Rosemary and garlic flavored pasta was a great canvas to add fresh rosemary, red pepper flakes, and who doesn’t mind adding fresh garlic to some already present garlic flavor. Stir in some chickpeas for texture and top with some grated Parmesan cheese, it was a hearty and flavor packed dinner.
I’ve been buying Pappardelle’s Pasta for years now. Every Sunday at my Highlands Ranch Farmer’s Market, I grab a couple packages of their flavored linguini, angel hair, orzo, pappardelle or ravioli pastas and then with great anticipation head over to their website to find a creative recipe for my latest purchase. Pappardelle offers a recipe for each of their flavored pastas, but if your in a crunch for time, all of them make a tasty quick weeknight meal simply dressed with a brown butter sauce.
Not exactly a super model dish to photograph…using leftovers, this Steak and Potato Omelet made for a delicious Sunday breakfast.
I had some flank steak from our Thursday’s Steak with Garlic Butter dinner. An extra baked potato that didn’t get eaten that was a side dish for Saturday’s Grilled Herb Shrimp recipe that I found over at Spice Roots. Ansh is a friend and fellow Colorado Blogger. So Sunday’s breakfast was a steak and potato omelet. Ansh, I must report, the shrimp recipe was so good, there were no leftovers at all.
I decided on a three egg omelet for my two egg omelet pan so the eggs would hold up to the heavy steak and potato pieces. I thin sliced the steak against the grain as thin as I could possibly get it. Same with the cooked potato, as thin as I could without the potato slices falling apart.
Whisking the eggs with salt, pepper, milk and a sprinkle of Emeril Essence seasoning, I poured it into the omelet pan prepped with sizzling unsalted butter. Swirling the pan Julia Child style, the eggs were somewhat set when I sprinkled in the cold steak and potato pieces. Moving the pan a few more times, the egg mixture that was still moist, swirled around the potatoes and steak warming them as the mixture set up. I quickly added some shredded cheese and then folded into omelet shape. Turning the heat to the lowest setting, I covered the omelet and let it steam for about two minutes before cutting it in half and serving on plates. Bob and I shared the omelet.
It was hearty, savory and cheesy and the steak and potato combo went well with the delicate eggs. And actually, it seemed more like a fluffy frittata than an omelet. It was a great way to use up left overs who were freeloading in the fridge.
Steak and Potato Omelet … It’s What’s for Sunday Breakfast.
Wonton Soup made for a delicious light meal last weekend. This classic recipe is really very simple to make in your own kitchen.
Especially when wonton wraps are so readily available. Except they were almost Impossible to find in our store. The Safeway store manager finally assisted Bob to end the treasure hunt and led him to a refrigerated end cap. When he handed them to Bob, he asked us to report back about the quality. It seems they’re a new brand for the store and he thought they were better quality than brands previous offered. They worked great, but it seems to me most wonton wraps are pretty trouble free. Anyone have any thoughts about one brand being better than another?
This rosemary potato strudel recipe is a great potato recipe for Easter. Thin sliced potatoes coated with sour cream and seasoned with rosemary, chives and garlic are nestled and baked steamy in a golden puff pastry.
Before I talk about this cookbook and the giveaway, I want to do a little pre-gushing about this Lamb Sliders with Tomato Chutney recipe. O-M-G, good grief, delicious. My choice for a recipe to feature from the new cookbook, Tasting Colorado.
My friend Michele, is a professional chef and sommelier, writes a food blog Cooking with Michele, teaches private cooking lessons for both adults and children, leads cooking dinner parties, offers small event catering, and she has just published a cookbook, Tasting Colorado…Favorite Recipes From the Centennial State.
Tasting Colorado is a great collection of 120 recipes from Colorado’s finest restaurants, lodges, guest ranches and bed and breakfasts.
Michele styled and shot all of her own the photos for the book. Look at this beautiful stack of pancakes dripping in maple syrup that she chose for the front cover. 157 mouthwatering color photographs bring the recipes to life and make it gorgeous enough for any coffee table, that is if you can bare to let it out of the kitchen.
You’ll find many recipes that represent our classic Western Fare, and our love of fresh, local ingredients, and the book also displays our more sophisticated side and fondness for contemporary global cuisine.
For a fresh take on fabulous food, sample the Cowboy Corn Cakes; Crème Brulee French Toast; Bear Creek Smoked Trout Pate; Tequila-Lime Salsa; Grilled Palisade Peaches, Serrano Ham and Rocket Salad; Poblano Chile and Chive Mashed Potatoes; Buffalo Redeye Stew; Sweet Corn Soup with Cilantro Puree; Colorado Leg of Lamb with Creamy Polenta and Lamb Jus; Chili-Chocolate Bourbon Cake; and the Roasted Colorado Peach-Pistachio Brioche Pudding with Ice Cream.
Whether you’re a local who wants to recreate a recipe from your favorite restaurant, or a tourist who wants to prepare a dish from a memorable vacation, the recipes you are looking for are in this book.
Being a tourist in my own beautiful state, I chose to prepare these lamb sliders from one of my favorite destinations, Estes Park. We’ve driven by the Stanley Hotel many times on our way to Rocky Mountain National Park, but have never taken the time to stop.
