Babos Receptai (Part 5)

It's time for a seasonal turn for "Babos Receptai." Lithuanians, like most Europeans, usually don't eat turkey.* A suckling pig, filled with liver stuffing, graces the Christmas table, and Lithuanians often eat roast veal at Easter. Lithuania does not observe Thanksgiving, although over the years, many people asked me what people eat in Lithuania during that holiday (pre-1991 answer: they don't eat to give thanks; they stand in line at the grocery store).

Our family adjusted to the Thanksgiving holiday, and we always served turkey. My paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, did not, however, stuff the turkey with the moist dressing familiar to the American table. Tatjana instead prepared that liver stuffing intended for the suckling pig. How I hated it as a child! The texture reminded me of a grainy paté,** and I gagged on the taste. I insisted on walking over to my Best Friend's house as soon as our "Thanksgiving meal" had ended so I could enjoy the real offerings of the holiday.

I've now been making Tatjana's liver stuffing for Thanksgiving since 1984. It's our twist on a traditional side dish. But it remains an acquired taste.

Here's Tatjana's recipe for the delicacy:

Here's how I modified and wrote up the recipe:

"A Very Good Stuffing for Chickens or Small Turkeys

(This proportion is enough for a 15-pound turkey.)"

2 cups water, boiling hot

1 ounce dried Porcini mushrooms

1/4 cup (1/2 stick or 4 tablespoons) butter

2 large onions, chopped (2 cups)

2 medium ribs celery, chopped (2 cups)

3/4 cup Italian (flat-leaf) parsley, minced

1 teaspoon dried marjoram

3/4 teaspoon dried rosemary

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1-1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

8 ounces bacon, diced

8 ounces veal calf's livers (or turkey livers)

8 ounces chicken livers

8 ounces ground veal

1 pound unseasoned bread cubes (part rye bread, if desired)

1/2 cup liquid reserved from soaking mushrooms

2 eggs, beaten to blend

1 cup chicken broth 

1 cup Italian (flat-leaf) parsley, minced

Combine 2 cups boiling water and the dried mushrooms; let stand for about 30 minutes, or until the mushrooms are softened. Drain through a coffee filter, reserving the liquid. Squeeze the mushrooms dry and chop coarsely.

In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions and celery. Cook, stirring often, until the onions are very tender and translucent, about 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer the vegetables from the skillet to a very large bowl using a slotted spoon. Leave any remaining butter in the skillet. To the bowl, stir in the mushrooms, the 1/2 cup parsley, dried marjoram, dried rosemary, dried thyme, salt, and freshly ground black pepper.

In the same skillet, in any remaining butter, sauté the bacon. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and add to the vegetable mixture, leaving about 4 tablespoons of the fat in the pan. Add the veal and chicken livers to the pan and sauté until the livers are almost cooked through. Add the ground veal and sauté for about 3 minutes. Cool.

Transfer the liver mixture to the workbowl of a food processor and process, using the metal blade, until the meats are just ground.  Stir the meats into the vegetable mixture. Mix the bread cubes into the vegetable mixture. (Can be prepared one day ahead to this point. Cover the mixture and refrigerate. Cover and chill the mushroom liquid separately.)

Mix together the beaten eggs and 1/2 cup reserved mushroom liquid; add to the stuffing. Stir in enough chicken broth to moisten.

Generously butter a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker. Transfer the stuffing to the slow cooker.  Cover and cook on "High" setting for 2 hours. Reduce heat to "Low" and cook until heated through, about 2 to 3 hours.

Just before serving, moisten the stuffing with some of the turkey drippings and stir in the remaining 1 cup minced parsley. The slow cooker, turned off, will keep the stuffing at serving temperature for up to 3 hours. 

*A group of American students and ex-pats invited me to a Thanksgiving celebration when I first arrived in Venice in 1983. It was my job to find the turkey. My Italian language skills still were elementary, and I had forgotten my dictionary when I visited the butcher shop. When I arrived at the counter, I tried to explain what I was trying to buy. Exasperated, I said, in Italian, "a big bird!" The butcher nearly laughed me out of the shop.

**The liver stuffing, and a paté, were among the specialties Tatjana prepared when the family lived in Lithuania. The housekeeper was territorial about her kitchen work, and she resented times when Tatjana decided to cook. As family and guests gathered around a holiday table one year, the housekeeper brought the paté—the only dish Tatjana had prepared—to the table. A guest said, "Oh! Paté!" The housekeeper replied, "This isn't paté; it's shit."