Blue Cheese and Pear on Rye

I’m a big fan of Rye bread, and I picked up a loaf of locally baked Breadworks Rye from Alfalfa’s, so I’ve been enjoying this flavor-packed “spicy” bread for a few days now.  Why did I describe this bread as “spicy?” Well, every bar tender in town describes rye whisky (one of my favorite spirits) as “spicy,” so I’m using that flavor descriptor for this bread. Do people call rye bread spicy? I have no idea…

Anyway, I made a sandwich with rye, blue cheese (from Cured) and pear. Yum. I could go for another right now…

A Bolder Birthday Party

Happy Birthday to me! I enjoy throwing myself a birthday party each year, and my last one was so much fun I think I’ll start throwing more parties in general.  I bought a beautiful cheese spread from Cured that Molly, my friend and manager of Boulder’s fine cheese shop, put together for me. Patti Miller provided some of her wine jellies from her business Start Spreading the Booze, and I made flatbreads for the cheese feast. I put out my olive oil pickles, candied curried pecans, fudge brownies, grilled sausages made in house at Whole Foods, grilled veggie skewers, Nathan Miller Chocolates, chips, wine, beer, and a white wine cocktail (thanks to Allie from The Hooch Life for the idea). Lights, camera, music… action. We went until close to 5 am.

Photo credit: Giovanni Castillo

Boxcar Coffee Roasters and Cured- Two of my favorite places in one space.

I live a block away from one of the coolest shops in Boulder.  It’s actually two shops: Boxcar Coffee Roasters and Cured, but they share a beautiful space right on 18th and Pearl.  I’m well on my way to becoming mayor of both on Foursquare:)

I like to think I’m the biggest fan of both businesses, but I’m sure their fan-base is much larger than me.

In any case, here are some photos, courtesy of Giovanni Castillo.

1825 Pearl Street, Boulder, CO 80302

Chicken Mole Enchiladas

A man called me last February from Mexico asking about food tours here in Boulder.  He had lived in Boulder, moved to Veracruz, and was returning for a week to attend a friend’s wedding. We made a deal over the phone that involved him bringing me a jar of traditional Veracruz mole. In July, he showed up on tour with a slightly sticky bag containing a slightly leaking jar of brown paste: Mexican Mole base.

The summer came and went. I went through a breakup, which led to a cooking hiatus, and this jar of mole moved with me into my new condo and new kitchen. I had no plans for this jar until I met Giovanni- an architect/designer who recently moved to Boulder and happens to be half-Mexican. Having lived in Mexico and learning to cook from relatives there, Giovanni offered to teach me how to make chicken mole enchiladas.

There were a number of steps involved.

First, we boiled a couple chicken breasts until they were cooked through.  When cool enough to touch, Giovanni shredded the meat with his hands. We also got to work making the mole sauce.  Approximately a third of the jar of paste went into a sauce pan with a couple cups of water and that reduced on medium-high for 30 minutes or so. We also sauteed some fingerling potatoes and carrots in a little olive oil and lightly toasted sesame seeds. We definitely had to use all burners on my stove for this meal.

When the chicken was cooked and shredded, the mole sauce was done (not too thick, not to thin), and the potatoes were cooked, we added the chicken to the potatoes, covered them in sauce (keeping a couple cups reserved in the pan), and made a chicken potato carrot mole combination for our enchiladas.  Then, the fun began.

First, Giovanni dunked 3 corn tortillas in mole sauce and lay them out on a plate. Next, he filled and rolled them, one by one. Finally, he drizzled them with extra mole sauce, toasted sesame seeds, and topped them with thinly sliced onions.  It was really cool to watch.

Mole sauce is a really complex sauce with many different variations.  This jar from Veracruz was great for my first traditional mole experience and I’m definitely looking forward to my next enchiladas de mole evening.

Caramelized Onion Gravy

Three pounds of yellow onions really break down to be not too much after 1.5 hours of caramelization. But, all that time spent stirring and checking on them is worth it. Trust me.

Every year for my Thanksgiving gravy base, I hang by the stove, diligently stirring a pot of gold.  The onions will turn into a beautiful pot of gold if done correctly, and it takes so much time, this pot is as valuable, time-wise, as a pot of gold.  I suggest you give it a try.  You can also scale this down for smaller meals and use it as your secret weapon gravy base.

This year I started with 3 pounds of thinly sliced locally grown Colorado sweet yellow onions. I put them in a 4 quart stock pot, knowing they’d end up as a splash in the pan once caramelization took over.  Start with the heat up at medium-high and add two sticks of butter.  Let this start to sizzle. You want to hear it doing something.

Give it a stir every few minutes and let the butter melt. Then, turn down the heat to medium and keep coming back and stirring… and stirring… and stirring.

This is going to take some time, so plan to spend over an hour in the kitchen. Multi-task if you can because it really is a long time to spend looking over one single pot.

There eventually comes a time I call a “crucial moment” in the caramelization process because if you get bored and leave, your onions are going to burn. Trust me. As they turn into golden brown deliciousness, start stirring them more frequently. They’ll eventually be a gorgeous pot of gold. So get them off the heat.

Next, stir in 1/4 cup honey, 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, a couple teaspoons of fresh thyme and a teaspoon of minced fresh rosemary.  Mix everything really well and taste it to be sure the vinegar cuts through the fat from the butter. You might find that it needs a little more vinegar and a dash of salt.  But, remember that this is just the base for your gravy, so all of those flavorful pan drippings are going to add a rich complexity to this somewhat straightforward caramelized onion base. This can be made in advance, refrigerated, and put on the stove with pan drippings when you’re getting ready to serve the bird.

Enjoy in moderation!