Little did I know that these small bite burgers were hiding behind it’s grand exterior. Truly wonderful flavors here. Lamb seasoned with mint and rosemary and topped with a tomato vinegar ginger chutney…shame on you if you don’t give these a try.
I was also thrilled to find a recipe from one of my favorite restaurants, Tamayo on historic Larimer Street in downtown Denver, Chef Sandoval’s mashed potatoes with poblano peppers and chives are featured in Tasting Colorado. A spicy riff on an American classic, I’ll blog about this when I announce the winner of this giveaway.
Michele and her publisher have made an extra copy available to me to give to one of my U.S. readers. No hoops to jump through, just leave me a comment that you’re interested.
If you’re not the winner, Tasting Colorado is available at bookstores and gift shops all around Colorado. You can also pick up a copy online at www.farcountrypress.com or at Amazon.com. Contest will end one week from today, March 19 at midnight.
Good luck, you’re going to love having this book in your collection.
Lamb Sliders with Tomato Chutney…It’s What’s for Dinner.
Just a quick post to talk about a version of Eggs Benedict that found it’s way to our breakfast table this past Sunday. Meteorologists had predicted a blizzard which was to bring a foot of snow to Denver. The storm was to begin early Sunday morning and not clear out until Monday morning. Correct in their forecast, we were snowed in all day Sunday. Armed with groceries and recorded episodes of Downton Abbey, we loved every minute of it.
I had planned ahead for food and made my trip to the grocery store on Saturday. Breakfast was an English Muffin topped with two slices of avocado, about three artichoke hearts (canned packed in water, drained), my Blender Hollandaise Sauce and of course a poached egg. Sided with some colorful kiwi and blueberries it was a very special breakfast. The lemony sauce was a nice compliment to the tart artichoke and the creamy avocado.
A runny egg story wouldn’t be complete without an action shot. I must say the orange of the egg yolks and the juice brought sunshine to the snowy scenery outside our kitchen window.
Poor wittle Weber.
Avocado and Artichoke Eggs Benedict…It’s What’s for Breakfast.
This month’s Secret Recipe Club assignment found me over at Sarah’s blog, Everything In The Kitchen Sink.
Sarah is a 20-something engineering undergrad student at UMD who is “eating and cooking her way through life in DC”. She’s admirably ambitious. Besides writing a food blog, in any given week she’s taking and teaching classes, playing in sport leagues and spending whatever time is left with friends and family. When she cooks, all pots, pans and utensils end up in the kitchen sink. Hence the name of her blog.
Scrolling through her blog posts, I came to a screeching halt at Chicken Chorizo Burgers with Cumin-Lime Quick Pickles. When I read “this recipe is for the chicken burger doubters” (which would be me) I knew I had to give it a try.
Asian Sloppy Joes
One Saturday afternoon last Fall, we were browsing PBS and came across a quite curious scene. An Oriental chef was working furiously over a stove packed full of woks, pressure cookers and sauce pans, all of them steaming, sizzling, smoking or hissing at full speed. Standing alongside the chef were mom and dad smiling proudly and admidst the chaos the three were cheerfully reminiscing over family cooking memories as chef furiously stirred, shook and shifting pans from burner to burner. During this juggling act, chef even took the time to tudor us about the safety of modern day pressure cookers.
The Chef was Ming Tsai, owner of Blue Ginger Restaurant. Ming was raised in Dayton, Ohio, where he spent hours cooking alongside his mother and father at Mandarin Kitchen, the family-owned restaurant. In 1998, Ming opened Blue Ginger in Wellesley, MA and introduced his innovative East-West cuisine.
I don’t remember what he was cooking that day on television, but I did know I wanted to research the Pressure Cooker he was using on the show. But that search saga in it’s self is for another blog post.
In mid-January, when SuperBowl recipes were filling up my email, I spotted this one that came over from Food and Wine Magazine. I subscribe to their “daily recipe” feature. The recipe caught my eye and then I noticed it was the same Ming from the simmering, steaming, smoking, hissing stove top show I had watched last fall. I had to give these Asian Sloppy Joes a try. Here’s the lead-in description for the recipe.
Star chef Ming Tsai’s Asian-accented sliders are based on a recipe his mother made for him when he was young. “Everyone at school wanted them, so I’d usually trade a little slider for a complete lunch,” says Tsai.
These didn’t end up on my Superbowl menu, but the weekend before we enjoyed these wonderful little treats. It’s a really good recipe and a change up from our traditional American version of Sloppy Joes. Don’t forget the pickle, it really adds to the experience.
Ming Tsai’s Asian Sloppy Joe Sliders…It’s What’s For Dinner
Once upon a time there was a Bronco team in the playoffs.
Photo courtesy of my friend Dan, taken sometime and somewhere in Colorado.
Last Saturday the Baltimore Ravens came to town to play the Denver Broncos in an AFC playoff game. The high temperature at game time registered 16 degrees and continued to fall during the afternoon. But the arctic air couldn’t freeze the charge that electrified this city.