Lighter than duck liver, but still a tasty treat
Submitted by Tom Mentzer on Mon, 2006-12-11 17:32.
American | Recipes
Recipe: Chicken Liver Flan Creme Caramel with Apple "Caviar"
From The PlumpJack Cookbook: Great Meals for Good Living, Rodale Books
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup water
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into tiny dice
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
3 chicken livers, trimmed (about 4 ounces total weight)
2 tablespoons dry sherry, such as amontillado
1 cup heavy cream
3 egg yolks
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
Preheat oven to 300F.
In a small saucepan, heat the 1/2 cup sugar and the water over high heat, stirring occasionally, until a thick, golden brown syrup forms, about 15 minutes. Immediately (before it begins to harden) pour the syrup into four 3-inch-wide ovenproof ramekins, dividing it equally. Set the ramekins aside.
Place the apple pieces into a nonstick pan and stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and the cider vinegar. Cook over medium heat until the apple is tender, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and reserve in a nonreactive bowl or plastic container.
In a medium skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the livers and cook until medium-rare, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer the livers to a blender. Add the sherry to the skillet and stir to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom. Pour the sherry and liver juices into the blender. Add the cream, egg yolks, nutmeg and salt and pulse until smooth and fairly liquid. Strain into a bowl through a fine-mesh sieve and discard the remaining solids.
Pour the liver mixture into the ramekins and set them in a baking dish filled halfway with hot water. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and crimp the foil loosely around the two shorter edges of the pan. Bake until the flans are set and firm, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven, set the ramekins on a wire rack and let cool to room temperature.
To remove the flans from the ramekins, run a paring knife around the edge of the custard. Place a small serving plate over the top of each ramekin. Hold it in place with one hand and flip the ramekin upside down. Gently tap the underside of the ramekin a few times and lift it off the molded custard.
Serve garnished with the apple caviar on the side.
A+
Submitted by Jerry on Fri, 2007-01-12 18:43.
These are great. Last time I made anything with chicken livers it was Alton Brown's mousse, which was so bad I had to throw it out (after several hours of work, if I recall). Right about this dish being rich ... would be really good miniaturized and served with a couple other things as a composite apetizer. Perhaps a tiny glassine ampule full of olive oil and a single crispy piece of bacon dangling from a wire harness. Hmmm ... nevermind, that's Minibar. (Where I am dying to go. And I hear they may be expanding this year.)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/02/AR2007010200194.html
Majorbar?
Submitted by Tom Mentzer on Sat, 2007-01-13 20:15.
The setup seems obvious. "What do you call a Minibar that expands?" Too bad I'm not funny enough to supply the punchline.
I Andres keep the experience intimate. It's one thing to leave Minibar hungry, as long as you're one of the very few experiencing it. But who wants to drop that kind of cash with a table of wankers sitting five feet away complaining that the deconstructed something-or-other wasn't as good as the last three times they tried it.
Wankers!
Submitted by Jerry on Mon, 2007-01-15 04:21.
Leave it to the wankers to ruin every dining experience. Went to Eat Bar tonight, Tallulah's more down to earth (and assuredly less spectacular) version of the Minibar. Figs wrapped with bacon, swimming in mascarpone; chestnut soup (which should always be eaten whenever offered); charcuterie (if you get there in time); and scotch eggs. Oh yeah, scotch eggs.
I also ate a half-dozen Rappahannock oysters. More than anything they made me sleepy but perhaps that was the beer, which they take every bit as seriously as their food. They are attempting to be a bit of an oyster bar.
All in all, good stuff, and reasonably priced. If you live within 3 blocks, I recommend you stop by every night!
Maybe worth the effort
The author suggests making these up to three days in advance and keeping them covered in the refrigerator. When you serve them, make sure they're at room temperature or slight cooler. When warm, the consistency is spongy and the flavor too egg-like; when cold, flavors are muted. It's good to serve bread with this rich appetizer.