Chicken Liver Pate

Who doesn't love a good pate? This one is super easy to make, tasty and uses Mace -- now, there's an under-utilised spice! The resulting pate is smooth and velvety, freezes well and will be ever so popular at picnics should the rain ever end.

Thanks to Delia Smith for this recipe. For those of you State-side, Delia is to the UK what Julia was to the US.

8oz chicken livers (225g)
6oz unsalted butter, room temperature (175g)
(Note, the original recipe doesn't state to use unsalted. I've tried the recipe using salted and unsalted, and prefer the results using unsalted.)
2 extra oz unsalted butter, for melting (50g)
2 tbsp brandy (NOT optional!)
2 tsp mustard powder (I use Colman's English Mustard)
1/4 tsp powdered mace
1 tsp fresh chopped thyme, or 1/4 tsp dries thyme
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Salt and black pepper

Melt about 1oz (25g) of butter in a heavy frying pan and saute the chicken livers over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring all the time. Using a slotted spoon remove them from the pan and transfer them to a blender.

Melt the rest of the 6oz (175g) butter and add this to the blender. Deglaze the pan with the brandy then add to blender. Then add the mustard, mace, thyme, garlic, salt and pepper and blend until you have a smooth paste. Note: At this point, the paste may look a little runny, but not to worry as it will set in the fridge over night.

Next, pour the mixture into one large or a series of small containers. Pour the 2oz (50g) of melted butter over, leave to cool, cover with foil or cling film (plastic wrap) and put it in the bottom of the fridge for a day or two to set. Serve with hot toast or crackers and some cornichons. Very tasty.