Travel,Wine and Cuisine by Christopher J Davies

Spam and Champagne! Not your typical pairing but it works! A funny thing happened during our recent road trip to Minnesota...we discovered the Spam Museum! Yes, just like there's a website for just about everything, there's a museum for Spam! Hormel Industries, the makers of Spam have a wonderful museum in Austin, Minnesota just off Interstate 90. Admission is free. New Spam Flavors You get to watch a great movie that covers the history of this world-famous mystery meat in a can. The museum is well worth the stop. Plus you can get to purchase new Spam logo items and new Spam flavors (including Hot & Spicy and Pepper) that are not yet available in the stores. We brought samples of The Hot & Spicy Spam, which is seasoned with Tabasco sauce. I am not a fan of Spam, but this was delicious in a grilled cheese sandwich. GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICH WITH HOT & SPICY SPAM -Open Can, remove Spam with fork -Slice into 6 even portions -Brown in skillet at m...

Tony Glorioso (Caymus), Chefs and Charlie Stauter, Managing Partner  The Capital Grille blends food and wine deliciously! Story and photos by Christopher J. Davies Impeccable service, warm décor and ambience, delicious dry aged steaks and ultra fresh seafood (flown in daily) makes for the best culinary experience that you can get! The Capital Grille delivers this precisely like a fine Swiss clock! The Capital Grille has one of the finest wine lists of any multi-store (40) national restaurant chain. Each restaurant boasts an impressive 5,000 plus bottle cellar. With this many wines, it is no surprise that they carry the annual Wine Spectator Award of Excellence! Our local Capital Grille is located in Downtown Denver in historic Larimer Square. It's an amazing location with a bustling bar crowd. A favorite place for business lunches as well celebratory dinners. Caymus Wine Pairing Dinner The Capital Grille's wine programs are always educational a...

2009 Taste of Elegance Denver : Chefs Get Serious! Story and photos by Christopher J Davies Top Chef Hosea Rosenberg , Claire Walter Food Critic/Author, Amanda Faison, 5280 magazine, Teresa Farney, The Gazette, Colorado Springs The 2009 Denver International Wine Festival Taste of Elegance Chef's Competition took place on Thursday November 12, 2009 at The Mile High Station, Denver. This year's event was our biggest and best ever, with 15 Colorado Master Chef's participating. Top Chef Season 5 Winner Hosea Rosenberg, our previous three time champion joined on as our celebrity Judge and Master of Ceremonies. Hosea has had a whirlwind year due to his TV stardom. We are so proud of him and his accomplishments. This year's TOE drew an impressive bevy of serious chefs from as far away as Telluride. Our only female contestant was Eliza H. S. Gavin, Chef/Owner, 221 South Oak Bistro, Telluride. Eliza is a cook book author and seriously talented chef. Visit her restaurant the ne...

Recipe from The Best Chef of The 2008 Denver International Wine Festival My absolutely most enjoyable event of the year is The Denver International Wine Festival's Taste of Elegance Chef's Competition. We provide only Gold Medal winning wines from the Denver International Wine Competition to 14 of Colorado's Master Chef's. Each Chef is assigned two different Gold Medal wines just one week before the event. Their assignment is to create a custom paired dish to go with each wine. At the Taste of Elegance, they create 400 appetizer portions to serve some of Colorado's most devoted food and wine lovers. Our 2008 "Best Chef" was Jean-Luc Voegele , the Executive Chef of The Westin Tabor Center Hotel in Downtown Denver. Jean-Luc is a French native and may have been fed wine with his Cheerios as a youngster. His pairing at the event was one of the most unusual combinations, yet it worked quite deliciously! Roasted Beets Salad with whipped Goat Cheese served with...