Main Dish Recipes

Cooking with Pete and Barb Marczyk: Roasted tomato Caprese sliders

Pete Marczyk and Barbara Macfarlane do not leave their work behind when they leave Marczyk Fine Foods and head for their great old Denver house with the big, new kitchen. They often bring some of their market's choicest ingredients home with them and cook up a feast. Oh, baby, it's hot out there! A ... More >>

Dining out paleo: Ten dishes to satisfy your inner caveman

The "caveman diet" is getting a real workout across Colorado. The creation of Loren Cordain, a Colorado State University professor who wrote The Paleo Diet and numerous follow-up books, the diet has been picked up by the Crossfit community and many other fans of healthy eating. But while it promises ... More >>

Boulder Farmers' Market, week five: Bees and rhubarb

Tim Brod of Highland Honey Bees sells creamed honey and herb-infused honey intended to promote health, as well as queen bees and bee packages to would-be apiarists and pollination services for local organic farms. And -- as I learn on my Saturday morning visit to the Boulder Farmers' Market -- he is ... More >>

Boulder Farmers' Market, week four: Strawberries, and seven things not to do

The big news at the Boulder Farmers' Market Saturday: Randy and Regan of 2 Rs Farm have strawberries. I restrain myself from doing a celebratory dance around their stand -- which is also heaped with cucumbers and luscious greenhouse-grown tomatoes -- and snatch up three little boxes. Within fifteen ... More >>

Author Irene Rawlings shares cast-iron recipes from Sisters on the Fly

Cast-iron cooking is an art unto itself, as any Sister on the Fly will tell you. And members of the nationwide sisterhood of adventurous women who caravan together in vintage trailers all over the U.S. spend a lot time perfecting their camp cuisine. Local author Irene Rawlings, a Sister herself, pu ... More >>

Boulder Farmers' market, week three: spinach is in -- but no apricots, ever?

Eating local brings different joys and disappointments every year, and there's a big disappointment coming up -- as I learn from farmer John Ellis at the Boulder Farmers' Market Saturday. No apricots this year, says Ellis, who runs Rancho Durazno peach orchard. Or if there are any, there will be be ... More >>

Wahoo's Fish Taco: No meat, no gluten, no problem

I have great sympathy for folks who can't digest gluten (as opposed to fakers who affect gluten allergies for attention), as well as those who can't or don't eat meat -- because they face very limited menu options if they dare to dine out. That makes Wahoo's Fish Taco a rare fish in the fast-food s ... More >>

Boulder Farmers' Market, week two: From duck eggs to salmon

The Boulder Farmers' Market on Saturday, April 13, is one of those variable Colorado days when you're not sure whether to wear a coat, a jacket or a heavy sweater -- and you find yourself peeling off layers as the morning advances. JJ in his wheelchair and Raelene wearing her trademark cowboy hat ho ... More >>

Cooking with Pete and Barb Marczyk: Stracotto

Pete Marczyk and Barbara Macfarlane do not leave their work behind when they leave Marczyk Fine Foods and head for their great old Denver house with the big, new kitchen. They often bring some of their market's choicest ingredients home with them and cook up a feast. While the weather promises to w ... More >>

Famous Dave's needs to take time with the food -- and ditch the decor

Formulaic, often-repeated recipes are not going to produce the kind of barbecue you buy from a dim, smoke-sputtering cart on the street, or eat at a charmingly tattered mom-and-pop barbeque joint. But if you want fast, moderately priced chicken, brisket and pork, accompanied by fixins' with all the ... More >>

In the kitchen with Patxi Azpiroz, chef of Patxi's Pizza: meatballs

A few weeks ago, when I interviewed Patxi Axpiroz, the chef-owner of Patxi's Pizza, our conversation moved from pizza to balls -- meatballs, of course, which are popping up on menus at several local restaurants, including Cafe Bar, Gaetanos, Slotted Spoon and Spuntino. Some of those meatballs are fu ... More >>

The chicken at La Polleria is a real bird in the hand

See also: Behind the scenes at La Polleria

Shaun Motoda, chef of TAG|RAW BAR, on the perfect bite and his obsession with Taco Bell

Shaun Motoda TAG|RAW BAR 1423 Larimer Street 303-996-2685 tagrawbar.com This is part one of my interview with Shaun Motoda, chef de cuisine of TAG|RAW BAR; part two of our conversation will run tomorrow. Shaun Motoda, the chef de cuisine at TAG|RAW BAR, grew up wanting to be an architect. But the ... More >>

Burger King's new Whopper, molten fudge desserts, cheesy tots and chicken nuggets

Hearing rumors that Burger King had introduced a new avocado & Swiss Whopper, as well as molten fudge desserts, tater tots with the cheese baked into them and tempura-ish battered chicken nuggets, I decided to forgive that whole bacon sundae debacle and visit the Burger King kingdom at 3200 Downing ... More >>

Cooking with Pete and Barb Marczyk: Stifado

Pete Marczyk and Barbara Macfarlane do not leave their work behind when they leave Marczyk Fine Foods and head for their great old Denver house with the big, new kitchen. They often bring some of their market's choicest ingredients home with them and cook up a feast. "People, people, people: When I ... More >>

Matt Selby is battling for $20,000 in the Master Holiday Chef Challenge: Vote!

