Happy New Year!

I decided to ring in the New Year (ok, ring it in at around 10p) with a new drink: a Bourbon Crusta. I chose this drink very carefully: we had all of the ingredients, and the book said to serve it in a fancy glass, which of course was right up my alley. (I thought the champagne glass was appropriate for the occasion!)
Ingredients: lemon wedge, superfine sugar, lemon peel cut into a long spiral (the book is very specific: "Crustas are all about presentation. Without the sugar rimming and the long spiral of lemon peel, it ain't a Crusta"), 2 ounces bourbon, 1/2 ounce Cointreau or triple sec, 1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice.
Prepare a chilled sour glass by rimming it with the lemon wedge and sugar. (Discard the wedge.) Loop a long spiral of lemon peel around the glass's interior. Combine the liquid ingredients in a cocktail shaker, with ice. Shake well, and strain into the prepared glass.
Yum!

snow-shoeing at Brainard

We went snow-shoeing for the first time this winter. It was COLD! It was also our first trip above 10,000 feet in about 6 months, and I could surely tell (*gasp*). We went about 3.5 miles, which on snow-shoes -- was a nice little trek.

Tom's feet love his new gel pad

I got Tom a long gel pad for the kitchen for Christmas. I think he really likes it, because he already went out and got a 2nd (shorter one) for the other side of the island. He says that food prep is infinitely more comfortable now.

we musta been nice

because Santa brought us this extraordinary bottle of wine. I can't wait to try it...

all kinds of Spanish goodness

ready

set

go!

I think this was Tom's favorite Christmas present: a box of wonderful goodies from my sister in law. She sent a package of all kinds of traditional Spanish foods (and wine!). There was serrano ham, manchego cheese, coffee, cookies, wine, and a very cool wine "decanter." The catalog that came in the package said that you could use the flask as a decanter, or you could drink straight from the flask... so since we were accepting the "traditional" theme -- we tried it straight from the decanter. Tom was better than I when it came to getting wine into his mouth (whereas I spilled on my shirt, the counter, etc. etc.)

family Hanukkah celebration

No Hanukkah celebration would be complete without a game of Dreidel. As it turns out, Dreidel is much better when crackers are involved...

early Christmas in CA

Very cool shirt from my mom.

Tom's much awaited Morimoto cookbook.... thanks, Mom & Dad!

My dad opening his new foot pedal, from Tom.

My mom, acting as Santa's helper.

My family has been fairly forgiving about my recent refusals to travel over the holidays. So Tom and I went to CA last weekend to celebrate a bit early. We had a great time.

it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Our holiday "gift baskets" this year contained home-made biscotti. Tom made mountains of them! They were great with espresso...

holiday parties galore

Although I have been remiss in my blogging efforts, Tom and I have been quite busy -- with all kinds of holiday activities. The photos are from a colleague's holiday party (back on 12/5!). The top photo is Sally -- one of the hostess' daughters. The bottom photo shows my boss, Marianne, with Isla (the daughter of my partner, Kelly). Can you believe that Isla is not yet 6 months old?
We also attended a Boulder Newcomer's Holiday party (although I took no photos), and we went to a local production of the Nutcracker (where photography was not allowed).
We also went to a Slow Food Holiday Dinner at a Boulder restaurant called the Black Cat. We will definitely be returning there....

more front-range hiking

All that eating requires quite a bit of walking... which we are happy to do.

our first trip to Sugarbeet

Last week was "First Bite Boulder." Restaurants all over the Boulder area offer pre-fixe meals (often with a wine pairing) at an "introductory rate." We had heard good things about Sugarbeet, so we went... and we were not disappointed.
We tried both appetizers, and enjoyed both the salad and the chowder. Of the wines, we both preferred the Sauvignon Blanc to the Chardonnay.
For our main courses, we tried both the eggplant (which was a bit too sweet) and the curried beef (which was excellent). We both slightly preferred the Tempranillo to the Shiraz, but both wines were quite good.
We split the cobbler & the torte for desserts... the torte was so rich it was like a slice of truffle! The Pinot Gris and the Tawny Port were both excellent dessert pairings.
We'll be going back...

what dessert was supposed to look like

Tom and I were responsible for dessert. Since I worked that day, this meant that I chose the recipe, and Tom was responsible for its execution. I chose a Mario Batali: "Almond Clouds in Vanilla Almond Milk."
This recipe used gelatin to set up the vanilla "cups." Tom didn't quite start preparing dessert in time, so they didn't completely set up before it was time to serve. Consequently, we served something that looked a bit more like vanilla-almond soup....
Fortunately, it tasted good despite its appearance. Tom chose to serve it with a champagne, which worked nicely.
We had a couple of extra servings which sat in our refrigerator for a few more days... and when we had them a later on, they turned out more as they were supposed to. After you "release" the Almond Clouds from their ramekins, you top them with the vanilla-almond milk, and then garnish them with pomegranate seeds and toasted almonds. Overall, it was an impressive effect -- just a couple of days late!!

the main course: beef short ribs

Tom and Mitzi served the main course. The short ribs were absolutely perfect, particularly on a cold, snowy night. The vegetables were outstanding as well. I apologize for my less-than-perfect photo representation of this course -- because the picture doesn't do it justice. The Barbaresco was a perfect pair for the meal.

openers

Last week (or so...) we had another successful gourmet-wine-pairing-potluck dinner. We enjoyed the company and the meal tremendously!
While Mark was preparing the seafood starter, "the other" Tom started us with this Kistler. It was wonderful. It looked like honey, and it was very refreshing... somehow, slightly sweet and slightly dry at the same time.
Then Mark presented us with clams, mussels and scallops, oh my! The sauce was so delicious that I literally drank what was left from my plate after my seafood and crostini were gobbled down. Mark & Joanna served this starter with a Chablis, which was wonderful....

my first Zune adventure

When Steve was here, he told us that MicroSquish had just given him another Zune (their version of the iPod). However, since Steve uses his iPod, he didn't need a Zune.... so he gave it to me. (I happen to be the last person on earth without an iPod.)
We had about 6 inches of snow last week, followed by many days of perfect blue skies. So I put on my Zune, and went out for a jog... it was awesome.

obligatory Sable shot

Sometimes I just can't help but post a picture of Sable. She's just so danged cute! Particularly when she's sleeping (rather than howling at us, complaining about how we've been out of town...)

Visiting with the Edes, and Jennifer & Henry

Jennifer and Henry just bought a new house in Scottsdale. Congratulations! It came with a small, blonde child... hahaha. This is us having lunch with the Edes -- including their three (!) children. As you can see, Simmona really likes hanging out with Jennifer & Henry...

Kawai, a.k.a. Cookie Monster, had a great lunch.

Keone is the latest addition to the Ede household. He seems pretty easy going as well... he and Kavi will probably turn out to be good buddies.

Jackie Greene

Sarah & Erik introduced us to Jackie Greene -- he was great! I dubbed him the "Amish Rocker," hahaha.