Zengo, Why Have You Forsaken Me?

Before I talk about anything else, I have to put it out there...My favorite restaurant in Denver has fallen from grace.  For the past three years, I have spent many months in between my visits dreaming about those delicious soft shell crab tacos.  Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, anytime I went, there they were waiting for my return....until this week.  One night this week I stopped in for just a simple plate of those wonderful things (and of course, a cucumber mojito) to find that they had been taken off the menu, just last week.  Now, to add insult to injury, the waitress tells me that the tacos are still available with the same slaw, however the soft shell crab has been changed to tempura battered asparagus....ASPARAGUS?  What the?  Who thinks asparagus is a perfectly good substitution for soft shell crab??????  Thanks Zengo for ruining Christmas this year....ahhh, but on to other things....

I spent Friday and Saturday decking the halls and getting a little holiday baking, candy making done.  I'm losing a weekend next week because on Friday, I'm headed to the greatest city in the world...NYC.  Can't wait.  More on that later, but back to the cooking.   Last night I made a large pot of Spicy Turkey Chili, guaranteed to clean out your sinuses.  This morning I made a batch of Peanut Butter Bon Bons and then proceed to make Praline Milk Jam.  I've never made Milk Jam before, but the recipe from Christine Ferber's book,Mes Confitures had me intrigued.  I got this book a couple years ago as a member of the audience at the Martha Stewart Show.  They had made jam that day, and the entire audience got a copy.  It seems like one of those things you can start, and then work on something else while it cooks.  I'll post the recipe in the recipe section.  The four hours of cooking in a double boiler, turned to six hours and then I finally just dumped it all into a large pan and cooked it stirring it constantly so it wouldn't burn.  The result, while delicious, is hardly worth the six hours it took to make, but lesson learned.  Perhaps the altitude and the boiling point, etc, etc of living at elevation has something to do with it, so don't let me keep you from trying it.    Anyway, off to Arizona this week and the New York at the end of the week.