[1] This recipe from Emiko Davies at Honest Cooking is popular in Tuscany. It also contains mushrooms (photo © Honest Cooking).

[2] Nana’s chopped liver. The recipe is (photo © Gelson’s Markets).

[3] Food Network adds a garnish of chopped hard-boiled egg and sliced radishes. (Here’s the recipe (photo © Food Network). Other colored vegetables also work, from asparagus and coronations to grape tomatoes.

[4] A torchon of foie gras with toasted baguette (photo courtesy Elle France).

[5] You can purchase a ready-to-eat torchon from D’Artagnan.

Crostini and bruschetta have entered the American mainstream over the past 20 years (here’s the difference).

At better restaurants, a bowl of soup is often served with a side or floating garnish of crostini, which can be simple toasted baguette slices (or other bread) and a side of butter or other spread; or topped with anything from cheese (blue, brie, feta, goat) to mashed avocado and bean purée.

As millions of Americans get ready to enjoy the customary chopped liver Rosh Hashanah dinner, take a detour from the customary on saltines, rye or pumpernickel.

Serve chicken liver crostini (photo #1)!

You can make them with store-bought chopped chicken liver or mousse, but we always keep the tradition going with our Nana’s recipe (below).

Nana served her chopped liver with Nabisco saltines or Stoned Wheat Thins. When we were young, Mom had moved beyond those to party pumpernickel and [homemade] rye toasts.

Other families prefer triangles of white toast or rye bread. We like baguette crostini or (for a chopped liver sandwich) rye bread.

At Passover, chopped liver is served with matzoh.

> The recipe is below.

> Also below: customizing the recipe, optional garnishes, how to render chicken fat, and the difference between appetizers and hors d’oeuvre.

May 10th is National Liver & Onions Day, and these crostini are a more elegant expression of it.
 
 
WHAT ARE CROSTINI?

Crostini is the Italian name for croutons. These are not the small pieces served on American salad.

Rather, they are small-ish pieces of toast like a sliced, toasted baguette or a similar Italian loaf.

They’re splendid with chopped liver, and are commonplace in Italy as a base for chopped liver.

Many Americans confuse crostini with bruschetta. Bruschetta is the same slice of bread that is grilled rather than toasted.
 
 
A BRIEF HISTORY OF CHOPPED LIVER

European chopped chicken liver dates back perhaps 3,000 years. The chicken, which originated in [take your pick—the jury is still out] Africa, China or the Middle East, didn’t get to Western Europe until about 1000 B.C.E.

You can bet that every part of the bird was used, including the innards. We’ve seen some European recipes that of the chopped the liver liver together with the heart and gizzard, no doubt as their ancestors did.
 
CHOPPED LIVER FOR EVERYONE!

Many Americans think of chopped chicken liver as Jewish cooking, served at holidays and special events. But it’s also served by European Christians.

In Tuscany, Crostini di Fegatini (chicken liver crostini) is on every Christmas table—made by nonna (grandma), or with her recipe, and spread on crostini. As in Jewish households, its served for every birthday dinner or special occasion meal, and can be found on “the menu of literally every trattoria in Tuscany,” per Emiko Davies, a food writer and photographer specializing in Italian cuisine.

Here’s her recipe, adapted from one of those Tuscan trattorias.

On the opposite side of the country, in Venice, the recipes use butter and calve’s liver. In France, heavy cream and cognac (no surprise there!).

May 10th is National Liver & Onions Day. Chopped chicken liver, which includes onions, can be part of the celebration.
 
 
OUR VERY FAVORITE: FOIE GRAS CROSTINI

As much as we love Nana’s chicken liver, for us, the ultimate chicken liver crostini is not chicken liver at all, but a slice of a duck liver torchon or terrine (a.k.a. foie gras) on toasted brioche.

The liver comes fully prepared, with nothing to do except to slice it and make the crostini.

If you’re used to spending on good steaks, you can afford it. A 5-ounce torchon (good for 10 or more slices) is $39.99 and a 1-pound torch is $99.99, at Dartagnan.com.

It makes a lovely gift for a foie-gras (or chopped liver) lover.
 
 
FUN WITH CHICKEN LIVER CROSTINI

In addition to room temperature chopped liver on crostini, you can also serve crostini topped with warm sautéed chicken livers and onions. Just slice the livers into pieces after sautéing.

For some food fun, serve a duo of chicken liver crostini as an appetizer: one with chopped liver, one with sautéed liver.

What’s the difference between an appetizer and an hors d’oeuvre? See below.
 

