Chile Rellenos

I did one more thing that I can scratch off of my to-do list. I learned to make Chile Rellenos!

My friend Claudia R heard me talking about it one time and she said she would teach me how to make them. I took her up on it! Karen wanted to learn too, so we planned on meeting at Karen's house - which by the way, is a great place for a cooking class :) Claudia's mom, Rosario, was part of the teaching crew as well.

So here is my not-really-a-recipe for chile rellenos. Yumm!

Ingredients:
✔ Poblano Chiles (preferably with stem)
✔ Oaxaca cheese, grated (or Monterey Jack)
✔ Flour
✔ Eggs
✔ Oil

Directions:

1. Place whole chiles in a hot iron skillet turning until skin blisters on each side. Place charred chiles in a plastic bag to steam. Peel skin off of chiles, careful not to break open the flesh.
2. Make a small incision at the top of the chile and clean out seeds (about an inch and a half or two from the stem area straight down).
   
3. Stuff hollowed chili with grated cheese. If the slit opens too much, secure with a toothpick or two.
4. Use electric mixer to beat whites until they hold a stiff peak like meringue. Gently mix in eggs.
5. Pour 1-inch of oil into a heavy deep skillet over medium to medium high to heat. When you think the oil is hot, test the edge of a chile-it should sizzle vigorously.
6. Fill pie plate with flour and dredge stuffed chile on all sides. Shake excess flour. Dip flour coated chile into egg mixture, pulling out straight up by the stem.
7. Carefully lay batter coated chile into skillet and baste with spoonfuls of hot oil. When they’re golden underneath, gently turn the chiles over. Fry until the other side is richly golden.
8. Place cooked chiles on a plate lined with paper towels to soak up excess oil until ready to serve.

Variations:
✔ Fill with cooked chicken or ground been instead of or in addition to cheese.
✔ Smother with green chile or Tex-Mex tomato sauce.

I like rellenos smothered with green chile. Claudia is from Texas and says they don't really eat green chile there. She made a simple sauce with sauted onions and bell peppers simmered with crushed tomatoes. But they are also good just as they are.

Thanks Claudia!

A busy Mother's Day...

I cooked my bootie off for a Mother's Day Brunch!

Menu
♥ Baked Ham (Mario & Karen)
♥ Potato Crust Quiche (missing from photo - darn!) w/Sour Cream & Chives
♥ French Toast Casserole
♥ Craisin-Orange Cream Scones w/Cream Cheese & Orange Marmalade
♥ Chocolate-Hazelnut & Vanilla-Coconut-Craisin Biscotti
♥ Cheese filled Crepes w/Strawberry Compote
♥ Banana Bread
♥ Fresh Fruit Plate w/Yogurt Strawberry Dip
♥ Chocolate Covered Strawberries (Claudia)
♥ Mimosa's & Fruit Juices

I'm not gonna lie... I was exhausted - but I was happy to see that I got it all done and in time too! ... and, I think all the moms enjoyed themselves.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I barely had time to rest before we were off to see David Copperfield at the DCPA. I had a chance to see him perform live when I was in high school and he is just amazing. A little stranger than I remembered, but amazing.

It was awesome to see Darren's reaction. He said excitedly "I don't know what I'm going to do if he does this one!! I just don't know if I can handle it!" Of course, it was the same expression with each trick. We had great aisle seats and at several times, David Copperfield came up right by us. For the one where he made himself disappear right off stage and appear in the audience - he appeared three seats behind us. And for the last trick, where he brought audience members up on stage to make them disappear, Mondo was chosen as a "witness" and got to go on stage too. I loved it and would do it again in a second. But it was just over an hour - I wish it would have been a bit longer :)

Kisssss my griiiiiiiiiits..... and a banana cream pie!

I am not a huge fan of diner food. I guess I think it's kind of boring. A step up from cafeteria food - maybe.

I'm not talking about the diners that Guy Fieri visits on his Food Network show, Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. I'm talking about the local diners that I know. Carnation. Barry's. Breakfast King. Rosemary's. They remind me of a place I'd go for a 2am breakfast after a night out at the clubs. Would someone just place a 3 feet wide platter of pancakes with a side of hashbrowns right in front of me please.

No. No. No. I don't think so. And on top of that - they never have peanut butter for my pancakes! argh!

That being said, I have to say - Newbarry's has THE BEST BANANA CREAM PIE ever!!!! Crust. Filling. Topping. The Best. I'd post a picture - but I already ate it all! <<muah hahahaha>>

They also have pretty good rice pudding. And just right brewed iced tea.

Newbarry's
2995 W Jewell Ave
Denver, CO 80219
(303) 935-5503

Pray for Tay!

I'm Relay'n people! Friday, June 5th to Saturday, June 6th

My Reason to Relay

I Relay because I want to see an end to cancer during my lifetime.

I Relay in memory of those who did not live to see that. For my Godmother. My uncle Ronnie. My Grandpa. My Uncle Sonny. For Coleman...

I Relay in honor of amazing Survivors who inspired me and gave me great hope in my own battle. For Matthew. For Heather. For Sammy. For Heller. For Tracey. For Nadine...

I Relay for those who are still fighting. For Taylor. For Jeanine. For Audrey...

I Relay for the families and friends and anyone else affected by this horrible disease. That's YOU! because, cancer affects EVERYBODY!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My Relay for Life Page: http://main.acsevents.org/goto/prayfortay

Taylor's Story: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/taylormorgan

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

French Toast Bake

I am still practicing recipes for our Mother's Day Brunch. So last night I put a make-ahead-casserole together for the French Toast Bake.

I've made one of these before, and I knew I would have done a couple of things different with it if I ever made it again. The recipe I used this time had me cut up the pieces of bread into 1 inch cubes - which is definitely something I liked. It made for more uniform cooking to the dish. I also added a pecan topping that was out of this world - not sure why I opted out on that last time. I must have been out of my mind!

Word to the wise... the recipe notes that you should place the dish on a rimmed baking sheet. Do it. I forgot to do this, and true to the note - the casserole puffed like magic and spilled out over the sides a bit, all gooey in the oven. Oops!

I got the recipe from my fave Cook's Illustrated magazine, the Make-Ahead Recipes Edition and I will be happy to share with you - just let me know if you'd like a copy and I will type it out.

So I am happy with my menu and my recipes. Now I am just worried about the oven. Wish I had two. Awe well, I will make do.

The Best Sampler Platter

I have been wanting to hang out with my little cousin Taylor for a long time now. She comes to Denver every other week from Pueblo to get chemotherapy treatments. And she's been doing this for a long long time - too long.

Well, I am happy that we finally set something up...

We (Mondo & Darren too) went for pizza first at Pizzicato's Gourmet Pizza in Capitol Hill. This place is quickly becoming one of my favorites. Their pizza is great (and so are their salads) - but they are also soooo freaking nice!

