Hits, Misses, and Black-eyed peas

Well, the holiday cooking and eating marathon for 2010 has just about come to an end. We ate a lot of great food this year. There were many standout dishes, a few misses and a couple of ‘what the @#$% happened to that??’ We risked and experimented with new recipes and techniques, made old favorites, and learned something new with each and every dish. I learned that it doesn’t matter who the renowned chef is that writes the recipe, if you don’t test it first you may not like the results. I learned that if you trust your instincts, you’re likely to be happier with what you serve. I learned that if the dish doesn’t turn out the way you hoped it would, it’s not the end of the world. As in life, cooking is an exciting journey, not a destination. Just when you think you’ve tasted or perfected the best macaroni and cheese, ever, someone reworks the dish in a totally new and unexpected way, and blows your socks off.  God, please grant me the open mindedness to recognize and appreciate bold, new, unconventional, and innovative approaches to food and the ability to enjoy it for the rest of my life. Amen!

I relearned that chefs have huge egos. Deservedly so, they work long, hot, excruciating hours, for minimal compensation, and they work tirelessly to satisfy one of our basic needs. Ergo; if you would like special treatment in a restaurant, seek out the chef, chef de cuisine, chef owner, sous chef, whoever happens to be in charge of the kitchen, and thank them. Treat them with respect, buy them a drink, compliment their food, and ask them to cook for you. Chefs love to cook outside the confines of their daily menus. Make it worth their while and you will be rewarded with a meal you won't soon forget. Chefs are artists, if you understand and appreciate them, they will perform for you.

So here is the good, the bad, and the ugly from our 2010 holiday meals. We’d love to hear about your successes and mishaps, please share your comments!

Misses:

We had a few glitches with our rib roast this Christmas. First, we couldn’t keep our new butane torch lit. Try as we might, the blasted thing would not ignite, so we had to use a different method for roasting which turned out just fine. The biggest issue was with the herbed salt crust which we applied a few days prior to roasting. Even after thoroughly wiping off the crust, the exterior of the roast was way too salty. I was bloated for two days. Thankfully, the interior was delicious. Next time we’ll season the roast before it goes into the oven as we’ve done in the past with excellent results. The roasting method we used was the tried and true ‘low and slow’ method. Roasting at 250 degrees until the internal temp reached 110, then removed the roast and allowed to rest for about 15 minutes, raised the oven temp to 500, put the roast back in and achieved a beautiful brown crust in about 10 minutes. Too bad the crust tasted like the Great Salt Lake and was completely inedible.

Hubby says he’s tired of Rib Roast, wants to do tenderloin next year. Sounds good to me, just hold the salt…..

Yorkshire pudding: We didn’t make the big fluffy ones from Jamie Oliver, long story but the end result is ours turned out more like hockey pucks. We can’t figure out why they didn’t puff up, I’m going to make Jamie’s just to test the recipe because they look so great. They should go well with just about anything.

Hits:

On a sweeter note, Tyler Florence’s whipped sweet potatoes with bananas and honey which we served at Thanksgiving were fantastic. It was hands down the favorite dish this year. 

The turkey was wonderful too. We purchased two smaller birds as we like to have more dark meat; Jack deboned the birds, brined then roasted them. Delish! Heard some people had a salt issue with their brined birds, we rinsed ours thoroughly after brining and did not have a problem. Comments?

Made a delicious warm rice pudding with blueberries on Christmas Eve for dessert. Made it with Carnaroli rice which is used for making risotto, Aborio will work just as well. It was lovely. Many years ago I worked at Strings, a wonderful Denver restaurant owned by Noel Cunningham, the king of charititable giving. Their first pastry chef was a crazy Brit named Woody. He used to make an amazing blueberry rice pudding, which when warm out of the oven made me weak in the knees. I was the daytime bartender, and had the pleasure of enjoying many wonderful desserts prepared by him. He was delightful man;I miss him and think of him often. 

