The Drunkest Cities...excuse me??

New Year's Day 1916 was rough for Colorado residents looking for a little hair of the dog. On that Saturday, the state stopped all liquor sales, predating Prohibition by 4 years. Today, Colorado once again leads the nation in its attitude toward alcohol — but now the mandate seems to be "drink till you drop."

In our second ranking of urban inebriation, Aurora comes in 82nd, Colorado Springs finishes 98th, and, once again, Denver is Most Dangerously Drunk. We looked at annual death rates due to alcoholic liver disease, as well as who's headed there by regularly downing five or more drinks in a sitting (CDC). Next, we factored in drunk-driving arrests (FBI) and the percentage of fatal accidents involving intoxicated motorists (U.S. Department of Transportation). Then, after tallying the MADD report card of state efforts to cut down on excessive drinking, we had our ranking and, for the state of Colorado, an invitation to AA.

The Men's Health article ranks the cities from most dangerously drunk to least dangerously drunk.

While Fort Collins isn't specifically mentioned - the implications (between Cheyenne + Denver) are there. Or, maybe we really did skirt the dubious honor. After all, the Allstate America's Best Driver's Report ranks Fort Collins #2 in the nation for safest drivers and 24.0% less likely to have a collision compared to the national average (13.2 avg. years between collisions) for 2005, 2006 and 2007.

So, maybe we just drink more micro-brew than anyone else on the planet but going to bed at 10pm is paying off!

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Almost like my Great-Aunt Giovanna's...

Chi mangia bene, vive bene!

[Who eats well, lives well!]

I've spent the better part of my adult cooking life trying to replicate favorite foods I ate as a child because many of those recipes were never passed along to the next generation. Many of my food memories center around my Great-Aunt Giovanna's Sunday family dinners. She made a Sunday Gravy that everyone loved (and the other Italian matriarchs envied). And, by gravy I mean tomato sauce. I never understood why Italian families called it gravy other than the fact it simmered for hours the day before the family gathered for a HUGE dinner almost every Sunday of our lives. It was a very special tomato sauce. A sauce eaten every Sunday - even in during the sweltering dog days of summer. But those dinners are among some of my favorite memories because of the conversation, Italian opera playing on the hi-fi stereo in the background, stupid arguments, eating, broken Italian/English expressions, and love. We marinated in love at that table.

So when the weather gets colder I take out the big pots and get back to work on perfecting the sauce that eludes me. The house becomes toasty warm with the stove going all day and the smell is intoxicating. This is the closest I've come to recreating that sauce.

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 (14.5 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes
• 2 (15 ounce) cans tomato sauce
• 4 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
• 3 cups water
• 4 cups fresh sliced mushrooms (optional)
• 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced (I usually add quite a bit more)
• (4 teaspoons white sugar
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (optional)
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste
• 2 pinches baking soda
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  

DIRECTIONS:

Saute garlic and onions in olive oil in a medium-sized stock pot or Dutch oven until transparent. [Note: if you don't have to accommodate vegetarians at your dining table, this would be the point you could brown 3-4 beef short ribs and remove to add to the sauce later.] Add tomato paste to mixture and combine until well mixed. Cook this mixture over a medium heat until the paste begins to slightly brown in color (not burn!). Stir frequently to be sure the mixture does not stick to bottom of the pan and burn.

Mix together whole tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, water, mushrooms, sugar, salt and pepper, basil, and 1 pinch of baking soda in a large saucepan. [Non-veg addition: replace one cup of water for one can of beef broth.] Bring to a boil, stirring. Reduce to a simmer, and cook for 4 hours minimum. [Return browned short ribs to simmer in the sauce.] Stir frequently. Sauce should not be thin/runny. It should be closer to the consistency of applesauce. (Trust me.)

