Pâté de Campagne

I love meatloaf. It's definitely one of my favorite foods. I also love pork (that's why the pig is my favorite animal, it's the tastiest) and mustard. So pâté de campagne is right up my aisle. It's full of meaty, porky goodness and you get to serve it with little pickles and mustard. I've eaten and enjoyed it before, but never taken a crack at making it. But when I saw this super easy recipe in Bon Appétit I knew that it was time to take a shot.

Pâté de Campagne
Serves a whole lot as a appetizer (around 20)

Ingredients-
3/4 cup Cognac (my non alcoholic substitution for the non drinkers was cranberry-peach juice mixed with some lemon juice. Most juices would work, but make sure to add some lemon in.)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup minced onions
2 1/1 pounds ground pork
12 ounces bacon (8 to 10 slices), finely chopped, plus 14 slices (for lining pan)
3 garlic cloves, pressed
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons allspice
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup whipping cream
1 6-ounce piece ham steak, cut crosswise into 1/4 inch-thick strips
course sea salt
Cornichons (tiny little French pickles, you'll probably only find them at specialty stores- I got them at Whole Foods)
Dijon mustard

Directions-
1. Preheat oven to 350 with the rack in the lowest position.
2. Boil cognac (or non alchoholic substitute) until reduced to 1/2 cup (about 1-2 minutes). Cool.
3. Melt butter in heavy medium skillet over medium heat. Add onion and saute until soft and translucent (but not brown) about 8 minutes.
4. Combine ground pork and chopped bacon in large bowl. Mix together until well blended. Add sauteed onion, garlic, 2 1/2 teaspoons salt, thyme, allspice, and pepper to bowl with pork mixture and stir until incorporated. Add eggs, cream and reduced cognac. Stir until well blended
5. Line 9x5x3-inch metal loaf pan with bacon slices, arranging 8 slices across width of pan and 3 slices on each side, overlapping pan on all sides. Using hands, lightly and evenly press half of meat mixture (about 3 1/4 cups) onto bottom of pan atop bacon slices. Arrange ham strips over in single layer. Top with remaining meat mixture.
6. Fold bacon over, covering pâté. Cover pan tightly with foil. Place pan in 13x9x2-inch metal baking pan and transfer to oven. Pour boiling water into baking pan until it comes halfway up sides of the loaf pan. Bake pâté until it reaches an internal temperature of 155 degrees F (about 2 hours 15 minutes).
7. Remove loaf pan from baking pan and transfer to rimmed baking sheet. Place heavy skillet or 2 to 3 heavy cans atop pâté to weigh down. Chill overnight.
8. Place loaf pan with pâté in larger pan of hot water for about 3 minutes. Invert pâté onto platter; discard fat from platter and wipe clean. Cut crosswise into 1/2 inch slices. Serve with sea salt, cornichons, dijon mustard and sliced baguette.

It's a time consuming recipe, but quite easy and very tasty. Maybe not so much for people who don't like meat (or thyme), but for everyone else. I have a great Asian inspired sandwich recipe that you make with leftover pâté de campagne here.