Benjamin Henion

We smoked some elk, and figured smoked elk sausage sounded pretty darn good. After making about 5 lbs of smoked elk sausage, we just started playing around with some ideas. We made flatbread pizzas, we made smoked elk sausage and cambazola strudels (top photo), and we made just a small amuse. The amuse, (bottom photo) is served with basil-white truffle oil and tomato oil as well as a sourdough crostini and roasted grape tomato. The garnish is a chiffinade of watercress.

Here is tonight's amuse. Shrimp and Chorizo Lunettes . I cooked off the chorizo before adding a blend of shredded cheeses and roasted corn. I then grilled and chopped some marinated shrimp before combining the two mixtures. Then, using a circle cutter I cut pasta rounds and stuffed them with the filling. The lunette is basically a half moon shaped ravioli which I served today as our amuse- bouche . It sits on a red pepper cream and frisee lettuce.

October 29 was this years March of Dimes signature chefs auction at the resort. We were able to raise $53,000 for the March of Dimes. We hosted about 20 chefs from around The Springs and served about 250 guests. Pictured above is a clipping from the local paper about the event. We had two booths to represent the resort. We served our Braised Colorado Lamb Shank with red chile mole` in one booth. Julian and I had represented the Mountain View restaurant with our Tequila -Lime cured salmon. Its a twist on traditional gravlox that has hints of southwestern flavors such as toasted coriander, cumin and fresh cilantro. We host the event each year, and each year it gets better.

Samplers are always a hit, but this one is a home run. We use three terrific apps on this plate that give the guest a good idea of what to expect of our "Colorado Fusion" themed menu. First, the buffalo "pot pies" on the left feature our shredded ancho -coffee buffalo short rib meat, blended in a pot pie style filling. The pastry we use is nothing more than pate choux . A savory profiterole makes for a combination of a pot pie and a slider. Second, the chipotle goat cheese dip. This one has gone over very well on any menu its appeared on, so we stuck with it. We send the hot dip in a wonton cup, and serve it with toasted flat bread triangles. The third fusion dish on the menu is a chorizo stuffed calamari rellano . Traditionally, rellanos are stuffed peppers. We twisted the idea and actually stuff calamari tubes with chorizo , corn, cheddar cheese and cilantro. Once stuffed, the calamari is breaded in a cornmeal crust to give it the nice southwest feel. The whol...

As the season changes, so does the palate. An addition to our menu is this beautiful cheese board. The board itself was cut from some wood cutting boards, then branded with the CMR logo. Although very appealing to the eye, the cheeses and other components on this plate are the real winners. Starting with the drunken goat cheese, you get a nice soft and mild flavored goat cheese that has been soaked in red wine. The rind is a deep purple color and has a potent red wine flavor. The sharp Vermont Cheddar is a nice white cheddar cheese. It is the most common of the cheeses on the board, but its a safe bet that all will enjoy. My favorite cheese on this plate (hands down) is the Cambozola . This cheese is has the great, creamy texture like you would get from a Camembert but the overwhelming flavor and color of Gorganzola . A few red grapes, pear slices and berries lighten up the dish a bit, but the pumpkin bread, lavosh and pancetta disk are what really complete the plate. So far, we ha...

Here we have a sweet, spicy, soft and crunchy amuse. The chipotle goat cheese is a warm, fairly spicy mixture that I froze and wrapped with grilled green onions. I then sliced them and placed them on a miniature fried red chile tortilla. The coriander crisp is an asiago crisp that has been cooked with toasted coriander, cumin and chile powder. The dish was nice, but a little spicy. That's why I decided that a little tamarind honey would compliment the dish nicely.

Transglutaminase , aka Meat Glue made this dish work. Transglutaminase is a powder that actually binds (or glues) proteins to each other. In this example, I have glued beef tenderloin to shrimp and wrapped the whole thing in bacon. After the transglutaninase sets up (about 4 hours) the protein can be cooked as one piece of meat. Once cooked, the bacon was nice and crisp, the shrimp and beef tenderloin stayed together in the same shape I had molded them, and it was easily sliced into nice thin pieces . This is my first time using meat glue, so I am pretty happy with the result. This was only an experiment , and it was delicious. I served the bacon wrapped surf and turf with an avocado-mango salsa and a spicy smoked tomato coulis. The garnish was just some baby frisee with red and green tango tied together with a grilled chive.