Denver Life with Carl and Mark: 2023

Tuesday, December 26, 2023

New recipe, December 25, 2023

Merry Christmas! The Ginger Street from Domaine de Canton. Rye, Domaine de Canton and Campari—yum! This gets a 4.

New recipe, December 24, 2023

Olive Brine Marinated Pork with Roasted Olives and Beans from Food and Wine. This is a real winner! It gets a 5.

New recipe, December 23, 2023

Miso Butter Roasted Broccoli from NYT Cooking. This was pleasant but didn't really stand out. It gets a 3.

New recipe, December 22, 2023

Opulent Grilled Cheese from Food and Wine. This is really good, with several cheeses, strawberry jam and capers. We really enjoyed this! It gets a 5.

Friday, December 22, 2023

Opulent Grilled Cheese from Food and Wine. Fontina (since we couldn't get Taleggio) and Gruyere with strawberry preserves and capers. Sound odd? It is delicious! Can't wait to have it again! We give this a 5!

New recipe, December 21, 2023

Rosemary White Beans with Frizzled Onions and Tomatoes from NYT Cooking. This is absolute outstanding, with lots of flavors coming together in a beautiful unified whole. We give this an enthusiastic 5!

New recipe, December 20, 2023

Stir Fried Shrimp with Snow Peas and Ginger from NYT Cooking. Lots of ginger and garlic that end up being subtle. This is pleasant, and doesn't stand out for us. It gets a 3.

Tuesday, December 19, 2023

New recipe, December 19, 2023

Forgot the photo. We had Panang Curry from NYT Cooking. Very tasty, love the basil and makrut lime. We went on the low end for the red curry paste, it would be nice with more. We give this a 4.

New recipe, December 18, 2023

Sesame Brown Butter Udon Noodles from NYT Cooking. This is very nice, we give this a 4.

New recipe, December 17, 2023

Ribeye either Charred Spring Onions and Salsa Verde from Food and Wine. We struggled with this one. The flavors are wonderful but it is grossly over salted. The recipe calls for tablespoons of salt in the meat, which we questioned but decided to make as written. We would cut back to 2 teaspoons and wonder if this was a typo. We also would not add any salt to the salsa verde. As made this gets a 2, but with less salt, this would be a 4 or 5

New recipe, December 16, 2023

Grilled Pepper and Onion Panzanella with Peperoncini Vinaigrette from Food and Wine. Another pleasant recipe, we give this a 3.

New recipe, December 15, 2023

Cheddar Cucumber and Marmalade Sandwich from NYT Cooking. This has nice flavors. We give it a 3

Friday, December 15, 2023

New recipe, December 14, 2023

Jersey Lightning from Epicurious. Essentially a Manhattan with apple brandy in place of the bourbon. This is an interesting variation and we enjoyed it. It gets a 4.

New recipe, December 13, 2023

Turkey and Apple Sandwiches with Maple Mayonnaise from NYT Cooking. The ingredients are simple with a combination that is a little unexpected but succcessful. Very tasty! This gets a 4.

New recipe, December 12, 2023

Red Cabbage Stir Fry with Coconut from Food and Wine. The spices blend together very well and really elevate the cabbage. This gets a 4

New recipe, December 11, 2023

Vegetarian Mushroom Shawarma Pita from NYT Cooking. Nicely spiced, and the roasted vegetables are really nice. Mint garnish is a nice touch as well. This gets a 5.

New recipe, December 10, 2023

Spiced Vegetable Phyllo Pie from NYT Cooking. This is delicious, with a different set of flavors in each bite. And did I mention butter? It gets a 5.

Sunday, December 10, 2023

New recipe, December 9, 2023

Cheesy Breakfast Egg and Polenta Casserole from NYT Cooking. It has some greens, a little salami, and was just a nice combination. We give this a 4

New recipe, December 8, 2023

Sheet Pan Mushroom Parmigiana from NYT Cooking. Easy to make and good flavors. We give this a 4.

New recipe, December 7, 2023

Stir Fried Lettuce with Crispy Garlic and Fried Eggs from NYT Cooking. This may sound improbable but it is really richly flavored and tasty. We give this a 5.

New recipe, December 6, 2023

Twice Cooked Pork Tenderloin ftom NYT Cooking. This is very fast, gives nice moist pork, and has a delicious sauce. This gets a 5.

New recipe, December 5, 2023

Paris Between the Wars from Food and Wine. This is a really nice combination of flavors. We give this a 4.

