use real butter

One of the joys of my heathen ways is that Christmas and Easter are typically empty slope days for a ski whore like me. Jeremy and I had a nice morning of fast corduroy, sunny skies, and the mountain practically to ourselves. I would have posted a picture, except Jeremy’s POS point-and-shoot craps out when the temperature is below 20F. All you need to know is that it was good and I skied it.

The other day when I met Beth for happy hour in Boulder, Jeremy couldn’t join us because he had a meeting with one of his graduate students. When he saw the fondue on the blog, he made a barely audible whimper at having missed out. So while we were running through the grocery store on Friday to pick up some raspberries, I whipped out the iphone and looked up a quick recipe for gruyère fondue: gruyère (of course), a baguette, some sausage, apples, and then some white wine. This being Colorado with antiquated liquor laws, we had to find a liquor barn to purchase wine. This being Colorado with antiquated liquor laws, we had only to walk next door as every grocery store in the state literally has a liquor store within 200 feet of its doors.

let’s have fondue

It was the perfect excuse to use my new saucier pan too. I had a fondue set that was gifted to me by someone I don’t even speak to anymore (aka Bridezilla, if that tells you anything). The bowl broke from the heat of a candle - wtf?!? Sort of indicative of the relationship which had its fair share of wtf moments.

toss the shredded cheese with flour

add lemon juice to the heated white wine

This is a fast recipe. Each handful of cheese melts quickly and smoothly while you stir it in. The flour helps to prevent separation of the cheese (as does the acidity of the lemon juice and wine).

season with pepper and nutmeg

Taking a cue from happy hour, I cut up some apple (fuji), crusty baguette, and chicken sausages. The chicken sausages were 1) chicken and apple and 2) chicken, spinach, and garlic. I have to say I liked the punchier of the two (the spinach-garlic), but would prefer a spicier sausage to both of these. Just saying…

for dipping

bite size

Fondue was the perfect après ski this afternoon. Love that heady wine and gruyère combination! Kaweah helped me finish the apple chunks :)

fun do!

worth every calorie

Traditional Fondue
modified from about.com

1 lb shredded Gruyère (it says 1/2 lb gruyère and 1/2 lb Emmental, but I got lazy)
1 clove garlic
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
1 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp flour
pepper and nutmeg to taste

for dipping:
1 baguette, cut into cubes
1 apple (granny smith or some tart/sweet thing), cut into chunks
1 lb. cooked sausages, sliced thick

Toss cheese and flour together; set aside. Rub the inside of the pot with the cut side of the garlic clove. Pour wine into the pot and heat until warm, not boiling. Add the lemon juice. Add cheese by the handful to the wine, stirring constantly until melted and creamy. Add pepper and nutmeg to taste. Let the mixture come to a boil once and remove from heat. Set over flame so the fondue bubbles lightly. Spear the bread, apple, or sausage and dip in the fondue.

I met with my buddy, Leyla, for lunch yesterday at The Kitchen in Boulder. Yup, same place I lost my panna cotta virginity. Leyla is a tele stud who jacked up her knee jumping into crazy chutes at Jackson Hole earlier this season - on ALPINE skis. Let this be a lesson to you all… stick with tele.

the tele betty and the x-ray

Those white stripes in the x-ray are the metal plates, pins, and screws they put into her knee. I hadn’t seen Leyla in a couple of months since her accident. With my chemo and her knee, it was like our tele class was getting picked off one by one. Thankfully, no one else got whacked - just us two sickos. She greeted me with some lovely little gifts. Such a sweetheart.

chocolates and mini silicone molds!

Lunch was fantastic as always. I am never disappointed with The Kitchen and the company was even better than the food.

chopped salad

garlic fries

my pulled pork sandwich

Normally, I could have put that sandwich away. The good news about not being able to stomach much food is that Jeremy got the other half when I picked him up later. He couldn’t shut up about how awesome the sandwich was. Love The Kitchen.

toward the end of lunch i got to meet the kids

Oh, and before lunch I had some time to hit a little sale I had spied earlier and got my hot little hands on these pretty numbers:

all-clad, all mine

I’m feeling saucy now!

I wanted to post on the first day of spring, but my workout kicked my ass and I nodded off on the couch last night instead - drool and all. I didn’t snore. That’s the dog’s job. She performed to expectation, snoring her little brains out with her furry self stretched on the futon next to me… much like she’s doing this morning.

it’s a full time job

Jeremy was out of town for a meeting in Puerto Rico this week. While most folks who live where there is more winter than summer might be ecstatic to take a trip to a tropical locale, he isn’t one of them. [You honestly think I’d shack up with someone who loves the tropics more than the mountains? Come on!] Some people get bent out of shape when their partner goes out of town, but it doesn’t phase me much unless something shitty happens like a car accident or someone dying. However, I did have an itch to make a dessert, but decided to wait until Jeremy got home because it is one of his favorites.

can you guess? gelatin and milk…

The first time I ever had panna cotta was at The Kitchen in Boulder about two years ago. It was Community Night and we were *stuffed* when this trough of creamy goodness was set on the table in front of us. Yogurt panna cotta with drunken prunes. Never had it before. Never heard of it for that matter. I said I’d take a taste. I had two servings. It is now one of my favorite desserts.

add sugar and cream to the warmed gelatin and milk

Panna cotta means cooked cream in Italian (oh, I love those Italians). It is a versatile and simple dessert. Easy to prepare and elegant to serve up. I’ve had versions ranging from tangy yogurt panna cotta to sinfully creamy cinnamon panna cotta with full cream. This one is half whole milk and half cream - still pretty rich and delightful.

flavored with vanilla

My favorite way to serve panna cotta is in little servings. I’ve made them in molds before and it made me swear a lot. That’s probably just me, but these tiny servings are perfect little pick-me-ups or pre-desserts or even chaser desserts! Jeremy had one for brekkie this morning.

just a shot

Okay, but Jeremy wouldn’t be sold on panna cotta alone. The reason he loves this panna cotta is because I add a little something extra to it. Something that caffiends like him cannae resist.

more gelatin and some water

…and enough espresso powder to fuel your rocket

When the panna cotta sets, I pour a cooled layer of espresso-flavored gelatin on top. Espresso to Jeremy is like chum to sharks. It’s good stuff, I just try not to eat too much of it (Ass Reduction Plan is in full swing).

a tasty way to get hopped up

Espresso Panna Cotta

panna cotta
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 envelope powdered gelatin (1/8 oz)
1 tsp vanilla extract

espresso jello
4 tsp instant espresso powder
1/2 envelope powdered gelatin (1/8 oz)
10 oz water
2 oz brown sugar

Panna cotta: sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup milk in a pan for 3 minutes or until dissolved. Add sugar and remaining milk. Heat over medium flame until sugar and gelatin are dissolved, but take care not to boil. Remove from heat and stir in the cream and the vanilla. Pour into vessels and refrigerate until set (a few hours depending on volume).

Espresso jello: Heat water to a boil. Remove from heat and sprinkle gelatin over the water. Stir until dissolved. Add espresso powder and brown sugar. Stir until dissolved and let cool. Pour over set panna cotta and refrigerate until jello layer is set.