Thanksgiving Retro

The best view from the kitchen. Ocean on two sides, decorated in peaceful, calming sea greens and blues with luminescent tiles on the back splash that glimmer in the sunlight like the inside of a shell.

Our feast

Watercress salad with pommegranate, goat cheese and blush vinaigrette

Roasted Turkey with California Citrus Rub (from Savory)

Stuffed Turkey breast with figs, apples and onions, rubbed with Forester Rub (Savory) and grilled

Traditional Sage Dressing

Fig and Apple Stuffing

Creamed Spinach w/ Gruyere

Braised Brussel Sprouts with Bacon

3 root mash - potato, sweet potato and parsnip

Pumpkin yeast rolls



Pecan Pie

Pumpkin Chiffon Pie



Urp....

Butternut Squash - mmm, mmm, good

Butternut Squash Soup

1 large butternut squash (to get to the flesh, I like to chop it in half, steam in the microwave for 10 minutes and peel off the tough skin, and then chop into cubes)

1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp tarragon
8 cups chicken stock

Heat onions in a little olive oil in a large pan until soft. Stir in tarragon and let aromas release a minute or two before adding squash and stock. Simmer about 20 minutes. Puree with a stick blender in the pot or transfer to a blender and puree. Add salt and pepper to taste.



Butternut Squash Phyllo Triangles

A riff on Spanikopita...

1 Butternut squash (as above)
1/2 onion, chopped
2 tsp fresh sage chopped
4 oz cream cheese
phyllo sheets
1 stick butter melted

Heat onion in a little olive oil and cook until soft. Add sage.
Combine squash, cooked onion and cream cheese in a food processor and process until smoth.
Cool filling mixture

Cut 3 inch strips of phyllo.
Take 2 sheets of phyllo strips (cover the remaining with a damp paper towl) and brush with butter.
Place 1 tsp filling on bottom right corner of stip. Fold in a triangle, like a flag to the top of the sheet. Place on baking sheet and brush with butter.
Make as many as you have time/patience for...
Cook at 400 for 10 minutes until golden.
Uncooked triangles can be frozen.


Butternut Squash Risotto -
This is a recipe from the barefoot contessa and is the ultimate winter comfort food. Use the pancetta!!!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/butternut-squash-risotto-recipe/index.html

Golden Gazpacho

Savor the final flavors of summer with this delicious, easy soup inspired by a chef from Provence who I saw on "Diary of a Foodie" on PBS. The flavors are crisp, clean and refreshing with a little unexpected sweetness. It is also amazingly creamy

4 yellow tomatoes
2 orange tomatoes
1/4 honeydew or Israeli perfume melon (green flesh)
1/2 english cucumber, peeled
1/4 red onion, cut into chunks
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon olive oil

Whizz all ingredients in blender. Serve with diced yellow tomato and cucumber for garnish.
If you really want to go to town. Cut the remaining cucumber into small chunks and toss with olive oil, lemon juice and fresh basil flowers, place in soup bowl and ladle gazpacho over cucs.

Lamb Recipes

Still recovering from the DNC and busy with the start of school so all I have managed to do so far is saute some lamb chops, seasoned with olive oil, salt and pepper in a high heat pan about 4 minutes a side so they were browned and beautiful on the outside and pink and tender on the inside. The best lamb I have ever tasted. More to follow.......
FYI just bought a beautifully butchered and packaged 4H Colorado Lamb. I am Colorado Proud!


September 24th

Autumn Lamb Stew

1 lb lamb stew meat

1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup flour
2 tbs cumin
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
2 tbs sweet patrika
1 bag frozen cubed butternut squash
1 cup diced prunes

Season lamb and brown in a large casserole. Remove and add onions and galic and cook until soft.
Stir in spices and cook a few minutes so they release their aromas/flavors.
Add lamb, squash and prunes. Sprinkle flour over top and stir in.
Add 6 cups chicken stock.
Bring to a low boil and then turn down heat to simmer for an hour.