Another hit this year was the French toast made from Panettone bread for Christmas brunch.  Lordy, it was good. Panettone bread is available during Christmas and New Years, if you haven’t tried it, you’re really missing out. It’s great just plain and lightly toasted, but it truly shines as decadent French toast. You can add rum, Amaretto, or Grand Marnier to the batter, or keep it simple. Add orange zest, vanilla, cinnamon, whatever sounds tasty. You can stuff it, top it with berries, make elegant individual servings or make it in a large pan for a party. It’s easy, inexpensive, travels well if you’re bringing a dish, and best of all it tastes fabulous. I’ve never made the bread from scratch but it would be fun to try.  

Beware, it’s addictive. Even cold leftover Panettone French toast is impossible to pass up. The few remaining pieces lasted all of about 1 hour in the fridge when brunch was over.

Thank you for reading and following our blog. Please feel free to pass it along to any friends who you think might enjoy it. We’re looking forward to a stronger economy in the year ahead as Roxanne and I gear up for a busy and exciting new year in real estate. We appreciate your referrals more than you can possibly know and hope that you will continue to think of us  when you hear of someone who is buying or selling their home. You rock!

720-979-3184

Becky@innmatchmakers.com

What’s up with eating

those Black Eyed Peas on New Year’s Day?

Typically a southern tradition as the practice of eating black-eyed peas for luck is generally believed to date back to the Civil War. At first planted as food for livestock, and later a food staple for slaves in the South, the fields of black-eyed peas were ignored as Sherman's troops destroyed or stole other crops, thereby giving the humble, but nourishing black-eyed pea an important role as a major food source for surviving confederates.

  

Today, the tradition of eating black-eyed peas for the New Year has evolved into a number of variations and embellishments of the luck and prosperity theme including:

• Served with greens (collards, mustard or turnip greens, which varies regionally), the peas represent coins and the greens represent paper money. In some areas cabbage is used in place of the greens.
• Cornbread, often served with black-eyed peas and greens, represents gold.
• For the best chance of luck every day in the year ahead, one must eat at least 365 black-eyed peas on New Year's Day.
• Black-eyed peas eaten with stewed tomatoes represent wealth and health.
• In some areas, actual values are assigned with the black-eyed peas representing pennies or up to a dollar each and the greens representing anywhere from one to a thousand dollars.
• Adding a shiny penny or dime to the pot just before serving is another tradition practiced by some. When served, the person whose bowl contains the penny or dime receives the best luck for the New Year, unless of course, the recipient swallows the coin, which would be a rather unlucky way to start off the year.
• The catch to all of these superstitious traditions is that the black-eyed peas are the essential element and eating only the greens without the peas, for example, will not do the trick.

I am an avid fan of black-eyed peas as I grew eating them from my grandmother’s kitchen. She and my grandfather owned a farm in rural New Mexico. They raised their own beef, pork, chicken, and eggs and tilled a large garden each year. They always had a dairy cow for fresh milk and butter. She was the consummate country cook and I loved her food. I will concede that enjoying the flavor of black-eyed peas, frequently described as nutty, earthy and buttery, is an acquired taste. Whether to enhance or disguise the flavor, depending on your point of view, there are several popular ways to serve black-eyed peas, other than as a simple side dish:

Hoppin' John - Although served throughout the year as well, Hoppin' John is one of the most traditional New Year's Eve and New Year's Day dishes in the South. Black-eyed peas are cooked with rice, pork (such as chopped pork or ham, hog jowls or hambones, fatback or bacon) and seasonings. Sometimes chopped onions and hot sauce are added. For a delicious vegetarian version leave out the ham hocks and use a good vegetable broth instead of the 6 cups of water for added flavor.

• one pound dried black-eyed peas
• two small smoked ham hocks or meaty ham bone
• two medium onions divided
• three large cloves garlic halved
• one bay leaf
• 1 cup long grain white rice
• 1 can (10 to 14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes with chile peppers, juices reserved
• 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
• 3 ribs celery chopped
• 1 jalapeno or serrano pepper, minced
• 2 tspcajun or creole seasoning
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 3/4 tsp ground cumin
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 4 green onions, sliced

Preparation:

In a large Dutch oven or kettle, combine the black-eyed peas, ham bone or ham hocks, and 6 cups water. Cut 1 of the onions in half and add it to the pot along with the garlic and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer gently until the beans are tender but not mushy, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Remove the ham bone or hocks, cut off the meat; dice and set aside. Drain the peas and set aside. Remove and discard the bay leaf, onion pieces, and garlic.

