Smooth and Creamy Pâté in Minutes

The Daring Cooks' Challenge for June was Pâté. Our hostesses thought it would be perfect for a summer picnic in the park, because it's light, incredibly versatile, and has the potential to be beautifully presented.  I couldn't agree more, since we're all about summer concerts and picnics in the park this time of year!

In keeping for our theme for out second Concert in the Park Culinary Challenge, Home on the Range, and knowing John and I would be just returning from our trip to Idaho and Triple Creek Ranch in Montana, I found a recipe for Ranch House Pâté with Cognac, originally featured in Saveur #26. A ballerina named Carmeleta Maracci offered this recipe to Alan Hooker, founder of the Ranch House Restaurant in southern California's Ojai Valley. "There are those," Hooker once observed, "who will consider the addition of cream cheese a sacrilege, but it smooths the pâté so beautifully that we disregard the purists."

The Ranch House serves its Pâté, which resembles a big scoop of mocha ice cream, with Ranch House Rye bread, cucumber chips, caper berries, and spanish olives.  I chose to serve it as presented in Thomas Keller's Bouchon, as an assiette de charcutier, with a tasting of dry-cured sausages.  Knight Salumi Company, in San Diego, sells rustic Sopressata and Tuscan salami at our Little Italy Farmers' Market.

John and I recently attended Thomas Keller's book signing of his latest cookbook, Ad Hoc at Home, which now completes our Keller collection of cookbooks! This collection should keep me challenged for the rest of my life!

Home on the Range Pâté

Adapted from Ranch House Pate

6 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large shallot, chopped
1 black truffle (optional), shaved
3⁄4 lb. chicken livers
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
Pinch ground cloves
4 ounces cream cheese
2 Tablespoons Armagnac or Cognac

1.  Melt 2 Tablespoons of the butter in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add shallots and cook until softened but not browned, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, if using truffle, finely chop all but 4 shavings (reserve these for garnish) and set aside.

2.  Add chicken livers and cook, covered, over medium heat until just cooked through, 5–7 minutes.

3.  Remove pan from heat and stir in salt, mustard, nutmeg, and cloves. Transfer to a food processor and purée until smooth. Continue to process, blending in remaining 4 Tablespoons butter, cream cheese, and Armagnac.  Mix in chopped truffle (if using), then transfer to small bowls or well-oiled molds, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, about 24 hours.

4.  Serve a generous portion of pâté on a bed of greens with bread, olives, and caper berries, if desired, and garnish with reserved truffle shavings.

The Daring Cooks' blog checking line...

Our hostesses this month, Evelyne of Cheap Ethnic Eatz, and Valerie of a The Chocolate Bunny, chose delicious pate with freshly baked bread as their June Daring Cook’s challenge! They’ve provided us with 4 different pate recipes to choose from and are allowing us to go wild with our homemade bread choice.

I'm sorry, Evelyn and Valerie, but I wasn't able to squeeze in the time to bake homemade bread. It's really hard for me to justify baking bread when we have Bread & Cie deliver to Coronado's Tartine every morning. We enjoyed an early morning walk witih the Newfs down to the Ferry Landing and stopped by Tartine for a fresh baguette on the way home.

The recipe I used is really a breeze to put together and is so creamy and smooth with the cream cheese.  Laced with Armagnac or cognac, bits of black truffle, and presented on a platter with dry-cured sausages, olives, and cornichons, it makes a beautiful presentation for a cocktail party or, as in our case, gourmet picnic in the park!

Please visit The Daring Kitchen recipe archives for the complete recipes provided for this month's challenge. You can also visit the Daring Cooks' Blogroll to visit other Daring Cooks' blogs.

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Eating Las Vegas

I just returned from a Girly Weekend in Las Vegas, reconnecting with some girly friends and celebrating Susan's Birthday.  What an amazing place!  Of course, it's even more amazing when you know people who know people...

Six Coronado women were treated to a weekend of luxury in a stunning 2 bedroom, 2 bath suite at Hotel 32, located on the top floor of the Monte Carlo Resort & Casino.  We felt like princesses in our beautifully furnished suite.  My favorite amenities included soothing bubble baths in the hydrotherapy soaking tub, long showers with overhead panels that produce a gentle rainfall, gourmet chocolates on my pillow each night...

...and the private Lounge32, which offered evening wine, cocktails, and hors d'œuvres...

Cheese Plate with Fig & Honeycomb

Balsamic Mascarpone Strawberries

After arriving Friday afternoon, and relaxing in our suite with a few cocktails and hors d'œuvres, we then dressed for an evening on the town.  Three of us boarded the convenient Monte Carlo-Bellagio Monorail to the Bellagio for Cirque du Soleil's "O", an aquatic masterpiece of surrealism and theatrical romance.  This was my first Cirque du Soleil experience and it was amazing!  Following the show, we set off to MGM Grand for a little gambling and our VIP table at Studio 54, one of Las Vegas' hottest nightclubs.  Not really my scene, but very entertaining people-watching.  I was the first to retire to the suite, shortly past 2, with plans to get up early and venture out on my own. 