• They let us order late one night and didn't freak out about it, even though we offered to go somewhere else if they were already closing down.
• They heard my son talking about how weird it was to not see Parmesan cheese out on the tables, and brought him a little cup of freshly grated!
• They let us leave one car (in their six-car parking lot) while we went to a Mammoth game, and then pick it up after closing.
  

And - I love love love their Sampler Platter with Roasted Garlic, Caprese & Hummus appetizers for $7.50! Yummmm!

After dinner, we went to D Bar again. I had asked Tay if she wanted to go out for dessert, but since I had a half day off from work, I was able to squeeze in dinner. Anyway, she was excited about it because she says they watch Food Network Challenge all the time too! Keegan Gerhard wasn't in (they're actually filming a challenge here in Denver this week) and I didn't think the staff was as friendly this time, but the desserts were still just as good. Tay and Darren really seemed to like it. I told her we'd try again when Keegan will be there for sure, so hopefully I can find that out.
Pizzicato Gourmet Pizza
www.pizzicatopizza.com
1300 Pennsylvania St
Denver, CO 80203
(303) 957-2550
Menu: http://www.pizzicatopizza.com/home/assets/pdf/CapitolHillMenu6-08.pdf

More biscotti

Macadamia Coconut Biscotti tonight...

Not as good as the Chocolate Hazelnut ones from Sunday, at least in my opinion. These ones were softer. More crumbly. Not dunkable.

I may compare recipes and adjust. Still wanting to make at least two kinds for Mother's Day brunch.

Gotta love a lazy day...

I'm a planner. Seems like I always have something going on - even if it's just hanging out with the family.

Today, I was supposed to go to the Rockies game. My plans changed and I ended up not going. There were probably plenty of things that I could have done, but I didn't. I woke up, goofed around. And then took a nap! (Boy it's been a long time since I've taken one). I can't say it was a great nap... I kept tossing and turning, probably because I was feeling guilty that I wasn't doing anything. When I got up, I got comfy on the couch and watched several episodes of Food Network Last Cake Standing.

I had been telling my dad to go to the grocery store for me - not thinking for one second he would - and was surprised when he asked for a shopping list. He went and picked up some items I needed to make Biscotti and Scones.... some recipes I want to test out for Mother's Day Brunch. I'm glad he went, because since he picked up the stuff I needed, I was obligated to do something with them. I tried two new recipes and now I don't feel like the day was totally wasted, but I also feel like I got a good rest too!