This recipe calls for schmaltz, rendered chicken fat. Some European cultures use butter, cream or olive oil. Just keep to these fats and not to mayonnaise!

We once were served chopped chicken liver at a Passover seder, made with mayonnaise! The guest who brought it must not have been able to find or make schmaltz. We will never forget that taste (think of pastrami or corned beef with mayonnaise). Oy.

Prep time is 20 minutes, cook time is 10 minutes, plus optional chilling time. Nana insisted on making the liver at least a half-day in advance, to allow the flavors to meld in the fridge.

Chopped Liver Consistency

Depending on the preferences of the cook, the chopped liver can be coarse, medium, or blended into a mousse-type consistency with some extra fat.

Our preference is medium-to-mousse, but cooks with less time can go rustic. It’s just as tasty; we just prefer a finer texture on the palate.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. CHECK the livers and remove any fat or membrane. Heat a large sauté or fry pan to medium heat. Add 3 tablespoons of rendered chicken fat and add the onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until golden but not brown—about 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the onions to a large plate and wipe out the pan.

2. COOK the livers 1 pound at a time. Place the livers in the same pan in a single layer, and season them with salt and pepper. Add three more tablespoons of fat and turn the heat to high. When the fat begins to shimmer, place the livers in the pan in a single layer. Cook the livers for 2 to 2-1/2 minutes per side until browned, turning once. You want to get the insides just pink. Never overcook liver!

3. TRANSFER the livers to the plate with the onions and repeat with the second pound of livers and 3 more tablespoons of fat. Let the cooked livers cool on a platter.

4. CHOP the livers and onions to your desired consistency. If you don’t have great knife skills, the time-honored Jewish technique is to use a mezzaluna and a wooden chopping bowl. You can buy them as a set, but it’s much easier—and less expensive—to use a double-blade mezzaluna and purchase a separate 12″ wood bowl. You can use the mezzaluna to chop vegetables or anything else; and the wood bowl doubles as a salad bowl, chip bowl, etc.

Don’t plus in a food processor without experimenting to see if you can get the consistency you want (it could end up like mousse). If you do use a processor, pulse in small batches so the bottom won’t liquefy before the top ingredients are well chopped.

5. ADD the chopped eggs, herbs, seasonings, and the remaining chicken fat to the bowl. Toss to combine. If you want a finer consistency, continue chopping. Refrigerate until ready to use.
 
________________

*You can substitute turkey livers. Here’s a party-size recipe from the New York Times.
 

MAKE THE RECIPE YOUR OWN

If you love chopped liver as much as we do, play around with the recipe and see which suits you. Some people like less hard-boiled egg mixed in; others leave it out of the liver and use it as a garnish on top. Some people like more herbs and onions, and some people prefer less.

Some people like the Italian custom of adding wine or fortified wine, the addition of fresh sage and garlic, and shallots instead of yellow onions.

Our favorite chopped liver appetizer preparation is our own Four-Onion Chopped Liver Crostini: chopped liver and onions (the basic recipe above), with a garnish of caramelized onions, some pickled onions on the side (red onions or cocktail onions), and a plate garnish of minced chives. Wowsa!
 
Optional Mix-Ins

Don’t use them all at once to find your ideal chopped liver recipe. Test small batches to see what you prefer.

After you cook one or two pounds of livers, divide the batch and add the additional flavors you want to try.

Some of the following are Italian touches; others were incorporated to Jewish-style chopped liver we’ve had along the way. If add adding wine or spirits, add them the last few minutes of cooking the livers.

 
Optional Garnishes

 
________________

†Aside from a garnish, you can create bottom layer of sliced apple or fig, with the chicken liver on top.
 
 
RECIPE #2: HOW TO RENDER CHICKEN FAT

Plan ahead: Save the uncooked chicken fat and skin you trim from chicken instead of throwing them away. Freeze them, and when you have enough, defrost and you’re ready to render.

 
Get Ready To Enjoy Gribenes

The by-product of rendering the skin for fat is cracklings: crispy pieces of chicken skin. In Yiddish, they’re called gribenes (GRIH-beh-ness) or grieven (GREE-vin), which means “scraps” in Hebrew.

They’re a prized treat to eat on potatoes or anything else. When a whole chicken is being used for soup and the skin isn’t needed (it just adds fat that needs to be skimmed off later), it can be cut into strips for gribenes. Cooked with sliced onions, the result is memorable.
 
Ready to render?
 
