I recently enjoyed a number of small plates at Oak on their midday menu, which, by the way, is another reason to love this place. It is open for midday food, which is somewhat of a rarity in Boulder amongst restaurants of their acclaim. My friends and I snacked on some Fried Pickles, Wood Oven Roasted Cauliflower, and my meat loving friends split the Meatballs (and then talked about them all afternoon as the best meatballs they’d ever had).

Everything was so fantastic. We kept placing orders…

I could have eaten the Crispy Rock Shrimp all day.

And I think the biggest mistake I made was sharing the Yellow Fin Tuna Tataki with friends. I mean that! This is worth trying. It comes on a bed of cucumbers and is so light, fresh, and delicious.

But, what I find coolest about Oak at Fourteenth is you can tell a man in a vest which spirits you prefer and he can create something unique with flavor profiles you enjoy.

I am a big fan of Rye and like to taste new cocktail creations beyond the sazerac. New cocktail creations is what you’ll get at Oak. Besides their pre-prohibition-era cocktail menu, the beverage manager, Greg, is talented enough to ask you a few questions about your tastes and then create something unique for you. I have never had the same cocktail twice while at Oak.

Greg knows I like rye, and though I can’t remember the ingredients he told me were in my cocktail (there was port, I recall), he used local Denver-based, small batch Leopold Brothers Maryland Style Rye Whiskey. I love supporting local restaurants when I dine and when I bring small groups on culinary walking tours. I especially like to see the restaurants support other local businesses as well.

Oak at Fourteenth is very easy to find: 1400 Pearl Street, Boulder, CO

303.444.3622

Anyone following the food scene in Boulder knows that we now have more phenomenal pizzerias per capita than anywhere outside of Italy.  Where did I get that statistic? I made it up, but it seems to be true lately.  In my latest taste-test of our primo-pizzerias, I went to Pizzeria da Lupo, which is located right next to Larkburger in the Village Shopping Center.  Where is that?  It’s where McGuckin’s is, silly.

Anyway, let’s get back to the pizzeria…  Walking in, this place felt like a pizzeria.  I don’t know how to describe that exactly, but there was a familiar feel to the open kitchen, small tables, and unpretentious decoration.  I could have been in a pizzeria back in Jersey as a kid.  That’s what it felt like, I suppose.

But, unlike a kid, I started with some wine…

I tried the Cinquepassi Negroamaro from Puglia, Italy.  I can’t recall ever trying this variety before, so I went for it.  Good choice.

I also really liked that they gave us a small plate with some sea salt, crushed red pepper flakes, oregano, and shaved parmesan.  That is exactly what you need with pizza and it was great to have it right there to pinch some if you wanted it.  Nice touch.

We started with the shaved brussel sprout, pecorino, and walnut salad.  It was great, and I’d order it again.  I eat enough “standard” salads at home, so it’s always nice to order something different when we go out.

We also split the burrata.  I’ve realized that if I go somewhere and burrata is on the menu, I order it.  Pizzeria da Lupo serves burrata with pistachio, lemon confit, caper agrodulce, and flatbread.  As I was eating it I wished I had ordered a few servings of that for dinner.  But then… the pizza arrived.

We got two pies: I wanted the bianco, which was topped with house made mozzarella, reggiano parmesan, ricotta, and arugula.  They served the pies on cool two-tiered wire racks.  Another nice touch.

Kevin had the pancetta pie topped with bacon, caramelized onion, and scamorze cheese.  He basically said it was one of the best pies he’s eaten outside of Italy.  But, mind you… we’ve only been to northern Italy and over-indulged in northern style pizza.  Looks like we need to travel to the south for traditional Napoli pies to make an educated comparison.

And now… for the most important detail of a pizza… the crust.  Pizzeria da Lupo is doing something right because their crust is light and airy with just enough crunch and chew to make it almost addictive.  Even when I was full I went back for one more slice.  And then when we got home with left-overs I went back again for my last slice.  Come to think of it, it would be nice to have another slice right about now.

So go check them out.  Pizzeria da Lupo is new, so give them a try.  

2525 Arapahoe Ave, Boulder, CO 80302. 

303-396-6366

Order some pies and let me know what you think.

