Sweet Potato Kale Frittata

I hadn’t planned to blog about this dish, but it was so simple and good, I thought- Why not?

Kale was on sale at Whole Foods, so I came home with more kale than a single woman can consume without juicing it. That meant kale was going to be added in to whatever concoction I came up with for dinner. I also had a dozen eggs I hadn’t even touched in a week, so I decided to throw together an egg-based baked dish (or baked frittata, if that is even a culinary possibility, as frittatas are traditionally skillet-fried…) But, I’m calling this dish a Sweet Potato Kale Frittata. Sorry that it’s technically not a frittata.

I sautéed half of a chopped red onion in a few tablespoons of olive oil, and then added a peeled and cubed white sweet potato (2 cups or so). When the potato was soft, I added a couple cups of thinly sliced kale and a half cup of chopped parsley. Next, I transferred the potato kale base into a bowl and mixed it with 6 eggs that had been whisked with a few tablespoons of olive oil and a little bit of grated white cheddar cheese. After all of the potato and kale mixture was coated with egg, I salted, peppered and poured it into a pyrex baking dish.

I baked it for 40 minutes or so on 350 and it came out perfectly, which could have been a fluke as I was on the phone the entire time and not even paying attention to the oven.

As I was in a no-frills cooking mood, I topped it with my favorite condiment: Ketchup mixed with Red Rocks Hickory Smoke Seasoning from Savory Spice Shop. You can’t go wrong with that combo.

Cheers!

A 16 at Pizzeria Locale- a culinary excursion to Napoli, via A 16 San Francisco, in Boulder, CO

Pizzeria Locale is my neighborhood pizzeria. I live one block away and take great pleasure in their contemporary Napolitano style pizza. Their pizzaiolo, Jordan Wallace, studied the art of pizza in Napoli, and I dare say he’s one of the best pizzaioli in the US, especially if we’re talking about pizzaioli who serve the wet, uncut Napoli style pizza.

When Locale announced their first guest pizzaiolo event with Chris Thompson of A 16, San Francisco, I cleared some space in my calendar.  The A 16 dinner was three courses for $18 per person, which, by the way, is the most reasonably priced meal I’ve had in a long time.  As with any visit to Pizzeria Locale, we started out with some spritzers. I enjoyed the IPA (Indian Pale Americano) spritz which, like a traditional Americano cocktail, features Campari, Cocchi Vermouth di Torino, soda water, and some of their house made hops bitters. My friend Matt, a total gourmand who had not yet been to the pizzeria, enjoyed a Rabarbaro Zucca spritz- a simple spritz of dark amaro and soda water. I’m also constantly craving Locale’s arancini, so we ordered four perfectly crispy balls of risotto to go with our spritzers.

And let’s not forget to mention the lovely couple across from us that evening: Lacey and Paul of DiNalo Glassware. You’ll see some fine glass straws in my drinks in this post and from now on- Once you sip a cocktail from a DiNalo straw…

First came our insalata with escarole, pickled and roasted grapes, caciocavallo, and saba.

I never even read the menu, so my first bite of salad with the grapes was quite a pleasant surprise. Why didn’t I read the menu? It was a bit hectic… There were so many pizza fans dining out that evening, that I walked in to a bustling pizzeria full of friends, associates, and Locale staff, all eager to say hi, chit chat… and then once I brought out the glass straws… talk about a conversation piece.  They’re pretty in Locale’s water glasses-

Anyway, arancini, check. Insalata, check. Next in line was Le Pizze- either a bianca with mozzarella di bufala, radicchio di treviso, prosciutto cotto, garlic, oregano, and parmesan, or una rossa with provola di bufala, cavolo nero kale, tomato, red onion, parmesan, and chili flakes. How is one to choose? Well, between the four of us we ordered two of each. Simple.

There are few things that I enjoy more than eating pizza with a knife and fork, by the way.  That’s just one small reason I’m such a huge fan of this place. But, I got to see a side of Locale I’d not known before- They were so crowded when we arrived that they set up the Caffè with a four-top and a two-top. It was a more private dining experience being in the cozy private room (known as Frasca’s caffè during the day), yet we were attended to as you’d expect within the Frasca family of establishments.

