Whenever someone prepares an entree for me, I add it to my recipe database and name the meal after them. So this delicious and easy recipe is hereinfater referred to as Cauleen’s Scallops with Orange Cream Sauce. Wine pairing: 2006 New Zealand Kim Crawford Sauv. Blanc; perfect. This wine was on the Wine Spectator top 100 list last year. Not too expensive and can be easily found. If you can’t find the 2006, any vintage of this wine will be good.
As promised, I made a 2nd lunch trip to Pesce Fresco in Greenwood Village. Again, let me tell you that I LOVE that restaurant. The atmosphere is elegant and cozy, the wait staff accomplished and attentive and the food excellently crafted.
Bob and I made the anticipated lunch date, studied the menu, and then odered nothing we had pre-planned! HA Doesn’t matter, I’m convinced everything is good.
Bob ordered the Ricotta Gnocchi.
John Holly Mango Roll. My favorite thing to eat for lunch in Denver.
First of all, take a look at that picture and that big beautiful high altitude blue sky we have in Colorado. Breathtaking.
Food:
When I pull into the parking lot of my favorite restaurant John Holly’s Asian Bistro in Lone Tree, my pulse quickens, my breathing becomes shallow….. Why? The Mango Roll. My friend Cauleen agrees. I had been to John Holly Restaurant and had ordered other things off the menu, Shrimp and Scallops, Seafood Dynamite, all delicious. But it was Cauleen who asked if I had ever tried the Mango Roll off the Sushi menu.
John Holly’s Mango Roll: Shrimp tempura (breaded shrimp), crab meat, Japanese squash covered with thin slices of mango and avocado.
Cauleen and I have different rituals for eating the John Holly’s Mango Roll. Cauleen carefully places a slice of the Mango Roll in a shallow bowl to soak in a small amount of Soy Sauce. I, on the other hand lay my slice flat on my plate, brush with a small amount of wasabi, top with a slice of ginger and pop it in my mouth and savor the unbelievable combinations of flavor. I think it may just be the perfect food.
I have a quick story to tell about the Mango Roll.
Huddle up Foodies. This is a coup. Pat Argall, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, has given me permission to share his famous and sought after Cream Cheese Flan recipe. First of all, let me tell you something about Pat. He’s one of the hardest working guys in our industry, an expert in the mortgage field, a true professional and a gentleman. He makes us all look good. Pat has “wowed” us with this Flan at our annual SMDRA Cinco de Mayo party. Thank you Pat for sharing this recipe.
ok, enough about Pat, let’s get down to the important stuff:
CREAM CHEESE FLAN
Courtesy of Pat Argall
This is a crowd pleaser every time and easy to make. A bit firmer than regular flan, but not as thick as typical cheesecake, you’ll get rave reviews as your guests lick their plates.
8 Servings
We invited our friends Carol and Mike over for dinner Saturday night. The Nuggets were scheduled to start play-off at 6:30, so my dinner menu needed to be mostly prepared in advance with minimal cooking after guests arrived at 5:00. I decided on a Rick Bayless short rib recipe, L.A. Potato Salad that was in the refrigerator by noon and ready to go, and my most favorite Berry and spinach salad.
Carol, (hereinafter referred to as the Flan-ista) impressively prepared Pat Argall’s famous Cream Cheese Flan. Carol also brought some amazing Marcona Almonds. The Marcona Almond recipe is adapted from an original recipe from Ubuntu Restaurant in the San Francisico Bay area
Our friend Dan, suggested that we try out Uniscali Restaurant in Castle Rock. So Friday night, we did exactly that! Apparently owned by the same folks as Union, also in Castle Rock, and Ya Ya’s in Greenwood Village, it sounded like we were in for a treat. And a treat it was.
An unexpectedly urban place in Castle Rock, the food is quite good. The small plates are outstanding. Ambiance was loud and active, but not detracting. The place was packed. The wines were inexpensive and uniformly drinkable and good. Good value for our money. Everything considered I’d give it good marks and would go back.
