October in Colorado Wine Country

The first weekend in October, Alex and I took a three-day road trip to Colorado Wine Country. The trip was initiated as a result of reading an article several years earlier in the New York Times about Cycling in Colorado Wine Country . I thought it would be a fun thing to do sometime since it's not too far to drive for an extended weekend. We visited Palisade and Paonia, did some bicycling in both places and enjoyed some beautiful fall weather.

We cycled around Palisade for about an hour and our first stop was Canyon Wind Winery. We liked the Rose best and decided to have a glass and sit outside in the shaded courtyard.

The east mesa is where most of the wineries are located and it's best to drive to the top, park and bike from there. We really enjoyed going to High Country Orchards, meeting Theresa High and her husband, tasting their three wines and learning about their fabulous peaches that Michelle Obama and her daughters came to pick.  They gave us the story of how they ended up in Palisade, why they named their winery Colterris and how they named the vineyards after each of their adult children. We ran out of time to visit other wineries that afternoon but concluded it's worth a return trip to check them out.

View from Stone Cottage Winery in Paonia.

Stone Cottage wine cellar - Paonia.













Pinot grapes we helped pick in Paonia.

View from the art gallery tasting room at Azure winery in Paonia.

















Beautiful day and nice way to spend the morning.  After a few hours, we went to the property owner's house where his wife served us a lunch of venison chili and zucchini soup, accompanied with freshly made corn bread and Pinot Noir from last year's harvest.

Some of the art in the gallery at Azure.

The patio at Azure with my daughter.

Another view from the patio.

Wines we brought home.

French Onion Soup

Simmering French onion soup

Get together with friends this evening to plan for a trip next summer to hike around Mont Blanc. Since the hike involves going through France and Switzerland, we're having French onion soup and Swiss fondue.  I'm using Julia Child's recipe for French onion soup.  Delicious!

-6 cups yellow onions, thinly sliced (about 1 1/2 to 2 lbs)
1 tablespoon cooking oil
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons flour
6 cups beef stock (preferably homemade)
1 cup wine (dry red or white)
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon ground sage
salt and pepper
12 ounces swiss cheese, grated
4 ounces parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 raw yellow onion
2 -3 tablespoons cognac
8 slices French bread (about 1 inch thick)
4 tablespoons olive oil, for drizzling

Directions:

Place heavy bottom stock pot or dutch over over medium-low heat.
Add 1 Tbs cooking oil, 2Tbs butter to pot.
Add sliced onions and stir until they are evenly coated with the oil. Cover and cook for about 20 minutes until they are very tender and translucent.
To brown or caramelize the onions turn heat under pot to medium or medium high heat.
Add 1/2 tsp sugar and 1 tsp salt and continue to cook uncovered, stirring frequently until the onions have browned and reduced significantly.
Once caramelized, reduce heat to medium-low and add 3 Tbs flour to the onions.
Brown the flour for about 2-3 minutes trying not to scorch it. (If the flour does not form a thick paste, you can add a bit more butter here).
Stir in about 1 cup of warm stock, scraping the bottom of the pan to get up all of the cooked-on bits.
Add the rest of the stock, wine, sage, and bay leaf to the soup.
 Simmer for 30 minutes.
To make the "croutes" (toasted bread), heat oven to 325 degrees F.
Drizzle each side of the bread slices with a bit of olive oil and place on baking sheet.
Cook the croutes for 15 minutes in oven on each side (30 minutes total).
Check the soup for seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed.
Remove the bay leaf (if you can find it).
Transfer to a casserole dish.
At this point you can add the 2-3 Tbs cognac and grate the 1/2 raw onion into the soup.
 Add a few ounces of the swiss cheese directly into the soup and stir.
Place the toasted bread in a single layer on top of the soup.
Sprinkle the rest of the cheese in a thick layer on top of the bread making sure to cover the edges of the toast to prevent burning.
Drizzle with a little oil or melted butter.
Place in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes.
Turn on broiler and brown cheese well.
Let cool for a few minutes.
Bon Apetit!