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

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

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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.

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.