Chicken Liver Mousse

 
Chicken Liver Mousse
 
Makes 1.5 cups
 
Ingredients:
 
12 oz chicken livers, rinsed, patted dry, trimmed, and halved if large
1/4 t table salt
1/4 t pepper
2 T unsalted butter, plus 4 T cut into 4 pieces and chilled
2 sprigs fresh thyme, plus 1/4 t minced
1 shallot, minced
3 T brandy
1/4 c heavy cream
 
Directions:
 
Pat chicken livers dry with paper towels and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Melt 2 T butter in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add livers and thyme sprigs to skillet and cook, without stirring, until livers are lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Flip livers, and shallot, and cook until livers are lightly browned on second side and shallot is just beginning to soften, about 2 minutes. Off heat, add brandy and allow residual heat in skillet to reduce brandy to 1 T, about 1 minute. Discard thyme sprigs.
 
Process live in food processor until smooth, about 30 seconds, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. With processor running, add remaining 4 T chilled butter, 1 piece at a time, until incorporated, about 1 minute. Strain liver mixture through fine-mesh strainer into large bowl, pressing on solids to extract as much liver mixture as possible; discard solids.
 
Whip heavy cream in separate large bowl until still peaks form. Fold whipped cream and minced thyme into strained liver mixture until fully incorporated. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
 
Spoon mousse into two 6-ounce ramekins and smooth tops. Press plastic wrap against surface of mousse and refrigerate until completely chilled and set, at least 1 hour or u to 3 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Serve with crostini or crackers.
 
My Notes:
 

I made this for a cookbook club in my community. This recipe (adapted) is from the America's Test Kitchen, Boards: Stylish Spreads for Casual Gatherings.

I did not strain the mixture. I made 1 day ahead.

I used Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey, as I did not have brandy on hand.

This could use a clove of minced garlic.
 
Everyone loved this!

Mexican Street Corn Salad

I made this for a Mexican-themed dinner party at a friends house (November 2023)

Adapted from this recipe in [  ]: 

https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/mexican-street-corn-salad-esquites/

Ingredients
 
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups fresh corn or thawed frozen corn
1/2 cup mayonnaise  [I started with less mayo and added some yogurt]
1/3 cup crumbled Cotija cheese
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1 tablespoon lime juice  [This is about  one half of a medium lime]
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
 
[I added about a tablespoon of minced red onion]
 
Directions
 
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the corn [and garlic – I didn’t want to toss in raw garlic at the end]. Cook and stir for 8 to 10 minutes, until the corn is slightly charred.
 
Transfer the charred corn to a large bowl. Stir in the mayonnaise, cheese, cilantro, green onions, jalapeno, lime juice, garlic cloves, chili powder, salt and pepper [and minced red onion].
 
If desired, top the corn salad with any remaining cilantro and crumbled Cotija cheese. Esquites is usually served warm, not piping hot, so let the dish cool slightly before serving.

My Notes:

This came out very good. you definitely want to serve it right away.