Let’s see, dear reader… what else happened? We enjoyed a bottle of southern Italian red wine with the meal (it doesn’t matter which bottle, it was quite drinkable with pizza and friends), and before dessert, I left the private dining room to say hi to some people and snap photos. Next thing I knew, manager Chris Donato was bringing my friends on a mini private food tour to check out the kitchen and get a behind the scenes view of the pizzeria. I jumped on board, of course. I love getting near the 1000 degree Stefano Ferrara pizza oven. That right there is something worth writing home about.

We returned to our table and found some dolce there- we had a chocolate budino with sea salt and olive oil, which I had actually been looking forward to all day since Locale posted a photo of it on their Facebook page earlier that morning.  We also sipped, in the Italian tradition, a little amaro while guest Chef Chris Thompson was at our table talking about pizza, pizzerias, being a guest chef at Locale… and all kinds of food topics, such as glass straws, that we were able to squeeze into the few minutes he had to say hello.

Writing this makes me want to go to Pizzeria Locale for dinner tonight, as I truly believe that any day is a perfect day for a Locale pizza. But, more to the point- I’m looking forward to future guest chef evenings at Locale. It’s a great way to bring a little bit of the rest of the world into our perfect little Boulder bubble while sharing great pizza.

Riffle NW

I’ve told this story now so many times, I can’t believe it took me a couple weeks to actually write it down.

I was in Portland for Portland Cocktail Week 2012 and had just spent three whole days socializing, eating, drinking, talking, attending all kinds of events, hanging out with others, and even sharing a room with someone. So, on my last day, when I had no plans with friends after class and my roomie had already hopped a flight back to Denver, I decided I was going to do what had needed to be done since arriving three days earlier- I was going to eat some fish and seafood.

Riffle was on my radar as THE place to go for freshly caught, perfectly prepared fish, so I put on my raincoat, hat, and gloves, got out my iMaps (or whatever Apple calls it), and walked from The Doug Fir to Riffle.

Best. Idea. Ever.

I walked in alone, all misted upon, and was seated at the chef’s bar. I greeted the chef de cuisine with a smile and heard the words “Salmon tartare, VIP, Fire it up.” I thought to myself, “Man, it would be so cool if I were the VIP…”

A couple minutes later I was presented a delectable salmon tartare.

Meanwhile, I had ordered the Portland Cocktail Week cocktail (which I can’t recall… ugh… so many cocktails).

But, I had just had a cocktail photography class that morning (remember- I was at school all day for Portland Cocktail Week, friends), and in class we learned the importance of maximizing light, so I put my drink in front of a candle. I was also dining alone, so even though I had a Portand dining scene magazine, I needed something to do while waiting for my amazing meal.

Next, before I ordered any food, came a monkfish stew tasting. Wow. That’s what I’ll say. I loved it very much, but it was so rich, a tasting was perfect for me. It let me know what I’d be getting into, but gave me an out so I didn’t have to regret the calories in the morning.

What I had ordered was a sole dish. I read about this dish in Portland Monthly’s Best Restaurants 2012, and it’s what inspired me to come to Riffle over most other places mentioned in the magazine. What I was presented was far more visually stimulating that I recall enjoying lately.

This fish is de-boned, but the bones are deep fried and, in this case, placed as sails of a ship, and ready to be snacked upon like any deep fried treat. Yes- I’m saying you eat the fried bones. It’s genius.

Mind you, the whole time I’m loving my tartare, stew, and sole, I’m graced with the presence of the Chef de Cuisine, Joseph Cefalu, and the Sous Chef (who’s name I don’t know), so we were chatting about food tours, Denver, Boulder, Portland- all things food, really. The Sous Chef asked me about Black Cat Bistro, which was obviously pretty cool, as he had been to Boulder.

