New recipe, June 30, 2012

Grilled Turmeric and Lemongrass Chicken Wings, from the July 2012 Bon Appétit. Delicious flavors--the chef, Zakary Pellacio has many suggestions for layering the flavors, and these are great! We give them a 4. Served with a quick cucumber and carrot pickle.

No wine, as we headed to the Denver Center to see The Addams Family--I had my doubts, but it was funny and a lot of fun--it was worth seeing, so if it comes back, go see it!

New recipes, June 29, 2012

Charred Green Beans with Harissa and Almonds (delicious, gets a 4) and Grilled Kale Salad with Ricotta and Plums (kale from the garden, also gets a 4, from the July 2012 Bon Appétit.
Served with Pork and Tomato Skillet Sauté, from the July 2012 Cooking Light. Nice flavors--we give it a 3

Wine: the Velvet Devil Merlot 2010

New recipe, June 28, 2012

Today's news recipe is a great salad with a non-melting cheese from the Denver Post: Grilled Cheese Salads, by JM Hirsch. We give it a 4. The recipe called for Halloumi, a non-melting Greek cheese, but as I had Paneer, we made it with that.  From the description, I think Halloumi would be more acidic, and that would have been enough to end it up to a 5--will have to try this again with Halloumi.

Wine: MacMurray Ranch Sonoma Coast Chardonnay 2009

New recipe, June 27, 2012

I had dinner with our friends Scott and Kate, and their daughters Jana and Lucy, so tonight's recipe is a cocktail--the James Joyce, from Gary Regan's The Joy of Mixology. Nice flavors--it gets a 4

New recipe, June 26, 2012

Wild Rice with Bell Pepper and Fennel, from the July 2012 Cooking Light. Really fast, very tasty--gets a 3. We used brown rice as we didn't have any wild rice handy. Served with some mesquite smoked turkey breast.

Wine: Cantele Negroamaro Rosé 2011

New recipe, June 25, 2012

Dinner was an impromptu salad with a glass of Bieler Père et Fils 2011 Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence Rose.

The new recipe was this really quite tasty Homemade Bacon Milkshake, from the Christian Science Monitor. May sound odd, but if you have ever had bacon with pancakes and maple syrup, you'll get the idea. This gets a 4!

New recipe, June 24, 2012

Salted Almonds (with Paprika) from Love Food's The Tapas Cookbook. This version is not on lion, but many others are.  Any that use some oil for cooking should solve the problem we had.  We give them a 3--the salt and paprika did not stick to the nuts, so it didn't retain the seasoning that would have made it fabulous.

New recipe, June 23, 2012

Everyday Granola, from Epicurious, which we munched on a bus at 4:30 AM, before a glorious ride from Walden to Laramie. A little over toasted (don't believe them when they say it needs 40 minutes!), gets a 3.

New recipe, June 22, 2012

Lemon-Lime Basil Shortbread Cookies from Epicurious.  These are really fun, and the citrus and basil flavors work well together.  We give them a 4!

New recipe, June 21, 2012

Today's new recipe is Five Spice Pecans from Epicurious. We give these a 4--very nice!

We had the day off today from riding. We had a great day in Steamboat--we rode the alpine slide, visited a number of galleries, played at the hot springs, and had a great meal and beers at the local brewpub. Two more days of riding to go!

New recipe, June 20, 2012

Today's new recipe, after a wonderful 44 mile ride, is Rosemary Thyme Walnuts, from Epicurious. Afraid we don't have a photo. These were fabulous, we give them a 5!

New recipe, June 19, 2012

Today's snack is Sweet Walnuts from Epicurious. These are very nice--we give them a 4.

This 3rd day of the Bicycle Tour of Colorado was 120 miles! The weather was mostly cooperative--foolish temperatures and light wind for the climb over Battle Pass. The route south into Craig is rolling, with some mild climbs and some long gentle downhills. The headwinds did pick up for the last 20 miles, making for a rough finish. Tomorrow is the easy day--44 miles from Craig to Steamboat, and then a day off. That will be welcome!

New recipe, June 18, 2012

This was the second day of the Bicycle Tour of Colorado, from Laramie to Saratoga, Wyoming, over Snowy Mountain Pass. There was still a lot of wind, but it was diminished on the ascent and descent of the pass. It was fierce across the top of the pass! It was nice to reach Saratoga!

Tomorrow will be the longest day of the ride--111 miles over Battle Pass from Saratoga to Craig, Colorado. If the winds continue as they have, the ascent and the first part of the descent will be with a headwind, with more of a side wind at the end.

Today's new recipe is Fried Chickpeas from Epicurious. They were reasonably good fresh --we give them a 3--but let's just say they don't age well. If you make them, eat them right away!

New recipe, June 17, 2012

Caramelized Cashews with Cayenne from Epicurious.
Today was the first day of the Bicycle Tour of Colorado--a relatively easy day from Fort Collins to Laramie, Wyoming, about 66 miles. Easy til you add in the 30 mile an hour crossing headwind. Quite an experience, spending the whole day on the bike leaning into the traffic lane to avoid being blown off the road. When a large vehicle goes by, you have to lean in harder when the bow wave hits you, and then lean away when the vortex sucks you in. We made it!
Like last year, we had to assemble them before we left Denver, but we made a new snack for every day. Today's is the cashews. We did learn that you have to watch nuts very carefully when you toast them-it is very easy to go too far. These might have been slightly over toasted, but we give them a 4.

