Please check out all my new posts...which are hidden under separate pages and therefore don't show up here. Kohlrabi Mardi Gras La Buche de Noel Noel House Wine Hungarian Partridge with Gin & Juniper Berries Pheasant Confit Four-legged Friends Gary Ruppel Rim Chung Friends from the Sporting Road Jim Fergus
2008, Streamside Press, Lyons, Colorado. These are the stories of 34 fly tyers in over 300 pages, perhaps the greatest in the world, including legendary anglers, professional tyers, fly-fishing guides, and writers. The book focuses on the featured tyers, but it also details, with recipes and color photos, 68 of their favorite fly patterns. Colorado Trout Flies presents a unique and invaluable reference from veteran fly-fishing guide, Todd Hosman who lives near Longmont, Colorado. He is also the author of Fly Fishing Rocky Mountain National Park and Fly Fishing Colorado's Front Range. A.K. Best comments on the Colorado Trout Flies by saying, "Todd Hosman has written a fly tying book like no other. I know some of you may find that hard to believe, but it's true. Colorado Trout Flies reads like a who's who of noted Colorado fly tyers and some of the patterns they are known for. But more important, the book contains a short biographical sketch of each tyer that gives the reader some insight on what drove them to create flies that have become local and national standards. Colorado Trout Flies is destined to become a classic not only because of the reasons mentioned above, but also because the fly patterns will fool trout anyplace.” John Gierach says, “One of my favorite things about this book is that I'm in it, even though I don't tie professionally and never invented a fly pattern. All I've ever done is tinker with flies as I tied them for my own use, now and then coming up with minor changes that either made an existing pattern slightly better or at least didn't do any real harm. At least at the amateur level, fly tying is like folk music: The songs may be the
'"Made in Italy " is my cookbook of the year. If I had to choose one place to live my entire life, Italy would be hard to beat, as the food is unsurpassable and it varies from town to town. The countryside is beautiful and the food stuffs are abundant. This book covers all of those beauties of Italy. So many books are take-offs on television celebrities, featuring dumbed-down restaurant favorites simply catering to the home cook. If you only buy one Italian cookbook, buy this one. Locatelli's recipes are the real deal, many from his restaurant, and the reminiscences from his life. It is large and covers everything from risotto to panettone. While many of the recipes are complex and will require adventures to the market for ingredients, most are simple and easily tackled for the home chef looking to present the finest dishes that Italy has to offer.
Mariano Gutierrez made the final cut for the newest Britney Spears music video“Radar” as her heart-throb and was just in town at R&L Farms Polo Club to try a few polo ponies this past month at our club during a few practice with us. The video also features polo at Pat Nesbitt’s Bella Vista Polo Club in Santa Barbara. Jason Crowder, Pat Nesbitt, Mariano Fassetta and a few others professional players. Gutierrez is a professional and is rated as a 5-goal player. The official set of rules and rules interpretations are reviewed and published each year by the United States Polo Association, the national governing body of the sport of polo in the United States.1
The 2011 Hunt Roster is out and it is always a pleasure to be listed in it. The Roster reads like a list of hunts to add to your bucket list and we have been fortunate to have hunted with more a few of them over the years. We look forward to joining those we haven't visited yet.
I was sent a copy of this article on the ultimate picnic party wagon, which is a proper English wooden trailer converted for tailgating for polo matches. Polo Magazine- Party Wagon Article. I then discovered Christy's auction of Patricia Kluge's estate in Virginia, and found that after the Kluge divorce, John Kluge remarried and built another house nearby. This incredible picnic hamper is the piece de resistance of the auction. click article from the New York Times which appeared in December 2005. Apparently in the 1980's by the Kluges commissioned the London firm of Asprey, jewellers and silversmith to the British Royal Family, to fashion this picnic hamper containing a full service for sixteen. The wicker trailer holds some 15 wicker cases, each fitted with brass handles and leather straps, with battery-powered hot and cold boxes and a water pump, cases for Bernardaud Limoges china, Baccarat crystal, Asprey silver cutlery, a staghorn bar service, two folding mahogany tables and 16 chairs, complete with the "K" monogram. The set was estimated at $20,000 to $30,000 and sold for some $144,000. Although wicker carryalls have been used since the 1700s, the picnic basket was born in 1901, when British luxury-goods retailers like Asprey started stocking hampers filled with tableware for motorists to enjoy on country drives. See more at http://driven.urbandaddy.com/2011/08/17/meals-on-wheels/ and http://www.finesse-fine-art.com/Picnic/PicnicArticle.htm.
