A Love Affair With Southern Cooking_ Recipes and Recollections - Jean Anderson [17]
3. Meanwhile, coarsely chop the scallions, ginger, and peppercorns with the allspice and nutmeg by churning 3 to 5 seconds in a food processor. Add to the skillet and sauté, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until limp. Cool to room temperature.
4. Return the scallion mixture to the processor (no need to wash the blade or bowl); add the chicken livers, salt, egg yolks, and wine; and purée by churning 30 seconds. Scrape the work bowl.
5. With the motor running, drop 4 tablespoons of the butter down the feed tube one by one, making sure each one is incorporated before adding the next. Stop the machine, wait a few seconds, then open the work bowl. If any flecks of butter have risen to the top, pulse these in completely. Add the remaining butter exactly the same way, pausing after each 4 tablespoons to pulse in any flecks that float to the top. Note: Have patience. If you rush things, the mixture will separate and the only way to bring it back together is to pulse in 1 to 2 tablespoons of the warm cream. Keep it handy.
6. Force the liver mixture through a fine sieve set over a large mixing bowl. Tip: I find the bowl of a ladle the best implement to use—just move it around and around the sieve. Add the cream, including the warmed cream, and stir until no streaks of white remain.
7. Pour into the prepared container, set in a large roasting pan, and slide onto the middle oven shelf. Carefully pour enough boiling water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the container in which you’re baking the liver mousse.
8. Bake uncovered until pale golden on top and a cake tester comes out clean when inserted midway between the center and the rim—about 1 hour and 10 minutes.
9. Lift the mousse from the hot-water bath, set upright on a wire rack, and cool to room temperature. This is important. If you cover and refrigerate the mousse while it’s warm, drops of water will condense and discolor the surface.
10. Cover the mousse with plastic food wrap, overwrap in aluminum foil, and refrigerate for at least 12 hours.
11. To unmold, dip a thin-blade spatula in hot water and loosen the mousse around the edge (the center tube, too, if you used a ring mold). You’ll have to keep dipping the spatula in hot water as you move it around the edge of the mold. Now stand the pan or mold in about an inch of hot water for 10 seconds. Lift out of the water, place a platter on top, then invert, shaking lightly. If the mousse refuses to budge, dip again in hot water. Once unmolded, you can smooth any rough areas with the spatula.
12. Put out a basket of homemade melbas and serve the chicken liver mousse with cocktails. Or slice and serve at the start of an elegant meal, garnishing each plate with a few gherkins and a little mesclun that has been tossed in a tart vinaigrette.
I have lived temperately, eating little animal food, and that…as a condiment for vegetables, which constitute my principal diet.
—THOMAS JEFFERSON
CANDIED BACON
MAKES ABOUT 2 DOZEN PIECES
Few southern appetizers are easier or more crowd-pleasing than these crisp, caramelized slices of bacon. Before you dismiss sugar and pork as an unhealthful and unlikely combination, give this appetizer a try. Its flavor reminds me of the sugar-crusted hams of Easter. Note: I use nitrite-free bacon for this recipe and do not pack the brown sugar into the measuring cup. Much of the bacon fat drains off during the long, slow baking as indeed does most of the sugar. And wasn’t it only a year or so ago that foodies were touting lard (and bacon) as “the new health foods”?
¾ cup light brown sugar, not packed
2 teaspoons dry mustard
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 pound thickly sliced, hickory-smoked bacon, each slice halved crosswise
1. Preheat the oven to 325° F. Lay a large baking rack (preferably one with a cross-hatch grid) on top of an ungreased 15½ × 10½ × 1-inch jelly roll pan. Spritz the rack well with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
2. Combine the brown sugar, mustard,