Signs of Spring

Spring arrived early in Colorado and defiantly kicked Winter straight out!  The official first day of Spring was March 20th, however, I estimate that it was instead sometime mid-February.  I say this because Denver did not see even one snowflake in March, which is typically the snowiest time of year. That goes without saying that the Rocky Mountains were equally desperate for some snowfall.  Skiing conditions have quickly accelerated from mediocre to poor as temperatures continue to hover in the 50-60s, and no base to shield the slopes from the plentiful sunshine.  Instead of rising at daybreak on the weekends to catch the best snow on the mountains, Joe and I have made a comfortable habit of sleeping in. Instead of airy "powder" snow, we wait until the sun has had a chance to transform frozen "crud" into sloppy "mashed potatoes."  Nevertheless, spring is wonderful in all of its flamboyance.  In Denver the air hangs thick with perfumes of new buds and delicate blossoms.  Pastel pink and bold yellow flowers seem to magnify the blue hues of the sky and the bright greens of the grass.  I even notice that my own perennial tendencies make me stand taller in the sun's warming rays and I feel as energized as the bees bobbing for pollen around my feet.  

Cheesman Park has many happy trees, all trying on their
new springtime wardrobes.

Perhaps my favorite thing about spring is the promise of fresh produce.  I adore the excitement that surrounds the reopening of local farmer's markets.  Under those green and tan canopies lie bunches of carrots, berries and radishes, mounds of fresh peas, peppers and onions, many still dusted with the soil from which they came.  Since spring came early this year the produce isles of the grocery stores are brimming in new color since there are still a few weeks until the markets open.  I brought home bags of asparagus and leeks and mushrooms and strawberries and green onions and carrots and new potatoes!  One of my favorite holidays, Easter, falls within this re-birthing harvest cycle.  It goes without saying that I've been sparing plenty of time to play in my kitchen, in addition to playing outside, these past few weeks (and not enough time blogging about it).   

Here is a pictorial sampling of some holiday inspired food that Joe and I have devoured this Easter weekend.  Seasonal ingredients include organic leeks, locally grown potatoes and fresh-of-the-farm eggs.  Instead of dying boiled eggs this year (as my inner child loves to do!), I decided to bake a quiche with a crispy potato crust.  There are so many ways to prepare quiche that I simply call this dish, Spring Quiche.  The simplicity of the fresh ingredients make this dish shine as a brunch dish or light supper meal.  The potato crust makes such a fresh change to a flour-based crust.  I especially cherish how its appearance resembles a bird's nest!

Potato crust. Simply peel and shred one potato, mix with
olive oil and press into the sides of a pie dish. Bake and
then fill with the remaining quiche components. 

Bake the potato crust first, then fill with chopped leeks and top with beaten eggs, milk, salt and pepper.  Sprinkle generously with your favorite cheese (I used sharp white cheddar) and bake until crispy on the outside and firm in the inside.  I recommend letting your quiche sit until room temperature, or at least half and hour, to make sure that the egg has set in the middle.  So grab a cup of coffee and adore your quiche a while before making it disappear...

While the oven was still hot, I roasted the unused leek
greens with olive oil and sea salt until tender. 

Spring Quiche, with fresh leeks and a crispy potato
(bottom) and cheddar (top) crust.

The culinary traditions of Good Friday framed a perfect opportunity to try out some additional spring favorites, such as fish, asparagus, green onions and citrus.  I made a simple duo of oven-roasted salmon fillets topped in a soy, sesame oil and garlic glaze, served on a bed of asparagus roasted in a sea salt and olive oil toss.  Everything was topped with sliced green onions and cracked pepper.  This dish is best consumed sizzling right out of the oven.  As a cook, sometimes it doesn't matter how well you time your dishes for plating... life can have other plans.  My poor husband was stuck at work until minutes before Friday mass started so we ended up reheated our dinner afterwards for a late-night meal.  It was well worth the wait!

Salmon and Roasted Asparagus dinner.
There is nothing like dressing up the dining table to set a
reflective tone for a meal to honor all of life's blessings.

