Earlier this week, my parents and little brother arrived. Cam was on his spring break from college. I was so flattered they decided to use his week off by coming out to visit me! We had a really lovely time. The weather was typical March weather in the mountains- blue skies, sunshine, warm temps, and of course, a few flurries. There was quite a bit of cooking and baking. The evening they arrived, I wanted to make dinner since they had been traveling all day. I ended up making elk flatbread pizzas- homemade dough, balsamic pomegranate syrup, fresh arugula, smoked fontina cheese, and grilled elk. I could go on and on about how much I love elk meat. It is so delicious! This was the first time Cam and dad [...]

There’s just something about chocolate and cheesecake. This recipe is the love child of two of my heaviest hitters. I combined fudgy chocolate truffle cake with smooth, creamy, and tangy cheesecake. And the best part? You don’t have to live at altitude to make this recipe, and you also can enjoy it as part of a gluten-free diet! The two layers could also be baked individually. Sometimes I will bake the chocolate truffle cake in a 9 x 13 pan and serve it as super decadent brownies. On other occasions I will bake it in a circular cake pan and cut it into thin wedges, accompanied with some blood orange or coffee gelato. At the restaurant, I used to bake the cheesecake without a crust and served crunchy walnut tuiles [...]

My first winter job in Colorado was crazy. I refer to it as my indentured servitude, because that’s pretty much what it felt like. One of my duties was making crepes to order. I like crepes, I really do, but I probably made hundreds of crepes that winter season. The crepe station was right by a window, so I know for a fact that I have made it into several home videos and photo albums. I remember standing there on multiple occasions, spreading a thin layer of crepe batter on the griddle, and being photographed or videotaped by awe-struck tourists. Those were curse-through-your-clenched-teeth moments. Life has improved since then. I’ve even managed to eat crepes again, on rare occasions. But I have never made a single crepe since that job. [...]

This bread reminds me of the Colorado sunshine that I adore so much- warm, bright, and comforting. The original recipe calls for pumpkin puree, but I had some butternut squash puree on hand and decided to use that. I contemplated throwing some traditional spices in, but settled on letting the round notes of the butternut squash take the spotlight, accented with some vanilla. You can make your own butternut squash puree by peeling one squash, cutting it into chunks, drizzling with a little butter, and roasting in a foil-covered pan until the squash is nearly falling apart. Puree in a blender. I like this recipe because the bread is not too oily or greasy. It is moist, tender, and easy to slice away at all morning. Enjoy with some peppermint [...]

It’s almost March! Growing up in the midwest, March makes me think of blustery, grey days. It meant that Spring was coming, but first you had to endure this last Wintery tantrum. In the Rockies, March is a little different. We still get snowstorms, but the snow melts quicker, and the temperatures rise into the 40’s. Paired with some Colorado sunshine, you can actually work up quite a sweat if you’re outside. Nearly a year ago my little brother was visiting and on our snowshoe expedition he stripped down to a T-shirt. Yesterday it was very windy. Watching the aspens sway, and hearing the gusts against my house, I couldn’t help but think of March. March also reminds us of another upcoming holiday: St. Patrick’s Day. That’s why this chocolate [...]

Living in the Rockies means you go through massive quantities of windshield wiper fluid every year. I’m not kidding. Drive down the Vail Pass when the roads are wet and just try to see through your windows. It’s ironic to think that this light and powdery snow could create such a big mess when it melts. I’ve been eyeing my truck each day for a week now, debating a trip to the car wash. After work today I finally settled on an express wash since more snow is in the forecast. These white coffee pot de cremes remind me of that white, pristine snow. Their appearance is misleading, because within they harbor deep, delicious notes of coffee. The cream is steeped with coffee beans, so the custard is infused with [...]

On one of my days off this week I found myself wandering into a local cheese shop, Eat! Drink! in Edwards, Colorado. Working in pastry, the food I crave most after work is salty, savory items. Cheese fits this bill quite nicely. I wanted to have some on hand for eating in the upcoming week. One perk to being a chef is that people always want you to taste their products, so every time I go into Eat! Drink! the friendly folks there busy themselves cutting away little wedges of new artisan cheeses for me to taste. I can’t complain, its fun. So on this particular trip, I was rather delighted to learn of Avalanche Cheese Company, based nearby in Basalt, Colorado. Their website is fantastic, and I hope to [...]

  I have a grand baking idea for this mini cake recipe in the future. But we’ll touch on that later. Right now, the focus is on how adorable and fresh these grapefruit mini cakes are, adorned in a pastel hibiscus frosting. After working at a seasonal cuisine restaurant for almost two years, I am quite keen to what’s in season and what’s good right now. As we approach March, there are several varieties of magnificent citrus fruits available in their peak. Grapefruit is one of them. I don’t make cupcakes very often, but I had a little party yesterday and I wanted to make something bright and fun. The cake batter is flecked with shreds of grapefruit zest, infused with some vanilla bean seeds, and moistened with some freshly-squeezed [...]