According to legend, “Edradour is a unique, single Highland malt whisky, to be enjoyed in recognition of those small, significant moments that make up the ebb and flow of life.” Upon being presented a bottle of 11 year, Straight From the Cask, Super Tuscan which was hand-carried from Scotland, I believe that to be finest Scotch made in the world. I have been to many years of Scotch tastings and while I haven’t tried them all, I have tried enough to make such a bold statement credible. Edradour is Scotland’s smallest distillery. The distillery explains that all of its Scotch is "hand-made today as it was over 150 years ago by just three men who are devoted to the time-honoured methods of whisky making. Indeed equipment used at the distillery has remained unchanged since the day the distillery opened and is only just capable of producing commercial quantities. Only 12 casks of whisky are produced a week, making Edradour single malt a rare pleasure for a fortunate few. If you manage to find it, you will be one of the few people lucky enough to experience its charm – golden in the glass, smooth and creamy with a nutty, honeyed finish. Enjoy Life’s small victories with Edradour.” This batch of Scotch was aged for 11 years in an oak barrel and received a second maturation for 16 month in a Super Tuscan wine cask. To learn more about Scotch, visit a tasting such as this grand one put on by the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, which I highly recommend. http://www.singlemaltextravaganza.com/society.html
Food is like a beautiful woman: It is sometimes more dramatic and more appealing simply and honestly presented. You can embellish a dish to catch the eye, but it doesn't mean that the taste will be truly satisfying. I love bistros which may have started out as places to grab a quick meal but they suggest to me an informal, comfortable restaurant where the food is flavorful and straightforward. The cooking is familiar, like the meals you might enjoy at home, sometimes with simple recipes, but often personalized by the chef and the change of seasons. In France, we can find something for everyone at bistros. In America, steakhouses such as Morton’s, Del Friscos, Elway’s, and others often cater to replicate the best bistros. But the best food in France is still cooked at home and we have collected recipes that we like to eat (and cook). I am often asked about my style of cooking and how I selected these recipes. It's simple--they are the best recipes I have found. If you have a better one, please post it to me. I'll try it before I post it, if it is better, I will take down the one I have and use yours. Usually the recipes start out on things learned in the kitchen, but also from our experiences eating all over the world. Ultimately, they cater to my personal tastes. I think it is more fun to cook what I like to eat. This is a collection of my favorites. My daughter often appreciates the simplest of recipes, as many of them do not take a lot of trouble to clean up after, which is her task after mine as the chef. But, whenever possible, we try to simplify, if it does not sacrifice taste.
Chateau de la Verrerie is not far from home for us, since we have a special connection with it. We also have fond memories of the fine dining at la Maison d'Helene, the hospitality of the Comte de Vogüé and his family, and a hunt with his harriers, not to mention a wedding there. Let's raise our glasses in a toast to Chateau de la Verrerie, as it remains deeply rooted in our memories and, we hope, in yours.
Don Ordes of Fantasy Flies in Wyoming ties these super realistic mouse patterns. It's one of my favorite conversations starters since I got him to make me one some 30 years ago. Watching him tie one makes you appreciate the collector's price tag these flies fetch. Now there is a new guy out of Italy doing it with a new Semperfli material which is much easier than spinning deer hair. I'll have to give it a try.