Add 2 1/2 cups of water to the pot and bring to a boil. Add the rice, cover, and simmer until the rice is almost tender, about 10 to 12 minutes.

Mince the remaining onion then add to the rice along with the peas, tomatoes, and their juices, red and green bell pepper, celery, jalapeno pepper, Creole seasoning, thyme, cumin, and salt. Cook until the rice is tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in the sliced green onions and the reserved diced ham. Serve with hot sauce and freshly baked cornbread.

Black-eyed peas salad with Basil Dressing - a light and tasty way to enjoy those peas....

• 3 cups cooked black-eyed peas
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• one small sweet red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped

Basil Dressing:

• 1/4 cup champagne vinegar
• 3 Tbls chopped fresh basil
• 2-3 medium cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 1/2 tsps sugar
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 tsp salt
• 1 cup olive oil
• fresh basil for garnish

Preparation:

In a serving bowl combine the black-eyed peas, 1/4 tsp salt, chopped onion, celery and red pepper. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, chopped basil, garlic, sugar, remaining 1/4 tsp salt & pepper. Gradually whisk in the oil until well blended.

Combine peas and dressing, cover and chill thoroughly at least two hours or overnight. Garnish with fresh basil and serve. Serves 6.

Enjoy your Black-eyed peas but remember, as with any legume, don't forget the BEANO! 

What are your New Year’s Eve plans? Big night out on the town with dinner, dancing and party favors? Early dinner out then home before the crazies come out? Or will you be hangin’ at home and watching the festivities on T.V. like Jack and I? We both worked too many New Year’s in restaurants, so our annual tradition is sharing a nice bottle or two of bubbly, noshing on good caviar, oysters, crab, a variety of cheeses and salumi, and attempting to stay up ‘till midnight. The staying up ‘till midnight thing doesn’t happen very often, but we give it our best shot.

Happy Eating, see you in 2011!





The Carnivores Holy Grail

Christmas Dinner & Standing Rib Roast, the two are synonymous. They go together like a glass of wine and another glass of wine. I can’t imagine having one without the other. (One glass of wine?..... Really?)

An exceptional cut of prime rib is, in my mind the very best that beef has to offer.  There’s prime rib so luscious and tender that it literally melts in your mouth. Then there’s what I call ‘Las Vegas prime’, it’s cheap, tough, chewy and flavorless. When you invest a substantial amount of money in the purchase of a rib roast you obviously want the former not the latter. The quality of the meat you purchase is as important as the preparation, if not more so. The basic cooking technique for a rib roast is simple, a little patience and a good thermometer and you will have a masterpiece at dinner time. But no cooking technique can save a poor quality piece of meat. Know where your meat comes from; buy from a local butcher if possible. Purchase the highest grade of meat your budget will allow. If prime is out of the question, it’s running around $12.99 per pound at Costco and King Soopers right now.  Most of the grocers around town have their rib roasts on sale this time of year, Whole Foods has choice rib roasts at $10.99 lb and choice dry aged at 17.99 lb. Kings, Safeway, Sprouts, and Sunflower are all running specials between $4.99 & $5.99 lb for choice. There are varying qualities of ‘choice’ meat, buy from a butcher / grocer that you know and trust.  With proper preparation and cooking a choice roast will be delicious.

The general rule of thumb is low and slow. There are differing opinions as to how to achieve a beautiful brown crust, I’ll give you several options and you can decide which one is best suited for your kitchen and cooking skills.

The Tim Allen Home Improvement Special: Courtesy, Thomas Keller, from his acclaimed ‘Ad Hoc at Home’ cookbook.  (If you really like to cook you gotta buy this book, period.)

Blow Torch Prime Rib Roast: This is manly high adventure cooking. We’re not talking wimpy butane-fired torches here; we’re talking a propane blowtorch from the hardware store.