Lamb Kofta

I used the shoulder steak meat for this - I ground it in my food processor with the onions, garlic and spices.

1 lb ground lamb
1/2 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp cumin
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsly
salt and pepper

Shape lamb mixture into balls or press with your hand onto wooden skewers forming a cylindrical "wrap" around the skewer.

Shallow fry balls or grill skewers. Serve with pitas, hummus, tzatski or tahini sauce.

Sticky Lamb Ribs

I must say I was a bit apprehensive about the lamb ribs. They were so good!
2 racks ribs
Dry rub - garlic salt, smoked paprika, black pepper over ribs.
Sticky sauce - 1 btle oyster sauce, 1/2 cup honey, garlic salt -mix together brush over ribs.
Place in ovenproof dish and slow cook at 225 for 4-6 hours

Heat Grill to high and grill ribs just before eating to give them a crispy crust!
Delish

Leg of Lamb

Mix together 6 cloves garlic, crushed, 3 tbs fresh rosemary, zest of one lemon, 1/4 cup olive oil, salt and pepper.
Rub all over leg of lamb day before or morning before you cook the lamb.

We usually cook our leg of lamb on the grill. Start with a preheated high grill and get a good sear on each side (about 5 minutes a side) then put the roast up on the rack, turn down head to med-high, close lid and cook (roast) until an instant read thermometer reaches 145 (rare), 155 medium, 165 well done- about 45 minutes depending on size of the leg. Remove and cover in foil to rest.

Or roast in oven at 400.

Berry Patch Farm/Supporting our local farmers!

http://www.berrypatchfarms.com/



Heaven on earth in Colorado for me. A short drive up Colorado Blvd to 85 to Brighton (ish) and you are whisked far far away from the city. As we pulled into the parking lot, the first thing we saw was an adorably rotund speckled piglet (named Bacon Bits)trotting around the parking lot. The kids leaped from the car as I put in in park, thrilled to see neighborhood friends pulling up in the car next to us and straight to the red barn to grab blue baskets and hop on the tractor that would take us to the strawberry fields.

As we drove out to the strawberry fields, the kids called out the various types of produce growing along the way, peppers, chilies (spicy!), melons, tomatillos, kale (lettuce), and then the strawberries.

In full disclosure, my childhood in England has me predispoed to the PYO/UPick visit. Once I am in the fields, seeing the bright, ruby red, shiny jewels peeking out from the heart shaped, verdant leaves, my heart starts pounding and I am consumed by a desire to leave no berry behind!
So, we picked and watched ladybugs, grasshoppers, and frogs frolikcing among the plants. Then back to the farm house for lemon cucumbers, purple peppers, edamame on the "vine" and roma tomatoes and fresh basil which I roasted and turned into a delicious pasta sauce that is now frozen to enjoy throughout the winter. We came home sunkissed, sticky and a little muddy, laden with berries and goodies.

Back 2 weeks later for raspberries which were ripe and ready and now 8 containers sit in my fridge for jam making. I have been collecting local produce this past week for preserving/canning/jamming and am so excited to build a store in the basement filled with the best of the summer. I have raspberries, peaches from a neighbors tree, plums from my tree, tomatillos from our garden (cool plant!), roasted peppers and Hatch green chilies. Whew - it's a lot of work but I am enchanted with the idea that I am buying local and preserving just as in the early days. My inspiration is coming from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver and while Colorado's growing season and produce don't come close to that of Virginia's there is plenty to keep me busy. I am also committed to only buying seasonal produce - no more apples from New Zealand so canning/jamming will make sure we can enjoy peaches all year long. Whew - not sure when I am going to have time to do it but I will!!!
Look for the recipes on the next post. Please feel free to share any tips b/c I am definitely a novice at all this.

Suppers in Steamy

Friday night -

New York Strips - seasoned and grilled!

Beet, Goat Cheese, Bacon and Arugula Salad with Balsamic Honey Reduction (Based on the delicious stack I enjoyed at Tables!)

