New recipe, January 31, 2013

Today's new recipe is Pineapple Mint Vodka, from the February 2013 Bon Appétit, served on the rocks. Tasty stuff, we give it a 4.

New recipe, January 30, 2013

Today's new recipe is breakfast--Mushroom Frittata from the October 2009 Cooking Light. Pleasant way to start the day. We give it a 3.

New recipe, January 29, 2013

From the February 2013 Bon Appétit, Pineapple Pork Chops. The marinade is great, we used a pork tenderloin instead of chops. We used a broiler, and it gets a 4. With a grill to caramelize and brown the pork a bit more, this would be a 5. Served with a quick cucumber pickle.

Wine: Guy Drew Russell Vineyard Riesling 2010.

New recipe, January 28, 2013

From the Jan/Feb 2013 Cooking Light, Chicken in Wine Sauce. It has a wonderful melange of flavors, and we give it a 5!

Wine: Wild Hare California Chardonnay

New recipe, January 27, 2013

We got to go to the Ranch House Restaurant at Devil's Thumb Ranch for dinner (thanks Kris and Tony!!), so the new recipe is The Ship Song Cocktail, from the January 9 Denver Post.

Tasty! We give this a 4.

New recipe, January 26, 2013

Our new recipe is Cauliflower Oreganata from Rocco DiSpirito's Eat This Now: Italian. Very flavorful! We give it a 4. Served with the amazing Chile Shrimp with Butter Beans and Lemony Couscous from the February 2013 Food and Wine. Still a 5!

Wine: Guy Drew Unoaked Chardonnay 2011. A great match, and a lovely wine that is VERY reasonably priced, and it comes from Colorado! We'll be getting more!

New recipe, January 25, 2013

Cotechino with Lentils from Rocco DiSpirito's Eat This Now: Italian. This is delicious (the pork may need a little additional seasoning after you cut it), and we give it a 4.

Wine: Rivetto Nebbiolo d'Alba 2005

New recipe, January 24, 2013

We went to see Grace, or The Art of Climbing, a world premier at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts (really good, worthy of a trip to the theater!!). So the new recipe is a cocktail, The Missing Link from Gary Regan's The Joy of Mixology. Very nice (don't overdo the lemon juice)--we give it a 4.

New recipe, January 23, 2013

We both had dinner meetings, so tonight's new recipe is The Bitter Truth Cocktail from the January 9, 2013 Denver Post. Really nice, intriguing flavors! We give this a 5!

New recipes, January 22, 2013

Crispy Pork Medallions with Creamy Caper Sauce from the March 2007 Gourmet, served with Roasted Squash Salad with Bitter Greens and Cheese from the February 2013 Food and Wine. The pork needs the lemon and the sauce--we give it a 3. We give the salad a 4.

Wine: Guy Drew 2009 Viognier--a nice wine, a tad too bitter for this odd selection of tastes.

New recipe, January 21, 2013

Curried Lentil Soup from the December 2012 Cooking Light. Nice and spicy, it gets a 4. Served with leftover Vinegar Braised Chicken and Onions from last night. Yum!

Wine: Guy Drew Gewürztraminer 2011

New recipe, January 20, 2013

Vinegar Braised Chicken and Onions, from the February 2013 Food and Wine--tonight's dish was inspired by this recipe, as we changed a lot of things--turkey bacon instead of pancetta, boneless skinless thighs instead of a whole chicken, chopped sweet onions instead of Cipolline. But the technique is great, and the flavors are great--we give this a 5! Served with an arugula pomegranate salad.

Wine: Guy Drew Gewürztraminer 2011. Not the perfect wine for this dish, but it worked. I really wanted to try this wine, knowing how good the Riesling is. Colorado wines have a tendency to be expensive, and not always very good. Like the Riesling, this is excellent, and very reasonably priced. Guy Drew rocks!

New recipe, January 19, 2013

The new recipe is Brussels Sprout Slaw with Hazelnuts and Pomegranate from the February Food and Wine--wonderful flavors, and we give it a 5! Served with the very tasty Pan Seared Steak with Chive Horseradish Butter from the Jan/Feb 2013 Cooking Light.

Wine: Barnard Griffin Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2008

New recipe, January 18, 2013

Spicy Thai Basil Chicken, from the Jan/Feb 2013 Cooking Light. Served with sautéed snow peas with garlic, red pepper and mirin. We used ground turkey, as ground chicken was hard to find. Very tasty, and would be great with even more flavor (garlic, Thai pepper, fish sauce). We give it a 4.

Wine: Schmitges 2009 Grey Slate Riesling. Finally, a tasty dry Riesling!

New recipe, January 17, 2013

Maple Brined Pork Tenderloin, from the February 2013 Food and Wine. Tasty, it gets a 4! We served it with an arugula red pepper salad.

New recipe, January 16, 2013

Spicy Sichuan Style Lamb with Cumin from the February 2013 Food and Wine. Nice flavors, we give this a 4. Served with stir fried snap peas, mushrooms and asparagus.

Wine: The Formula Small Gully Wines Robert's Shiraz 2006

New recipe, January 15, 2013

From the February 2013 Food and Wine, Chile Shrimp with Butter Beans and Lemony Couscous. This is labelled as taking 7 minutes to prepare, and that is really pretty close! The flavors are really good, and doable in 7 minutes--that's a 5! Served with an arugula salad

We went to the theater to see the remarkable play "War Horse", so no wine.

New recipe, January 14, 2012

Italian Roasted Snap Peas from the May/June 2008 Eating Well, served with herbed pan seared chicken breast. The peas are absolutely delicious--we give them a 5.

