Liver and onions--it's official, I'm a convert

[Jenise]

I have hated liver all my life. DETESTED it. REFUSED to eat it. But I have always made an exception for foie gras. And then one day when dining in Vancouver about a year ago I was served a plate that was veal presented three ways, and I didn't process until later that there was actually a fourth way on the plate if you count the thin slice of seared rare veal liver that topped a marshmallow sized tournedo of veal tenderloin. I only realized it was liver when I recognized the different look and texture that wasn't unlike foie gras, and with some shock I realized that that elegant little disc of liver was my favorite thing about that one presentation.

I thought about that for months. Then one night we were in a little French restaurant in White Rock where they serve all the "usual" country french classics, and on a lark--odd for me, because I generally don't gamble with my dinner--I ordered the veal liver and onions. I had seen it delivered to another diner and it looked so delectable--the onions were pre-caramelized and made one rich and gooey sauce. Unfortunately, the plate that arrived in front of me was hot enough to fry a taco, so where the chef might have cooked the liver perfectly it was well done by the time I put a fork into it, and I can now tell you that I do not like that texture. But I could tell I'd have most likely enjoyed it had it been done right.

Well, today at lunch I had a Mixed Grill: duck confit, liver and onions, and a small rare venison steak. The first and only thing I finished of the three? The liver!

I loved it.

Didn't think it was possible for a change of this magnitude to still occur in my life. What's next, mayo?

Not on your life.

Ah, liver and onions! I love it. Not something you can eat every day ... but very tasty.

And I like mine with bacon, LOL is that heretical!

[Jenise]

And I like mine with bacon, LOL is that heretical!

And do have a shrimp cocktail for a starter?

Years ago, I went to Weight Watchers and at that time, they asked that you eat one liver meal a week. Our leader suggested caramelizeing LOTS of onions in a non-stick pan, adding chicken liver (a young chicken) near the end and finishing with a sprinkle of Worchestershire Sauce. I grew to love it....but haven't had it since. The taste was good but I never got used to that texture.

I was brought up eating calves liver and onions on a regular basis. But CALVES liver hasn't been readily available for many years. My mother who was involved in the restaurant and food business said anything else was not edible, as far as she was concerned. I don't recall seeing liver in the meat section of markets at all anymore.

Ah, liver and onions! I love it. Not something you can eat every day ... but very tasty.

I couldn't eat it once a day, but could eat it twice a month, and haven't had it in years!

[David M. Bueker]

I really like it, but I'm not stupid enough to try to cook it anywhere around Laura.

I've always enjoyed chicken livers and liver cooked into things in various ways. (Meatloaf is pretty good with chicken livers worked into it.) But a big slab of liver and onions is not something I've ever liked. Part of it may be my food service experience. I remember prepping up liver when I worked at Coco's. You had to weigh out the frozen liver quickly before it became gooey blobs of bloody slime. That may have influenced my perception of beef liver to some degree.

But maybe at the right restaurant...

I don't even want to be in the same room as liver.

I'll leave with you, Robert. Where are we going?

Okay, maybe I haven't had sufficient coffee this morning, but what is the difference between veal liver and calves liver?

[Jenise]

Okay, maybe I haven't had sufficient coffee this morning, but what is the difference between veal liver and calves liver?

None, just what the person who put it in front of me described it as.

[Jenise]

You had to weigh out the frozen liver quickly before it became gooey blobs of bloody slime. That may have influenced my perception of beef liver to some degree.

But maybe at the right restaurant...

...where it's not overcooked. That seems to be essential.

I have had calves liver twice and that was two times too many. Once was in the dorms and the second time was at a very expensive restaurant in Marin County. On my second attempt I cut into the liver and a vein popped out. No thanks.

I would have loved the duck confit or the venison steak though!

On my second attempt I cut into the liver and a vein popped out. No thanks.

Yes, that would have been a certain deal-breaker for me as well.
The only liver-like substances I will eat are:
-Foie Gras
-Pate'
-Rumake' (Geez, when was the last time we've seen that?? So retro.)

