I had left over chicken livers after making Chicken, Pork, Liver and Mushroom Hand-Raised Pies which I used to make this pâté which is adapted from Jacques Pépin’s cookbook Essential Pepin.  It is a rich pâté with a large amount of butter, which he explains is necessary to keep it from being grainy and bitter.  I recall making Danish pork liver pâté when we lived in Thailand some 40 years ago, and how surprised I was at the time that there was about as much fat as liver in it. 

(A funny story is that a Texan scouter I worked with for many years had a Danish husband.  When they were discussing getting married and settling in Texas, she laid out as a precondition that he had to be able to eat a jalapeno pepper.  He ate it and they got married.  To my knowledge, that was the last time he ever ate a jalapeno.  I recall that he ate a pork liver pâté sandwich for lunch every day and was a thin person.)

1 lb. chicken livers trimmed of any sinew

2/3 cup thinly sliced onion

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

2 bay leaves

¼ tsp. thyme

1 cup chicken stock

1-2 tsp. salt (depending on how salty the chicken stock is.  2 tsp. if unsalted)

¾ lb. (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp. brandy

Put the chicken livers, onion, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, chicken stock, and 1 tsp. of salt in a small saucepan.  Bring to a boil, cover and cook at a bare simmer for 3 minutes.  Remove from the heat and allow to rest for 10 minutes.  (The objective of this process is to avoid overcooking the livers.

Remove the bay leaves from the saucepan.  With a slotted spoon, transfer the solids from the saucepan to the bowl of a food processor.  Process the mixture for 30 seconds, and then allow to rest for 5 minutes.

With the motor running, add the butter 1 tablespoon at a time into the bowl of the food processor.  Add the pepper and brandy.  Test for seasoning and add up to a second teaspoon of salt.

Divide the mixture over several small ramekins.  Cover the surface with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 4-6 hours to set up.

This pâté freezes well.  I put the plastic wrap covered ramekins in individual vacuum sealed bags, sealed and froze them.