Benjamin Henion

I decided to do my own spin on gravlox . I cured the salmon with cumin, lime zest, cilantro, chili powder, tequila, coriander and garlic along with the salt and sugar. It probably cured a little long, but the consistency was nice. I diced the salmon and mixed it with a fresh mango pico de gallo . I used the pomegranate caviar from my last post as a garnish for this amuse- bouche .

I ran into the problem of having to come up with an alternative for pomegranate seeds for a relish today. I got online and found a recipe for making pomegranate caviar from gelatin rather than the sodium alginate and calcium chloride method. These are a little more firm than using the spherephication method, but works well since the dish require they be tossed with other ingredients before serving. The method consists of blooming the powdered gelatin (3tsp) with cold water (4Tbs). I then added heated pomegranate juice (3 oz) to the gelatin mixture and poured it into a squeeze bottle. I then dripped the mixture into chilled olive oil ( grape seed oil works well with pomegranate). After just a moment the liquid firms up and simply straining the caviar from the oil finishes this component. It has held its shape now for several hours.

Here is what we encounter on a daily basis. The picture on the left is of the resorts lake and golf course at about 3pm today. It looks like a lovely day to be out golfing or BBQing right? Well we do in fact have a party that plans to be outdoors at 6pm tonight, and if you look 90 degrees to the right of picture number one, at the same time the right photo what you would see. Now of course we have an indoor back-up plan, but setting up both places requires breaking down both places. We want nothing more that perfect weather for these groups, but mother nature tends to tease us into believing the weather will cooperate. Maybe this threatening looking cloud with just pass on by and by 6 the sky will once again be clear. My guess is that the party will be having an indoor BBQ tonight .

With a case of plantains just asking to be used and some leftover Monkfish , I threw together this amuse. I marinated the Monkfish in a chili oil, added a bit of garlic and grilled it. I made a simple pineapple -rum sauce with some shallots and a touch of stock. The green is a poblano puree which also has a strong, crisp cilantro flavor to mellow the pepper flavor. I sauteed the diced plantains with nothing more than diced onion with salt and pepper. This amuse does its job well. The one bite leaves your mouth watering for more. All in all it is a very South American style dish to start off your dinner.

This Chorizo and corn stuffed potato is the amuse for tonight. Its nothing to extravagant , but very tasty. I simply halved the red potato, cut a small piece off the bottom for stability, and hollowed them before I blanched them. Then I simply filled the potatoes with the chorizo , corn, and manchego cheese. I baked them for just a few minutes, sauced and garnished them. Very simple. Although the Chorizo I used is pretty spicy, the corn, potato and cheese tame the heat a bit.

After checking on Mr. Chapman's table I had a chance to speak with him and his wife Beth. They are in Colorado Springs on business and stopped in to have lunch. Although they reside in Hawaii, they couldn't stop talking about the view and the spring weather here in Colorado. Most people, including myself know him as Dog the Bounty Hunter. Nice enough guy. I figured it would be nice to share this photo with you all. Above all, I am just happy to speak with our guest to ensure they are happy with what food I have provided for them. Every now and again, you'll run into people that are a little more well known than the everyday family man.

Tonight's amuse is a spicy, flavorful little bite. Its a 71-90 shrimp cooked in sweet Thai chili sauce, with scallions and agar agar. I am serving this cold. The agar agar turns the mixture into a "shrimp jelly" style component. I made both red and yellow curry coconut sauces. The shrimp rests on a fried won-ton circle and its garnished with toasted coconut and fresh cilantro. As and entree this might be a little too spicy for some, but as one bite to stimulate the appetite, it works well. The coconut curries are well rounded sauces with just a little heat.