Colorado weekend

Quick weekend trips can be a lot of fun.  Oh, sure, time spent in transit (airplanes and airports in this case) can eat up a lot of the good time on a weekend, but it's still possible to make the most of the trip.  And if the destination is not too far or relatively convenient, then taking some time for travel is all the less onerous in view of the good times to be had.  Add in that the weekend involves very dear friends, and, well, I'm convinced!

I actually started this post days back.  Ages back.  It's now some ten days since our return.  And perhaps I was waiting for Robert's new position to be confirmed - the quick trip to Colorado was so that we could see them him and Courtney there one last time before they move this summer. 

So it was that on the last Friday of May, Conrad and I

flew to Denver where Courtney picked us up.  Hooray for her being on sabbatical this year - we greatly appreciate that she could take us to and from the airport.  Our flight was delayed, and there was no food served, so we all agreed to head to Pica's Taqueria in Louisville.  I love that place! 

A chorizo and potato taco and a duck taco for me

(plus a margarita to wash them down).  That made me happy.  We then swung by Whole Foods to pick up shucked oysters,

a cake,

and some other treats for the evening. 

We were celebrating, after all.  Oh, sure, we ordered pizza for dinner, but before that, we toasted a noshed and caught up.  Rain passed through the area, and we were treated to a double rainbow

over the neighbour's house. 

A really nice evening.

Saturday morning:  a walk to a favourite coffee place, then a lunch of - this is a surprising turn of events (ha!) - tacos again at Pica's. 

The afternoon was devoted to spa time in Boulder.  Alas, a cold sore on my lower lip meant that I could not get the facial I had booked, so I walked a little down the Pearl Street mall in the city, stopping in at a store I love to visit, treating myself to a couple of cocktail books.  Home after that for a nap, and that set us up for a nice dinner out.

We made ourselves pretty, and headed into Boulder again, up the hillside to Flagstaff House, a very nice restaurant we've enjoyed a few times before. Cocktails to start (this lovely one, the Peak Bliss, is one I want to try making at home),

some excellent wine (a Pinot from NZ that was a good, light choice for the first bottle, followed by a richer French red),

even an Amaro after dinner.  No a la carte menu, but choices for each course.  We had some little treats to start, and then on to the courses:

A pea shoot salad with bresaola.

Spinach cannelloni with chanterelles.

A pork dish with morels and ramps.

Venison loin with a venison stew.

Pineapple sorbet with black sesame.

Oh, it was good.  It was a very thoughtful menu, and each course really did seem to build on the previous, deepening in flavour.  It was not a rushed evening.  It was a great evening.

I didn't take photos on the Sunday.  A morning walk to coffee again, and then it was brunch with a couple of Courtney and Robert's friends.   A nice enough time, but I think we all agreed that the service and food at the brunch was less than we would have liked.  Ah well.  Conrad and I had the afternoon to pack and nap and then it was off to the airport with us.  Thunder storms rolled through the area, and we had an hour delay, but we were home that night, happy that we had one last, fantastic visit with them in Colorado. 

an anniversary dinner of sorts

A year ago, we returned from a fantastic trip to South America with our neighbour Natasha, her friend Marina, and some others.  Chile and Argentina for almost two weeks - wow, there was some fantastic scenery.  Some good food.  Some lovely wine at one winery.

We've barely seen Natasha these past couple of months, and its been ages since we've seen Marina as well, so it was nice to see them both last night as the Pasadena members of the trip got together for dinner here last night.  Reminiscing a bit, catching up on the year since, drinking Chilean wine, and having a good evening of it.

Van arrived early, so the three of us enjoyed a cocktail made from a gift Allison sent us for Christmas, clove and rosemary gimlets. 

I vacillated between thinking the clove was too much and enjoying the drink, but Van rather liked it.

Natasha and Marina are both Russian, so I found a way to incorporate caviar into the dinner.  I made a puree soup to start, parsnip and cauliflower.  Into each bowl I placed a seared scallop, then garnished it all with chives, creme fraiche, and a little caviar.

For the main course, I marinated halibut in chermoula, baked it, and served it with some reserved chermoula, a bit of cous cous, purple carrots, and green beans. 

I hadn't done the recipe in some time, and it was good to revisit it.  I thought the fish cooked up nicely.

Dessert was a recipe I used back in November and decided to do again:  wild rice pudding with a caramel sauce. 

As I did back then, I also made a raspberry sauce for people to enjoy, but I stuck with caramel only.  I have such a sweet tooth.

The Chilean wines were good, and the evening was a success.  We have one more bottle of wine from the trip in the wine refrigerator, and one day we'll open it and enjoy.  I'm just glad, though, that we were able to get together and have a nice quasi-anniversary dinner together.