Holiday pate, from French and fancy to easy and festive

Once associated with fancy French restaurants, pates and terrines have been showing up in many more places lately, following the trend toward artisan charcuterie. And while there are certainly complicated versions, the basic country pate or terrine has been called meatloaf with a French accent.

Essentially, pates and terrines are sausage. Made with ground or pureed meat or fish, called forcemeat, they’re flavored with spices and often wine or spirits, garnished with herbs, vegetables or nuts, and cooked and chilled in a mold.

Elegant in presentation, and great for entertaining, pates and terrines are perfect for the holidays. They can be served as party hors d’oeuvres or a first course. Tied with a bow, they make a thoughtful gift for gourmands this time of year.

We asked Atlanta chef Ryan Smith to create some pate recipes with the holiday season in mind.

Smith tested the recipes at his home in Ormewood Park. He came up with a simple sauteed chicken liver pate, a classic country pork terrine, and a special garlic and herb sausage wrapped in bacon.

Smith said adventurous home cooks who own a meat grinder or food processor could make the recipes from scratch. Otherwise, start with fresh ground meat and fat from an artisan or neighborhood butcher shop.

Recipes

These homemade pate recipes from chef Ryan Smith make great additions to holiday parties and meals — or wrap them up as gifts.

Country Pork Terrine

Hands on: 1 hour

Total time: 24 hours, allowing time for weighting and chilling the terrine

Serves: 12

This go-to terrine is super easy and flavored with fall and winter spices. Serve it with mustard and pickles and some crusty bread.

For the forcemeat:

2 pounds chilled ground pork shoulder

1/4 pound chilled ground pork fat

3 tablespoons sea salt

1/4 teaspoon curing salt (sodium nitrite)

2 eggs

1 cup day-old bread, crusts removed and torn into shreds

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 cup shallots, peeled and minced

2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

1 cup dry vermouth

1 cup chicken stock

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon ground white pepper

For the garnish:

1/2 cup pistachios, toasted

1/2 cup chilled pork fat, diced

1/4 cup parsley, chopped

To make the forcemeat:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the chilled ground pork and pork fat with the salt and curing salt. Add the eggs and bread and mix well. Place in the freezer, but do not freeze.

In a saute pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the shallots and garlic and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Once the shallots are translucent, deglaze with the vermouth. Reduce the vermouth until almost dry, about 5 minutes, then add the chicken stock and reduce by half. Add the cream and the cloves, nutmeg, ginger, coriander, cinnamon and white pepper, and bring to a boil. Chill the cream mixture until cold and add to the meat. Add the pistachio, pork fat and parsley garnish to the meat and mix well until sticky.

Using a terrine mold or a small bread loaf pan, pack the meat mixture a small amount at a time making sure not to leave any air gaps. Fill the terrine mold up to the lip and cover with foil. Place the filled terrine into a roasting pan and fill the pan halfway up the side of the terrine with hot water. Bake the terrine for 1 1/2 hours or until it reaches 150 degrees. Take the terrine out of the oven and let rest to room temperature. Once cool, place the terrine in the fridge and press overnight (some kind of weight like cans of tomatoes will work for this). The next day, unmold the terrine and slice and serve.

Per serving: 399 calories (percent of calories from fat, 68), 20 grams protein, 12 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 30 grams fat (12 grams saturated), 116 milligrams cholesterol, 1,550 milligrams sodium.

Garlic and Herb Sausage Wrapped in Bacon

Hands on: 1 hour

Total time: 2 hours

Serves: 8

This is an alternative to roast turkey for the holidays. Serve it with roasted vegetables and mustard.