And, I was happy with both recipes, which I will post below. Let me know if you try them out and what you think!


~~~~~~~~~~~

Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti

Ingredients

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
* 1 cup granulated sugar
* 2 large eggs
* 1 cup blanched hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
* 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
* 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and butter and flour a large baking sheet.
• In a bowl whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl with an electric mixer beat together butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and beat until combined well. Stir in flour mixture to form a stiff dough. Stir in hazelnuts and chocolate chips.
• On prepared baking sheet with floured hands from dough into two slightly flattened logs, each 12 inches long and 2 inches wide, and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar. Bake logs 35 minutes, or until slightly firm to the touch. Cool biscotti on baking sheet 5 minutes.
• On a cutting board cut biscotti diagonally into 3/4-inch slices. Arrange biscotti, cut sides down, on baking sheet and bake until crisp, about 10 minutes. Cool biscotti on a rack Biscotti keep in airtight containers 1 week and , frozen, 1 month.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Cranberry-Orange Cream Glazed Scones

Ingredients

* 2 Cups Unbleached all-purpose flour
* 1 Tbs Baking Powder
* 3 Tbs Sugar
* ½ tsp Salt
* 4 Tbs Cold Unsalted Butter, cut into ¼ inch cubes
* 1 tsp Grated Orange Zest
* ¾ Cup Dried Cranberries
* ¾ Cup Heavy Cream
* 1 Egg, lightly beaten

Directions

• Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 425 degrees.
• Place the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in the workbowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Whisk together or process with six 1-second pulses.
• Remove the cover and distribute the butter and orange zest evenly over the dry ingredients. Cover and process with twelve 1-second pulses. Add the cranberries and quickly mix in or pulse one more time. Transfer the dough to a large bowl.
• Stir in the egg along with the heavy cream with a rubber spatula or fork until the dough begins to form, about 30 seconds.
• Transfer the dough and all dry flour bits to a countertop and knead the dough by hand just until it comes together into a rough, slightly sticky ball, 5 to 10 seconds. Following the directions below, cut the scones into 8 wedges. Place the wedges on an ungreased baking sheet.
• Bake until the scone tops are light brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Glazed Scone Variation
Follow the recipe for Cream Scones, brushing the tops of the scones with 1 tablespoon heavy cream and then sprinkling them with 1 tablespoon sugar just before baking them.

Shaping Cream Scones
1. Press the dough into an 8-inch cake pan, then turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface.
2. With a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut the dough into 8 wedges.

Off to sew I go...

We had our second sewing club tonight! I decided not to go home and then back to the studio, so I had to stop and get some more fabric. So, I still haven't finished my apron, but I did start and complete a new project - a bag.

I thought it was soooo cute!

Claudia is amazing. She put this group together so we could work on our own or on a group project - not to teach... but she ended up helping all of us instead of working on her own. I think I need to just go in and take a basic class so I can figure out what to do to keep myself busy without having to ask her for so much help. I don't care if it's making something simple - it's been fun just to hang out with friends, have a little wine and be creative. I'm definitely gonna put more thought into next months project!

Put my elbow where?

I wasn't sure if I wanted to write about this or not. But one of my first entries this year was talking about some things I want to try out this year. Not necessarily New Year's Resolutions, but new things. This wasn't on the list, but it is definitely new.

Last week my bookclub reviewed Breakfast with Buddha - a story of a happy-with-his-life Christian man who ends up re-evaluating his life while on a cross country road trip with a "buddha". One of my comments during our discussion was about how it made me want to try meditation. Want to try yoga. What?!? You're talking crazy Tommy. I was surprised to hear some of my friends agree - not that I was crazy, but that they felt somewhat inspired to try something "meditationy" too. And I almost fell on the floor when, by the end of that part of the conversation, Mondo and I had planned to try a yoga class.

Our friend Mary just happens to love yoga and even taught for a while. She mentioned a class she takes called Bikram Yoga. The recommended temperature for Bikram yoga is minimum 105F degrees and about 40% humidity. Mondo and I actually were aware of this when we followed through and met up with her tonight. I still can't believe it. There are twenty-six posture exercises and I admit, I had to sit and rest through more than a couple of them. I could feel my heart pounding and was sure you could see it beating right through my shirt.

I don't know exactly what I expected... To find out I am not flexible? Check! Haha! Really, although I haven't decided if I will go back yet, I am not totally opposed to it.

Hanging out with AG

We were picking up tickets for a show at the DCPA and browsing through a rack of pamphlets advertising current and upcoming shows. Mondo picked one up and said "Adrian wants to see this." Adrian is my super athletic, super smart 15 year old nephew, who also happens to be my Godson. I looked over and said "Really? He wants to see Macbeth?".

I have never read Shakespeare by choice. I studied what was required in High School and I've seen a few movies. I have even visited Juliet's balcony in Verona. That's about it. Reading Shakespeare made me dizzy. But I was pretty excited to hear that Adrian was interested on his own accord. I grabbed one of the flyers with an intention of asking him about it.

A few days later, I'm sitting on the couch and Adrian (AG) comes over beside me, holding the pamphlet. I said "Oh yeah, I was gonna ask you about that. Uncle says you want to go see Macbeth." AG says "Yeah".

So fast foward to this evening...

I came home straight from work and met AG at the house. I asked him where he wanted to go eat - his choice, but it had to be kind of fast because we wouldn't have more than an hour. "I like the place you and uncle took me for lunch that one time... for noodles" "Noodles & Company?" "Yeah." "You've only been there once? Where do you guys eat out? Mexican food huh?" "Yeah, that's pretty much it."

We found a Noodles & Company just a few minutes away from the DCPA. A sushi house called Sonoda's was right across the walkway. Adrian had just tried sushi for the first time at his 15th birthday lunch celebration in February and he said "We can try this. I'm okay with that. It's something different." I have never thought of my nephews and nieces as being into trying something different... my family for that matter with the exception of my brother Mario and his wife Karen and my brother Mondo. I was all for introducing AG to a new food experience. Even short on time. I said "We'll rush okay?"

He had a little bit of everything! Sushi! Tempura! Terryiaki! And he liked it which put a big smile on his nina's face (I am his"nina"; the Spanish reference and a term of endearment for "Godmother"). We also got out of there right in time to make it to the show. Or so I thought...

The parking garage entrance I usually use, wasn't open. I intended to drive around the block to get to the alternate, but saw that there was parking space on the street on 13th & Champa for with a 4 hour meter. Score! I could scrounge up three dollars in change and that should be plenty. Plus, it would save me seven bucks. We walked across the bridge to pick up our tickets at Will Call - just 10 minutes before curtain! There was a line, but it moved rather quickly. When I got to the counter and said "Rivera for Macbeth" the ticket agent smiled and said - "Ok. You'll need to go back out the doors, cross the center to the west, to your left, down the stairs, back around to your right and then across the street to the Red Brick Building, down the hall to the elevators to the third floor..." I looked at my watch. 6:27 - 3 minutes to curtain. "Will we make it? Will they let us in?" "Ah sure, you'll be fine."

