When grapefruits are juicy and abundant in the store, I tend to buy a lot of them to make some “healthy” cocktails.  For years I had been hooked on Greyhounds, (or my version, the Greyhound Spritzer).  But all of the time I spend bringing food tours to SALT in Boulder has changed my perception of creating cocktails, especially because of the Cocktail Element.  I mixed it up this time and made a Tequila Grapefruit Collins.

I mixed:

 1 shot of Reposado Tequila

1 shot of Gran Gala

Juice of 1/2 grapefruit

Juice of 1/2 lime

a little club soda

Serve in a tall glass over ice.  Enjoy.

There is simply nothing I look forward to every autumn more than a bottle of Killer Penguin.  I’m pretty serious about that.  When I first moved to Boulder I read something about the release of Killer Penguin and that it was limited, killer, and not going to be on the shelves long.  I found a bottle at Liquor Mart and started an annual tradition in my home.

I am a big fan of barley wine, and Boulder Beer produces a smooth, complex, sippable beer.  If only I had a secret to easily removing the wax coating.

I bought two bottles in November 2010 and consumed them.  Then, this week (February) while stocking up at Liquor Mart for a Vail ski vacation, I saw 4 bottles left in the fridge.  I grabbed two more.  Gotta share this with my dad!

Sometimes a simple spice rub is all you need. I mixed:

Rub this on Mahi Mahi and let it sit in the fridge for a little while.

Broil for a few minutes on each side. I served this with brown basmati rice and a warm pineapple relish, inspired by some Pineapple Relish I received in a Harry and David gift box.

I used to make Moosewood’s Vegan Chocolate Cake quite often before I started my food blog.  It was an easy dessert and I did enjoy eating it.  Then, something changed in me.  I got totally turned off by vegan desserts because so many just substitute some oil (often canola, which I refuse to use) for butter and eggs, and that’s just not the kind of baking I wanted to do.  But, recently I was being hounded for dessert and Chocolove bars were apparently NOT going to do it for the man of the house.  After a hard day of skiing, there was no way in hell I was going to bake dessert (especially since I went all out and made pasta from scratch for dinner that night).  Once again, Savory Spice Shop came to the rescue!  I have their Mayan Cocoa, which is spiced with chili peppers, cinnamon, and vanilla powder.  This was destined to be the best vegan chocolate cake ever.

Moosewood’s recipe is quite simple and takes approximately 5 minutes to prepare.  Here’s my twist on their cake:

Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes.

Cool completely. I made maple whipped cream just to be sure my man’s sweet tooth was satisfied.  It was.  I also sprinkled my cake with Spiced Vanilla Bean Sugar from Savory Spice Shop.  This can definitely be a crowd pleaser, especially with the complex flavors of Mayan Cocoa.

So, have I gone back to making vegan desserts?  Not necessarily, but I’m going to keep this one in my arsenal for when I have nothing planned, no time, but a major craving for good chocolate cake. I just need to be sure to never run out of Mayan Cocoa.

One thing is certain- when Art in the Age comes to town, there’s going to be a fantastic party! I had the honor and pleasure to attend the first ROOT cocktail competition in Colorado at The Squeaky Bean in Denver and had such a good time, all I can say is, “man… you should have been there!”

I went with Courtney, my friend and newest tour guide for Local Table Tours. We braved a snow storm and walked into a packed house for Art in the Age’s private event at The Squeaky Bean. When I say packed house, I mean P.A.C.K.E.D. No snow storm was going to keep the Denver crowd from a ROOT cocktail competition.

I started off with a Gooch, which was one of the featured cocktails of the evening, made with ROOT, apple jack, rye, and a hint of orange. I just love rye… love ROOT… what a great combination.

Sean Kenyon manned the bar all night at The Squeaky Bean and kept the packed house happy. Courtney and I got right up to the front for the cocktail competition. The only person closer was illustrious photographer Ryan Olsen. If you’d like to see REAL photos, and not iphone photos, definitely check out Ryan’s images. I am not embarrassed to admit that they are better than mine. But, I was right behind him, tripping him up all night… getting in his way, perhaps, just to capture some blurry images for this post.

Some of the best mixologists in the Denver area created some deliciously interesting cocktails throughout the evening. I am not sure of everyone’s name in my photos, so if you know them, or it happens to be you, please let me know so I can edit my post.

I know this guy here is Tyler French from TAG in Denver. His cocktail was called the Dark and Rooted, and had:

1.5 parts ROOT

.5 part Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum

.25 part Domain de Canton

2 scoops homemade cinnamon ginger ice cream.

The judges enjoyed themselves! Boulder’s very own Matthew Jansen, chef/owner of Mateo can barely be seen on the very right of the judges table. He was so nice to Courtney and me and shared every one of the competitors’ drinks with us, so we got a really good taste of what was going on that night.

Suzanne Livingston of The Corner Office played with fire with her ROOT Brulee.

The judges had the cocktail menu to peruse, so I snapped a quick photo.

And the night just went on and on with cocktail after cocktail. So much fun!

We are lucky to live in a culinary metro area where the art of the cocktail has resurged.

Along with the cocktail comes the unique mixologist image. Check out Steuben’s Bar Manager, Randy Layman, in his plaid shirt with those suspenders and that fabulous mustache. You can tell he takes his drinks seriously. His cocktail, named Young Americans, was:

1 oz ROOT

1 oz El Tesoro Platinum

.5 oz Lillet Blanc

.25 oz Campari

Stir and strain into chilled glass…

And the winner of the night’s competition was The Squeaky Bean’s own Sean Kenyon with his creation: The General, made of:

1 part ROOT

1 part Four Roses Bourbon

.5 part Cherry Heering

.5 partt Dimi Liquore di Milano

2 dashes Bitter Truth Orange Bitters

If you are like me, you not only DO NOT have those ingredients in your home, you’ve never heard of half of them. But, that’s OK. Sean’s at The Squeaky Bean and I’m sure he’d be delighted to make you a cocktail.

So, the first time Art in the Age came to town was a blast at The Bitter Bar. The second time was Colorado’s First Root Cocktail Competition at The Squeaky Bean. I am eagerly awaiting their next arrival! As long as there are cocktails, I will be there.