use real butter

Recipe: barbecue chicken pizza

If you haven’t entered to win a Colorado care package yet, you have until the end of the day (midnight) this Friday, September 28, 2012. GO ENTER!!

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Autumn in Colorado is psycho. I mean this in a good way. You get those sunny days that are still warm (nay, hot) and dry. They can be sporadically intermingled with storm tracks that rain down and turn everything underfoot to mud, but leave a powdered sugar dusting of snow on the high peaks. If you are lucky, you might manage a photograph of the leaves turning colors and the mountains brushed in broad strokes of white. That is magic combo meal #1. Toss in a dramatic sunset and you have magic combo meal #2. Aw heck, and if you can combine all of that with FURRY BABY ANIMALS then you’ve pretty much got the holy grail right there. I’m only half kidding.

It’s not uncommon for me to encounter autumn storms while on the fall shoot. We like to think of them as early winter storms – sometimes snowing as much as two feet on the last day of summer! This year there has been a lot of rain and fog and clouds. That can be a bummer when the fog is so thick you can’t see anything or it’s pissing rain so hard that you don’t dare take your camera gear out of your pack. I usually rejoice at the rain and the snow. Bluebird skies and sunny days make for fine photographs, but the onset or clearing of a storm adds a different dimension to a capture.

you can’t have rainbows without rain (mt. crested butte at sunset)

I’ve been all up in my head this week because I’m driving around the mountains alone, assessing the weather every two minutes, and constantly scoping out the trees and the mountains. I was excited when I read rain in the forecast, because it meant snow up high. I got less excited when that soaking rain extended for several days. I started to wonder if it would ever let up.

this kinda sucked (iphone)

Frustrating as the rain can be, it pays to be vigilant and ever hopeful. Otherwise you could miss things if you decided to duck into a café and fritter away the time.

like a hot air balloon

or a cute gate to a ranch

or lovely sunset #1

and lovely sunset #2

So I’m glad I stuck it out, ignoring all the reasons telling me to just pack it up and go home where Jeremy and Kaweah are, where I have a nice comfy bed, where I get regular exercise, and where I eat proper food and have access to my kitchen. As you can imagine, posting a recipe just makes me want to get back to real cooking!

leftover barbecue chicken?

I know it’s hard to imagine having leftover barbecue anything, but it can happen if you make double or triple batches! We generally plow through this barbecue chicken recipe, but I set a few aside to make some pizza the other day.

roughly chopped

pizza time! pizza dough, barbecue chicken, mozzarella, barbecue sauce, red onions, fresh cilantro

The first time I had a barbecue chicken pizza was probably at California Pizza Kitchen in the late 80s in southern California. Talk about back in the day… Now, we tend to make our own pizza at home because they are easy and really quite good. Pizza is flexible like a sandwich – put whatever you fancy on the pizza and omit whatever you dislike. I tried to keep it simple with barbecue sauce, barbecue chicken, mozzarella, red onions, and cilantro. Tempting as it may be to load your pizza full of goodies, a little restraint will result in a better pizza. For reals.

spread barbecue sauce on the dough

cheese, chicken…

ready to go (i recommend adding the cilantro after the pizza is done cooking)

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: mexico city style roasted corn with chipotle mayonnaise

I just got back from a lovely dinner at Mizuna in Denver. I rarely get down to Denver (to be honest, I avoid the city – I’m a country mouse), but 1) I’ve been hearing about this restaurant for seven years 2) we were meeting with a super fun couple and 3) there was a hand off of goods. More on the goods in a second… I’m so glad we finally went to Mizuna because everything about it was terrific – the food, the wine, the service. Here are two of my favorite plates from tonight:

hamachi crudo with edamame and shishito peppers

lobster mac & cheese

Now what exactly was handed off, you ask? I brought three jars of Chinese hot chili sauces to my friend, Ellen, and she gave me a delivery of her delectable salt caramels. Why salt caramels?

Well, I needed them for a couple of care packages… for you!

This isn’t a sponsored any such thing, this is me saying thank you for being a wonderful, supportive, funny, kind, and friendly readership. I love my regular and irregular commenters as much as those who de-lurk to say hi as much as the folks who are too shy to comment, but send really touching emails to me directly. You know who you are – you’re all awesome! So I have put together a little bit of Colorado in two care packages to give away to two of my awesome saucesome readers. The packages will include:

helliemae’s salt caramels

a bag of whole bean coffee from boxcar coffee roasters

frasca‘s red pepper jelly from cured

a boulder county farmers market tote bag

a t-shirt of your choice from either salto coffee works or tin shed sports

That’s not all! I’m also tucking in a jar of organic Colorado peach jam and a jar of organic Colorado tomato jam, both from my kitchen.

ENTER THIS GIVEAWAY!

1) Introduce yourself to the rest of us by sharing one interesting fact about YOU in the comments section of this post.
2) One comment per person, please.
3) Entries will be accepted through Friday, September 28, 2012.
4) The care packages will ship worldwide.
5) Two winners will be selected at random by Kaweah.
6) Winners will be announced on Monday, October 1, 2012.

Good luck!