By the end of this month, star chef Matt Selby and James Iacino, president of Seattle Fish Company, will open the Corner House, a new restaurant in Jefferson Park, and while Selby is currently working on menus -- dishes like truffle salt-cured foie gras, mussels and "Denver Bronco" oysters with oran ... More >>

Cooking with Pete and Barb Marczyk: Penne pasta with vegetables and goat cheese

Pete Marczyk and Barbara Macfarlane do not leave their work behind when they leave Marczyk Fine Foods and head for their great old Denver house with the big, new kitchen. They often bring some of their market's choicest ingredients home with them and cook up a feast. "In the days that followed Than ... More >>

Olive Garden's "Dinner Today & Dinner Tomorrow" -- how do you double unlimited breadsticks?

When 86-year-old newspaper columnist Marilyn Hagerty wrote her now-famous review of a North Dakota Olive Garden back in March, I wouldn't say that her story changed the path of restaurant reviews everywhere -- or even anywhere. But it did give food writers, myself included, an appreciation for the f ... More >>

Round two with Lucas Forgy, exec chef of Freshcraft: Avery beer rep is a ninja!

Lucas Forgy Freshcraft 1530 Blake Street 303-758-9608 www.freshcraft.com Part one of my interview with Lucas Forgy, exec chef of Freshcraft, ran yesterday; this is part two of our chat. What do you enjoy most about your craft? Being able to engage with people in real time and make things happen.

Colin Mallet brings Southern cooking to northwest Denver

Slide show: Sassafras American Eatery

Round two with Matt Lewis, exec chef of Bones

Matt Lewis Bones 701 Grant Street 303-860-2929 www.bonesdenver.com Part one of my interview with Matt Lewis, exec chef of Bones, ran yesterday. This is part two of our conversation. Favorite restaurant in America: My experience at Bouchon was amazing, even more so because the chef de cuisine cam ... More >>

Roux the day: The light and dark sides of gumbo

A rose is a rose is a rose, right? Not so for gumbo, which happens to be Colin Mallet's favorite dish from his home state of Louisiana. While there are probably as many versions of this soup/stew as there are families who make it, Mallet, executive chef of Sassafras American Eatery, can makes a di ... More >>

Top five menu items I'd choose if I paid 50k a plate for dinner

Mitt Romney's "The 47 Percent Feels Entitled to Eat Free Cake" vid clip had me thinking about a lot of things, but my brain kept inexplicably drifting back to Mittens' fifty-thousand-dollars-a-plate fundraiser, and wondering what sort of meal you get when you dump that kind of green. I'm of the spen ... More >>

Top five weird food news stories from this week

Food news is as varied as the food you're served at restaurants. Some weeks our plate is filled with educational articles about science and technology, stories of new and exciting eats and drinks, and industry exposes that give us all something to gossip about by the office water coolers. Other week ... More >>

Attention to detail would safeguard the Kitchen's brand in Denver

Cooking with Pete and Barb Marczyk: Pork tenderloin with orange glaze

Pete Marczyk and Barbara Macfarlane do not leave their work behind when they leave Marczyk Fine Foods and head for their great old Denver house with the big, new kitchen. They often bring some of their market's choicest ingredients home with them and cook up a feast. Provided our local meteorologis ... More >>

California Pizza Kitchen rolls out low-cal items that deserve high praise

While I f*cking love California Pizza Kitchen, I generally don't like low-calorie dishes, and I really, really can't stand quinoa. And don't get me started on malls, where all of metro Denver's five CPK outposts are located. So I was a little wary of embarking on last night's adventure: the "New Adv ... More >>

Le Peep: The proof is in the powder

I hadn't been to Le Peep in well over a decade -- since I discovered eggs Bennie made from scratch are better -- but I noticed that the recent chain-restaurant survey in Consumer Reports put Le Peep among the most popular restaurants in the U.S., ranked on taste, value, service and mood. Whuh-huh?

Coloradans are partial to Santiago's mean green

Also read: Santiago's founder Carmen Morales talks to Cafe Society

Willie G's caters to the classes and the masses

Fruition continues to set the course for Denver dining

Slide show: In the kitchen at Fruition

Ambria's kitchen is ahead of its service

Slide show: In the kitchen at Ambria

Biker Jim busts out a bread haiku, bemoans boba and spills details on a new brick-and-mortar

This is part one of my interview with Biker Jim, chef-owner of Biker Jim's Gourmet Dogs. Part two of our banter will run in this space tomorrow. Jim Pittenger Biker Jim's Gourmet Dogs 2148 Larimer Street 303-550-8231 www.bikerjimsdogs.com "I'm too young to have this much history," quips the 54- ... More >>

