Roasted Lamb Loin with Harissa, Toasted Israeli Cous Cous with Preserved Lemon & Grilled Spring Onion

Got the courage up to cook with preserved lemon after a few positive experiences. After consulting the Flavor Bible, I found this was a flavor that didn't have a lot of descriptive data to leverage. There was a good testimonial in FB that kept me brave in spite of some internet postings suggesting the flavor of "bleach" as a component / aroma. What I did know from sampling this in the past was that a very little went a long way (can't recall what dish, all I know was there was seafood involved and it was at Mizuna).

From gastronomic guesswork

As long as you're gentle, preserved lemon is a little thing of beauty. Worked perfectly in the toasted cous cous as a balance with the sweetness of the spring onion. The harissa was a lively accent to the tried and true flavors of garlic, shallot, and rosemary with the lamb.

Colt & Gray - Best New Restaurant in Denver

Celebrated my birthday not too long ago and decided to crash the happy hour scene on a bitterly cold Friday night at Colt & Gray. Here's what we sampled ...

- Crispy Pig Trotter with brown mustard aioli
- Housemade Duck prosciutto, HM pate, local goatsmilk blue cheese
- Mussels with green curry
- Bone Marrow
- Truffled Chestnut soup
- House Made Ravioli with fresh ricotta, guanciale, Hazel Dell wild mushrooms and arugula

Drinks included a custom elderberry bitters martini (the mixologist is a savant), and an impossible to find Great Divide Oaked Hades. Colt & Grey is pretty darn close to the restaurant I'd want to open if I had the courage and talent to do so - cozy, substance over style, exceptional attention to the customer, crafty wisdom applied to everything that hits your plate, and meticulous attention to flavor nuance.

We'll be back soon - first impression is that Colt & Gray is THE Best New Restaurant in Denver.

Toad in the Hold Redux - Scrambled Eggs with Guanciale, Neufchâtel & Chives

A dressed up version of a toad in the hole.

From gastronomic guesswork

Restaurant Home

Now that we're obviously regulars at Restaurant Home, I thought it was time to give the team there some props. When I think of Home, the feelings are elation, joy, and an unquenchable desire to return - like returning home after a long journey when you long for the unctuous flavor of what you know makes you happy, whole, and centered. The menu is a dichotomy of Old School comfort food and New American dining. The wine list more than competant, the beer list admirable even among aficionados - e.g. Dogfish Head 90 minute, Stone IPA, Dry Dock, Stone Arrogant Bastard Oak Aged, etc.

The Five Napkin Burger is honestly the first burger my wife has not drown in catchup, in fact it was SHOCKINGLY eaten sans katsup. I have a picture of this small work of art, but I decided against posting it (for now) as it will ruin the surprise. Just go get one and tell me what you think - this will definitely be on my "Best Burger in Denver 2010" list (subject for another post).

The tuna sashimi with nori cracker is amazing, so too the pot roast sliders, buttermilk mashers, and ahi entree. Frites are really frites. Staff is really friendly, accommodating of families, and top drawer in service. The food is locally sourced whenever possible, making for incredibly fresh and nutritious fair. We've been there 10 times in 2 months, the hostess and Brandon are always eager to greet us with twins in tow, and I can't wait for our next visit.

Chef Tarbell has made me really happy, finally there is a restaurant close enough to home and substantial enough in culinary depth & breadth to make me a regular - can't remember that happening in the last decade. Highly recommended!

Halibut Cheeks in Chardonnay, Summer Savory, & Lampong Peppercorn Sauce, with Wilted Dandelion Greens & Hashbrowns

Peak of the season for Halibut means that if you live in such a land-locked place as Denver, you still have a chance to come across some cheeks. This is such a great ingredient, you just need to coax it a little to make something memorable.

