use real butter

Recipe: herbed garlic knots

Of all the friends I have made through blogging, the two people I hold dearest in my heart are Todd and Diane. The first time I met them in person was shortly after I finished my radiation treatment when I had a mere hint of fuzz on my head and my face was still puffy and swollen from chemotherapy. They invited me and Jeremy into their home and paradise of a garden for an evening of amazing food, great conversation, puppy time, many laughs, and a generosity that touched our hearts. Todd and Diane are my favorite kind of people – no bullshit, honest, straight shooters. We think of them as family. We weep over their losses and we celebrate their successes. I was beaming with pride when I opened up my copy of their cookbook Bountiful.

Disclosure: I received a free review copy of the book from the publisher with no obligation. Opinions are entirely my own.

todd and diane visiting us in crested butte this past september

300 pages of awesome

As I flipped through the pages of this hefty tome, I muttered, “They should have called it ‘Beautiful’.” And it IS beautiful, filled with their signature stunning photography and equally wonderful recipes. If you’ve been a reader of use real butter for any length of time, you’ll know that I draw much inspiration (and recipes) from Todd and Diane. They are always willing to share their incredible food and knowledge, making everything as accessible to others as possible. The book itself is organized by families of fruits and vegetables that they grow in their lush Southern California garden. I tagged so many recipes to try, but there was no question which one I wanted to make first. I’ve been eyeing these garlic knots for years and now I had zero excuse not to bake them.

the dough: flour, salt, yeast, sugar, olive oil, water

combine the warm water, yeast, sugar, salt, and olive oil in a large vessel

add the flour when the yeast is dissolved

let the dough rise, covered in a warm location

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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

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Recipe: corn and prosciutto pizza

Every June when the backcountry snow begins to thin and our minds turn to hiking rather than skiing, I look forward to summer’s arrival. I am ready for it. I love the idea of summer. Summer sounds great to me. By the end of July, I’ve had my fill of summer. I know summer lovers outnumber winter lovers the way extroverts outnumber introverts, but kids… I’ll have my autumn now, thanks. Just the other day it was raining and 59°F outside. Delicious. Even though our summers are pretty short here in the Colorado high country, I would gladly give up a month of summer in exchange for a month of autumn. But that’s not happening in the foreseeable future. So while I wait for autumn’s (hopefully early) arrival, we continue on.

Kaweah had her summer stink going on something fierce, so we decided it was high time for her to get a bath. She hates baths. When we take her outside, she’s happy enough just standing around sniffing the news on the air, lazily wagging her tail. Then she catches sight of THE HOSE. She notices Jeremy carrying THE BOTTLES of shampoo and conditioner and she spies THE TOWELS in the driveway. Kaweah then starts to walk back toward the front door. No matter how you call her, entice her, try to give her a little push, she digs in with all her might and won’t go an inch in the direction of the hose.

so jeremy has to intervene and carry her

kaweah has a habit of not looking at things she really likes and things she really hates

thought bubble would be “blarg!!!”

We now have a clean puppy who smells like lavender Buddy Wash and the trauma of the bath is forgotten until the next time. Kaweah doesn’t get baths as often as she used to because she doesn’t get filthy going on hikes with us anymore. It breaks my heart every single time we leave her at home, because she knows what it means when we grab our packs and don our trail runners. She used to stand at the baby gate and wag her tail, hopeful to the last second that she too would come with us. Now that she knows the routine, she curls up comfortably in her doggy bed and rests her chin on the bumper, watching us go. This is great incentive for us to hike faster so we can get home to be with our pup.

trails like this beckon to me

some of the loot this time of year in the high country (more porcini!)

When it’s warm, I tend to get lazy with the whole cooking thing. The grill sees a lot more action than the stove or oven, and I obsess over local seasonal produce like corn, tomatoes, melons, peaches, and berries (because they are so damn good). The other day, my friend emailed me that she and a friend had a wonderful meal at Pizzeria Locale. Oh yes, I love that place. My favorite pizza to order there is the Mais – corn, prosciutto, garlic chives, and crème fraîche. And suddenly, I had a craving for pizza.

let’s make pizza: pizza dough, corn, butter, red pepper, parmesan, salt, pepper, prosciutto, mozzarella

slice the kernels off the cob

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