Ingredients For 1/2 Cup Or More‡

 
________________

‡Rendering fat only produces more schmaltz than rendering fat with skin.

Preparation

[6] This double garnish from StaceySnacksOnline.com is a dynamite combination of caramelized onions and fresh sage (photo © Stacey Snacks Online).

[7] A fusion garnish: arugula, originating in Italy, with chopped chicken liver (photo © DailyLife.com.au.

[8] Kings Food Markets uses a garnish of baby sage and cranberry sauce or chutney. Here’s the recipe (photo © Kings).

[9] Chef Craig Wallen whips the livers into a mousse consistency and garnishes the crostini with coarse sea salt. (Here’s the recipe (photo © Stephanie Bourgeois).

[10] Alton Brown serves DIY crostini, with individual ramekins of chicken liver mousse and a side of toasts. His recipe uses cream and cognac (photo © Food Network).

2. COOK until the fat has rendered (liquefied) and the skin pieces are crispy, about 35 to 45 minutes. As liquid fat fills the pan, drain it into a measuring cup or another vessel
; the gribenes will take longer to get crisp.

3. EAT the gribenes as soon as possible after they come out of the pan. Don’t refrigerate; they’ll go limp. These delicious cracklings can be eaten with potatoes, garnish a salad or chicken/turkey sandwich, grits or polenta, etc. Both Nana and Mom ate them straight from the pan.

4. COOL the chicken fat slightly, then strain it into a lidded jar. It will keep for up to one week, maybe longer.
 
 
FOOD 101: THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN APPETIZERS & HORS D’OEUVRE

The terms are often used interchangeably, but there is a difference:

Hors d’oeuvre (there’s no extra “s” in French: it’s the same spelling singular or plural), pronounced or-DERV, refers to finger food, such as canapés, served with drinks prior to the meal. The name means “outside the work,” i.e., not part of the main meal.

French hors d’oeuvre were traditionally one-bite items, artistically constructed. Today, the category has expanded to mini quiches, skewers, tarts; baby lamb chops; stuffed mushrooms, etc.

An appetizer is a first course, served at the table and in larger portions. You can plate multiple hors d’oeuvres as an appetizer. In France, that’s known as hors d’oeuvres variés, a variety of hors d’oeuvres.

What about crackers and cheese, crudités and dips, salsa and chips, and other popular American foods served with pre-dinner drinks? Since they are finger foods, you can call them hors d’oeuvre—although that could be a tad pretentious. Call them American hors d’oeuvre.
 
 

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

This tip is for people who can’t abide citrus pulp, whether in their juice or their cocktails.

Bartenders use an extra strainer, beyond what is built into a cocktail shaker or standard bar strainer.

All you need is a fine mesh strainer, which has multiple uses in the kitchen.

Hold the strainer over the glass and pour from the shaker through the strainer. Mission accomplished!
 
GET SOME PUMPKIN LIQUEUR

From from September through November, you can find pumpkin liqueurs on the shelves.

Our favorite is Fulton’s Harvest Pumpkin Pie Cream Liqueur is a cream liqueur: delicious in shots, cocktails and for pouring over vanilla ice cream.

We also are partial to Kahlúa Pumpkin Spice, which blends their coffee liqueur with the spices: a great combo.

Most pumpkin liqueur are pumpkin pie spice-flavored rather than pumpkin-flavored. We like that Fulton’s Harvest Pumpkin Pie Cream Liqueur is just sweet enough, not overly sweet. Some are positively cloying.

At 140 calories per 1.5-ounce shot, Fulton’s is a better dessert choice than a slice of pumpkin pie!

We use our pumpkin liqueurs for Pumpkin Martinis and as after-dinner drinks, straight or in coffee.

For recipes, check FultonsHarvest.com for how to add the liqueur to banana bread, cookies, French toast, ice cream, muffins and more drinks.
 
FOOD FUN: PUMPKIN PATCH JULEP

This season, consider a different cocktail “glass”: a baby pumpkin. It’s sure to delight at Halloween, Thanksgiving or anytime during the fall.

You can wash, dry and freeze the pumpkins in food storage bags in advance; and wash and re-freeze them to use again fall. And of course, you can serve this pumpkin cocktail in a rocks glass.
 
Ingredients For 1 Drink

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE all ingredients in a shaker and shake vigorously with ice.

2. STRAIN into chilled cocktail glass—or a baby pumpkin, or a pumpkin mug.

[1] Straining a cocktail at Artisan restaurant in Paso Robles, California. [2] Pumpkin cocktail in a baby pumpkin (photo courtesy American Alibi Whiskey). [3] Fulton’s Pumpkin Pie Liqueur, a limited fall edition (photo courtesy Fulton’s Harvest).