I was up early and ready to explore.  Since I had already donated enough of my hard-earned cash to the slots and tables, I made the decision to spend my money in some of incredible restaurants that have opened since my last visit.

Thomas Keller's Bouchon

The Venetian Resort & Spa

I commenced my culinary journey with brunch at Bouchon.  I sat at the French pewter bar, snapped a few photos, chatted with some of the waiters, and savored every bite of the signature Chicken and Waffles...roasted chicken alongside savory bacon and chive waffles, accompanied by Tahitian vanilla bean butter, syrup and Chasseur sauce.

The Bouchon Bakery is downstairs, in the foyer of the Venetian, and offers a larger selection of sweet and savory creations.  I was much too stuffed from brunch to sample anything, but stopped by to take a look.

StripSteak

A Michael Mina Restauarnt, Mandalay Bay

Our memorable Saturday evening began at StripSteak.  While waiting for our table, I ordered a Cucumber Cocktail...and, after finishing that one, I ordered another.  It was so mellow and refreshing.  The bartender shared the basic recipe:  Honeydew and Cantaloupe Melon-infused Vodka, Cucumber Essence, simple syrup and lime juice.

When we arrived at our table, we were pleasantly surprised to find two bottles of Silver Oak Cabernet waiting. 

Shortly thereafter, the Trio of Duck Fat Fries arrived, including the most amazing truffle oil fries with truffle aioli, clearly the favorite out of the three.

Foccacia, fresh from the oven, arrived in a small cast iron gratin pans

For my entrée, I wavered between the Prime Short Rib with Celariac-Horseradish Puree and Glazed Mirepoix, or one of the steaks.  Based on our waiter's recommendation, I chose the 8 oz. American Kobe Rib Cap.  It was the most incredible piece of meat I've ever tasted.  As a vegetable side, I shared the Brussels Sprouts with Bacon Lardon.

Updated sidenote:  After returning home, I found this adaptation for Mina's Glazed Brussels Sprouts, published by the Washington Post, here.  I modified the quantities to make it for two, and omitted the juniper berries.  The dish came out quite delicious.  The apple takes out any bitterness and the bacon, well, bacon makes everything better.

Some of the other dishes gracing our table at StripSteak included...

18 Oz Dry-Aged Bone-In Rib Eye

S

Scallops

Whole Fried Organic Chicken with Truffled Mac & Cheese, Caramelized Onion Jus

And a special dessert from the Chef (minus one bite before I could snap the photo)....Yes, I irritated everyone by taking photos of everything before we could eat!

Red Square

Mandalay Bay

After dinner, we were privileged to experience Red Square's exclusive private vodka vault and famous frozen icebar. Our hostess gave us faux fur coats and hats and then escorted us into the chilly vodka vault.   She returned intermittently to refill our glasses with Russian Vodka. We drank, laughed, and posed for silly pictures.

Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill

Caesars Palace

On Sunday, some of our group flew back to San Diego.  Four of us packed our bags and moved over to Caesars Palace, to stay another night and watch the Chargers...lose to the Jets.  Although the game was disappointing for Charger fans, I was happy to take a break and slip in at Mesa Grill's bar for a late brunch.  I love Bobby Flay and wanted to try one of his signature dishes.  I went with the Spicy Chicken & Sweet Potato Hash with Poached Eggs and Green Chile Hollandaise.  This dish was so wonderful; I can't wait to recreate it at home!  I was pleased to find the recipe, here.

Rao's

Caesars Palace

The two Italians in the group immediately voted on Rao's for dinner.  I was familiar with Rao's after the recent Feast of the Seven Fishes Throwdown between Bobby Flay and the Pellegrino family of Rao's.  I ordered Linguine al Vongole Marechiara, New Zealand Cockle Clams Sauteed with Garlic, White Wine and Parsley, topped with a touch of Tomatoes and Spice, and served over linguine. 

  Kerry ordered Fiocchetti al burro, salvia e amarena, Begger purse raviolis stuffed with pear & ricotta cheese in butter, sage and dried cramberries sauce

And Pammy ordered Le Polpette di Rao’s, Traditional Rao’s Meatballs served in Tomato Sauce.  These were the size of baseballs and oh so heavenly (sorry, no photo).

For dessert, we shared Profiteroles with Gelato and Chocolate Sauce, and Cannoli

After dinner, we were off to bed early so we could get up at sunrise and make our exit out of town before the rain storms hit.

With so many new restaurants, I barely made a dent in the three days I was there.  Next time, I must make it to L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, where you can dine at the counter with a full view of the kitchen, Mario Batali's B & B Ristorante, and several others I could only walk past.

 

Thank you, Susan, for including me in your special birthday celebration, and thank you to all of my girls for an awesome weekend!

The Birthday Girl!

Bad, bad, birthday girl!

