A Second Chance for Liver and Onions

Liver and onions is one of those dishes that many people remember as something their parents MADE them eat when they were children, but I think it has really gotten a bad rap. With proper preparation and an open mind, I think you will find that it is really tasty.

I don't remember my parents ever making liver and onions when I was a child which might help me accept it as a delicacy now. I don't associate it with sitting at the table by myself until I ate three more bites. For me, that special honor was saved for any yellow squash. I hated the mushy, stringy texture (I have learned to embrace squash as an adult). But I digress, I'm writing to convince you to try liver.

I have two important tips to share with you on preparing liver that will ensure it's success. First, soak it in milk for at least 30 minutes. Second, it cooks quickly so only cook it for 2-4 minutes per side (depending on thickness). Follow those two rules and it will not be bitter or resemble old shoe leather, but a succulent treat with a rich flavor. Please see the recipe below or check out this other post for another take on it.

The liver filters toxins out of our bodies, so it's really important that it comes from an animal that is properly raised. I would suggest that you only buy liver from a farmer you are certain only pasture raises their animals.

A large plate of liver on a bed of sauteed onions.

We served our liver and onions with some salad and quinoa.

Liver and Onions

1/4- 1 C milk
1 lb beef liver, cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
2 T coconut oil
2 T butter
2 onions, sliced
1/4 C flour
salt and pepper

Rinse the liver and place it in a shallow bowl. Add enough milk to cover it and let soak while preparing the rest of the dinner (at least 30 minutes). Heat a cast iron skillet and add 1 T of coconut oil and the onions. Cook until they are soft and add 1 T butter. Once the butter is melted, remove the onions to a plate.

Mix the flour and salt and pepper in a shallow bowl or plate. Remove a piece of liver from the milk and shake dry. Dredge the slices of liver in the flour mixture. Place the cast iron pan over medium heat, add the coconut oil, and add the slices of liver. Cook only 2-4 minutes per side (we like it still pink in the middle). Remove to a platter and serve.

This post is part of Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop, Works-for-me-Wednesday, Let's Do Brunch, Full Plate Thursdays, Pennywise Platter Thursdays, Alphabe-Thursdays, and...

Bánh mì Inspired Sandwiches

It is time to end the posting drought. We have been in our new apartment for about 2 weeks, and the boxes are slowly getting unpacked and making their way down to the recycling bin. I can finally sit down to write a post without too much guilt about all the other things needing to get done.

There was a Vietnamese sandwich shop around the corner from our old apartment. The Bánh mì sandwiches were delicious. They were on this great crusty French bread, and included a meat of your choosing topped with cilantro, hot sauce, and strips of pickled carrots and cucumbers. The one down side to the sandwiches was that the meat was of dubious quality. I usually ordered the number one which had spicy ground meat and "pâté". What kind of meat? I'm not sure. I just closed my eyes, and enjoyed the great flavor. I figured it was ok for the occasional treat.


We no longer have a Vietnamese sandwich shop around the corner, so we decided to create Bánh mì inspired sandwiches at home with superior quality ingredients. We started with pasture raised ground lamb and seasoned it with chopped garlic, cilantro and celery. After letting it rest, I cooked some as oblong patties and the rest as meatballs. We were really pleased with the results. Here is our recipe:

Vietnamese Inspired Sandwiches
1 lb ground lamb
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 small bunch of cilantro, stems removed
1 rib of celery, chopped
oil
1 carrot, cut into matchsticks
1 cucumber, cut into matchsticks
hot sauce
mayonnaise
French Bread

Combine the lamb, garlic, 1/2 the cilantro and celery. Let stand for at least an hour in the fridge to let flavors combine. Shape the meat into patties or meatballs. Heat a skillet and coat the pan with a small amount of oil. Cook patties or meatballs until browned on all sides. Serve on French bread with the rest of the cilantro, carrots, hot sauce and mayo.


We served ours with some oven roasted acorn squash and brussels sprouts.

US Wellness Meats Giveaway

As you may know, I just recently started blogging. I started this blog to document our summer with our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm share. I thought it would be a useful tool to hold myself accountable to make sure we ate up the veggies each week, and keep track of the recipes we used. I had no ambitions for readers (or anything else) because I had no expectations. As I started reading other people's blogs, and learning more and more about the blogging community, I became a bit more ambitious. I have learned about the world of networking and some of the techniques for gaining readers. One way to increase your readership is by offering giveaways. These giveaways function like raffles. The blogger offers virtual raffle tickets in exchange for following their blog, tweeting about it, etc.

I have never gone after a giveaway until today. There is a US Wellness Meats giveaway at the Food Renegade blog that has caught my fancy. She is "raffling" off a package of sausage that includes: Braunsweiger, Salami, Liverwurst, Italian Sausage and more all from pasture raised meat. Doesn't that sound delicious? You too can enter by visiting the above website, or purchase your own products at US Wellness Meats .

Wish me luck!