New recipe, December 4, 2023

Northern Standard from Food and Wine. Essentially a Manhattan with a little Fernet Branca and a little amaro. It was pleasant. It is amazing how much flavor only a teaspoon of Ferber Branca can give a drink. We give this a 3.

New recipe, December 3, 2023

Burritos De Chile Verde Con Papas from NYT Cooking. Apparently in Ciudad Juarez and El Paso burritos have one filling and no salsa on top, which makes them portable. This is one of those and the flavors are very good. We would have liked a little spicier chile, we might use a Hatch Chile or an Ancho in place of the Anaheim. We give this a 4.

New recipe, December 2, 2023

Cabbage Soup from NYT Cooking. This is quite tasty. We used a mix of Napa and savoy cabbage, because that is what we had. We wonder if regular green cabbage would have been even sweeter and more unctuous. As made, we give this a 3, but we would like to make it again with standard green cabbage

New recipe, December 1, 2023

Stuffing Panzanella with Cranberry Vinaigrette from NYT Cooking. This is fun and creative, a bright way to use if your stuffing! We gave this a 5.

New recipe, November 30, 2023

Slow Cooker Chicken Tagine with Butternut Squash from NYT Cooking. Delicious flavors, but a bit sweet for us. We would probably leave out the dates or use a few figs instead. We give this a 3

New recipe, November 29, 2023

Alaska Cocktail from NYT Cooking. Old Tom Gin, Chartreuse and a dash of orange bitters. The flavors blend together nicely! We give this a 4.

New recipe, November 28, 2023

Outer Sunset cocktail from Epicurious. We love the mix of grapefruit, tequila, Cynar and lime. This gets a 5.

New recipe, November 27, 2023

Thai Chicken with Basil from Food and Wine. This is fast and easy, with familiar Thai flavors. We give this a 4.

New recipe, November 26, 2023

Instant Kimchi with Greens and Bean Sprouts from NYT Cooking. This involves no fermentation but really does capture the robust flavors of kimchi. A delicious and unusual salad, this gets a 5.

Sunday, November 26, 2023

New recipe, November 25, 2026

Spicy Roasted Mushrooms with Polenta. Another brilliant Ottolenghi recipe in NYT Cooking. Roasted mushrooms and tomatoes bring a rich umami flavor to the creamy polenta, and then it gets topped with what amounts to a homemade chile crisp. Yum! This gets a 5!

New recipe, November 24, 2023

Turkey Pho from vietworldkitchen.com. A new Turkey Pho recipe for us. We liked this a lot-such a nice contrast to the big Thanksgiving dinner. We give this a 4.

New recipes, Thanksgiving, November 23, 2023

First, a Cranberry Aperol Spritz from delish.com. A very tasty variant of the classic, we give it a 4.

Next, Thanksgiving Dressing from NYT Cooking. We like the addition of apples, but the consistency was a bit gummy—I think toasting the bread cubes might prevent this. This was ok, we give it a 3.

And finally, Lardo Crisped Roasted Turkey from Food and Wine. This is spectacular! You get a beautifully crisped skin and very moist and tasty meat. And you get to use lardo, a cured herbed fatback, an ingredient that is new to me. This gets a 5.

Thursday, November 23, 2023

New recipe, November 22, 2023

Crispy Parmesan Eggs from NYT Cooking. Had a hard time getting the Parmesan off the pan, but you can't beat the flavor of crispy Parmesan. This was nice—it gets a 3.

New recipe, November 21, 2023

Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese Galette. We saved time but using Duprey puff pastry dough. Very tasty, especially with that little bit of smoked paprika. We give this a 4.

New recipe, November 20, 2023

Open Face Grilled Eggplant Sandwiches. Another example of how a few great ingredients can create a superb dish. The grilling creates a marvelous smokiness in the eggplant. We give this a 5.

New recipe, November 19, 2023

Gold Rush Cocktail from delish.com. This hit a nice balance between the sweetness of the honey and the tartness of the lemon. We give it a 4.

Tuesday, November 21, 2023

New recipe, November 18, 2023

Big Apple Manhattan from delish.com. This is ok, didn't really stand out. We give this a 3.

Saturday, November 18, 2023

New recipe, November 17, 2023

Slow Cooker Lentil Soup with Sausage and Appkes from NYT Cooking. Sounds humble but it has a delicious flavor balance. This gets a 4.

New recipe, November 16, 2023

Pasta with Sausage Basil and Apple from Food and Wine. This is quick and easy, and has a nice layer of different flavors with the wine, cream, mustard and basil. We give this a 4.