Ketchin Up

So here's a quick rundown of the latest:



We saw Michael Clayton last week. You know the old plodding lawyer/reporter intrigue movies from the 70's (like All the President's Men)? This is a 2007 version of movies like that. I can't help but think that George Clooney is one of the true movie stars of our time.

I also went and saw Dr. Dog play a couple of weeks ago. Between the Rockies game and the band playing it was a pretty exciting evening. People were running back and forth between the show area of Larimer Lounge and the Bar area to check the game out. Dr. Dog was good, not necessarily my cup of tea, I think I sensed a little too much hippy in them.

Food-wise I just have to say that Erawan Thai Cuisine is the best Thai in Denver that I've had. Alana and I went on a weeknight and the place was hopping, which was good to see, since we're usually one of two tables in there when we eat. The hot and sour soup is out of this world, and we haven't gone wrong with an entree yet. The flavors at Erawan are more subtle than some of the big hitters (Thai Basil, Swing Thai) around here, and it makes the food taste much more delicate and homemade.

I also hit up Royal India on Sunday, it was decent Indian fare, not much better or worse than anywhere else. I had the peas paneer, my friend Ben got the eggplant dish, both were decent, I'd say his was better. (My peas were a bit overcooked). Little India still has my vote for best though.

Oh, and here's a recipe for mashed potatoes:

2 spuds (I used Idaho)chopped
1/4 c milk
generous amt. of salt
pepper
1/4 cup sour cream
2 T butter

Cover the potatoes with water and boil until fork tender. Approx. 20 minutes. Pour out most of the water from the pot. (If you put the closest lip of the pot about half way up on the sink edge nearest you and pour the water out that way it will keep the potatoes from coming out and give you a chance to see how much water you have poured). I always leave a little bit of water in the pot. Mash the potatoes a bit in the small amount of water (we're talking 2-3 T here), and then mix in the milk, sour cream, salt, pepper, and butter. Adjust seasonings for your taste. For a variation you can add part of a packet of ranch dressing mix, it's delicious.

Zombie Fried Rice

I went and saw Resident Evil: Extinction this past weekend. It was exactly what you think it would be. The dialog was some of the worst I've heard this side of Uwe Boll, but you dont' go to a zombie movie based on a video game for the dialog. I was disappointed there wasn't more man vs. zombie action, and the whole "evil corporation" subplot was sub-par, even for a by the numbers story like this. A desolate post-apocalyptic desert world was kind of neat and Milla Jovovich kicked some ass. So yeah, exactly what you'd expect.

I made roasted cauliflower with teriyaki bbq sauce (recipe follows post), teriyaki tofu and cashew fried rice stuffed peppers. It was all very good. The key to stuffed peppers of any kind is to blanch/boil the peppers for about 10 or 15 minutes until they have cooked almost all of the way through, then stuff them and bake them. This helps keep the whole dish from drying out.

Roasted Cauliflower:

This is take on a recipe from Bon Appetit Magazine:

1 head of cauliflower cut into florets
1-2 T vegetable oil

Heat an oven to 400 degrees, toss cauliflower in oil, put on a sheet pan and bake approx. 45 minutes turning cauliflower occasionally.

Teriyaki BBQ Sauce (This is from memory, so it might not be completely accurate):

1/4 of an onion minced
2 cloves garlic minced
1 T vegetable oil
1/3 C ketchup
2 T teriyaki sauce
1 T rice wine vinegar
1 tsp. soy sauce

cook onions and garlic over medium heat, when softened add the rest of the ingredients, cook for 5 minutes. Toss with cooked cauliflower and serve.

Pulcinella Denver and some Sweet Potato

Pulcinella Ristorante is a mainstay of the Ft. Collins dining scene and now Denver has its own. I got a gift certificate there from some fine folks I work with and Alana and I took the opportunity to order just about everything we could last night. Pulcinella is damn near the closest thing to the food I had when I was in Italy after I graduated from college.

The antipasti menu reads like a sushi menu. On our last visit we had the wild mushroom ravioli, which is the best ravioli I've ever had. Ever. This time we ordered the Asparagus in lemon sauce and the risotto croquettes (which don't have chicken stock! Score vegetarians). The Asparagus was perfectly cooked and the lemon sauce was light. Although it tasted good I wouldn't say it was worth the $4.95. The Risotto Croquettes, however, were delicious and are worth a trip by themselves. I see a dinner of Mushroom Ravioli and Risotto Croquettes in my future.

We also got the Spinaci salad - delicious with its lemon dressing and gorgonzola cheese - and I got a dish that consisted of penne pasta, eggplant, mozzarella, and tomato sauce. Pulcinella does their eggplant right; it's apparently marinated in olive oil and red pepper flakes, I'm going to have to try that. To finish it off we had their homemade vanilla gelato - can't go wrong with that.

Tonight I made sweet potato chipotle soup. Here's the recipe for any of you wanting to try it:

1/2 onion diced
3 cloves garlic chopped
1 tsp. grated ginger
1 sweet potato cubed
1-2 T brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp chipotle in adobo
2 1/4 C vegetable broth
salt and pepper to taste
1 T olive oil

Heat oil over med. heat. Cook the onion, garlic and ginger. When they get soft and fragrant add brown sugar and cook for a few minutes to brown/caramelize. Add 1/4 cup of broth to deglaze along with the sweet potato and chipotle. Cook for 2 min. then add the rest of the stock. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to low for 20 minutes. Move to blender and blend. Add salt and pepper to taste. We had this with grilled cheese sandwiches, but you could pair it with a southwestern meal as well.

Be careful with the chipotle - that stuff is hotter than Arizona asphalt in July. Oh and go Rockies.