Mother's Day Wishes

            Years ago, my greatest mother’s day wish was to have a day to myself. A day off. At that time, the kids were in their “tweens”. Our weekends were filled with little league, dance team, home projects, and my husband’s band. Weekdays, there was work and school. Free time was nearly non-existent. So, when they asked me what I wanted as a gift, I told them. “Don’t spend any money. What I would really like is to spend the afternoon doing nothing…no laundry, no phone calls, no cooking.”

            Of course, doing nothing doesn’t mean literally doing nothing. I read the best parts of the Sunday Oregonian. After that, I filled planters with annuals and arranged them on the patio. Then I planted marigolds around the mailbox. When I was done, I sat on the deck and admired my work. All of this without anyone yelling “mom!” even once. By late afternoon, I felt refreshed, and as rested as if I’d spent the day at a spa.
            Pat and the kids took me to dinner at Giovanni’s for the best lasagna in town. I was an awesome day. Looking back, it’s hard to believe that I essentially said, “Leave me alone!”… It’s even harder to believe that they actually did.

           This year, my son James and son-in-law Jimmy were in charge of dinner. A roasted garlic and mushroom risotto topped with crispy pancetta accompanied grilled pork tenderloin and Caesar salad. A made-from-scratch blueberry pie was for dessert. It's awesome having great cooks in the family. 

           The following is a recipe James taught me. It's a variation of the pate served at Papa Hayden's  Restaurant, where he used to work. It takes some work and advance planning, but it's definitely worth it. For this you will need a heavy skillet, a food processor and a fine mesh strainer.

Chicken Liver Paté

1 lb. raw chicken liver

1 medium tart apple

1 small onion

½ cup dry white wine

1 cube butter

Kosher salt

Black pepper

Rinse and trim the livers, cutting into even pieces. Peel, core and dice the apple. Chop the onion coarsely.  

Heat a heavy skillet (well-seasoned cast iron works nicely) to medium high. You can spray with a bit of olive oil, but leave it mostly dry. Caramelize the apple and onion chunks. When they are soft and starting to brown, add the liver and sear until cooked (about 3 minutes).
Remove everything to the food processor bowl. Cover to keep warm.

Deglaze with the white wine, scraping the pan and boiling to evaporate the alcohol. Pour the mixture into the food processor. Tighten the lid and puree while adding the cold butter in a piece at a time. Continue to process until butter is incorporated and all is smooth and creamy with no chunks. 
 

Force the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer. This will make your pate silky smooth. After straining, transfer to a serving size bowl (or buttered mold). Chill for several hours or overnight.