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Sometimes you find the best food in the darnedest places. For instance, when I was in Portland, Maine last month, everyone was telling me to eat lobster, lobster, and more lobster. Sleep on lobster, bathe in lobster. Lobster lobster lobster! The first night, we started at El Rayo Taqueria and then moved on to Cantina El Rayo next door. There was no lobster on our menu. But wait – someone casually set a plate of roasted corn covered in cotija cheese in front of us early on in the meal. The cobs were cut up into 2-inch wide nibbles and everyone politely sampled the corn. Joy was sitting across from me and later into the evening I saw her reach for a second one which totally made me feel okay about grabbing a second! We were pretty hooked on that corn.

nice, healthy ears of corn

give them a soak in cold water

My neighbors seated to my right were Margaret Hathaway and Karl Schatz of Ten Apple Farm. They wrote and photographed this brilliant book (among others!) that I received upon my arrival in Maine titled Portland, Maine Chef’s Table which is a collection of recipes from the best chefs around Portland. IT INCLUDES THE RECIPE FOR THIS FABULOUS CORN. When Karl and Margaret told me, I smiled and did a happy dance (Gangnam style) in my head.

chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, mayonnaise, garlic, cilantro, lime zest and juice

chopped, juiced, zested

As soon as my package of goodies from Maine arrived in the post, I opened the book and went straight to the recipe. The ingredients are relatively easy to source and corn is still in season although at the tail end. Get on this now.

purée the peppers, sauce, garlic, cilantro, zest, and lime juice together

stir the purée into the mayonnaise

chipotle mayonnaise

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: artichoke roasted pepper crab dip

***Jump to the recipe section***

I grew up sailing in southern Virginia since the age of nine, but living in Colorado doesn’t present many (any) opportunities to sail. So it was a huge enticement for me when part of my trip to Maine included a 4-day (4-night) cruise aboard The Schooner J. & E. Riggin, a historical landmark as decreed by the National Park Service. You can find the recap of the first half of my trip to Maine (the part on land) here.

Full disclosure: The Maine Office of Tourism and The Schooner J. & E. Riggin sponsored my transportation, lodging, and meals with no obligation on my part. All photographs, words, experiences, and especially opinions, are my own.

Day 4: Rockland, Russ Island, Lobster Bake
Day 5: Stonington, Islesboro
Day 6: Camden
Day 7: Rockland

Day 4: The Riggin was originally an oyster boat, built in 1927 and converted to a passenger boat in 1977. Now when I say cruise, I should note that this is not the kind of cruise that most people envision when they hear that word. It’s a real sailboat and guests participate in many of the manual operations on deck (no motorized winches or even winches for that matter) and partake of chores like dish duty. The sleeping quarters remind me of camping… but different. Each cabin has a small sink with cold running water and there are two communal heads (bathrooms) above deck which require manual flushing and minimal use of toilet paper (8 squares max per flush, kids). One of the heads doubles as a shower stall.

rockland

down the hatch leading to my cabin

where i slept

It’s an adventure, and if you’re game – it is a tremendous experience.

Before we set sail in the morning, chef and co-captain Annie Mahle (wife of Captain Jon Finger) and her galley crew, prepared a hearty and beautiful breakfast of banana cardamom pancakes with cinnamon pecan coffee syrup, fruit, and bacon for everyone. Maine boasts the largest windjammer fleet in the United States, but the Riggin is only one of two that has an actual chef on board. Annie has authored two cookbooks: At Home, At Sea: Recipes from the Maine Windjammer J&E Riggin and her latest book Sugar & Salt: A Year at Home and at Sea. Most of what is served aboard the Riggin is locally sourced and masterfully prepared in a closet-sized kitchen on a wood-burning stove under the restrictions of limited water usage (there is a finite amount of fresh water on board). Annie does not waste food, the Riggin composts as much as possible, and tries to keep trash to a minimum.

breakfast was served below in the galley

you can’t not love a woman serving a heaping pile of bacon

Sharon joined us for breakfast, but hugged us good-bye before we set sail, leaving us in the care of Captain, Annie, and the crew. I learned from Captain that there is no set agenda per se, that they sail based on the wind.

first mate, scott or “scoot”, keeps it tidy

scott and ian do a safety demo

the galley is small, but everyone congregates there

Once we cleared the harbor, passengers were asked to help the crew raise the sails. It was a bluebird day with steady winds as Captain sailed us across West Penobscot Bay past North Haven and through East Penobscot Bay. Annie served up a lunch of Asian rice noodles, cilantro and coconut duck, salmon zucchini rice cakes, and a whole slew of fresh vegetables and pickles on deck as we sailed. We set anchor just off Russ Island and Annie gave us a lesson on lobsters.

ian and scott on the throat

tying off the sheet

sails

we got schooled

Captain shuttled us from the Riggin onto Russ Island where Annie and crew had set up a lovely spread of crudités, bacon blue cheese dip, watermelon, chips, and homemade apple cider. While the crew prepared for the lobster bake, Annie and Captain sat with their youngest, Ella, for some quality reading time together. Ella is part of the crew and you would be hard-pressed to meet an eleven year old as mature, hard-working, talented, and sweet as her. It’s a testament to the loving environment that her parents have provided for her. The kid is awesome.

appetizers

boiling the lobsters

family time

**Jump for more butter**