We went on holiday a couple of weeks ago...
and, banned from access to internet, I spent some time thinking about all the stuff I want to include in this blog...hence the slight reshuffle of the header again. Fingers crossed it should now cover all my main "cogitations" (that's thoughts" in French) about food 
Now that that bit of spring clean is done, parlons patés & terrines: I love them, preferably game ones. they are very closed to one another, except a paté is a paste -smooth or not- and a terrine made with pieces of meat, mainly handchopped.
Each time we go home I stock the car with little glass jars of "terrine de lapin aux noisettes" (rabbit and hazelnut paté), "paté de canard au poivre vert" (duck and green peppercorns) and "terrine de sanglier a l'armagnac" (wild boar and Brandy). They are just the right size for a quick dinner for 2 on a lazy Sunday night.
Just add some toasted crusty bread, 
cornichons (must have!) and a glass or 2 of Beaujolais Vieilles Vignes from "Bruno", a friend of mum and dad who makes awesome wine. OK, it's not just the wine. he's the "main attraction" to be honest. He's ...well, unique. Last time we went to see him to buy some Beaujolais, we arrived at 5 pm and left at 10? 11? after hours tasting his Beaujolais Vieilles Vignes, Beaujolais Blanc, Beaujolais Superieur and more in the shade of his cellar (a little vaulted room tucked away from his main house "en Pierres Dorées", the local, golden colour stone). We were welcome like kings as usual and treated to countless plates of thinly sliced saucisson and little "boutons" (tiny, cocktail size goats cheese). If you ever stop in Beaujolais, do give him a call or pop in "Le Cosset", the hamlet where he and his wife Roselyne run Le Domaine du Veclay.
Anyway, back when I was living at home, we'd always have a jar of paté if not a home made terrine (at the week end) in the fridge. Evening meal after a big bowl of soup or spread on little slices of baguette if friends/family would turn up unannounced for "aperitif"...as they often do (a habit my husband is still not completely at ease with...Mind you he DID end up meeting 1/2 the village the first week end he went home with me).
Since I am running low on jars of patés at the moment (no trip to France recently), I have planned to make my own terrine this week end. We've got pheasants in the freezer, so all I need is a recipe.
I have decided to adapt one from my dad's book "Terrines" which normally uses duck and the duck skin but hoopefully it shuld work well with bacon and added pork belly fat. fingers crossed:
Pheasant and nuts terrine:
1 kg to 1.5 kg of pheasant meat off the bone
200g of minced veal or pork
250g of porc belly finely chopped
1 good tablespoon of Brandy
1 egg
3 tablespoons of hazelnuts -or chestnuts or pistachio nuts-, roasted and skinned
1 small hanful of rosemary
a couple of bayleaves
salt and freshly ground pepper
2 packs of unsmoked bacon
Hand chop the pheasant and pork belly really fine
mix with the minced veal/pork
add 2 tablespoons of mixed salt and pepper
add the hazelnuts, chopped rosemary, brandy and the egg and mix well
Layer the bottom of a terrine dish with the slices of bacon leaving 2 inches overhanging on each side
Press the mixture in the terrine
lay the rosemary or bayleaves on top
then cover the whole dish with the bacon
bake in a bain marie (a roasting tray with a couple of inches of water at the bottom) for 1h45 minutes at 180 degres.
Leave to cool in the oven in its own fat then refrigerate for at least a couple of days before eating.
Now all we need is a bit of sunshine to improvise a pic nic next week end!
Note (21st April): The pic nic never happened but the terrine was delicious all the same....Here's a photo of the mighty dish!:
