New recipes, June 29, 2014

Grilled Flatiron Steak with Toasted Spice Vinaigrette, and Smashed Fingerlings with Jalapeños, both from the July 2014 Bon Appétit. Delicious, both get a 4.

Wine: Smith Madrone Napa Valley Spring Mountain District Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 (thanks for sharing, Rich and Tim!). A marvelous wine, might have been better with something a little less focused on the spices.

New recipe, June 28, 2014

We had dinner with Rich and Tim tonight--thanks guys! Our contribution was the Ciao Bella Cocktail from the Drunken Botanist by Amy Stewart--we love this--it gets a 5!

New recipes, June 27, 2014

Mint and Cumin Spiced Lamb Chops from the July 2014 Bon Appétit, which is delicious and gets a 4. Served with crudités and the Grilled Eggplant Dip from the July/August 2014 Eating Well--excellent, this gets a 5!

Wine: Bleasdale The Broadside Langhorne Creek 2008. Excellent match for the lamb

New recipe, June 26, 2014

Mozzarella Basil and Zucchini Frittata from the July/August 2014 Eating Well. This is surprisingly good--we give it a 4!

Wine: Arenal Carmenere 2010-worked quite nicely!

New recipe, June 24, 2014

Tonight we hosted a reception for the Board of the National Council for Behavioral Health, expertly catered by Epicurean Catering. A fabulous evening! So our new recipe is a cocktail, Dr Struwe's Suze and Soda from Amy Stewart's The Drunken Botanist. It is a nice digestif--we give it a 3.

New recipe, June 23, 2014

Chicken Salad with Grains and Pistachios--another simple dish made with roasts chicken from the July 2014 Bon Appétit. Again you get to pick the herbs--we used tarragon and fennel fronds from the garden. Yum! Another 5.

No wine, had a home brew.

New recipe, June 22, 2014

Chicken Souvlaki from the July 2013 Bon Appetit. Easy to make, and we give it a 5--a good dose of fresh herbs makes it. We used lemon thyme, oregano, rosemary and tarragon from the garden.

No wine, had a home brew instead!

New recipes, June 21, 2014

I forgot the picture!  The new recipes were from the July 2014 Food and Wine:
Silky Zucchini Soup,  and Chickpea Vegetable Stew.  These were both delicious, and we give them both a 5!

Wine: Mouton Noir Love Drunk Rose 2013

New recipe, June 20, 2014

Green Pea And Bean Salad with Seeds and Nuts from the July 2014 Food and Wine--very good, this gets a 4. Served with cheese tortellini with fresh herbs and olive oil.

Wine: Love Drunk Rosé 2013--nice March

New recipes, June 19, 2014

From the July 2014 Food and Wine: Asian Marinated Tomatoes (without the grilled chicken), and Grilled Lamb Chops with Cucumber Relish. We give the lamb a 5. And the tomatoes get a 3.

Wine: Commanderie de la Bargemone Côteaux d'Aix en Provence 2013 Rosé-KP, not a great match

New recipe, June 18, 2014

Between travel and meetings, the new recipe is a cocktail: the Ginger-Bourbon Creek Tea from the July 2014 Food and Wine--nice, we give this a 4.

New recipe, June 17, 2014

Masala Fried Shrimp from the July 2014 Food and Wine. Very flavorful and spicy. We give it a 5. However we would not serve this to guests who are hot spice sensitive.  Served with a made up a spinach apricot salad with a mango lime vinaigrette. A 4. The sweet of the apricots are nice against the heat of the shrimp

Wine: 2012 Fire Road Sauvignon Blanc--It goes nicely with this. 

New recipe, June 16, 2014

Today's new recipe is a slushie--the Raspberry Summer Freeze (minus the vodka) from the July 2014 Cooking Light. Nice--it gets a 3

New recipes, June 15, 2014

Pancetta Wrapped Pork Tenderloin with Cantaloupe Red Pepper Salsa from the July 2014 Cooking Light. Delicious--we give this a 4 together (add Black pepper)
Served with a green garden salad.

Wine: Yalumba The T Series Sangiovese Rosé 2013 Sourh Australia

New recipe, June 14, 2014

We attended the annual Benefit for Voz y Corazon, The Mental Health Center of Denver's suicide prevention program for teens. So the new recipe is the Stout Diplomat cocktail, from Epicurious. This is tasty--we give it a 5 (and made it with home brewed stout!).

