The Final Chapter....

It's been hard to wrap this up.
Mostly, because I don't want to.  My time in Boulder was such a gift; new old friends, grown-up fun, no guilt indulgences, action, sleep, mountains, and....

The Calvert Wine Cellar.

Behold! Perfection....

My camera's lens was too big, and I didn't take the time to adjust for low light, because I HATE flash....but this picture? It's about half of the wine in the cellar.

Beautiful.

Okay....a granite bar AND (this is my personal favorite amenity) a wine cooler that holds the whites at the perfect temperature.  And certain reds.  It ensures that your wine is (like Goldilocks' porridge) not to warm, not too cool...J-U-S-T right. 

Beautiful.

I want you to look closely at the way these racks for the wine glasses are engineered.

See the little piece of wood with the peg, right at the opening? They flip up and allow you to pull the perfect goblet, without the fear of them sliding out accidentally!

Beautiful.

These bins are for the more...common wines.  The good old standards.  The wine-by-the-case varieties.

*They buy wine by the case.

Beautiful.

And....

AND.....there are copper labels that indicate the variety of grape or region or blend.  Hand stamped. Yes.

Beautiful.

Beer.  For the non-oenaphiles.

Beautiful.

I didn't get the story behind this, but it looks like a private label, with Sara H.'s name on it.

Oh, my!

Beautiful.

The MOST beautiful thing about this whole wine cellar is that it was a storage cave, at first, but then transformed by the two of them, designing and then countless hours of Chad pounding little nails and measuring.  When I look at it, I see not only a passion for regions and wine, but a whole lot of commitment in seeing a project through to the end!

And that's why my story ends here. 

 Sara decided we should cook our own feast on Valentine's Day and pair it with amazing wines from their cellar!

It's not just throwing a good old pot roast in the oven and making some gravy....

We spent all day on this.  And it was SO MUCH FUN!

We went shopping.

(And my friends just gasped and clutched their chests with shock.)

But it was FOOD shopping.  Not clothes/furniture/car/hardware/Walmart shopping.

They took me to a Mediterranian grocery store, where we could purchase (if we so desired) hookahs, pickled dolmas, instant falafel, hair wax and about 100 types of tobacco.  And really incredible sausage.

We spent a good hour there.  The Calverts shopped with confidence and ease.  I gawked.  And wished that I had thought to bring my camera.  I couldn't read any of the labels, and one of the little known things about the marketing in other countries is that they don't spend a whole heck of a lot of money or effort on the presentation.  They've got better things to do.  Like lead riots to overthrow presidents and nonsense like that.  So the photography on the labels was less than persuasive and I'm so very grateful I couldn't read the fine print. 

But the spicy scents were exquisite and I loved the strangeness of it.  And the china tea sets that you could buy for only 99.99$. (Yes, that's the correct price.)

Sara had to read 250 scintillating pages of political science, so we dropped her off at the house and Chad and I went to two remarkable grocery stores. At least they were by my standards....

I've never been to a grocery store where there were no less than 100 different types of cheese and only two of those types were, say, Mozzarella and perhaps an Edam. The rest were gloriously stinky, creamy, crumbly, pretty, outrageous cheeses. And we could pick up a wrapped slice and smell them!

AND the fresh seafood and produce nearly floored me. 

I'm sure taking a Cohagen ranch wife to the big city grocery stores was a bit wearing on Chad.  He bore it remarkably well. 

Even when I got lost.

Even when I couldn't run the self-checkout.

Even when I asked about the chemical properties in cannabis brownies.

Even when I stared at the oh, so luscious olives and other tapas that you could buy by the pound!

So later that evening, Sara and Chad started to cook.  And I chopped.  And we had really great wine from the cellar. 

But check this out....this was Valentine's Day supper:

I know.  I can't read them either.  But the translation is: DELICIOUS!

This was a bottle of the same wine Sara and Chad had at their wedding reception!

