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The Resort at Paws Up Day Three – Contributing Writer Jen Bianco

Last night was so much fun. 40 guests gathered on a warm Montana summer night for Resident Guest Chef Dale Levitski’s Last Best Supper.

All of the produce served was bought at the Farmers Markets in Missoula and came from within a 50 mile radius of Paws Up. Seeing (and tasting) the ingredients I saw Dale buy was such a treat.

The five course meal came with a few wine pairings.

After an amuse salad which included petals from the lillies Dale bought the day before, our first course was a savory Big Sky Pie (leek, cheddar and cauliflower crème fraîche and Montana mystery pair) served with Jean-Luc Joillot Cremanant de  Bourgogne.  The intriguing “mystery pair” was a variety that the farmer was unsure of which of his trees grew it. Dale has since figured it out, but decided to keep the mystery pair mystique alive.

For the second course we were served a Surf N Surf- scallop lump crab and late summer tomato served with kale, potato, fennel in a tomato herb broth. This course was paired with a lovely 2009 Durigutti Reserva Malbec. Yum!

The 7 Things Twice & a Radish was my favorite dish of the night. It was rabbit and homemade pasta (filled with rabbit )served with sweet peas, bacon, ricotta, strawberries and mint.  A 2011 Chateau Saint Michelle & Dr. Loosen Eroica Riesling was paired with this course.

The Dry Aged Picnic of ribeye, served with a sweet corn cake and HuckleQ sauce with rainbow chard and pickle went seriously next level when married with the 2005 Joseph Phelps Insignia Bordeaux-style blend, which was the standout wine for me.

After a pre-dessert of two bites of chocolate and coffee mouse, Summer Steals a Base was served for dessert. The combination of fresh peach, blueberry, basil and pistachio cream was served with a Peach rosé spritzer, which was a nice Montana ode to the Aperol Spritz. Homemade petit fours and mignardises- including an scrumptious peanut butter cookie, finished off the meal.

Much fun was had by all. Now I need to hit the cardio equipment in Spa Town to work it off.

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The Resort at Paws Up Day Two – Contributing Writer Jen Bianco

After waking up next to the Blackfoot river at the stunning Cliffside Camp, I headed off to the Paws Up Wilderness Outpost to go on the Cattle Drive. As I was arriving I could see a hot air balloon landing in the distance. It was so pretty.

The Cattle Drive is so much fun. It’s a much more dynamic way to ride a horse and interact with the Montana landscape and a lot more fun than a trail ride. My horse, Colorado, was a total pro and did most of the hard work for me.

Once we wrangled the cows into the pen, we worked as teams to sort the males from the females which was a lot of fun. A pair of riders from Norway beat my team’s sorting time by 5 seconds but we all had fun. Our cowgirls who have had a lot of experience on horseback and in rodeos showed us some of of their skills which were impressive.

After the cattle drive, I headed to Trough for lunch where I had a nice light meal since I’m saving room for Chef Dale Levitski’s Secret Dining Society dinner tonight. Chef Dale even let me peek into the kitchen where he and his team were prepping the food for tonight. I can’t wait to taste some of the produce we got yesterday at the Farmers Market in Missoula.

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The Resort at Paws Up Day One (Continued) – Contributing Writer Jen Bianco

What a fantastic first day we had at Paws Up. After lunch at Trough, I checked into Cliffside Camp, which just opened this year. It has fabulous views of looking over the Blackfoot river. There are even giant copper bathtubs in some of tents.

The bed is so comfortable I took a nap before getting picked up and riding by horse drawn wagon to the Chuck Wagon dinner. Cowboy poet Steve drove the team of draft horses Pete and RePete to the tented riverside location for dinner.

The Chuck Wagon was a great way to mingle with other guests, and the foot was fantastic. Buckley the chef prepared tri-tip, chicken and a Tomahawk chop with all the fixings. Berry cobbler was dessert.

During dinner we were entertained by music and poetry performed by Cowboy Poet Angelo and Steve. It was good fun.

I got back to Cliffside camp just in time for Mike, the camp butler, to teach me his preferred technique for making s’mores. Then I got good night’s sleep so I’ll be ready for this morning’s cattle drive.

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