Chicken Liver Crostini

My friend Therese noticed that I shared her enthusiasm for David Tanis' A Platter of Figs, and came up with a smart idea. Why not share our excitement and efforts with friends? Have a Tanis potluck of sorts, focusing on one or two of the seasonal menus in his book.

Last Saturday night, after several months of emailing back and forth, seven of us, pots, bowls, and bottles in hand, showed up at Therese's home to feast together.

And feast, we did! I personally am racked with guilt over how much delicious food we ate. And for me, this was after an orgy of food the night before at Mozza's five course tasting of food from the Veneto (much more on this later, I promise!).

We gorged on Fish Soup with Mussels and Chorizo, Green Lasagne with Greens, Roasted Pepper Salad, and a sprightly green salad. And then finished up with not one, but two desserts -- Panna Cotta, and Italian Plum Cake. Everything was aptly executed, so the eating was very good, indeed.

And with a gang of teachers, poets, lexicographers, and curators -- foodies all --the conversation was lively and compelling. It looks like this may very well become a quarterly celebration for us.

To start, most of us enjoyed the rustic chicken liver crostini that I whipped up for the occasion. The exceptions being the one vegetarian and my liver-and-fowl-phobic husband, who could barely even glance at the dish, let alone dignify it with a taste.

In the end, it was his loss, because the flavor of the chicken liver was excellent. Tanis' recipe calls for either duck or chicken livers. I started out looking for duck livers, but when this became too much of a challenge, I switched to Jidori chicken livers from McCall's Meat & Fish Co. in Los Feliz. You shouldn't feel sheepish about using chicken. They tasted great.

This paté is not a refined, ultra-creamy, liver mousse filled with loads of heavy cream and butter. When I say rustic, I mean it. The texture is coarse and very country, due to the fact that there is no puréeing. The livers are hand chopped and then butter is mashed into them.

My initial reaction to this paté, was to put it down as too crude. In revisiting it at the party with a glass of Prosecco, and even the following morning, I definitely developed an appreciation for this humble liver preparation.

I do have deeper longings for a luxurious mousse with some cognac and perhaps more complexity of flavor, but this is an hors d'oeuvre that is good to know. The thyme, pancetta, and shallot assure a good flavor profile, and this is really quite simple to execute. Even the least experienced cook should have no qualms tackling this.

Tanis suggests toasting slices of baguette. I prefer slicing the baguette on the bias and very lightly brushing the slices on both sides with olive oil and then baking them in the oven at 400 degrees. The crostini seem to keep better that way.

In his fall menu, Another Early Autumn, Tanis serves the duck liver crostini with a roast Double Duck Breast with Baked Figs. My guess is that serving these all together would be a lesson in decadence that I would be very pleased to learn.

I hope to give the duck breasts a go, as soon as I can get A. out of the country.

Chicken (or Duck) Liver Toasts

1 1/2 pounds chicken (or duck) livers

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 slices pancetta, in small slivers

2 large shallots, finely diced

2 teaspoons chopped thyme

A splash of dry sherry or sherry vinegar (I used the vinegar)

4 tablespoons butter, softened

1 baguette, sliced and toasted

Trim the livers of any connective tissue or fat, and blot them dry on paper towels. Season with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. When hot, add the pancetta and shallots and cook until browned.

Raise the heat to high and add the livers. Stir and continue cooking. Shake the pan every so often. Cook until the livers are still pink in the center. Add the thyme and sherry, and turn the contents of the pan out onto a large cutting board. Let cool.

Chop the liver mixture into a rough paste. Transfer the paste to a bowl and smash in the butter with a wooden spoon. Taste for salt and pepper. Cover tightly with plastic. Serve at room temperature.

Serves 8

Canal House Roasted Tomatoes Studded with Garlic

I finally purchased Volume 1 of Canal House Cooking. I had been meaning to since at least last fall.

Oh, how I wish I hadn't wasted so much time.

I can't remember the last time I was this delighted with a book of recipes. Christopher Hirsheimer and Melissa Hamilton's cooking journal beautifully captures their passion and excitement for food.

Their enthusiasm is infectious.

Canal House Cooking is the epitome of what I dream of producing and living -- yes, I am filled with envy (and admiration)! This little journal is gorgeously produced. The photography is dreamy, the writing inspiring, the spirit fun, and the recipes are realistic.

These women speak the romance of food and drink -- Let's make a Pimm's Cup and pickle some watermelon rind! Let's invite a crowd and make paella over an open fire!

I'm in love with them and the life they have created.

Each issue is seasonal and embodies the wonder of its particular time of year.

Hooray for tomatoes! It's summertime!

Even though I was overly optimistic about the ripeness and heft of the tomatoes from our garden, the Canal House roasted tomatoes, studded with garlic served over spaghetti turned out marvelously.

This recipe is actually an adaptation of a Paul Bertolli (the genius behind Fra' Mani salumi, also of Chez Panisse and Oliveto fame) recipe. I love that I had every single ingredient on hand. Of course riper, more luscious tomatoes than those I plucked from the garden, would have made this already stellar dish, sublime.

