use real butter

We have returned from the Land of Hot, that being New Mexico. Mind you, it’s a dry heat. And despite everyone who rolls their eyes when someone discusses dry heat, 100 is definitely tolerable dry than humid. Jeremy, being a native son of New Mexico, used to wax nostalgic for his homelands all the time. But these days I think the romance has faded just a little for him. I think Colorado is what puts an extra spring in his step, not to mention the immensely long ski season. There is something to be said for coming home to 58 degrees in the mountains to have the rich smell of pine forest fill your nostrils as you hose the dog down for a bath.

It was a bit of a mental shock to go from Grandma Darling’s lack of short term memory and endless repeat of the same 7 stories (at least it was 7 and not 1) to fully engaged discussions with my aunt. I’m lucky to have her in my closest circle of friends. We talk about food, relationships, professional issues, politics, gardening, more food, our family, raising children, raising pets, cultural issues, diversity, all sorts of stuff.

Elena and family have lived in Los Alamos for almost 5 years now. We drove down 2 years ago when they were in the midst of overhauling the backyard. It used to be a bit of a mess from the previous owners and Elena had a master plan. The woman has impeccable taste – classy, elegant, unique, beautiful. It shows in her art, her clothes, her house, her garden. In two years, I’ve let my yard grow more weeds. In two years, she transformed a dirt and grass yard into this:

just half of the the fabulous garden at elena’s house

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I went to pick up some lovely ring molds this afternoon in addition to a few truffle tools. Anyone can slop together things that taste good (well, maybe not anyone), but I think incorporating presentation with taste, texture, and structure is the most fun challenge of plating desserts. I picked up a hexagon mold too. I hope to make something striking, yet elegant. I have no idea what it will be other than chocolate.

After my small pastry equipment acquisition, I met with Jeremy and our friends at Brasserie 1010 (aka Brassiere 1010, Bra 1010, Lingerie 1010) for Happy Hour. The food here is pretty good and aside from the regular crew, we were joined by Dave and Fran – two incredibly nice and fun people. There was food, I had camera in tow – what would you expect of me?

a toast to jeremy’s grant and drunken laughter

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We had invited some of our closest friends in Boulder/Ned to dinner this weekend, but had actually picked a bad weekend since some were out of town already, others were going fly fishing, some had visitors, and one was sick. That’s okay, because we’ll try to catch them for the big hoo-ha party later. And it meant more to me to schedule it for a weekend when I knew Beth and Nicole would be around… because they’re my best pals here and I love cooking for them.

appetizers
shrimp pot stickers
dinner
grilled marinated salmon with lemon and dill
green salad with dried cranberries, feta, candied pecans in balsamic vinaigrette
sweet corn cakes
sautéed asparagus and garlic
dessert
flan
fruit salad with lime syrup
truffle sampler

What a lovely feeling it is to prepare a meal in my own kitchen without that diss hanging over my head. It’s a subtle difference, but a happy one.

fresh and luscious berries

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