Pairing: Rosé

 


APPETIZER

Wild Mushroom Terrine

 

A terrine is considered a country-style paté, and while it takes some time to assemble, and requires you to have a way to grind meat, it stores in the refrigerator for up to 10 days ahead of when you want to serve it, benefiting from the time. It also freezes well. This version uses many traditional ingredients, but includes wild mushrooms, giving it a rich, earthy note. Be sure to make the Cranberry Blueberry Mustard as an accompaniment to drizzle on top of each serving slice. The mustard can be made well in advance of when you need it, and also is great with pork tenderloin).

Twelve First Course Servings or up to 24 half slices for an appetizer, served on a baguette slice.

  • 1 T butter
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2/3 pound wild mushrooms, stems removed, brushed clean and thinly sliced.
  • 3 T Madeira
  • 1 T Cognac
  • 1 1/3 pound rib end boneless loin pork, or shoulder, or butt (You will need a meat grinder for this. About 2 ½ cups coarsely ground meat)
  • 2/3 pound chicken livers (you can use a bit less, but the full flavor is really good)
  • ¼ pound bacon ends, finely chopped, or put through the grinder with the pork.
  • ¾ cup rich beef broth reduced to a soupy 2 T
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 2 T chopped fresh parsley
  • 2 ts chopped fresh thyme
  • 1 ts juniper berries, crushed
  • 2/3 ts ground allspice
  • ¾ ts ground cumin
  • ½ ts ground pepper
  • 1 ts sea salt
  • ½ cup shelled, slivered pistachios
  • 2 bay leaves to decorate and flavor the top of the terrine
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Position rack in upper third of the oven.
  2. Grease a 1.5 quart terrine, or glass or enamel bread pan (high gloss). See note below regarding caul fat lining (optional).
  3. Melt butter in heavy skillet. Add onion and cook about 4 minutes, then add garlic and cook an added minute or so.
  4. Add mushrooms, cover, cook 3 minutes. Uncover and cook until mushrooms are soft and liquid is evaporated.
  5. Stir in Madeira and Cognac. Bring to a boil and reduce by half. Set aside.
  6. Blend the ground pork, minced bacon and chicken livers in bowl of a food processor and pulse till blended.
  7. Blend in the mushroom mixture and pulse till blended. NOTE: I had to do this in batches in my quisinart, and that worked fine. Once everything is pulsed that needs to be pulsed, the remaining steps can be done by placing everything in a large bowl and blending smooth by hand.
  8. Add all remaining ingredients except bay leaves and pistachios and blend well.
  9. Spoon 1/3 of the mixture into the prepared mold and smooth with the back of a wooden spoon, making sure you even the mixture. Add the pistachios in an even layer across the mixture. Pack remaining mixture into the mold smoothing and leveling. .
  10. Top with bay leaves and cover the pan tightly with terrine led or heavy aluminum foil, and make sure the foil is tight against the meat as well as a tight seal for the mold.
  11. Poke several steam vent holes in the foil, Place terrine in a larger baking dish, just large enough to hold it if possible, and then pour in boiling water to come up half way on the sides of the mold.
  12. Place in oven and cook until instant-read thermometer registers 150 degrees when inserted in the center (about an hour).
  13. Transfer mold to a rack and cool.
  14. Weight down and refrigerate overnight. (NOTE: I use three small soup cans that fit in my glass bread pan and then for good measure stack something else on top. You can be creative, but make sure the weight is evenly distributed, and actually is in contact with the foil. Some chefs suggest a brick).
  15. The following day, drag a knife around the edge of the mold several times, turn it over, give it a sharp wrap, unmold, and wipe off excess fat. Wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least several days before cutting. I recommend you cut it cold, and if serving as an appetizer, place each piece on a slice of French baguette, with a line of mustard on top of each. Terrine is a bit fragile, but just pat it back into shape on the plate, or for a crowd, on the baguette slice.

CAUL FAT

For those of you who want to really get into this, there is a way to line your pan with pork belly fat, or caul fat. You would be pleased to explore this! Julia Child in Mastering the Art of French Cooking is a good source of information on doing this. It isn’t essential but it does hold the terrine together when you unmold, and then you simply pull off this lovely veil of fat and continue. Talk to your local butcher on where to source.

CRANBERRY BLUEBERRY MUSTARD

This tasty mustard is from The Shoalwater Restaurant in Seaview, Washington.

  • ¾ cup fresh cranberries, rinsed, drained, picked over
  • ½ cup fresh blueberries, rinsed, drained, picked over
  • NOTE: I admit I used frozen berries for both of the above, and it was just fine
  • 1/3 cup raspberry vinegar (I substituted red wine vinegar because I didn’t have any raspberry)
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 2 T port
  • 2/3 cup water
  • 1/3 cup dry mustard
  • 3 egg yolks, room temperature
  1. Combine berries, vinegar, sugar and port in a saucepan over high heat. Cook over high heat, stirring, until berries pop. About 10 minutes if using frozen berries.
  2. Purée in food processor.
  3. Strain mixture through fine-mesh sieve into a medium bowl and set aside. (I often skip this step, or give up on it halfway through. It seems so wasteful).
  4. Combine water and mustard in top of a double boiler, and set over simmering water and stir until smooth.
  5. Whisk in egg yolks, one at a time, and blend and stir until mixture begins to thicken. Whisk in the reserved berry purée. Transfer to a glass jar, cover, and refrigerate. It continues to thicken up as it cools.
  6. Serve with Bethel Heights dry Rosé.


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