The idea is that everyone gets their own garlicky, juicy tomato to squash over a nest of pasta -- essentially creating your own personal tomato sauce.

Fun eating, this is!

I'm particularly fond of the use of anchovies, pancetta, and breadcrumbs in this recipe. I always forget it, but I love toasty breadcrumbs with pasta. There is something about the crisp crunch against the slippery noodles that is immensely satisfying.

And when the breadcrumbs are cooked until golden in olive oil, the grease from cooked pancetta, and anchovies that have been melted down? Heaven.

Really.

It may seem insane to turn on the oven in the middle of summer, but it is only for an hour or so. And it is worth it. The tomatoes studded with garlic roast in the oven under a scattering of breadcrumbs and pancetta and a sprinkling of chopped fresh herbs.

The juices accumulate in the bottom of the pan with the extra crumbs during the roasting, just waiting to be tossed with the spaghetti. Just be sure to use juicy tomatoes for ultimate sauciness!

Canal House Roasted Tomatoes Studded with Garlic

1/2 cup diced pancetta

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the pasta

2 anchovy fillets

1 cup coarse fresh bread crumbs

4 tomatoes, tops sliced off, seeds scooped out (use your fingers)

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

Small handful fresh thyme, parsley, or basil leaves, chopped (I used a combination of all 3)

Salt and pepper

1/2 pound spaghetti

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Fry the pancetta in a skillet over medium heat until browned and crisp around the edges. Use a slotted spatula to lift the pancetta out of the skillet to a plate. Leave the rendered fat in the skillet. Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and anchovies to the same skillet. Use a wooden spoon to mash the anchovies until they dissolve. Add the bread crumbs and cook, stirring often,until they are golden.

Put the tomatoes, cut side up, in a baking dish and slip some garlic into each tomato. Mound some bread crumbs into each tomato and scatter pancetta and herbs on top. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle the remaining 4 tablespoons of oil over all. Roast the tomatoes in the oven until they have browned a bit and the interior is supple but the tomatoes have not collapsed, 1 - 1 1/2 hours.

Cook the spaghetti in a large pot of boiling salted water. Drain. Return the pasta to the pot and stir in some olive oil and some of the oily tomato juices from the bottom of the tomato roasting dish.

Serve the spaghetti with the roasted tomatoes and their juices spooned on top.

Pasta Carbonara

Pasta Carbonara is very likely my favorite pasta dish. With just a little bit of practice, it is a snap to make and the payoff is huge. A great dish to impress a date! Although best when it is chilly, I don't know anyone who would turn it down in the middle of summer.

It pops up on a lot of menus, but so many versions are inauthentic. Who uses cream in Pasta Carbonara?!? Sacrilege.

Traditionally the ingredients include pecorino, guanciale, and raw eggs. There seems to be significant debate about this. Some people even use white wine! Ack!

I do think there is flexibility when it comes to the pork and the cheese. I routinely use parmesan. I have never used guanciale. Sinner!

I'll use pancetta, but am completely satisfied with bacon. And I'll also confess that I like to add red pepper flakes (from Penzey's, preferably) and chopped parsley.

Hilariously, I have just read this quotation in Giuliano Bugialli's Bugialli on Pasta: "Of course, smoked bacon should never be substituted in this dish, since pancetta itself must dominate." See what I mean?

Damani Thomas taught me how to make this dish back at Oswald in Santa Cruz. It has been in my repertoire for about fifteen years. Thank god.

The idea is to combine the hot fat from the olive oil and bacon with the raw eggs to make a creamy emulsion. The hot fat cooks the eggs.

There is a luscious quality to this dish. It is creamy and rich thanks to the eggs, the cheese and the fat. But there is also the garlic kick and the salt of the pork and the heat of the chili that satisfy your most constant cravings. Or mine, anyway.

Pasta Carbonara

1/2 pound or a bit more spaghetti (or linguine if you have recently discovered that this is your favorite pasta, like me)

2 eggs (I figure an egg per person.)

8 or so slices of bacon, chopped into lardons or approximately 1/2 cup pancetta, chopped into lardons (This could vary depending on your love of pork.)

4 or so tablespoons olive oil

1 cup or more grated parmesan

2 or 3 plump cloves of garlic, chopped

1 tablespoon parsley, chopped

red pepper flakes, to taste

salt and pepper

Bring a large pot of water to boil and salt it. Cook the spaghetti until al dente.

Cook bacon in a large sauté pan in olive oil, until browning but not too crisp. Add garlic and stir. Do not let the garlic brown. If necessary remove from heat until pasta is ready.

Meanwhile whisk eggs in a large metal bowl. Mix in cheese, parsley, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.

Drain spaghetti and add to the pan of bacon. Stir until combined and the spaghetti and oil are hot.

Add the ingredients in the pan to the egg mixture, stirring immediately until well combined and you have arrived upon a creamy sauce. If necessary, stir while holding metal bowl over heat for a minute.

Taste for salt and pepper.

Serve immediately. This cools far too quickly, so hurry up!

Serves 2.