use real butter

Recipe: homemade marshmallows

Yes, I’m talking about snow… sort of. Actually, I’m also talking about marshmallows which, as you know, invariably brings us to eating s’mores après ski at the Park Hyatt Beaver Creek Resort and Spa at Beaver Creek Ski Resort in Avon, Colorado. The Park Hyatt BC invited me over to experience their brand of hospitality on the mountain, literally. Ski-in ski-out access to one of Colorado’s premier ski resorts? S’mores after the lifts close? Fine dining at 8100 feet? I needed to verify this before the snowpack up and walked (melted) away.

jeremy offered to assist me

s’mores daily from 4-5pm

roasting marshmallows over the fire pit

dinner at 8100: farmed greens with duck, seared scallops on smoked trout chowder

antler chandeliers abound (hey, it’s colorado)

looking toward the park hyatt’s lounge

outdoor heated pool and outdoor jacuzzi

Last week, a box of goodies arrived in the post, courtesy of the Park Hyatt Beaver Creek. There was an adorable ceramic s’mores cooker, marshmallow skewers, s’mores trays, graham crackers, chocolate, and four flavors of housemade marshmallows developed by their chef: orange creamsicle, coffee, crème de menthe, and vanilla. Normally, it would be too cold (and windy, don’t forget windy) to enjoy these on our deck – except this season has been anything but normal.

graham crackers, chocolate, four flavors of marshmallows

i subbed in my favorite local chocolate

What a sticky, gooey, messy, fabulous treat to share with people who won’t laugh at you for having chocolate and marshmallow smeared all over your mouth! It was the Park Hyatt’s way of sharing their s’mores tradition with me, someone who loves skiing, loves Colorado, and especially loves skiing Colorado. But it’s not just ME they wanted to bring this to… they want to bring it to YOU!

there is an art to toasting marshmallows, no fireballs!

s’mores in the mountains or anywhere – feeling like summer

I’ve got five packages to give away to my good readers (that’s you!). A package includes graham crackers, chocolate, gourmet marshmallows, and a $99/night room rate (with waived resort fees and complimentary valet parking) at the Park Hyatt Beaver Creek in Avon, Colorado. Go ahead, look at their rates and tell me that isn’t a freaking amazing deal! Did I mention that the Park Hyatt is an incredibly family-friendly resort? They have so many activities and services for children and families. We don’t even have kids (okay, we have the four-legged furry variety) and we were totally impressed.

To enter the giveaway, please answer this question in the comments: What is your favorite summer food memory?

Oh yeah, there are a few rules, which you should read:

1) Prizes can only be shipped in the United States (US entrants only, please). Should you win, your mailing address will be required.
2) One entry per person. Multiple entries will be deleted and disqualified.
3) Entries must appear in the comments before 11:59 pm, Thursday, March 29, 2012.
4) Five winners shall be selected at random and announced (late) Friday, March 30, 2012.

And the Park Hyatt Beaver Creek is having a little competition on Facebook for the best new marshmallow flavor. They want suggestions from people and the winning flavor will be added to their menu. Now, I KNOW that MY readers have the creativity and palate to wipe the competition off the page. Leave your flavor suggestion on the competition page and tell them use real butter sent you.

Full disclosure: The views expressed here are entirely (and always) my own. I received a s’mores package and a comped one-night stay at the Park Hyatt Beaver Creek. The ski days, transportation, and meals were at my own expense.

