Yeah, okay I ain’t been posting about cooking, deal with it. Sure I’ve been grilling 2, 3, 4 times a week and even fired up the smoker this last Saturday. But it’s been my normal, every day type of food and nothing worth posting. At least in my estimation anyway.
This isn’t to say I haven’t had a few most excellent moments though. A few days ago Taylor emailed me and wanted to know if I’d be willing to work the Fatted Calf stall this coming October 14th. Me? Selling meat and talking to people about said meat products? SHIT YEAH. I won’t be working for actual money, but I’m sure I’ll come away with a crepinette and a mowf full of jerky. It’ll be like a mini-vacation. I can hardly wait. Have you ever smelled a 100 quart cooler filled with fresh sausage? HUH? HAVE YOU !?! Well I have and it’s a slice of heaven. I am so ready. Mark your calendar and come for a visit, ya hear?
As far as an update on finding a grocery store with a meat counter? Nothing yet. I’ve been back to the Mercadito San Juan a few times and done well. But nothing solid yet.
This week’s Fatted Calf Newsletter is sportin’ a lamb sirloin roast stuffed with their own olive tapenade. Not sure how big they were, but last time they were about 2 pounds, barely enough for 2 people. Unless you add in a set of crepinettes, this is how I do it. The newsletter’s slant this week points to some people’s aversion to pate and terrines and the like. Odd since it’s basically French meat loaf. I think maybe each one of you that will always pass on the loaffy goodness, should stop this time and buy a portion. Take it home, open the package and observe. Take a little whiff, ready your fancy mustard and have a slice. All I’m asking is to try it once, just once. If you can’t deal with it, no loss. Give it to a friend. But if you do enjoy? Oh how wonderful it will be to add a foodstuff to your list. Then, when asked you can hold your head high and exclaim, “Yes! I have eaten pate, and I love it!” Nothing wrong with that, says I.
Please venture onward to the newsletter not written by me. And hope to see you at the market this coming Saturday.
xo
We like to think of ourselves as pâté pushers, converting the skeptical and initiating the timid to a timeless culinary delight. We’ll watch a passer by eyeing the mid section of our menu with a mixture of fear and curiosity, the profusion of accent marks adding to their puzzlement and wonder what in the American Psyche makes us so afraid of French meat loaf.
Pâté literally translates from French as a pie or pastry but usually refers to a delicious genre of seasoned ground meats that can range from the simple to the exquisite, the humble to the utterly refined. Pâtés can be made from a single meat or can be a complex mixture of meats and organs with herbs, spices, wine and garnishes of cooked vegetables, mushrooms, nuts and fruit. When the mixture of meats and seasonings, called a farce, is cooked in a terrine, lined with strips of fresh pork belly, back fat or lacey caul, it can also be referred to as a terrine or a pâté en terrine.
Our Pâté Maison is a simple country style terrine of rosy heritage pork, shallot rings and a dice of duck gizzard confit. Rabbit Pâté is made from meaty Devil’s Gulch rabbit with their livers and a good measure of pork, finely ground and garnished with vibrant chives. A cross-slice of our Guinea Hen Terrine reveals a chunky mosaic of guinea hen, pork, duck liver and herbs. Our rillettes, duck or rabbit, are slowly braised meats, shredded by hand, bound with rich broth and silky fat, potted in adorable crocks and sealed with fat so that their flavor can slowly ripen. Duck Liver Mousse is a creamy, elegant departure, happily spread on toasts for an indulgent treat.
Let a little pâté be the auspicious beginning to your next great meal or the focal point of your lazy Tuesday supper.
See you at the market!
Saturday, September 30
Special
Cattail Creek Lamb Sirloin Roast stuffed with olive tapenade
Sausage
Liberty Farms Duck Crepinettes with brandied prunes and star anise
Savory Pork Sausage with Greens
Calabrese
Merguez
Fennel
Toulouse
Mexican Style Chorizo
Breakfast Sausage
Pâtés, Confits & Terrines
Pâté Maison
Rabbit Pâté
Guinea Hen Terrine
Duck Liver Mousse
Duck Confit
Rabbit Rillettes
Duck Rillettes
Tonno di Maiale
Salumi
Fegatelli
Petit Sec Aux Herbes
Pancetta
Mortadella
Salami Cotto
Saucisson Sec
Other Meaty Goods
Bacon
Rind On Bacon
Beef Jerky
*It’s True! We’re taking back the empty rillettes ramekins and glass jars that are clogging your kitchen cabinets. There is a refund of fifty cents for each container returned.