I picked up a used food processor and spent the day trying some different recipes for Pâté, Borscht, Potato Pancakes, and Sorbet. The Pâté and Potato Pancakes came out absolutely delicious. The other recipes were not bad, but could use a little refinement.
Chicken Liver Pâté with Caviar
The Chicken Liver Pâté was made using a recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens Food Processor Cookbook. A tub of chicken livers was cooked with a diced onion at high temperature in a small amount of butter.
The cooked liver and onion was processed smooth with butter, mayo, mustard, lemon juice, hot sauce, salt, and pepper, then terrined with caviar and chilled. The result was delicious. I'm not sure I would do it any differently if I were to make it again.
Borscht
The Borscht recipes I found called for using a lot of meat. The best Borscht I have ever eaten was made by the nice folks at Muza in Troy, NY. It was absolutely spectacular, and did not have meat in it as I recall. I took several liberties with the recipes and tried to make it without most of the meat. The flavor ended up lacking a little bit, but the result was not too bad.
Beets and other vegetables were simmered with beef marrow bones and herbs.
The stock was then boiled with cabbage, onion, and another beet with salt, pepper, tomato paste, and a small amount of white wine vinegar.
Potato Pancakes
The Potato Pancakes were made using a recipe from The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook. The potatoes were shredded in the food processor, squeezed dry, and mixed with beaten eggs, onion, flour, salt, and pepper.
The mixture was dolloped into a bit of oil, flattened with a spatula, and flipped before they were served with apple sauce and sour cream.
Strawberry, Banana, Kiwi Sorbet
The sorbet was made using winter fruits from the supermarket.
The fruits were puréed and frozen in a shallow pan.
Once frozen, the fruit was again processed and re-frozen.
The winter strawberries and kiwis were not very flavorful. It would have been better with perfect summer fruits. The sorbet was a bit ice-crystally. Perhaps using an ice-cream maker to chill the fruit would do a better job of making a smooth sorbet.