The Uniscali Mixed Green Salad with roasted red peppers, fresh mozzarella and farro, tossed with pine nut vinaigrette was outstanding! Kathy managed to get this recipe and can’t wait to try this emulsified dressing.
I chose a special, Gnocchi topped with Sea Scallops and Smoked Paprika Cream – I was very pleased.
There’s nothing like cheeseburgers & fries at one of the most beautiful and exclusive golf courses in the United States; Sanctuary, Castle Rock, CO. Sheri and I joined the foursome: Paul Oehm, Jeff Little, Bob Brown and Greg Tiffin for lunch only (some one around here has to work). Before the tee-off, we all gathered on Tee #1 for the sweeping and breathtaking views of the Colorado Rockies front range. Even though I’d love to turn this into a culinary post, it truly is all about the event: Playing golf at Sanctuary.
I was thrilled to find out that one of my favorite restaurants, Pesce Fresco Bistro Denver (Centennial) has reopened for lunch. So one of my top notch Realtor friends, Mary McCollough, Keller Williams DTC, and I made plans to go. The new menu did not disappoint, with some very interesting items.
Catching my eye were:
Seafood Relleno: Handmade rellano stuffed with shrimp, lobster, crab, Nanchego and Asadero cheese, over a savory posole, with calavasitas, topped with a fried egg and sharp cheddar.
Now, doesn’t that sound interesting. If I hadn’t had a cheeseburger for lunch yesterday, I would have gone for it.
I found a recipe on Foodandwine.com that sounded interesting so decided to give it a try it last night. We’ve been having beautiful weather here in Denver, so can’t get enough of grill time. I thought this recipe sounded interesting, a new twist with tomatillas on a skewer. We thought it was delicious.
The vinaigrette is important here. Use a good quality red-wine vinegar. And of course fresh mint from the garden. I couldn’t stop smelling it in the bowl while waiting to brush it on the meat. Very fresh.
I don’t like a a gas grill for chicken. I swear by Whole Foods natural wood and added one Whole Foods Apple Wood chip. I accidentally thawed out chicken thighs, and they ended up working very well in this recipe. We loved the skewered tomatillas. I’ve seen the baby squash at Whole Foods, but couldn’t find any yesterday, so I just used chunks of yellow summer squash.
We paired with an Oregon A to Z Pinot Gris – yum
Take a look:
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/chicken-skewers-with-fresh-herb-vinaigrette-and-feta
This past Monday, Bob and I loaded up at 6:00 a.m. with a friend, Dan Stringer, and headed out to the Pawnee Grasslands for a day of birdwatching. Well, of course, this was an exucse to make it a food event also. I mean, after all, ya have to eat too.
A few weeks ago, I was watching Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa on the Food Network. She was packing a picnic lunch for a group of her friends. What caught my eye besides the food were the containers she used. Tangerine lunch bags, with matching Chinese take out containers for the side dish, parchment paper to wrap sandwiches. I must say, it was quite impressive. So, I headed over to the Container Store for my items. I bought clear plastic gift bags, matching Chinese take-out containers, lime green and black and white checkered tissue paper.
I decided on a sandwich I call “The Spaniard” a side of simple pasta salad and of course a Granny Smith Apple to match the lime green paper.
It looked as good as it tasted.
Here’s my sandwich recipe:
Pumpernickle Bread
Good quality mayonnaise
Layer:
4 slices Black-forest Ham (very thinly sliced)
1/2 Roasted Red Bell Pepper
some Carmelized Onions
Shavings of aged Manchego Cheeese
When I’m not on the prairie, I will broil this for a few seconds to melt the cheese.
We sat at the group picnic area at Crow Valley Campgound, watched birds go by and had a delicious lunch. The gourmet olives from Whole Foods and Whole Foods Pico helped.
We had a great day of spring migration birdwatching, with 74 species.