I had never even heard of Pâté before marrying into Eric’s family. Small-minded, I refused to try it for years. I couldn’t get past the “liver” part. But eventually, after watching the older generation enjoy it with gusto at every holiday, I gave in, and was pleasantly surprised. It is rich and flavorful. Think of it like spreadable baloney. You don’t need a lot of it, a little goes a long way. It’s particularly delicious on a slice of toasted Rye bread, a classic in our family. This pate might not make it onto my “final meal” list, but I think it might make it onto my mother-in-law Kris’s. It really is delicious, and very nostalgic because her mother made it for every holiday. We still make it every Christmas Eve as an appetizer to our Swedish Meatballs. Some years Kris even makes traditional Swedish Flatbread, a very thinly rolled out homemade cracker. She made some this year, and that’s what’s in the photo above. Any sort of cracker will do! Most recipes for pâté are made with chicken livers. I looked up a few recipes and they all start out with “Buy 15 chicken livers” and I’m just like naw man, I’m out. Braunschweiger all the way. It tastes amazing and I don’t have to slide livers into a skillet. I’ve come a long way you guys, but I’m not crazy. Then they said, but we did have one terrible meal we cooked ourselves. We saw liver at the store for like a dollar a pound…so we bought some. “And what did you do with it??” “Heated it on the stove with some salt and pepper, then forked it in. It was nasty.” So once again, thank your lucky stars that I am offering you this tasty pate recipe and not asking you to endure sautéed liver in the name of cheap food. 😂 Garnish with black pepper, fresh dill, and a drizzle of olive oil if you want to be real fancy. Serve with Rye bread or crackers. Our family eats it with Flatbread, a homemade Swedish cracker with anise and other spices.
Braunschweiger (you can usually find this in a well-stocked grocery store, located near Baloney lunchmeat) cream cheese Worcestershire dry mustard powder a bit of cayenne, it’s not spicy
Add it to a food processor with about a half block of cream cheese, and a bit of Worcestershire sauce.
Then blend it up, scrape the sides, and voila!
That’s really it!
