New recipes, August 31, 2013

Can't believe September is upon us! What do you get when you put a bull moose, wild mushrooms, calliope hummingbirds, and rain together? Not dinner (though I am curious what moose tastes like)-- just an amazing day in Grand County Colorado!

Dinner is from the September 2013 Cooking Light: Lemon Parsley Chicken, with Corn Tomato Salad, and Herbed Couscous. These go together well. We give the salad a 4. The couscous needed a bit more of the herbs and lemon juice. The chicken is moist and flavorful, but our grill was too hot--too much char.  We give the chicken and the couscous 3s.

Wine: Apaltagua Rosé Carmenere 2012

We also made lunch:  Herby Frittata with Vegetables and Goat Cheese, also from the same Cooking Light.  Nice!  We give this a 4.

New recipe, August 30, 2013

Salt Grilled Shrimp from the June 2013 Bon Appétit. Nice flavors, but a bit salty. We'd like to try it again really drying off the marinade before cooking. We give this a 3. Served with garden tomatoes and cucumbers.

No wine this evening.

New recipe, August 29, 2013

Couscous Salad with Chicken Dates and Walnuts from the September 2013 Cooking Light. Very nice! Gets a 4. Served with garden tomatoes.

Wine: Secco Italian Bubbles 2012

New recipe, August 28, 2013

Celery Salad with Dates Almonds and Parmesan from the September 2013 Bon Appetít. Yum! We give this a 5. It has a wonderful array and balance of flavors.

Served with Seared Sashimi Tuna with Sesame and a Ponzu Mirin Sauce.

Wine: Victor Hugo Les Mis 2012 Paso Robles Rosé

New recipe, August 27, 2013

Apple Salad with Walnuts and Lime from the September 2013 Bon Appétit. This was really fun and tasty--we give this a 5.

Served with leftover grilled pork tenderloin prepared and served like the Strip Steak with Japanese Dipping Sauce.

No wine--we headed to the theater to see Peter and the Starcatcher.

New recipe, August 26, 2013

Sautéed Greens with Olives from the September 2013 Bon Appétit. Bold and delicious flavors--we give this a 5! Served with a grilled pork tenderloin prepared and served like the Strip Steak with Japanese Dipping Sauce. And of course, garden tomatoes.

Wine: Château de Ségriès Lirac 2007. Wonderful ripe fruit without a lot of tannins--worked very well with these challenging dishes'

New recipe, August 25, 2013

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Speck and Chimichurri from the September 2013 Bon Appetit. This is great! It gets a 5!

Served with leftover Tom Kha Gai, and a plate full of garden tomatoes.

Wine: Domaine de la Fouquette Cuvée Rosée d'Aurore

New recipes, August 24, 2013

We had dinner with our friends Chris Ellis, Pat McKeon and Dwight Davidson. The new recipes are from the September 2013 Bon Appétit: Fennel and Orange Salad with Lemon Ginger Vinaigrette, and Strip Steak with Japanese Dipping Sauce. Served with a plate of amazing garden tomatoes. We give the salad a 4, and the steak gets a 5. Yum!

Wine: Apaltagua Carmenere Rosé 2012

New recipe, August 23, 2013

Creamy Mustard Chicken from the October 2013 Eating Well. We did use couscous instead of pasta, but the basic flavors are great either way--we give this a 4. Served with a plateful of fresh heirloom tomatoes from the garden--heaven!

Wine: Benziger Sauvignon Blanc North Coast 2011

New recipe, August 22, 2013

Pasta with Chorizo and Chickpeas from the September 2013 Bon Appétit. Served with an Arugula Salad with Flowers, and garden fresh tomatoes.

Yum! The pasta gets a 4.

Wine: Domaine du Tariquet Rosé de Pressée

New recipe, August 21, 2012

Tom Kha Gai from the September 2013 Bon Appétit. Tasty--this gets a 4!

Wine: Sutliffe Vineyards Riesling 2011

New recipe, August 20, 2013

With Mark on the road and late meetings, tonight's new recipe is The Bowery cocktail, from liquor.com. It gets a 4!

New recipe, August 19, 2013

Wild Mushroom Goulash from the September 2013 Food and Wine. Nice rich flavors--we give it a 3. Served with an arugula salad.

Wine: Victor Hugo Les Mis 2012 Paso Robles Rosé

New recipes, August 18, 2013

Pomegranate Glazed Lamb Chops from the September 2013 Food and Wine. Served with amazing fresh garden tomatoes and sauteed garden zucchini. The lamb is served with an Herbed and Spiced Plum Compote from the same issue--we give them both a 4.

Wine: Gérard Bertrand 2008 Minervois

New recipe, August 17, 2013

We had a nice dinner with Roberta Payne and some of her friends. so the new recipe is the Millennium Manhattan from The Joy of Mixology by Gary Regan. Nice cocktail, we give it a 3.

New recipe, August 16, 2013

Today was Mark's last day in his continuity clinic, and hus colleagues gave him a very nice goodbye party. so the new recipe is a cocktail--José's Gin and Tonic, from the August 2013 Bon Appetit. Good flavors--we give this a 4.