And our starter bottle, for food prep purposes.

*A little something funny about Sara, that makes me smile, is that she starts nearly every meal/occasion with a sparkling white wine.  Bubbles! So Chad gets a cocktail...something bourbon, I think....and Sara gets bubbly.   I go back and forth, but I'm more of a red wine girl.  The compromise is Lambrusco...a bubbly red wine.  Mmmmm!

Chad is preparing artichoke hearts for his dish, which you'll see later. (I wish I had thought to get recipes from the Calverts while I was there!)  Anyway, it was a work of art.  Sara and I were aghast at all the artichoke spines that went into compost, but it turns out that they are of no use after they're pulled off.  Or so he tells us...

Aaaaahhhh.....CHEESE!  My mouth is watering, just looking at this, again.  What richness! To have SIX gorgeous cheeses for the three of us, for all evening....

FRESH olives!!! Not from a can.  We got these at Whole Foods, one of the massive grocery stores in Boulder.  Turns out, this particular store is the biggest Whole Foods store in the nation.  I have only Ryans, Reynolds and Albertsons to compare it to, all three of which would fit in it, with wiggle room to spare.

Anyway, fresh olives are so very salty-chewy-wonderful that I think I like them miles better than potato chips.

Really.

(Oh, and there's a caper in there, I think....with the stem.  Hmmm...)

Alright....these were the richest, richest things I've eaten.  I don't remember what they are called (Sara?) but they are essentially feta cheese and spices, wrapped up in phyllo dough (= pure butter), and baked until the cheese is all warm and melty, and the phyllo is crusty and brown.  You'll want to eat five or six.  I was only able to get around two.  But I WANTED to eat five or six.

Homemade hummus, which is light years better than any old purchased stuff, paired with flatbread.

Bottle #2! Ah....

Pears, strawberries, apples, fresh raspberries....and you don't see the bowl of grapes.

This plate....I could weep with longing, right now.....this plate has Greek sausage, which tastes like gyros meat, a yogurt dip and onions, which should be eaten like this: pick up a sausage with your fingers, press a large hunk of onion next to it, dip in yogurt sauce and eat all at once.  Repeat. Repeat. Repeat....  For those who are gagging about the yogurt sauce, it's unsweetened!  Plain yogurt.  Whew. 

To the front of the plate, you'll see bacon wrapped dates stuffed with bleu cheese.  I'll give you a minute, here. It's just as rich as the phyllo wraps, but in a different way.  Let me tell you this: once you eat these, you'll long for them for the rest of your life.
Here's how you make them: Buy the freshest dates you can get your hands on...not dried in a package.  Split them, barely, to get the pit out. Then tuck, ever so gently, a dab of bleu cheese in their tummies and press back together.  Cut bacon slices in half and precook in a skillet, just a little, so that the bacon doesn't have to do all the cooking in the oven.  Wrap the dates with the soft, precooked bacon and secure with a toothpick.  Place on a baking sheet and put in a hottish oven (would you say 400 degrees?) until the bacon is done.  The entire house smells like heaven. I can't describe to you how luscious these are.  Make them for yourself and then we can talk!

Chad's masterpiece!  Artichoke heart smothered in carrots, garbanzo beans, onions and steamed. (I know there was some other ingredient, but I wasn't paying close attention, giving all my care to the dates...) These were so pretty and fresh, and I'd like to have them in the summer, when you eat out on the deck.

We ate the whole time we were preparing. It took a couple hours, because the prep was part of the fun, and Chad had CTV going (Calvert T V) so we could look at the pictures of their travels while we "worked"!

THEN we filled our plates, staggered to the couches and watched "Casablanca" as we endeavored to get around more food and wine. 

THEN we had raspberry and Madagascar vanilla bean gelato.

Can you imagine?

And that was my last evening with Sara, Chad and Max.  They were such gracious, fun hosts! 

And tolerant.  And patient.  And real. 

