A Jeanne in the Kitchen

Though our day did not go as planned at all, Elizabeth and I still managed to enjoy ourselves and made the best out of the situation.  Strolling Through the Orchard – Part 1  After all, “life is like a box of chocolates.  You never know what you’re goin’ to get”, Forrest Gump.

Aside from all the beautiful flowers and artwork, the other bright spot for the day was stopping in at Bitto Bistro for some afternoon wine tastings.

The owners and staff at Bitto Bistro believe in the heritage and traditions of food and culture around the world and in supporting the craft of traditional artisan fare. As such, they are pleased to share with you some of the best the world has to offer in Artisan Cheeses and Charcuterie (cured meats, sausages and pates). Because buying local is also important to them, they source their products from area businesses, farms and dairies whenever possible.

The first W&C was opened in Estes Park in 2006, the concept was relocated to the Orchard Town Center (off I-25 and 144th Ave) in 2010. In early 2015, the company was restructured to allow for continued growth and improvements. This next chapter sees them growing into Bitto Bistro where they will expand the menu while still featuring their amazing platters! “It’s still us, just with a name that lets us grow with our own identity.”

Bitto Bistro has a seemingly infinite number of wines they offer, which is understandable since one of the owners, Barney Treadway, is President and Sommelier of the Wine Education Institute of Denver.

No matter what time the clocks say, it is ALWAYS wine-o’clock somewhere.

We did not enjoy any of the food this time because it was so close to dinner, although I was eyeing the cheese and charcuterie platter from the people sitting across from us.  It was a beautiful presentation and they looked like they were really enjoying every bite of it too.  This time, we just ordered some wine.  Elizabeth had a flight of reds to taste, whereas I just enjoyed a glass of a dry white that I told our waiter to surprise me with.  He brought me an a cool, crisp Italian white.  We were both happy with our choices.

Live, love and enjoy the wine.  Whether you are going in for just a glass or two of wine, or appetizers or a full meal, you will be very pleased you stopped in at the Bitto Bistro.   Bitto Bistro is located in The Orchard Town Center, at 14697 Delaware St #1000, Westminster, CO 80023.  You can find them online at http://www.bittobistro.com or you can call them at (303) 452-4900.

Stay safe and sat well Everyone.  ‘Til next time.

 

 

My friend Elizabeth and I had a girl’s day out, finished with pizza for dinner after Larry got home from golf and the remainder of the mixed berry custard tart for dessert.  Mixing the Berries  So I was not in the kitchen cooking at all.

The original plan was for Elizabeth and I to go paint, but once we got to the painting place, we found it it was closed.  So we headed over to The Orchard outdoor mall instead.  Though the flowers and murals were beautiful and very colorful, there were more stores and restaurants closed than open.  The whole scene was a very sad sight to see.  The streets were basically empty with the exception of the few hopeful shoppers.  It was like walking through a ghost town.  But as usual, we made the best of it and still managed to enjoy ourselves.

The plants and flowers.

The artwork and murals.

Stay safe and stay well Everyone.  ‘Til next time.

If you haven’t submitted your favorite BBQ, Picnic and Baking recipes, it’s not to late. There is still a little time left to get those recipes and pictures into Mel for our big contest. the results will be out soon! Who’s the best and top of their field for 2020? Will it be you?

We finally had a little reprieve from the scorching hot days, so I was able to take a good walk around our lakes again.  It was relatively cool and very comfortable.  It was also a pretty quiet walk.  Most of our fury and feathered friends were off doing something else, but I did run into a few old friends who were just hanging out, doing their thing.

A swallow looking over everything from up high.

A red-winged blackbird scanning over things from the trees.

A shy egret.

And a talkative egret.

A cormorant spreading his wings.

And a duck just lying low.  Can you believe this is one of the “babies”?  She’s not a baby any more.

Stay safe and stay well Everyone.  ‘Til next time.

When I think of roasting something, I think of something being cooked in the oven or on an open fire.  It is a hot, dry method of cooking which requires a higher temperature (400°F and above) to create a browned, flavorful “crust” on the outside of the food being cooked, and it is typically done in an open, uncovered pan. This method of cooking is used for meats, vegetables, potatoes and nuts.  But did you know you can also roast something on the stove too?  Long before ovens were common in every house hold, this is exactly what people did.  They would roast their foods on the stove in a cast iron skillet.  It is similar to pan-frying, only you use less oil and the cooking method is a dryer method.  The purpose of this is to give your foods a crispy, crusty coating on the outside while keeping the inside of the foods moist and tender.

We decided it was a fried chicken kind of night.  For side dishes, I used our leftover Brussels sprouts salad and then made some spicy skillet roasted potatoes.  It was a new recipe and I really didn’t feel like putting the oven on, so skillet roasted potatoes it was.  They were very good too, and cooked just like they were supposed to be; crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.

Spicy Skillet Roasted Potatoes

1 1/2 lbs red potatoes, either cut in 1/2 or quartered

2-3 TBSP canola oil

salt & pepper to taste

1 TBSP garlic

1 jalapeno, diced fine

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp paprika

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped fine

 

Mix everything together, except the cilantro and the oil.  Get the oil very hot and then place the potatoes face down in the skillet.  Do not over crowd them and make them in batches if needed.

