use real butter

Recipe: lox eggs benedict

What a roller coaster season it has been for fall colors. Despite the late change and early snow putting a damper on the leaves this season, we were headed for a bounce back that still held potential. I’m what you might call an optimistic realist. I knew the signs were pointing to a less than stellar fall shoot, but I hoped a few choice locations would pull through. The looked like they were on their way to something good.

the sun sets on the largest aspen stand in the world

she left a little color on her way to bed

apens and conifers

recon on the anthracite range

And then came the snow. Now, I LIKE the snow. I like skiing it and I like seeing it. And it adds this magical element to the fall colors. It’s one of the components of a slam dunk during the fall shoot – if you can just get some snow with the colors and yadda yadda yadda. If the storm is cold enough though, it spells the end. When our mercury dropped to 13°F overnight, I knew the next morning was the last chance to catch what magic was left around Crested Butte. The following day, all of those beautiful fluffy gold stands fringed with reds and oranges had turned to rust – the color of death – after the hard freeze. But I managed to get out before it all went to hell in a hand basket.

whetstone mountain delivered nicely

sunlight emerging from storm clouds

snowy peaks

As with Nature, as with the kitchen, things don’t always turn out as planned. I’ve adopted the attitude that we just have to make the most of what we get and run with it. That said, it’s nice that I have a little (just a little) more control over what works out in my kitchen. When I cured salmon lox in September, I tried to expand beyond good old bagels and lox. I tried to go for something slightly more sophisticated. Eggs benedict with lox instead of Canadian bacon came to mind. Actually, Benedict Cumberbatch came to mind first and then eggs benedict (cumberbatch) and then lox eggs benedict (cumberbatch). I’m rather fond of Mr. Cumberbatch and not particularly fond of Canadian bacon at all (it’s wishy washy). So let’s get the ball rolling with the Hollandaise sauce first.

some white wine vinegar, lemon (juice), eggs, and butter

combine the lemon juice and vinegar

whisk in the egg yolks

whisk until it is frothy

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: apple cider pancakes

It’s just me here now. Well, me and Kaweah. Jeremy is back home for work-related obligations, my photog pals have split in different directions because in truth, the fall foliage is sucking this year. I’m still hanging around waiting for Glory, but if Glory is not to be found in the leaves, there is beauty enough in day-to-day life. That’s why I have an office in Crested Butte – if Nature isn’t cooperating, I can get plenty of work done and still have time to get out for some solitude on a trail run or social time on a walk with my neighbor.

the interior of that shelter at the edge of town

There are only two more weeks of the Crested Butte Farmers Market, so I’ve made it a point to go and pick up greens and other goodies that I can’t generally find in the grocery stores around here (this ain’t no Boulder). Despite being a fraction of the size of Boulder’s Farmers Market (which I also love), CB has an incredibly friendly and charming vibe. It’s nearing the end for the heirloom tomatoes, so I plopped down a hefty chunk of change for several which I’ve been enjoying straight up this week. Our summers are short in the Colorado mountains, which makes me appreciate them far more than when I lived in The Land of Eternal Summer (Southern California).

colorful bouquets

a bowl of crab apples that todd and diane picked

Corn and peaches are growing scarce, but apples… apples and all things apple-y are on their way in. While at the market, I purchased my second jug of organic apple cider. I’ve been obsessed with these apple cider pancakes that my friend, Rachael, had mentioned a couple of weeks ago. First I fiddled with the recipe, then I served them to Todd and Diane on their visit last week, then I sent Jeremy home with a bunch to heat up for his breakfasts this week. So now I think someone else needs to make a batch before I turn into a pancake. Your turn! I should also point out that I liked them so much, I even shot the recipe here in CB (lots of kinks to work out still)!

milk, buttermilk, apple cider, all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, butter, sugar, cinnamon, eggs, baking powder, baking soda, salt

When someone sells me anything with “apple cider” in the name, it had damn well better taste like apple cider or I get a little stabby. By default, almost anything calling for apple cider in a recipe is changed to “reduced apple cider” in my kitchen. This is how I roll. I personally prefer regular apple cider, but if you can’t get that, spiced apple cider is fine (or maybe you like that better). Apple juice is acceptable if you can’t find apple cider, although clearly inferior. I call it like I see it.

boil the cider to a quarter of its original volume

a quart should yield a cup

**Jump for more butter**