| Monday, December 11, 2006 |
| Curried Wild Mushroom and Cashew Pate' |
I don't know whether it's the ever diminishing hours of daylight, the change in the weather, or what, but my ass is DRAGGING this morning. Despite the social calendar this weekend, I had neither too much to drink (quite the opposite actually), and was in bed both nights in plenty of time to get 7-8 hours of sleep. I slept well, and I'm certainly not depressed (stressed, yes, despressed? not so much), but all I want to do is crawl under my desk and sleep for another 5 hours....
Anyway, the dinner party was very nice last night. Lots of really interesting conversation with Foreign Service types, and it was nice to see the Ambassador relax at home with friends. He's such a humble guy, I think the 6 man bodyguard detail he has to endure in his own house overseas is taking a fair amount of getting used to. After seeing the photos of his security detail? Those buff and hunky Marines could watch over me all they wanted....yummy.
Speaking of Yummy....this went over like gangbusters last night. It's rich, but it's REALLY good. Serve on good crostini or heavy crackers.
Curried Wild Mushroom and Cashew Pate'
1 1/4 pound of shitake, cremini, portobello, or other wild mushrooms
5 oz. butter*
2-3 large shallots - chopped
4 cloves garlic - chopped
2 Tablespoons fresh herbs: chives, parsley, thyme and basil
2 teaspoons of hot Madras curry powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
1 cup salted, roasted cashews
2 Tablespoons olive oil
*Note: I used the fresh garlic herb butter from Whole Foods and omitted the additional herbs, since it had all of them in it, in about the same amounts.
Saute' the shallots and garlic in the butter until soft, and add the mushrooms. Cook until all the liquid is evaporated, and the mushrooms start to brown (10 - 12 min.)
Add the curry powder (more if you like more curry), cumin, and herbs and set aside to cool.
Grind the cashews in a food processor and drizzle in the olive oil until a thick paste forms.
Add the mushroom mixture to the food processor, and using the pulse blade, pulse until the mushrooms are well chopped and incorporated into the cashew butter. Season with salt and pepper to taste (if you use salted cashews, you shouldn't need much/any).
Smooth the pate' into a serving bowl and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
It's addictive - enjoy! |
posted by Broadsheet @ 10:06 AM   |
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