Food in AspenAll the most famous food TV and journalism writers and sellers of chi-chi products are in Aspen right now for the Aspen Food and Wine Classic, which starts today or tomorrow. Huge white tents full of chairs, demo booths, or tables have been under construction all week in every open, level space in t…
The Trail to Woody Creek TavernBeside the trail snowmelt drips from the rocksSo much to look at (but the trail on the other side drops precipitously so one tries to skip the distractions)Maria, my riding companionA lemonade stand beside the trailNot very far past the lemonade stand is the hamlet of Woody Creek, and our goal the W…
The Physics of CookingLen introducing Dave WeitzYesterday we attended a public lecture on The Physics of Cooking sponsored by the Aspen Center for Physics, held at one of the veneus of the Aspen Institute. Speaker Dave Weitz began with a detailed description of the course he teaches at Harvard on science and cooking, an…
Aspen Physics Center PicnicThe physics center has several gas grills and lots of picnic tables, which are all in use at the Tuesday night picnic. All the current workshop participants and their families are invited; I think most show up. Steak, chicken, vegetables, veggie patties, and lots of other grilled things are all cook…
Easy as boiling eggs?I've always thought it was easy to hard-boil eggs and I've been dubious about long complicated explanations. I always put them in cold water, bring them to a boil, and leave them for 12 minutes.Yesterday I had a shock when I started peeling the eggs I had boiled according to this method earlier in t…
Aspen Water Tastes BetterThe insistent marketing of Fiji Water in Aspen has infuriated me. Aspen tap water comes from local mountain springs, and trucks aren't necessary to bring it up the mountain, nor boats to bring it from distant exotic islands. Fiji Water sponsors many of the Aspen events, thus buying the right to have…
Wrap up: Simple CookingDuring our 3 weeks in Aspen (we leave Sunday), I've been paying a lot of attention to the contrast between elaborate restaurant meals and simple, more healthful home cooking -- as I've mentioned. When we arrived, I set myself a challenge: to cook without many condiments, spices, and extra ingredient…
Aspen Restaurants AgainLast night we celebrated Elaine's birthday at a restaurant called "Elevation." It was excellent. Seating was in a courtyard above the actual restaurant, which seems to be in a basement. The food was excellent, and so was the service. The first course, charcutrie, was house-made and wonderful:One of …
Eating Out in AspenThe restaurants in Aspen are all very good. Some are famous, and some are known for their famous clients. I've already described how we also like quietly eating simpler things in our condo -- tuna and vegetable salad, chicken strips, seared lamb chops with broccoli, and always cereal for breakfast. …
Even SimplerContinuing to report on how I cook in condo with good cooking equipent, but starting with a completely empty pantry and frige -- last night, I made the least-demanding dish there could be: scrambled eggs with red peppers, mushrooms, and chopped cilantro, seasoned only with salt. On the side: a salad…
WaterAs I walked around the streets near our condo, I noticed this Fiji water being delivered to the Aspen Food and Wine Classic. Several drums of it stood under a huge semi-truck -- one of many delivering supplies to the big tents in several locations. All over Aspen, I see preparations for this event, …
Cooking with basic ingredientsLast night I cooked two dishes: baked chicken with Spanish smoked paprika (I brought it with me from Santa Barbara) and Gratin Dauphinoise, my favorite potato dish. I learned this Alpine dish when I was in Grenoble, France, so it's appropriate to make it here in the Rocky Mountains, I think. Also, i…
Back to BasicsWell, here we are in a condo in Aspen for 3 weeks. As is normal for such rentals, the kitchen is pretty well-equipped but NO food at all is left between occupants. I've done this in temporary condos before -- stocking a pantry and frige without spending a fortune on stuff that will be thrown away wh…
An Excellent Point!I've been traveling and eating all my meals in restaurants (or just crackers and peanut butter or something like that). So I appreciated this point from the Atlantic food section:"I'm perturbed that people have gotten so turned around that they think restaurant food is the best food, and that today'…
