Telluride Resorts Event at Saveur

Recently Yvo was invited to an event celebrating Telluride Resorts hosted by Ski Magazine at the Saveur test kitchen. (Ski and Saveur are sister magazines.) Lucky for me, Yvo was able to bring me along. The executive chef of the Telluride Ski & Golf Resort, Stephen A. Roth, was there with his team preparing a bunch of tasty hors d’oeuvres. All of the dishes used ingredients showing off local Telluride cuisine. There were also a couple of different wines on offer that were paired with each of the items, but I didn’t write down the details of the different wines they had.

The event was reminiscent of a James Beard event with the open kitchen and food prepared on the spot rather than way ahead of time. Nothing is worse that event food that has been sitting in a hot box for way too long.

First up was Rocky Mountain Smoked Trout salad with mache and dill cream. This was a nice light bite that paired nicely with the white we were served. The fried garlic on slices on top packed a lot of flavor into this dish.

Yvo says: I really liked this dish – the crunchy fried garlic on top really boosted the dish in terms of texture and just, yum.

Smoked Buffalo Tenderloin with Spinach Salad and Balsamic Vinaigrette. The meat was perfectly cooked, but more beefy than gamey. Unfortunately, the bit of bleu cheese on top took over the entire plate.

Colorouge Grilled Cheese with Roasted Tomato, Organic Arugula, and Pesto. This was one tasty grilled cheese. This was one tasty little sandwich. Amazing what a ton of butter can do! The pesto flavor was nicely pronounced. I could probably eat a full size version as long as it comes with a free angioplasty.

Yvo says: This was another winning bite for the night. Pesto powered the dish, masking the cheese’s slight tang (which, for me, was a good thing), and the bread was perfectly crisp. The tomato was a little overwhelmed, but I’m totally OK with how it turned out.

Rack of Venison with Spiced Port Huckleberry Sauce. This was probably my favorite. The chop was HUGE! While a little unwieldy, the meat was super tender and the saltiness of the spice rub played perfectly with the touch of sweetness from the Port huckleberry sauce.

Yvo says: I asked the cater waiter, “So, how am I supposed to eat this?” and he said “With your hands… the forks and knives don’t help.” Right. I nommed down and TT politely refrained from taking a picture of me stuffing my face. Tender meat, with an interesting sauce… I could eat a whole plate of these, but I’ll use utensils next time, please.

Finally, a bit of dessert. Colorado Apple Crisp topped with mascarpone. It was served in cute little ramekins to make for one delicious bite. The creaminess of the marscapone worked extremely well with the apple and cinnamon.

Yvo says: Perfectly sized for those of us who don’t love sweets. My one teensy complaint was the recipe booklet they gave out at the end of the night had the recipe for this but makes no mention of the mascarpone topping; we only know it was mascarpone cuz the cater waiter told us, but was anything added to it? I need to know!

All in all, it was a lovely event on the way home from the office. Unfortunately, neither Yvo nor I won the free trip to Telluride they raffled off, but the food more than made up for it. I have never been to Telluride, but it sounds like quite the destination for skiers and non-skiers alike. Thank you to Sarah (and of course, Yvo) for inviting me to this event.

Please note that this event was courtesy of Saveur Magazine and its affiliates. I received no monetary compensation for this review, nor was I obliged in any way to post about this meal, positively or otherwise. This is my own opinion and I feel it was unbiased; you are free to take from this what you will.