What a beautiful day it was for the Snowmass Culinary Festival in Snowmass Village, Colorado this past week. Upon arriving at the Snowmass mall I was greeted with some very useful schwag, a neckless designed to hold your wine glass, ala hands free. What a great little gadget! I couldn’t wait to put it to use.
Walking through the Snowmass Village mall was great to marvel at the art displays and vendors. Enticed into the d’marie inc. booth with an offer of a wine slushy was a pleasant surprise. Wow! Wine slushy, an amazingly light & refreshing treat. Definitely worth picking up the Frappe Vino mix to share with my friends on a hot day.
At the end of the Snowmass mall was the Viking Culinary Tent which was hosting cooking demonstrations. I slipped into to hear about “Market Foods of Mexico” with Chef Richard Sandoval & culinary nutritionist Diane Henderiks. Is it impossible to make healthy Mexican food? Well, not after learning a couple of tricks from these two. Bake, don’t fry, substitute yogurt for cream, lighten up on the cheese, and of course use fresh herbs & vegetables.
The dish I can’t wait to try at home is vegetarian sopes. The sopes were topped with a black bean puree, sprinkles of cotija cheese, pablano pepper yogurt mix and topped with fresh cilantro and tomatoes. One hint when roasting pablano peppers is don’t over roast since they have thin skins.
After the cooking workshop it was time for the palette of pairings. A two hour feast of small plates, wines, and spirits passes pretty quickly. I loved all the local cuisine, such as Kannah Creek Brewing Company from Grand Junction, the Snowmass Club, Viceroy, Roudhouse Spirits in Boulder, Thai Catering Lemongrass, Eco-Goddess and of course Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory.
Don’t miss this two day Culinary event Snowmass Village next year.
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