There are tons of details that I've omitted that were special to me, but I have to get this posted!

I went to class with Sara and was astonished at how much Government 101 I remembered. And the college kids were just cute.  And nervous about the old woman in the corner who OBVIOUSLY didn't belong there. 

We took a little hike/walk around an urban lake and up on the mountain overlooking Boulder.

There was a kitchen store that I wanted to get locked in overnight.

Everyone, even the old people, were fit and active.

I read a book in one sitting....one morning.  I haven't done that for years!

So much more!

But I'll move on....

Thanks for reading about my trip!

If I can get some of the recipes from Sara, I'd like to post a couple. 

Rocky Mountain High, The Food Edition

I had the best food of my life in Colorado.

And it was beyond just eating...it was an adventure!

So when I left you, after the zoo, I told you my favorite part of the trip happened next.
Here you go:

I've been reading, all my life, of restaurants that served incredibly prepared food, served up in tiny portions on huge plates and always wondered how anyone ever got full.  Could it really be THAT good? Really?  And didn't the diners race right out after that and order a pizza to quell the obvious hunger?

I can now say, with complete conviction, that it's a food lover's fantasy come true. 

So, in downtown Boulder, there's a little place called The Black Cat Bistro that serves meals made from food they try to mostly grow or procur locally.  The owner and chef has a farm, and the menu is dependant on the food in season at that moment.  You can read more about it if you hit the link, but let me tell you, the freshness nearly jumped off the plate.  It makes a difference.  You could smell the difference in the air, in the food being prepared. 

Sara and Chad are professional foodies.  They have travelled the world, trying everything and have supremely good taste, so I put myself in their more than capable hands and just took delight in the experience! 

They are also professional wine-ies. (I know.  There's just not a good word for that.) Drinking wine with them is rather an event in itself, really.  They swirl, sniff, guess, argue, taste, swirl again, peer at the color...and really and truly knew what they were doing!  I did not.  But it was fun to swirl and sniff and taste and try to find the flavors they were describing.  For instance, they would say a wine was young and rather "boozy" but with apple undertones.  I said it was bouncy and bright, a little in your face.  They would be able to tell the region the wine was from, having been there in person!  I would say I thought it was a beautiful crimson in that light.  It was a little like wine kindergarten.

The Black Cat has a tasting menu, paired with wines, in either five, seven or ten courses.  Essentially, if you choose this option, you will be surprised by the foods coming from the kitchen and they choose the perfect wine for that food.  It's very....rich, for lack of a better word. It's sort of how I imagine royalty dines.  And for an obscene amount of time, the people who are preparing and  those serving the food only have your happiness and supreme satisfaction in mind.  As though they were waiting all day for you to come and loll about like sultans, eating the very best food they could come up with. I'm pretty good at that, by the way...

The Calverts ordered the seven course tasting menu for us. (Or perhaps it was the five course and it turned into seven? Now that I type this, I'm confused.)

It took us a solid three hours to get through it.  It was the most fun I've had eating, ever! It was this huge food adventure with smarter people than I, who love food with the same sort of thrill. 

I can't remember all the dishes' names.  I really wish I did.  I just remember that the flavors and textures exploded in some dishes. They melted and teased, in other dishes.  They'd lie dormant then come out after the wine crossed my palate. There were smooth flavors, audacious flavors that made you gasp.  There were textures that surprised your mouth and just when you thought you had it exactly the way it should be, they'd shift and improve.  I can't really explain it.  But I'm sitting here reliving it.

We had duck and beef and fish and vegetables that were so perfectly prepared, perfectly presented....
My favorite taste, being the ranch girl, was the beef with mushrooms and pasta and a sauce that made us swoon....the comment that described it was, "This is what beef stroganoff SHOULD taste like!"
Just when I thought, "THIS is the most perfect food.  I love this more than anything else I've ever tasted.", I'd be served some new concoction and have to start all over with my food love.

