December 31, 2010, new food but no new recipe

Dinner on 12/31/2010 was courtesy of my parents. We went to eat at Venice Restaurant. Obviously, we could not cook something new, but we both ate something we hadn't had before. I had a wild boar ravioli, and Carl had Cioippino.

We have decided that we really are going to try to make something new every day, so in the future that means making something new for another meal if we are going to be eating out. Haven't quite worked out what to do if we are traveling together without a kitchen . . .

December 30, 2010 new recipes

Dinner on 12/30/2010 was Venetian Style Risotto with Peas, and Steamed Brussel Sprouts with Maple Vinaigrette.

Both of these were new. The risotto came from Mario Batali's Molto Italiano, well loved and used in our house! The brussel sprouts came from The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook. Both were good, they did not seem to be the best fit with each other though. Live and learn!

I don't recall the wine.

December 29, 2010 new recipe

Dinner on 12/29/2010: Ginger Carrot Soup, with Herbed Chicken Thighs and a green salad.

The soup was the new (and delicious) item, and it came from the Moosewood Cookbook. Carl often makes chicken this way--the thighs get salt, pepper, and some herbs like Herbes de Provence, and they are sauteed in olive oil.

I don't recall the wine--we will get better about that!

December 28, 2010 new recipes

So our grand experiment is to prepare at least one thing we have never made before, everyday. Here is the first dinner on this adventure--December 28, 2010. Carl made Mesquite Smoked Chicken in Garlic, Shallot and White Wine Sauce. It was served with Maple Infused Fingerling Potatoes, and a green salad.

The chicken and the potatoes were both new. The chicken was smoked with my Christmas present, the smoking gun--it is an indoor cold smoker, very convenient for smoking small amounts of something without heating it at all.

Carl created the chicken recipe. The potato recipe came from David Chang's cookbook, Momofuku.

The wine was a Pinotage, though at the moment I can't remember which one.

Getting ready for Mark's Birthday

Mark and I have been busy this past month. We had a great Halloween Party on Saturday. The costumes were terrific. On Halloween we handed out 850 pieces of candy, one at a time. We ran out by 8:25 p.m. Our neighbors are joining us in decorating for this my favorite holiday.

Mark and I are taking off this week to do things around Denver and the house. It seems we rarely have time to just hang out and we are looking forward to the week. Mark will turn 50 on Friday and we are having a party on Saturday. I already bought tickets for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows movie. It opens on Mark's birthday. Mark is traveling back from Washington DC as I write this. I am preparing Seafood Rassa (curried coconut-seafood soup) for dinner.

It has finally turned cold in Colorado. We had such a mild and warm fall. I picked the last tomatoes from our garden last week and then put our garden to bed. Mark's family will come over for Thanksgiving and the next week Mark and I will go to Indian Peaks Lodge our new place in Winter Park. It will be our first time on the slopes this season.

A foggy morning

We had a quiet day today in the Alps. The weather was wet and foggy this morning. Late this afternoon it is cool and sunny around Anne and Gilles home. We went to Crolles to shop at the greenhouse and then the Casino grocery store. We bought lamb rib chops to fix for dinner and Mark made a Tres Leches cake this afternoon. Anne and I both decided to read this afternoon which is code for taking a good long nap. I have been reading Malcolm Gladwell's book What the Dog Saw. This is a collection of articles he wrote for the New Yorker. We made our plans for visiting Berengere in Copenhagen. We leave on Wednesday arriving in the evening. We will attend a piano concert on Thursday evening and will be staying at the French embassy where Berengere lives. We are hoping to kayak on the weekend. Berengere said the weather could be sunny to raining so we will pack for all conditions. We will leave most of our things in Lyon and take a small backpack on the plane. This will help us get into Copenhagen quickly. We will stay in Lyon when we return on Wednesday and Thursday, then back to the states on Friday.

Returning from Annecy

Mark and I went to the beautiful lakeside town of Annecy in the French Alps. Gilles' nephew married yesterday and Gilles and Anne went to the wedding and loaned us their car so we could explore the Village of Annecy and the drive around the lake. What a great trip. It appears that French weddings last a long time. The ceremony was to start around 3 pm, it did at 4 pm. Then they had the reception for 300 people at the Chateau of the nephew's wife's father. Later a dinner for 150 people and then dancing. Anne and Gilles let us know they would likely not be home before 2 am. They got home at 3:15 am. Mark and I explored the town with the castle that has been converted to a museum. It was purchased by the town for 10 Francs. They have a natural history section that explains how they clean the lake water that had been badly polluted from industry. It now has the cleanest water in Europe. The lake waters flow through a river and canals through the city. Very romantic. The museum includes landscapes which show how differently artists viewed the alps over time. In the beginning the alps were depicted as dangerous. Over time the Alps were viewed as a friendly back drop to activities of living in the alps. Several examples of alpine furniture to hold clothing and the tables of beds of everyday living. The last section was modern art.

We walked along the shore in Annecy before leaving for Talloire, a very chic beach along the lake. While in Talloire we noticed hundreds for paragliders above us. We climbed the mountain by car then hike to the launching pad for the flyers. Spectacular.

Les Adrets France

Mark and I arrived in France on Sunday. We are staying with Anne and Gilles at their new home in Les Adrets a small Villiage in the Belle Donne range of the alps. They built an energy effient house that has views of the mountains in the Belle Donne and Chartreuse ranges. Stunning! I am blogging on Gilles' computer which of course has a French keyboard. That makes my typing a bit slow. Our friend Noelle came from the Bordeaux region to hike with us. We saw Chamois and moutain sheep along with many beautiful flowers including orchids. It is early Spring in the Alps. Yesterday we spent the day in Grenoble having lunch at a cooking school and walking around the town. Two days ago in Crest we toured the medival tower that overlooks the village. Gilles garden is being attacked by slugs and some of his bee hives are dying. We went to the bee store yesterday to find a new queen for one of the hives. We will visit a brewery this afternoon.