What we love about this tart is that for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, the lattice crust is woven strips of pâte brisée in a Star of David pattern.

If the pattern looks familiar to non-Jews, it’s because it’s the weave used in classic chair caning.

Even if you don’t celebrate the Jewish New Year, make this lattice-topped tart. Per the recipe on MarthaStewart.com, “The star pattern is easier to make than you might guess.”

The filling in the tart is made from dried fruits—apricots, cranberries and prunes—that are poached in a spiced vanilla-cognac syrup.

Here’s the recipe on MarthaStewart.com.

You can use the same lattice on any pie or tart.
 
PICK A YOUR FAVORITE PIE OR TART FROM OUR DELICIOUS PIE & PASTRY GLOSSARY.

This simple combination is so yummy, we wonder why it isn’t a regular snack for everybody.

The recipe is simple:

 
You can make it into a bigger event with spiced tea like Constant Comment or chai; or mulled cider or mulled wine. If the day is warm: iced tea.

Why apples?

According to Reform Judiasm, neither the Bible nor the Talmud dictates the minhag, or custom, of dipping apples in honey. It has nothing to do with eating the apple in the Garden of Eden: The Bible never identifies the forbidden fruit (Genesis 2:16–17).

Over the millennia, scholars have variously interpreted the fruit as the apple, carob, citron, datura, fig, grape, pear, pomegranate and quince.

However, the Midrash, a method of interpreting bible stories, says the Garden of Eden had the scent of an apple orchard. In Kabbalah the Garden Of Eden is called “the holy apple orchard.”
More likely, apples were selected because in ancient times they became a symbol of the Jewish relationship to God. In just one source, the Zohar (a 13th-century Jewish mystical text), it states that beauty, represented by God, “diffuses itself in the world as an apple.”

Why is the apple used in all the Garden of Eden paintings?

It was chosen as the by Western European painters.

Why honey?

The customary New Year’s greeting, “Shana Tova Umetukah” (A Good and Sweet Year), has existed at least since the 7th century.

Honey—whether from bees, dates or figs—was the most prevalent sweetener in the Jewish world. But in the biblical description of Israel as a land flowing with “milk and honey,” the Torah is alluding to a paste made from overripe dates, not honey from bees.

Why join in on the custom?

So go forth and acquire apples and honey, and serve this sweet treat at home: at breakfast, for snacking, or as dessert at lunch and dinner.

Check out the different types of honey, and use the occasion for a tasting.

Invite friends and family. You don’t have to come from a certain culture to enjoy their food—as most Americans are fortunate to know.

 
RECIPE #1: CHUTNEY FRUIT DIP

Not a fan of honey? You can make a fruit dip from chutney, jam or preserves (the differences) with plain yogurt, sour cream or yogurt, or a blend. Add a dab of mayo if you like. Stir in the fruit condiments to taste.

Honey: the original fruit dip? In biblical times, a paste of dates, also called honey, was used. [1] Photo courtesy Good Eggs | SF. [3] Photo courtesy Between The Bread | NYC. [3] An idea from Martha Stewart: hollow out an apple to hold the honey.

 
Preparation

1. MIX all ingredients well and refrigerate in a covered dish. When ready to serve, wash and slice the fruit and place as desired on a platter.

2. Stir the dip and place in a bowl. The dip keeps for a few days; stir well before each use.

[43] Fruit platter with apricot chutney dip from B&R Farms (use any chutney, jam or preserves). [5] Glazed honey apples from Taste Of Home.

RECIPE #2: GLAZED HONEY-CINNAMON APPLES

We adapted this recipe from Taste Of Home, substituting honey for table sugar (photo #5).

Enjoy them plain, perhaps with a sprinkle of raisins or dried cranberries; or with a creamy topping.

Prep time is 20 minutes, cook time is 3 hours in a slow cooker. Alternatively, you can sauté the apples.
 
Ingredients For 7 Servings

 
Preparation

1. PEEL, core and cut each apple into eight wedges. Transfer to a 3-quart slow cooker. Drizzle with lemon juice.

2. COMBINE the brown sugar, honey, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg; sprinkle over the apples. Drizzle with the melted butter.

3. COVER and cook on low for 3-4 hours or until apples are tender.

 
CHECK OUT THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF SWEETENERS:
SUGAR, MAPLE, SYRUPS & MORE

The average American drinks 2.1 cups of coffee a day. Collectively, Americans drink 4,630 cups of coffee each second. And September 29th is National Coffee Day.