Besides all that, I had hilarious stories from Sara H. and Chad about their honeymoon and an ill-fated, not-so-romantic-as-it-was-planned horse ride on the beach. And travel stories from the areas the wine originated.

I have NEVER enjoyed a meal more.

And, amazingly, I was incredibly full, even with the tiny tastes.  But not uncomfortably so.  Just happily, warmly sated. 

But wait....
We still have another restaurant...equally amazing, only in its own charming style.

Sunday evening, we dolled up...AGAIN....and went to L'Atelier, a French restaurant also in downtown Boulder. 

Oui!

Again, I had no idea what to do.

Well, first things first....let's order a cocktail.

This was a place that uncorked the wine, poured a tiny dab, waited for us to approve it, then and only then would pour it.  This was a place that you had to commit to a dish.  This was a place with....

CHEESE.

Oh, my GOODNESS!
Let me tell you about the cheese....

Chad and Sara ordered a cheese plate with four different kinds of cheese and I nearly stopped right there.

You must realize that where I live and grew up, bleu cheese was considered quite edgy.  We have (and not in order of availability or preference): cheddar, monterey jack, mozzarella, colby jack, and...if you are feeling VERY edgy....pepper jack or havarti.  Most people steer clear of havarti because they are worried about the pronunciation and they don't know what to do with it.  Sort of like Gerwertztraminer wine.

The cheese on THIS plate was beyond incredible.  Again, I don't remember exact names....but one of them had truffles and tasted earthy and...sweaty, only in a good way.  That's tricky.  Another was buttery and soft, and round in its flavor.  There was a sort of bleu cheese, only better than any I've ever had.  And a smoky, dry cheese.  Oh. My.  I could've stopped there and been happy.

But we also had these lobster ravioli and a pate', both of which were happy surprises!  I'm quite sure there will be lobster ravioli in Heaven.  Beyond a doubt. 

THEN....(that's right, folks, we haven't even made it to the entrees)(Which, by the way, makes no sense whatsoever, because doesn't the word "entree" mean "beginning"?  Our entrees are the Big Kahuna! I still don't get that...)

Refer to the menu for the EXACT descriptions, here...
Chad had the rack of lamb, Sara H. had the veal and I had the scallops, which I see, are no longer on the menu. How sad!  Just like before, we shared food all around and experienced all the dishes, eyes rolling and praise falling from our lips with ease.

And then there was dessert.  The Opera Cake, if you check back to the dessert menu. 

That night, I DID feel full.  Very full.  But not too full to enjoy another glass of wine at the Calvert Resort before bed!

The next part of the Food Edition deserves its own post.
Because WE made the food! On Valentine's Day!

To be continued...

Rocky Mountain High, Part V

Good grief!
We're only on Saturday!
Ah, but Saturday was the pinnacle of fun....
Do you remember in the movie Cars, that little Italian tire dealer? How he was always saying, "Thees...ees the most GLO-ree-ous day....of my life!"?  I felt like saying that, everyday I was in Boulder.  But Saturday really WAS the most GLO-ree-ous day. Of my life.

And Saturday started late, because we slept in.
Actually, I got up, went outside thinking I might go for a run, jogged about 4 blocks and realized I didn't remember Sara's address, jogged back, looked at the house number and decided to bag the run.  And went back in and crawled into bed, sleeping until nearly 10.  I've NEVER slept that late. Ever. In my life. Glorious!

After everyone sort of shlumped out of bed, drank a little coffee, strolled Max around for a token "walk", we decided to go to breakfast (at noon) and then to the zoo in Denver.

Breakfast was at Walnut Cafe', a fun, funky little place that serves incredible food. (Yes. The theme of the trip was "incredible food".) You can peruse the menu on the link and imagine how good it was.  I had quiche, breakfast potatoes, banana bread and triple shot breve.  Mmmmm! 

