cause i'm a fatty

Cork House 
4900 East Colfax Ave.
Denver, CO 80220 

Filet Mignons done two ways- amazing (and one has bacon!). Cork House has a pretty diverse wine selection, and a good discount during Happy Hour, 4-7 pm. There’s nothing better than sitting out on their patio on a hump day while having a kobe beef slider and a good california cab. 

If there is one thing I could eat every day, it’s ceviche, or fish salsa as I used to call it. Ceviche makes me reminiscent of summer: it’s light, citrusy, spicy, and the seasoned plantain chips or tostadas are the perfect utensils to scoop pieces of fish and avocados. 

There’s a new Mexican restaurant that opened up in the Park Hill neighborhood right by us called Sietes Leguas. I’ve been hooked on their ceviche and horchata (cinnamon rice milk) ever since. 

7 Leguas
5450 East Colfax Ave.
Denver, CO 80220 

Shrimp Dosas 

Dosas are a South Indian version of light, crispy crepes. Denver does not have good Indian food. There, I said it. Unfortunately the alternative is my vain attempt to cook one of the most labor intensive ethnic cuisines out there. These dosas were made from a mix, spooned out onto a hot pan and flipped once the edges looked crispy and the batter started to bubble (like pancakes). 

South Indian food is usually vegetarian, but I had no potatoes, so I used shrimp, sautéed with diced jalapeno peppers, red onions, and cilantro. The spices involved were pinches of cumin/coriander powder, chili powder, turmeric, salt and pepper. 

It wasn’t anywhere near close to the dosas you get off of Oak Tree road in New Jersey, but there was something about the smell that reminded me of home. 

Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

These cookies were made using a sugar cookie dough (you can make one from scratch or buy the refrigerated kind) that were pressed into cupcake molds. Once those cookies were baked and cooled, I spooned a mixture of fresh cream (heavy cream whipped until it formed soft peaks, or you can use cool whip) mixed with cream cheese into each cup. These cookies can be topped with any type of fruit (raspberries, blueberries etc.), but there is something about strawberries that really speak to summer…refreshing and light, good on a hot evening. 

Lamb Chops with Peperoncini, Goat Cheese, Tomato Salad   

There’s that wonderful cliche that generalizes people in two categories: those who eat to live, and those who live to eat. Although this wouldn’t make Socrates happy, I’m of the latter variety. Eating is an experience. It’s not about just shoving food in your mouth and moving on to the next thing you have to do that day. (This is amongst the few reasons I can’t do fast food). Working from 5:30 am to 7 pm on many days this past year, dinner would consist of a banana and some greek yogurt. I was eating to live, and I was not happy. 

This colorful picture makes me happy because it epitomizes what I believe about eating: the value of the experience. Whether it’s a romantic setting or not, I will still go all the way, pulling out the tablecloth, some candles, real wine glasses etc. Eating outside with a real place setting makes people calm down, hold a conversation, and actually taste the food on their plate. 

It would be nice to sit down with friends and have 3 hour meals every night, but unfortunately that’s not reasonable…it’s not like we’re in Europe. So those rare occasions where you have some time, and you’re not too tired: either go big or go home. 

This is a calzone. 
With Nutella inside.
Thank you Atomic Cowboy.  

Mussels are my favorite date night or any occasion food to make. Basically you saute a bunch of random vegetables from the fridge, throw in some wine, mussels, and cook for 5 minutes. A 2lb bag is just $10 at Wholefoods, and you get quality mussels that don’t smell fishy or are dead on arrival (sketchy seafood = the drawback of living in a landlocked state like Colorado). 

These mussels were thrown together with chopped red bell pepper, onions, garlic, a jalapeno, white wine, and some cilantro at the end. Accompany it with crusty French bread (or fries if you’re fancy) and you’re done. 10 minute meal. 

I cook. I cook when I’m hungry. I cook when I’m bored. I cook when I’m procrastinating. I cook when I’m angry. And often times the urge to cook at midnight has occurred to me. Especially when it’s summer, and I don’t have to set an alarm clock. (I love being a teacher..this blog will get a lot more love now) 

Chicken fingers from scratch were one of those things that were made around midnight. Because it’s usually late at night that you crave a crispy, juicy chicken tender with honey mustard a la your favorite greasy diner. 

Making them is incredibly easy, and personally I think the secret to good tenders is really thin strips of chicken breast to begin with. 

I cut a big chicken breast into thin ( greater than 1/4 in. and less than 1/2 in.) strips length wise. One breast yielded 6-7 strips. 

It’s pretty simple from there. Dip in flour, dip in egg, roll around in panko breadcrumbs and then shallow fry (I use the spray stuff) for 2/3 minutes per side. I used a Kickin’ Chicken seasoning in the panko which gave it -just like the label promises- a good kick. (It’s got onion, garlic, spices, orange peel, etc.)

The funny part about this meal was that it was midnight. And I wasn’t even hungry. Just bored, and unable to sleep. 

Ohwell, at least it will be a happy surprise in the morning. 

Why hello, brunch!
Green Chile Tamale with Spring Herb Salad (avocados, tomatoes, cilantro, cucumbers, red onions)

Grilled Chicken Salad 

Not too long ago I found myself starving with nothing near in sight except for a McDonalds. I tried grilled chicken salad, and not surprisingly, was disappointed. When I got home that day I decided to try a homemade version and stay minimal. I peeled some carrots into thin ribbons, and sliced some campari tomatoes. The chicken breast was pounded till thin, and covered in salt, pepper, jamaican all spice powder and chopped savory. It was grilled, about 3 minutes each side, and garnished with alfalfa sprouts. 

There are a million reasons why you should incorporate alfalfa sprouts into your diet. Here are ten of them:

http://www.nurtureyourown.com/Sprouts/19/10-great-benefits-to-eating-alfalfa-sprouts/

This is a really filling salad, mainly because of the grilled chicken and potatoes. The chicken was marinated in some tandoori spices mixed with yogurt and lemon juice, and the red skin potatoes were marinated in some light mayo and ground mustard. The small pieces were skewered, and cooked in 10 minutes, which is the perfect amount of time to get this salad going [cucumbers, tomatoes, red onion and feta over romaine].

this salad has some corn we grilled, red bell peppers, yellow and red heirlooms, red onion and basil. the heirlooms are sweet and crunchy, unlike their hybrid counterparts