Welcome to May! I never thought we would have an entire April without snow, I guess it really is Spring, although we could use some rain at least. Thank you to all who attended the events last week, it seemed like the whole week was one big event in Food and Beverage.
This week is of course Cinco de Mayo! We have parties going on in two places. For Happy Hour, Angie has a classic Tex-Mex style celebration with chips, queso, mini quesadillas, sopapillas, and lots of fun drinks. Jesus and David have put together a buffet for the dining room featuring authentic dishes that they both contributed for our enjoyment.
CINCO DE MAYO BUFFET.
ENTREES:
Beef Chili en Nogada
Chicken Mole Pipian
Oaxaca Pork Tamales
Squash Blossom Sopes with Charred Salsa
Mexican Street Corn Salad
Ceviche
SALAD BAR:
Bell Peppers
Red Onions
Fresh Queso
Eggs
Tomatoes
Mexican Rice
Refried Black Beans
Mexican Corn on the Cob
Grilled Chayote
Anyway, the weekly soup is Steak and Potato. This is exactly what it sounds like, grilled steak, sliced, and simmered with vegetables and potatoes in a rich broth. Kind of like a stew, but much lighter. This is gluten-friendly.
The appetizer this week is a crispy Coconut-Crusted Shrimp with orange pomegranate glaze. This is a really big shrimp, we usually get U-12 size meaning that there are an average of twelve shrimp per pound (!). This is not gluten-friendly.
The cheese this week is a Cinnamon and Cranberry Goats' Cheese from Canada with a really nice and soft texture and beautiful color. The cheese is complemented with Whiskey barrel-aged honey from here in Colorado and crackers. Try this one, it's really good!
At Dinner this week, we have Baked Striped Bass with a zippy tomatillo and pepper sauce, couscous, and fava beans tossed in olive oil and sea salt. If you've never had fava beans, they are wonderfully soft and yet flavorful; think lima beans but not yucky like lima beans.
We have a slowly Braised Beef Cheek with wild mushroom gravy. The cheek of the animal is one of the most flavorful cuts, but needs hours of slow cooking to make it tender. We do the cooking for you of course; these cuts are simmered in Pinot Noir, with celery, garlic, onions and carrots until they are simply melting. We have redskin potatoes mashed with butter and horseradish, and grilled crusty bread on the side to mop up the gravy. I recommend very strongly that you ask Lora if she has anymore of the Chronic Cellars Zinfandel from last week's tasting, it would be perfect here.
We have carved Turkey Breast with gravy, just because it's May doesn't mean you can't celebrate Thanksgiving. Sweet potato casserole and green beans accompany this.
For a Vegetarian Special we have Parmesan-Crusted Polenta served over grilled portobello mushrooms, served with sautéed arugula.
As a pasta this week we will serve a classic Chicken Alfredo over house made noodles with garlic bread. Yum. Very rich, lots of cheese, butter, garlic, and more cheese.
For nightly specials look for Grilled Pork Chops with Madeira Sauce, Lobster Raviolis, Chimichurri Scallops, Grilled Lobster Tail, and Prime Rib.
At Lunch, look for Chilled Chili-Roasted Shrimp Salad, Grilled Picanha Steak, and Mushroom Burgers.
The Flight of Fancy this week is as local as it gets, four whiskeys from two distilleries within 10 miles of here. Rocker is a very small operation off of Littleton Boulevard. Their signature whiskey is mostly corn, with a smooth slightly sweet finish, and of course Stranahan's needs no introduction, as it is no longer small or shy. There are three single malt whiskeys to try and they are very different indeed. Ask your Server or Bartender for this week's flight to enjoy during dinner with friends!
As always, please join me for the Culinary Corner meeting every Monday at 10 am in the Dad Clark Bar, I look forward to seeing you there!
Comments