use real butter

Ask me what there is to do in the mountains around Crested Butte – the last great Colorado ski town – and I’ll rattle off a list of activities to get your heart pumping or sights to open your eyes wide with wonder. But when you’ve had your fill of stunning Colorado scenery and riveting outdoor adventure, you will need to refuel. One of my favorite stops in town (and in Colorado) is Secret Stash. We take all of our visitors here and love to pop by after a long hike to quench our thirst and load up on some of the best pizza around.

secret stash

Secret Stash (or The Stash) used to sit at the top of Elk Avenue (Crested Butte’s main drag) in a small funky house with two ovens and a line of patrons out the door. Your typical wait for your order at lunch, après ski, or dinner would land you north of 45 minutes. This summer, The Stash moved to a new location in the heart of historical Crested Butte on Elk Avenue and Third Street. It’s much bigger than the old house, offering outdoor deck dining, sidewalk patio dining, several booths, tables, high tables, bar seating, and the uber fun sunken seating at the picture windows in front.

inside the stash

The wait staff – like almost any other wait staff in Crested Butte – is hipster with tats. They may not be the most professional servers, but they are super friendly and aim to please. As you step up to the hostess podium you’ll find a gift shop (t-shirts, bling, candy) to your left, the bar to your right, and the restrooms straight ahead at the back. Once seated, take in the details of the eclectic and funky decor before you begin perusing the entertaining drink menu.

The Famous Stash Volcano Bowl is just plain fun to read about. It serves four people 48 ounces of “a bunch of booze mixed with tropical fruit juices served on fire.” I’m too chicken to order that, but someday I might with three of my besties. My favorite summertime thirst-quencher is the frozen strawberry lemonade. You can get that with booze or without booze. And an even more delightful twist is when they add basil to that mix. Jeremy loves the Vegas Brainstorm a.k.a. The Best Gin and Tonic You Will Ever Have (Hendricks gin, Fever Tree tonic, fresh lime, juniper berries). In addition to The Stash’s creative drinks, they offer a decent selection of beer and wine – both on tap even!

frozen strawberry lemonade (with or without vodka)

the vegas brainstorm (gin and tonic, but awesomer)

After you’ve rattled off your drink order, have a looksee at the appetizers or consider the salad bar. But really, you ought to try some appetizers. There are two items that we order again and again. The truffle fries (a.k.a. crack fries) are french fries with white truffle oil, Parmesan cheese, green onions, and cracked black pepper served with garlic aioli. I know, you’re thinking, “French fries at a pizza joint?” Yes. Order them. The Stash wings are the other must. They grill the wings and baste them in their excellent house barbecue sauce, then top them off with green onions and sesame seeds with ranch and blue cheese dressings on the side.

the truffle fries (aka crack fries)

stash wings

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: vietnamese braised eggplant

This site went through a series of upgrades right before I hit the road, and apparently we shouldn’t have trusted the captcha update because it wouldn’t allow any comments to go through for a day. That is now fixed and I apologize for any annoyance it may have caused.

Earlier this week Jeremy, Kaweah, and I piled into the car and headed south to the San Juans to see what could be salvaged after the freeze. Driving our usual routes, I exchanged texts with a friend who was driving the other usual routes and we were both reporting the same: brown, dead, done. You shouldn’t be discouraged though! There are always those nice little close-up shots of single stands or trees to be had, but we were fishing for the bigger catches.

waiting for sunset, not hopeful (iphone)

the view from where i waited

last light on mount sneffels

I cut my losses and ended the trip early. Jeremy kept saying how sorry he was that the season was so bad and I kept telling him to quit being sorry. Sure it’s a bummer, but it isn’t the end of the world and I managed a few keepers despite the suckage. We (as in Colorado) had two excellent seasons in 2011 and 2012 – back to back awesomeness. Bad years will happen and do happen. I accept that. And if you’re in any sort of business that relies on Nature, you’d better expect it. Not to mention, it meant I could finally go for a hike without hauling all of my gear. So that’s what we did upon our return to Crested Butte.

the aspens are nothing to write home about, but what a stellar view

We’ve also been enjoying evening trail runs since I don’t have to hang around to wait for sunset over gold-draped mountains anymore. The days have been sunny, warm, and clear such that running in the shadow of the mountains late in the day is just the right temperature to start out. By the time we’re done, the world is fading from purple to blue and the chill begins to creep in. It’s the perfect time for a nice hot meal, and I’ve been loving on eggplant lately.

japanese eggplant

Given my druthers, I prefer Japanese eggplant to regular eggplant. It’s long, skinny, and has fewer seeds. I can’t reliably source Japanese eggplant unless I travel to the Asian markets out in Broomfield (Pacific Ocean Market) or Denver (HMart and other Asian grocers) or find them at the farmer’s market. The ones at the Asian markets are not always in the best shape, but I really wanted to try this recipe for Vietnamese braised eggplant with coconut milk and scallions by Charles Phan of The Slanted Door.

make the vietnamese stir-fry sauce: fish sauce, chicken broth, sugar

bring the broth to a boil, then add sugar

and some fish sauce

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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

**Jump for more butter**