Best Ever Chicken Liver Pate Recipe

There are lots of recipes out there for Chicken Liver Pate, but this is my very favorite.
My friends all agree and keep asking me for  the recipe........so here it is!

Chicken Liver Pate
500g chicken livers
125 g butter (unsalted is best as the bacon can make the dish salty)
1 large onion
1 /2 teaspoon fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
6 rashes bacon
3 tablespoons port
3 tablespoons dry sherry
1 tablespoon brandy
salt and freshly ground black pepper
125g mushrooms
60g extra butter
extra bay leaves.

Method
Heat butter in a pan, add finely chopped onion, thyme, bay leaf and finely chopped bacon. Saute slowly until very tender, but not browned. Add cleaned livers, which have been soaked in salted water for 1 hour then drained. . Simmer 7 minutes or until cooked, but be careful not to over cook them they should still be a little pink inside. Place the mixture and butter from the pan into a blender.
Add brandy, port, sherry, salt, pepper cream, and finely chopped mushrooms to pan. Stir to combine and bring to the boil. Simmer uncovered until the sauce has reduced by half. Pour the sauce into the blender and blend together until very smooth.

At this point you can push the mixture through a coarse sieve. But if you trimmed the livers and blended it to a smooth paste I would not worry about doing it.
Place mixture in individual dishes and refrigerate until firm.
Melt the extra butter in a saucepan and skim off the white sediment that comes to the top. Place the butter in a glass and let the milk solids drop to the bottom. Place a bay leaf on the top of the pate. Spoon clarified butter over the top of the pate, making certain that the pate is sealed by the butter.

When I make this recipe, I make one small dish to eat now or take to friends. The remaining pate I pour into small glass jars, seal with butter then the lid and it will keep in the fridge for weeks, without taking on any odors from the fridge.
Enjoy yourself, or give to friends as gifts, or both!