Charcuterie and Beer Picnic

PARTNER POST: Check out these easy entertaining tips for all your summer activities complete with charcuterie and pâté. This is a sponsored post in collaboration with Les Trois Petits Cochons.
Paired with beer and as casual or elegant as you want it to feel, this charcuterie spread is perfect for a picnic or an evening on the patio complete with a chorizo cake.

So, I had this all planned out. I was going to make this awesome picnic spread with the products the lovely folks at Les Trois Petit Cochon sent over. Their picnic basket makes for a fantastic board as is but I decided to dare it up further. Then, me and partner were going to carry it to Astoria park, sit amidst the trees with a view of the bridge. I was going to uncork a nice bottle of chilled Rosé, pour into proper flutes (we don’t do paper cups in our thirties.. we buy hampers with checkered cloth liners and leather straps to hold things together… #noirony), lean back and enjoy the afternoon. It was the going to be just right to ease into the summer groove.

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Except, as it usually happens in the East Coast, we were gifted with the heavy possibility of late spring showers that decided that a sunny forecast just wasn’t what it had in mind. So, as the day stayed ominously cloudy, I postponed the long afternoon brunch plans to early evening dinner idea. And, we perpetually waited for either the sky to clear up or dump the water and go away.

Neither happened. But dinner time came. Yet, I was determined to have the damn picnic. So, as I watched the parking spot in our house clear out, while I sipped a settling lager, a plan formed. Well, if we can’t go to the park, we’ll bring it to us! It hatched as I took in the freshly planted flower plants that my landlady does every Spring. That’s it! We’ll have a picnic right in our front yard, ahem, parking spot!

So, I put out the folding chairs, brought out the platters and wood boards, popped open new beer, because by now, the beer was more fitting to the occasion and the spread. I was rather proud of myself, while the landlady herself, who was watching from the porch and all the passer-bys gazed on in amusement!

There we have it – the menu for my unique spread of all gluten free pork and duck things…

CHORIZO AND PEPPER CHICKPEA CAKE

WHIPPED RICOTTA AND DUCK MOUSSE ON PEPPER CRACKER

SLICED SMOKED DUCK BREAST

SLICED CHORIZO

PAIRED WITH RICH, DEEP, STRONG LAGER

Charcuterie and Beer Picnic: Chorizo and Pepper Chickpea Cake

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Ingredients

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• 2/3 cup diced chorizo (about 1/2 inch cubes)
• 1 red pepper (diced small)
• 1/4 cup + 2 tsp sunflower seeds
• 1 T Dijon mustard
• 2/3 cup chickpea flour
• 1/3 cup gluten free flour blend {sub with regular flour is not GF}
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Whisk together the eggs and olive oil until very pale and nearly doubled. Whisk in the mustard to incorporate evenly.
3. Sift in the flours, soda, salt and pepper and quickly fold into the yolk mixture.
4. Add the chorizo , sunflower seeds and pepper pieces and fold in.
5. Pour into a 6 inch oiled cake pan and sprinkle the remaining 2 teaspoon of seeds.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes until brown on top and springy to touch.
7. Remove and cool on rack till it comes to room temperature. The cake is delicate and best to not slice it while very warm.
8. Store in an box, on the counter for 2 days or in the refrigerator up to 4 days.