Cold brew coffee, which has been around quite a while (we’ve had a Toddy cold brew system for 20+ years), has finally hit the mainstream.

Coffee drinkers find it has superior flavor; and in the summer, iced coffee is as easy as adding cold water to cold-brew concentrate from the fridge. (Here are some well-reviewed brands).

Companies from Folgers to Blue Bottle sell cold-brew coffee. You can buy large bottles of concentrate; you can buy grab-and-go 16-ounce bottles.

Yet, if you have a French press, you can make trendy cold brew coffee without purchasing a special cold brew system or a bottle of ready-brewed. The French press recipe is below. But first:
 
WHAT’S A FRENCH PRESS?

A French press is a coffee-brewing device consisting of a pot with a removable plunger made of fine mesh.

Coarse-ground coffee is added to the pot, followed by boiling water. The plunger device is placed on top. The coffee grounds float in the water.

When the coffee is ready to be poured, the plunger is employed. As it is pushed down, the grounds are pushed to the bottom. It does not use electricity; although you likely need it to heat the water.

If you have a French press, there’s no need to buy a cold brew system, or pricey bottles of cold brew coffee at retail.

Today, you can find coffee presses in stainless steel, in a stainless holder with a glass beaker (photo #1), and in plastic.

French presses are made in sizes from 1-2 cups to 10 cups or more. There are travel mug versions, of course: We use this coffee press “mug” from Bodum.

French press or coffee press is the name in English; although in In New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, the apparatus is known as a coffee plunger. In France it is called cafetière à piston; in Italy it is a caffettiera a stantuffo.
 
Brewing Tea In A French Press

You can use a French press to brew loose tea as well, but don’t use a press that is used to brew coffee. Even after washing, microscopic bits of coffee oil can cling to the glass or metal, imparting an unwelcome undertaste to the tea.

[1] The classic design of the modern French press (this one is from Bonjour). [2] One of the artisan cold-brews sold at retail (photo courtesy Jittery John’s).

The first known design for a plunge-type brewer was patented in 1852 by two French designers, Mayer and Delforge. You can see their design at PerfectlyGroundCoffee.com.

Per Brooklyn Roasting it was ahead of its time; manufacturing was not precise enough to snugly fit the filter within pot of the design.

Others tried their hand, but the first iteration of brewer that we know today was patented by Italian designers Attilio Calimani and Giulio Moneta in 1929. They employed a rubber seal around the edge of the filter.

The design evolved, with improved the function of the rubber seal.

The design we know today was patented by a Swiss designer, Faliero Bondanini, in 1958. It was manufactured in France and called a chambord. With a compact design and no required electrical outlet, it became a very popular brewing method.
 
HOW TO MAKE COLD BREW COFFEE IN A FRENCH PRESS

These instructions are proportions for an 8-cup French press. Remember that the “standard” cup size used by manufacturers was set long before coffee mugs and modern insulated travel mug containers were in use. So if you use a large mug, you’ll get 4 mugs worth from an 8-cup press, or three 16-ounce travel mugs.

Use only coarse-ground coffee. Smaller grains will slip through the mesh filter and produce unacceptable coffee.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. PLACE the coffee in an 8-cup French press. Add the water. Stir the grinds to integrate with the water.

2. PLACE the French press plunger on top (do not plunge into the water) and place in the fridge for 12 hours.

3. PRESS down on the plunger, which pushes all the grounds to the bottom, underneath the mesh filter. Pour and enjoy cold with ice, or warm in the microwave.
 
TIP: Depending on how well the coffee is ground, a few grounds may escape into the coffee. Our mom further poured the coffee through a piece cheesecloth. We don’t.

[3] Fashionable restaurants bring coffee to the table in a French press (photo courtesy Kabuki Japanese restaurants). [4] It’s easy to grind your own beans for a French press, since the coffee is coarsely ground (photo of manual coffee grinder from FrenchPressCoffee.com).

We start with an important fact for the many people who want more or less caffeine:

There is no association between caffeine levels and flavor (e.g. strong coffee). The major difference comes from amount of coffee used and, most importantly, the brewing technique.

Cold brew has the most caffeine, followed by drip coffee and espresso.

Take this fun coffee trivia quiz.

Here are more fun facts from THE NIBBLE and BeFrugal.com.

 
Facts About Decaf

 
Here are more decaf coffee facts.