New recipe, February 28, 2014

A Rum of One's Own from Tim Federle's Tequila Mockingbird: Cocktails with a Literary Twist. Quite tasty--we give this a 4.

New recipe, February 27, 2014

Barbecue Chicken Cheddar Onion Poblano Mushroom Olive Pizza. Carl came up with this on the fly. He caramelized the onions and poblano, then added the mushrooms. He put a little barbecue sauce on the lightly baked crust, them added the veggies, olives and cheese and baked it. Very tasty! We give it a 4

Nice with an Affligem 950

New recipe, February 26, 2014

Tonight was the Mental Health Center of Denver's Annual Meeting, which was very successful. So tonight's new recipe is a cocktail, The Unbearable Lightness of Peeing, from Tequila Mockingbird: Cocktails with a Literary Twist by Tim Federle-simple yet tasty, it gets a 4!

New recipe, February 25, 2014

Mexican Chorizo Hash from the March 2014 Cooking Light--another 4--tasty!

Nice with an Affligem 950 beer

New recipe, February 24, 2014

Curried Coconut Soup with Chicken from the March 2014 Cooking Light. Another 4!

Great with a Duvel!

News recipe, February 23, 2014

Chicken Taco Salad from the March 2014 Cooking Light--another 4!

Still sipping Duvel

New recipe, February 22, 2014

Spicy-Sweet Chicken Lettuce Cups from the March 2014 Cooking Light. Very tasty--gets a 4.

Delicious with a Duvel beer

New recipe, February 21, 2014

Roasted Shrimp with Chile Gremolata from the March 2014 Bon Appétit. The technique of roasting the shrimp seemed a bit odd, but the shrimp came out perfectly cooked. Served with couscous. We give it a 4.

New recipe, February 20, 2014

We celebrated Jim Dugger's birthday today, a couple days late. The new recipe is Flat Iron Steaks with Blue Cheese Butter from the February 2025 Food and Wine. The butter makes this dish, and it is a 5! Served with roasted fingerling potatoes and a simple green salad.

Wine: Seghesio Omaggio 2006 (thanks Jim!)--a fabulous match.

For dessert we repeated the Top Secret Mousse from NPR's Found Recipes. This matched beautifully with Dow's 2012 Vintage Porto

New recipes, February 19, 2014

Chicken Cutlets with Mushrooms and Pearl Onions from the March 2014 Cooking Light--flavorful, we give this a 4. Served with Warm Asparagus with Poached Egg and Porcini Vinaigrette from the Denver Post (we left the poached egg off). The vinaigrette is really interesting, makes this a 4 as well.

Wine: Jean Paul & Benôit Droin Chablis 2010 -- a nice wine, and a reasonable match to the dishes

New recipes, February 18, 2014

Chicken Kebabs with Cucumber Noodles from the March 2014 Cooking Light. We are suckers for a well made peanut sauce--we give the chicken a 5, and the noodles get a 4.

Wine: Domaine Allimant-Laugner Gewürztraminer 2011--an ok match--a bit sweet for the dish, which is flavorful but not really spivey

New recipes, February 17, 2014

Two from the March 2014 Cooking Light: Balsamic Chicken with Olives and Walnuts, which gets a 5! And Lemon Snap Pea Quinoa, which we give a 3.

Wine: Terredora DiPaolo Aglianico 2010. A good match--this bottle was a touch oxidized, would be a better match in better condition

New recipe, February 16, 2014

Mark had a 12 hour shift, so today's new recipe is a cocktail, The Count of Monte Cristal, from Tim Federle's Tequila Mockingbird: Cocktails with a Literary Twist. Very good, we give it a 4.

New recipe, February 15, 2013

Chicken Cassoulet with Fennel and Sausage from the March 2014 Food and Wine. Fabulous, this gets a 5!! Served with a simple green salad.

Wine: Clos la Coutale Cahors 2003--a wonderful match!

New recipes, February 14, 2014

Chicken Thighs with Cilantro Sauce from the March 2014 Cooking Light. We had a particularly hot shallot, so we give this a 3. Could easily be a 4 with a more balanced allium. Served with an impromptu salad with apple, bell pepper and celery.

