Fall folliage and Persian Delight

Let's just start by saying that Dave named this entry.

Let's start with the first part of this title... It may be Fall in the rest of the country but it's somewhere in the abyss between Fall and Winter in the Rocky Mountains. Mostly leaning towards the Winter side of the scale. The colors have dwindled but the ground looks really good. Whether we're biking or running I keep finding myself looking at the ground and the beautiful yellow and orange leaves. It is just so pretty. I kind of equate it to rose petals strewn all over the floor but instead of flower petals is is Aspen leaves. We don't' get the reds here in CO. like the East coast gets. I really miss those times but the Aspen trees sure make it worth while. So we woke up to 25 degrees this morning. I think my riding to work days are over. I could barely hold me coffee mug on my dog walk this morning and had to sit on my hands for like an hour this morning when I got to work. I was freezing! I did walk with my newly acquired pottery Red Sox mug. (Its just a little shout out to the win we received last night against the Angels!) Oh and one more thing. Matt and Rebekah bought their tickets to Deer Valley!!! I cannot wait for this vacation. I really wasn't looking forward to winter but now that there IS something to look forward to I guess I don't mind that Fall is becoming Winter. I have started to count down the days. Nancy, Chuck, Zoe, Dan, Rebekah, Matt, Dave (and the dogs, George & Saly) all in one house!! Deer Valley, Park City, The Canyons, Alta, and Snowbird all at our beckoning. Oh and we also have a personal chef who serves us cocktails and drinks before dinner!!

Okay, I think I have said enough about the Fall weather we are having. Let's move on the to the second part of this post:

Persian Delight... This is what we had for dinner. Page 372 in the yellow Gourmet. It was very good. I did make some changes and have noted them below. So if you are looking for the exact recipe please reference page 372. A delicious cold weather comfort.

Persian-Style Chicken with Walnut, Onion, and Pomegranate Sauce

1 large pomegranate or two
2 boneless, skinless breast of chicken
salt & freshly ground pepper
2 T unsalted butter
2 T evoo
1.5 yellow onions very thinly sliced
1 t ground cinnamon
2 C walnuts, toasted, cooled and coarsely ground in mini prep
1/2 C tomato sauce
1 1/2 C chicken broth
3 T fresh lemon juice
1 t molasses (not robust or blackstrap)

Juice two pomegranates to make a least 1/2 cup.

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat butter and oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and cook on each side for 3 minutes or until browned. Transfer to plate. Cook onions on med/low heat until softened and slightly golden (about 15 minutes). Add cinnamon, stir and cook for 1 minute. Add walnuts, stir and cook for 1 minute. Stir in pomegranate juice, tomato sauce, stock, lemon juice, and molasses. Season to taste and bring to a boil for 3 minutes. Add chicken and reserved juices and simmer 20 minutes. Serve over rice.

Orzo its snowing

Once again, we had a wonderful weekend! Yesterday we worked all day blowing out sprinkler systems. I like to say we but I guess this is all Dave. His business is really taking off. We got a glimpse into the second homeowners of Summit. The houses were pretty amazing. Then we came home just in time for the rain to start. Go figure. As soon as work is done and its play time the weather turns. It didn't stop us, we got on our bikes for a quick ride across the street came home showered and headed to the the Guinles for some amazing barbecued pulled pork. It was so darn good! We got to catch up with some friends and had a very nice night. Woke up this morning to snow on the peaks and headed down to Golden to better weather for some more biking. It was the perfect temperature down there and we had a great ride. I've got a nice purple bruise to show for it on my rear end. The drive home really sucked. We knew it would be snowing at the tunnel. As soon as we hit the west side of the tunnel we started sliding down the highway for about 100 yards. I was screaming and holding on to the "oh shit handle". Dave did a very good job of keeping us on the road just in time to see a huge pile up and a mangled SUV on the side of the road. Great. Winter is slowing tightening its grip on the Rocky Mountains. Anyway, we are all fine and made it home safe and sound. After a little recuperating we started our fabulous dinner. I was a nice way to end the weekend and snuggle in for a cold night.

This week I made our entire menu out of the Gourmet Cookbook. It never fails and is always tasty. As you can see by the picture, Dave really enjoyed the Orzo!

Baked Orzo with Shrimp, Tomato Sauce, and Feta
2 T evoo
1 medium onion finely chopped (I used the mini prep)
3 minced garlic gloves
1/2 t dried oregano
1/4 red pepper flakes
1/2 c dry white wine (used chicken stock)
1 28oz. can of crushed tomatoes
1 t salt
1.5 large shrimp peeled and deveined
1 pound orzo
1/2 chopped Kalamata olives
1 C give or take of feta

Heat oven to 425. Lightly oil a 13/9 baking dish.
Heat 1 T oil in heavy skillet and add onion, garlic, oregano, and pepper flakes. Cook until onions are translucent. Add wine/broth boil and reduce by 1/2 about 3 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and salt, reduce heat and simmer until slightly thickened- 8 minutes. Stir in shrimp and cook until just cooked through.
Meanwhile cook orzo in salted water until al dente. Reserve 1/2 C cooking water and then drain. Return orzo to pot and toss with 1 T evoo.
Stir sauce and reserved cooking water into orzo, then add olives. Spoon half of pasta into oiled baking dish and sprinkle with half of feta. top with remaining pasta and feta. Bake, uncovered for 15 minutes or until it bubbles. (Page 224)