Chocolate en Fuego, a Classic Holiday Drink

I asked my friend Evan Faber, the illustrious Beverage Director at Boulder’s now-famous SALT the Bistro (and master-mind behind The Cocktail Element), for a must-try holiday cocktail recipe.  Evan gave me a recipe for one of his favorites, and, I must say- he has good taste.  This is definitely a seasonal beverage that I’ll be enjoying throughout the winter, not just over the holidays.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 oz Reposado Tequila
• .5 oz Peppermint Schnapps or Rumple Minze
• a cup of rich hot chocolate
• dash of cayenne

When I first read this recipe I was a little unsure of the tequila-peppermint combination.  It didn’t sound like it intuitively went together, and, though I didn’t doubt Evan per se, I didn’t exactly rush out to buy Rumple Minze right away.  But, I should have!  I could have been enjoying this now for a couple weeks!

I used some Savory Spice Shop hot chocolate, which is a rich, smooth, and chocolately hot chocolate.  I’ll need to stock up on cocoa because “Chocolate en Fuego” is officially my new favorite winter-time drink… after Maple Scotch, of course!

Cheers!

A Virtual Tour: Market to Table Tour

Last Wednesday was a another beautiful day for a tour through downtown Boulder!  When we met on Pearl Street, there were hundreds of people milling around, enjoying all the performers and the sights and sounds of a perfect Colorado afternoon.  We walked down Pearl Street to our first stop – Leaf Vegetarian Restaurant.

Leaf Dining Room

At Leaf, the group enjoyed 3 perfectly plated samples:  A Raw Wrap with swiss chard and basil almond pâté, Raw Ravioli with beet, and Buffalo Seitan with blue cheese, carrot and celery salad paired with a Spanish white wine from Catalunya.  All our tour groups have enjoyed the beautifully appointed dining room, as well as the samples of delicious creations by Chef Steve Dustin.

We continued on to SALT, where a brandy cocktail with a honey cardamom simple syrup was waiting for us.  We sat at the bar overlooking the impressive kitchen.  Evan, the Beverage Director at SALT, talked with us about mixing the perfect cocktail, and pairing wine with our food samples.  Executive Chef Kevin Kidd talked with us about sourcing local ingredients as we enjoyed crostini with butter, radish and arugula; followed by prosciutto wrapped asparagus, Hazel Dell Mushroom and Haystack goat cheese in filo; all paired with a California Gewurtztraminer.  The extra special treat at the end of our visit was a sample of SALT’s famous dark chocolate caramel salt tart.

Back Bar overlooking the kitchen at SALT

Before continuing to our next partner restaurant, we stopped at Savory Spice Shop to talk with Dan about the variety of spices and seasoning mixes he carries at his shop.  We sampled different kinds of cinnamon from around the world, freeze dried corn, and candied ginger.  The staff at Savory paired up with our tour guests and expertly helped us through seasonings to use with some of our favorite dishes.

As we walked up to the Boulderado Hotel, a bridal party was checking in to this beautiful, historic hotel. The dining room at Q’s is elegant, and we sat on the restaurant’s enclosed glass porch to enjoy the Chef’s garden greens with house smoked salmon and capers, paired with Q’s signature orange- cranberry spritzer.  Q’s manager talked with us about the variety of programs and initiatives they use to be as sustainable as possible, including using wind power and partnering with a local biodiesel company.

We ended our tour at the bustling Boulder Farmers’ Market. First, we took in the sites and sounds of the busy market, stopping to sample Sugar Snap peas from Munson Farms (one of the original farms to participate in the market over 20 years ago), and popcorn from Boulder Popcorn.  Then we met up with Antonio Laudisio, who cooked us pizza in his brick pizza oven using Hazel Dell mushrooms.  We topped off our tour with a small scoop of all-natural, vanilla ice cream from Boulder Ice Cream.

Boulder Farmers' Market

If you would like to experience Boulder’s culinary scene for yourself, please click here for a listing of upcoming tours.  We look forward to seeing you on a future tour.  Each tour varies slightly, and as different seasonal ingredients become available, our chefs will change up what they share with us.

Cheers!

Julie and Megan

CSA’s: Community Supported Agriculture

Want to take that wonderful Market Tour food home with you all season long?

Think about joining a local CSA.

Membership in a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) is a great way to get to know and use fresh, local, seasonal ingredients in your own kitchen.  The Chefs from our Market Tour talk with farmers and make menu decisions based on what is growing in our community.

CSA fresh and seasonal produce from Ollin Farms

This picture represents 1/2 share of the CSA from one of our partners, Ollin Farms.  Mark at Ollin Farms is a talented local farmer with a background in environmental and water resource engineering who believes in sustainable agriculture.  Mark and his family use the farm not only to supply the community with delicious and nutritious food, but also to educate adults and youth about the importance of The Biological Nutrient-Dense Farming Model.

If you are looking for a local CSA, or would like to learn more about what is local, fresh, and seasonal where you live- try your local farmers’ market or check out some of the resources listed below.

Local Harvest

USDA National Agricultural Library

Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association

Land Stewardship Project

If you are looking for some great ideas on what to do with fresh and seasonal produce, check out Megan’s blog where there are many excellent ideas for using vegetables in delicious and nutritious dishes.