2lbs beets

olive oil

head of garlic

fresh thyme

2 golden tomatoes

8 oz goat cheese

1 lb arugula

1 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup honey
roasted garlic from beets

thyme



Roasted Beets

Peel beets. Place in oven proof container and sprinkle with olive oil, thyme, whole head of roasted garlic and olive oil. Roast at 350 until tender (yields to inserted paring knife)



Balsamic Honey Reduction

1 cup Balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup Honey

4 cloves of Roasted garlic

2 stalks thyme

s&p


Place in saucepan over high heat, bring to boil and simmer until reduced to syrup.



To assemble

Place arugula on platter.

Sliced roasted beets and layer ontop of arugula with sliced tomatoes. Sprinkle goat cheese ontop.

Drizzle with balsamic honey reduction. Sprinkle crumbled bacon ontop (optional)




Grilled Corn with Chipotle Lime Butter
1/2 stick butter

3 tbs dried chiptolet powder

juice of 1 lime

salt n pepper

6 corn



mix butter with butter, chipotle, and lime juice, sn p

Brush butter on corn. Grill on high until brown
Pineapple Ginger Vodka Fizzes - I defer to Lucy on those! Yummy!



Saturday Breakfast
Spinach Scrambled Eggs

I added 2 big handfuls of julienned spinach, 2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley and salt and pepper. If you cook scrambled eggs slowly over low heat they will be really creamy!

Farmhouse potatoes with potatoes, onions, beets, and chipolte
Microwave 2 large russet potatoes until just cooked (about 10 mins). Cut into 1 inch chunks.
Chop 2 onions and saute in olive oil until soft and transluscent, add potatoes, roasted beets (left over from Friday night) and season with chipotle chili powder, salt and pepper. Toss together til heated through and a little crispy.

Fresh fruit salad - c'mon - you got that!!!

Saturday Dinner
Grilled New Zealand Salmon with Cantaloupe Clementine Salsa

Salsa
1/2 canteloupe, finely diced -1/2 inch cube
4 clementines, peeled and segmented (canned mandarins ok in a pinch but not the same flavor)
1 jalepeno
4 tbs chopped mint
2 tbs white wine vinegar
salt and pepper
Juice of one lime
1 tbs olive oil.

Toss all ingredients together and serve with Salmon

Blue Potato Salad with Whole Grain Mustard
2 lbs blue/purple potatoes
Scrub skins and cook by brining to boil and boiling until tender (about 10 minutes)

In a large serving bowl put
1/2 cup whole grain mustard (Pommeray is what we had in Steamy)
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
2 tsp minced garlic
4 tbsp chopped chives (or green onions)
1/2 cup olive oil

Mix together.
Drain potatoes and place in bowl with dressing, stir using spoon to break up potatoes so they absorb the dressing while hot. Serve hot, warm or at room temp!

Chunky Green Salad
Fresh salad greens
Cucumber,Tomato, Red pepper all chopped into chunks
Toss with olive oil, lemon and salt and pepper.

Cherry Pie a la mode - A gorgeous Pie made by Sharon and Daphne! They used Pie Cherries from Lucy's garden. I think the secret ingredient addition of Amaretto instead of almond extract was sheer brilliance!!!!

Bookcliff Vineyards Viogner - a Colorado Wine that rocks!!! You can buy at Grape Expectations - don't be scared!

It's the Cherries!

Cherry and Goat Cheese Compote

2 cups cherries, pitted and chopped
4 spring onions, finely diced
1 cup fresh mint, chopped
Juice of 1 lime
4 oz goat cheese
salt and pepper
2 tsp olive oil.

Mix together and serve with crackers. Everyone might think its beets and be pleasantly surprised.
Adding a chopped jalepeno would be yummy too - when they are taken off the FDA list!

