Best Bites: Benton’s Bacon

May 18, 2012

If you love food, you know food. There are no rules on exactly what you are supposed to know, but there are some ideas in my head and they go beyond tasting and cooking and making and dining. These ideas are about knowing – knowing the history, the characters, the places, the best and the worst of it all. If you love food, you live it even when it isn’t with you, even when you can’t taste it all, read it all, experience it all. If you love food, you know who Alice Waters is, you own the Joe Beef Cookbook, you dream of eating at Noma, you regret never having experienced El Bulli, you idolize Ruth Reichl, and still watch Anthony Bourdain. If you love food, you loved bacon when bacon was just bacon, not an infusion for scotch, not an ice cream flavor, not a fad- just bacon- old school soul-soothing fat, smoky bacon.  If you love food, you know Benton’s Bacon because you have to, because it is the best, because it is an icon, because it is a staple and a benchmark for bacon everywhere and anywhere and also because it is now a piece of food … Continue reading →

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Wednesday: Fuel Patio Party

May 15, 2012

Some of the best parties I have ever been to were the Fuel Patio parties. There was always a theme- a pig roast, a pizza party, Spanish tapas-  always complete with beautiful food, nice music, and a community of people that loved their environment and life in general. The patio is perfectly fitted for it and there is always plenty of parking. The only catch is you need to book your spot in advance- there are limited seats and it is invariably sold out. Details below.   

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The Soup Club, Chicken Minestrone

May 14, 2012

Mothers everywhere unite! This one is for you — but make no mistake, you can keep looking anyway cause the soup is pretty awesome and the idea behind the story is completely doable in a kid-free environment- it isn’t just kids who like soup for lunch.  I pack my daughter lunch nearly every day. I cook it, of course, and it is challenging, no doubt. There is one thing I know she will eat almost all the time: soup. It cannot be the same soup though because she gets bored. My bandwidth for soup-making, however, is limited.  This is how Wa-Sup was born, a group of friends, moms, and cooks. I sent a message to five friends with children of my daughter’s age, all of whom really know their way around the kitchen. My friends went along with the idea of meeting once a month and swapping homemade soups packed neatly in 12 ounce bpa-free containers that work in the freezer, the microwave, and the dishwasher. Drinks, apps, and conversation are a great bonus. Four months later, I love this group more than any club, group, or gathering that I have ever been a part of. That hour at my … Continue reading →

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Best Bites: Tillen Farms Maraschino Cherries

May 11, 2012

Adulthood came with the realization that Maraschino cherries are red and bright because they live in a preservative akin to embalming fluid. The thought and fake taste made me ban the red cherries from my life and from upon any place that served them.  There was, however, excitement on my face when I found the Tillen Farms Cherries at Tony’s Market a couple of weeks ago. I could not resist – I bought them and it was all worth it.  In a pretty jar, these maraschino cherries are canned without the artificial colors and flavors and without sulfites and preservatives.  Half the jar got eaten plain in the car – no utensils- which made for a sticky situation. The other half can bring back the fun decoration part for a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a Manhattan. 

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Around the World in 80 Plates

May 9, 2012

Today, in Denver, you can watch the premier of Bravo‘s latest food-focused show, Around the World in 80 Plates, with one of the contestants, local chef Jenna Johansen. The viewing party begins promptly at 8 p.m. at the Ice House Tavern (1801 Wynkoop Street). Jenna tells me she will be joined by family and friends, her mother included who designed and had Team Jenna t-shirts printed. Jenna is excited to represent Denver and promises that this first episode, filmed in London, will give away the true food experience that this city can offer and the competitiveness of the show. A peak and preview available here – showing off an opinionated Jenna (I would not expect anything less) and her views on the kidney pie made by another contestant. The Bravo show features 12 chefs from across the country, Jenna among them, of course. In each episode, the chefs travel to a city to learn the local culture and food as they compete in cooking challenges. Ultimately, they face-off in a kitchen takeover where they are expected to reinvent the menus for world-renowned restaurants and their demanding owners. From the previews and details, it seems like the Amazing Race had a love … Continue reading →