-Rumake' (Geez, when was the last time we've seen that?? So retro.)

You will see that at my house every Sunday during football season. I make one platter with liver and another platter without liver. It is always one of the first appetizers to disappear. Until I had met my girlfriend from California, I had thought Rumake was a regional and perhaps ethnic thing but apparently not.

[Jenise]

-Rumake' (Geez, when was the last time we've seen that?? So retro.)

You will see that at my house every Sunday during football season. I make one platter with liver and another platter without liver. It is always one of the first appetizers to disappear. Until I had met my girlfriend from California, I had thought Rumake was a regional and perhaps ethnic thing but apparently not.

Growing up in Southern California, I thought it was Chinese food.

[Jenise]

Dave, you made me curious about the origins of it. Here's what I found on Wikipedia:

Rumaki is an hors d'oeuvre of mock-Polynesian origin. It was probably invented by Victor Bergeron, known as Trader Vic.

Its ingredients and method of preparation vary, but usually it consists of water chestnuts and pieces of chicken liver wrapped in bacon and marinated in soy sauce and either ginger or brown sugar.[1] A common incorrect spelling is ramaki.

The earliest known reference to it is on the 1941 menu of the "Don the Beachcomber" restaurant (Palm Springs).[2]

The name may be an alteration of Japanese harumaki 'spring roll'.[3]

I'll leave with you, Robert. Where are we going?

Larry, we have GOT to get together sometime! As Gail likes to say - GMTA.

Dave, you made me curious about the origins of it. Here's what I found on Wikipedia:

Rumaki is an hors d'oeuvre of mock-Polynesian origin. It was probably invented by Victor Bergeron, known as Trader Vic.

Its ingredients and method of preparation vary, but usually it consists of water chestnuts and pieces of chicken liver wrapped in bacon and marinated in soy sauce and either ginger or brown sugar.[1] A common incorrect spelling is ramaki.

The earliest known reference to it is on the 1941 menu of the "Don the Beachcomber" restaurant (Palm Springs).[2]

The name may be an alteration of Japanese harumaki 'spring roll'.[3]

That's what I was gonna ask Jenise, didn't you ever go to Trader Vic's at the Hilton where remaki was one of 4 or 5 featured appetizers in the cocktail lounge, and also at the one in London, probably at all of them.

I used to work with a guy, who worked as a cook in a previous job. He told me the best way to cook liver was to put down a thin layer of onions in a shallow baking pan, place the liver on top of the onions, then another thin layer of onions. Then, add milk until half the liver was submerged. As the liver cooked in would absorb the milk solids, which would tenderize the liver and soften the flavor and the milk would become clear. I've never tried it, but I always thought it sounded interesting.

[Jenise]

I used to work with a guy, who worked as a cook in a previous job. He told me the best way to cook liver was to put down a thin layer of onions in a shallow baking pan, place the liver on top of the onions, then another thin layer of onions. Then, add milk until half the liver was submerged. As the liver cooked in would absorb the milk solids, which would tenderize the liver and soften the flavor and the milk would become clear. I've never tried it, but I always thought it sounded interesting.

Howie, I have to tell you: that sounds awful. Not that some wouldn't like it, especially I suppose if that were an adult beef kind of liver. But two of the things I've liked about all the liver I've liked is the lightly crunchy crust that forms on the seared sides, and I've liked the texture of that which was served medium rare. What you're describing would have neither advantage and become that which I've feared about liver all these years.

Mike mentioned meatloaf with liver worked into it. That reminded me of an entree I had years ago at Globo's, a restaurant that was, at the time, the last word in fashionable dining in Adelaide. It was a terrine of chicken, with chicken livers. The 'loaf' was created from fine-ground white chicken meat, subtly seasoned, with chicken livers stirred through. A slice of this had the liver pieces dotted through the loaf rather like the sultanas in a good sultana cake. I recall it was served with a sour raspberry sauce.