Supper Solutions/Sassy Suppers/Supper Club

So - what do you think? I have never actually prepared meals at one of these but just bought one frozen and made it for dinner. It was delicious but not necessarily quick and I got 3 pans dirty making the meal - Tandoori Chicken with Rice from Supper Club on Kearny. And I had to make a veg. So, not a big deal but made me think.....

When I was working the part-time office job, dinner was a nightmare - now I understand completely!!!! So much easier to have something already made and just heat than go through the k'fuffle when you get home at 5 or 6.

Here's the pitch....I had a few clients last year for whom I made and delivered prepared meals. They generally cost 25 - 30 bucks and fed 4. I'm thinking about resurrecting the service once school starts - 3 choices, one delivery a week.
Thoughts???? Interest????

Gazpacho

4 plum tomatoes
1 clove garlic
1 red pepper
1 med cucumber, deseeded
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
2 tsp pepper
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tbsp lemon juice.
2 cups tomato juice

Whizz in Blender. Garnish with croutons and diced avocado.
Make it a meal with some grilled shrimp or use is as a sauce for grilled fish - halibut, tilapia etc.

Croutons: So easy to make at home and SOOOOOO much better than the packaged kind
1/2 loaf crusty bread, cubed ( the staler the better)
3 tbs olive oil
salt and pepper

Heat oil to med-high in large pan. Add bread and toss around until brown and crispy. Drain on paper towel and season with salt and pepper - you will never go back!!!!

Black Bean Salad/Salsa

2 cans black beans
3 tomatoes, diced
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 avocado, diced
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp smoked paprika

Toss all ingredients together and serve over lettuce. Or as a salsa. Or on top of scrambled eggs. Or......wrap in a tortilla with some grilled steak, grated cheddar and lettuce....

Recipes

Mom's Gone Wild Part II - A fun girls night in WP - great food, wine and company - thanks ladies!

Garlicky, Lemony, Shrimp Pasta

1 lb linguine

1 lb shrimp

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 lemons, zested and juiced

1 bunch flat leaf parsely, chopped

olive oil

2 tbs butter

In a large pot, cook pasta in lots of boiling salted water. Drain when al dente and toss with a few teaspoons olive oil to prevent it from sticking.

While pasta is cooking, heat butter in a large skillet over med-high heat.

Add garlic and sautee until soft and slight transluscent- don't brown or it will be bitter.

Turn up heat to high and add shrimp. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Sautee about 2 minutes and flip. Add lemon juice.

Cook another 2 minutes until shrimp are just pink.

Remove from heat.

Place pasta in a large bowl. Stir in shrimp, lemon zest and parsley. Add olive oil and adjust seasoning as necessary. Sprinkle a little parsley on top and serve with crusty bread and salad.

We were treated to Karen's delicious arugula, parmesan and toasted walnut salad with vinaigrette. Delish!!

Estes Park

We are staying in a beautiful cabin that belongs to a true foodie. Her kitchen shelves are lined with cookbooks so I have been buried deep in cuisines from around the world. Funny thing is I always go for the French everytime. So here are a few I have been playing with in the delightful gourmet kitchen equipped with a gorgeous Viking stove....heaven!

Tarte Tatin

1 package puff pastry

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

2 tbsp butter - room temp

3 lbs halved apricots or sliced fresh peaches

Preheat oven to 400

In a heavy, oven proof skillet, make a caramel with sugar and water. Heat over med high heat until sugar dissolves and mixture becomes golden. Whisk in butter. (Mixture will bubble and hiss a bit, keep stirring to calm it down)

Place fruit in concentric circles into the caramel.

Roll out 1 sheet of puff pastry into a disk a bit larger than the skillet and place over fruit. Carefully tuck in edges around the fruit.

Bake in oven until pastry is puffed and golden.

Remove and let sit for 30 minutes. Place large round plate over pan and carefully turn out tarte from skillet onto plate. I usually use 2 oven gloves.

Serve warm or at room temp.

