This week was another whirlwind...Monday found me off to Texas to work in San Antonio, back to Denver on Tuesday night, Pueblo on Wednesday, Colorado Springs on Thursday and a busy, busy Friday and Saturday preparing for a birthday party catering job.  But , OH, the things I ate this week, and believe me, I ate.  One of the most notable things I had this week, which wasn't exactly something I ate, but more something I drank was an avocado margarita.  A traditional margarita blended with an avocado.  The consistency became something like a milk shake, but really good and really refreshing.  Being in San Antonio, I had lots of mexican food, which as most of you know is one of my favorites.  Wednesday night....Zengo.  Need I say more?  Not much to guess about here, soft shell crab tacos and cucumber mojitos.  Thursday, the "BIG E" roll from Jun's Japanese restaurant in Colorado Springs.   The most filling sushi roll I have ever eaten.    Friday a quick lunch at DJ's Berkley Cafe and the New Orleans Turkey....a yummy turkey sandwich with a really great, salty olive tapenade.  Then it was down to work.  I had a birthday party to cater this weekend.  The menu consisted of Chicken Salad, Ham and Cheese Puff Pastry, Mini Summer Squash and Zucchini Tarts (thank you to my sous chef, Dan for all his hard work making the "perfect" tart shells).  Two birthday cakes completed the menu.  One carrot, the other marble.  Along with all that , I had a lot of other stuff going on and now, needless to say, I have to get some sleep....Have a good weekend and I'll talk to you next week. 

The weeks fly by so fast, that I can barely remember where I was yesterday.  This past weekend that swift passage of time seemed to smack me right in the face.  For the past two years, I could probably count the number of times I missed Sunday brunch at Lola.  I have a fairly meticulous memory and even better record keeping skills, so when we decided we should show our faces at the "see and be seen" brunch spot, I checked to see the last time I had a credit card charge ...April 18?  WHAT?  Are you kidding me?  Over 3 months had passed since we had darkened the door of one of our favorite places in Denver.  I started to think about what I had been spending all my Sunday mornings doing?  Between the trip to New York, me being gone, Dan being gone, yard work, etc. 3 months had slipped away.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that even though we had been completely off the radar, the staff remembered us like we were Norm and Cliff on Cheers.  The food at Lola is so unusual, but always so good and I always enjoy the special that the chef has whipped up for that day, but this week I returned to simplicity...sweet potato hash and scrambled eggs.  Plain and simple scrambled eggs that were so light and fluffy.  The chorizo and peppers mixed in the hash were the perfect pairing for my eggs...(and my cranberry orange mimosa).  Sitting on the patio in the sun, drinking my mimosa, I was reminded why I love that place, and that sometimes our lives get so busy we forget to take pleasure in the simple things.  As things get busier and busier for me, I have to remind myself how quickly life is passing...so with that said...I'll see you Sunday Lola!

I spent the first part of the week in Arizona with temperatures ranging from 105 degrees to a low of 61 degrees.  Coming home to Denver I was welcomed by temperatures in the 90's.  What a great reason to retreat to the air conditioned comfort of my kitchen and bake a bunch of cake!  I didn't bake cake just for the sake of baking a cake (I hear a song there somewhere...sake....bake....cake) I had a wedding cake tasting today for a wedding cake I'm making in November.  Lemon cake with lemon curd filling and chocolate cake with raspberry filling, draped in chocolate fondant.  I'm really looking forward to doing it.  I also got the rsvp numbers  for the birthday party I' m catering at the end of the month.  It seems to be an exciting time for me right now, lots of jobs going  (doing exactly what I love) and a few changes in store, help to keep life interesting and challenging, and admittedly a little scary from time to time.  So, everyone raise your forks and take a bite of cake  for the future.

It's been a lot of years since my high school french class, and although I can still recognize a few words, I'm much better at recognizing French cooking terms and names of French dishes.  This weekend I'm cooking an all out French dinner, all from the pages of my Balthazar cookbook.  The menu consists of:
 
Roasted Beet and Bibb Lettuce Salad with walnuts and Gorgonzola
Carmelized Onion and Goat Cheese Tart
Chicken Riesling with Spaetzle
French Apple Tart with Creme Anglaise

It all seems so delicious, I wish it was tomorrow night already.  Today I made the Apple Tart and the creme anglaise.  I've prepared the crust for the Goat Cheese Tart and have it chilling in the fridge.  The chicken jus that I rushed home from the airport last night to make got done around 12:15am or so, so it should be perfectly delicious.  I also peeled and boiled about 25 tiny white pearl onions.  I've decided the best plan of action with all this delicious food, is to not eat for the entire day tomorrow leading up to this meal.  I'll post some pictures...bon appetit!

So I got to spend the week in Illinois last week and extended my stay to share the 4th of July with my family.  The weather had been picture perfect the entire week and the morning of the 4th the clouds rolled in.  Luckily, it never did rain, so the fireworks went off without a hitch as we watched from our customary spot on the railroad tracks.  This week was busy, back to Denver on Monday morning, Colorado Springs on Tuesday, flight to South Dakota on Wednesday, back home tonight...late of course.  This weekend, I'm making what I have referred to several times as the best chicken I have ever eaten.  If...or should I say when I have my own show on the Food Network and I'm on "The Best Thing I Ever Ate", it will be this chicken.  The recipe comes from one of my favorite New York City restaurants, Balthazar.  It involves this most  delicious, concentrated roasted chicken jus.  Needless to say, it is now 10:21pm and I've just added 6 cups of water to the pan that needs to reduce to 2 cups.  It's gonna be a while, but it gives me time to catch up on the website, hatch some new plans, etc. etc.  Who needs sleep?