“I cook rib roast in a very low oven to ensure that it is a rosy medium-rare from the very center almost to its outer edges. But we like the dark caramelized surface, for flavor and for visual appeal, which is typically achieved through roasting at high heat.

We discovered that if you start by giving meat a quick heating using a blowtorch, though it won’t look particularly brown after the toasting, it will develop a beautifully browned surface even in that very low oven.

Propane torches are inexpensive and easy to use. Available at most hardware stores, they usually cost less than $20; replacement cylinders are usually less than $5. Avoid the smaller butane-fired torches sold at gourmet shops; propane torches are more effective.

You can use a torch for caramelizing sugar on crème brûlee, browning meringue, and, as we do, giving a crust to your roast beef. Be sure to store your torch in a safe place.”



Before attempting the torch, hubby recommends that you watch this informative video. He’s watched it countless times to ensure that he has the proper technique:

Blowtorch Prime Rib Roast Recipe

serves 6

Ingredients for Prime Rib Roast

One 2-bone center-cut rib roast (about 4½ pounds), trimmed of excess fat
Kosher salt
Coarsely ground black pepper
Gray salt or coarse sea salt
Horseradish Cream (recipe follows)

Directions for Prime Rib Roast

Position an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 275°F.

Put the roast on a roasting rack in a roasting pan. Hold a blowtorch about 1 inch from the roast and turn to lightly brown the fat on all sides; the idea is to start the fat rendering and to torch the meat just until the surface begins to turn gray. Season the roast generously with salt and pepper.

Transfer to the oven, with the meat toward the back of the oven, and cook until the roast registers 128°F in the center. The total cooking time will be about 2 hours, but begin to check the temperature after 1½ hours. Remove from the oven and let rest in a warm spot for at least 30 minutes for medium-rare.

To carve, cut the meat away from the bones. Separate the bones and put them on a serving platter. Cut the roast in half through the center, turn each piece cut side down, and slice straight down into slices that are about ½ inch thick. Arrange the meat on the platter and sprinkle with gray salt and pepper.

Serve with the horseradish cream on the side.

From our family to yours, we wish you a most loving and joyous Holiday Season. May next year bring you adventure, enlightenment, prosperity, and peace within. Thank you for reading our blog, your comments and ideas are invaluable. If you enjoy our blog please share it with your friends and family, the world needs more foodies!

Happy Eating!

Becky & Jack

Horseradish Cream Recipe

makes about 1 cup

Ingredients for Horseradish Cream

½ cup very cold heavy cream
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
About ¼ cup drained prepared horseradish

½ teaspoon fleur de sel, or to taste
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste

Directions for Horseradish Cream

This is a basic, and very easy, horseradish sauce—prepared horseradish and cream, seasoned with salt and pepper and a little bit of sherry vinegar. 

Put the heavy cream and vinegar in a medium bowl and whisk until the cream holds a soft shape. Whisk in the horseradish, salt, and pepper.

Refrigerate in a covered container for up to 1 week.

If you have Arsonphobia: ‘fear of fire’, (I’m not kidding, look it up yourself); then you may want to try this alternative method to achieve the same beautiful juicy results without the use of flame throwers.

The ultimate goal is a crusty brown crust, and rosy pink meat with very little ‘grey’ meat. ‘Grey’ meat is the color between the crust and the pink.  Low and slow is still the rule and the meat needs to be dry when it goes into the oven. If your meat is moist it will steam, not roast.  There are several ways to achieve this:

1. Remove all packaging, place roast on a rack on a sheet pan, salt heavily with kosher salt and allow to sit in the fridge uncovered for 2-3 days. Brush off salt crust prior to roasting, rub with canola or olive oil and roast.

2. Make a thick compound of Kosher salt, pepper, rosemary, garlic, spread over roast, place on a rack then on a baking sheet and allow to sit in fridge, uncovered for 2-3 days. Brush off seasoning crust prior to roasting, rub with canola or olive oil, roast.

3. Place roast on a rack on top of a sheet pan, cover with clean dry towels and place in fridge. Replace towels daily for three days. Prior to roasting, rub all over with canola or olive oil, salt & pepper.