New recipe, August 15, 2013

Lemony Escarole Salad with Peaches and Feta, from the September 2013 Food and Wine. Peaches, tomatoes and cucumbers are from our garden--gets a 5! Served with Pork Roulade with Red Bell Pepper, Leeks, Figs and Sage, something we created in November 2011. That was before we started rating our recipes--this also gets a 5.

Wine: Kosta Browne 2011 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir

New recipes, August 14, 2013

Tomato Salad with Horseradish Ranch Dressing from the September 2013 Food and Wine (glorious with garden fresh tomatoes--gets a 5!) and Mexican Style Stuffed Eggs from the Denver Post. This is a nice variation on devilef eggs, we give it a 3.

Wine: Domaine du Tariquet Rosé de Pressée 2012

New recipe, August 13, 2013

These Tomato Sandwiches from the September 2013 Food and Wine are incredible! We adapted a little to what we had, so we used nonfat Greek yogurt in the feta spread instead of mayo, and used oregano leaves and oregano and chive blossoms from the garden. And you can't beat the tomatoes straight out of the garden!! Served with sautéed zucchini from the garden as well.

These get a total 5!

Wine: Domaine de la Fouquette Cuvée Rosée d'Aurore 2012

New recipe, August 12, 2013

Bulgur with Peaches and Mint from the August 2013 Cooking Light. Very tasty, and made magical by peaches from our tree. We give it a 4!
Served with more of the Three Pepper Pork Tenderloin from the September 2013 Food and Wine.

Wine: Whitewater Hill Muscat Canelli 2012

New recipe, August 11, 2013

Seared Tuna Niçoise Salad with Sesame Miso Dressing from the September 2013 Food and Wine. Yum! A great variation of Salade Niçoise--we give this a 4.

Wine: Casa do Valle Vinho Verde 2010

New recipes, August 10, 2013

Melon and Prosciutto Risotto from the July 2013 Bon Appétit. Served with a grilled steak with pink peppercorns. The risotto is delicious--it gets a 4.

Wine: Mas Carlot Costières de Nîmes Rosé 2012

Dessert is the Cantaloupe in Pink Peppercorn Syrup from the same issue of Bon Appetít.  Astonishingly good!  This gets a 5!

New recipes, August 9, 2013

Chilled Tomato and Stone Fruit Soup from the August 2013 Bon Appétit, served with Filipino Grilled Chicken from the September 2013 Food and Wine, with some white rice on the side. Both are quite nice. We give the chicken a 4, and the gazpacho is another 5 (with perfect fresh ingredients).

Wine: Victor Hugo Les Mis 2012 Paso Robles Rosé

New recipe, August 8, 2013

Cantaloupe Gazpacho from the July 2013 Bon Appétit, and Mexico City Shrimp with Chipotle Mojo from September 2013 Food and Wine. These were both fabulous! We used a Rocky Ford Cantaloupe (heaven on earth) in the gazpacho. The shrimp is from Rick Bayless. These both get 5s! Score!

Wine: Domaine du Tariquet Rosé de Pressée 2012

New recipe, August 7, 2013

For dinner, we had leftover Three Pepper Pork Tenderloin with Peach Cucumber Salad from the September 2013 Food and Wine. Still a 5!

The new recipe is the French Manhattan, from Neil Patrick Harris on the July 2013 Bon Appétit. We give this a 3.

New recipe, August 6, 2013

Three Pepper Pork Tenderloin with Peach Cucumber Salad from the September 2013 Food and Wine. Make this with fresh cucumber and perfectly ripe peaches, and you have our 5! Yum!

Wine: Italo Pietratonj Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo 2012

New recipes, August 5, 2013

Citrus Marinated Chicken Thighs, served with Grilled Corn with Herb Butter, both from the August 2013 Bon Appétit. Both very nice--they get 4s. Also had Roasted Carrots with Carrot Top Pesto from the July 2013 Bon Appétit. Love the carrots, the pesto did not do much for us--overall it gets a 3. Some tomatoes and peppers from the garden in the side.

Wine: Italo Pietratonj Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo 2012

New recipe, August 4, 2013

We went sailing this afternoon on Lake Granby with our friend Barry, which included a meal. So our new recipe is Martha Stewart's Raspberry Lime Gin and Tonic. Very nice--it gets a 4!

New recipes, August 3, 2013

Grilled Beets with Burrata and Poppy Seed Vinaigrette from the July 2013 Bon Appétit. This is wonderful! Not sure the burrata adds anything, but the salad is a definite 5! Served with Scallops with Herbed Brown Butter from the August 2013 Bon Appétit. This is also delicious! We would use a bit less lemon juice than the recipe called for. As made, we give it a 4--with a tad less lemon juice, we think it would be a 5!

Wine: Apaltagua Carmenere Rosé 2012

New recipe, August 2, 2013

Tonight was a repeat of the Egg Salad Sandwich with Bacon and Sriracha from the August 2013 Cooking Light. Still tasty, gets a 4 again!

The new recipe is the Dark and Stormy Cocktail, from About.com (thanks up Mary and Kenny Burns for the inspiration). Tasty--it gets a 4

New recipe, August 1, 2013

Egg Salad Sandwich with Bacon and Sriracha from the August 2013 Cooking Light. The Sriracha is a great addition, and makes this a 4. Served with cucumbers, tomatoes and carrots from the garden!

Wine: Victor Hugo Les Mis 2012 Paso Robles Rosé