I ordered two veggie dishes with this sole because I had been, let’s just say, consuming copious amounts of alcohol for a few days. I needed vitamins, and as someone who usually drinks vegetable Vitamix smoothies most days, all this eating out was getting unhealthy. I ordered some broccoli with Rogue Blue and squash with kale. Yes. Please. Thank you.

I must say, I was really disappointed I couldn’t find room to finish all of these plates. Despite my efforts, I failed and couldn’t even consider dessert. As I was realizing my fullness, I found myself talking to the owner, Ken Norris. He came by the chef’s bar to make sure his guys were doing their jobs entertaining me, or feeding me… or something like that. Ken was a really nice man and I told him how coming into his restaurant was the best decision I had made in a long time.

I left that evening, after one of the most unrivaled meals I’d ever had in Portland, and met Randall Layman of Ace.Eat.Serve. in Denver for a beer in a dive bar. I was over the moon with my dining experience and he told me that the most important guest in a restaurant is the one who’s there alone. They’re there dining with the restaurant, not with someone else.

So, thank you, Riffle, for a lovely meal. It was my pleasure dining with you and I look forward to dining with you again.

Dining Out during Portland Cocktail Week 2012

Portland Oregon is the most edible city I know, so I decided to make a concerted effort this year during Portland Cocktail Week to check out some of the current hot spots. My job is tough, I know…

The day I landed I wound up at Clyde Common, of course. I seem to go there at least once every time I’m in Portland. But, I must honestly say, it never disappoints. The menu is always tempting, the food perfectly executed and well presented, and the cocktails are consistently satisfying.  I enjoyed a meal with Allie of Denver’s Star Bar and Audrey of Boulder’s OAK at Fourteenth. We said cheers over some cocktails and then went to town ordering food.

Allie, Audrey, and I shared some fantastic dishes, such as a roasted beet salad, chickpea pasta in a lamb ragu, roasted chicken, and some sort of ravioli I remember liking very much even though I can’t recall the filling any longer.

The next day I had the privilege to have lunch at Olympic Provisions Southeast. Now, this place is located in an industrial area you’d never think to walk through looking for a good place to eat. It’s actually kind of hidden, but well worth seeking out.

Olympic Provisions Southeast is small and decorated to be like a private liquor library/charcuterie maker, or something like that. The sliding wall shelf ladder drew my attention, as well as the handmade sausage and meat-products.  The menu is small, but let them keep it small because I’m sure everything is absolutely delicious.

The pickles, for example, tickled my tastebuds. But, if you know me, you know I can’t resist homemade pickles on any menu, ever. And the garbanzo bean and baby octopus dish- OK, seriously, this was one of the best bites of food I’d ever had. Ever. Well done, Olympic Provisions! Not since living in Spain in 2001 have I had properly prepared baby octopus and this dish not only brought my tastebuds back to one of the best times of my life, it was incredibly pleasing in the moment.

Oh- before I tell you about their sandwiches, let me say the cocktails were perfect. I somehow have no cocktail photos, but Olympic Provisions is also a cocktail stop, just so you know, even though they’re likely known for their huge, delicious sandwiches.

I, lame as I can be, decided to go vegetarian with a blue cheese and apple sandwich and “taste” my friend’s mortadella meaty mountain packed into a bun of a sandwich.

All I know is I love this place and I’ve been talking about it now for a couple weeks. God I wish I lived in Portland (smile).

Cascade Brewing Barrel House was a stop, as it’s close to Olympic Provisions Southeast, and no trip to Portland is complete without sampling some sour ales. Beaker and Flask was also a stop for a number of craft cocktails, and that was a good place for Audrey to sip from her cocktail, then switch to coffee, then water, then back to cocktail, coffee, cocktail, coffee, repeat, as we prepared ourselves for a night that would end in the wee hours of the morning after a private bowling party at midnight for hundreds of bartenders from all over the country…. but…. back to dining out in Portland.

On my third day there, I had the pleasure of visting with my friend Julia from college (study abroad Spain 2001!!!!). After a day of classes at the Mc Menamins Kennedy School (there WAS an educational component to this week, after all), Julia picked me up from school with a good plan- First a stop at Whiskey Soda Lounge and then The Woodsman Tavern– I had been DYING to check out The Woodsman Tavern, so, perfect. plan. Julia!