And of course, who doesn't look forward to dessert?  Since I was pinched for time on Good Friday, I ended up making these zesty Lemon Bars early this morning.  Joe left again for the hospital around 5:45 AM so I decided to get up and be productive, too.  I never realized I liked wearing pajamas with an apron until today! The best part about morning baking is that your final product is ready for tasting as a sweet side to breakfast and coffee.  I have them stacked and ready for sampling as a treat for my honey when he arrives home from work (unfortunately probably very late tonight).  It will hard not to overeat on these tangy treats before dinner.  They pack a triple layer threat that includes a butter crumb crust bottom, chewy coconut, walnut and brown sugar center, and tangy-sweet icing with real lemon zest. 

Lemon Bars that make you pucker upon first taste, then
smile with each chew of their sweet,
nutty and buttery undertones. 

That leaves an egg bake for brunch and a ham dinner for Easter, right? Wrong. Joe and I are going to grab brunch at a local cake shop known as Cake Crumbs before driving out to the mountains for one (dare I say, last) day of skiing this season. We plan to hit up Breckenridge as they are predicting 60 degree temps and sunny skies.  Keystone and even Vail are pretty much skied out for the season.  Breck has Peak 10 still open and Arapahoe Basin is famous for an extended spring season.  Hamburgers will probably be on the menu tomorrow night, which isn't very festive but it's easy to pass up a little bit of tradition for weather this mild and mountains this beautiful.  Besides, Joe and I are only going to be in Colorado for few months longer, so we owe it to this state to spend every minute we can soaking up its majestic geographical offerings.   I'll leave you with a "taste" of what Arapahoe Basin is like this time of year...

The entire parking lot is bumpin' with smoking grills topped
with various meats, cases of cold brewskis, music, dogs,
banter, sunburns, and lots of laughter.  We got there at
10 AM and decided we were late for quite the pre-ski party.

The "kids" at play. We are heading back to the parking lot
party for a slow lunch, and yes that includes beers.
At A-basin, you typically spend more time tailgating than
you do on the mountain itself. 

Beer and ski gear, i.e "the weekend essentials!"
This weekend Chocolate Bunnies will also be added to the list.

Happy Easter, Passover, and Spring all!

Snow Birds

Joe and I have somehow turned into ski junkies this month. We have totaled over 100,000 vertical feet, calculated by these fancy pass scanners located at the bottom of each chair lift. Last week we even ended up on the slopes 5 out of the 7 days of the week! Can't say my legs were really functioning that fifth day, but it is always exhilarating be at the top of some of the world's finest mountains. Colorado is still anxiously waiting a decent snow dump. Most resorts are still only operating at around 25-30% of their total capacity. So... Joe and I do a little dance here and there to try an appease the snow Gods.  Despite such a dire need for fresh powder, we are still having the time of our lives. 

This photo is at Keystone, but in the background the slopes
of Breckenridge are visible!

Condo Cookies

Within Colorado's grand Summit Valley, there lies a humble ski town named Frisco. It shares some of the royal blue waters of the Dillon Reservoir and happens to have a 20-min driving radius that encompasses some of the Rocky's finest ski resorts, including Arapahoe Basin, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, Keystone.  It is this quaint town that Joe and I have established a second home through April  to enable us to pounce on every opportunity to ski fresh snow without the hassle of commuter traffic and poor road conditions. 

Welcome to our winter escape... 

One morning, instead of heading out to the slopes, Joe and I decided to spend a bit of time slowly strolling the banks of Dillon's waters located just a few steps out the back door of our condo's building.   I hope you realize I'm trying to tempt you to come visit!   

We share this adorable 2-bedroom Frisco residence with 15 other friends, adding an extra dimension of fun to our visits! With a refrigerator (appropriately) stocked with little else but beer, I decided some homemade goodies were essential to balance hungry stomachs full of barley.  I dub these "Condo Cookies!"  No matter where these cookies are eaten, they are sure to be a hit.

I just have to point out what beautiful butter went into the making of these treats. It sure looks like Colorado with depicted elk and mountains scene on the box!  After whipping butter and sugar into a creamy base, flour and fresh lemon zest were mixed to create a rich and citrusy dough.

