Amazing dining experiences in restaurants in and around Denver or wherever we may be adventuring! These locations may be Food Trucks, Mom and Pops, Quick Casual, Sit and Service, or Fine Dining. I have no boundaries or limits on where great food is created!
When life gets busy and you’re carrying so much that you don’t feel like you can even open the app to find a recipe for dinner, that is when you need recipes like this one, Chicken Taco Soup. It’s an easy chop and drop recipe that is satisfying to the tastebuds and available time.
Chicken Taco Soup
Debone one rotisserie chicken and chop, put in crock pot
Drop in one can (undrained) of:
Pinto beans
Kidney beans
White corn
Diced tomatoes
Package of taco seasoning
One package of Hidden Valley Ranch Dip(powder not liquid)
Stir it all up and heat through, then serve with saltine crackers or tortilla chips. You can add other extras like avocado, limes, cheese or cilantro if you want, but it tastes amazing without them.
Sending you peace, love and joy as you navigate this thing we call life. #balancebeginswithboundaries
Today’s Taste Buds Talk brings us to Annette Scratch to Table. An amazing restaurant in Aurora, Colorado serving a small plate style eating experience. The variety of their menu will leave your taste buds wanting more! Dave and Stacey joined us once again on this culinary adventure. Keep on reading to learn more about Annette Scratch to Table!
I loved the wall of wood the minute I stepped through the front door. I guess in a world that is so busy, the wood grounded me and put me at ease for a relaxing evening. The softened lighting also helped set the mood. Pleasant environment for sure!
Now on to the menu! Since it is a Small Plates style restaurant, we decided to get many small plates and share to provide us with a bigger dining experience. Here’s what we picked:
Honeycrisp Apple and Parsley Salad
Gnocchi
Pork Tonnato
Octopus Patatas Bravas
Sunchoke Gratin
Roasted Whole Fish
Wood-Fired Half Chicken
Honeycrisp Apple and Parsley Salad
This salad had amazing flavors so light, yet bold with Jasper Hill Cheddar cheese, pecans, and kohlrabi.
Gnocchi
The Gnocchi hit the spot, served with cippollinis(onions), and some roasted butternut squash. This dish melted in your mouth as soon as the spoon touched your taste buds! The gnocchi was soft and exploded with flavor. One of my favorite dishes at Annette’s for sure!
This dish typically is served with shitake mushrooms, but since I am allergic to mushrooms we were able to have ours prepared without them. They were very responsive to dietary concerns/needs. It was refreshing to have such care taken with our personal needs, like we were sitting in their home instead of their place of business.
Pork Tonnato
The Pork Tonnato is a brilliant blend of very thinly sliced pork, tuna, raddishes, capers, and parsley. The taste buds were zinging with this combination. Pairing the tuna with the pork was the perfect way to compliment the sometimes boring pork entree. The saltiness of the capers, crunch of the raddish and freshness of the parsley made this dish the perfect concerto!
Octopus Patatas Bravas
The Octopus Patatas Bravas was figuratively and literally a mouthful! Joe and I have had octopus before and weren’t very impressed. But with Dave and Stacey’s suggestion we tried it again. We ALL gave it a thumbs up! It was mixed with Yukon Gold potatoes and a hearty Romesco Garlic sauce that tied the plate together very nicely. The fresh chive garnish added a brightness that really complimented the small plate. Sometimes something as simple as some greenery on top is all you need to really finish a plate.
Roasted Whole Fish
Something about having the “whole” fish in front of you can be intimidating. However, when you focus on the flavors…nothing else matters. This was without a doubt the BEST fish I have ever eaten! It was cooked perfectly…the meat was so soft and flaky. The adobo vinegarette and olive tapenade partnered with the delicate texture of the fish so naturally. I would order this again and again and again!
Sunchoke Gratin
The Sunchoke Gratin was hard to photograph, but I thought it very tasty! As the name implies it was a typical gratin dish with layers of sunchokes, raclette, lemon, and thyme. Some of you may be wondering, exactly what is a sunchoke? Well, it is kind of like a potato with artichoke flavors…very tasty indeed! Pairing it with raclette cheese…oooh my! This Alpine Dairy Cow cheese is in the Swiss family of cheeses and melts beautifully. It added the perfect nutty flavor to this gratin dish.
Wood-Fired Half Chicken
The Wood-Fired Half Chicken had beautiful color on the outside and delicious juicy meat on the inside! Served on a bed of Escarole with a garlic Sherry Vinegarette, this would give your momma’s Sunday Chicken a run for its money!