New recipe, June 16, 2012

"Royal Blueberry" Gazpacho with Lemon and Mint, from the July 2012 Cooking Light. Nice grape-blueberry flavor, a nice way to start the day. The concord flavor from a relatively small amount of white grape juice was pronounced--would be interesting to try it with something less distinctive. We give it a 3

New recipe, June 15, 2012

Pork Tenderloin Salad and Grilled Nectarines from the July 2012 Cooking Light. Fabulous! We give this a 5.

Wine: Domaine de la Fouquette Cuvée Rosée d'Aurore 2011 Côtes de Provence

New recipe, June 14, 2012

Farro Salad with Sweet Italian Sausage from the Denver Post.  Somehow managed to miss getting a picture.  The flavors were nice-it gets a 3.

No wine.

New recipe, June 13, 2012

We had asparagus and cheese ravioli from Costco with the brava sauce from yesterday's Patatas Bravas, with a salad of home grown mâché. All delicious--we like the sauce even better the second day--but since none of it was totally new per se, today's new recipe is the Beachcomber from Gary Regan's The Joy of Mixology. We give it a 4--tart, but still balanced!

New recipe, June 12, 2012

The new recipe is Patatas Bravas from Love Food's The Tapas Cookbook, served with a Grilled New York Strip Steak, and a green salad from the garden. The potatoes are deep fried with a nice spicy tomato sauce--we give them a 4--love the sauce!

Wine: Vin de Tabula Rasa 2009

New recipe, June 11, 2012

Beth's Favorite Pizza (sorry, no recipe online) from Jennifer Jasinski's The Perfect Bite. Absolutely wonderful flavors, and rich! We give it a 4--too rich to eat again tomorrow, but it is delicious, and it has us thinking about what else you could do with pizza!

Wine: Bieler Père et Fils Coteaux d'Aix en Provence Rosé 2011. A nice rosé, but a little delicate for this pizza.

New recipe, June 10, 2012

Tonight's new recipe is the Basil Corn Farro Salad from the June 2012 Cooking Light. We give this a 4

Served with Grilled Adobo Rubbed New York Strip, and a Caprese salad.

Wine: Amethyst 2003 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

New recipe, June 9, 2012

We attended a fund raiser for Voz y Corazon, a wonderful youth program at the Mental Health Center of Denver, so the new recipe is the Dubonnet Royal from Gary Regan's The Joy of Mixology. We give it a 3

New recipe, June 8, 2012

Shrimp with Citrus Herb Sauce, from the July 2012 Food and Wine, with fresh green salad from the garden. We give the shrimp a 3--nice flavors.

Wine: Paco & Lola Rías Baixas Albariño 2010

New recipes, June 7, 2012

From the June 2012 Bon Appétit, Tomato Basil Sauce with Polenta--a 4, and really easy! Served with Bleu Cheese and Bean Salad from Love Food's The Tapas Cookbook. This gets a 5--make this! So simple and so good!

Wine: Al Verdi Sangiovese 2008

New recipe, June 6, 2012

We were at an event this evening, so the new recipe is the Bacardi Cocktail from Gary Regan's The Joy of Mixology. We give it a 3.

New recipe, June 5, 2012

Herby Cucumber Salad from the June 2012 Cooking Light, which gets a 3. Served with leftover Grilled Provençal Lamb.

Wine: Chateau Lirac 2007

New recipe, June 4, 2012

Thai Steak Salad from the June 2012 Cooking Light. Excellent Thai flavors--we give it a 4, and enjoyed it for lunch! Served with heirloom tomato salad.

Wine: Cantele Negroamaro Rose 2010

New recipes, June 3, 2012

From the June 2012 Bon Appetit: Creole Spiced Shrimp.  This was amazingly simple, and absolutely delicious!  We served it over pan roasted corn kernels, and we give it a 5!  Make this!  Delicious with the Smith Madrone 2011 Riesling (thanks Rich and Tim!!) and with the Cantele Negroamaro Rosato 2010.

Dessert was Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies from the June 2012 Food and Wine.  The brown butter is a great touch in these--they were hard to resist--but I am not sure it was flavor so much as the richness that attracted.  We give them a 3.

New recipes, June 2, 2012

From the June 2012 Food and Wine: Baby Lettuces with Feta Strawberries and Almonds (we used home apple wood smoked almonds), served with Domaine de la Fouquette Cuvee Rosee d'Aurore 2011--a wonderful match!  We give the salad a 4.  Next was Cedar Planked Salmon with Lemon and Dill, with Grilled Broccoli with Chipotle Lime Butter and Queso Fresco, served with Pere Sauvignon Vie di Romans 2007.  We give the salmon gets a 4 (one of the best salmon dishes I've had,  says Rich Lamm), and the broccoli gets a 4 as well.

A wonderful meal!

New recipe, June 1, 2012

From the June 2012 Food and Wine: Blackberry Mint Julep. Nice! We give it a 4! Don't bother mashing the berries in the strainer--muddle the berries with the mint in the shaker and then strain--you get more of the berry flavor!