The Perfect Wedge Salad

We've all had those yummy wedge-style salads that are so popular at steakhouses. Mike and I have some very special guests coming to dinner in a couple of weeks and a wedge salad is on the menu. So we wanted to perfect our recipe before we serve this to our guests.

Here's what we came up with:

Homemade Bleu Cheese Dressing (four to six salads)

1 cup of good mayonnaise

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup of half and half

1 Tbsp of citrus champagne vinegar

1/2 to 3/4 cup (depending on preference) of your favorite bleu cheese, crumbled 

Season generously with salt and fresh ground pepper

Combine all ingredients and let rest in fridge for a couple of hours before serving.

For the salads we used one head of iceberg lettuce and cut it into four wedges, these made huge salads and we could have easily made 6 salads... but in true steakhouse style, go big or go home.

Make sure your lettuce is fresh, chilled, and very crisp.  

Arrange wedges on plates.

Spoon dressing generously over wedges.

Garnish with more bleu chees crumbles, crumbled bacon, sliced baby heirloom/grape/cherry tomatoes, and finish with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

Notes: If you want a lower fat option use reduced fat mayo and fat free half and half. Don't use reduced fat sour cream as the flavor is simply not there.  Use top quality bleu cheese, we used Maytag.

Devils Food Bakery and Cookery

Devil's Food Bakery and Cookery was our Saturday night stop on our continued quest to take in as many restaurants as possible during restaurant week in Denver.

Turns out Devil's Food is actually quite heavenly!  We were shocked to find the chef running this diabolical establishment was a classically trained 26 year old from North Carolina.  After tasting the incredible dishes I wasn't surprised to learn that he received his training from colleagues and mentors of Thomas Keller; possibly the best chef in America, if not the world.

What's more, chef Mike Sullivan likes to use "unconventional" appliances in his kitchen like a Big Green Egg (if you don't know what that is Google it.)  The flatware and stemware on not matched sets but rather a collection of antiques the owner finds at local flee markets and perusing the antique listings on Ebay.

All of this makes for one of the best dining experiences you will find in the Denver area!  Here's what we had:

Amuse Bouche - A fingerling potato hollowed out and stuffed with roquefort, bacon, and garnished with fresh chives.  A perfect little bite to kick off the evening.

Southern Style Crab Cakes - Out of all the appetizers at the three restaurants we went to for Restaurant Week, the Southern Style Crab Cakes were definitely our favorite! Jeran and I love crab cakes and this was the sweetest, most succulent crab with just enough other ingredients to hold it together. A light crisp coating and silky smooth inside was accompanied by the most amazing smoked tomato butter sauce.....  out of this world! It was rich, but not overpowering, almost like a a creamy smoky tomato bisque. Words truly cannot do this appetizer justice, it was a whole meal in and of itself!

Pistachio Crusted Brie -  A nice wedge of brie crusted with ground toasted pistachios... that alone would be fabulous; but Devil's Food garnishes this with a dollop of fresh orange marmalade, spicy arugula leaves and serves along side two lightly toasted and buttered crostini slices.

Grilled Shrimp 'n Grits - Crunchy grilled shrimp, creamy grits, tomatoes, jalapenos, tender belly bacon, and a cheddar cream sauce all work together flawlessly in this dish.  I really liked the contrast of the southern style creamy grits and grilled shrimp with the bright burst of jalapenos and fresh tomatoes.

Coq Au Vin - Jeran and I had both been wanting to try the Coq Au Vin for quite some time. They started with a fluffy cloud of smoked gouda mashed potatoes and topped it with red wine braised chicken legs that had been slow-cooked for hours and the meat was truly falling off the bone. Topped with roasted crimini mushrooms, bacon lardons, and caramelized pearl onions it was a savory dish that could be your Mom's best recipe (assuming your Mom's an amazing chef) merged with a five-star NY restaurant chef's personal touches. No devil here, just heaven in every bite!

Devil's Food Cake - The Devil's Food Cake was the perfect end to a delicious meal. The cake was a dark chocolate sponge cake that was light and fluffy. In between each layer, was a whipped chocolate mousse and all of this was topped with a decadent ganache and served along side a bourbon chocolate sauce.  Although the flavor was rich, the cake was light and amazing and the perfect way to finish up our amazing experience at Devil's Food. (This was Mike's favorite.)

