APPETIZER: The addition of both cognac & port makes this pate special.

BAKED CHICKEN LIVER PATE:

1 lb. chicken liver

½ lb. onions, sliced                                                     

4 tbsp. butter

1 cup 18% cream

¼ cup each cognac & Port

1 garlic clove, finely minced                                      

salt and pepper to taste                                   

1 tsp. each of thyme and curry powder                      

a few bacon rashers to line mould

1 bay leaf

Trim, wash and pat dry chicken liver. Melt 2 tbsp. butter in heavy skillet and cook onions over medium heat until very soft. Remove with a slotted spoon. Melt 2 more tbsp. butter; then add liver.  Cook for 5 minutes until browned on the outside but still pink inside, return onion to skillet and stir well together.

Transfer liver mixture to a food processor fitted with steel blade. Add cream, cognac and the Port and process until pureed. Add minced garlic, thyme, curry powder, salt and pepper. Pulse on/off until mixed. Check seasoning. 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Line a pate mould with the bacon rashers, letting the ends hang over the sides.  Fill the mould with the liver mixture and top it with a bay leaf. Fold the overhanging strips over the pate and cover the mould with a triple thickness of foil. Set the mould in a baking pan filled with boiling water ¾ of the way up the sides of the mould.  Bake for 20 minutes or until set. Remove from oven, let it cool completely then chill it overnight before serving.