Fifteen Twentyone

We finally had our opportunity to eat at Fifteen Twentyone. I took advantage of the weekend and took Joshua out for dinner. When we arrived just before 7:00, the restaurant had about 8 tables seated (of probably 20 tables). During the course of the dinner, almost all of them filled up. Business has been pretty steady, according to Nancy.

We sampled the soup -- celery and smoked mussel and the bibb salad for starters. Then we ordered a seared salmon on risotto and the Colorado lamb.

After the starters, we waited for our dinner and started chatting about our next steps in our careers. I'm looking at different Dietetic Internships, and we talked about the options, pros, cons, and risks.

Nancy, co-owner of Fifteen Twentyone, brought us an appetizer plate of shrimp wrapped in prociutto balanced atop lemon vinaigrette spinach and fresh tomatoes. Delish! Even better, they were compliments of the chef -- probably because I admire their work so much and had written a dazzling review of the restaurant for That's Natural and The Pueblo PULP.

We were talking and talking... and didn't really realize that the dinner was taking a long time. The tables around us filled up, and their starters arrived. Then our server, laden with a large bowl, approached and placed the dish in front of us. It was teaming with mussels that had been steamed in a light white wine, roasted tomato and basil sauce. He explained that the lamb was taking longer than the chef intended and that the mussels were complimentary. Woohoo!

The lamb was medium rare, garnished with a light balsamic vinaigrette, tender and moist. The typically unpopular mutton taste was not even in the background. It was accompanied by a Gorgonzola mashed potato -- rustic and flavorful. Eating the two items together brought the sense of wild mountain fields to the lamb, which was sweet, and the Gorgonzola potatoes, which were just mashed enough to be called mashed potatoes but still possessing the heartiness of a perfectly-cooked potato. The beets that rested alongside the salmon were fresh and earthy -- but in the

Josh's salmon dish was brightly colored, crispy, and sweet. It was garnished with a squash puree which gave the plate a whimsical artsy appearance. The risotto was dense in flavor, sweet, and rich. The rice was firm to the bite but settled smoothly into the cream. I admit to stealing more than just a few bites.

Well, the rest was history, and it was absolutely splendid. We ended the perfect dinner with cups of dark coffee lightened by heavy cream.

I can't wait to go back!

Neewollah

Our Sunday morning "Young Adults" Group got together on Friday night and had a Halloween party and game night. We enjoyed some tasty food - including my mom's white chicken chili a la Kimberly, tasty sugar cookies lovingly cut to festive shapes by Terra, nachos, gluten free corn bread from Katie, coffee, and caramel cereal and nut mix. The Jubas bravely opened their home for us, and 9 of us descended on their home.

Brian Muench won the costume contest as Charlie Chaplin -- complete with an authentic mustache, split toe shoes, and pants held up by string. Jordane Ripke won second with her 1940s private eye costume, sporting a skirt set, shotgun and holster, and a badge. Luke Arledge won third with his impressive Clark Kent costume -- such a secret superhero that we couldn't even tell what he was. Honorable mentions are Ryan Lindsey with his Scottish Rugby player, Josh as the Therapist, Katie as a crazy chemist (crazy added for effect), Morgan (Jordane's friend) with the flower child, -- although we could have believed "blind girl from Shyamalan's The Village." The Jubas came as "proud college parent" and "tired but cheerful teacher." I was a barista -- I know, big departure!

Dietetic Internships

The days in Pueblo seemed to signal the arrival of Fall -- the days were reaching highs of 50s and 60s. This week; however, the weather has ventured up to the 70s, and today is supposed to be 80s. I am ready for fall! Where are the fall colors? Well, the leaves started to change and then fell off the trees because we had some really cold nights. Man... I want to move to an area that has nice long fall days.

Health Expo

On Friday I participated in a Health Expo. It was at the Transportation Testing Center east of Pueblo. It took me about 45 minutes to get there! There was a pretty good turnout -- there were about 150 employees, and I probably met 50. They had incentives to go: prizes were being given out. Several asked good questions. Most of them "knew what was good to eat but didn't do it." Yah, that's a typical response about good nutrition.

Enjoy the pics.

Gluten Free Pizza

One thing Josh and I haven't enjoyed since going GF is pizza. I finally broke and bought a package of $5 pizza crust mix. We've tried the frozen pizzas -- they're all right. The crusts are crispy and flat and bland. So I tried the Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Pizza mix. It makes 2 10-inch pizzas. Very thick. Like a giant biscuit spread out and topped with pizza toppings. I bought yeast, so I think I'll try make my own with my flour substitute. The only thing is that you can't knead GF dough. It's like a sticky blob of too-thick pancake batter. So just spread it out on parchment paper directly on a cookie sheet and bake as directed.

Check out the picks below. Flavor was good -- for a giant biscuit.

Ah...nice chewy pizza crust... alas... no more. But for a decent substitute, I recommend it.