The cooks on the slowtravel community forums have been working on a new cooking challenge - instead of each of us preparing the same recipe each week, we are preparing our own appetizer - or Small Bite - that uses a specific main ingredient. So far we have tackled shrimp, crab, sun-dried tomatoes, avocado, goat cheese, smoked salmon, pecans, pumpkin, olives, mushrooms, and ginger. This week Jan selected our ingredient and went with cranberries . . . just in time for American Thanksgiving!
Of course we went a wee bit overboard with our 'small bites'. We ended up with a selection of cranberry appetizers and a cranberry martini. As we sipped the martinis we enjoyed cheese and crackers, a cranberry pistachio pate, cranberry brie tartlets, and cranberry pear and blue cheese quesadillas. I started the pate before I headed off to Ottawa because it needed time to sit in the fridge before you sliced into it, the rest came together VERY quickly in less than an hour.
The pate is a recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens site. I noticed it a few years back and bookmarked it as something to make in the future but never did. With Jan selecting cranberries as the ingredient for the week I looked it up again and decided to finally try it out.
I am glad ended up making the pate because it was easy and the results were wonderful. No, this isn't a smooth pate like the ones that you buy that are full of chicken livers. It is however, a fascinating combinations of flavours. And did I say that it was easy to make? Easy + tasty = a perfect recipe in my books!
I was concerned that the texture would be coarse like a meatloaf and not very 'pate-like' but I was happy to discover that the process of storing it in the refrigerator under weights caused it to compact into a relatively smooth consistency. I did store it in the refrigerator under weights for three days unlike the one day suggested in the recipe.
The recipe suggests serving it with stone ground mustard. I tried it without and it was fine but the mustard sure added yet another layer of flavour when I sampled it with the pate. Even Paul - who is a strange fellow and hates mustard in all its many magnificient forms - enjoyed the mustard with the pate. Go figure . . .
Now to head off and see what the other slow travelers have made for 'Cranberry Week'.
Cranberry Pistachio Pate
Nonstick cooking spray
1 egg
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped shallots or onion
1/2 cup shelled, chopped pistachio nuts
1/3 cup port wine or cranberry juice (I used the port - in case there was any doubt :-) )
1/4 cup half-and-half or light cream
1/4 cup fine dry bread crumbs
2 teaspoons dried sage leaves, crushed, or 1/2 teaspoon ground sage
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound lean ground beef
1 pound lean ground pork
Stone ground mustardPreheat oven to 350 degree F. Lightly spray a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
Beat egg in a large mixing bowl. Add cranberries, shallot or onion, pistachio nuts, port wine or cranberry juice, cream, bread crumbs, sage, salt, pepper, and garlic; mix well. Add ground beef and pork. Mix well. Press mixture into prepared pan. Cover tightly with foil. Bakes 1-1/2 hours.
Remove pan from oven. Cool slightly. Uncover; carefully pour off drippings, leaving pate in pan. Cover pate loosely with foil. Place several heavy cans of food in another 9x5x3-inch loaf pan to serve as weights. Place pan on top of the covered pate. Chill overnight.
Remove weighted pan and foil. Loosen sides if necessary. Invert pate onto a serving platter or wrap in plastic wrap and chill for up to 2 days. Cut pate in half lengthwise and then into thin slices. Serve pate with stone ground mustard.
Mmmmmm. The pate is such a good idea. And, of course, you can't possibly go wrong with anything that involves pistachios.
You and your martinis!
Posted by: Deborah | November 22, 2009 at 11:20 AM
Looks really good but I'm more interested in the cranberry martini recipe!
Posted by: Maria I. | November 22, 2009 at 07:24 PM
I love the idea of a pate - it's the most unusual cranberry recipe I have seen this week.
Now it's going on MY to-do recipe list!
Posted by: nancyhol | November 23, 2009 at 01:45 AM
Very interesting combinations - with 2 pounds of meat too... Looks very good.
Posted by: Eden | November 23, 2009 at 05:42 AM
Wow You really outdid yourself. All looks so interesting but I'm with Maria...cranberry martini makes me curious and thirsty.
Posted by: Barb Cabot | November 23, 2009 at 08:03 AM
It was a nice change from the other things we made with cranberries.
The martini recipe pops up tomorrow.
Posted by: JDeQ | November 24, 2009 at 06:36 AM