Cooking with Pete and Barb Marczyk: Summer turkey burgers

Pete Marczyk and Barbara Macfarlane do not leave their work behind when they leave Marczyk Fine Foods and head for their great old Denver house with the big, new kitchen. They often bring some of their market's choicest ingredients home with them and cook up a feast. Like a lot of you, Pete and Ba ... More >>

Camping cookbook author Patty Ruwoldt on outdoor cuisine (recipe for chicken stew included)

With Memorial Day comes the start of camping season, and here's a new tool to put in your pack: Patty Ruwoldt's Open Range Cook'n: Home on the Range Cooking Made Easy -- A Camp Cook's Guide to Tasty Vittles. Not only does the book include recipes for satisfying meals you can cook in the great outdoo ... More >>

TGI Friday's cooks up new menu items: It's all about the details

I used to work at TGI Friday's -- I was young, I needed the money -- and when customers would ask me what they should order, I unfailingly advised them to stick to appetizers and cocktails: no mussy, no fussy, and no details for me to screw up.

Hana Japanese Bistro in Louisville is all-inclusive

Slide show: In the kitchen at Hana Japanese Bistro

Cooking with Pete and Barb Marczyk: Dilled gravlax

Pete Marczyk and Barbara Macfarlane do not leave their work behind when they leave Marczyk Fine Foods and head for their great old Denver house with the big, new kitchen. They often bring some of their market's choicest ingredients home with them and cook up a feast. If you've been to the seafood ... More >>

Pizza Hut stuffs its crust with hot dogs -- but only Brits get a taste

Hot dog! Pizza Hut is now offering pizzas with crusts stuffed with hot dogs and garnished "with a mustard drizzle." Sadly, it is only offering these pizzas in the United Kingdom. What the hell, Hut?! Don't Americans deserve a mustard drizzle, too?

Denver's ten best vegetarian dishes in non-vegetarian restaurants

Picking the Best Vegetarian Dish in a Non-Vegetarian Restaurant for the Best of Denver 2012 was a tough task. The owners of omnivorous restaurants have really gone above and beyond lately to cater to lacto-ovo vegetarians and totally plant-based eaters alike. In no particular order (save for number ... More >>

Denver's five best empanadas

Just about every culture in the world makes some kind of savory stuffed pastry, and in South America, it's the empanada that's king. No two countries make the same type of hot pocket; whether an empanada is deep-fried or baked and what it's stuffed with is a clear market of where it came from. This ... More >>

Buffalo sausage flatbread pizza is Colorado Proud

Always eat Colorado! Every month the Colorado Department of Agriculture releases a new Colorado Proud recipe by chef Jason Morse, now the executive chef of the Douglas County School District. The March offering sounds like a perfect snack for gourmands watching March Madness games. It's Buffalo Sau ... More >>

Change is good at Axios Estiatorio

Slide show: In the kitchen at Axios Estiatorio

The Trinity Grille's Patrick Canfield goes after gluten-free diets and admits he doesn't give a rat's ass about reviews

This is part one of my interview with Trinity Grille's Patrick Canfield. Check back here tomorrow to read part two. Patrick Canfield Trinity Grille 1801 Broadway 303-293-2288 www.trinitygrille.com Most of us have scrubbed a few pots and scraped a few plates, but if you eat dinner every night at ... More >>

Denver omelet deserves an update -- and here's a sunny option

​Mayor Michael Hancock will learn to flip a Denver omelet today at a photo opp pushing Denver Restaurant Week. A Denver omelet? That may be the dish that's been labeled with this city's name, but it's hardly the best example of this city's cuisine. Former restaurant critic Jason Sheehan was s ... More >>

A sausage fest with local buffalo and Funkwerks' Dark Prophet

​When I bumped into my neighbor the other day, we got to talking about sausage. He'd recently acquired a beautiful new meat grinder and has been having a great time with it. I, coincidentally, have always wanted to make my own sausage, and asked if he'd show me how. "Of course!" he said. "I ha ... More >>

A mediocre pizza joint inspires homemade pie with Fort Collins's Incredible Hop

I'm sad to report that I recently tried the pizza at a local popular purveyor of it and was quite disappointed. I won't share the name of the place, seeing as how we're all especially fervent about our favorite pizza joints, and I'd prefer not to step on anyone's dough. I will say, however, that the ... More >>

Cooking with Pete and Barb Marczyk: Roasted sausages, peppers, potatoes and onions

Pete Marczyk and Barbara Macfarlane do not leave their work behind when they leave Marczyk Fine Foods and head for their great old Denver house with the big, new kitchen. They often bring some of their market's choicest ingredients home with them and cook up a feast. Super Bowl Sunday is just a few ... More >>

Pressure-cooking is not a crock

I'll admit it: I'm stuck in the past, using a crockpot to cook meals. And I learned at chef Lynda Lacher's One Pot Cooking Class at Cherry Creek Whole Foods last night that I am guilty of many crockpot sins, the worst of which is not using a pressure cooker to cut my meal prep time down to minutes r ... More >>

Street Kitchen Asian Bistro does the trick for a quick lunch in the DTC