Must try Julie's Liver

I think I can safely say that in the last 33 years I have tasted liver once, maybe twice. My Mum was not a big fan of offal so we never had it at home. I think I might have ordered it when trying to be adventurous at a restaurant years ago. But I have a vivid imagination so when Julie Powell wrote the following passage in her excellent book Julie & Julia (365 days, 524 recipes, 1 tiny apartment) I folded the page over and decided I would have to give Liver a chance.

Julie wrote "One very good and simple recipe for calves' liver is Foie de Veau a la Moutarde. ... The crunch of the mustard-spiked crust somehow brings the unctuous smooth richness of the liver into sharp relief. It's like the silky soul of steak." Does this girl have a way with words or what? I had to try it. I would put to the back of my mind the function that the liver carried out and concentrate on the ‘unctuous smooth richness’.

I was on my own as J has been away for the week so I thought this would be a good time to experiment in case it didn't taste as unctuous as Julie said. When I went to the butcher and asked for a small piece of liver he said they sold whole livers for $2. "Go on so, I'll have the whole thing". I had no idea what size a calves’ liver was so I was a little surprised with the massive hunk of liver he gave me. When I got home it took me a while to get around to the task of slicing the liver. It was huge and to be honest it slightly repulsed me. After I cut off three slices I had to hide it under a bag because I just couldn't look at it any more. There was also quite a bit of blood on and around it.

So I dredged my slices of liver in some flour and then briefly sautéed them in hot oil and butter for a minute or two on each side. I beat together some mustard, minced shallots, garlic, pepper and a bit of fat from the sauté pan. I smeared this onto the liver slices, and then coated them in fresh breadcrumbs. I placed them on a baking tray and drizzled with melted butter. I then popped them under a hot grill for about one minute each side.

I have to admit they were delicious. The mix of flavours was fantastic. I also had some Dijon mustard for dipping and some excellent Shiraz for quaffing. There’s nothing like treating yourself when you’re eating alone. A great dish and I will definitely do it again. Maybe next time I might slice it a little thinner. In fact, next time, I might get J to do the liver preparation for me because I really didn't enjoy handling it. I think it brought back memories of school science experiments.

After cooking up the liver I still had a huge chunk left over. It seemed such a shame to throw it out but I really couldn't stand looking at it any more. I put it in the bin. I was afraid it might smell in the bin so I tied up the bag and brought it down the two flights of stairs in our apartment block to the shared bin area. When I turned to go back to the apartment I noticed a small trail of blood drops had followed me. No doubt the CSI people will be knocking on my door soon especially as J went away very suddenly???!!?!?