My Ninety-Sixth - Sausage and Pate: The Spice from Heaven -100 Meals You Never Thought You Would Eat Pureed - Recipes for Head and Neck Cancer patients

My Ninety-Sixth - Sausage and Pate: The Spice from Heaven  -100 Meals You Never Thought You Would Eat Pureed - Recipes for Head and Neck Cancer patients

WARNING
Just to get it out of the way . . . a lot of people view nitrites as a health issue.  I'll just leave that here.  I view food as one of the joys of life. I'll just leave that here.

Just four days ago, I posted on Facebook that I was craving pate', especially a country-style pate' but I had no idea where to purchase it as my favorite place went out of business.

On Thursday, I visited my son at Brandeis University, and for lunch he wanted to introduce me to one of his favorite places on the main drag - Moody Street, Moody's Delicatessen & Provisions.  I had my portable blender in my backpack so I was ready for a little adventure.  Little did I know, I would discover the place that I felt I could cross off an item on my bucket-list.

Now, growing up my mom tried to serve me liverwurst - sorry not a fan, and always thought that anything that looked like liverwurst tasted like liverwurst. YUCK!  It wasn't until I worked at the Versailles Restaurant in Lexington, that I discovered that country-style Pate' is fabulous.  Add a little brown mustard on a baguette . . . YUM!

So as my son and I were walking to Moody's, he was telling me about the fabulous selection of meats they prepare and everything is made right there.  When we walked in, his voice disappeared as I had found heaven on earth.  The front chilled case was filled with an assortment of New England Charcuterie prepared meats - BEEF SALAMI, BOURBON & BACON, CHORIZO SECO, FINOCCHIONA, GENOA, HOT SOPPRESSATA, PEPPERONI, SAUCISSON AU CIDRE, SWEET SOPPRESSATA, BRESAOLA, MAPLE BREAKFAST LINKS, CURED PORK SAUSAGE, BIERWURST BIERC, SMOKED CHORIZO, KIELBASA, BOHEMIAN PÂTÉ, PORK & RABBIT PÂTÉ, BEEF BACON, SMOKED BEEF BRISKET, OMG I'M SCREAMING LIKE A LITTLE FAN GIRL. RABBIT PÂTÉ!! DID YOU SEE THEY HAVE RABBIT PÂTÉ!!!

OK, Jeff get a hold of yourself.  I'm sure my son said a number of other wonderful things, but I knew I had to drop some serious coin here. He ordered "the Katz" (a pastrami or rye).  I thought "SKIP IT".  I'm just going to order some hunks of meat, and head back to my son's place and properly prepare a puree.  You can't fit a whole pastrami sandwich in a portable blender.

So now that I've whetted your appetite, let's talk a little bit about using sausages and pate's in a puree.

Don't view them as proteins.  View them as spices.  All of these ground meats puree very well.  All of these meats are powerful flavors, and bring back a lot of memories, so they are an excellent option for people who are trying to rekindle their love of food.

Except for a Pastrami sandwich, which should be piled high with meat, most sausage and pate' recipes add just a dash of meat to flavor and not over power the dish.  A pepperoni pizza is not completely covered in pepperoni. No one ever scooped up a huge spoonful of chopped liver and dumped it on their appetizer plate.

So go light on the meat.

BREAKFAST SAUSAGE
I typically add about one paddy, or one small link to every four cups of puree.

DRY SALAMI
1/4" to a 1/2" of meat is all that is headed for four cups of puree.  I give a range because some salami's are far more powerful than others.  I also view salami like "hot peppers"  some people grow accustom to the flavor, so you need to add more.  The best thing about dry salami is they store well in the refrigerator, so you can use a little at a time over a long period of time.  You can also keep two or three, and rotate the use of them.

PATE'
For me, Pate' is all about the after-taste.  Not for nothing, but a good pate' burp a couple of hours after the meal, is pure joy.  I also like my pate' with brown mustard, so about 1" cube is all I need.

FRESH SAUSAGE
Now you are in the realm of my Fenway favorite Sweet Italian Sausage.  The favor is milder, so I typically had a 6" link to my 4 cup puree.

FOUR CUPS
Nothing special about four cups.  It is just my typical size.  I usually get two two-cup servings.  I have six servings a day - 2 for breakfast, two for lunch, and two for dinner.  I'm a couple of years out of Cancer Treatment, so I can tolerate larger meals.  If you can hardly get a cup of puree through your mouth, think of your meat portion as the size of two pieces of pepperoni.

This picture of Moody's is courtesy of Star Chefs

Don't even get me started on the cheese selection . . . 

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