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Cook the Cover: Pizza

May 7, 2012

I devour food magazines, but I do not usually cook from them. And if I do, it never involves dough because, well, my baking history is complicated but flour and yeast and baking soda and gelatin are simply not my friends. They hate me so much I have to hate them back. But I digress. Bon Appetit always has great recipes, most of which I use for inspiration. I see an ingredient I should be using more or a way of cooking or some other cue that sparks my cooking instincts. With the instincts sparked, I walk away from the food magazine and either make something up or open up a cookbook. A couple of months back, while gearing up to redesign the site and trying to get my photographer friend Jennifer Olson reengaged, I decided to Cook the Cover of Bon Appetit, which was at that time a pizza by Jim Lahey. Said and done- not in time to submit for any contest but a great excuse to cook, learn to make pizza, and hang out in the kitchen.  Jim Lahey’s recipe can be found in its original form here. Here’s how my version went.  Pizza, the Cook the Cover … Continue reading →

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How to get your picture in the Washington Post

May 4, 2012

When I woke up on Wednesday morning, the social media was already on the ball and passed along the fact that my picture was in the Washington Post in the Lifestyle section in this article: Local wine conference reaches peak in Colorado by Dave McIntyre.  I won’t lie, I liked it. Here is how you make that happen:  Step 1: you attend a local wine conference in Denver invited by a friend- mine was this cool girl- Jess Hunter. Step 2: you participate in the Twitter taste-off with like-minded friends who make it a fun adventure.  Step 3: you scramble at the end to try to decide your number one favorite wine so you give your top two choices one more chance. Notice two glasses- those were my top two choices.  Step 4: you stay playful and have a sense of humor with your double-fisting pose.  Step 5: stand back and relax. Someone might send you your picture from a random article  like the one I showed up on in the Washington Post. 

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Best Bites: Frasca’s Farmer’s Daughter

May 3, 2012

Allie Anderson at Frasca Food and Wine in Boulder mixes some of the most creative and delicate drinks in Colorado. Her drinks match her personality – understated and feminine, charming and always exactly on point for the dish, mood, or occasion.  I asked Allie to help me pair Frasca‘s Frico Caldo with a drink. She made the Farmer’s Daughter which is now stuck in my head – this week’s best bite.  The frico caldo, a rich potato and Montasio cheese griddled mixture, needed a bright citrusy drink and the Farmer’s Daughter hits every note required: floral flavors in elderflower syrup, acid in the lime, grassy freshness in the parsley and cucumber, a herbaceous flavor from the gin. Sheer pleasure! The recipe for the cocktail and the Frico Caldo are available here.

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New Look and French Apple Pie

May 2, 2012

The soul-searching process will never end but the blog needed a facelift that came with an extensive soul-searching process and the facelift is here. I asked myself so many questions over the last few months and I will undoubtedly continue to do so for years to come. I came to some conclusions: This blog is about sharing: experiences, knowledge, pieces of my heart through cooking, parts of my soul through stories. This blog is meant for readers everywhere but even more for local ones, which is why I added both the Best Bites section, which will be a journal of the best thing I had to eat every week and the Page 6 section which will focus on local events, happenings, and the like. This blog is about learning for me and for you, which is why I am trying to tap more into the teachers I have around me, people who cook, bake, shake, or make certain things much better than I ever could and books that walk me through incredibly complicated recipes with ease and grace.

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Not About St. Patrick’s Day

March 12, 2012

It is spring and small green leaves are beginning to peak out of the sea of brown that was winter in Denver. Green is the color this week not just because of spring but because of St. Patrick’s Day, a holiday I dread most for a variety of reasons- I have no trace of Irish in my family, I loathe the commercialized green beer aspect of it, and well, it is the day my father passed away so there is nothing to celebrate for me. Frankly, I just pretend it doesn’t happen every year and do my best not to be annoyed with the chaos. This year, I caved. And I caved for three reasons: a good cause, an insistent friend, and a recipe I wanted to share. The cause: a fundraiser benefitting the St. Baldrick Foundation March 16 at Fado’s Irish Pub. This, I hear, is the largest volunteer-driven fundraising event for childhood cancer research. [ let me mention that my father died of cancer.] At this event, thousands of volunteers shave their heads in solidarity of children with cancer while requesting donations of support from friends and family. The goal this year is $225,000 and Fadó Irish Pub will … Continue reading →

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