Monday, November 30, 2015

Colorado & Italy ~ Colorado Classique and Buca di Beppo

Colorado Classique, copyright 2009.  Recipes were compiled by the Junior League of Denver and include over 200 dishes with recommendations for wine or beer parings, plus 25 dishes from area restaurants.

Appetizers and Beverages gets the ball rolling with salsa (hometown, pineapple, berry apple or black bean), hummus with sun-dried tomatoes, Brie with figs & pecans, baked Gouda, garlic breaded shrimp, cilantro chicken skewers, beef jerky, punch, sangria and champagne mojitos.  For Salads we are offered grilled vegetable, corn & avocado, spinach, grilled pear & blue cheese or Granny Smith and blue cheese, orzo,couscous (chicken or veggie), an Italian chopped, a yummy sesame shrimp and  spinach with prawns.

A few of the selections in Soups and Sandwiches include Denver chowder (corn & shrimp), chili, gazpacho, curried butternut squash, Thai Chicken & coconut soup, Chilean seafood stew, sweet chicken salad sandwiches, muffulettas, a grilled apple sandwich, plus Cuban and Rueben sandwiches. Vegetarian and Sides consist of stuffed portobellas, rataouille salad with roasted yellow tomato sauce, rice & Parmesan stuffed zucchinis, cornbread apricot dressing and black beans and quinoa.

Pasta and Grains offer lasagna (spinach & prosciutto, chicken pesto or crab & shrimp), baked rigatoni, penne with tomato vodka sauce and lamb and eggplant curry. Poultry introduces martini chicken (vermouth & lemon juice), chimichangas, huli huli chicken (a favorite in Hawaii), satay with peanut sauce, Tuscan chicken, grilled tzatziki chicken burgers and baked lemon turkey.

Meats encompass flank steak (with tomato jam, tandoori grilled or with Asian slaw), porcini crusted filet mignon, pork tenderloin (Oaxocan, with cranberry chutney or walnut curry stuffing), Moroccan lamb stew, lamb curry with sweet potatoes, venison tenderloin, short ribs in red wine and buffalo burgers, while Seafood presents scampi, pistachio crusted salmon, grilled salmon with soy honey sauce, salmon pot pie, Brazilian seafood arroz de coca, fish tacos and crab & shrimp cakes.

For Breakfast, Brunch and Breads we are treated to fruit & nut scones, cranberry coffee cake, Hungarian nut roll, ornage poppy seed quick bread, a fresh tomato tart, ham & cheese crepes and spinach quiche with Desserts offering Bavarian Apple Tart, toffee blondies, lemon delight (pecan crust, cream cheese, lemon curd), the ultimate carrot cake, English trifle, peanut butter chocolate cake, mint chocolate brownies, pecan puffs, peppermint bark and strawberry mousse.

The last chapter has a few restaurant selections ~ beef & ale pudding, chipotle cornbread, crab pad Thai, oatmeal chocolate toffee cake, almond toffee pie, Boulder Beer Company planter porter stew, Rocky Mountain ceviche (made with rainbow trout), sticky toffee pudding, a mushroom & chevre frittata, escargot bougogne, buffalo BBQ brisket and apricot & cranberry stuffed elk chops.

Buca di Beppo, copyright 2002. Recipes from the moderately priced chain restaurant specializing in southern Italian cuisine. The first restaurant opened in 1993 and at the time of publication there were 96 locations - including a few in Georgia.

We begin with Diamonds of the Italian Kitchen, featuring bruschetta, sweet pepper stew, fresh fig & prosciutto salad and stuffed zucchini blossoms (with ham & cheese), immediately followed by Spaghetti Sauce which consists of garlic oil & veggies, Alfredo, meat sauce or meatballs, linguine with seafood and penne calabrese.

In Old Italia, New Italia, we are treated to Cesar salad with shrimp, four cheese risotto, pizza (Margherita, angry stuffed -basically a calzone and  four seasons -mushrooms, tomatoes, ham and artichokes), veal shanks with polenta, tripe and chicken saltimbocca. For Family Begins with 2, there is angel hair pasta with shrimp, tortellini, baked pasta and Italian wedding soup.

Celebrations introduces Sicilian lamb stew, salt cod Cornish hens with spinach, lasagna casserole and breaded veal with fennel. We end with La Dolce Vita (Desserts) ~ mascarpone & espresso cake, fried dough nuts, cannoli, ricotta cheesecake and warm marsala custard.



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