The flavor pairing herein was to leverage a great white wine my wife and I came across at a recent charity benefit - 2006 Summerhouse Chardonnay from Marlborough, NZ (easily a 93+ pt wine), evolve this into a subtle loose sauce with a slightly rich but herbal and acidic presence, contrast that with the garlic-infused bitterness of dandelions greens, and find a little textural crunch from the potatoes. The halibut cheeks came from asking nicely at Whole Foods, these were gently sauteed in a mix of olive oil and butter, seasoned with Portuguese Sea Salt and Tellicherry pepper, and finished with an infusion of the Chardonnay, garlic, summer savory, Lampong peppercorn, and a touch of pasture butter - I used a cheesecloth to steep the aromatics in a cup of the wine for 20 minutes over low heat, then raised the heat to medium low and tempered the sauce by shaking the pan (a tip from Hervé This) with a tablespoon of Organic Valley Pasture Butter. As my wife pointed out, cheeks have the texture of lobster (in a good way). Get 'em while you can, perfect Spring fare. Kudos to Divino for exposing us to the Summerhouse - truly an exceptional Chardonnay with mineral and toast notes that makes you remember what Old World wines can be, and thanks for the tip on Chartreuse VEP.

From gastronomic guesswork

Grassfed Beef Short Ribs braised in porcini, szechuan peppercorns, & rosemary

Playing with the incomparable szechuan peppercorn here, worked very nicely with rosemary and porcini adding a citrus and slightly sharp bite to the Italian flavors here.

From 2009-12-29

Tenderloin Head Roast Sous Vide with Truffled Home Fries

Pulled out the new infrared thermometer to sous vide the head roast in garlic, French thyme, rosemary, and shallots. Cooked for 2 hours at 150F, finished under the broiler for 10 minutes after resting the meat to just above room temp. The home fries were dry roasted yukon gold slices, flipped after 15 minutes at 450F, then finished for 10 more minutes. The finishing salt was a hand harvested pink sea salt and the finishing oil was black truffle infused.

From 2009-12-26

Christmas Menu 2009

* Beef Tenderloin sous vide in marjoram, garlic, white onion and manzanillo olive oil
* Potatoes Anna
* Roasted Asparagus with Black Truffle Oil
* Ridge Lytton Springs single vineyard Zinfandel 2006

Turkey Legs on Christmas Eve

From 2009-12-24

Raw Cheddar and Cayenne Mac & Cheese

Just a simple reinterpretation on mac and cheese. The cheddar was raw milk sharp cheddar from Organic Valley, melted in a Longmont Dairy milk base with a splash of sherry vinegar, 1/2 a cup of fresh organic tomatoes, a teaspoon of cayenne chile powder, and sea salt.

From 2009-11-29

Roasted Leeks in Smashed Potatoes

Killer flavor combo - totally overshadowing the rather good braised short ribs in red wine and demi glace. The choppted leeks were quarted, sliced to 1/4" and roasted at 450F in a little salt and olive oil. These were incorporated into mashed potatoes with a touch of half and half, sea salt, and white pepper. Roasted leeks rule! Epic steakhouse dish waiting to happen here...

From 2009-11-15

Spinach, Balsamico & Pancetta

Steamed the spinach, crisped the pancetta, reduced some balsamic vinegar by 1/2 with the pancetta drippings, 3 twists of black pepper and a dash of salt.

From 2009-11-15

Hot Sauce Braised Pork Butt with Kalamata Tapenade

Making the most of good food, served the second time, is a goal of mine. Leftovers is the wrong word here, proximal reinterpretations might be a better one. Had the most amazing hot sauce at our friends wedding in the fall. Quizzed the catering chef and found out that this was a butter mounted Louisiana hot sauce of his own design. I asked for the leftover and they gave me a quart of the nectar.

From 2009-10-25

The next day, straight-away to whole foods for some all natural pork butt. Cut into 2" thick ribs of meat, the pork was braised in the hot sauce at 200F for 4 hours. This was served with the tapenade as a fatty and briney way to cut the heat. Very interesting and soon to be repeated flavor theme, the heat was met with unctuous salty goodness, a meal that was quickly devoured.

What a long strange trip it has been ...

Too much, too fast this autumn. Anyway, I have been cooking and I hope you're all still hungry out there. Happy 2010, forthcoming are some recent experiments, food adventures from the Foodbuzz 2009 Festival, and the occasional indulgence in noteworthy wines and craft beers - with a set of new drum sieves, a commercial grade infrared thermometer, several amazing finishing salts, and a new can opener with now sharp edge ... I'm kinda-gadgety, kinda-finicky, kinda-particular, and alway kindageeky ... moreover, I'm back.

Hatch Chile Corn Chowder

Just a little corn chowder, this time with 5 of 10 spicy hatch chiles. The sausage is a sweet Italian fennel sausage.

From 2009-10-19