Wine Party: Chicken-Liver Pate

 We just had a great wine tasting party this past weekend.  Great turn out, great friends and great wine!  I dunno about you, but I've always had issues balancing a glass of wine with a plate of food.  So I wanted to make little bites that went well with wine since we would be drinking alot of it.  The next several posts will be appetizers and desserts that I served at the party.  This pate is creamy and delicious. The apple in it makes it a little sweeter than the store bought pates I've had before.  Beware, this makes alot of pate, but it can be frozen and used within a couple of weeks.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 slices of bacon, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 pound chicken livers, trimmed
Kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper
1/2 small onion, finely diced
1 small Granny Smith apple—peeled, cored and finely diced
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 cup white wine
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
5 large egg yolks
Toasted baguette slices

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 300°. Butter four 1-cup ramekins. In a large skillet, melt the butter. Add the bacon and cook over moderate heat until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a plate. Add the chicken livers to the skillet, season with salt and white pepper and cook over moderate heat until browned, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to the plate.
2. Add the onion, apple and allspice to the skillet and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion and apple are softened, about 5 minutes. Add the wine. Put the apple-onion mixture into a blender and let cool to room temperature.
3. Add the bacon and chicken livers to the onion-and-apple mixture in the blender, along with the half-and-half, egg yolks and 1 teaspoon of kosher salt. Blend until very smooth. Pass the mixture through a coarse sieve into a large glass measuring cup. Pour into the prepared ramekins and transfer to a small roasting pan. Add enough hot water to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins, cover loosely with foil and bake the chicken-liver mousse for about 1 1/2 hours, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the mousse registers 155°. Remove the ramekins from the water bath and let cool to room temperature.
4. Cover and refrigerate the ramekins until the mousse is chilled, preferably overnight. Serve with toasted baguette slices

Chicken Curry Casserole

This is a fabulous casserole.  I had a whole rotisserie chicken to work with so I made two and gave one to a friend. I made some changes to add more vegetables and swapped out the mayo for sour cream to lighten it up.  The original recipe is linked below.  The curry gives it a little something special :)  Once a Month Mom also gives directions below on how to freeze this for a future dinner.

Adapted from: Once a Month Mom

Chicken Curry Casserole

Ingredients:
10 ounces cream of celery soup
1/4 cups onion, diced
1/4 cups low fat sour cream
1.5 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon curry
2 cups rotisserie chicken, pulled
1 cup cooked broccoli, drained & chopped
1 cup chopped carrot 1/2"
1 cup diced potato 3/4"
1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
8 ounces flaky refrigerated biscuits


Topping
1/4 cups sour cream
1 egg
1 teaspoon celery salt
.5 teaspooons salt


Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Par boil the carrots, broccoli and potato until semisoft.  In a deep dish 8×8 pan combine chicken, broccoli, soup, onion, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce and curry. Mix well. Sprinkle cheddar cheese on top. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Separate biscuits and each in half (see pictures). Arrange biscuit halves around edge of hot casserole, cut side down (see pictures). Place topping over biscuits. Bake at 375 degrees for an additional 20-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Freezing Directions:In a deep dish 8×8 pan combine chicken, broccoli, soup, onion, salad dressing, Worcestershire sauce and curry. Mix well. Sprinkle cheddar cheese on top. (DO NOT BAKE as you do above.) Separate biscuits and each in half (see pictures). Arrange biscuit halves around edge of casserole, cut side down (see pictures). Place topping over biscuits. Cover and freeze. To serve: Do NOT thaw. Bake covered with foil at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking for another 20 minutes or until biscuits are cooked and golden brown.

Spicy Tex-Mex Chicken Cobbler

Spicy Tex-Mex Chicken Cobbler

Going through the recipes I made this past month to post.  I realized a few things. 1. I made a lot of casseroles 2. I cooked a lot with rotisserie chicken 3. I cooked but had no time to post!


This casserole was delish!  It is definitely not the normal casserole.  It is the casserole with Flavah.  The topping tasted like a cheddar bread. This is one recipe that will definitely find its way back to the table again soon.

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, sliced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (10-ounce) can diced tomatoes and onions with lime juice and cilantro
1 (10-ounce) can enchilada sauce
2 cups rotisserie chicken shredded
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1 1/2 cups all-purpose baking mix
1 large egg
2/3 cup milk
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded extra-sharp Cheddar, divided
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves, divided
2 avocados, sliced
1 tablespoon lime juice
Sour cream
1 can of corn drained

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Saute onion in hot oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat 3 to 4 minutes or until tender. Stir in beans and next 8 ingredients. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 15 minutes.

Combine baking mix, egg, and milk in a medium bowl, stirring until smooth. Fold in 1/2 cup cheese and 1/4 cup cilantro; pour over simmering chicken mixture.

Bake for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in topping comes out clean. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese and remaining 1/4 cup cilantro. Sprinkle avocado slices with lime juice, and arrange over cobbler. Serve with sour cream.