I was off to Denver early this morning. Smooth ride on Southwest. And what was the first thing I saw as we descended into Denver? Snow! Haven't seen that in a while. Guess they had a white Christmas. The weather was nice with temperatures in the 50's and sunny, clear skies.
My friend, Cris, picked me up at the airport (which is at least 20 miles outside of the Denver city limits). Cris and I went to culinary school together. It's so good to see him again! We stopped by his work (Lifestyles Catering) so he could pick up some extra trays for the party he and his partner are having tomorrow night. Then we had lunch (sushi) at Mt Fugi. After lunch we stopped by Capitol Hill Mansion B&B to see Carl and Bailey (Carl's daughter). I lived at Capitol Hill while I went to culinary school. Carl was so surprised. THings have changed at Capitol Hill. He has a new sous chef, Eric, who has not gone to culinary school but from the pictures Carl's been taking of the food-the guy seems to have a natural talent for not only cooking, but plating.
Next stop was the grocery store for a few last minute buys, then up the mountain (Cris lives in Golden, just outside the state park there). They have a great home, set in a wooded area (hence the state park, I guess, lol), slightly rustic with lots of artwork. Cris put me to work cooking the things that could be made ahead. I made Parmesan Crips, a cracker made with Parmesan cheese, flour, butter, egg yolks, salt and a pinch of mustard. They turned out well, albeit somewhat fragile. These crackers will be topped with herbed goat cheese (which I also mixed up-goat cheese, cream cheese, a little cream, fresh thyme, oregano and dried garlic) topped with a cranberry compote. My next task was making a crab salad (crab, mayo, sour cream, celery, green onions, salt, pepper). We'll put the crab salad on crackers and top with a sprinkle of parsley and an olive slice. Cris made a chorizo filling and a lamb filling for empanadas we'll make tomorrow. We also cooked up some bacon for Flamekucken, a pizza type dish topped with creamy onions and bacon. It's an Alsatian dish we learned to make in school. YUM!
Dinner was oven fried chicken, Fettucine Alfredo and Sautéed Italian veggies (zucchini, yellow squash, onions, tomatoes and herbs sautéed in olive oil). We watched a movie (now I can't remember what it was called, lol), then off to bed for everyone-long day. It's a little like staying in a house at Lake Tahoe. I forgot how cold it gets when you live in the mountains, lol!
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