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A hard-boiled egg and chopped liver, a piece of lettuce and a couple of cherry tomatoes, these were the culinary treats that greeted us next at our holiday dinner. Sitting grandly on the small flat plates of good china used only for such occasions, the egg and the liver were the next items served before the gefilte fish and then the main meal.  No wonder no one could move or even breathe after a holiday dinner!  My Grandmother always insisted that everyone must eat a hard-boiled egg.  She said it signified birth and the start of new adventures, something every year should hold to be fulfilling and complete.  That’s no yoke.  No really, she always said that.  The chopped liver, well, this is where the story gets a little nasty.  The liver digests all the poisons in a person’s body.  Now, I don’t know if my ancestors realized this, but they insisted on the presence of chopped liver because it signified making the most out of the crap life sometimes serves on your plate.  The fact that chopped liver is not only palatable, but also actually delicious, proves that by adding good things to something not obviously pleasant, many things in life may just come out better than hoped or expected.

The combination of the egg and liver, that special mix, also held significance.  Although making the correlation wasn’t obvious to me, my Mom, my Grandmother and my Aunts, did make their story meaningful. Apparently, the significance behind serving these two foods together was quite clear. According to ‘the ladies’, every new life will encounter bad or difficult times, hardships and sorrow.    The trick, the secret to a happy life, is to search for the good, to always find a way to turn rotten, unfortunate experiences into entirely new occurrences by consistently adding new, positive ingredients to your life.

The lettuce and the tomato, let’s not forget them!  After all, everything held significance.  The presence of the crisp, green lettuce leaf with the vibrant red tomato was evidence that in both good and bad times, you should always try to look your best! (Spruce yourself up, they would say.)  It will make you and everyone around you feel better! 

So, feel good, look good, be positive, and have a wonderful New Year!

Recipe for Chopped Liver:

2 pounds chicken livers

3 eggs

3 onions, 2 of them finely chopped

1-quart chicken broth

1-pint water

2 to 3 teaspoons vegetable oil

Salt and Pepper to taste – don’t go too light on this

Directions:

-       Boil the livers, the eggs and one whole onion in the chicken broth.  After coming to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 60 to 75 minutes.

-       Once boiling is complete, allow the ingredients to completely cool.

-       Fry the chopped onions in the vegetable oil until caramelized (use low heat).

-       Grind the cooled ingredients together, season with salt and pepper.  Serve cold.