use real butter

Last weekend I took you to visit Cured, a favorite gourmet cheese, salumi, wine, and nomnom shop of mine in Boulder on East Pearl Street.

cured

Each day (except Mondays, because they are closed), Cured lists two to three sandwiches on their chalkboard above the salumi and cheese counter. If you subscribe to their Facebook page or follow them on Twitter @curedboulder, you’ll get the daily notice. It’s not a sandwich shop where you walk up and order what you feel like, but the choices are quite good and sometimes there are salads, soups, and even breakfast options. Check the board.

the daily sandos

Of course, you’re not going to get the standard sandwich around here. For example, one version of their grilled cheese is seahive cheddar with bacon and tomato chutney (hello!!). Or how about the creamy pear which is Délice de Bourgogne, ham, and pears. I have been itching to catch the allstar as well: prosciutto, manchego, and membrillo. It used to be that you could saunter in and there would be sandwiches to order, but after some great reviews, Cured was no longer Boulder’s best kept secret. By noon it was not uncommon to stand at the counter and watch the staff cross offerings off the board as they sold out. I think it has mellowed out a little bit, but if there is a sandwich you want, go earlier rather than later so as to avoid the risk of deep disappointment. When I went in for a sandwich, there was only one kind left (again, a huge rush on their sandwiches that day).

the spicy frenchman

To the sandwich: The Spicy Frenchman was my introduction to Cured’s sandwiches. They start with their ridiculously good bread (I think the same guy who makes their crowns and other artisan loaves also makes the baguettes) – a French baguette that is buttery soft on the inside with a nice and crusty outside that yields easily under your finger. Layers of thinly sliced ham and generous slices of brie are topped with a perfectly sweet and spicy raspberry-jalapeño jam. The combination of ham and cheese usually makes me drowsy, but the kick from the jam livens up the entire ensemble. Because it happened to be a weirdly rainy and cold day in Boulder (which is rare), I relished my sandwich with a nice pot of hot tea from Boxcar Coffee. I checked the shelves and found that Cured sells jars of that raspberry-jalapeño jam. That’s good stuff. I may just have to try and make some myself.

Where: Cured is located at 1825 B. Pearl Street (Boulder, Colorado 80302), east of the Pearl Street pedestrian mall.

When: walk in and order a sandwich from their board (your best bet is likely before noon) 10:30am – 7pm Tuesday – Friday, 9am – 6pm Saturday, 11am – 5pm Sunday. Cured is CLOSED ON MONDAYS. I know, even I forget sometimes and it can be a huge bummer. They post the menu each day (except Mondays) on Facebook and Twitter.

Contact: Call Cured at 720.389.8096. Visit their Facebook page or follow them on Twitter @curedboulder.

Full Disclosure: My opinions. No comps for the chomps.

Previous sandwich research:

1) The Pinyon’s fried chicken sandwich (sadly, now closed)
2) Cafe Blue’s blackened tuna sandwich
3) Frasca Caffè’s Italiano panini caldi
4) Snarf’s pastrami and Swiss sandwich

Recipe: tequila-lime halibut tacos

Afternoon thunderstorm cycles, the buzz of hummingbirds zooming through the neighborhood, and near-record heat for this time of year… You’d think it was summer. Wasn’t I just griping about spring? I think all of the seasons are over-achievers. At this rate, I’ll be skiing again by next week (which would be absolutely fine by me). It is what it is.

okay, tulips are spring

we’ve traded skiing for mountain biking

cooling off with thai iced tea and taro boba tea slush

kaweah walks in the morning or the evening to avoid the heat

either way, there is always plenty of sniffing (i.e. reading pee-mail)

Good things are coming into the markets now: asparagus, strawberries, English peas, ramps, fiddleheads, and halibut (to name a few). [Hey FTC disclosure:] I received a comped shipment of frozen wild Alaskan sockeye salmon, wild Alaskan halibut, and wild Alaskan cod fillets from Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) a few weeks ago. They describe the fish as wild, natural, and completely sustainable. My preparation of fish relies heavily upon my experiences with various types of fish. It’s based on if I have had it prepared a certain way in a restaurant, saw a recipe for a specific type of fish, or grew up eating that species of fish. I puzzled over how to prepare the halibut when I recalled a book I had purchased last year that would surely give me guidance.

good fish (it sure is)

I bought a copy of this book for myself because I was sending one as a gift to my friends in Seattle (Becky Selengut, the author, is also based in Seattle). It’s just so easy to change that 1 to a 2 under the quantity field. I like fish and seafood very much, but my knowledge of how to prepare it well is just enough to be dangerous and not enough to be confident. I know people go through life all the time like that in far more important arenas, but it makes me uncomfortable. So Good Fish was going to fix that. Lo and behold, there was a recipe for tequila-lime halibut tacos with red cabbage slaw. Get out! It sounded dreamy.

first the slaw: red cabbage, cilantro, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, apple, mustard seeds, salt

shred the cabbage

toss the cabbage with kosher salt

Make the red cabbage slaw first, because that is the step that takes the most time. It’s all easy and straightforward, but squeezing the liquid out of cabbage is the rate-limiting step. At least it is for me. Becky explains that minimizing the liquid content of the cabbage concentrates the flavor. She sprinkles great tips and tidbits of information throughout this educational and highly entertaining book. The rest of the slaw is easy peasy. Put all of the ingredients in a bowl and toss together.

squeezing the liquid out

pour in the olive oil

add the cabbage

season to taste

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: the woodward pizza

There’s something to be said for sharing a good meal with good people. Aran was in town this past week to teach at The Makerie in Boulder, so Jeremy and I met up with her at The Kitchen for a lovely evening. We shared a family-style dinner that was almost as excellent as the conversation, the company, and the laughter. Despite traveling and meeting people all day, after 20+ hours, Aran was delightful and genuinely sincere as always. Jeremy said it best, “Aran is good people.”

filet on spinach with bernaise

aran was happy to be back in colorado

So did anyone stay up to catch the Lyrids meteor shower over the weekend? I’m going to guess the majority of you did not. That’s okay, because I did and there are pictures to prove it! The best one I was able to capture was at 2 am while I stood in my neighbor’s driveway (they said I could). It was brilliant and lasted several seconds.

that’s my house in silhouette

We used to have to drive 4.5 hours to get to a decent dark sky site when we lived in California. Now? Less than 30 seconds of walking and I’m there (on my deck or in my neighbor’s driveway). You know what else we used to do? We used to order pizza when we didn’t have the time to make our own dough. Things have changed.

with the help of this book

I received Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day from St. Martin’s Press back in October. It was written by Jeff Hertzberg and my friend, Zoë François. Yes, I realize it is now April, but I didn’t want to write about my experience with the book until I could do it properly. We have made a lot of ghetto pizza at home in the past, but I finally went out and procured a pizza stone and pizza peel. And because a 550°F oven in warm weather makes me cranky, we also have a proper grill (one that doesn’t simultaneously undercook and scorch the same piece of food). Huzzah!

you will need: flour, water, salt, yeast, and olive oil

the water should be 100°F

add the yeast and salt

After learning about all of the equipment involved in pizza-making, I started with the olive oil dough variation on their master recipe. There are many other recipes in the book and not just pizza dough recipes (gluten-free too!), but focaccia, pita, tarts, pies, soups, dips, and spreads. However, we really needed to get our pizza dough down in this house once and for all.

add olive oil

add the flour

a slightly sticky, viscous dough

**Jump for more butter**