New recipe, September 30, 2011

French Onion Beef Tenderloin from EatingWell.com, with a green salad and tomatoes. I skipped the bread and cheese.
Wine: Chateau Doyac Haut-Medoc 2006

New recipe, September 29, 2011

Grilled Scallop Ceviche from Epicurious. Salad of fresh tomatoes and green bell pepper from Montana, thanks to Dwight Davidson!
Wine: Pierre Chanier 1749 Sauvignon Blanc

New recipe, September 27, 2011

Chicken Salad with Roasted Red Pepper from Epicurious (we didn't roast the peppers though).  Very tasty!
No wine, as we are traveling.

New recipe, September 26, 2011

Chicken Cutlets with Warm Olive and Shallot Vinaigrette from Epicurious, with sautéed yellow squash.
Wine: Casa do Valle Vinho Verde 2010

No new recipe, September 28, 2011

We did not make anything new this evening.  We spent the day and evening with Carl's family at his grandmother's funeral, celebrating her life.

New recipe, September 25, 2011

Choucroute from Cooking Light, with sautéed king trumpet mushrooms with smoked paprika, and a green salad with red peppers with a Maggi vinaigrette. All delicious!
Wine: Gridley Napa Valley Cabernet Franc 2006

New recipes, September 24, 2011

Tonight's new recipes are Chicken Alla Diavola from Mario Batali's Italian Grill, and Salad of Dandelion Greens with Almond Vinaigrette and Dried Ricotta (used Parmesan) from Epicurious.
Wine: Tenuta Sant' Antonio Nanfre Valpolicella 2008

New recipe, September 23, 2011

Tonight's new recipe is Spicy Grilled Tuna with Heirloom Tomato Salsa from Rick Bayless. This is fabulous!
Wine: Damilano Barolo 2004

New recipe, September 22, 2011

We attended the annual Mental Health America of Colorado dinner tonight, so the new recipe today is a cocktail, the Irish Manhattan from Epicurious.

New recipe, September 21, 2011

Tonight's new recipe is Blade Steaks with Mushroom Madeira Sauce from Epicurious, served with a tomato red leaf salad.

Wine: Damilano Barolo 2004

New recipe, September 20, 2011

Tonight's new recipe is Spicy Shrimp and Vegetable Stir Fry from Epicurious.  No photo--sorry!

New recipe, September 19, 2011

Tonight's new recipe is Shaved Fennel Salad with Orange, Green Olives, and Pistachios from Cooking Light. Chicken breast with herbes de Provence and cayenne pepper.

No wine--had a meeting tonight!

New recipe, September 18, 2011

Today's new recipe is an Onion Frittata from Epicurious.  It is breakfast, so no wine.

New recipe, September 17, 2011

Tonight's new recipe is Thai Inspired Shrimp Stir Fry from Epicurious. This has a lot of great Thai flavors--lemongrass, garlic, ginger, chili, mint and vinegar--but it is too sweet and lacks a balancing sweetness. If I do this again, I will be adding some fish sauce, and cutting back on the sweetener. My favorite rice wine vinegar mix for vegetables and such has 3 tablespoons of vinegar, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and 1 teaspoon of salt--this had equal parts of vinegar and sugar.

Wine: Vigneto di Gino Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi 2009. Not what I would necessarily gave predicted would go well with this dish, but some was left, and it had enough fruit and body that it worked pretty well!

New recipes, September 16, 2011

Tonight's new recipes are from Epicurious: Steak with Stout Pan Sauce, and Green Bean Roasted Tomato Salad.  Carl did a wonderful job, and these were both delicious!

Wine: Forefront Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

New recipe, September 15, 2011

Tonight's new recipe is Caper Rosemary Tuna with Herb Salad from Epicurious.  The flavors are delicious!  The primary herb in the salad is flat leaf parsley.  The flavor is great, but the texture is a bit challenging--flat leaf parsley is a bit tough in large volumes!  Still thinking about how to make this salad work even better.

Wine: Vigneto di Gino Verdicchio die Castelli di Jesi 2009, a nice match for the dish!

New recipe, September 14, 2011

Tonight's very tasty recipe is Pan Seared Sirloin with Corn Relish from Epicurious, a recipe from Tom Colicchio who we always enjoy learning from on Top Chef. A simple cucumber banana pepper salad is on the side. The relish is a great complement to the steak--very nice!

