The 'grey stuff' from Beauty and the Beast has been falsely advertised as some sort of cookies-n-cream abomination, and it's about time we set the record straight. Yes I know that children at Disney World probably don't want to eat chicken liver mousse. Yes I know that it's taking whimsical license with a childhood classic to make it marketable and enjoyable for kids of a new generation. Shush, I'm cooking.

Ingredients

Chicken Liver Mousse (“The Grey Stuff”)

• ½ pound chicken livers

• 1 shallot

• 1 tsp fresh thyme

• Vegetable oil

• ¼ cup cognac

• Zest of ½ lemon

• ¼ cup heavy cream

• 1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, cut into chunks

• Hearty cracker, for serving

Salmon Mousse

• 3-4 ounces smoked salmon

• Juice of ½ a lemon

• Cucumber, sliced (for garnish)

• 4 ounces Neufchatel Cheese (or cream cheese)

Pigs In A Blanket

• Cocktail weiners

• Dates

• Bleu cheese

• Puff pastry

• Flour

• 2 eggs, beaten

• Salt

Buckwheat Blini for Salmon Mousse and Salmon Roe

• 75 grams all purpose flour

• 60 grams buckwheat flour

• 15 grams sugar

• 5 grams yeast

• 1 cup whole milk

• Salt

• 2 eggs

• 2 Tbsp melted butter (not hot, just melted)

Meat & Cheese Rolls

• Mortadella, thinly sliced (or your preferred meat)

• Gruyere cheese (or your preferred cheese)

• Roasted red peppers

Cucumber Tea Sandwich

• Sliced bread of your choice

• Neufchatel Cheese

• Fresh Dill

• Salt

Goat Cheese & Fig Tea Sandwich

• Sliced bread of your choice

• Goat cheese

• Fig jam

Salmon Roe

• Buckwheat blini

• Salmon roe

Method

Chicken Liver Mousse (“The Grey Stuff”)

1. Begin by patting dry ½ pound of chicken livers and finely chopping 1 shallot and 1 tsp of fresh thyme.

2. Preheat pan over medium high heat with vegetable oil and then add chicken livers. Let sit for 1-2 minutes undisturbed, until brown. Flip to the other side and brown that side before adding chopped shallot and thyme. Saute for 1 minute.

3. Deglaze with ¼ cup of cognac and then add the zest of ½ a lemon. Stir for 1 minute before adding ¼ cup of heavy cream. Mix until combined and everyone has a chance to get to know each other.

4. Add to a blender and blend on a medium low speed. While blending, add the butter one chunk at a time. Once all butter is added blend on high until smooth.

5. Pass through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap pressed down onto the surface of the mousse and refrigerate.

6. Place mousse into a piping bag and pipe onto a hearty cracker for serving.

Salmon Mousse

1. Add 3-4 ounces of smoked salmon to a food processor along with the juice of ½ a lemon and 4 ounces of Neufchatel Cheese (or cream cheese if you can’t find that).

2. Add to a bowl. Cover and refrigerate.

3. Place a slice of cucumber on top of a buckwheat blini and then top with salmon mousse.

Pigs In A Blanket

1. Start by slicing open your dates and filling them with bleu cheese.

2. Generously flour your work surface and then slice 3 inch long triangles of puff pastry. Wrap triangles around the cocktail weiners and bleu cheese dates.

3. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and brush each one with the beaten eggs and then top with a little salt.

4. Place in the oven and roast at 375°F for 20 minutes.

Buckwheat Blini for Salmon Mousse and Salmon Roe

1. In a large bowl combine: 75 grams all purpose flour, 60 grams buckwheat flour, 15 grams sugar, and 5 grams yeast. Whisk to combine.

2. Add 1 cup whole milk (heated to 110°F) and a pinch of salt. Whisk until smooth. Cover and let sit for an hour.

3. Lightly beat together 2 eggs and then add them to the batter. Whisk to combine before adding 2 Tbsp of melted butter. Make sure the butter is just melted, not hot, and then whisk to combine. Pour half of your batter into a squeeze bottle. Don’t fill it up all the way because it is a yeasted dough and it will rise in the squeeze bottle.

4. Melt some butter on a pan over medium heat. Then, using the squeeze bottle, make some blinis the size of silver dollar pancakes. Cook about a minute on each side and set aside to cool.

Meat & Cheese Rolls

1. Thinly slice your gruyere cheese lengthwise. Roll your mortadella into a roll, and then wrap it around the cheese.

2. Trim off the edges of the mortadella.

3. Add two small slices of roasted red peppers in an “x” shape on top of the cheese and then place a toothpick in the middle to hold the whole thing together.

Cucumber Tea Sandwich

1. Thinly slice your cucumbers and chop up your dill.

2. Add cucumbers and dill to the bread with a good smear of neufchâtel cheese and a sprinkling of salt. Slice off the crust and then cut into 4 small sandwiches.

Goat Cheese & Fig Tea Sandwich

1. Add goat cheese and fig jam to the bread.

2. Slice off the crust and then slice into 4 small sandwiches.

Salmon Roe

1. Add salmon roe to the top of a buckwheat blini to serve.