Riva Grill

So back to some fine California dining. Our last night in Tahoe, we had dinner at Riva Grill. It was right by the water, so we thought we would have a fantastic view...but as it turns out, the one thing you can't control is the weather. Oh well! The view of the clouds rolling over the shore and the food made it worth our while. We ended up sitting in the bar, because it was the only window seat left, so that was a little awkward. We were dressed to the nines and the people at the table next to us were in jeans and jerseys yelling about the Giants game (As of last night, they won the world series, congrats!)

Pomegranate Martini. Unfortunately, this was way too sweet for my taste, and an orange slice...where's the lime!?

Bread sticks with a hummus for dipping. The bread sticks were really good and didn't have that stale feel that other places' bread sometimes has. The hummus was very flavorful and made a great addition for dipping. *You can clearly see Jeff watching the baseball game on the TV above my head, busted!*

French onion soup. Oh how I love French onion soup. Onion/oily broth with cheese and bread, are you really missing anything? This was one of the best FOS I have ever had. Do you think that acronym (FOS) is going to catch on? Use it in passing and see how it goes. "Ahh yea dude, we were totally chillen with some FOS last night". Instant street cred (little do they know it is really food cred, which isn't really as cool).

The cloudy yet very mysterious view of the lake

MMM bacon wrapped fillet. Okay, I have not been doing so well on my 'only eat humane meat' kick as I could be, but this was seriously amazing! Served with garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus.

Jeff ordered Lamb Chops (this is the song that never ends...) Too soon? They were also VERY tasty.

No dessert because we were too stuffed. We managed to wander over the the casinos and lose money. Has anyone actually won lately while gambling?!

Colorado Cookin'

After a lovely trip to the farmer's market with my friends Amanda and Sarah, I was prepared with the necessary items to make an all local, Colorado meal for Jeff and I. It is so exciting when you get to cook a meal that you know was grown and raised right in your backyard....or, I guess, someones backyard in Colorado. Eating local not only supports local communities but also does a little something for the environment.  Yea for little somethings for the environment!

The Peaches: So these peaches were amazing! I was trying my best to keep costs low so I tried to walk past the peaches and ignore them. It was futile! Who can ignore soft little balls of summer. If you haven't tried it, trust me....local. organic, in season peaches are way better than middle of February from who knows where. I mean look at them! Definitely the center-fold of fruits.

The Steak: So I talked with the guy selling this meat a little and he assured me that his farm was happy little cows eating grass and chillin. Although I still feel a tinge of sadness for the little big guy...I gotta eat and the beef was calling my name. Jeff made a coffee and cayenne rub to top off this steak.  With Jeff and my terrible coal lighting skills we were forced into using a skillet on the stove but it tasted wonderful anyway.

The Corn: MMMHMMM, I smothered these little guys in butter, salt and pepper and baked them. The corn husks held the flavor in and they turned out wonderful.

The Wine: Grapes can grow in Colorado? Why yes they can. Not only was the wine fabulous...but the label was a cute little tree. Win-win situation. Most of their grapes are shipped and then made into wine here in Colorado, but the Cabernet shown below uses grapes grown in Colorado. The Blue Mountain Vineyard's website is here.

We also had organic, steamed green beans and some crazy pumpkin sourdough bread from Udi's (toasted with butter of course). Udi's is a Denver bread company that has a large line of Gluten-free bread. Their GF breads as well as the normal stuff all tastes pretty delish.

Colorado...thank you for feeding me!

No Bake Cheesecake, Red Wine-Rosemary Steak, and Cream Cheese Stuffed new Potatoes

On Saturday I cooked up a little dessert recipe to bring over to ‘Oscars girls night’ at Amanda's apartment. I made the No bake Cheesecake, brought to you by Mom. This recipe is EASY and tastes just like labor-intensive cheesecake. I went to the grocery store after a stiff cocktail at Mary’s 50th birthday party. I only needed a few ingredients and rushed to get them all, completely forgetting about the cheese samples. I realized this when I was already halfway home, and considered going back. I think that makes me an official fat kid if I drive back to the store for cheese cubes…so, I declined. I get home and take a nice long nap until 10pm (I know, don’t you wish your Saturday was this exciting?). I awake with energy and do the impossible: mix the ingredients (cool whip, sour cream, cream cheese, sugar and vanilla) and plop them into a readymade pie crust. As I wipe the sweat from my brow after this laborious venture, I put the cheesecake in the fridge and call it a night.
Fast forward to Sunday. Jennifer and I drive down to Broomfield to Amanda’s for our girl’s night. Amanda made some delicious food that is going to make the cut for the recipe book. First course: Limón cello blueberry martinis with a sprig of mint (added points for making a martini the first course). Second course: baguettes drizzled with olive oil and topped with a tomato, melted mozzarella chunks and basil, then drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette. Third Course: mixed greens salad with pecans, cranberries, blue cheese, and a raspberry vinaigrette. Fourth Course: fermented grapes left over from Jeff and my Valentine’s dinner. Fifth course: the No Bake Cheesecake topped with leftover Mybest fudge from last week, caramel and pecans….TURTLE! Oh yea and a side of cherry pie filling for good measure. We didn’t actually watch the Oscars, but chatted as girls do and spent a long time discussing workout routines (as we stuffed our faces full of yummyness).
Fast forward (well actually not that fast, days go by slow in the corporate world) to Tuesday night. Jeff has decided to make me dinner. He is a really good cook and the food he made was no exception. He looked up some recipes on foodnetwork.com and came up with an entrée and a side. He made a red wine and rosemary hanger steak (there was a little bit more to the recipe than that…bay leaves, onions and other vegetables/spices). Then the cru de gra….a recipe by the Southern Belle, Food Network star, butter loving temptress…Paula Deen; Cream cheese stuffed new Potatoes. So he cooked some little red potatoes and scooped a bowl out of the top of them. Then he mixed garlic and herb cheese, heavy whipping cream and butter and scooped it into the potatoes. Check the scale, cause I think you just gained 5 pounds reading this. As I enjoyed my steak and licked the melting butter off the side of the potatoes Max looked on in jealously that he too, could not be a human.