Our small plate experience was anything but small. We enjoyed a wonderful evening, al beit a bit of a drive, but it was worth it! Some times the same ole restaurant just won’t do and you need to branch out a bit. If you’re in the Denver Metro area, you should branch out to Annette’s Scratch to Table. I’m confident you’ll be glad you did!
Taste Buds Talk is in my kitchen this week making Chicken Tortilla Soup! Cold weather is upon us in Denver and soup is the perfect “Go To” meal for lunch or dinner. Chicken Tortilla Soup is great because it has amazing flavor, that can easily be adjusted for personal heat preference. It also has two sources of protein and is a low calorie option packed with high nutrient/low fat foods. Win-Win-Win!
Below is the video I made to demonstrate how to make this delicious recipe for Chicken Tortilla Soup. Print the recipe by clicking this link.
This is my first video. I had so much fun making it. However, I realize I have much to learn, so I appreciate your grace as I traverse the world of YouTube!
Tips for Cooking at Home
Clean up as you cook! I always have a bowl that I use to put my scraps and garbage in as I am cooking. Then I am not constantly walking over to the trash can or tripping over the trash can as I am moving around in the kitchen.
Especially when cooking things like Chicken Tortilla Soup, lots of veggies pieces and empty cans…such a time saver to just scoop or drop them in the bowl. Then when you’re done cooking, just dump the bowl’s contents into the trash and presto…you’re almost cleaned up!
The best kitchen tip for making dinner on busy days is Cuisinart’s Pressure Cooker. I’ve found that the slow cooker is too fast for my long work days so using Cuisinart’s Pressure Cooker allows me to make fast, healthy, and VERY tasty food quickly and with less mess. Everything stays in the pot, not splattered all over my cooktop! I LOVE mine! If you’re busy like me, I know YOU would love it too!
Click the affiliate link below to order your pressure cooker and start benefiting from saved time cooking and cleaning up!
Until next time when Taste Buds Talk visits, Annette Scratch to Table. You will LOVE every bite! Our Taste Buds Testers sure did!
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The cooler weather has arrived. The Aspen leaves are turning gold and shimmering in the Colorado sun. This is one of our reasons for traveling through the town of Lyons. We had gone up to Rocky Mountain National Park to see some Fall colors, and a herd or two of elk. With that mission accomplished, we were on the hunt for a hearty lunch with South of the Border flavors ~ Enter Mojo Taqueria, a small town Mexican Restaurant with BIG flavors!
Casual and authentic, was the feel as we entered and were quickly seated. Drinks in hand we ordered from a very tempting menu… 7 different salsas, 12 versions of tacos, and 8 plate options. This Mexican Cucina had so many choices.
Of course we couldn’t decide on one salsa, so we picked the Salsa Trio!
Salsa Trio: salsa casera ~ avocado-tomatillo ~ pico de gallo
Even though we selected mild to medium varieties, the flavors were still incredible…so fresh. The Avocado-Tomatillo salsa had just the right combo of smoky and fruity. The chips were crisp and held up well in the hearty salsas too!
Time to choose our lunch entrees. I had heard rave reviews about their Braised Short Rib burrito from a Denver Post article about the Mexican restaurant, so it didn’t take long for me to place my order.
Braised Short Rib Burrito
Ooooh and it DID NOT dissapoint. The braised short ribs were so delicious. It was tender, juicy and even had some crunchy fried onions mixed in to liven up the textures . Most of all the meat was abundant…every fork was evenly balanced with the melody of flavors inside the tortilla. I chose not to have mine smothered, but that option looked good too. They had a red and green option. Be prepared to fill your belly…it was a lot of burrito! Left overs for sure!
Joe picked a trio of tacos so he could sample a variety of flavors. The short ribs, pictured on the far right, was his favorite, and while I liked that one too…the Baja Fish (pictured in the middle) was a very close second for me! The crema was, as its name implies, creamy, but it had a little kick in it to balance out the lightness of the fish.
With 12 tacos to choose from, who can pick just one??? Not us!
Such a pleasant surprise to find these amazing flavors to end our day of exploring Rocky Mountain National Park. Whether you are heading to the Park or are just looking for a great Mexican restaurant, Mojo Taqueria should be added as your destination or waypoint.
We let our taste buds do the talking and they said, ” You won’t regret it!”
See you next time when I explore the variety and freshness of Farm to Table dining.
My husband, Joe, and I shared a delightful evening with our lovely neighbors, Stacey and Dave, exploring
our taste buds at this little piece of Italy. What a great evening we had
indulging in great food, wine and conversation!
Antipasti
We started our evening with a couple of Antipasti: Fancy Toast and Zucchini Fritters. WOW…what a beginning to this culinary adventure…my mouth is salivating as I take myself back to Friday night.
