TERRINE DE FOIE DE PORC

Working up a terrine is more of a feel than technique. One relies on intuition rather than scales or measuring spoons. Even fancy kitchen gear coveted by yuppie household - and seen in full force on the egregious and propagandistic "Food" Network - is to be eschewed. This is old world preperation, cooking. No room for Williams Sonoma catalog fetishists. Equipment is base. One needs a knife, sharpening steel, bread tin, and an oven. That's all.

The terrine is a meat loaf - a melange of meats chopped together and bound with fat and cooked under bacon blanket. Nothing truly finer, so long as you watch your seasoning and meat ratio. For the "Terrine de Foie de Porc" you'll need pig's liver. A good, whole one. No cuts or mince. Trim the liver of any fatty or connective tissue and then finely mince. Your minced liver is then introduced to all sorts of piggy parts: Shoulder, ham, belly, knuckle.

Coloration will help with the ratio. The white of the fat, the ruddy liver, the blushing pink ham. All of these combine and are washed red with the liver's blood. Chopping gets to be a bit much on the wrist. I usually give up and utilise an ancient mezzaluna that belonged to my grandmother. It's not so sharp anymore, but it does the job just fine.

Now some seasoning. Watch the salt, as the ham should provide most of what you need. Two or more pinches of white pepper, crushed juniper, thyme. Some mace, a dash of cayenne. A bit of finely minced garlic. The French usually add some red wine, but I go with cognac and cherry brandy. The prunes, which I've soaked overnight in cognac, work well with a dash of the cherry brandy. Kirschwasser is fun to sip while preparing the whole mess, too. Sometimes it even makes me forget about my throbbing wrist.

The basic drill: Line the tin with bacon. A layer of the meat mixture. Run the drunken prunes down the middle. Top with a layer of the meat mixture. Fill the entire tin, and fold the bacon over the mixture. Bake in a water bath in medium oven for one hour and a half. Fat should bubble over the top; this is all fine and good. Remove from the bath and allow to cool. Cover with cling film and weigh down to enforce its shape. Keep overnight in the fridge.

Slice into spirited, healthy pieces and serve with cornichons. Taste will remind you of the Braunschwieger sandwiches of your youth. Little surprise as Liverwurst is mostly pig's liver.