speakeasy kitchen

As if there weren’t enough to do around Denver than pick up after dogs, Matt and I adopted a third dog.  Aptly named Grace Ironic, this latest 9 month old pup is a lab-hound mix with markings similar to her older, but smaller, sister Margo Frances.  Was it wise to bring in a lab-mutt when Rita has unequivocally demonstrated that she believes in eradication of all such breeds one by one?  I don’t know.  But all three seem to be getting along just fine and there’s much love (and wrestling) in the house.

well, before I start listing chinese new year’s resolutions, i should probably take inventory of my caucasian new year’s resolutions:
1. move to denver - CHECK!
2. pass colorado bar exam - working on it, dammit, just back off!
3. do cool work, but less of it - well, i’m halfway there… did cool work and LOTS of it, but stopped to work on item #2 above.
4. snowboard a lot - so far, i’ve spent 1 day at copper near frisco, CO and 2 days at mt. bachelor in bend, OR. would have been more than that if it weren’t for item #2.
5. rockclimb a lot - okay… for all the people who keep saying it doesn’t actually7.  snow in denver all that much, i think you’re lying.
6. learn to mountain bike - i shall attribute my failure to do accomplish this so far to the same reason as item #5.
7. learn to kayak - CHECK!
8. make denver a hipper place - i hate to say it, but it may take a force larger than myself to do that… we shall see, once i’m done with item #2.
9. train dogs to respond to whistle - this item has been delegated to matt rose. or is this a non-delegable duty?
10. host lots of friends on ski trips - CHECK!

so… 3 out of 10 ain’t bad, considering we’re only in the month of february. that’s "february" with TWO R’s, Dr. Sexxy.

and now, for my chinese new years resolutions:
1. start a non-profit org
2. set up speakeasy denver
3. learn the intro to jimi hendrix "little wing"
4. start a compost heap
5. refrain from eating pork (a little gift to the golden pig, who apparently bears bad luck for the fire dragon this year)

only half as many chinese new year resolutions as caucasian new year resolutions. 15 per year (chinese OR caucasian) is probably about all i can handle.

for 2007, i have a list of 10 resolutions:
1. move to denver, colorado
2. pass colorado bar exam
3. do cool work, but less of it.
4. snowboard a lot
5. rockclimb a lot
6. learn to mountain bike
7. learn to kayak
8. make denver a hipper place
9. train dogs to respond to dog whistle
10. host lots of visiting friends on ski trips

this blog will be continued at: http://speakeasykitchen.blogspot.com/2006/06/monday-after-speakeasy-summer.html

so… my trip to nicaragua put some spanish creativity and lingo in my brain… that’s the good news!  the bad news is all the ron delicioso deleted the creativity that makes up cool names for the dishes. so the speakeasy summer menu has no fancy names, just plain and simple ingredients.  the summer is a splendid season, with fresh, juicy fruits and vegetables, and tasty cuts of meat and fish flopping around the boat.  you never know what’s going to be best until you hit the market!

inspired by the trip to nicaragua and promises of a great summer harvest, the menu includes a few disclaimers to variations that could pop up when i’m shopping for ingredients on the morning of speakeasy kitchen.

hope everyone’s open to a little adventure this time!

yes, that’s right… speakeasy kitchen is going to get it’s own piece of virtual real estate, outside of my .mac account, outside of the friendster universe. <click here> to go to www.speakeasykitchen.com

yes, i know.  it just redirects you to the menu you’re used to seeing on my .mac account.  that’s because i don’t know how to build a website, but it was easy enough to redirect you to the menu on my .mac account.  cheap trick.

i’m looking for someone to help me do that… can anyone help me?  pretty please?  <click here> to email me and offer your assistance.  and if you’ve got some special gift for this and do a fabulous job, your next speakeasy kitchen dinner is on me!  and if you do this for a living and can do a fabulous job, i’d be more than happy to advertise for you on the website and underpay you for your services in addition to throwing in your next speakeasy kitchen dinner.

hey, thanks guys… you’re the best!

