This chicken liver pâté recipe, sent to us by the New York Times to share, was published in the January 26th Sunday Magazine section. It is gourmet Super Bowl fare or a spread for any party or special occasion. (Why a special occasion? The cholesterol!)

Not only is chicken liver pâté a luxurious spread; it is affordable and quick and easy to prepare. Here’s the full article.

The concept dates back centuries if not millennia. In modern times, there’s a similar recipe in Julia Child’s Mastering The Art Of French cooking.

Our grandmother and her grandmother made a Jewish version; her fat of choice was schmalz (rendered chicken fat, discussed below)—no butter or cream—yellow onions instead of shallots, no wine.

Nana’s tip: Don’t overcook the livers—the insides should still be pink.

A crock of chicken liver pâté with a side of bacon jam. Photo by Christopher Testani for the New York Times.

*The issue of whether or not gavage, the force-feeding of ducks and geese to enlarge their livers, is complex and is not discussed here.
 
 
WAYS TO SERVE CHICKEN LIVER PATÉ

You can serve chicken liver pâté in a crock with toast or crackers and a side of bacon jam (make this recipe or buy ready-made bacon jam like Skillet Bacon Spread. (Here’s our review; you can buy it on Amazon.com).

RECIPE: CHICKEN LIVER PATÉ

You can make this recipe in 20 minutes, plus a couple of hours to chill in the fridge.

Ingredients For 6-8 Servings

Preparation

1. HEAT a large, heavy sauté pan over medium heat and melt 4 tablespoons of the butter until it begins to foam. Add the shallots and sauté until translucent, taking care not to brown.

2. ADD the livers, thyme, and Madeira or Port, and turn the heat to high. Cook, occasionally stirring the livers with a spoon, until the wine has reduced and the livers are lightly browned but still very soft and pink on the inside—approximately 5 minutes.

3. REMOVE the pan from the stove, and transfer the contents into a blender or food processor, along with the cream and the remaining butter. Purée until smooth, adding a little more cream if necessary. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding salt if necessary.

4. PACK the pâté into a glass jar or bowl, then smooth the top with a spatula. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about two hours or up to five days. Serve with bacon-onion jam and copious amounts of toast.
 
 
WHAT IS SCHMALTZ?

Schmaltz, also spelled schmalz or shmalz, is rendered (clarified) chicken or goose fat. It is used both for cooking and as a spread on bread in Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine (Austria, Germany and Poland, and other Northern European countries).

The term is Yiddish, derived from the German Schmalz, meaning “rendered animal fat.” While both tallow and lard are forms of Schmalz in German, as is clarified butter, in English the term follows the Yiddish use, referring to fat rendered from poultry.

Schmaltz was an important fat in the lives of European Jews, who were forbidden by Kosher dietary laws from combining meat and dairy products. They could not use butter in meat dishes, and of course, could not use pig-based lard.

So in order to cook meat and poultry dishes or the sides served with them (potatoes, for example), schmaltz or vegetable cooking oil was required. It was also used to butter bread. The impact on cardiovascular health has become an issue in the last 40 to 50 years.
 
 

Chef François Payard is making it easier to send kisses this Valentines Day. Check out his Dark Chocolate Raspberry Lips.

Packaged in a red clutch-shaped box, the chocolate lips are filled with chocolate ganache that has a hint of ginger, and are packaged with with a white chocolate raspberry lipstick—a real lipstick that is both edible and tastes like chocolate.

Each box of chocolates comes with 18 lips and one lipstick for $55: a gift that’s sure to be remembered.

Get yours at Payard.com.

Want something more conventional? While you’re on the website, take a look at the:

To some, watching a football game while digging into a big, juicy steak is a slice of heaven. That’s why more than a few steak houses have big-screen TVs.

Chef Jack Sinanaj of Empire Steak House in New York City has gone one better, preparing a special Empire Super Bowl Steak: a 20-ounce filet mignon carved in the shape of a football.

And yes, you can eat your steak while watching the game on three large screen plasma TVs. There’s a “viewing party” on Super Bowl Sunday, February 2nd.

Or, you can try carving your own at home.

The restaurant used grill marks to add the laces. That may be a challenge for some home cooks, but if you’re good with a piping bag, you can add the laces with piped blue cheese butter or other compound butter.

What’s the difference between a cupcake and a muffin?

Cupcakes have a finer crumb (from using cake flour versus all-purpose flour), a bit more sugar and are iced, adding even more sugar.

While muffins do have somewhat less sugar, don’t let the name lull you into a sense of “better for you”: They are cake rather than bread.

The line between cupcakes and muffins can be thin indeed, as you can see in these “breakfast cupcakes” from the blog Lovely Little Kitchen (photo at right; here’s the recipe).

Both the frosting and the cupcake batter contain Greek yogurt, which delivers more protein and less fat. They cupcakes contain two cups of zucchini and are garnished with heart-healthy almonds.

After you make the first batch, you can decide to lower the sugar, substitute agave or honey, use whole wheat flour, etc. (Look online for how to substitute—slight adjustments are necessary.)

Here’s a fun breakfast idea:

Buy or bake carrot or zucchini muffins made with whole wheat or other whole grain flour (brown rice flour, cornmeal, whole oats, blends, etc.) Both the flour and the vegetables provide added fiber. Let everyone ice and garnish their own.

 
While you can’t call these cupcakes health food, the are a better alternative to conventional muffins and breakfast pastries—not to mention cupcakes.

And they help you get some nutrition into the breakfast-resistant.

[1] Creamy blue cheese dressing (photo © Wisconsin Cheese).

[2] Buy the best blue cheese you can afford, and crumble it yourself (photo © Frigo Cheese).

But it isn’t sold near us, so if we haven’t gotten around to ordering it online, we need to make our own.

Our first tip: Buy a decent blue cheese: Gorgonzola, Roquefort, whatever.

It’s the major flavor component. You don’t need to buy the very finest; but don’t go for the cheapest unless you can taste it first, to see that it’s up to par.
 
 
RECIPE: HOMEMADE CREAMY BLUE CHEESE
DRESSING

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. BLEND all ingredients until smooth, except the final ounce of crumbled blue cheese. Stir in the crumbles. Season with salt and pepper.

2. CHILL for at least 1 hour before serving; taste and adjust seasonings as necessary.

WAYS TO USE BLUE CHEESE DRESSING

[3] There are many different blue cheeses at different price points. The better-tasting the cheese, the better-tasting the dressing (photo © Jasper Hill Farm).

After you taste this recipe, you’ll know how you want to adapt it for next time, to achieve your ideal blue cheese dressing.

 
 
> THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF CHEESE

> THE HISTORY OF CHEESE