Now the DCPA is a complex with multiple venues for shows. I have been to many of them; The Buell, Boettcher, The Galleria, The Stage... but apparently not the Conservatory Theatre. I had no idea there was another building outside of what I had always considered the DCPA complex area. Good Lord!

We kicked it into high gear, a string of several people who had just been behind us in line doing the same thing. As we crossed the street we noticed a lady on a radio getting information from the box office "just sent two more..." The elevator took forever and we did not see a stairway nearbye. We got to the ticket booth for the show and waited in line another 10 minutes for the group in front of us to take care of their tickets (not sure what that was all about). Regardless, it appears that the DCPA acknowledges that this type of fiasco happens and the show started after all were accomodated.

There were at least three high school aged kids directly behind us and I could hear them talking about having to attend for school - and not very happy about it. There was a point during the show that one of them put their shoe up on my seat, but quickly removed it when I turned around to ask him to take it down (smelly!). During intermission they talked about how cool they were and I thought to myself, I'm glad your not a hooligan AG. Not that they were hooligans, but they just didn't seem as open to the experience as my Godson was and I was happy to be there with him.

I thought the show was good too. I love going to plays, musicals and performances anyway, but I was afraid I wasn't going to understand it. I was trying to think back to the time we went over it in school. Yeah, way way way back then :) and I remembered a little. But it really came together when I saw it right there in front of us. I thought the ensemble was great and I was happy to have another memory with my Godson. Hopefully it sparks his interest and he'll want to go again sometime!

The Best. Monday. Ever.

I think I just had the best Monday ever. I know. Sounds like an oxymoron huh?

This morning was tough. I was exhausted from the weekend. Lot's of family fun, but can you say wiped out. When I went out to my car, a sheet of ice fought to cling to the window as I worked my bootie off to scrape it away - only to find it also iced over on the inside! What the?! At work, as I sat at my desk I thought to myself...Do I really need to be here? I had planned on leaving early, but I was kicking myself for not just taking the whole day off. And since I was so tired, I was worried I might make a bad impression at the lunch. I know, doesn't sound like a great day so far does it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It's that time of the year when the Board of Trustees for my son's school interviews potential Board Candidates. This is when the day started to look up. We met at a local restaurant just down the street from the school. As a board member, this is still new territory to me. As a parent, I couldn't help but be moved at the level of passion this amazing group of people have for these kids. I continue to be overwhelmed by their true caring.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A few years ago, our friend Eden gifted my brother with a copy of Honeymoon with my Brother, and then he recommended it to me. Mondo and Eden have traveled the world, so I know that they were able to relate to it in a way that I probably couldn't, but I still loved the book. I was excited when Kurt & Franz came to Denver in October 2006 and invited a group of friends to the signing they held at the Tattered Cover downtown. When I got an email from them saying they were coming back to promote their new book I couldn't wait to attend.

So, this evening, my bookclub did something a little different. We met up at the Tattered Cover on east Colfax to have a bite at Chipotle and then attend a book signing by the authors of our next selection.

The brothers have just released a new book called How the World Makes Love and that is our next read. We had a great time at the book signing. Franz was really funny and picked out some great selections as teasers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After the signing, we (Mondo & I) had already agreed to stop for dessert. Mondo remembered me mentioning D bar and he wanted to try it out - I was definitely game for that. The group wanted to go somewhere to finish our discussion on our current read, so they joined us.

We walked in to the small venue and tried to work out between us if we could fit. As we did, I noticed that Keegan Gerhard was behind the counter and I tap tap tapped on my sister's shoulder - Hey, look. It's the guy from Food Network. From the Food Network Challenge show. Cakes cakes cakes! Candy candy candy! Okay, if I was being honest, I would have mentioned in my entry, In response to Audrey's Enquiring Mind, that another obsession of mine is the Food Network. I could watch that channel all day long. It's horrible. And wonderful. The first step is admitting you have a problem right? Well there ya go. Anyway, my total dorkdom became apparent as I walked up to the counter and said "I just wanted to say hi and tell you that I am a complete Food Network junkie. I watch your show all the time. Can I take a photo of you?" He was so nice - he said "sure, why don't you come back and take one with me?" I had no idea it was his shop, I guess I thought maybe he was visiting or something.

Anyway, the staff there was great too. They kindly asked a few customers who had just been seated if they would mind scooting over to the next table so that we could all sit together. They kindly did (thank you!).
We ordered cappucinos, espresso, crème brûlée (wow. creamy. buttery. mmmm.), cake (triple layer - yikes!) and shake (with little chocolate covered crunchy pieces) and p.b. d bar. I can't wait to go back. Mondo mentioned doing a progressive dinner and it will be the perfect place to stop for the dessert portion. But - they also serve lunch, dinner and WINE! So heck yeah, I will be back.
If you visit, you should let me know what order and what you think! I'd love to know :)

http://www.dbardesserts.com/
1475 E 17th Ave
Denver, CO 80218
(303) 861-4710
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oh yeah - the conversation on Breakfast with Buddha . Almost forgot. Good one. The more I think about it, the more I liked the book. In fact, I am going to take my 30% Borders Coupon and go buy it and re-read it.

You hear people say all the time, I'm spiritual, not religious and I guess this sort of captures a little bit of maybe what a true meaning of that statement might be. I don't think you have to betray yourself or betray your beliefs by opening up your mind to some of the thoughts that are released in the fictional writing. Might even inspire you - if that's the right word.

I don't know, maybe some people might be scared to read something like this. Either they might be the defensive non-practicing (insert religion here) or they might be the opposite - I am a firm (insert religion here) and I don't believe in blah blah blah. But if you open up your mind and see (lalala, thanks Jason Mraz) - then you might get something more out of it. You might find some good stuff. I think we all did.

In response to Audrey's Enquiring Mind

I was tagged by Audrey at Stage 3! Who, me? for the following Q and A. Audrey, you're amazing. I Am a Green Parakeet!

Okay, so here are the guidelines for this Q and A :
1. Respond and rework. Answer the questions on your blog, replace one question you dislike with a question of your own invention; add a question of your own.
2. Tag eight other un-tagged people.

What is your current obsession? Cook's Illustrated. I have always loved cookbooks, but this year I decided I would try to learn to cook new stuff... My friend Claudia introduced me to a great cookbook by Cook's Illustrated and now I have been “craving” the magazine edition. Of course, last month my obsession was making crepes. I think I made them every other day. And then there is the Colorado Mammoth - my long term obsession. Wow, I didn't even realize I was an obsessor!

Best restaurant? Kevin Taylors. Not an everyday trip for me, but the overall best nice one I've been to.

Do you nap a lot? I wish! I did when I was on leave of absence. I always intend to get to bed by 9pm, but I'm never asleep before 10:30pm. I am always tired.

Who was the last person you hugged? My brother Mario. My family are a bunch of huggers. I work with my brother – he gets a hug everyday.

What’s for dinner? Leftover Chinese take-out.

What was the last thing you bought? Cook's Illustrated magazine and groceries.

What are you listening to right now? This obnoxiously loud fan on my computer!