Remember brining the turkey? This is essentially the same thing but with beef. You are seasoning and preparing the meat for roasting.

Always remove the roast from the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature before going into the oven, about 1 hour.

Roasting:

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. Place roast on a rack in roasting pan in bottom 1/3 of oven. For a classically juicy, red, rare piece of meat, remove the roast from the oven when the internal temperature reaches 115. Lovers of ultra-rare, super tender beef that quivers like jelly may pull their ribs at 110. If you are a fan of medium rare beef, pull at 120.

Cover roast with foil and let rest until carry over temperature stops climbing, (about 15 minutes) Increase oven temperature to 500 degrees F. Remove foil and place roast back in oven for about 10 minutes, or until you’ve reached the desired crust. Remove and keep covered until ready to serve, allowing to rest at least 15-20 minutes.

Yorkshire Pudding

If you’ve not had the real thing, you probably think this is a disgusting misrepresentation of a muffin. When served with roast beef, a true Yorkshire pudding is a lovely accompaniment.

Recipe from Jamie Oliver – He’s a Brit and a brilliant chef, these are gorgeous and delicious. (Pictured above).

Makes 8-10 Yorkshire Puddings

Ingredients:
1/2 pint (285 millilitres) milk
4 ounces (115 grams) all-purpose flour
Pinch salt
3 eggs
Vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Mix the batter ingredients together. Let rest for 10 minutes

Preheat a Yorkshire pudding tray or muffin tin with 1/2-inch (1 centimetre) of oil in each section.

After the 10 minutes divide the batter into the tray. Cook for around 15 to 20 minutes until crisp and puffy, don't open the oven door before then or they won't rise.

Our next posting will be a little easier on the arteries. We'll be writing about the southern New Year's Day tradition of eating black eyed peas for good luck and prosperity for the year ahead. Of course we'll have several yummy recipes for you to try, so stay tuned!

Gizmos, Gadgets, and Doohickeys

Kitchen utensils; lordy, there are thousands of thingamajigs that slice, dice, core, shave, grind, mash, crimp, shred, froth, mix, fluff, etc. etc.  I watched Martha Stewart make pies the other day; she had a utensil for nearly every step of her recipe. I don’t know if I was jealous or annoyed, probably a little of both.  We have a slew of kitchen toys too; some we use daily, some rarely, and many we could not live without. Other than a professional set of pans (Calphalon) and knives (Global), some our top picks for making life easier in the kitchen are:

Tongs: We have half a dozen or more and use them constantly. If you turn food in a pan or move it around using a fork or other instrument that pierces you’ll lose flavorful juices and possibly tear the food. Thomas Keller (French Laundry), one of the most acclaimed chefs in America; doesn’t like tongs. He prefers a variety of perforated flat spoons, skimmers, and spatulas to turn food. He believes tongs can crush or tear the food.  He feels the food is better handled by being lifted from the bottom and turned rather than grabbed by tongs and turned.  That may be true, but we love ‘em and won’t give ‘em up.

Strainer: We’ll use these numerous times throughout the preparation of a meal. Rinse veggies, strain blanched food items, and drain cooked grains and pastas.  Think of it as a hand held mini colander; it’s convenient and versatile.

Fish spatula: For fish and other delicate food items this is the right tool. On this we agree with Mr. Keller. if you’re working with fish, foie gras or anything that is less sturdy than a hamburger patty, the fish spatula is better than tongs and infinitely better than a regular spatula. It is thinner and designed to work with more delicate foods.

Bench Scraper: This is commonly known as a pastry chef’s tool because they’re great for scraping dough off the work surface. But it is fantastic tool for gathering up chopped foods and bringing them to your pan. It’s also great for cutting brownies and lasagna.  Love this gizmo.

