another successful journal club

Tom decided upon a very ecclectic menu for journal club last week. (Since the topic was geriatrics, I wanted him to serve a "mechanical soft" menu -- which means able to be gummed to death -- but he didn't go for it.)

He started with an appetizer of homemade bacon on guacamole on Triscuits. The basic idea is that Fat=Good. Thus, multiple source of fat (pork and avocado) in one bite are better. Yum!

The opener was a cheese soup with roasted asparagus. A perfect dish for a small course, because it was rich (and delicious).

Next was a sausage & slaw served over polenta, with cilantro oil. This was Tom's version of a Frasca dish that we had recently. I'd have eaten a big plate of this for dinner alone and been perfectly happy!

The "main" course was curried beef over rice. Tom has gotten quite adept with Sherry's "Ubiquitous Curry Sauce" -- it's a house favorite.

I made the dessert: a caramel-nut tart. Tom added the whipped cream… you can't go wrong with whipped cream on top….

snowshoeing along the Middle St. Vrain River

Tom and I went snowshoeing again today. How lucky is that! Of course, my first stop along the way was at the outhouse. It was quite an adventure just to get there!

Later along the trail, I stopped for some water. Tom took the opportunity to do a little off-roading. While the trail was not terribly deep, the surrounding areas sure were...

Here was the evidence of Tom's escapade.

We had a typical Colorado afternoon. Lots of sunshine, a few clouds, then some wind, followed by a bit of snow, and then back to sunshine.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Tom and I had a perfect day today. Slept in, had a nice breakfast, went snow-shoeing, had leftover lasagna for dinner (after champagne and appetizers of fruit, nuts & cheese), and then had chocolate cake (with red wine) for dessert.  This photo was taken during the windy portion of our outing.  Since we had proper gear, and it actually wasn't really cold, it was quite a pleasant way to spend the day.

we have never seen Meyer's Gulch look like this

We have gotten quite a bit of snow during the last few days. This seemed like great timing for us -- since we just got new snowshoes, and a 4WD truck. So we headed up to Walker Ranch/Meyer's Gulch to check out the snow.

After spending ~45 min helping a young man (?CU student?) get his 2WD truck un-stuck (Tom was so pleased -- it was basically his old truck, and with his new truck -- we had no problems), we set out on the 2.6 mile path to the Boulder Canyon overlook. It was really perfect weather: no wind, intense sun, and VERY blue skies. Despite the fact that the thermometer read 27 degrees, we were incredibly comfortable in my long-johns and T-shirts; neither of us wore a jacket the whole trip.

As you can see, it was really spectacular. But, man -- are we beat! The snow was deep, heavy/sticky, and exhausting. Even on snowshoes, we were sinking in a good 12-inches for most of the route (and deeper at the end). We earned our Superbowl Junkfood tonight!

we got a dump!

We have been lamenting our lack of snow this winter. Ask, and ye shall receive! We got to try our new snowshoes today -- right here in the neighborhood. Cool.

the slicer arrived today!

Tom ordered a "Chef's Choice" slicer online -- this appears to be in the industry standard. It arrived today…

Tom didn't waste any time slicing up his homemade bacon. The slicer was great: metal components (not plastic!), easy to take apart/clean, good safety features, adequate power to the motor.

Since Tom didn't waste any time putting the slicer to use, I didn't waste any time, either: I had bacon & eggs for lunch. YUM. That's sure to get me through the first several hours of my late shift…

Mmmmm…. bacon!

For years, Sherry has been encouraging Tom to make his own bacon. She promised that it was very easy….

So a couple of weeks ago when Tom was at the Asian market buying pork fat (to make sausage), he decided to buy some pork belly and give it a go. Indeed, it couldn't be simpler: cure the pork belly in some salt (and sugar, I think) in a Ziploc bag for about a week. Then, smoke the pork belly. Then, fend off all of the neighborhood creatures who come from miles around because our yard smells so delicious!!!!

So now we have a professional-grade meat slicer on the way (let's hear it for Amazon -- I don't care what their earnings were last quarter!), and we'll be eating Tom's delicious bacon. We already used some last night for an appetizer of roasted sweet potato slices, topped with blue cheese, bacon crumbles (lardons), and chives.

the night continues at Frasca

The Secondo was "Lamb 3 Ways." Although each of the lamb preparations was excellent, my favorite was the knuckle (front/left); Tom's favorite was the confit (in the back). This was served with a Cristom 2008 Pinot Noir "Sommers Reserve."

For the dessert course, the sommelier brought out a cart that had a variety of Grappas to choose from. Tom Slover & Tom Post both had grappa with their dessert. I am not a big Grappa fan; I passed on that one…

The Dolce was an Amaretto, Caramel & Almond-Apricot Panna Cotta, served with Biscotto. The Panna Cotta was excellent: it had a perfectly consistent, very delicate/smooth texture. And since I didn't want grappa, what better pair than to finish the night with Amaretto?

our first dinner at Frasca

Ever since we moved to Boulder, people have been singing the praises of Frasca. For whatever reason, we hadn't managed to get there to eat… until this week. Our friends Tom and Mitzi go there regularly -- and they invited us to join them for a wine-paired dinner. What a great experience!

We started our evening with Salumi & Proseco. I don't have pictures of this course, but it was fantastic.

My favorite course was the Antipasto: Rapio Polenta and Confit Pork Shoulder. The pork was so succulent that it is making my mouth water just to write about it. This was paired with a 2009 Willamette Valley Pinot Gris (Cristom). Delicious.

The Primo course was Fusilli, served with a San Marzano tomato béchamel (of course, with parmigiano-reggiano on top). The pasta was quite good (what I would expect from a home-made pasta), but the truly outstanding feature was the red sauce. It was so tangy! This was served wtih a Cristom 2009 Pinot Noir, "Eileen Vinyard" (also Willamette Valley, Oregon). This was my favorite wine of the night; it drank more like a burgundy than a Pinot.

Since I did not get photos of the Salumi course, I got a photo of their meat slicer. Very cool: old, restored, and still gets used every day.