Some of Our Favorite Family Recipes

On October 7, 2020October 7, 2020 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn RecipesLeave a comment

For whatever reason, most of our traditional family recipes seem to be ones that we make during the autumn and winter seasons. They tend to be meals that we create in large batches and either enjoy the leftovers the next day or freeze to have at a later date. Most of these were handed down from family member to family member by example and not written down. Cooking is one of those things that definitely can bring a family together, regardless of where you live or where you are from. It is probably one of the reasons why we enjoy eating traditional meals when we travel to places, because the food will also give you a sense of the people. Here are a few of our family’s recipes that we’ve posted over the past few years.

Meat Lasagna – We certainly enjoyed having lasagna in Rome and Florence, but our homemade lasagna is still one of our favorite meals. We also tend to make our own garlic toast to go along with it as we really like that combination. We always make a large batch so that we can have plenty of leftovers.

Red Chili – You will find many different varieties of chili as you travel throughout the southwest. From green chili to red chili, with or without meat, spicy or not spicy, they are all usually interesting and have plenty of flavor. Our version combines kidney beans and chili beans to create a very hearty meal.

Pumpkin Cookies – We bake these cookies every year in October or November and it is a way to welcome the change in the seasons. We typically make a couple dozen and then share them with our friends, who always look forward to them as well. It is a simple recipe, but the cookies are moist and delicious.

Egg and Hash Brown Potato Skillet – That isn’t the actual name of it, but egg slop doesn’t quite describe the dish. What makes this unique is the sauce that we make from chili powder and other seasonings. We have always had it for dinner, but it would make for a good weekend breakfast as well.

French Stew – This is an inexpensive meal that combines fresh ingredients in a simple way to make a “stewp”. Similar dishes can be found in the countryside’s of many different countries and is typically considered to be a hunter’s stew. A hunter stew is usually made from meat, potatoes, and vegetables, whatever happens to be available at the time.

Some of Our Favorite Shrimp Recipes

On September 30, 2020September 30, 2020 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn RecipesLeave a comment

Shrimp is one those versatile items that can be cooked in a variety of ways. It is also something that is found in cooking throughout the world, especially those places that are near the coast. We have certainly made many different shrimp recipes throughout the years, but here are just a handful of them to give an idea of how many different styles of meals work well with shrimp.

Easy and Delicious Shrimp Frittata – One of the things that you can find throughout your travels is some variety of a frittata. They are light, easy, and can be adapted for the cuisine of almost any country. We really enjoy fresh seafood when we travel, so we decided to do a shrimp frittata that was not only easy, but extremely delicious. The use of lemon and fresh parsley also helps to brighten up the dish and make it even more luscious. Frittatas, like a good quiche, can be a meal on its own, but we decided to pair it with some green beans and red peppers.

Sautéed Shrimp with a Pumpkin-Sage Butter – During the autumn season, we are always looking for creative ways to use seasonal products such as pumpkin. Mixing butter with pumpkin and sage is a savory way to give flavor to seafood, especially shrimp or scallops. We decided to sauté shrimp with the infused butter and it made for a delicious meal. Not only was it tasty, but it turned the shrimp a nice orange color was perfect for this time of year.

Shrimp and Grits with a Fried Soft Boiled Egg

Our Take on Shrimp and Grits – Creating a Hollandaise sauce with a Louisiana pepper sauce to serve with the shrimp and grits turned out nice because it gave a little bit of a lemon taste to the shrimp, but it still had some heat. We also used some Old Bay Seasoning on the shrimp, a little reminder to our east coast roots. Adding cheese to the grits also made them a little more hearty and added to the creaminess. The centerpiece was the soft-boiled egg that had been breaded and fried and added to the entire meal.

Shrimp Fra Diavolo with Angel Hair Pasta – Shrimp Fra Diavolo (Brother Devil) is an Italian inspired dish that is spicy and delicious. We served it over a bed of angel hair pasta, but when we had leftovers a couple of days later, we simply served it with a side of garlic toast. If you don’t want it too spicy, you can reduce the amount of red pepper flakes, but this meal is meant to pack some heat. It is one of those easy and yet elegant dinners that can be done on a weeknight or served for a weekend dinner party. It could probably be done with another type of shell fish, but shrimp really holds up well to the flavors and is easy to cook.

The Food of Telluride, Colorado

On July 15, 2020July 15, 2020 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Colorado, Food5 Comments

The town of Telluride has managed to keep a small-town feel despite being a popular destination for tourists. Excluding the restaurants that are located in the Mountain Village, there are only about 36 restaurants in Telluride. During our visit, which was obviously impacted by the pandemic, not all restaurants were open and some were only open for pick-up and not for inside dining. The town did make every effort to have as much outside seating as possible in order to allow for people to enjoy the scenery and still be able to enjoy food from the local restaurants.

Spicy Tempura Rock Shrimp with Shishito Peppers

Beers at the High Pie Pizzeria and Taproom

Typical of any resort area, restaurants of varying price ranges and styles of food can be found. There are casual restaurants as well as fine dining restaurants, but like almost anywhere in Colorado, even in more upscale restaurants, people tend to dress casual. We went to several restaurants during our short stay and enjoyed a variety of food. We also had a couple of glasses of wine at the Historic Bar in the Sheridan and a couple of beers at the High Pie Pizzeria and Taproom.

Winter Warmer Beer at the Smuggler Union Restaurant and Brewery

On our first night in Telluride, we enjoyed a wonderful Italian meal at Rustico where we had Caesar Salad and Spaghetti Rustico. For a more casual dinner, we ate Barbeque Ribs with Mac N Cheese at the Smuggler Union Restaurant and Brewery. On our final evening in Telluride we decided to splurge and have dinner at The National, which is a newer fine dining restaurant where we had spicy Tempura Rock Shrimp and a 5 Spiced Duck with a Fig, Sage and Pecan Pudding as well as a Sweet and Sour Huckleberry Sauce.

Ornate Ceiling in the Historic Bar at the Sheridan

Scrambled Eggs with Poblano Peppers at The Butcher & The Baker

Since we wanted to get and do some hiking early, we went out early and stopped for brunch before getting on the trail. The first day we went to The Butcher & The Baker and the following day we went to Baked in Telluride, both of which offered fresh baked food. We only ate one lunch in the Mountain Village as we spent most of our time in the town of Telluride itself. This was our second time in Telluride, but it has been a while and we certainly enjoyed the food and drinks that we had during our short stay.