Let the potatoes cook for about 5-7 minutes without stirring them, then turn them so they cook evenly, and continue to cook for another 5-7 minutes, adding the garlic and jalapenos into the skillet too.  Once the potatoes are cooked, remove them from the heat and toss in the chopped cilantro.

The potatoes are now ready to enjoy with the rest of your meal.

The potatoes came out with a delicious spicy, smoky flavor that went very well with fried chicken.  I used olive oil, like the recipe said to do, but from here on out I am going to use canola oil instead.  Olive oil has a much higher smoke point and burns to easily.

Stay safe and stay well Everyone.  ‘Til next time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

COMING SOON! The results of our 2020 BAKING and PICNIC CONTEST will soon be posted. Mel has been working hard, collecting all sorts of wonderful entries. I have to confess, I have not yet looked at the entries. I will do so this weekend, after we have them all. I too want to be surprised. I am anxiously and eagerly anticipating all the great recipes and photos you have all submitted. It’s not to late. There are still a few more days to get those entries into Mel at crushedcaramel@gmail.com. Show us what you’ve been cooking.

Salads are eaten in most parts of the world and have been a popular dish to eat since the days of the Roman Empire.  They were made with leafy vegetables that were topped with a salty, oily dressing.  The word salad comes from the Latin word sal, which means salt.  The possibilities of how to make a salad are endlessly delicious.

Some salads have everything tossed together and others are composed.  What’s the difference between a tossed salad and a composed salad you might ask?  A tossed salad is just that.  The name is pretty self explanatory.  Whereas a composed salad, or salade compose in French, is a salad made with many different ingredients that are neatly or artfully arranged side by side on the plate.

As with many dishes, the Chef’s salad originated by using up small bits of sliced meats and cheeses that were placed on top of a bed of greens and served with other vegetables and hard boiled eggs, to try to save money.  Some people say it was created at the Ritz Carlton in New York, by Chef Louis Diat in the 1940’s.  Other people say it was created by Chef Kevin Fabrizio in Dover, New Hampshire.  Either way, it is has become a very popular American salad that is enjoyed by many.

The main ingredients for a Chef’s Salad are a couple of kinds of meat, usually either ham, turkey or chicken, a couple of kinds of cheese, vegetables and a hard boiled egg all artfully arranged on a bed of greens, served with the dressing of your choice.  Those are the basics.  The particulars are up to you.

I made our salads with julienned or thinly sliced ham and turkey with tomatoes, red onions, red bell peppers and green beans.  Since I am not much of a cheese eater, especially NOT cold or bleu cheeses, I did not add cheese to my salad.  Larry, on the other hand, loves cheese, so his salad was loaded with cheese.  I put cheddar, jalapeno jack and bleu cheese on his salad.  I whipped up a tomato-basil vinaigrette to dress up our our salads to make for a delicious, healthy summer meal, served with some warmed ciabatta and a glass or two of a cool, crisp chardonnay.

 

Tomato-Basil Vinaigrette

2 tomatoes, cored and cubed

1 small shallot

1 TBSP garlic

10-15 basil leaves

salt & pepper to taste

1/3 cup Balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

 

Just put all the ingredients into the food processor and blend until it becomes a liquid.  Or chop everything fine and whisk together by hand.  It will be more of a blended dressing if you use a food processor, and a chunkier version if you mix it by hand.  Either version is fine.  It just depends on what you are looking for.  Since it is all going to be blended together anyway, go ahead and use those ugly tomatoes.  They taste the same, and no one will ever know they were the prettiest of tomatoes to start with once your dressing is made.

Once the dressing is made, arrange your salad then top with the dressing and enjoy all those cool, fresh flavors.

Stay safe and stay well Everyone.  ‘Til next time.

 

 

Since I do not have a new recipe for you all today, I thought I would share a food funny instead.

This would indeed be HELL for me.  Everything is fat-free, gluten free and made from tofu.  Where’s the fun in that?  I will take the fat, the gluten AND the meat please.   🙂

We were busy enjoying the day with friends, and even though I did cook us a delicious dinner, it was all things you have seen before.  I can’t always be preparing new dishes, as much as I would like to.  Every now and then, we go back to the tried and true.  We feasted on some chicken kebabs (I made an herb vinaigrette to marinate the chicken in, and then we made them as gyros) and pasta primavera, with the mixed berry tart for dessert.  Mixing the Berries   Everything was enjoyed by all and we all had a great time and a good visit.

Stay safe and stay well Everyone.  ‘Til next time.

I had a bunch of raspberries in my yard that needed to be used and I thought the best way to use them was to put them in a tart.  My raspberries are the tiny ones, but don’t let their size fool you.  They may be small, but they are mighty.  They are packed with flavor and are very sweet.

I thought the best way to use up these fresh, sweet raspberries was to use them to make a tart.  I LOVE raspberries, but Larry does not.   He is not much a fruit person, whereas I love all kinds of fruit.  He does like strawberries though.  So I mixed the berries and made my tart 1/2 with raspberries and 1/2 with strawberries.