Layered Cake - White chocolate Grand Marnier cake, yellow butter cake, white chocolate mousse, fresh raspberries and raspberry sauce. Need we say more?  (This was Jeran's favorite.)

Friends, do yourself a favor and make a date with this Devil!

Old Blinking Light

Restaurant week continues in Denver with a Friday night visit to Old Blinking Light.

When the menu for Restaurant Week was first released, I probably spent two hours scouring the menus for places that looked unique and delicious that we had never been to. One of the places at the top of the list was Old Blinking Light (OBL) Kitchen. The menu looked fantastic, so we made our reservation. The week before we actually went, a friend of mine stopped by my work and we started talking about restaurant week. As soon as I said we were going to the OBL, she asked if I knew the story. She said it's family-owned and that the family moved here from Taos, NM. Taos is a fairly small town and there is only one 'old blinking (traffic) light' in town, hence the name for this really unique restaurant. Tons of New Mexican art, quartz crystal, straw bale benches, and custom-made fire pits greeted us as we walked in the door. We knew this was going to be special! 

Here's what we had;

Sweet and Spicy Shrimp - You probably can't see from the picture, but this was served on bed of baby field greens in a martini glass.  The shrimp were firm and fresh and the mix of sweet and spicy was just right.

Fried Avacado - when looking at menus for Restaurant Week, I like to find things that are unique and look delicious. The Fried Avocado definitely caught my attention! I love avocados, and I love anything fried, so why not put them together? The presentation was stunning! A corn tostada with practically a whole flash friend avocado topped with pico de gallo and creme fraiche. The avocado was rich and creamy with a crisp outer crust and warm gooey goodness inside. The creme fraiche and pico de gallo made it like a homemade warm guacamole served atop a crispy tostada. Spectacular!

Butternut Squash Bisque - I thought this tasted like Thanksgiving in a bowl. Pureed butternut squash, cream, white wine, garlic, cinnamon, nutmeg, and garnished with parsley and pumpkin seeds.  I was sad when I got to the bottom of the bowl.  Delicious!

OBL Salad -  three of the four of us got the Butternut Squash Bisque so I had to go rogue and get their signature OBL Salad. Many of the ingredients you'd come to expect on a great dinner salad: spring mix, croutons, tomatoes, red onion, but they took a great base and spruced it up with avocado, walnuts, cotija cheese and a lemon thyme vinaigrette. The most amazing part of the salad and what really made the dish for me, was the additional of dates. If you've never had dates on your salad, I highly recommend it! They added a soft but chewy sweetness that really turned an above average salad into an exceptional one. 

King Ranch Casserole - The "King Ranch Casserole" was a combination of cheesy enchiladas and chili rellenos all stacked together with extra green chili, white cheddar cheese, guacamole, creme fraiche, pico de gallo, cilantro green rice and more! It was like all the best New Mexican flavors in one delicious, cheesy, gooey casserole! It was absolutely delicious! 

Achiote Marinated Pork Loin - Achiote is a Mexican blend of spices, I've never had it before, but it was rich, robust, and had a unique roasted red chili taste to it.  I thought it added an amazing depth to the perfectly cooked and moist pork loin. The chimichurri sauce was a nice addition that didn't over power anything and underneath all of this southwest deliciousness was a giant dollop of creamy mashed potatoes.

Old Blinking Light Mud Pie - The OBL Mudpie was a fairly traditional mudpie but on steroids! Oreo cookie crust topped with about a pint of delicious coffee ice cream and even more Oreo cookie crumbles, toasted walnuts, chocolate sauce, whipped cream and of course a cherry! It was so divine and the coffee\chocolate combo just melted in your mouth. It was such a treat and really top quality!

The Works - Here's the description from the website; homemade banana bread flash fried and topped with bruleed bananas, caramel sauce, chocolate sauce, homemade peanut butter, walnuts, banana chips, whip cream and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  I love trying things like this, and by that I mean things that I would never think of making at home.  The flavors of the banana bread, peanut butter, ice cream and everything else mixed together sent my taste buds to heaven!

Overall OBL was one of the finest dining experiences we have had in the Denver area! This place is not to be missed!