What is your favorite weather? Perfectly not too warm, not too cold, not windy, beautiful Indian summer nights.

What’s on your bedside table? A 3-wick candle, a glass of water and a bunch of papers that shouldn't be.

Say something to the person/s who tagged you. Audrey- you seem to write about things I have felt... am feeling. I am so sorry that you are going through the bad stuff, but I hope you know that through your writing, you provide comfort and understanding and I am grateful for that. Your positive attitude is lifting.

If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would you want it to be? I guess right here in Colorado, 'cause that's where my family is. And not to mention, it's a beautiful place.

Favorite vacation spot? I loved Italy and I would go back there in a second. But I haven't been anywhere else international and I hope to have more choices from experience the next time someone asks me this question. On my list... China, Japan, Australia, Argentina, India, Thailand, Alaska (I know, that's not international - still want to go there!) – pretty much anywhere!

Name the things you can’t live without. Family, friends, laughter, faith, hope.

What would you like to have in your hands right now? The cure to cancer. (I stole this from Audrey, who stole if from Laura but ditto, seriously, I wish that I had the cure for cancer in my hands right now!)

What is your favorite tea flavor? I like good 'ol Lipton Tea. In the summer I like a fruity blend like passion-mango or peach-mango. I love trying new teas though. There's even two tea-houses I hope to try out soon.

What would you like to get rid of? Anxiety.

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go? Tahiti, I think.

What did you want to become as a child? An astronaut or the President. Didn't everybody?

Where would you like to be in five years? At my son's high school graduation... top of his class ;)

What are you reading right now? Breakfast with Buddha by Roland Merullo for my bookclub and Phantom by Susan Kay with my son since we just saw the musical, Phantom of the Opera.

What's your favorite brand of jeans? Ooh, not so much a name brand shopper for jeans - or clothes for that matter. I like quality, but I like bargains too.

What designer piece of clothing would you most like to own (new or vintage)? A vintage Opera Cape.

Who inspires you? Darren (my son), my whole family, Taylor (my little cousin, 13, cancer warrior) ... and so many more.

What's your favorite book? Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and Phantom by Susan Kay – but you already know that. It's my question. Not original, but something I like to now about people.

I tag: Audrey, Claudia. And Lori, 'cause if anyone will do this - it'll be you sister! :)

Busy Bee...

After my day of cooking, I was in a rush to get out of the house and go to my first sewing class. Well, it wasn't really a class - a few friends decided to get together for a sewing club. Since I don't really know anything about sewing, my dear friend Claudia gave me a quick lesson and extra attention during the evening.

For my first project, I am attempting to make an apron for my niece Sophia. I didn't use a pattern, so we'll see how well that turns out ;) but here's a picture of it in the works. I still have to add the straps and finish the edges.
The get together was a lot of fun. It was a few girls from high school and then another that Claudia knows from a class she's taught at Fancy Tiger. We each brought in some snacks to share and Claudia brought in a bottle of wine too! My kind of club! I'm looking forward to learning this new craft and already have plans for stocking stuffers!

Darren's Faves....

I was out of the house bright and early yesterday to take Mondo to the airport. The snow was coming in fast and thick, so I made a quick stop at the grocery store on my way home. Darren has been asking me to make potstickers and coconut shrimp (from my cooking class) for a while now and I thought, what the heck. So when I got home, I made the potsticker filling (which was a whole lot of filling) and used up all the wrappers I had bought. I made some right then and froze the rest (they freeze quite nicely). I told Darren he could have potstickers and coconut shrimp for lunch today.

It was a beautiful day today - the sun shining bright and the roads were nice and clear. But there was a blizzard just yesterday (welcome to Colorado) and I guess I kind of acted like I was still snowed in. I didn't mind cooking all day at all.

Anyway, Darren held me to it too. It was the first thing he asked me for this morning. But before anything, I made a batch of dough for pizza for dinner this evening. It came out really nice and I even added some herbs to the mix. The coconut shrimp was great - but I want to find a good dipping sauce to make with it next time. We had the pizza for dinner. Darren was in heaven and told me "I can't wait until you take your next cooking class!"

Book Club: The Glass Castle

The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeannette Walls.

We met on it tonight and had hours of conversation. Mary joined our group and so did Sue's daughter, Stephanie. I think we all agreed how writing this memoir must have been therapeutic for the author - but I left finding how therapeutic it probably was for us just to be able to discuss it and open up with each other. I can't recommend this read enough for a Book Club.

Next read is Breakfast with Buddha by Roland Merullo

Phantom of the Opera

If you know me, then you know I don't sing. But when Darren was born, I guess I wanted to try to do the motherly thing and try to sing him. I knew the words to about three songs and one of them was The Phantom of the Opera. So that's what I used to sing to him. Poor kid!

When he was about three, my dad said "Darren, will you sing a song for me?" and Darren said "What do you want me to sing Grandpa?" My dad said "How about Twinkle Twinkle Little Star?" and then Darren said "How about Phantom of the Opera?" and started to sing.

I love love love the Phantom of the Opera. Susan Kay wrote a book called Phantom that is a prequel to The Phantom of the Opera. I've read it at least a dozen times and I had seen the musical 4 times. So this year, when it came on tour to Denver again, I decided to take Darren to see it.

We got tickets with Mondo, JJ and Denise and their family. Before the show we went to dinner at the Aquarium. Darren liked it (probably not quite as much as me) and now we're reading the book together.

I heart 5280 Week

Can I just say I love love love 5280 Restaurant Week? And that the Capital Grille is one of my favorite restaurants!

Our 3rd through 5th's couldn't make it, so Mondo called our friend Mary at the last minute who was down to join us no questions asked. When we met up with her at the restaurant, she had a friend with her. Mary had just (like hours before) picked up Haley from the airport. She just moved to Colorado from California. Never even been here before. Crazy huh? She actually had never met Mary before either, they just have a mutual friend somewhere along the way. Well, whatever - it was a fun story and they were great company.

I have to note, on top of all the food that came on the 5280 menu, we also ordered a side of Lobster Mac and the Crème Brûlée for dessert. Thee-Best.

New Pasta Dinner

My brother and some of his friends from CCU used to get together for "Friday Dinners". I don't know how I got invited, or if I just showed up, but somehow I got in on the loop. I remember one time we had one planned at Mondo's apartment and his back went out. Everyone still came over and Mondo was laid out on his futon mattress in the middle of the floor while we all ate around him. We watched a few episodes of Flight of the Concords that night too. It was fun. That was a year ago.
I finally made some plans with Debbie and asked Mondo to extend the invitation to the rest of the group. Everyone was able to make it. I was pretty psyched to try a new dish. A pasta with white cheese cream sauce.

I came home early to get a good start and make sure everything was ready on time. But - the stove didn't cooperate! It kept blowing the circuit when I had more than one burner on! grrr! Fortunately, I was able to have dinner on the table at the right time... I just ended up having to make dessert.

It's been a while, but here are some "not really a recipe" notes...
For the pasta sauce:
I sautéd shallots for a minute and then added chicken broth. Simmered for a bit before adding grated gouda cheese and heavy whipping cream. Once that got to a consistency I liked, I added wilted spinach, cooked chicken and sautéd mushrooms. I poured the sauce over fusili pasta cooked al dente, mixed and topped with toasted pine nuts.

