Michele Morris - Tasting Colorado: Favorite Recipes from the Centennial State

For My Family Print ISBN: 978-1-56037-539-5
epub ISBN: 978-1-56037-572-2
mobi ISBN: 978-1-56037-573-9 2013 by Farcountry Press Food photography and text 2013 by Michele Morris Colorado scenic photography 2013 by Janine Fugere All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part by any means (with the exception of short quotes for the purpose of review) without the permission of the publisher. For more information on our books, write Farcountry Press, P.O. Box 5630, Helena, MT 59604; call (800) 821-3874; or visit www.farcountrypress.com. Created, produced, and designed in the United States. contents acknowledgments I am grateful to several ambitious home cooks who volunteered their time to assist me in the kitchen during recipe testing and during photo shoots.

They prepped food, held scrims and reflector cards, helped me select props, washed dishes, and, perhaps most importantly, kept me company. Thank you to Wendy Bermingham, Kathy Givan, her daughter Alexandra Givan, Kirsten Hall, Teresa Leede, Sharon Mehrtens, Mary Murray, Wendy Peterson, Michelle Pond, Florine Richardson, and her daughter Amy Richardson. I offer a special thanks to my daughter, Jenny Morris. Her own love of food, cooking, food styling, food photography, and blogging are a special thrill for me, her ideas and critiques during this process were invaluable, and she even shared her fabulous salsa recipe with me for the book. I want to thank the staff at Farcountry Press. Jessica Solberg took a risk on hiring me to write my first cookbook, and her confidence was inspiring.

Kathy Springmeyer, Shirley Machonis, Ann Seifert, and Will Harmon all provided wonderful insight and support, and their encouragement kept me motivated throughout the editing, design, and layout of the book. I especially appreciate that Farcountry Press gave me the opportunity to style the food and shoot my own photographs for the book. My colleague Eliza Cross, who wrote the foreword for this book, helped me get started in the food-writing business. Ive appreciated her support over the years, and Im especially thankful to her for thinking enough of my work to refer Farcountry Press to me. I need to thank my blog readers for waiting patiently during the six months of this project when I had little time to offer up new recipes and content because the cookbook was all consuming. Special thanks are due to my close friends and family; they listened attentively while I talked about my project, they came to parties to eat the food I had prepared, and they offered endless encouragement.

I am proud to share this project with my sister, Janine Fugere, who provided the amazing Colorado scenic photography for the book. Her creativity and skill never cease to impress me, and Im thankful she wanted to work together on the book. Huge thanks are due to all the chefs who participated in this project. Their talent, creativity, and willingness to share were inspiring. Im appreciative both of their recipes and their friendship. Finally, I owe a very special thank you to my husband, Greg.

He was happy to try every dish I put in front of him, even when all he wanted was a simple burger. He filled in as a hand model in photographs when I couldnt do it myself, and he waited patiently for me to transform the temporary test kitchen and photo studio back into our home. Above all, his support allows me to pursue my passion in the food world, and Im eternally grateful for that. foreword by Eliza Cross Does Colorado have a trademark food? Its a puzzle Ive long pondered, especially when I learned that acclaimed food writer Michele Morris was compiling a cookbook. After all, Idaho has its potatoes, Maryland has its crab cakes, and Cheeseheads are proud to call Wisconsin home. Cities are known for their own characteristic fare, too, from Boston baked beans and Buffalo wings to Chicago deep-dish pizza and Philly cheesesteaks.

So what about our state? Do we have a local food that truly embodies the Centennial State? Its not a simple question to answer, given the unique geography and population of Colorado. Denver boasts a bustling culinary scene, with a recent surge of new restaurants featuring some of the countrys top chefs and cuisine that is garnering national awards. Eateries for every appetite abound in Colorados capital citysteak houses, sushi bars, barbecue joints, brasseries, pizzerias, brewpubs, delis, food trucks, cafs, bakeries, noodle shops, hot dog carts, and an array of ethnic eateries that rivals any large city. Organic, locally sourced, sustainable ingredients may be all the rage, but Boulder residentsboth the old-timers and the transplantswill tell you that good, healthful food has always been their fare of choice. The upscale resort towns of Aspen and Vail attract celebrity chefs like Nobu Matsuhisa and Wolfgang Puck, while the verdant Western Slope is home to wineries, fruit orchards, and produce growers. Ranchers on our eastern plains raise some of the countrys best beef, lamb, and buffalo, and Colorados mountain streams are swimming with freshwater fish like rainbow trout and coho salmon.

With such a dazzling variety of culinary choices in Colorado, how could we possibly choose just one to represent our fine state? For perspective on this appetizing conundrum, I turned to some of Colorados most notable food lovers. Ever since I started writing about food in the late 1970s, Ive been seeking the answer to this question, says Aurora Sentinel food columnist John Lehndorff, former dining critic for the Rocky Mountain News and author of Denver Dines: A Restaurant Guide and More. Rocky Mountain oysters have been suggested repeatedlybut mainly by people who havent tasted them. Boulder has been labeled the Silicon Valley of natural foods, but granola, tofu, and radish sprouts do not make for iconic state foods. Colorado is ground zero for the craft-brew revolution, so I guess Fat Tire is the states trademark beverage. Based on sheer national impact and recognition, Colorados iconic dish would have to be a foil-wrapped burrito or a bowl of macaroni and cheese; our state is the epicenter of fast, casual cuisinehome to Chipotle, Noodles & Company, Smashburger, and a host of national chains. Ultimately, though, Colorado has a buzz for culinary integrity and innovation created by acclaimed chefs, cheesemakers, salumi makers, ranchers, chocolatiers, mixologists, organic farmers, locavore activists, winemakers, brewers, mead makers, beekeepers, distillers, and retailers.

No single dish can possibly capture the spirit of Colorado, says Shari Caudron, restaurant critic for 5280 magazine. Instead, its the way we eat that sets us apart. Whether its a juicy bison rib-eye rubbed with smoked sea salt and extra virgin olive oil and grilled over a campfire, or a sweet sliced farmers market tomato topped with tangy goat cheese and bright micro-greens, we eat the way we livewith energy, enthusiasm, respect for the environment, and extraordinary gratitude for the gifts that come from living here. Colorado is a hungry state, asserts Tucker Shaw, features and entertainment editor (and former food editor) of the Denver Post. Were at the literal and virtual nexus of American culinary culture. Part of that is due to where we are on the map, but more of it is due to who we are and where we (and our parents) come fromwhich is everywhere. We revere what grows in our own soil, from potatoes to lamb to wine, but we are also an itinerant group, intent on visiting the countries of the world and bringing the best back to inform our cooking.