Am I the only one who loves to read menus? I love them! Which, actually, is what caused Sara H. and I to know we were going to be friends....she'd send me menus (wickedly at first and then kindly, later) of places they'd gone to eat and I'd pour over them and write back with comments. I also read cookbooks like other people read novels.  Anyway, that's why I include all the menus in these posts.

On to the zoo!
From here on out, it will be photo intense....little warning for you. 

Lions!

 And tigers!

And bears! Oh, my...

This is the first "real" zoo I've ever been to.

I've been to Zoo Montana several times, but most of the animals there are animals I have out the back door.

I was trying to be all cool, but it was so exciting to see...

Baby giraffes!

 And they were frisking all over the place, because the sun was out and it felt SO good.

I thought the baby giraffe next to the brick wall was such an interesting play of lines and form...

The other animal that we looked at for a long, long time was the polar bear with his fish-cicle.

They froze fish in a block of ice and the poor old bear had to worry and wool it around to get even little tastes. It would be like someone freezing little bits of coffee in ice and tossing it to me in the morning. (And everyone shudders at the thought...)

There were "How big are you?" things like this all over the zoo, and it was crazy to see how truly tiny we are in comparison!

 A slightly bigger mouthful than Sara...

All over the zoo, the animals were out sunning and sleeping...

 This tiger cracked me up!  Much like Angus, he wanted "pwivacy"...

The pachyderms were fascinating to me.

I wish the crest on this crane was easier to see in the photo. I thought they were such amazing birds...

 Fat lipped camels...

 Anxious hyenas...for all their giggling, you'd think they'd be more laid back, but apparently it's nervous laughter.

 Camera-shy kangaroos...

Actually, this kangaroo was quite "rood" and this is the only publishable photo I have of him.

Still friends, still smiling...

*whew!*

Oh, the carousel!!!  It was the most beautiful thing...

For some reason, I allowed myself to be persuaded that only children or people with children were permitted to ride on it. Eternal regrets...we all have them...and one of mine is that I didn't ride on the Denver Zoo carousel. But next time....I shall.

 And who doesn't like the tiggers? 

Teeny little train that runs through some of the habitats...

Again, we thought you had to have a child to ride.  (That's what Chad told me.  After getting home and looking at the Denver Zoo website, I'm thinking that's not the case. If ONLY I had thought to bring a kid, just to get on the rides...I'm always so unprepared....)

Laughing at the bears!

The male was pacing around the enclosure, looking for trouble, and decided to liven up the joint by waking the female. Bad idea. She was NOT happy. And his life was not enriched by that foolish move...

All day, we could hear this crazy honking/yelling/yipping sound and thought it must be a hyena.  Turns out it was a penguin! He really got into his song (if that's what you could call it) and threw his head back, chest out, arms flung and let 'er rip...

After his little show, he posed for pictures.  I wouldn't have been surprised if I could've gotten an autograph, too...

So our day at the zoo was wonderful, but the BEST part of the day is yet to come!!!

Do you see why I said it was like five vacations in one?

It gets better!

Really!

To be continued....

Rocky Mountain High, Part IV

Pat Green!

So Sara's husband Chad got home from Houston, just in time to escort us to supper and the Pat Green concert.  Bless his heart, he was a good sport about it, too, because he must've been just exhausted from travelling. 

Chad is a great guy; thoughtful, funny, smart, hard working, well-traveled.  You know.  All the things Sara is, only with a simmering sort of temper and he won't be rushed. (Fair's fair...we all have our flaws, and I can't mention hers without mentioning his....) Here's a picture, just so you have an idea of who I'm talking about.

They're perfect for each other!

Anyway, back to the day...

We got all cleaned up after that exhausting hour in the hot tub and a nap, and set out for Protos, a Napoletana pizzeria.

It was packed.

(This would turn out to be the theme of the evening...)

After a short wait, in which we had a glass of wine (beer for Chad), checked out the other patrons' pizzas, glared at people who were lingering needlessly over ice cream and memorized the rather fabulous menu, we were seated and ordered. 

