Duck Liver Pate and Other Flavors

The pate held its form better than I thought it would!

Every once in a while, dinner consists of pate, cheeses, and sometimes charcuterie, with bread and fruit.  Today I made a duck liver pate using this recipe.  In the freezer were all the duck livers (and one chicken liver) from all those ducks we roasted back in March.  I had enough to multiply the recipe by 9 - so that meant 27 oz. of liver, 1.5 cups of shallots, 9 cloves of garlic, and so forth.  I used the Cuisinart to puree it all after it was cooked, and put it all into a loaf pan.  I ended up with a large brick of pate, cut it into 4 equal pieces, wrapped three of them in waxed paper and saran and froze them.  If they're terrible when they are thawed, then I haven't really lost anything.

Spruce puree on duck liver pate. Mmm.

The pate (that wasn't frozen) was terrific and paired well with the spruce puree.  Tonight's cheese selection was an 8 month Manchego served with guava paste (instead of quince), Robiola Due Latte, and a small fresh brie accompanied by local honey.  The honey was a gift from someone I met at the hospital (if you're reading this, know that it went perfectly with the fresh brie, thank you!).

Also, I made another batch of yogurt last night (so the tally so far is 3 batches from one starter culture) but it was a whole gallon of milk to start with so it'll be a while before I make more, I think.  Unless we suddenly eat a whole lot of yogurt.  I will, however, marinate some chicken in the yogurt tomorrow as the 10 year old loves this recipe and has been asking for it.  Anything to improve that one's protein intake!  Speaking of chicken, the other day I made this recipe for chicken satay and it was AMAZING.  We also marinated some beef in the same marinade, also amazing.  The peanut sauce was perfect.  Another win in the ongoing battle to improve the breadth of the 10 year old's diet.