The next time I will probably use white onions and garlic instead of shallots. I might add some bacon or procuitto and I might try a different white cheese too - although, wouldn't be sad to use gouda again. The fusili pasta was hard to find, but I would definitely take the time to look for it again.

For desert we had Bananas Foster:
I melted butter and added brown sugar. Once that melded together, I added sliced bananas and stirred the mixture for a bit before adding some spiced rum. It didn't flambé for me, so we just ate it like that (yumm). I rolled the ice cream in the crepe, with sliced bananas and then covered with the sauce.

Dessert Crepes...

This morning I decided to give crepes a go. It's something I've been wanting to try for a long time - but have always been afraid of. They seem so delicate and precise.

The ingredient list is very basic, and I had everything on hand, so I thought "what have I got to lose". I hadn't planned on it, but I had Nutella (something I have also never tried before) and bananas, so I decided to make a sweet version.

The recipe is super easy and fast to make. On the first crepe I noticed the batter was a little bit thick and lumpy, so I added a drop more milk and mixed it another minute. The outer edges were crispy, which is an unusual texture in a crepe to me, but I don't think it was a bad thing. I noticed that as I stacked them, the moisture from the steam softened them. One small batter made about 18 crepes.

I spread a thin layer of Nutella with sliced bananas on the inside and then rolled them. I drizzled some with chocolate syrup (I preferred them without). They were a hit. Even my dad liked them, and he's not much into trying "different" food. The next time, I would like to dust with powdered sugar and top with fresh strawberries. I am also looking forward to making Bananas Foster with the extra ones I ended up storing. And, I can't wait to try savory crepes!

A Super Easy Crepe Recipe
✔ 1 1/2 Cups Milk (I added a couple more Tbs)
✔ 1 Cup All Purpose Flour
✔ 2 Eggs
✔ 1 Tbs Cooking Oil
✔ 1/4 tsp Salt (savory) -OR- 2 Tbs Sugar (dessert)

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and beat with a rotary beater until well mixed. Heat a lightly greased (I used buttery cooking spray) 6 inch non-stick skillet to medium (almost medium-high). Remove pan from heat and (quickly) ladle 3 Tbs of batter into center of the pan. Lift and tilt the pan to evenly spread the batter. Return to heat.

The directions I have said to brown on one side only, but I turned mine. Could be why they ended up a bit crispy (and not like chip-a-tooth crispy). A spatula was more of a problem than it was a help - and they were easy enough to lift with my hand. Tip - work quickly!

To store, place a layer of waxed paper between crepes and freeze them. Let crepes thaw at room temperature for one hour before using.

BOS - Movie Date

My "Band of Sisters" got together this afternoon for a movie and lunch. We saw "He's Just Not That Into You", a movie based on the book by the same name. I thought it was cute. Way happier ending than the book though ;) Awe well, I like happy endings.

After the movie, we went over to Papadeaux's for lunch. Mmmm.... I had the Mixed Seafood Grill which is two skewers of assorted seafood chargrilled over dirty rice. Good stuff, even though the fish today was salmon.

Lots-o-Laughs...

Tonight I joined some friends for an evening of comedy at Impulse Theater.

I love love love going to Comedy Shows... and honestly, when I go - it takes a lot to offend me. I kind of "prep" myself for the atmosphere. But I also know that alot of people who like comedy, won't go to places like Comedy Works because of the usual non-PG and commonly offensive dialogue. If this is you, then you might want to give Impulse Theater a try.

We laughed the whole show - and we went home "replaying" our favorite parts, finding that just about every scene was one.

Impulse Theater is a mix of comedy, theater and audience interaction. Each performance features a quick-witted cast that will keep you laughing from start to finish with fully improvised comedy, based all on your suggestions! And it's appropriate for all ages.

Impulse Theater
www.impulsetheater.com/
1634 18th St
Denver CO 80202
303-297-2111

Catchin' up

I had lunch with my friend Keebler and his almost 2 year old daughter today. She was a doll - kept saying "Tommy Tommy Tommy!" and "Pizza Pizza Pizza!" - how could you go wrong? We met at the food court and it was great to catch up after more than two years!

Boy, so-so food sure tastes a lot better with good company.

The Best Pizza...

This weekend I had a go at my "to do list" by planning a cooking day with my friend Claudia. She saw my previous post and offered to tackle some of the things on it with me including taking a cooking class. We're signed up for an Hors D'Oeuvres class next month. At the same time we were discussing taking a class, she offered to host a cooking day at her home. Here's the list I sent her of some of the things I want to try this year...

✔ Risotto
✔ Shrimp & Angel Hair Pasta with Lemon Caper Cream Sauce
✔ Tuscan Garlic Chicken
✔ Dessert Crepes (and/or savory crepes)
✔ Homemade Pizza
✔ Tiramasu
✔ Spicy Tangerine Beef
✔ Chicken Pot Pie
✔ Green Chile & Cheese Tamales
✔ Stuffed Chile Rellenos

Well, we decided to get together on Sunday and Claudia said she had a great easy recipe from one of her favorite cookbooks - "The New Best Recipe" by the Editors of Cook's Illustrated - for pizza! Yesssss! So simple. Yeast, Flour, Salt and Water... mixed in a food processor.

The pizzas came out perfect - exactly the way I like them (I'm not a pizza girl normally - Pizza Hut and Dominos kinda gross me out). I like a thin crust, with easy sauce, kind of New York Style....

We made a few different kinds -

* Three Cheese: Mozzarella, Parmesan and Blue Cheese
* Caramelized Onions, Sautéed Mushrooms and Bacon with Mozzarella
* Spinach, Ricotta, Mozzarella and Parmesan
* Spinach, Caramelized Onions, Sautéed Mushrooms and Bacon with Mozzarella

And probably because I mentioned I wasn't crazy about tomatoes, we made them all without sauce. Just a drizzle of Olive Oil and a Garlic rub on the crust...

Another great thing about the day was while we waited for the dough to rise, we had plenty of time to talk!

I cannot wait to try this recipe again! Thanks Claudia!

Tea for Two...

Today I met my friend for lunch at a tea house. They weren't serving lunch due to a short staff, but we shared a "dessert tea" for two, which included a scone with cream and jelly, a red velvet cupcake, chocolate and of course - tea.

I love love love talking to Lori. She's a real sweetheart and she is so fun to get to know. If you're on Facebook, you might have seen the posting of "25 Things About Me". Lori and I both did one and we decided to make a list to share for our tea. 37 things. I'm so happy we did this... some things were fun, some were serious, some were unbelievable - but they were all Lori. Can you believe, we talked for almost 3 hours! Can't wait til we can do it again!

Tres Jolie
http://www.tresjoliestyle.com/
2399 W Main St
Littleton, CO 80120
303-795-0156

Water for Elephants

Water for Elephants, A Novel by Sara Gruen

I thought it was as predictable as anything written by Nicholas Sparks - but I liked it anyway! The journey from present to past and then back and forth again was fun. I wanted to keep on "traveling with the circus".

I'll be hosting the bookclub discussion on this one - February 23rd...

03/23 Addendum: Everyone seemed to enjoy the book. I can't say that it lead to any stimulating discussion, however.

Dueling Lasagna...

Mario loves lasagna. We didn't have anything really planned for Sunday and so I said, we could do a family dinner and make lasagna. He jumped on that. Plus, we had extra red wine from the wine party, so what better to pair it with :)

I guess I kinda taught Karen how to make lasagna a few years ago. I use the term "taught" very loosely. We decided that we would each make a lasagna - Mario always mentioned a vegetarian version she's made.

What a great idea - it made it soooo much easier. Karen browned the Italian Sausage and Beef and I chopped mushrooms and zucchini. We each layered a pan of lasagna, reducing the prep time quite a bit. At one point, Karen looked over at me and said "are you sure you taught me how to make this? You're doing it different." I guess that's the beauty of a dish like this, you can "do it differently" and it will still be good. You really can't go wrong with such yummy ingredients. (Although I have to say, I never order lasagna out. Homemade is just too good to compare.)