Wine: Liana Pinot Grigio 2009

New recipe, January 13, 2013

Bison Chili with Chickpeas and Acorn Squash, from the Jan/Feb 2013 Cooking Light. We used ground turkey instead of bison. We tweaked this by adding more salt (to taste), and by adding some smoked sweet paprika and smoked hot paprika. As we made it, we give this a 4!

We started with the Smoked Salmon with Faux Caviar and White Chocolate Wasabi Sauce from Top Chef, this time with all its elements.  It gets a 5!

Wine: Vin de Tabula Rasa Columbia Valley 2009

New recipe, January 12, 2013

We had a full day, so we had a salad on the way home, and made Princess Mary's Pride, from Gary Regan's The Joy of Mixology. You can definitely taste the vermouth! We give it a 3.

New recipe, January 11, 2013

Celery Root Arugula Salad from the Jan/Feb Cooking Light, served with sautéed pork with caramelized onions. The salad is very nice, we give it a 4.

Wine: Saint Siffrein Châteauneuf du Pape 2008

New recipes, January 10, 2013

Both from the Jan/Feb Cooking Light: Swiss Chard with Golden Raisins and Pine Nuts, and Marinara Poached Eggs. While we liked the concepts, both were ok--we give them a 3.

We ate them on a new table we bought in India, which is almost more colorful than the food!

Wine: Chateau Clos Mansio 2004 Premières Côtes de Blaye

New recipes, January 9, 2013

Moroccan Stewed Chicken, and Grainy Mustard Brussels Sprouts, both from the Jan/Feb 2013 Cooking Light. Both with nice flavors--we give the chicken a 3 (a tad dry with boneless skinless breast), and the Brussels sprouts get a 4.

Wine: Cantele Negroamaro Rosato 2010

New recipe, January 8, 2013

We had a busy day, unpacking marble tables arrived from India. So we had a burrito, and the new recipe is a White Spider (no recipe online) (sitting one of the tables that just arrived), from Gary Regan's The Joy of Mixology. Nice flavors, we give it a 3.

New recipe, January 7, 2013

We had a busy day and Carl had a meeting, so we had some delicious leftovers. The new recipe was this cocktail, the Old San Juan Sour, from Gary Regan's The Joy of Mixology. We give it a 4--tart and tasty!

New recipe, January 6, 2013

Spice Rubbed Steak with Sautéed Mushrooms, from the February 2013 Eating Well. We give this a 4. Served with an arugula red bell pepper salad.

Wine: Cline Zinfandel 2011

New recipes, January 5, 2013

Tonight we hosted this fabulous cast of guests. The dinner was an auction item at the Mental Health America Colorado annual dinner, and these fine supporters of MHA were the winners--5 courses, with wine pairings, prepared by us.



The first course was an appetizer we adapted from a Top Chef recipe, Smoked Salmon with White Chocolate Wasabi Sauce, served with Gruet Brut sparkling wine from New Mexico.  We have made this before a few years ago, and we gave this a 5.  There are  couple elements we didn't get to (cayenne dust, ginger and lime juice), so this gets a 4, but the flavors were still wonderful!

The amuse bouche was a Whipped Ricotta and Pear Crostini, from the United Airlines December 2012 Hemispheres Magazine.  It got a 5 the first time we made it, and it still does. There was no separate wine with this bite.

The soup course was the Cream of Barley Soup from The Last Dinner on the Titanic, by Rick Archbold and Dana McCauley.  It was served with a Cossart Gordon 5 Year Old Madeira Bual Medium Rich. We have also made this dish in the past, did not like the way it turned out this time quite as much, so today it gets a 3.

The salad was the Cellared Vegetable Salad from the February 2012 Food and Wine.  This was served with the Guy Drew 2010 Russell Vineyard Riesling, a great match.  We've made this salad before, and will again!  It gets a 5.

Next up: Braised Leg of Lamb, adapted from the Braised Lamb Shanks recipe from the February Cooking Light.  This is one of the new recipes--it is wonderful what you can do with a marinara, lamb, and some time to braise!  We gave this a 4.  Served with a Terredora DiPaolo Aglianico Campanie 2010.  A great match!

Finally, the dessert was the Molten Chocolate Cake with Caramel Filling from the September 2008 Food and Wine.  We served it with a little edible gold to make it spaThis knocked it out the park, and we give it a 5!  Served with a KWV Tawny Port (NV) from South Africa.  This is a very nice dessert wine, and a great match to the cake.

New recipe, January 4, 2013

Classic Chicken Noodle Soup from Cooking Light. Very nice--we give it a 4.

New recipe, January 3, 2013

Meyer Lemon Chicken, from the January/February 2013 Cooking Light. Very nice--we give this a 4.

Wine: Jean-Paul & Benoit Droin Chablis 2010

New recipe, January 2, 2013

Today's new recipe is the Classic French Omelet, from the January/February Cooking Light. This is really about the technique, which I confess I did not know. It makes a wonderful creamy omelet--we give it a 5. And hopefully with practice I'll get it to look perfect as well! Served with an arugula red pepper salad, sorpressata, wild boar salami, and a bit of asiago.

Wine: Ribbonwood Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2010

New recipes, January 1, 2013

We celebrated the new year with Dwight Davidson. From the Jan/Feb 2013 Cooking Light, Black Eyed Peas and Cornmeal Dumplings (gets a 4), Warm Bacon Vinaigrette on Swiss Chard (but we used Kale) (it gets a 4), and Pan Seared Steak with Chive Horseradish Butter (gets a 5). From The Good Cook Techniques Abe Recipes Vegetables, Baked Butternut Squash (no recipe online) (gets a 3).

Wine: Rutz Cellars 2004 Maison Grand Cru Russian River Valley Pinot Noir