Not so self assured

It's the last day of Everything's Better Wrapped in Bacon Week! I know it's only Thursday, but I've been subscribing to the "weekend starts on Thursday" ever since college and I see no reason to stop now.

I'm skipping the chicken liver pate in the book because, as I've already mentioned, I'm steering away from liver for the time being, AND because it's not wrapped in bacon. Instead I skipped right on over to Country Terrine.

I was a little nervous going into this recipe for a couple reasons. First, because I already noted that Thatboy was not impressed by the pate. At all. I wasn't really looking forward to telling him we were going to do another cold pate for dinner. Second because the big draw of this pate is the terrine. A terrine is the dish it's made in and served in. The terrine is supposed to be so beautiful that it accentuates the beauty of the pate. Something like this:

I don't have a terrine, because really, when do you use a terrine? So I wasn't really sure what I was going to make this in.

I solved both of my problems. First I told Thatboy we were having meatloaf for dinner. I figured that even if it was supposed to be served cold, he'd be happier with a hot meal. And I was right. He LOVED this. He was definitely more into it than the pate. He even ate it for leftovers!

My second solution was to use my meatloaf pan. It didn't lend to a pretty display like the terrine would have, but I solved that by plating it. It was pretty attractive on its own, even without the fancy schmancy terrine.

This really isn't so different from a meatloaf, but I love the addition of the spinach. It's such an unexpected addition, but I like it, especially when served cold.

Country Terrine (From The Fannie Farmer Cookbook)

• 1 1/2 lbs ground pork
• 1 lb ground veal
• 1 lb fresh spinach, blanched, drained, and chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped fine
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 tsp thyme, crumbled
• 1 tsp dried basil, crumbled
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp mace
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground pepper
• 10 slices pepper

1. Preheat oven to 325. Put a shallow baking dish in the oven with 1 inch of hot water. Grease a 2 1/2 quart terrine. Combine all ingredients except bacon.
2. Use your hands to mix and blend well.
3. Lay 6 or 7 bacon strips crosswise over the bottom and sides of the terrine.
4. Pack the meat mixture into the lined dish; fold the loose ends of bacon over the top and cover any blank spaces with the extra bacon strips.
5. Cover the dish with foil, place in the pan of water, and bake 1 hour. Remove from the oven, cover with a plate, and weigh down with a heavy can to remove the fat and press out the air pockets.
6. Cool, drain off the fat, and refrigerate.