My dear friend Dennis wears his love of cuisine like a winter raincoat.

Generally, the best part of his travel itinerary is haunting village markets, those with hundreds of booths displaying meats and cheeses, nuts, vegetables and fish — and local wines, crafts and articles galore. The booths spew out for hundreds of meters in every direction. The colors alone can be intoxicating.

Certainly, Dennis is a Francophile. In the narrow French streets, his eyes rove over the bright stalls with something akin to infatuation. Later, with a shopping basket full of surprises, he prepares a delightful dinner as only a student of Le Cordon Bleu can.

He has mastered baking and cuisine yet steadfastly refuses to cook professionally. He is retired, after all. And why take the fun out of his favorite pastime?

Dennis came by my house on a windy, rainy afternoon for coffee and a game of cribbage and then shared a recipe for the best chicken liver pate that I have eaten in America. He was generous with his recipe, and I, for one, am grateful. You will be, too.

Dennis B.’s chicken pate

Ingredients

• 2 pounds chicken livers

• Two and a half cubes butter, softened

• 1 cup onion, finely diced

• Two Granny Smith apples, medium-diced

• 1 cup brandy

• One lemon, juiced

• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Clean the livers of membranes. Wash and hold the brown livers. Saute the onions with 2 tablespoons of butter and when translucent, put in a food mill and hold. Don’t pulse just yet.

Saute two diced apples in 2 tablespoons of butter and add to the food processor. Measure 1/2 cup of brandy. Meanwhile, saute the livers in 4 tablespoons butter until cooked about two-thirds of the way through (slightly pink inside).

Pull the mixture off the stove, pour in the brandy, and flame with a fire starter. Watch your face, please. Now, pour the cooked livers into the processor. Add the remaining butter to the blender and whirl for about five minutes, or until the pate is smooth and without grit. A good test is to rub a small bit between your fingers to test the consistency.

Let the pate cool down. When at room temperature, press the processed mixture through a tamis screen, or a fine sieve. Squeeze in the lemon juice. Add cracked pepper and salt and pour into small ramekins. Refrigerate overnight or until the pate firms up and can be spread onto crackers or bread.

Sharing a bottle of wine such as an Oregon pinot noir with the pate compliments this fine appetizer. I often serve it over my wife Laurie’s toasted sourdough rye for breakfast. What can I say? I’m addicted to the stuff.