Holiday excesses--and a chopped liver pate

Thanksgiving is over, and we've all eaten too much. Actually I didn't overeat on Thanksgiving day. I paced myself with small helpings and no dessert, but somehow all my resolve went out the window the next two days. For breakfast Friday, I had a generous helping of mashed potatoes and gravy; for lunch, leftovers; and for dinner, we went out to Buca di Beppo--Italian is not what you should eat the day after a holiday! The next day my sons announced they were taking the little kids to Long John Silver's for lunch and did I want to go--well, of course I did. I probably haven't been there in twenty years, but I had a great fish sandwich. With restraint, I had cole slaw instead of fries. And then today I thought I was so good--one small piece of cold turkey (with a lot of skin on it, because I love the skin) when I thought no one else would ever wake up and make breakfast plans; then a bowl of corn flakes when I discovered there were no breakfast plans. For lunch, cottage cheese and a helping of self righteousness that I ruined by eating two pieces of a chocolate bar. Supper tonight? Bacon and scrambled eggs. I have not stepped on the scale to see the results of this off-and-on attempt to be moderate.
But Christmas is coming with even bigger temptations. One of the things I love about the holidays is to have friends in and make appetizers. And, yes, I already have them planned--nothing like being a compulsive. I'll serve hummus with vegetables, the cheeseball I've had every year since I was a child, a caviar and cream cheese spread that my youngest son loves, a sherry/chutney pate that I recently found and think is wonderful, and a Reuben dip. But the oustanding offering is liver pate, a recipe my friend Sally Jackson gave me. If  you swear you don't eat chicken livers, you'll take it back when you try this:

1 lb. chicken livers
2 Tbsp. chopped green onions
2 Tbsp. butter
1/3 c. Madeira (no, don't substitute brandy, etc.--it needs the Madeira)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. allspice
1/8 tsp. pepper
pinch thyme
1/4 c. whipping cream
1/3 to 1/2 melted butter

Saute livers and onions in 2 Tbsp. butter until livers are cooked through and no longer pink. Put in food processor and puree. Add Madeira to the skillet and cook down to 3 Tbsp. Add to the livers along with the herbs, spices, and cream. With the food process running, slowly add the melted butter. Pour into desired container and refrigerate overnight. Serve with crackers, though I prefer cocktail rye.
I asked Sally how long leftovers would keep and she said she didn't know because she never had any leftovers.

Roast beef, vinegar green beans, and southwestern potatoes

We had a p re-Thanksgiving dinner tonight with semi-family, people who have come to be family to us. Jordan, Christian, and Jacob were here, along with neighbors Jay and Susan and temporary tenant and longtime friend Elizabeth. I admit, this dinner was a lot of work, most of it done last night, but the raves it got were worth it. Jordan said tonight, "It felt like Thanksgiving." Since she will miss Thanksgiving with the family due to another obligation, I thought this was particuarly appropriate.
For years I have had a roast beef recipe in my "Entrees Not Tried" file. I finally decided I had to try it or discard it. When it was published it said this was a reasonably priced cut of meat--not so when I bought it, but hey! Beef and all groceries ahe gone up. The roast required three garlic preparations--first you sauteed garlic cloves in olive oil, poked holes in the beef, and stuck the cloves in. My mom used to do that! Then you made a rub of mashed garlic, powdered thyme and salt, rubbed it all over the meat, and let it sit in the fridge overnight. Next day you rub the seasonings off with a paper towel, brown the meat in a 450 overn, and cover with garlic oil (you've made that by sauteeing 12 garlic cloves, split, in olive oil with bay leaves and thyme sprigs). Make a paste of those sauteed garlic cloves and a bit of the olive oil. Brown the roast on all side in a really hot oven, then reduce to 300, rub that last paste on the fat top, and roast until thermometer reads 120. We actually took it out at 116 and it wasn't nearly as rare as I'd hoped. But it was darned good.
I made Christian's green beans--bacon, chopped scallions sauteed in the grease, 2 huge cans of green beans, vinegar over all, and then the bacon sprinkled on top. He loves them.
And then there were southwestern baked potatoes--I didn't feel too bad about eating a twice-baked potato since there were small--the biggest red potatoes I could find.

Southewetern Stuffed Potatoes

Scrub six good-sized red potatoes, cut a bit off the bottom so they'll sit flat, rub with oil, and bake at 350 until tender.
When cool enough to handle, scoop out the insides (carefully) and mash with 1/2 c. shredded cheddar, 2 Tbsp. sour cream, 1 Tbsp. melted butter (I left it in the microwave and forgot it), 2 Tbsp. buttermilk, 1/2 tsp. each salt and pepper or to taste, and 1 4-oz. can chopped chillies. Carefully stuff mixture back into the potatoes and bake until bubbly. I took the roast out to rest, turned the oven up and reheated the potatoes while the roast rested.

Here's Susan's picture of her full plate and her after picture.

At the risk of sounding immodest about my cooking, I have to say it was a great dinner. But the company and the sense of family really made it perfect. We are blessed to have these people in our lives.