So, I did not know that the traditional way to get pizza in Italy is to have it uncut.  It's supposed to just come out in a big old pie and you slash away at it with knife and fork, like a flat steak.  So that's how we ordered our pizzas and I spent some time wondering if I was coordinated enough to eat pizza that way. And not drop it all over my Pat Green jeans.

I'll put a link to the menu for you, so you can lust after the pizza...

We EACH ordered a pizza...the Atomica, the Roman and the Pontiff.  Check 'em out!

And there was some mix up in the kitchen, so mine came out already cut, despite having been ordered otherwise.  Ah, well....not a big deal, because it smelled GOOD. I teased her that there went her tip, and we commenced to eating.

One of the great things about eating with Sara and Chad is that we got to share everything.  We'd order different dishes and then happily cut it up and hand portions around the table.  And discuss them as we ate.  That was the most fun!

So right in the middle of the sharing of the pies, the waitress comes back with an uncut version of my Pontiff pizza and apologetically puts it down on the table. I felt bad for about 2 seconds, then we all but arm-pumped over the free pie.  YES!

We staggered out, finally, to head to the Grizzly Rose for Pat Green!

(I KNOW.  You thought I'd NEVER get there.  Well, we're not there yet, kids...)

The Grizzly Rose is a huge country western nightclub/dancehall sort of place on the outskirts of Denver that manages to attract all sorts of big name entertainers, one every weekend.  The best way I can describe it is to tell you it reminded me of how Gilley's in Texas was portrayed in Urban Cowboy. Almost exactly. The same atmosphere, the same big dance floor, the same long bar, the same women wearing string tank tops and holding a Bud Lite, the same guys wearing Tony Lamas and awful dude cowboy hats.  (Now we're all going to have to rent that wretched movie so you can see what I'm talking about...)

The place was packed.

Beyond packed.

Apparently, Sara H. and I are not the only ones who love Pat Green.

And there are no seats, for the concert.  You all just cram in on the dance floor area as close to the stage as you can, and rock out.  You don't leave for a beer, you don't leave to go to the bathroom or you'll never get back.  One guy in front of us had brought an actual six pack and we were admiring his planning. 

It was hot and almost hard to breathe for a while. I was surprised at how close we actually were to the stage, really.  I'm a terrible judge of distance, especially in buildings, so I'll have to ask Sara the distance in feet, but I could see Pat's dimples and the buttons on his flannel shirt, easily. And not on the screens...in real life!  Did that give you an idea? :)

He's a great entertainer. Of course, I think Pat Green could probably stand on the street corner and sing "Do you know the muffin man..." and get people going.  He doesn't take himself too seriously, and he really and truly has a good time interacting with the crowd and singing.  I loved that he didn't just play current hits, but dug back into the vault for Cannonball and Three Days and Take Me Out To A Dancehall.  There were about four times that I just held my hand over my mouth and stopped, just stopped everything, because I realized that I was THERE and that was PAT GREEN, and I could see his dimples. (Marina, back me up here, girl....) Of course, it was just me and Pat....and 2000 of his other biggest fans.

It was amazing.

*sigh*

Incidently, I had the coolest jeans in the joint.  Apparently, Miss Me hasn't hit Denver as big as it has hit Miles City and Midland....

To be continued...

 

Condensed version, for my impatient friends...

Sara and Chad are a kick in the pants!
Pat Green met and exceeded expectations.
We ate like fat sultans every day.
The Denver Zoo rocked.
I remember more Government 101 than I thought.
It's possible to sleep until 10 a.m. and not feel guilty.
The meaning of life is surely found in a good wine.
A good wine is surely found in Sara and Chad's private cellar.
Sara and Chad are a kick in the pants!

The End

Now....
the rest of you detail people, stick with me...this was like five vacations in one, and I'm going to relish every single minute of it! And torture you with them.

:)