New recipe, June 13, 2014

Lamb's Liver with Thyme and Onions from James Whelan Butchers. This had the definite flavor of liver! We may have overcooked it a bit. We give it a 3. Served with a green salad with tomatoes.

Wine: Robert's Shiraz Small Gully 2006

New recipe, June 12, 2014

We went to Guys Night Out, to benefit ManTherapy, so the new recipe is the (Hybridized) Brooklyn Cocktail (sorry, there is no link available), from Amy Stewart's The Drunken Botanist. This is pleasant--we give it a 3.

New recipe, June 11, 2014

Grilled Eggplant Ricotta Salata and Dill Caprese (sorry, no link for this) from the June 2014 Bon Appétit. Delicious, this gets a 4. Served with Dukkah Crusted Lamb Chops with Pomegranate Molasses from Epicurious--an old favorite, still a 5!

Wine: Forgeron Cellars 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon--an excellent match

New recipes, June 10, 2014

After a week away for Mark, what a lovely dinner! Chicken Salad with Crème Fraîche and Rye, and Peach Burrata and Tarragon Caprese (sorry, there is no link for this one), both from the June 2014 Bon Appétit. We give the salad a 5, and the Caprese a 4.

Wine: Côte-Rôtie Cuvée du Plessy Gilles Barge 2007-a lovely wine, a decent match.

New recipe, June 9, 2014

Tonight was a meeting night, so the new recipe is a cocktail--the Red Lion Hybrid, from The Drunken Botanist by Amy Stewart. Tasty--it gets a 4.

New recipe, June 7, 2014

Shrimp with Mustard Lime Dipping Sauce from the June 2014 Bon Appetit. Served with Spinach Salad with Dates from the same issue. These are both fabulous, and both get 5s!

No wine, had a Leffe Blond with the meal

New recipe, June 6, 2014

Tomato and Anchovy Butter Pasta from the June 2014 Bon Appétit. Tasty but not unusual, we give it a 3. Served with a salad.

Wine: Casa do Valle Vinho Verde 2010

New recipes. June 5, 2014

Grilled Bacon Wrapped Peaches (we used apricots). And the Simplest Asian Dressing served on a garden salad, and new potatoes. The dressing is from the June 2014 Bon Appetit, and the peaches/apricots are from the June 2014 Food and Wine.  We give the dressing a 4, and the peaches get a total 5.

Served with a Sapporo beer.

New recipe, June 4, 2014

Steak Tacos with Cilantro Radish Salsa from the June 2014 Bon Appétit. Very tasty! It gets a 4.

New recipe, June 3, 2014

Tonight the new recipe is a variant on the Caprese salad that an article I saw recently inspired--the ingredients are roasted red peppers, chèvre, fresh oregano from the garden, a dash of salt, and a sprinkle with wonderfully aromatic French Olive oil (thanks Anne!). We liked this! We give it a 3--be sure to give enough time to roast the peppers thoroughly, and this is an easy 4!

Served with a selection of D'Artagnan Wild Boar Sausage and Saucisse de Canard al'Armagnac--yum!

Wine: Chateau de Ségriès Lirac 2007--nice match!

New recipes, May 31, 2014

Roasted Pork Tenderloin Tacos, and Fennel Soup with Almond Mint Topping, both from the May 2014 Cooking Light. The soup is delicious (don't forget to drizzle a little olive oil over it, it is amazing how big a difference that makes!)--it gets a 4. The tacos have great flavors, but the odd step is marinating the meat briefly in mojo after cooking it. This must be to keep it in the 25 minute timeframe they were aiming for, but the flavors would have been even better if it had been marinated before cooking. Drizzling a little more mojo on the tacos helps. We give them a 4.

Wine: Muriel Rioja Reserva 2007--a good match for the tacos, and worked with the soup.

New recipes, June 1, 2014

Moroccan Chicken Salad Pitas, and Orange Carrot Salad, both from the May 2014 Cooking Light. The sandwiches have delicious layers of flavor. We give these both a 4.

Wine: Flowers Sonoma Coast Chardonnay 2010--great wine, middling match