My layers (between sauce and uncooked noodles)...

• Ricotta & Large Curd Cottage Cheese mixed with an egg, Mozzarella, Salt and Pepper
• Cream Cheese, Mushrooms and Spinach
• Cooked Italian Sausage / Ground Beef
• Mozzarella

Karen's ingredients were almost the same. She used a different kind of sauce (both of ours were from a jar) and she added zucchini. She mixed her spinach in with her cheese mixture too.

Lasagna can be a pricey dish to make. But it feeds a ton of people, so it was great to do this as a family dinner. I hope to do this again maybe in a couple of months. And - if you have any, the leftovers are amazing...

I'm 37!

.... and I celebrated today!

I took a day off and had breakfast with my mom and Mondo at the Corner Bakery in the Denver Pavillions. Then a pedicure at the Aveda Institute (what a deal, $27 for a pedicure and an OPI nailpolish).

Lunch at the Creekside Winery in Evergreen.

And then a fondue dinner at Mario & Karen' house.

Awesome!

Aveda Institute of Denver
www.avedadenver.com
700 16th St
Denver, CO 80202
303-567-7500

Creekside Cellars
28036 Highway 74
Evergreen, CO 80439
http://www.creeksidecellars.net/
info@creeksidecellars.net
303-674-5460

Whirlwind trip

Friday - Got off of work early to catch my flight at 3'ish. Yvette picked me up at the airport and we headed straight to a retirement party for one of her friends. Kinda crazy because I had actually met a few of the people that were there for the celebration... they had attended a convention in Denver a few years back. We had a late dinner at a Mexican restaurant and I was pleasantly surprised. You might not know this about me, but I don't usually choose to go out for Mexican food.

Saturday - Stopped for coffee at Starbucks on the way to a movie. Yes, we went to a movie and I am totally okay with that! It was a no pressure weekend and this fit in perfectly! We saw "Slumdog Millionaire", a movie we had both been wanting to see. I highly recommend it by the way. The weather was beautiful. Way nicer than I had been planning on. Then it was time for lunch at Gino's East. Okay, if I had anything on my list - it as deep dish pizza. I introduced Yvette, and the bartender to an "Italian Margarita" - yummmm. Afterwards, we walked around the Magnificent Mile area, shopping til we were dropping. We headed back to the hotel for just a minute before we decided to visit the Sears Tower. The view at night from the Skydeck was beautiful - all lit up. We started walking back to the hotel and I'm not gonna lie, here's where the weather I had anticipated kicked in. I fell down at some point as we were crossing the street. Limping a little bit, we found a bar on the corner (Boss) and stopped in for a drink - and an appetizer (it was dinner time and we hadn't eaten yet). By the time we left, I felt fine and we walked back to the hotel - where we stopped in to the lobby bar for dessert... and a drink.

Sunday - Carlos, a friend of Yvette's picked us up and took us for lunch in a Puerto Rican neighborhood. We had a sandwich made with plantains as the 'bread'. It was delicious. Really, one of the highlights to my trip to try something new like this. After lunch - he took us on a tour of Chicago pointing out all the highlights I probably would have known to look for if I had planned this trip at all :) He dropped us back at the hotel in the late afternoon. We had to stop by a Dunkin Donuts/Baskin Robbins. They were on every block, I swear. And then we thought about getting tickets to a show, but on a stop before the ticket booth, the car got towed! Can you believe it? I still can't. Yvette didn't let it ruin the day - we got the car out of impound and continued to look for Oprah's studio and then drove out to Barack Obama's home. It was dark and the street was policed off, so we didn't see much - but hey, we can still say we went. We stopped by China town on the way back and then back to the hotel before going out for dinner. We planned to go to La Frontera (a restaurant by Rick Bayless) - but it was closed! Biscuits!! so we went back to the hotel and ate at the Weber Grill, and watched the end of the Super Bowl. Even though it wasn't what we had planned, it was still really good.

Monday - Up at 3:30am. Dropped Yvette off at home and then off to work. Boy, that was a long day... Totally worth it though.

Chicago, here I come!

I'm going to Chicago!

A trip not planned. A friend called and asked me if I wanted to go and I said "Yesssssss!" I've always wanted to do something like this.

A good deal...

I'm a planner. And if I can plan something fun and get a good deal on it - then I am all over it.

Some local radio stations have deals that offer gift certificates at 50%. Check out ~

• Kelly's Krazy Deals
• 92.5 The Wolf's Howl of a Deal
• Mix100 Meals & Steals
• Kool 105 Real Deals

Another thing I look forward to every year is called 5280 Restaurant Week.

Denver Restaurant Week is a seven-day celebration of the culinary scene in Denver. For one week (February 21-27, 2009), participating restaurants will offer a multi-course dinner for the fixed price of $52.80 for two, or $26.40 for one (not including tax or gratuity).

I've had the opportunity to try out a few places I might not have otherwise thought of... Mizuna, Le Central & Kevin Taylors. One of my favorites was The Rialto, but sadly, they're not on this years list.

If you want to take advantage of this deal, I recommend you make a reservation as soon as possible. Make sure to give us a review too!

A mellow weekend...

It's not that it was a boring weekend - but I'm still condensing it all down to one blog anyway....

Friday -
Didn't do much. Came home after work and was supposed to start/finish reading my book for bookclub on Monday. Instead I played with my new iPhone and watched some tv programs that have been building up on my DVR.

Saturday -
Met up with my nephew Jess and his family at McDonalds for a quick lunch. Then we headed to the Museum of Nature and Science to see "Dinosaurs Alive" at the IMAX. I know, I just saw it last weekend with Darren. Here's the story - Josiah (my great-nephew), came over last week and said "Auntie, I want to go to the movies." So I asked him if he wanted to go see Bolt or Hotel for Dogs and he said "No, I want to see Dinosaurs." There ya go. He loved it. When it was ending he said "I want to see it again" and he was not happy that we couldn't.

In the evening, we went to the Mammoth vs Edmonton Rush game. It was early this week - started at 6pm, so no face painting this time. The game wasn't as bad as last week, but they still lost. It actually got really exciting in the last quarter - it was fun to see some defense - it just came too late. Bummer.

After the game, we went to the Denver Diner. I don't know why we torture ourselves. I had french toast. Not so good.

Sunday -
My friend Matthew invited me to church at The Rock. Saw lots-o-friends there. After service, we headed over for lunch at Ruby Tuesdays. I ordered the Jumbo Lump Crab Cake Burger and thought it was pretty good.

Mondo got ripped off. He ordered a Chicken Pot Pie with a Mozzarella & Tomato Salad. He ordered the add-on salad bar instead of soup because he figured the pot pie would be kind of like a soup. Turns out it was more like a salad. The veggies didn't appear to have been cooked in the sauce for any amount of time. AND, they substituted his mozzarella & tomato salad with broccoli and didn't even mention it to him. Not cool.

When we got home, we found that my cousins were visiting from Pueblo before they went to the Nuggets game. We played a few games of poker and watched a movie.

A nice and mellow weekend...

Darren's Dinner...

I love three day weekends.

Today I gave Darren the wheel and asked him what he wanted to do. He chose a movie "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" and a fondue dinner.

I wasn't excited about seeing "Mall Cop", but I love watching and hearing him laugh, and this movie made him laugh. I love thinking that my son is going to be 13 years old soon, and he's not too cool to laugh. Or too cool to go to a movie with his mom. It was great.

After the movie we went shopping for fondue stuff (again). He was in a really good mood and didn't even complain that we had to stop at three stores to get all the stuff!

I talk about these amazing fondue dinners, but Darren never gets to go for a couple reasons -
1 - Hot Oil
2 - They're usually meant to be for an adult night out
3 - Hot Oil

