Paladar Temescal Presents...PAELLA EN PATIO! JULY 8th

6:30 pm
We'll start the evening with Spain's sparkling wine--cava--and a Spanish cheese plate.

1st course: Tapas
2nd course: Gazpacho
Main course: Paella (seafood and vegetarian option)
Dessert: Flan

Sangria will flow. By the end of the evening, you will be casting smoldering stares across the patio to your flamenco partner. Or your money back ($35 clams to be precise).

Please RSVP in comments section, along with number of guests and whether you would like vegetarian paella. RSVP etiquette is highly prized, for planning and capital outlay reasons. But you're all too cool for us to worry about that. Many thanks!

Chimichurri Success!

Our first dinner, Viva Argentina!, was warmly received by our test audience this past Saturday evening. Thanks to our enthusiastic guests for their feedback and suggestions, and thanks to our humble servants, Will and Travis, for keeping everyone's glasses filled, plates cleared, and steaks cooked to order.

As promised, we are providing the links to the recipes we used for the evening.

For our Argentinian aperitif, we mixed white rum with lime juice, sparkling water, jamaica (hibiscus) tea, and a dash of "bitter sugar," which is a reduced simple syrup infused with limes, lemons, hibiscus flowers, tamarind, cardamon, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.

We started with meat and vegetarian empanadas. Because we were fearful of rolling dough for 40 empanadas, we bought the empanada shells pre-made from Casa Lucas Market. Incidentally, empanadas can be baked or fried, and if the package of empanada shells says "Para freir!" then those are best used for frying (although baking them seems to work just fine). The less-than-stellar yerba mate was purchased there as well. If anyone knows a good source for yerba mate, let us know.

Chorizo and potato empanadas
Plantain and black bean empanadas

We found the golden and chiogga beets to be prettier and more flavorful than the red ones. This recipe is from the Cesar cookbook. The key is simply to roast the beets for an hour in olive oil, garlic, and fennel seed.
Beet salad with goat cheese, fennel oil, and minzuna

We made the chimichurri sauce a day in advance, adding the parsley an hour before serving the grilled steaks.
Chimichurri sauce

Tres Leches cake with dulce de leche and sorbet duo (strawberry and jamaica)

The Argentinian wines were from Arlequin Wine Merchant, a great shop in Hayes Valley.
Zolo Torrontes '05
La Posta Malbec '04
El Felino Malbec '04
Joffre Grand Cabernet Sauvignon '04

Stay tuned for our next dinner: Paella en Patio! (tentative date July 8th)

Paladar Temescal Presents: VIVA ARGENTINA!
June 17th 7:00 pm

Temescal, Oakland
Chefs de cuisine: Hannah and Melissa

Tasting menu paired with wine: $35
Aperitif

Empanadas

Beet salad with fennel oil and queso de cabra

Steak asado with chimichurri sauce and humitas

Tres leches cake
Coffee and mate

(please RSVP in comments, along with number of guests, and indicate if you require vegetarian entree)

What?
Inspired by the paladares of Cuba, the pioneers of the Bay area underground dining scene, and our love of testing new cuisines and ingredients, Paladar Temescal hopes to provide a forum for good food, good wine, and good people.

Who?
For this first meal, you are our test audience and we'll be asking you to give us feedback on the meal, the wine, the pricing, the ambiance, and everything else. Soon, we will be opening up the guest list to our extended friend and acquaintance network. Please feel free to pass along this info and we'll generate a preferred guest list for future events.

Why?
Because it's fun to dine out under the stars with interesting people! And your friends will think you're cool that you've got the inside track to a new underground restaurant.