Rolling in Dough

New! Happy Hour at Parisi

 

 

In a city packed with pizza joints, great pies aren’t hard to come by. But Parisi’s are a standout. Hot from the wood-fired over, the pizzas are thin and crispy with a blistered crust, topped with just enough cheese to soften the middle - truly something to behold. Don’t let the line at the register scare you - it moves quickly and once you’ve ordered, your delicious pizza will be on the table in minutes.

Plus, starting in June, Parisi is adding a Happy Hour from 3-6pm daily, so those lucky enough to arrive early can skip the line and indulge themselves in a pizza and glass of wine (or two...) straight out of Florence. 

Parisi 4401 Tennyson, Denver- 303-561-0234

EVOO Marketplace's Butter Olive Oil

The EVOO Marketplace might be the most unusual culinary destination in town. For anyone whose experience with balsamic vinegar is limited to the small bottle of sour, burgundy liquid languishing on restaurant tables, the EVOO Marketplace will be a revelation. Offering more than 40 olive oils and balsamic vinegars, these are gems that go far beyond the salad plate. Use them as dips, marinades, sauces, in recipes and mixed drinks. They are even delicious over fruit and ice cream. Mix and match flavors to become known as a culinary genius in your own right.  

In addition to their first press olive oils, they have a number of fused oils, where fruits and spices have been pressed with the olives. Some favorites are garlic, Tuscan herb, walnut, blood orange, and wild mushroom and sage. Their admirable list of Italian balsamic vinegars include a sweet 18 year- old and tangy 12 year- old from Modena, Italy, and flavored varieties like cinnamon pear, strawberry, honey ginger and dark chocolate.  

Their newest addition is Butter Olive Oil. It's heavenly, with a rich and luxurious taste. With all of the health benefits and anti-oxidants of olive oil, it still has all of the depth and flavor of butter, plus it's dairy-free for you lactose-adverse folks. 

Butter Olive Oil would be amazing on pasta with a good dose of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. You could pop popcorn in it. Spread it on pancakes or English muffins. Dip roasted corn on the cob in it. You could even freeze it to make it solid and use it just like butter. Just imagine the possibilities.  

EVOO Marketplace 1338 15^th Street, Denver – 303-974-5784

Fuel Cafe's House-Made Limoncello

In Sorrento along the Amalfi Coast, Italians have long been concluding shady patio lunches with a chilled shot of Limoncello. In Denver, house-made versions of this crisp and refreshing aperitif can be found at Gaetano's, Rjoja, Lala's Wine Bar and Marco's Coal Fired Pizza, mixed into gelato, margaritas, even over chicken wings. My favorite is at Fuel Café, a quirky off-the-beaten-path-but-totally-worth-the-trip place in the RiNo Arts district. Chef Bob Blair learned the art of making Limoncello at an Italian cooking school, and he uses crates of seasonal fresh fruit to create his secret recipes, using not only lemons, but also grapefruit, clementines and blood oranges. The fresh, sunny flavors are tangy, sweet and achingly good. Try their signature Limoncello martinis or order yours straight up in a chilled glass and enjoy it on their cool, tree-filled patio.         

Fuel Cafe 3455 Ringsby Court #105 Denver - just three blocks off of the Platte River bike path. 303-296-4642

Spice & Easy, Compliments of the Savory Spice Shop

It's no secret how much I love the Savory Spice Shop. It is, in fact, the reason that I thought a gourmet tour business was viable. I knew what an amazing experience it was and I ran into people all the time who had never heard of it. (What!!! You've never been to Savory??? Get in the car right now and let's go!!!) I also knew that there had to be a bunch of other great culinary destinations around, just waiting for food lovers to discover them. Hence, my new career as "Your Colorado Culinary Concierge". 

Turns out, I'm not the only one who thinks that Savory is awesome. The Food Network has come-a-callin'. Mike and Janet Johnston, owners of the Savory Spice Shop, have appeared on Paula Deen's show and Down Home with the Neely's. It seems that they caught the eye of the Food Network brass, who decided that Savory could spice up their line-up, too.  

Filming began in earnest last month, both at the shop on Platte Street and in kitchen, and now six episodes of Spice & Easy, starring Janet Johnston are in the can and ready to roll.

 The show premieres on The Food Network this Saturday, April 24 at 7:30 am MDT.  Check it out and see the difference that freshly ground spices can make in your own recipes.   

