

2 pounds pork shoulder, skinned

Will use what is left tomorrow for a Country Pate

Cube the meats and set aside with the sautéed onion, garlic, parsley, herbs and spices (not egg, cognac, bread crumbs, mushrooms, bacon and prosciutto). The cube is to be slightly smaller than the opening to your grinder. 

Now go stick the meat and other ingredients  in a freezer or at least the fridge. We don't need to keep this as cold as for sausage, but it does have to stay cold.

Get your terrine, I use a Corning casserole 8x8x4 or 256 cubic inches or a Le Creuset square 3 qt.,  and your Black Forest ham, a Costco package at 2 pounds is more than enough, makes a good sandwich with some cheese and the left over ham.

Line the terrine with the ham, leaving the top open, and not much ham overlapping the edge.

Go get your not quite frozen meat and grind away, for this use the small die. Note that the entire grinder should be held in an ice bath prior to use, and the blade should be steeled prior to assembly of the grinder. Do not put in freezer, regardless of who tells you to, the metal parts will become brittle and may chip. After the first grind you don’t need to rinse or anything, but get the blade out of the grinder, steel it and dunk it in the ice bath for a few minutes, then re-assemble and put the ground meat through again.

First grind

 No mushrooms yet

The Farce, save lardings

 Mix everything but the bacon and prosciutto in a very large bowl and mix well but gently with a wooden spoon or your hands. Spread an inch or so on the bottom the terrine, add some of the batons, add some more of the mushroom larded farce, more batons and continue. When you slice into it you want a random look.

You want to have used all of the batons with a good 1/2 of space  left to fill. Finish filling with the farce leaving a bit over full, you will still probably have some farce left. Trim the ham overlap off, garnish the top with the Portobello slices and you are almost done.

Into a 350 F oven for 90 minutes.

Then I will check the center for 130F and when it gets there let it finish cooking out of the oven or in the oven with the heat off and door partly open.

Put in refrigerator for at least 4 days, a week is better. It is edible for up to 14 days after making and we are checking on freezing ability at this time.

My plate above, save for the sausage and mustard all of it is done at home. We will explore other items on that plate soon.

Camera Nikon D-90 with internal flash.

Lens(es) AF-S NIKKOR 18-55mm f2.5-5.65G

                AF-S NIKKOR 70-300mm f4.5-5.6G

                AF-S NIKKOR 35mm F1.8G

                AF-S NIKKOR 50mm F1.4F

                AF DC-NIKKOR 105 mm F2

Recipe with pictures Downloadable PDF  Link doesn’t work 

on the PDF itself

Recipe without pictures Downloadable PDF Link doesn't work

 on the PDF itself

As always feel free to use and distribute, if you use our pictures 

and/or text then give us credit – thanks.

If you do use the recipe drop us a note in the comments, a link to your post or just what you thought.

© 2012 Virginia L. Dyson & Warner W. Johnston