Vermont: Casa de Prado

Talulah, a Louisiana Catahoula Leopard Dog demands your attention.

My visit to Montpelier is winding down and we're off to La Casa de Prado for some wine and dinner before I hit the open road down to Connecticut.

On the way there, we make a couple pit stops for provisions. First to Uncommon Market where the guy behind the counter is selling New York Strip Steaks that look suspiciously like Ribeyes. We ask him about them and he reassures us they're strip steaks. All we know is that they don't look like strip steaks to us but if he insists, who are we to tell him differently?

La Casa de Prado is out in the mountainside, in the rolling hills of Vermont where living looks lovely. At least in the summer, in the winter it must be detestably cold here. While the foliage has just started to turn this past week in Maryland, the leaves are gone here. Winter is about to unleash its' fury upon Vermont. Good thing I'm leaving tonight.


Brewing coffee in an Aeropress.

Back in the house, with the grill preheating, Ray makes a little Aeropress coffee. I've never made Aeropress coffee before and it looks pretty cool. Fill the thing with coffee, pour hot water over and press it down. Evidently, it's supposed to make "espresso" but there's a distinct lack of crema and it's just concentrated, pressure-brewed coffee. Add in some hot water to make an "Americano" and it's pretty good. There's a nice clarity to the cup.

Turns out we need some textural elements for our meal so it's back down to a different country store where we find Kirkland Signature dog food, stale Triscuits and Ben & Jerry's ice cream. Having stale Triscuits really isn't a big deal. Just spread them out on a baking sheet and bake at 250F for fifteen minutes and voila! Your Triscuits are crunchy once again!


Press it, Ray! Press it!

It's a simple dinner of grilled ribeye steaks, roasted potatoes and triscuits. I know this may sound like an odd combination for a bunch of food professionals but the crunchiness of the triscuits just cannot be denied. If only we had some of that Cheese in a Can that you squirt out...

It's been a quick but good time in Vermont but it's down to start heading down the road.


The mysterious ribeyes masquerading as New York strips.


Roasted potatoes.