For more details about the show and Janet Johnston, click here to go to the official show website on The Food Network.  

Cinnamon & Aleppo Chile Mole' Cookies

The Savory Spice Shop is one of my favorite tour destinations. Kate and Cory welcome us in and wax poetically about Himalayan Pink Salt, Tahitian vanilla pods and the differences between true cinnamon and cassia (what we think is cinnamon, but it's really not). The aroma of freshly ground spices greets you at the door and one trip through the store is enough to make you rush home and clean out your spice cabinet (I'm looking at you, vat of paprika).  It is a gourmet stop that engages all of your senses, with brilliant aromas, exotic flavors, and gorgeous colors and textures.

I've been serving Mole' cookies during this stop, especially on the Chocolate Tour. It's a great way to demonstrate how well chocolate plays with cinnamon and chiles. I've used the mild Aleppo chiles from Syria in this recipe, but you could substitute a hotter chile or up the amount if you wanted more warmth. 

For the best results, mix up the dough and leave it tightly covered in the fridge, baking them as you need them. Fresh, they are a small, moist, spicy cake, a few days later, they are hard, crunchy, bland mounds. Also, pull them out a minute or two before you think they are done. 

Enjoy!

Mole’ Cookies

Adapted from The Art and Soul of Baking by Cindy Mushet.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon Kahlua
6 ounces 70 percent cacao bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 large eggs
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
3/4 cup (3 3/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (3 ounces) Almond meal
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
½-1 teaspoon Aleppo chiles

For Rolling:

3/4 cup (3 ounces) confectioners' sugar

½ cup sugar

Directions:

1. Bring 2 inches of water to a gentle boil in the bottom of the double boiler. Place the butter, liqueur, and chocolate in the top of the double boiler, reducing heat to a simmer. Stir occasionally with a spatula until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove and let cool slightly while you whip the eggs.

2. Place the eggs and granulated sugar in the bowl of the mixer and whip on high speed until very light in color and thick, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the melted chocolate mixture into the eggs and whip until blended, about 1 minute. Scrape the sides of the bowl.

3. Add the flour, almond meal, cinnamon, baking powder, and Aleppo chiles to the egg mixture and beat on low speed just until combined. Stir gently a few times with the spatula to ensure all of the flour is incorporated. Cover the dough with plastic and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours, until firm.

4. Preheat the oven to 325°F and position an oven rack in the center. Line the baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone mat.

5. Scoop the chilled dough into tablespoon-size balls (12 grams). Pour the granulated sugar and confectioner’s sugar into small bowls. Roll each dough ball in the granulated sugar and then in the confectioners' sugar, being sure to coat the ball completely. Space the cookies about 1 1/2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.

6. Bake the cookies one sheet at a time, rotating the sheet halfway through the baking time, for about 12 minutes, until the cookies are puffed and cracked. If you nudge a cookie, it should slide on the sheet rather than stick. It is better to under bake these cookies, when they are over baked they are dry and crunchy. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

- makes about 45 cookies -
Storing tips: These cookies are best the same day they are baked. Any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 to 4 days.

Snow and Ice Cream with the Little Man

This is Colorado and there a few things more magical than being in the city with huge, fluffy snowflakes swirling all around you. It was against this wondrous backdrop that I had the opportunity to spend some time with Kristin, the ice cream genius behind the Little Man Ice Cream Shop, housed in Denver's most distinctive building, learning how to make ice cream.

I remember watching the Little Man's building go up. In a former life, I was a product rep and called on the business next door a couple of times a week. From a humble hole in the ground arose a large, round galvanized milk can, towering over the neighboring buildings. People were fascinated by it and were constantly stopping to talk to the crew, leading them to erect a sign stating that they were deaf and mute and were unable to field any more questions.   

When the milk can finally opened for business on July th, 2008, it quickly became the neighborhood hangout. Classic porch gliders and soda fountain seating gave the place a homey, nostalgic feel that just made people want to hang out, enjoying their ice cream cones and nodding along to Elvis tunes on the loudspeaker, while their children played on the slide installed behind the building.

But the cool atmosphere isn't the only story here. Little Man excels on many levels - beginning with their ice cream, gelato and sorbets. On any given trip there, you might encounter Mexican Chocolate, Root Beer or Apple Caramel Pie Ice Cream; Grapefruit or Lemon Sorbet; and Fig or Blueberry Cinnamon Gelato.

