Breakfast for dinner

Breakfast for dinner? Oh yeah. Sourdough, ham, cheese and egg. And yes, that's a Lightning McQueen plate, thank you very much.

Snooze for breakfast.

I am now a big fan of Snooze. I had the Sweet Potato Pancakes and a side of bacon with coffee. Sounds pretty standard right? WRONG!!!  So not standard. The butter on top had the slightest hint on rosemary which was the perfect match for the pancakes. the bacon was really smokey, almost like I smoked it myself. The service was top notch and the atmosphere was great as well. I cant wait to take my wife to this place I think she'll dig it. Next time I have got to try the corned beef hash and eggs.Let's go right now, seriously it's that good. Just an awesome way to start your day - Shannon

Better Weather for Grilling on the Big Green Egg

 

My little trick for ribs is to dry rub them then put them in a long Food Saver bag, vacuum out the air so it pulls all the seasonings into the meat. Then put it back in the fridge for about eight hours.

I prefer a water bath under the ribs to make them extra moist. Try throwing orange peels in the water to add a little flavor.

This chicken kicked ass, I brined it for about 8 hours. I used a pretty standard brine recipe but added 5 spice and I used honey instead of sugar. Then before throwing it on the grill I violated it with a tangerine and and a half an onion. May have been the best I have ever made.

Not that bad weather has ever stopped me from grilling but this weekend was beautiful. This is my Happy Place, grilling up some awesome food, smoking a couple great cigars and having some cocktails. Cocktail of choice this weekend was the good ol' Old Fashioned - Just Bourbon, some very secret bitters I ordered online, Rock Candy Syrup with a cherry and orange zest that I squeezed and burnt the oils with a lighter as I dropped it into the glass. They go down way to easy. Can't wait for next weekend. Grillin' and Grubbin" - Shannon

Crave burgers are seriously INSANE!!

Last night my wife and I went to Crave in Castle Rock again. I had no intentions of ordering this obscene beast but the bad men behind the counter forced me, I had no choice. I walked in and the dude just pointed at the Specials Sign. He looked at me and I back at him and he said "It's all you bro". He was pointing at a burger called The Luther, as in Van dross. More like as in Lex Luther because this bad ass mo fo was my nemesis. Well hell yes I finished it. It was FRICKIN' DELICIOUS. Before I go on, I need to tell you what the Luther is. The Luther is a burger with cheddar cheese, fried egg, bacon, onion and......hmmm there's something else but I can think of it hmmmm.....oh yeah! TWO GLAZED LAMARS DONUTS AS THE BUN!!!! If I'm not mistakin' didn't Luther Vandross die of diabetes and heart disease? The best part of the whole story was this morning when I said to my beautiful wife "man my stomach isn't feeling so great" and she said (having momentarily forgotten where we ate last night) "what did you eat last night?" I replied "well I did have a hamburger with donuts on it"

I'm starting Weight Watchers this week thanks to Crave.

Shannon

Pizza Republica - the bee's knees

If you've never been to Pizza Republica at the Landmark, you need to go this weekend. Chef Eric created a Roasted Duck Breast, Confit Duck Leg (oh god, do I need to go on? Yes, yes I do...), Prosciutto, Fig & White Truffle Oil Pizza...while he "was relaxing". Holy crap! Just go get 1 or 5. Soooooo good. Oh and the tiramisu, which I've never had there, was stellar. Well done Eric and crew! Serious Grub Chub today. Thanks for making my mom's birthday lunch so special! (and a special thank you to Drew Shope for the "bees knees" comment) -- Drew

Heading to New Orleans.

This weekend I'll be in The Big Easy so watch for some insane grub. - Shannon

Last Sunday. It was a good day.

I cooked dinner from my good friend Joey and his wife last Sunday. I let them pick the meal out of some choices I sent them and they picked Rick Bayless' Beef Short Ribs with Tomatoes, Roasted Poblanos and Herbs and my Wild Mushroom Risotto. I threw in some sauteed sugar snap peas and we were good to go! Thanks to my wife for making a delicious New York Cheesecake.

My Big Green Egg was the perfect oven, as usual, maintaining 325 for a couple hours while the Ribs simmered away.

It was the perfect day...mid 60s, sunny, beer flowing, music blasting, kids dancing, me cooking. One of those perfect storms of goodness!

I think the kids were happy rockin' out to the music. What do you think?!

Lord have mercy! Base jumping, here he comes.

Gabriel channeling his inner Eddie Van Halen

Wild Mushroom Risotto (early on)

Wild Mushroom Risotto (gettin' happy!)

Beef Short Ribs

Browning the Beef Short Ribs

Ready to go into the Egg

The finished product! Man, it was gooooooooooood.

Big Papa's BBQ - OH BABY!!! We found the spot for BBQ in Colorado.

I'm not sure how a BBQ place could possibly be any better. The people are awesome and the food is insane, or are the people insane and the food is awesome? Either way it's my kind of place. The Bison ribs where my favorite, yes bison. Total Colorado BBQ, The Brisket? tender with a killer smoke ring. The Pulled Pork rocked, very tender and great smoke flavor. The ribs might be the best I have ever had. Beef, Bison and Baby Backs oh and the St louis style ribs kicked ass as well. The sides we had where amazing too. Great mac and cheese. Seriously just close your eyes and point to the menu and there is a very good chance that it will be the best you have ever had. I say get into Big Papa's before the word really gets out and you can't get a table. I think they have two locations so there should be one pretty close to you, if not it's worth the drive from anywhere in the state. Dear God, I almost forgot about the Brownie Sundae. Another Grub Chub kind of place. -- Shannon

What a spread!

Did someone say smoke?!

Denver Food Tour - Last Stop

Ok, before you start reading, I realize that these are in reverse order and Blogger doesn't let you reorder posts. Sooooo, if you want to read them in order, scroll down to "Stop #1" below and start there. (sorry for the hassle!)

Our last stop on Chelly's tour was Little Raven Vineyards, located in the Riverfront complex. Peter Klann has done a great job with this store, focusing on undiscovered wines instead of all the usual "stuff". Our group was able to taste a couple different wines and he taught us how to properly do a tasting. Tanette and I thought we knew how to do one, but he instructed us to put our nose in the glass and then slowly move the glass towards the tip of the nose. The difference in smells between the "inside" and "outside" of the wine was incredible! Thanks for the lesson, Peter.

And a special thanks to Chelly for putting together a great tour! If you're interested in taking a food tour around Denver, contact Chelly at 303-775-5038 or CV@DenverGourmetTours.com.

Denver Food Tour - Stop #4

In the past, you've heard me talk about Penzey's spices, but I have been scolded for not going to the LOCAL shop, Savory Spice Shop. Well, Chelly took us there for our (mine and Tanette's) first visit and now we are definitely converted. I love that they not only grind everything in town, but that you don't have to buy large quantities. They will sell you what you need in just about any quantity. The employees are very passionate about their spices, so if you haven't been there yet, just go already!