Next came decorating all of my baking sheets with miniature batter balls.

Pick your favorite thumb and put it to work! Smash a small crater into each ball while at the same time, imprinting a personal signature (your thumbprint) onto each premature cookie. 

Fill each dough nest with a tiny dip of your favorite jam or jelly, and then bake in a preheated oven as directed in the recipe below. Note that there are two options for adding jam: 1) add before baking to get a chewy jam texture, or 2) add after baking to get a gooey jam texture.  

Gifted homemade grape jam, a very special detail.

As you can see from my pictures, I baked my jam. In my option, I think they make less of a mess since they can be stacked and stored easier. This detail is of particular importance if you are transferring goodies to ski condos (ha)! Plus, who could pass up a candied, chewy jam with a buttery cookie?  

We keep a stash in Denver too.

I double this recipe each time I make them because they disappear so fast. Nothing beats cold afternoons more than mug of warm tea, coffee, or cider and handful of thumbprint cookies. You should probably make these soon... !!

Find recipe HERE.

Italy Part 31: Mission Complete

Something magical happened this week:  Monday I went for a pleasant jog in 80 degree weather - sun screen, shorts and all. Then, unexpectedly, Tuesday evening I was slipping and shivering out to my car after knocking off work. To my amazement, the sidewalks were covered with wet snow. Tree branches were gracefully stretching down to touch their roots, balancing heavy white masses. Dogs on leashes were happily sniffing their covered territory with white noses.  I guess I should start checking the weather before leaving the house in the morning! 

Cheesman Park after Denver's first snow fall of 2011.

Radishes made for fancy snowman buttons.

Second to snow, another magical thing happened this week: I completed my Italian cooking challenge!  Can you hear the confetti poppers and whistles?!  It took a total of four months to make 75 recipes, not to mention countless hours dancing around my kitchen banging on pots and pans, ventures into new neighborhoods hunting for exotic ingredients, many inquisitive or delighted looks from my husband as he surveyed the table of my latest creations.  And, of course, many treasured minutes (or hours) at the table tasting and laughing.  When I began this culinary journey, I desired for a challenging kitchen regimen that would spit me out as a better cook.  I wanted a reason to play with new ingredients, learn new preparation techniques, talk with local butchers and farmers... basically, dirty my apron on a regular basis. Mission accomplished.  

So without further ado, let me illustrate for you the lengthy (but completely worth-it) method for making Italian Panettone bread... the final recipe of the challenge.

Step 1: Intoxicate some fruit.

Sultanas, candied orange peels, and lemon-orange
zest were drizzled with rum.

Step 2: Butter  up some sweet batter.

"Sponging" the dough with yeast, butter and sugars. 

Two, 1-hr rising sessions separated with lots of kneading
produced a velvety and elastic dough ready for baking.
The fruit was folded and kneaded into the dough before
being dropped into the baking pan. 

Step 3:  Grow your dough!

After 45 minutes, I opened my oven's door
to find a golden loaf of Panettone sprouting
from the dimensions of the baking pan. 

Traditional Italian Panettone.

So, how did this girl celebrate?  She exchanged her apron for ski pants and chased the snow up into the mountains!  As it turns out, a thick slice of Panettone makes for a perfect pre-ski breakfast (paired with a hot cup of caffeine, oh course)!  This fruity rum bread may have been the last recipe, but I'm keeping it bookmarked as my favorite.

Heading to Arapahoe Basin Ski Resort.
Loveland Pass will only be open a few more weeks. 

A curious cook at play!

Despite the refined onion-slicing, egg-whipping, and squid-gutting skills that I have acquired, there was an additional outcome to completing this challenge. Something more valuable than any of the delicious recipes that I prepared.  I gained my creativity back... Something that I had pushed to the corners of my brain for years to make room for incoming data required for surviving university classes is now pulsing through my daily thoughts. I see the world around me in color again. Everything is so beautiful...  even the slushy, muddy mess that will remain in my entry way until spring.

Thank you for joining throughout my culinary tour of Italy!  Stay tuned for many more food-inspired stories to come!  Ciao Italia!