And while the unique flavors sound like they might be over the top, they work beautifully - with crisp, clean flavors. Kristin makes all of the the luscious flavors in a kitchen just up the street, where I joined her for a lesson in the finer points of ice cream production.

On the day of my visit, Kristin was making chocolate ice cream. Using a base of 14% butterfat and egg yolks, she adds three kinds of chocolate for a surprising depth of flavor and color, using freshly ground spices and cocoa powders sourced from the local Savory Spice Shop. 

As the freezer worked it's magic, Kristin explained that the difference between commercial and artisanal ice creams, other than the ingredients, is the air that is incorporated during the freezing process. Some grocery store ice cream contains as much as 100% air (equal parts air and good stuff!). Artisanal ice creams contain around 25%.   

I asked what made gelato and ice cream different. "In Italy, by law, gelato must contain no added air. Unfortunately, we don't have the same restrictions", Kristin said, "but gelato has a lower butterfat content, which gives it a different mouth feel." 

After the ice cream comes out of the freezer, it is spooned into buckets and put into a hardening freezer (-40 degrees) for 2 days, then allowed to "warm up" to zero degrees, before being scooped into your cone.

And lest you think that winter in Denver doesn't lend itself to ice cream, the Little Man has other plans. In addition to their remarkable flavors of ice cream and gelato, they are whiling away the cooler days serving gourmet soup and grilled cheese. 

The other truly remarkable thing about the Little Man is their "Scoop for Scoop" program. Little Man's owner, Paul Tamburello, donates a scoop of rice to developing countries for every scoop of ice cream sold - now well over 123,000 scoops. What's more, instead of simply sending a check, Paul delivers the rice himself. With this amazing show of hands-on giving, Paul is truly walking the walk.

On a side note, the Little Man has an annual Christmas Tree sale starting soon. For a throwback to A Christmas Story, stop by some December evening. Choosing a tree in their cozy courtyard dotted with cafe lights and warmed by patio heaters, while eating an ice cream cone in the snow is soooo much more fun than picking up your tree at the grocery store.

Denver's Little Man Ice Cream is an experience to be had. Particularly if you can make it while it's snowing.

Little Man Ice Cream

2620 16th Street, Denver, CO 80211

303-455-3811 

Denver Gourmet Tours

Denver Gourmet Tours is coming!

Designed to give people an insider's look at Denver's great food destinations, Denver Gourmet Tours, is nearly ready to begin offering tours to hungry Colorado food lovers.  

There are so many fun, artisanal food purveyors and producers who pour their hearts into making the most delicious and remarkable stuff, and too often, people don't know about them.

So my purpose is two-fold - to show people an extraordinary time letting them taste the best Denver has to offer, and to give these amazing, dedicated, independent small businesses some extra love.  

The tours are themed - Tour du Chocolat, Cucina Italiana, Bourbon, Beer & BBQ, Just Desserts, Savory Denver and Colorado Gourmet. They will leave from a central location and take participants on a journey of the senses behind the scenes at Denver's delicious destinations. 

At each location, we will learn insider tasting tips, pairing techniques, ideas for cooking with great ingredients, and of course, there are the samples. Mmmmm... samples.....

I've partnered with Denver's best gourmet destinations to give tour participants the finest taste of Denver's food scene:

Wen Chocolates - European chocolates produced by the magical and talented Chef William

Living the Sweet Life - Beautifully delicious baked cupcakes, pies, custom cakes and chocolate chip cookies to die for.

Little Man Ice Cream- Handmade, artisanal ice cream, sorbet and gelato in the best flavors ever.

Winejester- A NW Denver gem, this boutique wine shop boasts a marble tasting table and a wall of good $10 wine.  

Great Divide Brewing Co. - 13 medals at the Great American Beer Festival and 22 noteworthy beers, perfect for pairing, cooking or enjoying on a hot day.

Stranahan's - Colorado's only whiskey, but when it's this good, you only need one. The smoothest, full-bodied whiskey around.

The tours will be ready to go in just a couple of weeks - just a few more details to iron out. Meanwhile, got a delicious place you'd love to get a behind the scenes look at? Email me and let me know. I'll see what I can do for you.

Check out the website: Denver Gourmet Tours.com.