Lately it seems that even though kids aren't sitting at the table with us for our dinners, they are attending. And it hasn't hurt anyone to let them try a piece or two themselves. Of course, dessert is something fun for pretty much all ages. So, I thought - what the heck. I'll do a small one and I can keep an extra eye on him and help him out as much as he needs it. He loved it! He was a bit afraid of the oil at first (probably because I scared him about how dangerous it can be), but he was really careful. He even tried broccoli and zucchini, which if you know Darren at all - you know it's very unlike him to mess with veggies.

It was a great day with my kid!

Check out these tootsies!

You know what I love about Facebook? It's that I haven't just sent quick hello's to friends from high school, but I have actually got together with some!

Last month, my friend Claudia set up a Girls' Night Out for us. We attended a Spa Party at a place called MoonDance Botanicals in Denver where we were guided through a self-applied five step facial. Tonight we had a Foot Pampering Party. Again, only $15 per person (minimum 4 people) included self guided pedicure, wine, champagne, cheese and organic chocolate! Mikaela and Bianca joined us for a party of five.

I almost didn't go. I had a horrible headache this afternoon and knew I wouldn't be good company. I could hardly keep my eyes open from all the pressure. But I didn't want to cancel last minute, so I got ready and waited for Concetta to pick me up. I'm glad I did. Tonya put some Peppermint and Lavender essential oils in my soak and also gave me some to rub into my temples. I don't know if that's what did it, but my headache slowly started to go away.

The end result was amazing! Since about August or September, I hadn't been able to do much with my tootsies - the neuropathy from my chemotherapy made them extra sensitive and touching them hurt. Since it is finally subsiding, I was ready to soften them up. The shea butter cream was heavenly. Really nice. And I am definitely looking forward to our next party there!

If you are interested in setting something up, contact Tanya at MoonDance Botanicals. She is a real sweetheart. It's a great deal at $15/person - but in addition, she will give you 20% off any products you might want to purchase that day. And she does not pressure about sales at all!

MoonDance Botanicals
http://moondancebotanicals.com/about.html
601 Corona St
Denver, CO 80218
303-263-7275

Go NoRTH!

After our Pampering Feet Party, Claudia, Concetta and I decided to go out for dinner. Since this area is middle ground for us, we tried to think of somewhere close. Concetta mentioned a place called NoRTH, which was just a few minutes away in Cherry Creek.

We got there about 6:30pm which was good timing. It wasn't crowded at all (but it really got busy after we were seated). Concetta had been there before, but it was a first time for me and Claudia. I was excited because I love trying new places.

I don't think of myself as a snobby eater. I don't go places because they're known as a place to be seen at. NoRTH, I think - might be one of those kind of places. When I looked it up online, I saw it's part of the Bloom family, which is a restaurant I think of that way. BUT, I have to say - I really enjoyed the evening, the service was great and I LOVED the food!

At being seated, we were immediately served seasoned olives and sliced bread with a tomato seasoned butter. Yummy. I think I might try some of those olives for my wine tasting....

Appetizer: Claudia and Concetta each ordered the Tuscan Tomato Soup, Parmesan, Grilled Bread. I had a bite. It was a hearty, thick and well seasoned tomato soup. The portion wasn't tiny either - so if it sounds like something you might like to try, you might want to share. We also shared an order of Artichoke Hearts with Dijon & Balsamic which was so buttery and just melted in my mouth.

Dinner Plate: Claudia ordered Strozzapreti, Mushrooms, Spinach, Toasted Pine Nuts & Parmesan Cream. She offered me a bite and it was amazing! I loved my dish, but I am excited to go back and order this one. Concetta and I both ordered the Herb Crusted Pork Tenderloin, Italian Potato & Asparagus, but I sub'd Wild Mushroom Orzo for the Italian Potatoes. Another melt-in-your-mouth offering.

Dessert: Nutella Cake: Chocolate Hazelnut Cake, Cabernet Caramel Chocolate Sauce, Fresh Berries, Toasted Hazelnuts. Like I need to tell you how good this was huh? But there was a funny story. We were all so stuffed, but really wanted to try the dessert, so we decided to share one. Concetta asked the server if she could cut us a little bit bigger piece since we were splitting three ways. She said that they were pre-cut, but she would work out something for us. So here come two desserts - one with a candle to celebrate my birthday! Haha, I rolled with it.

I will definitely be back!

NoRTH Cherry Creek
http://www.foxrestaurantconcepts.com/north.html
190 Clayton Ln
Denver, CO 80206
720-941-7700

Good Company!

We (my brother Mario & his wife and me) really like hosting fondue parties in the winter. And I have to say, we've got the plan down pretty good. Tonight it was us, a couple of couples who work with us at Sun, my brother Mondo and a friend from out of town, Eden - who came in last minute.

Karen made some homemade crusts for the kids to make their own individual pizzas to enjoy while the adults fondued. Eden asked what she could do to help out, so I gave her a recipe for a mixed drink and she kept the glasses full all night long.

After dinner and dessert, me, Mondo and Eden headed out to meet some friends for a movie. I only went to spend time with Eden cause I really had no interest in seeing "My Bloody Valentine". Thank goodness it was sold out. We made a stop at Bar Louie and Rock Bottom while we were there though. Neither impressed me much. Actually, I am lying. After the gigantic dinner we had, we ordered a pretzel and it was good. Two gigantic pretzels with and artichoke cheese dip was pretty yummy.

So, anyway - thought I would let ya know how we do the fondue parties :

• We extend the invitation to 8 adults. This works for several reasons. 1 - We have 8 fondue plates. 2 - Eight adults fit around the table nicely, and can share 4 pots easily. 3 - We have enough plugs for 4 pots. 4 - We can actually enjoy conversation with 8 people pretty easily. 5 - It's a good number to break up the food list with.
• We make a sign-up sheet for the following;
• Meats: Chicken Breasts, Beef, Large Raw Shrimp (cut into 2x2" pieces / peeled & deveined) - I only say "raw" because once, someone brought cooked shrimp.
• Veggies: Broccoli, Zucchini and Mushrooms.
  
• Dessert: Chocolate Chips, Heavy Whipping Cream, Strawberries, Rice Crispy Treats, Bananas.
• Sauces: Hoisan, Hot Mustard, Tempura, Kung Pao, Sirachi, Plum, Peanut Sauce.
  
• Peanut Oil & Tempura Batter
• Fondue Pots, Extension Cords, Sauce Cups, Tempura Batter Cups, Fondue Plates, Raw Food Plates, Straining Spoons.
• Wine! (I love Hogue Late Harvest Riesling)
• We don't do cheese usually because there's enough food without it and when we first started doing these dinners, they took a looooong time.
• If you want to do broth, cooking takes extra time. Look for a recipe that uses fresh herbs and spices instead of just using bouillon cubes.
• Other Veggies - asparagus, pearl onions, bell peppers, cauliflower.
• Other Dessert Items - caramel, pretzels, pineapple, pound cake (which I do not like and I do not put on the list, but everyone always asks for it - so maybe I will budge next time. We have never used a whole pound cake before and don't dip it right into the chocolate - it breaks off - ick!)
• Peanut Oil is more expensive, but is said to have a higher smoking point.

Well, if you've never had one and you decide to have a party - let me know how it goes!

A day with Darren...

I had a great day with Darren.

Today was his first day participating in the Pre-Collegiate Middle School Development Program sponsored by CU Denver. At 8:30 in the morning we met at the old St Cajetans church on the campus. The kids participated in ice-breaker events, starting with introductions around a large circle of 70+. Then going on to one on one conversations, group games including charades and a building challenge. Lunch was brought in at noon, when the kids moved out to the sunshine day to enjoy each other's company on the grounds.

Darren and I drove off ahead to the 2nd part of the day, which was going to an IMax movie at the Museum of Nature and Science - "Dinosaurs Alive!".

We finished up about 3pm and headed home. On the way, Darren read out loud from "The Little Prince". He really did a great job on his inflection. It was a kick to hear him read it, although he did turn to me and say "what's wrong with this author?". Haha! Same question I asked when I read it!