Salade Nicoise (Serves 4)

1 1/2 lbs tuna steaks

1 large bag salad greens

1 bunch asparagus

1/2 lb green beans

2 large tomatoes, quartered

2 hard boiled eggs, quartered

1/2 cup artichoke hearts

1 lb yukon gold potatoes*

1/2 cup Nicoise olives (or kalamata)

In a large pot, bring potatoes to boil.

Add asparagus and cook for 3 minutes in boiling water and remove and blanch in ice water. Do the same with the green beens. Cook potatoes until tender, Drain, cool and slice.

Season tuna and grill steaks about 2 minutes a side on a hot grill so center is still rare.

To assemble: On a large platter

Place salad greens over platter

Layer sliced potatoes on top.

Layer asparagus and green beans.

Slice tuna and criss cross over beans and asparagus

Place quartered tomatoes and eggs alternately around rim of platter.

Scatter artichoke hearts and olives over the top.

*For a low carb option, you can use roasted beets instead of potatoes*

Serve with French Vinagrette

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tbsp dijon mustard

2 tbsp white wine vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup vegetable oil

salt and pepper

Stir together garlic, mustard and vinegar in bottom of a bowl.

Slowly drizzle in oils whisking constantly so the dressing thickens and absorbs the oil (emmulsifies). Season to taste with salt and pepper

The Happy Fam

Here we are - this is for you Mom!

Potager.....

I have been dragging my feet on this one. I feel like I have been let down by an old friend and keep wishing it weren't true but a week has gone by and I must dish.

We had visitors in town last week, Walton and Jeffrey, the newlyweds! and decided to take them to Potager for dinner given our past wonderful experiences there. We walked in and waited what seemed like 10 minutes for someone to acknowledge us and finally take us to a table. Not a good start. We should have made a run for it then. Fortunately we were seated on the patio and our orginial angst began to slip away. Drinks arrived and we began to look at the menu. I know they are in season but there was an abundance of fava beans and spring peas and not much else. The menu items all suffered from being too verbose-it was so easy to get lost in the verbage of each dish you forgot where you started. After much deliberation and a little help from our server, we ordered. And the wait began....

Twenty minutes later, 2 bread servings later...Appetizers

Asparagus Soup - when it arrived it was a beautiful bright green soup with a tiny dollop of cilantro cream in the middle. When I tasted it was watery, underseasoned and the best part about it was the tiny, insufficient cream. For this I paid $8. Ouch.
Farmers Vegetable Salad was about the most boring salad I've seen, peas, radishes, jicama, baby carrots and that was it - very light dressing that also lacked flavor or seasoning.
English Pea and Mint Pesto Risotto - delicious, delectable and underseasoned - oh no again - did they run out of S&P in the kitchen that night?

We waited a good 40 minutes after our apps were cleared for our entrees. Our server all but disappeared once the apps had been served and we were then "taken care of" by random others in the dining room. We were the table that time forgot.

Entrees
Buttermilk Fried Frogs Legs - "mushy" - unforgivable
Smoked Cod - tiny portions of two bits of cod and you guessed it, peas and fava beans
Duck Confit Salad - the duck was perfectly cooked and delicious BUT - the duck pate croutons were sloppily thrown on the side of the plate, the salad with underdressed and underseasoned and again, thrown on the plate. (For $26+ I want some composition and care)
Steak - Huge hunk of meat (not a recognizable cut of steak) piled ontop a huge crostini (charred leftover house bread), a tiny portion of green tomato gratin which was underwhelming when it could have been so good.

Had we been alone without guests, I would have made a stink. But my good manners got the better of me that night.

We skipped the dessert offerings and headed for Liks which restored our outlook.

All I could think of as we left was that I wished we had gone to Tables. I am not ready to write off Potager, I think the chef was out of the kitchen that night, perhaps they were at the end of the menu cycle for Spring and everyone was bored of the food. I certainly was. There is no excusing the SLOW and inattentive service and that can be a deal breaker for me. Next time, I'll call and make sure the Chef is in.

Looking glam and relaxed in Key West at my good friend, Walton's wedding to Jeffrey!