First I made my pate sucre, or sweet dough, for the tart.  Cherry Custard Tart.  Then I made my custard.  Every time I make custard, I think of my dad.  He LOVED his custards.  Jeanne Dear, Can You Make Me Some Custard   From there, it was just assembly.  My custard recipe is way back from my days in culinary school, from one of my favorite chef instructors, my pasty instructor, Rudy Rosier.  It is THE BEST custard, and only takes a few simple ingredients.  It is so silky and creamy.  YUM!  Fortunately, I always make enough for a few recipes to come out of it, or to just eat and enjoy on its own.

The Custard

This recipe makes enough to fill a 9×13 baking pan.

2 sticks of butter

3 cups sugar

1 tsp salt

6 cups milk

1 TBSP vanilla

4 eggs

4 oz or 8 TBSP corn starch

 

Spray the cooking pan with cooking spray.

 

Combine the butter, milk and sugar in a large pot.

Cook until the butter and sugar are completely melted and bring to a boil.

While the milk mixture is cooking, whisk together the eggs, vanilla and cornstarch until smooth and creamy.

When the milk mixture starts to boil, immediately turn off the heat.  Take some of the hot milk mixture and slowly pour into the egg mixture, whisking continuously to make sure the eggs don’t scramble and cook.  This is called tempering.

Once you have tempered the eggs, you can whisk them into the rest of the milk mixture.  Whisk until the mixture thickens up.  It should only take a couple of minutes.  Then pour the custard into the prepared cooking pan and cover immediately with plastic wrap to avoid getting a “skin” on the custard.  Let cool completely before spreading into your tart shell.

Once you spread you custard over the tart, you can top it with any kind of fruit you like.  Mix it up however you wish.  The tart and the custard are the basics and the fruit is just the finishing touch.

Then melt some fruit jam to cover the fruit, by lightly brushing it over the fruit.  Using the jam on top of the fruit will sweeten things up a bit, act as a preserver and will make the fruit just pop by making it bright and shiny.

Life is short.  Start with dessert first.

Stay safe and stay well Everyone.  ‘Til next time.

 

 

I love to try all kinds of foods.  I am open to trying everything.  There are so many fabulous dishes out there just waiting to be savored and experienced.  One look at my ever expanding waistline will tell you I definitely try and enjoy just about everything too.

We went to pick up our monthly wines from InVINtions  A Toast to InVINtions!  with Janet and Bob, and we almost always bring food with us, so we can enjoy our wines with nibblies or meals together.  Bob was looking online for new restaurants to try that were nearby, and he recommended we try Tocabe.

Tocabe specializes in contemporary American Indian cuisine, combining traditional Osage family recipes with elements of modern Native American fare. Tocabe’s fast casual style offers diners eat-in and take-out, along with catering options to meet your needs.  Tocabe was started in 2008.  They have two locations in the Denver Metro area.  They have been deeply involved in the local community for years and take pride in their commitment to both the local and Native American communities. The restaurant’s setting is a clean, warm, open space with connections to American Indian cultural elements infused with a contemporary atmosphere.

Every dish is made from scratch, in house everyday, using authentic Native American recipes and traditional Native American ingredients.

The artwork on the walls is a blending of traditional Native American artwork and some of the actual Native American ingredients that are used in their family recipes.

I think is such a cool idea.  The actual ingredients used in the recipes are framed and displayed for everyone to see what they are eating.

There is tri-colored popcorn, wild black rice, red quinoa and and another grain that I can’t recall the name of.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The menu is a combination of Posu bowls, Indian tacos, salads, medicine wheel nachos, and grilled bannock, which is a basic bread that was originally rolled in sand and cooked in a pit, or wrapped around a stick and toasted over an open flame, though today it is more commonly grilled, deep-fried, pan-fried or oven baked.  You can order your meals as vegetarian or with your choice of protein.  The protein options are ground beef, grilled chicken, ground bison or braised and shredded bison.  As usual, we ordered a variety of foods to try, since they were all new to us.

The food was AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS!  It is similar to Mexican or Southwestern cuisine, which is understandable, since they are all related and have similar histories, yet it is very unique as well.

Bob enjoying some bison stew.  He let all of us try it too.  Delicious!

A vegetarian taco.

The shredded bison Posu bowl.

The ground bison taco.

We all raved about the food and we are looking forward to our next visit to Tocabe.   I highly recommend a trip to Tocabe.  It will be a dining experience to remember.

The location we enjoyed was at 8181 E Arapahoe Road, Greenwood Village, CO 80112.  Their phone number is (720) 485-6738 or you can reach them online at info@tocabe.com.  The other Tocabe location is at 3536 West 44th Avenue, Denver, CO 80211, phone number
 (720) 524-8282.  Tocabe also has a food truck and does catering too.  So there are many ways to enjoy your Tocabe dining experience.  You can also find Tocabe on Facebook as well.

 

Stay well and stay safe Everyone.  ‘Til next time.