For the sausage:

2 pounds chilled ground pork shoulder

1/2 pound chilled ground pork fat

2 tablespoons sea salt

1/2 teaspoon curing salt (sodium nitrite)

12 garlic cloves, peeled and poached for 10 minutes, then chopped

1 teaspoon black pepper, ground

1/4 cup nonfat dry milk

1 teaspoon chili flakes

1 tablespoon parsley, chopped

2 teaspoons thyme, chopped

1 cup chicken stock

1/2 cup crushed ice

1 pound sliced bacon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the chilled ground pork and pork fat, sea salt and curing salt and mix well. In a separate mixing bowl, combine the garlic, pepper, dry milk, chili flakes, parsley, thyme, stock and the crushed ice, and combine well. Add the spice blend to the meat and mix thoroughly until the meat gets sticky.

Place the mixture in the freezer and prepare the bacon. Lay a large piece of plastic wrap on the counter. Overlap the bacon slices, like shingles, onto the plastic wrap so you can wrap it around the sausage with no gaps. Place the sausage mixture onto the shingled bacon in an even layer. Using the plastic wrap as a guide, wrap the bacon around the sausage, making sure the bacon overlaps on the other side. Roll the sausage as tightly as possible and set aside. Lay another layer of plastic out on the counter and repeat rolling to assure the sausage is tight. Unwrap the sausage and place in a roasting pan.

Roast the sausage for 45 minutes or until it reaches 150 degrees. Allow the sausage to rest for 15-20 minutes, then slice and serve.

Per serving: 785 calories (percent of calories from fat, 75), 44 grams protein, 4 grams carbohydrates, trace fiber, 65 grams fat (23 grams saturated), 139 milligrams cholesterol, 2,405 milligrams sodium.

Chicken Liver Pate

Hands on: 30 minutes

Total time: 4 hours, including chilling

Serves: 8-12

This easy pate is enlivened by a sweet-tart gelee. The same saute pan can be used to sear the liver and saute the shallots and garlic. Serve it on toasted bread.

For the pate:

2 pounds chicken livers, cleaned and dried on paper towels

1 tablespoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon curing salt (sodium nitrite)

1 tablespoon peanut oil

2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, divided

3 shallots, peeled and minced

1 garlic clove, peeled and minced

1 bay leaf

2 sprigs thyme

1 cup brandy

1/2 cup port

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon white pepper, ground

1/4 teaspoon cloves, ground

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, grated

For the gelee:

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1 packet powdered gelatin

To make the pate:

Season the livers with the salt and curing salt and let sit until the salts have dissolved. In a medium saute pan over high heat, heat the peanut oil. Once the oil comes to a slight smoke, saute half of the livers, adding one liver to the pan at a time and making sure there is space between them. Cook for 30 seconds on each side. They should be about medium. Take the livers out of the pan and drain on a paper towel. Repeat with the remaining livers.

Using the same pan, add 1 tablespoon of the butter and return the pan to the heat. Once the butter has foamed, add the shallots and garlic. Reduce the heat to medium and cook the shallots and garlic until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the bay leaf and the thyme and cook for one minute. Deglaze the pan with the brandy and reduce until almost dry, then add the port and reduce again until almost dry. Add the cream, white pepper, cloves and nutmeg, bring to a boil, then take the pan off the heat. In a blender, add the livers, cream mixture and the remaining cold butter. Turn the blender on high and puree until very smooth. Pass the puree through a fine sieve and pour into 4-ounce Mason jars. Chill the pate for 1 hour.

While the pate is chilling, prepare the gelee. In a small pot, combine the maple syrup and the cider vinegar. Whisk together and sprinkle the gelatin over the top to hydrate. Let sit for 10 minutes and then melt the mixture over low heat. Do not bring to a boil as the gelatin will lose its strength. Reserve the gelee at a room temperature until ready to use. Once the pate has chilled, evenly distribute the gelee among the jars and chill again for 2 hours. At that point, it can be served or refrigerated for up to a week.

Per serving (based on 8 servings): 391 calories (percent of calories from fat, 48), 18 grams protein, 21 grams carbohydrates, trace fiber, 17 grams fat (8 grams saturated), 488 milligrams cholesterol, 824 milligrams sodium.