Knife sharpeners: Important item, you don’t want a good one, you want a great one. I’ve owned the Chef’s Choice Diamond Honed electric sharpener for longer than I’ve been married, (18 yrs). Without question the best kitchen purchase I ever made.  When I bought mine they only had one model, now there are several. I can only speak for mine which sharpens knives in three stages, it’s wonderful. I think I paid about $79.00 back then; the three stage sharpener now sells for around $140. Buy one, don’t think, just buy, it’s worth every penny. I’ve owned mine at least 20 years and it works as perfectly now as the day I bought it.  When Jack and I moved in together and merged all of our kitchen equipment, I thought he might laugh at my electric sharpener. Don’t all professional chefs use a wet stone and steel to hone a perfectly sharpened blade? No, not always, many chefs utilize the services of a knife company who deliver clean sharpened knives once or twice a week. He tried my sharpener and was an instant convert and hasn’t used a steel or wet stone since.

I’ve heard that an excellent hand held daily sharpener is the Wusthof 2-Stage, it’s only $20. I’m going to buy one for hubbys’ stocking, I’ll let you know if it’s a winner or not.

Potato Ricer: My Achilles heel is potatoes; cooked in every conceivable adaptation I LOVE them all. But I have to say, there are few things more satisfying than a steaming mound of silky smooth mashed potatoes sinfully rich with cream and butter. The only way to achieve truly elegant mashers is with a ricer. I like old style hand mashed spuds too, but if I want to spoil myself or my guests, I’ll use a ricer every time.

Cooking Tip: Boil potatoes whole with skin on to preserve flavor and limit the amount of liquid absorbed while cooking. It takes a little longer but the flavor is worth the wait. They’re done when easily pierced through. Drain, and peel while still hot, using a clean kitchen towel to hold potato. Rice the spuds, add warm cream or milk, butter, and salt and pepper to taste.  Delicious!

Thanks so much for reading our blog, Jack and I are having a wonderful time writing it. We love your feedback and comments, please keep them coming. And feel free to share this blog with all your friends who enjoy food and drink, the more the merrier! Most of all, thank you for keeping me in mind for you, your friends and family in regards to your real estate needs. We'll get this economy going again one transaction at a time.

Becky - 720-979-3181

Becky@innmatchmakers.com

Sous Vide: Sous vide is French for "under vacuum" and describes a method of cooking in vacuum sealed plastic pouches at low temperatures for long times. This new method of cooking has fans and detractors alike. Fans: Chefs and anyone who has had the opportunity to taste the delicious foods prepared Sous Vide. Detractors: The city and county health department inspectors who adhere to strict cooking temperature mandates to insure public safety. The most amazingly tender and juicy chicken I have ever eaten was prepared sous vide, from the imaginative kitchen of Colt & Gray in Denver. If you would like to learn more or try the cooking method at home, Douglas Baldwin has written an excellent guide: Sous Vide for the Home Cook.  The link below has a couple of excellent videos explaining the process.

http://amath.colorado.edu/~baldwind/sous-vide.html

Here are a couple of new gizmos that look fun and useful. We’ll try them out and let you know how they work, or if you try them let us know what you think.

Fusion Brands Food Pod: I’m dying to have this, it looks fun and functional. We blanch and steam a ton of food and this makes sense to me, check out their video:     

http://www.fusionbrands.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=197

Babycakes Cupcake Maker: We bought this for our 7 year old granddaughter Macy, for Christmas this year. Its pink, makes mini cupcakes in eight minutes, comes with decorating and icing tools and costs $30.00. We picked up a couple boxes of cake mixes that have sparkles and confetti in the mix and a can of blue icing. She will  be in cupcake heaven.

Reusable produce bags: Yep, I’m buying some of these too. We’ve trained ourselves to bring our own grocery bags and it didn’t hurt, so let’s take it a step further and stop putting billions of plastic produce bags in our landfills. This is small step towards making a big difference. And it’s only $7.50! Check it out:

http://3bbags.com/index.php

In a few days we'll write about preparing the ultimate Christmas dinner, a succulent Prime Rib Roast with Yorkshire Pudding

Happy Holidays to all!

Cooking Library

Thanksgiving roundup: Great food, great friends and family, overall a wonderful day, can’t wait for next year when we get to do it all over again!

