1 tablespoon butter
1 green onion, sliced
1/2 pound chicken livers
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon butter
1 large apple, peeled and cubed (Rome beauty or Granny Smith)
1 teaspoon caraway seed
1/2 cup water or chicken broth
2 tablespoons sherry
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted in 1/2 teaspoon butter
cooked rice
Preparation:
1. Cut chicken livers in halves or quarters.
2. Mix flour, salt and pepper in a bowl. Add chicken livers and toss
gently, until the livers have absorbed all of the flour mixture.
3. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in large frying pan over medium high
heat. Add onion, stir for 30 seconds. Add the chicken livers and brown on each side,
careful not to overcook. Remove livers from pan and set aside.
4. Melt 1 teaspoon butter in same frying pan, add apples and caraway
seed. Stir fry for about a minute until apples are heated. Add water (or broth) and
sherry, stir. Add chicken livers and stir gently until sauce has thickened.
Presentation: Serve over rice, topped with toasted pine nuts.
Chef says:
Instead of plain cooked white rice, try lightly browning the raw rice
kernels in a teaspoon of butter before adding the liquid. And use chicken broth instead of
water to cook the rice.
A perfect accompaniment would be boiled mustard greens (or spinach) and fresh hot
biscuits. This will make music to your mouth, and nourish you deep down to your soul.
My friend, tuba player Sam Pilafian, told me he was working on a new CD
called "Cooking With Frank and Sam," with Frank Vignola, guitarist (it's on the
Concord Jazz label: CCD-4647). He wanted a recipe to accompany every tune on the disc, and
asked me if I could make up something with chicken livers to accompany a tune by Thelonius
Monk, who loved chicken livers.
So I remembered way back to when I was about twelve, and we
were on a family vacation somewhere in the Appalachian mountains. We had stopped at an old
mountaintop inn for dinner. Walking into the dining room the walls were lined with
pictures of baseball teams, and we soon found out that the proprietor of the inn was a
retired Chicago Cubs ball player. He was also a great cook, and recommended his special of
the evening for our dining pleasure: chicken livers over rice. This recipe is my best
recollection (some 35 years later!) of the wonderful meal we had that night.