For this month’s Taste & Create I was paired with Corina from Searching for Spice, a blog I had never heard of. It’s always fun to discover a new food blog through Taste & Create, and then search through the recipe archives to decide what to re-create. Making a decision was easy for me- I love dates and coconut and had never made coconut covered dates before, though I had considered it many times. Now that I’ve made them and see how easy they are, I can guarantee dates will be stocked in my kitchen from now on.

Here’s a link to the original recipe, and here’s what I did-

I coarsely chopped 8 large Medjool dates (my favorite kind of date) and put them in a small sauce pan with 1 TB unsalted butter. Keep an eye on this and mix it every now and then to make sure the dates start to “melt” evenly. You’ll see the texture change and it really does seem like the dates are melting at first. Add a little cardamom- I opened 2 cardamom pods in my mortar and pestle and then crushed the seeds from the pods, added them to my heated mixture, and stirred for another few minutes.

Remove the dates from the heat when they look like a sticky dough. Let it cool for 10-15 minutes so you can handle it with your fingers.

While the dates cooled, I dry toasted some cashews on medium heat for a few minutes on the stove. The original recipe calls for almonds, but I substituted with cashews this time since I had them in the kitchen.

When the date mush cools, take approximately 1TB in your hand, flatten it into a pancake, put a cashew inside, and roll the date mixture around the nut, forming a ball. Roll the date ball in unsweetened, dehydrated coconut, and try to finish rolling them all before you start to eat them. They are really delicious, very easy to make, and somewhat “healthy” if you think about the ingredients. I plan to make many different versions of coconut dates, so I’m glad I found Searching for Spice and the inspiration to make them for the first time!

This might be my new favorite dessert, and with a Vita-Mix, it takes seconds to make… and even less time to scarf down and enjoy!  

I didn’t have a plan for dessert, but had 1 cup cooked brown basmati rice left over from dinner, some homemade peanut butter from dry roasted Valencia peanuts, and Mayan Cocoa powder from Savory Spice Shop.  Turns out those ingredients blend into a fantastic vegan pudding.

Here’s what I did-

I made 1 cup of rice milk with the leftover rice (which was cooked in water with no added herbs, etc.).  Then, into the Vita-Mix went 1 cup homemade peanut butter, 2 very ripe bananas, 1/2 cup Mayan Cocoa, and 1/4 cup maple syrup.

Blend this on high for just a few seconds, pour into smaller dishes, and chill to allow it to set a little like a pudding.  I sprinkled some Spiced Vanilla Bean Sugar on top (which, of course, you’ll find at Savory Spice Shop), and added a few pretzels for crunch.  Otherwise, it would be gluten-free.  I ate so much of this…

The chile peppers, cinnamon, and vanilla in the Mayan Cocoa go really well with peanuts, and the vanilla, cinnamon, allspice, mace, and cardamom in the Spiced Vanilla Bean Sugar pulled the whole thing together.  Looks like I’ll have to keep Mayan Cocoa on stock from now on.

Is it pizza or is it flatbread?  I don’t really know.  I think I’d call it pizza if it had one or two more ingredients on it, but this simple pizza-like flatbread was just brushed with olive oil, sprinkled with Spanish Roasted Black Olive Sea Salt (which you can find, of course, at Savory Spice Shop), some sliced olives (I got a mixed container of olives from the olive bar at Whole Foods), and some grated parmesan cheese.

So, maybe it’s a flatbread.  But, I used a pizza crust recipe…. hmmm… 

For my crust:

In a large pyrex measuring cup, mix 1 1/3 cup warm water, 1 TB yeast, and a spoon full of sugar.  Let this dissolve and sit for approximately 10 minutes.  Your yeast should get nice and frothy, which lets you know it is alive.

In your stand mixer with the dough hook attachment, measure out 3 cups unbleached bread flour, 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour, a pinch of sea salt, and some freshly ground black pepper.  Mix this for a few seconds with the dough hook before slowly adding the liquid and a couple tablespoons of olive oil.  Knead this in the mixer, adding a little more flour as needed, for 10 minutes or so until it is a nice, smooth dough ball that isn’t sticky.

Then cover the bowl- I usually put wax paper over the bowl and then cover that with a dish towel.  Place the bowl in a warm area (not a hot oven) to double in size over the next hour or so.  Then, punch it down and start rolling out crusts, or flatbreads.

I like baking my pizzas and flatbreads on a baking stone in a 425 degree oven.  They cook in no time. Enjoy!