Onto the next big event, of course that would be Christmas. Before we get into the foods of the holiday I thought it would be fun to look into unique gift ideas for you and or the aspiring chef in your life

Cookbooks are a wonderful gift. Every year hubby hand selects a special cookbook for his best clients, each book chosen with the chefs’ particular talent in mind.  They are truly enjoyed and appreciated.

Have I mentioned that Jack is a shopaholic? One of his weaknesses is cookbooks. Imelda Marcos and her shoe fetish? She was a piker. Her collection pales to the shelves upon shelves of cookbooks in our home.  You name it we’ve got it, had it, he wants it and will soon get it, or it’s probably not worth having.  He is very discerning about his collection, you won’t find Rachel Ray, Guy Fieri, or Sandra Lee among his tomes, (who are those people?). He has an extensive selection from the classic chefs such as Escoffier, James Beard, and of course Julia Child. Jack had the rare privilege of cooking with and for Julia Child in June 1990. She was in Denver promoting her organization, The American Institute of Wine and Food.  He was selected to assist her in several cooking demos around the city, then prepared a special dinner in her honor at his restaurant, Cliff Young’s.  She signed the menu adding a charming inscription and along with a photo of her and Jack cooking together, it hangs proudly in his office today.

We have hundreds of cookbooks written by chefs from all over the world, French, Italian, American, Asian, Mexican, and Vietnamese. But we always need MORE. Scads of new cookbooks are published every year, so how does one choose? Which books are must haves and which ones are a waste of money? Well you are so lucky because I’m going to tell you. Below are a few selections from Jack’s wish list which I’m sure will eventually find their way into our home at some point? Hmmm, and I thought we were on the austerity program…..”Honey, I only paid $10 for this $30 book on Amazon.com!” If I had a dollar for every time I heard that one….

Interest rates and home prices are at record all time lows. If you have been contemplating the purchase of a new home or investment property, don’t sit on the fence too long. These rates, prices and inventories will not be around forever. Don’t look back and wish that you had invested instead of horded. Call me, I’m happy to run comps and research areas of interest. In today’s market you need to think long term investment not ‘fix and flip’, that ship has sailed.

Becky

720-979-3184

1.       Avec Eric: A Culinary Journey with Eric Ripert – written by Eric Ripert – Originally from France and currently one of the top chefs in New York. Seafood is his specialty.

2.      Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking – Nathan Myhrvold – The truly extraordinary thing about this book is the price, $475!  Advertised as a six-volume, 2,400-page set that is ‘des­tined to rein­vent cook­ing’. The lav­ishly illus­trated books use thou­sands of orig­i­nal images to make the sci­ence and tech­nol­ogy clear and engaging.

I’ll tell you right now, I better not EVER see this book anywhere near our house.

3.      Taste of Mario Boxed Set – Mario Batali - For the Italian food lover in all of us, Mario’s cookbooks are a joy to read and recipes are easy to execute.

4. The Omnivore’s Dilemma – Michael Pollan – Learn and understand where your food comes from; if you care about what you eat, you need to read this book.

5.      The Sweet Life in Paris – David Lebovitz – The ex-pastry chef from Chez Panisse, and lover of all things French. This guy knows desserts.

6.      Tyler Florence Family Meal – Good solid technique, great food, and easy recipes for everyday cooking.

7.      Good Eats Boxed Set – Alton Brown – He’s just so much fun and he has an excellent understanding of theory, technique and reasoning.

8.      Jamie’s America – Jamie Oliver – We love this Brit, he’s entertained us for years and his fresh, casual, robust style of food is fantastic.

9.      Grandi Vini – Joseph Bastianich – Joe is Mario Batalis’ partner and Italian wine expert. This book is his opinion of Italy’s best wines. He is also Lydia Bastianichs’ son; who is one of the great Italian chefs today.

       10. The Perfect Bite - Jennifer Jasinski - Colorado's exceptionally talented chef and co-owner of Rioja, Bistro Vendome, and Euclid Hall. Denver's own has written a stunningly illustrated cookbook that just might be out before Christmas, we're keeping our fingers crossed,  Congratulations Jen!

 11.      Mastering the Art of French Cooking 2 Volume Set – Julia Child – From the Queen, need I say more?