The reason I love s’mores is because I am a complete sucker for marshmallows, and nothing compares to homemade marshmallows. This whole s’mores lovefest got me thinking that it’s high time I attempted to make my own marshmallows.

sugar, gelatin, light corn syrup, salt, vanilla, almond extract, egg whites

softening the gelatin in water

mix the sugar syrup before boiling: water, sugar, light corn syrup

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: roasted chickpeas

We’re in the middle of some crazy heat wave over here. 70s on the flats, 50s in the mountains. Snow can’t survive that kind of weather for long and I’m hoping for the cold to return so that we might enjoy more than a meager month’s worth of proper winter (that was February). But this warm spell is certainly conducive to the whole “Spring is coming” mantra. To be honest, it’s pretty great weather for getting together with friends. My pal, Kat, had her birthday on Monday, so I hosted her for a few days at my house in the mountains. Jeremy and I treated Kat to Community Night at The Kitchen, which really is the absolute best dinner deal in Boulder if you love good food (and who doesn’t?). If you haven’t been before, I implore you to put that one on your list of things to do.

the community table

among our favorite dishes: duck and prosciutto meatballs

heavenly tagliatelle with lardo, egg, black trumpet mushrooms, parmesan, truffle salt

scallops in celeriac purée, blood orange beurre blanc, fennel

Oh, that was a wonderful evening, but the celebration continued with lunch at Sushi Tora, buying some wines, and hitting up a few of our favorite places around town like Cured, Boxcar Coffee Roasters, Whole Foods on Pearl (not all Whole Foods are equal – our Boulder store on Pearl is beyond amazing, truly).

fy to the i: sushi tora now has ramen on their specials menu – and it rocked our world

Last night, Jeremy and I changed the sheets and towels in the guest room for our next visitor who arrives this evening. It’s definitely less stressful having friends over when the weather isn’t freezing cold, the winds aren’t trying to blow your house down, and the roads aren’t covered in a slick of ice and snow. Spring and summer entertaining in the mountains is easy, fun, and relaxed. It puts me in the mood for appetizers, snacks, and party foods.

chickpeas (garbanzo beans)

ground spices: cumin, coriander, chile, paprika, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, cayenne, cloves

Some time last year, I saw roasted chickpeas making the rounds on blogs. Friends raved about them. They were a healthy, crunchy snack that could be sweet or savory. I decided to try Kalyn’s version because the Moroccan spices appealed to my savory cravings. This was back in the day, before I was gifted my precious pressure cooker. I used canned chickpeas back then. Today I cook dried chickpeas in the pressure cooker (and they’re awesome).

pat the chickpeas dry

add some olive oil and your choice of spices

toss to coat

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: parsnip chowder

From the moment we entered the month of March, life got busier. It wasn’t unexpected because I could see the colored tags that flooded my calendar starting in March into April through… November. It’s all good in my book. We kicked it off with a special 15th anniversary dinner at Frasca. I think Frasca is Jeremy’s favorite restaurant. In fact, I know it is. From the moment I placed the reservation, he could not shut up about going there for dinner. It was phenomenal, just like every other time we’ve been there.

appetizer sampler: cured meats, grissini, frico caldo, batter-fried shrimp

tortelloni: agribosco borlotti bean and house-made mortadella

maine sea scallops, caviar, cauliflower, meyer lemon

torta di cioccolato: chocolate cake, passionfruit caramel buttercream, mac nuts, dark chocolate gelato

sfogliata: puff pastry, brown butter-hazelnut frangipane, banana, hazelnut crumble, custard gelato

I think March also stands for Maintenance because we’re doing a lot of that with the cars, the house, our outdoor gear, my photo equipment, finances, the dog, and well… everything. Perhaps it’s that spring cleaning thing? And speaking of spring, some of my friends in other parts of the country have started talking about the arrival of strawberries. We here in Colorado are months off from strawberries. For me, spring is merely a sunnier, warmer, corn-snowier, cheery version of the winter ski season. Soup is still on the menu.

so are parsnips

potatoes, parsnips, onion, parsley, milk, half and half, butter, bacon

peeled parsnips, washed potatoes and parsley

We always forget how much we love parsnips until we taste that sweet, earthy spice of this root vegetable. It looks like a white carrot with exaggerated proportions. They are cousins. I willingly eat the hell out of both. So this recipe for parsnip chowder appealed to me when I was looking to change up our soup rotation. A big pot of soup lasts for several days around here.

diced: parsnips, potatoes, onions

oh, did i mention there is bacon?

**Jump for more butter**