Chicken Liver Pâté

This is really French cuisine, although telling the difference between the many forms of liverwurst by national cuisine can be difficult. Again, this is really more of my own recipe, but many are similar. Some use cognac, or sherry, and somewhere, I'm almost positive, I have a recipe that uses port wine. Some add ground cayenne pepper for some heat, and I've even seen recipes that use hot sauce instead. Often served with toast or crackers.

Ingredients:

1 lb. chicken livers
salt
pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
2 tablespoons of brandy
1/2  medium onion, chopped, plus 1/4 fresh onion, finely chopped
1 large clove of garlic, chopped
4 tablespoons butter

In a skillet, melt 3 tablespoons of butter and add the 1/2 of chopped medium onion, the garlic, the thyme and pepper, and a little salt (most people use salted butter, so limit the amount of salt you add). Cook on low heat until livers are cooked through and the onion and garlic are softened, stirring to prevent sticking or overcooking of any of the livers, but stir in the brandy just before the livers are cooked through. Let the mixture cool a bit and then put into a food processor, adding the last tablespoon of butter and the fresh finely chopped onion. Pulse until the mixture is smooth. You will likely have to scrape down the sides of the processor at times. Put the mixture into a bowl and cover, then place it in the refrigerator for a couple of hours before serving, with several hours in the frig being even better.

WORD HISTORY:
Cuisine-This word, closely related to "cook," seems" to go back to Indo European "kwekwo," "perhaps" a variant form of "pekwo," which seems to have meant "to ripen;" the notion being to prepare inedible raw food until it is 'ripe;' that is, ready to eat. This gave Old Italic "kekewo," and this gave Latin "coquere," a verb meaning "to cook." This then gave Latin "coquina," and the later "cocina," both meaning "kitchen." This gave French "cuisine," also meaning "kitchen," but gradually broadened to mean "foods and dishes prepared in the kitchen, cooked items." English borrowed the word from French in the late 1700s.