number of patrons at the speakeasy kitchen: 23 (would have been a full-house of 24, but someone had a last minute cancellation)
number of kitchen staff: 3 (thanks, matt, katy and emily!)

number of hours that the musicians were in the house: 4+
number of hours spent in the hospital: 0
dollars lost in operating the speakeasy kitchen: $0
profit: $2.

i think the speakeasy kitchen succeeded in creating an energetic and friendly atmosphere.  operations in the dining room, in the kitchen, and on the bandstand were a little smoother, less hectic.  everyone sat family style — there were no separate tables this time.  folks made new friends and hopefully got a little bit of unexpectedly stimulating conversation.  the extra time between seatings also helped us collect ourselves.  the kitchen staff remained calm and collected, and even did a little bit of toe-tapping and dancing back there — we certainly did have fun!!  laissez-foure stayed on till past 10 p.m. and i’m glad to report that
they’re still interested in returning to play at the next speakeasy
kitchen.

after we finished cleaning up, matt and i joined emily at the black cat and inadvertently spent the rest of the night brainstorming about the next installment of the speakeasy kitchen… stay tuned for (drum roll please)….. speakeasy summer.  coming in probably early june.

the rose petal biscotti turned out wonderfully last night.  the rose petals are no longer pink once baked… they turn a little reddish-brown. oh well. but they are DELICIOUS!

also got my grubby little hands on more lavender blossoms and curry powders last weekend. they’re hard to come by, so i had to stock up while they were available.

getting a little bit nervous… there’s not a lot of time left and i still have a lot of work to do (both at my day job and for SEK).  and i actually have a big meeting at my day job tomorrow morning so there can be no cutting of fingers and midnight trips to the emergency room tonight.  must stay alert and keep all digits fully functional!!

orders have been taken — not everyone has ordered yet, but it looks like everyone’s going to make me work.  at first it looked like i was only goign to have to make one entree, one appetizer, and two desserts.  but as the orders started rolling in, i realized that i was really going to have to roll up my sleeves and get working.

i’m going to start experimenting with the shanghai star biscotti and the red bean custard for the pagoda cakes tomorrow night.  thursday i start shopping for staples and friday the ginja rogers goes in the oven along with the coconut pagoda cake while the boogie woogie boolgogi marinates.  saturday  morning, dapper dehli starts stewing and all the other prep work gets done.  then it’s show time!!

it should be known that i’m an incorrigible flirt at the butcher and fish counters. but it’s all in the name of serving good food — i think it helps me get the neatest and freshest looking cuts. and i did. while i sent matt in search of potato flour. when you’re shopping in such a crowded grocery store, you’ve got to use your best wiles to get what you need. so i did. and after matt cleaned out the freezer, stocked the fridge, and carved a pineapple, i sent him back to the store to get more stuff. yes. the man hauled home a couple hundred dollars worth of groceries for me (including a 6-pack of beer, a sack of onions, a pound of shrimp, 4 lbs of veal shank for the cheungs’ osso buco dinner on friday night, a sack of garam masala, some soymilk and eggs, vanilla ice cream (with bean flecks!!), a few sundries, and oh… not much else — we all know how far our money goes at whole foods) and then i sent him back to get more stuff so i could experiment on him. yes. i know. this is shaping up to look like cruel and unusual punishment… but wait — the story takes a turn for the better.

katy showed up and started pounding matzo crackers into matzo meal so that she could make an orange sponge cake for seder dinner. anyone who’s ever been in a kitchen (or any room for that matter) with katy knows that there’s good entertainment to be had. so we prattled away as i rolled up my sleeves and got to work on the dapper dehli.

the results were excellent. i was worried that the delicate flavor of the lavender wouldn’t show through amid all of the spices in the curry, but if my taste-testers were being honest, it was a high-note in the curry. the peanuts gave it a balanced texture. and next time, a little more salt. i don’t think i’ll use kosher salt next time though. aside from that, the feedback was all positive.

the next experiment will probably be a sampling of the appetizers. the tuna’s been looking pretty good at the store these days… actually, anything would be good to me right now… somehow the gyro sandwich i got for lunch today at the korean-owned and operated deli didn’t quite hit the spot.