Fancy Toast
The in-house sourdough was a winner
all by itself, but then add the creamy whipped ricotta, sweet black mission
figs and crunchy pistachio black pepper brittle and you have a one of a kind beginning to an
ahhhmazing dining experience.
Our second antipasti was Zucchini Fritters. This was an excellent way to eat our veggies!
Zucchini Fritters
The zucchini had a light crunch with
a nutty fontina on top; then add the Calabrian chili aioli and wait mere
seconds for the satisfied taste buds to request an encore!
Insalata
Ohhh, we indulged and got 3 of the 4
salads…should we have ordered the 4th…probably!
Our choices:
Cucumber Salad, Kale and Beet Salad, and the Fennel and Arugula Salad. The one we left on the menu…Panzanella Salad. But after the Fancy Toast, we thought we should eat more veggies. 😉
Kale and Beet Salad
The flavors in this salad were so
evenly balanced…it was perfection! Finely chopped kale, paper thin
beets, crunchy hazelnuts with an apple scrub vinaigrette…oh man. The
culinary masters of this creation deserve a medal.
Unfortunately, we forgot to take pictures of the boys’ salads…oops! But they were equally delicious. The creamy bean paste at the base of the fennel and arugula salad created a unique texture that surprisingly worked for me. I never would have guessed that combination would have complemented each other so well!
Dave ordered the Cucumber Salad. It had the most amazing dressing…creamy fresh and light…and also end of season. We had the last of Chef Carrie’s garden cucumbers!
Pastas
Now onto the heavy hitters…the pastas. While we were all very enamored with the special for the evening, Wine Infused Pasta with a Wild Boar Bolognese, we decided to all order something different so we could taste more items from the menu and live large like the Italians do!
First up, the Wine Infused Pasta with a Wild Boar Bolognese. Unfortunately for you this was the evening special so it probably won’t be available when you visit. But I am confident after my evening at Bar Dough, that they will have something equally as delicious!
Wine Infused Pasta with a Wild Boar Bolognese
This earthy dish was smooth and
creamy with just a bite in the shells…perfetto!
The wild boar was delicate and juicy
within the velvety Bolognese. Paired with a full-bodied Brunello and
oooh…you’re in business!
Next up was the Capellini, served with crab, smoked tomatoes and fresh oregano. You had to work a little bit for the crab, as you can see in the pic, but it was tasty. The oregano was a little heavy for our taste, but still yummy!
Capellini
My choice for the evening was the Risotto complemented with seared shrimp, broccolini, lemon, and some butter…mmmm! The flavors were soft and rich, probably the butter, with a hint of lightness from the lemon. The shrimp was a stand out for me. Perfectly prepared and just the right amount of seasoning to let its flavor be the center of the plate.
Risotto
Our last pasta was the choice of my
husband, the Mafaldine. This dish was unanimously our favorite.
The long-ruffled noodles,
made in house by the way, as are all their pastas,
was dressed in the most scrumptious almond pesto. This was a first for me. I’ve created and eaten many basil, edamame, pea, or parsley pestos, but this one was like nothing I’ve ever seen or tasted. It was not green. It blended in with the pasta to let the subtle and smooth flavors shine and then hit you with a little kick. The fresh chile gets the prize for that finishing touch!
Mafaldine
Could we stop there?
We could have,
but we didn’t!
Dessert menu please!
We shared the Spumoni and the Apple Torta…the pictures fall short in capturing the amazing finish to our dining experience. I could have eaten a whole pan of the spumoni!!! Not kidding! The richness was evenly balanced with the sweetness of the chocolate, the hint of cherry and the nutty pistachios…I’ve never experienced anything like this dessert. I would go back to Bar Dough just for dessert. YUM!
Spumoni
Apple Torta
The Apple Torta’s flavors couldn’t have been more different than the Spumoni’s, but the dense apple cider cake paired with the crunchy granola and smooth vanilla bean ice cream were a hit at the table as well
Our evening scored BIG in my book. So glad that our friends, Stacey and Dave, were able to be a part of our culinary adventure!
One last thing that is a big deal
for me when I eat out…the bathroom. I know that is a weird thing to
discuss when you’re talking about food, but a great dining experience can be severely
diminished with poor facilities.
I am happy to report that the bathrooms were very clean and even had a charming demeanor to them…if that is such a thing. Check out the placards by the doors…
Hilarious!
I love a good sense of humor that gets right to the point.
Just keep it clean!
Until next
time my friends…when I share our delightful experience ‘South of the Border’!