Wine: Brophy Clark Pinot Noir 2009

New recipe, September 13, 2011

Tonight's new recipe is Chicken Breasts with Wild Mushrooms, Marjoram and Marsala from Epicurious, with fresh tomatoes from the garden. Quite nice!  We are working toward a very low fat diet for awhile, so we used fat free half and half for the cream in this, and olive oil instead of butter.  It didn't thicken as much as cream would have, but it tasted wonderful.  We would make this one again.

Wine: Pierre Chainier 1749 Sauvignon Blanc 2009

New recipe, September 12, 2011

Tonight's new recipe is Thai Grilled Beef Salad from Epicurious.  I used medium rare roast beef instead of grilling, but it was tasty!
Wine: Oak Grove Petite Sirah 2009 Reserve

New recipe, September 11, 2011

Tonight's new recipe, which we enjoyed with our friend and favorite sculptor, Dwight Davidson, was a Roast Beef Salad from Epicurious. We had some roast beef in the freezer and this was the perfect way to use it!

Wine: LAN Rioja Crianza 2006

New recipe, September 10, 2011

Today's new recipe was a brunch, as we are going to a dinner part. Brunch was a Tarragon Chive and Goat Cheese Omelette from Epicurious, with fresh tomatoes from the garden. Very tasty--the herbs are in the eggs and really made it sing.

New recipe, September 9, 2011

Tonight's new recipe was Absinthe Suissese. We attended the Art for Life benefit for Project Angelheart in Denver, so we didn't cook. But the cocktail was fun!

New recipe, September 8, 2011

Tonight's new recipe was Sicilan Tuna from Epicurious. Very quick, very flavorful! The tomato olive caper sauce was delicious!

Wine: Glass Mountain Chardonnay 2008

New recipe, September 7, 2011

We had dinner with Rich Lamm, Tim Charney, Jay Jester and Shannon Ragland. We made Adobo Rubbed Pork Tenderloin with Black Bean Pico de Gallo from Epicurious--make this dish! Served with a delicious potato salad with Schultz's Hot Sauce made by Shannon.

Wines: aperitif Jessup Cellars 2007 Petite Sirah (thanks Jay and Shannon!).
Dinner Garnacha de Fuego Old Vine 2009-- great with the spicy meal!

New recipes, September 6, 2011

Tonight's new recipes are a Tenderloin steak seasoned with allspice and pepper that Carl created, and Spinach Salad with Grilled Eggplant and Feta from Epicurious. We had corn on the cob with the meal. Simple, all delicious, and quite complementary to each other.

Wine: Forefront Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

New recipes, September 3, 2011

The start for this meal was the Tomato and Watermelon Salad from Epicurious. We opted for the mosaic (rather than tossed salad) presentation, which was colorful and delicious! This mint does indeed make this dish!

We celebrated Judy Montero's birthday today, with her husband Nolbert Chavez, daughter Hope, and Hope' s friend Mattie. The main course was a (new) Chicken Mole Colorado from Chef Ana Garcia of La Villa Bonita, (repeats) Corn on the Cob with Seasoned Salts from Food and Wine, and a Spanish Rice.

The dessert was Strawberry Tamales, again with a recipe from Chef Ana.

We had a Sangria recipe from Los Barrios with this meal--it was delicious with this meal!

New recipe, September 5, 2011

Tonight we had Grilled Monster Pork Chops with Peach Chipotle Salsa from Epicurious. We had a salad of garden fresh tomatoes from Mark's parents with scallions.

Wine: Shafer 2005 Napa Valley Stags Leap District Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon. A fabulous wine, a gift from Judy Montero and Nolbert Chavez. This was wonderful with the pork and the tomatoes. It was a little less happy with the spiciness of the salsa, but it was a wonderful wine!

New recipes, September 4, 2011

Tonight's new recipes are Barley Stew with Leeks, Mushrooms and Greens from Epicurious, and a salad we made on the fly from grilled corn, tomato, cucumber and lettuce, with a mint and chive balsamic vinaigrette. Both were delicious!

Wine: Rombauer 2010 Carneros Chardonnay--thanks Judy Montero and Nolbert Chavez. This was a perfect match for this meal!

New recipe, September 2, 2011

Today's new fabulous recipe is Fuente de Camarones al Ajillo (Platter of Shrimp with Garlicky Cuban Mojo) from Epicurious. Yum! This was really delicious!

No wine--on our way to Tabernash

New recipes, September 1, 2011

Tonight's new recipes are Spicy North African Pork Tenderloin from Cooking Light, Braised Turnips with Poppy Seed Bread Crumbs from Epicurious, and a green salad. This was delicious--make the tenderloin!

Wine: Garnacha de Fuego Old Vine 2009