Stir in another pinch of baking soda; the sauce will foam. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until thick and almost brown. Make sure to scrape the sides of the pan in to the sauce.
After the sauce is fork consistency (applesauce-like), stir in Parmesan cheese. Watch that the cheese does not burn. Taste sauce. If it is too tangy or acidic, add another pinch of baking soda and simmer another 1/2 hour.

Cool, cover, and refrigerate overnight. The next day, reheat and serve. (This step is crucial - you can eat it the same day but it will be a completely different sauce if you wait!)

Mangia!

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Kate's coiffure for a cause...

The day before fall break was to begin, Kate donated her hair to Locks of Love. Pretty much all of it. Who knew she would look so cute with short hair (and bangs!!!)? I spent most of her life convincing her that her unfortunate widow's peak (from my side of the family - sorry girls...) and round/heart-shaped face (again, it's the genetics...) were contra-indications for successful pixie cuts with bangs.

She follows in her little sister's footsteps - who donated her hair two years ago in second grade. Jane was so proud and excited to learn that a little girl might get a wig made of her hair because "we would be hair twins!!" And, as a bonus, she was clearly delighted with her new chin length bob (no bangs, please!). When she returned to school following Christmas break, the school librarian was sporting a new pageboy-style wig due to hair loss following chemotherapy for breast cancer. Needless to say, Jane was thrilled to find her "hair twin" on her first day back to school!

Janey has been growing her hair out for the last two years to donate again. Maybe this Christmas...

http://locksoflove.org/

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First snow!

We had our first snow yesterday (Wednesday, 11/21) - a very light, powdery four inches. While it was surprising - we expected the blast of cold air from the mountains. It's just a strange cold. Without humidity, it's not intense or bitter cold. I've started wearing my winter coat because I get strange looks in town when I'm wearing only a suit coat or sweater. That's right, I'm wearing my winter coat because of peer pressure!

[And, lets not forget it was a balmy 72 degrees on Monday!]

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It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas - all around the town!

Contrary to what you may have heard about Fort Collins:

we decorate for the holidays in a HUGE way!

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Denver Art Museum - Part 1

Kate and I spent some time at the Denver Art Museum yesterday http://www.denversartmuseum.org/) specifically to see the exhibits in the Frederic C. Hamilton Building which is a 146,000 square foot expansion designed by architect Daniel Libeskind that only opened a year ago.

I thought the official description of the expansion was amusing: "The Hamilton Building's design recalls the peaks of the Rocky Mountains and geometric rock crystals found in the foothills near Denver. "I was inspired by the light and the geology of the Rockies, but most of all by the wide-open faces of the people of Denver," says Libeskind. The building is covered in 9,000 titanium panels that reflect the Colorado sunshine." Okay, so if I were native, I think I'd take offense at the "wide-open faces" reference. (You mean my face is FAT!?!?! You said wide....)

The interior of the building was very clean. White. Stark. And, sadly, vertigo-inducing. I was worried that I might have to crawl down the stairs to the lower levels .... it was like being trapped an MC Escher drawing.





The exhibits were fun. Kate and I were mesmerized by this work of art created by American born artist Sean Landers. It's titled Pater Noster - produced with oil paint on linen. If you enlarge the photos you can read some of the composition - a stream of consciousness chronical of the artists' thoughts about his father's death. It was very compelling - we found it difficult to stop reading.



And, then of course, there's this piece of ... art. It is a cast bronze sculpture - contiguous and skillfully rendered/painted to look like little bits and piece of yard junk. Double-click on this photo to see the detail - and remember nothing has been "attached" to it - it's a single piece of casting. Clearly an "eye of the beholder" work. Need I say more? (Hey Marty + Kathy, make some space on the mantel - Christmas is coming!)



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Denver Art Museum - Part 2

The most exciting aspect of our visit to the museum was the exterior view. The building is really remarkable. A work of art unto itself. Those blue Colorado skies weren't too shabby either. And, yes, the sky looks like that almost every day. Will we EVER get used to it???




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