I had an amazing dinner last night at Tables.  I would almost never be the guy who goes out to dinner and orders a pork chop, but the menu description just sounded too good to pass up.  "Grilled pork chop, sauteed peaches, mashers, bleu cheese and parsley-tabasco vinegar glaze".  I can't begin to say how delicious it was.  The tuna tartar we had as an appetizer was just as good.  This morning I got up and made another carrot cake for Dan's Birthday today.  It came out of the oven with NO evidence of altitude problems....(people at altitude...can I get an amen?)  It's been kind of a quiet week, gearing up for a busy week of travel this week and looking forward to the Labor Day weekend next week.  It seems so hard to believe the summer is ending with the 90 degree temperatures we have been having in Colorado.  A few times I've had those moments when you feel the Fall coming... a few leaves blowing around, a cool morning.  It's my favorite time of year and as sad as I will be to see the summer end, it's always great to have autumn come. 

I spent the week in Denver this week, working and being creative.  It was good spend some time at home.  I had a couple great lunches this week...let me tell you about them.  Denverites are familiar with Udi's, there are a few locations scattered throughout the metro area.  We at lunch there a few times this week and each day I tried something different.  The turkey reuben is delish.  On Thursday I tried a new addition to their menu Tandoori Shawarma (sp?).  While the list of ingredients promised to be packed with flavor, I have to say I was a little bit disappointed.  The thing I like about Udi's is that no matter what you choose off the menu, it always seems like a healthy choice.  One of the most favorite things I ate this week was something I made myself, and I think it may be this weeks fascination...open face tomato caprese melt.  I guess I like it because most of the ingredients came straight from the back yard minutes before I ate it.  I sliced some fresh tomatoes on top of an english muffin, topped it with a drizzle of olive oil, salt, pepper, a little fresh mozzarella and melted it in the oven.  I sprinkled it with some freshly picked basil leaves and drizzled it with some barrel aged balsamic vinegar...heaven.
This morning (a Saturday morning...) I got up about 4:30am to finish a baby shower cake...I just got a call letting me know how much they loved the cake and how great they thought it looked.   I guess I'll relax tomorrow, that's what Sunday is for isn't it?  I'll be off to Albuquerque on Monday morning...back to the grind.

I've been intrigued a bit with sauces lately.  I had been on a peanut sauce kick for awhile, I've dabbled in pestos and chimichurris and recently had an affair with romesco sauce.  I think sauces are the key to creating meals with endless possibilities.  If you can make a decent sauce, your possibilities are endless.  Tonight I made a pasta dish with lots of fresh vegetables that I picked up at the market this morning.  Here is the best part, the majority of the sauce was made from pasta water that I cooked the mushroom gnocchi in!  You can't get much easier than that.  I boiled the gnocchi and set it aside.  I sauteed a small zuchinni and yellow squash until they were light golden.  I slice cherry tomatoes in half , tossed it all together in a large pan, added about 1 cup of the pasta water back into the pot, a cup of romano cheese, about a teaspoon of lemon zest and about 2 tablespoons of fresh mint.  It was an incredibly fresh pasta dish for a late summer dinner. 
Earlier in the day I made some refrigerator pickles.  My mom and grandma used to make refrigerator pickles and freeze them in plastic butter tubs.  The recipe I used wasn't the same one, so I got the recipe they used to make from my mom and I'll be making those tomorrow.  I have also been searching for several years for a recipe for cinnamon zuchinni, and I came across a recipe today that seems like it's exactly what I've been looking for.  Ive got an exciting and  busy week coming up, working in Denver all week, a very important meeting and at the end of the week I'm making a baby shower cake.  Lots to do and the summer is passing by so quickly.  I had a couple of days in the past couple weeks where I felt a hint of fall coming on....sad to see the summer go, but looking forward to fall.  It is my favorite season after all.  Have a good week everyone,