Clean livers carefully, cutting away any green/brown spots, then wash quickly under cold runnunig water & pat dry. Cut in half.

In large heavy frying pan, melt butter. Add onion & shallot & cook over moderate heat for 5-7min, stir now & then, til onion is soft & lightly colored. Mix in apple & cook 3-4min longer. When soft enough to mash w/spoon, Transfer to blender/processor.

In same pan, melt second butter, over brisk heat. As foam subsides, add livers. Over high heat, turn with wooden spoon about 3-4min. If frozen livers are used, drain off or almost completely reduce excess liquid given off. When quite brown but still pink inside, remove from heat & flame w/warmed calvados/applejack. Let alcohol burn itself out completely.

Now add livers & juices to onion-apple mix in blender/processor. Moisten w/1/2 of the cream & blend at high speed, pouring in additional cream if blender clogs. A food mill may be used if no electrical appliance is available. It doesn't matter if liver mix becomes fluid but it must be smooth. W/rubber spatula, scrape into fairly fine mesh sieve over bowl. Rub paste through w/back of spoon & let cool completely.

Meantime, cream softened butter by beating, mixing & mashing against side of bowl til absolutely smooth. When paste is cool-And No Sooner-beat it, little by little, into butter; if too warm, the butter will melt & give pate oily texture. Stir in throughly lemon juice, salt & a few grindings of pepper. Fold in truffles, if used, & taste for seasoning. Don't be over cautious about salt; since cold deadens flavor, the pate will be less salty than imagined after refrigeration.

Pack into crocks/terrines. Smooth top w/spatula & pour enough clarified butter to cover completely. This prevents discoloration & helps prevent spoilage. Refrigerate at least 3-4Hrs, til firm. If sealed w/clarified butter will keep at least 1 week or can be frozen, then thawed in fridge before serving. Garnish w/ring of finely chopped parsley around edge of butter seal. Serve w/french bread, pumpernickel or Melba toast.

From the MealMaster recipe list. Downloaded from Glen's Mm Recipe Archive,