Travels Not So Far and Very Near

This is kind of going to be a catch-all post of what J and I have been up to the past two months. Mainly that's been enjoying home. When we've been working, we've been lucky enough to work together about half the time or a little less.
More than a few weeks ago at this point J and I went to Chicago due to the fact that the lovely Eleni was going to be visiting from Italy! We also saw the usual suspects:

 

It's still disgusting and cute and disgustingly cute.

Eleni, J and I at the river.

I will always have a soft spot for Chicago.

Along the river.

When J and I worked together we had a plethora of Albuquerque overnights, as well as a Tampa overnight that will live as one of the best overnights ever. It included a great crew, staying up way, way too late, cheap but tasty beer, and a brunch date at the restaurant where J and I had our first original date, the Rusty Pelican. It was all just too wonderful for words. Not represented here, and this bums me out, is any picture from Philly where we've tried a great tavern, Belgian beer pub, and lots of beautiful walks. 

J and I play chess at the ABQ hotel. My camera isn't that cool, the chess pieces look so large because it's a gigantic chess set.

Happy Thanksgiving! A passenger dressed up like a turkey and helped pass out peanuts. :D

Brunch at the Rusty Pelican. Not only was it a buffet but they also had a menu of "small plates" that you could order an unlimited amount of. It was like a cruise. Sad day was the bottomless mimosas could not be consumed due to the fact that we had to work afterwards. The unlimited sushi, pastries, bananas foster a la mode and tasty everything greatness wonderful brunch made up for it.

Random capture in TPA.

Back to ABQ! Route 66.

A beautiful shot in the heart of old town ABQ.

And just two weeks before Christmas J and I made it down to New Orleans for J's brother's surprise birthday party. We also had Christmas dinner at the renowned Commander's Palace. It's a wonderful treat.

Commander's Palace.

J and the Roux. Again with the dogs. ;)

J's family's treehouse decorated for Christmas.

That concludes many of the Travels Not So Far, so on to the Travels Very Near. J and I have absolutely fallen in love with our new neighborhood in Arvada. We really miss Golden, but this works so much better for us in relation to the airport. It is also super festive right now so we've been soaking that up. Some highlights: a place called Cheesecake Therapy (need I say more?), a great northern Indian/Nepalese restaurant that also brews its own beer (including an apple beer - not cider - and a chai milk stout), a tasty Thai place (a go-to), a German bakery (hello!), a Belgian fries place (with seriously nothing but fries, sauces, and Belgian beers on tap), our our beer company, a great lunch tavern place (fantastic crab cakes and veggie options, too), and I think that brings me to our favorite. The Arvada Tavern. We just adore it. The food is phenomenal. Seriously just phenomenal. And the drinks are updates on classics that I'm so glad I'm branching out and trying. Who knew I'd like gin?! Not to mention the people that own and staff the tavern are beyond sweet and knowledgeable and fun and so very considerate. It's our jam, what can I say. But enough about that:

The Arvada Christmas tree in the square.

J with the snowman. He seconds that.

Looking down one of the Olde Town streets.

Cocktails at the Arvada Tavern. Pretty.

Another exciting Denver institution we've now been a part of in many ways: the Denver Broncos! J and I ran memory cards for his dad at a game, which meant we were down on the field, looking all official. We also participated in an honest-to-goodness tailgate including an old school bus painted up for the Broncos. It was pretty epic. Lastly, we enjoyed a game during a flight we worked. Our captain and first officer were both living in Denver but they were rooting for rival teams (the Raiders vs. teh Broncos). We received - as did all our passengers - sober updates from our captain, the Raiders fan, as the game progressed.

Broncos Bus!

On the field. A dream fulfilled, to be on the field of an NFL game. The field seems a lot smaller than on TV. My favorite was the beautiful Arabian they have that gallops around after the Broncos score. I struck up a conversation with his handlers and I really just wanted to pet him. I stayed professions and didn't, though.

Lastly, J and I have a new hobby, and it ties in with our travels: Antique maps. Yep. Antique maps and reading about explorers and history and non fiction stuff. We found a beautiful map of Quebec/Montreal made in 1860 at the antique shop where J purcahsed my ring. We followed up our search at a fantastic, tiny little antique map shop in downtown Denver. We easily selected hundreds of dollars worth of maps we loved, but we settled on this 1840s map by the British Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. It is of "Marocco". So many things we love about it: Fes is spelled a few different ways, including "Fas". Marrakech is "Morocco". Casablanca is "Cape Blanco". Etc. My favorite is the key that states "There are no real roads, the lines indicate the usual tracks." We are having it framed and placed under conservation glass. It is really beautiful to study.

Thanksgiving Salad & Stuffing

First of all, sorry for the delay on this blog. I have lots and lots of posts to write, but blogger appears to be worried about the amount of space I have for photos. It's sort of a losing battle. But, it let me do my thing this evening, so without further ado I take you back to...Thanksgiving.

For Thanksgiving J and I went to our friends' up in Estes Park. We had to work the next day but it was still a blast to do a big dinner and we knocked it out of the park.

My contribution was a Fall Spinach Salad with Cinnamon-Pear Vinaigrette. What made it an autumnal salad? Pear, red onion, pecans, and cranberries:

    •    1 cup thinly sliced red onion
    •    1/3 cup sweetened dried cranberries
    •    8 cups lightly packed fresh baby spinach leaves, stemmed if needed
    •    2 firm but ripe Bosc pears, unpeeled and cut into long, thin slices
    •    2/3 cup pecans, chopped

For the dressing we just used a combination of extra virgin olive oil and a cinnamon-pear infused balsamic vinegar that we purchased at a local specialty store. It was perfect as the dressing needed no added sugar, salt or pepper. It was perfect.

This is also the perfect segue into J's dish: the stuffing. Mushroom and rosemary stuffing to be exact. We bought a mushroom and sage infused olive oil at the same store and it was just wonderful.






J's recipe is adapted from this recipe at Real Simple.

• 3  tablespoons mushroom and sage infused olive oil (see above)
• 2  pounds baby portobello (cremini) mushrooms, quartered
• 6  tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for the baking dish and foil
• 1  large loaf italian bread (about 1 pound), cut into 3⁄4-inch pieces (we used a store bought dried loaf already chopped)
• 2  medium onions, chopped
• 4  celery stalks, thinly sliced
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 3/4  cup dry sherry
• 2 1/2  cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 2  large eggs, beaten
• 1/2  cup  chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1  tablespoon  chopped fresh rosemary

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375° F. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, cook the mushrooms, tossing occassionally, until browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate and reserve the skillet.
2. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Divide the bread between 2 rimmed baking sheets and bake until dry and crisp, 10 to 12 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, wipe out the skillet and melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions, celery, 1 teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until very tender and beginning to brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Add the sherry and cook until evaporated, 2 to 4 minutes; transfer to a large bowl and let cool for 10 minutes.
4. Add the bread, broth, eggs, mushrooms, parsley, rosemary, and ½ teaspoon salt to the vegetables and toss to combine. Transfer to the prepared baking dish. Cover with buttered foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake until browned, 20 to 30 minutes more. 
5. Top with a drizzle of the olive oil before serving. 

Adding the finishing touch...

The meal with everyone's contributions.