The Whiskey Soda lounge was a fun place to grab a couple drinks and snacks. I especially liked how their spiced peanuts came in a stapled paper sack, by the way.

Julia and I also shared some deep fried papaya. This things was crazy looking, but we dug in, pulling off slivers of papaya and dunking them in a spicy Southeast Asia-style fish sauce. It was a great dish to share.

At The Woodsman Tavern, our lovely bartender Lydia (who is TOTALLY Tommy Klus’ twin sister, by the way) guided my friend Julia through some whiskey. I had decided Julia was going to break through her Maker’s Mark comfort zone, and Lydia helped make that happen. We also enjoyed fried ricotta balls and a jar of pickled shrimp.

So, let’s see… I said hasta luego to Julia and wound up at a Drambuie event where I met up with Audrey from OAK (you remember Audrey) and the Layman Brothers- Randall of Ace.Eat.Serve, and his equally handsome identical twin brother, Ryan of Steuben’s. Now, let me assure you- these men are not your typical Laymen- They’re the Layman Brothers, to be exact. We grabbed food at The Doug Fir, some sips at a Zwack party, and then Audrey and I caught a ride to Circa 33 for an Oban tasting, and then to Beast for another Scotch tasting and a pork extravaganza, including the pig’s head and a lot of sliders…

My last full day of eating and drinking before catching a 6 am flight back to Denver included 4 hours of classes on cocktails, blogging, tasting… etc. And then I had one of the best meals ever at Riffle, which deserves and entire blog post of it’s own, which you’ll find HERE.

Anyway, my taste of Portland ended in a dive bar with Randall (Denver Eater Bartender of the Year 2012) Layman over a Ninkasi beer and industry/life talk, as well as observing that even in a dive bar there were great beers on tap and a pretty decent selection for booze should someone want a cocktail. Overall, I’d say it was the best trip to Portland. Ever.

So, until next time… P-Town. Thanks for hosting all of us drunkards for Portland Cocktail Week. We mostly remember it…

Theo Adley: An Evening at The Kitchen [UPSTAIRS]

I like to consider myself one of Chef Theo Adley’s biggest fans. He’s young, adventurous in the kitchen, and is an overall fantastic chef. Theo was known for his unique menu at his former restaurant, The Pinyon, and became quite popular for his signature dish- Fried Chicken. After months here in Boulder without The Pinyon, many Adley fans find themselves craving his food- especially that fried chicken.

On October 14, The Kitchen [UPSTAIRS] invited Theo to cook in their kitchen for a night. I had that date in my calendar for a couple weeks, actually.  So did my friend Molly Browne- the esteemed cheese monger and writer of Sexy-Cheese. Molly’s mom was in town, so that was all the more reason to go out for a bite.

What unfolded was a delicious reminder of why Adley is one of my all time favorites.

We started with a classic Adley dish- Roasted Brussel Sprouts. These aren’t just your standard roasted brussel sprouts. Adley tosses them with cornflakes and what I think is crispy fried onion for a slightly sweet corny crunch. They’re perfectly done- not too tender, not overcooked to be a pale green. His Roasted Brussel Sprouts really allow you to appreciate these little nutty cabbage nuggets.

Our next dish was charred octopus with a fried egg, potatoes, and celery. I don’t know if I’d ever had that combination in a dish before, but it worked.

And then she came to the table… A bird so lovely she could only have been fried in Adley’s kitchen. Theo is a chef who really loves a perfectly fried chicken. He takes great care in bathing the bird in a spiced buttermilk bath and spice blend for something like twenty hours before it’s dredged in potato flour, which also makes his bird gluten free- a huge bonus in this town. Here’s a fact for you: Theo Adley’s fried chicken is one of the best bites in Boulder, period.

So, many thanks to The Kitchen [UPSTAIRS] for hosting such a cool culinary evening. I’m looking forward to more guest chef events.