Sous Vide debuts for our Weird Science Halloween Party & Culinary Extravaganza

Halloween is John's favorite holiday.  He's rat-holed quite an accumulation of decorations, costumes and accessories to prove it.  Every year, Big Ugly, our utility/Newfy van, comes home from the storage unit jammed packed with boxes.  Every year, UPS knocks at our door with new stuff.  Women, don't even try to fight it.  Men will be boys, and boys love their toys.  As a result, we are now the proud owners of a museum-size Plasma Globe.  It's quite impressive, as was the price (sorry I asked).  It was exhibited on the table in front of our window for the past few weeks, and then served as one of the star attractions for our Halloween Party.

I believe we acquired these pumpkins last year, but John updated the stack with a few more lights and changed the color of some of our outdoor lights.

Earlier in the week, Big Ugly was unpacked and all the boxes stored in our next door neighbor's garage.  Jim & Melinda graciously offered their patio for the party.  It's the perfect venue for our intimate group and John's collection of props and toys.

 

The big tree secures the canopy of lights, spider webs, skeletons and vampire bats.

The theme for this year's party was Weird Science.  We challenged the chefs in our group to carry that theme into the kitchen in preparing a dish to share.

John dressed the part, and I was his Not-So-Sexy Lab Assistant in my over-sized lab coat, leopard-skin tights, and Newfy slippers.

Pirate Jim's driveway served as the Weird Science Lab, complete with John's self-constructed Jacob's Ladder

The lab wouldn't be complete without jars of skulls, biohazardous material, and test tubes filled with bodily fluids

Perhaps even more impressive than the Plasma Globe, at least when it came time to eat, was the Thermal Immersion Circulator.  John borrowed two of these from work so we could experiment with Sous Vide cooking.

He prepared Bobby Flay's Coffee Rub for his Sous Vide Flank Steak, which enjoyed a 12 hour Jacuzzi at 60.4 C or 140.7 F.  John vacuum-packed individual servings of steak to allow everyone the opportunity to fish out a bag, cut the top off, and retrieve their own succulent piece of meat.

I cracked open Thomas Keller's Under Pressure:  Cooking Sous Vide, and found a recipe for Sous Vide Pork Belly.  After brining with curing salt overnight, my pork belly floated about in its vacuum-sealed pouch for 12 hours, at 82.2 C or 180 F.  After a brief sear, I served it with Mark Miller's Charro Beans and New Mexico Hatch Green Chile Sauce, from Tacos.  Pork & Beans, Keller-Miller style.

Chefs Kai and Alec took their cooking to a whole new level

Kai focused on the "weird" in Weird Science, with his fun and creative presentation. 

Here, we have Mr. Pumpkin with a meat cleaver embedded in his temple.  Arranged beneath his esophagus, you will observe some ribs broken away to reveal a heart, two full racks of barbequed ribs, and a coil of sausage bowels.

Alec tended his burning embers in preparation for his Salt-Crusted Beef Tenderloin, a trimmed beef tenderloin crusted with a half pound of salt, wrapped in a cotton cloth, and charred on the bed of fiery embers

It's prepared using the oldest of the five methods of live fire cooking: roasting in the embers. You lay the wrapped beef tenderloin on a bed of hot coals long enough to burn the cloth wrapping and salt into a hard black shell, but briefly enough to keep the meat inside medium-rare and tender.  The result looks like a burnt log, but when you crack off the crust, some of the most tender, succulent beef tenderloin in the world awaits.

Simply amazing!

Alec's beautiful Nina, came as a pregnant, wine-drinking, Nun.

Nina's Layered Crepe & Caramel Cake

Hill & Nina

This was my dessert offering, Vanilla Panna Cotta Brain with Port-Cherry Sauce.  I used Food & Wine's Greek Yogurt Panna Cotta recipe, but made a port cherry sauce instead of the honey glazed apricots.

Here's the lovely, bewitching, and devilish Carmen

Carmen prepared Antipasto Sandwiches, with pickled and marinated melazane, artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes and fava beans, with layers of fresh mozzarella, pepperoni, prosciutto and peppered turkey.  She spread the hollowed out bread with a mixture of two pestos - basil and artichoke heart.  She also shared two cheesecakes from Collins Bakery, October birthday gifts shipped courtesy of her mom.

A Halloween Party wouldn't be complete without Jim's Jell-O Shots and Vodka Gummi Worms, made with lime Jell-O, vodka, and peach schnapps. The Gummi Worms were soaked in vodka for three days and tripled in size! Jim and Carmen suggest using sugar-free, Gummi brand worms and draining on paper towels.  They're also a great snack to sneak into a movie theatre!!!

Pammy aka Rosie baked up some Severed Witch's Fingers with Marinara Sauce, but it was Rosie herself who was a feast for the eyes, as she confidently strutted about with her voluptuous breasts and rather large, but firm derrière.  Dr. Brad enjoyed his lap dance, as did all of the other men at the party! 

Baby Beaubeaux and Grace joined us for some Halloween cheer

I think Peter must have found one of our bags of discarded Newfy fur to make his wig

Peter belongs to Julie, on the left, and Jackie, in the middle - the two Fruity Licious Pumpkin Spice Girls, who were joined by Ohura from Star Trek

Once again, this group outdid themselves with entertaining costumes, culinary creativity and Halloween cheer!  John and I are truly blessed to have such a wonderful group of friends and neighbors.