What an amazing weekend it was. The food blew us away at every event.
The rehersal dinner was at a lovely restaurant on the water and I ate the most delicious Parmesan Crusted Red Snapper - one of the best fish dishes I have eaten! All washed down with Cakebread Chardonnay - it was heaven.

Lunch the next day was at the Vegan Sugar Apple Deli that I wondered across on my way home - that was the Avocado Salad that I emailed earlier this month...

I could write for hours about the beautiful wedding and reception. Never have I seen so much love surround the happy couple. We were thrilled to be there with them. The ceremony was touching and heartfelt and the wisp of air that came through the tent as the bride arrived with her father took our breath away.

The reception was spectacular with out a single detail to spare. The food was incredible and huge kudos to the catering team who produced such a sumptuous feast from the tent out back in the 95 + degree weather, including plated quenelles of ice cream for dessert. We began with an avocado soup, topped with lump crab and drizzled with fruity olive oil that was a perfect complement. Then a delicious golden beet carpaccio salad with mache and gorgonzola toasts. The entree was a petit veal chop and black cod (I think?) served with a delicious english pea risotto cake. YUM!
Then dancing to the incredible band that was brought in from NOLA and we were all sad to see the Bride and Groom depart by pedicab. It was a truly beautiful evening matched only by the bride and groom's happy smiles.

Gruner Veltliner - "Gru"vy

Check out this article about the fab new wine of the summer! It's delish! Thanks Pete!

http://www.wineanorak.com/grunerveltliner.htm

Summer Fun Recipes

Limoncello Mint Sparklers

1 can frozen lemondade concentrate

2 cups limoncello

1 btl club soda

large bunch mint.

In a pitcher, muddle with mint with the lemonade concentrate. Add limoncello and ice. Top with club soda. Pure refreshment!!!

Corn, Avocado and Tomato Salad

4 cups corn kernels

1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

2 avocados, cubed

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

2 spring onions, sliced

Juice of 1 lime

Juice of 1 lemon

1/4 cup olive oil

salt and pepper

Toss all ingredients gently together and serve

Grown up Caramelized Onion Dip

2 large vidalia onions

3 spring onions

1 large bunch flat leaf parsley

2 package Neufchatel cream cheese

salt and pepper

In a large saute pan, heat a little olive oil and add the onions, sprinkle 1 tbsp sugar over them and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally until caramelized, about 1 1/2 hours.

In a mixer, cream together spring onions, chopped parsley and cream cheese. Gently stir in caramelized onions. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve with crostini or kettle chips

Dinner at Tables

We had the most delightful evening at Tables in Park Hill. I had been reading and hearing about it since its inception and had tried to go during the remodel. It was a beautiful Colorado Summer evening - bright clear and with a little chill in the air. We just missed a table outside but were seated right by the door so had the best of both worlds.

Good food, good wine and dear friends made for a wonderful evening.

The menu is succint yet diverse enough to capture lotsof different flavors while avoiding too many choices to be being overwhelmed by.
Starters
Bacon Beet Stack - gorgeous colors, delicious flavors, nice juxtaposition of warm and cold with warm sauces/vinaigrette on the plate. We all commented that the finished plate resembled art work with the vermillion hues slashed across the white canvas of the plate.
Spinach Salad - rich and delicious blue cheese dressing that coated each tender leaf of spinach.
Tuna Tartare - middle of the road. Tuna looked minced rather than cleanly diced. No standout flavors, could have used more seasoning.

Little NeckClams with Spaghetti - bowl of sumptous, delectable sauce with a nice portion of spaghetti and plenty of tender clams. I found myself scooping up the sauce with a spoon.
Halibut - beautifully presented, strawberries added good flavor and color, not stand out but perfectly executed

Soft Shell Crab - amazing presentations, perfect execution, good flavors
Colorado Lamb Loin - good , excellent portion size.

Great portions
Impeccable service - friendly but not cloying servers
Wine - Vertling White. Erath Pinot Noir