No wine, as we went to see Wonderbound's production of "Love."

Dessert after the show was the "Top Secret Mousse" from NPR's Found Recipe series. This was excellent, gets a 4. Served with Secco Italian Bubbles 2011 Rosé--nice, a bit overpowered by the chocolate.  We added a few raspberries and some edible gold for Valentine's Day.

New recipe, February 13, 2014

We went to see the excellent production of a Hamlet at the Denver Center this evening, so the new recipe is a cocktail, Rye and Prejudice from Tequila Mockingbird: Cocktails with a Literary Twist by Tim Federle. This gets a 3.

New recipe, February 12, 2014

The Six Chair from Breckenridge Distillery. Tasty, with complex flavors. We give this a 4.

New recipe, February 11, 2014

The Cello Chiller from Go Limoncello.

This is a minimalist recipe, and was tasty--it gets a 4.

New recipe, February 10, 2014

The Ball Brecker from the Breckenridge Distillery. Tasty, gets a 4. Might have been a 5 with the atomic fireball, which we didn't have.

New recipe, February 9, 2014

Toasted Spelt Soup with Escarole and White Beans from the January 2014 Bon Appetit. We used Farro and Kale, since that it what was available. It felt like a soup night, and this was wonderful--we give it a 5!

Wine: Domaine de la Fouquette Cuvée d'Aurore 2011. Nice match!

New recipes, February 8, 2014

Today's new recipe is Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with Preserved Lemon from the January 2014 Bon Appétit. This is quite tasty (preserved lemon is a delicious Indian pickle), we give it a 4. Served with pan roasted asparagus cooked with a bit of the oil from the preserved lemon (this was off the cuff, rates a 4--very successful) and a pan grilled rib steak (thanks Chris and Pat!!).

Wine: Exem Bordeaux 2010--this worked nicely with all 3 dishes.

New recipe, February 7, 2014

We were driving, so the new recipe is the Bittersweet Breck (sorry, no link available) cocktail from the Breckenridge Distillery. We give this a 4--very enjoyable!

New recipe, February 6, 2014

We went to see the excellent production of "black odyssey" at the Denver Center tonight, so the new recipe is the Breckenridge Burro, from the Breckenridge Distillery. Delicious, we give this a 5!

New recipes, February 5, 2014

Savory Pan Fried Chicken with Hot Sauce, Creamed Corn, and Stewed Collards (we used Kale), all from the January/February 2014 Cooking Light. The corn gets a 4, the Kale gets a 3. The chicken was wonderfully moist, a little bland alone but sings with the hot sauce, so it gets a 4.

Wine: Damilano Langhe Arneis 2011. A lovely wine, not the best match to these dishes

New recipe, February 4, 2014

Shrimp and Broccoli Scampi from the January/February 2014 Cooking Light. This is good, nothing spectacular. We give it a 3.

Wine: Paco & Lola Rias Baixas Albariño 2010. Not a perfect match, but not bad.

New recipe, February 3, 2014

Farro and Green Olive Salad with Walnuts and Raisins from the December 2013 Food and Wine. The walnuts and raisins are a perfect foil for the acid from the lemon and olives. This is a wonderful dish--we give it a 5!

Wine: Benziger Family Winery North Coast Sauvignon Blanc 2011--the grapefruit and herbal flavors are a nice contrast to the lemon and olive flavors in the salad--a good match

New recipe, February 2, 2014

After that Super Bowl, at least we had this to celebrate--Marinated Turkey Breast with Cumin Cilantro and White Wine from Ottolenghi: The Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamami. This is a definite 5--extraordinary! Served with a mixed green salad with citrus slices.

Wine: Antis Torrontés 2010--this was nicely matched!

New recipe, February 1, 2014

We repeated the Braised Beef with Onion Sweet Potato and Parsnips from the January/February 2014 Cooking Light--still a 5, and more tender with beef than bison. The new recipe, from the same issue was the Garden Kale Salad, which gets a 3--it was nice, not outstanding.

Wine: Res Roan Contra Costa Carignane, produced shared by our friends Pat McKeon and Christine Ellis--very good, and a nice match.