Midwestern Pate

What can I say - I'm a big fan of snack trays!  This is the savory tray I put together for New Year's Eve.  There are oil cured olives, prosciutto rolls, midwestern pate, hot italian sausage, creme fraiche, genoa salami and brine cured olives (in the middle).

Midwestern Pate is something that my mom used to make for special occasions when I was a kid.  Our grocery store didn't stock goose liver pate, so mom made this recipe.  Of course, some of the ingredients she used aren't available here - so I guess this is a compromise of a compromise recipe!

Here are the ingredients:  Braunschweiger (liverwurst), horseradish, scallions, salt & pepper, and a nice red wine.

Trim up the ends of the scallions - removing the roots and even-up the greens.

Chop them into really thin slices.

 As thin as you can get without chopping your fingers.

Chop up the greens too - they add a different dimension to the dish, don't you know!

 Toss the chopped scallions into a bowl.

Add the horseradish.  For this much Braunschweiger, I use two heaping teaspoons.  Let it drain a bit before adding to the bowl.

Nicely drained...

Add more if you like the spice!

Take the wrapper off of the braunschweiger... (Yes, I wear plastic gloves when I handle meat while cooking.)

And add it to the bowl.

Oh!  want to see the best, most well behaved puppy in the entire world?  Here she is!

Isn't she perfect?  Attentive, yet calm.  Holding a perfect "sit" position.  It must be all that training and practicing.  

Okay - it's the braunschweiger.  But she sat for 10 minutes without moving to earn this reward.  Good girl!

So all of the braunschweiger goes into the bowl - minus the treat for the puppy.

A scant teaspoon of salt.

Add a 1/2 teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper.

Smash up the braunschweiger with a fork - preferably not the the same one you just used to feed the dog.

Keep smashing it up...

And mix in the scallions and horseradish while you mash it together.

Now, depending on the moisture in the braunschweiger, you could use up to 1/2 cup of red wine.  So don't add it all at once - because this can quickly turn nasty as a soup.  (Trust me.  It's also why I'm using measuring cup instead of just pouring from the bottle...)

So pour in the wine a bit at a time.

And mix it together, adding enough wine to make it easily spreadable.

I only used 1/8th of a cup of wine this time.  I promise, the rest didn't go to waste!

Cover with plastic wrap, pressing down to make sure the wrap is touching the pate.

All ready to pop into the refrigerator.  Chill it for a few hours.  Overnight is even better.

And there you have it!  Midwestern pate.  Serve on crostini or crackers for a nice spicy treat.  Yum!