Colorado Surprise!

Now a month after the fact, I'm finally going to tell you about my trip to Colorado!

Back in November, my sister Meghan's friend in Colorado set up a surprise 30th birthday party for Meg to take place in April - including surprise guests! Meg's best friend Jen, our mom, and I went out to Breckenridge, CO for an overnight hut trip with Meg and her friends. It was totally awesome! The "hut" we stayed in, the Continental Divide Cabin, is a beautiful log cabin that sleeps eight with one large main room, two smaller separate bedrooms, a wide sunny front deck, and a covered porch to walk to the outhouse. I'm just glad we were able to keep it a secret - I'm notoriously bad at keeping exciting secrets!

We drove 2hrs to Leadville, then snowshoed and skied out about 0.8mi to the hut, and even those of us accustomed to sea level did pretty damn well! The temperature inside the hut was about 40deg when we arrived, but after a few hours with the wood stove, it was over 70. Those ladies don't mess around - the party theme was "ugly bathing suits" (summer version of ugly sweater) and everyone was dressed to impress.

Rowdy games of Taboo, dinner from the grill, ice cream from snow, and plenty of wine made for a totally awesome evening. The next morning was pancakes and a snowshoe expedition on the trails around the hut. It snowed the whole first day and night, so there was plenty of fresh snow to play in.

I had SO much fun, I decided that I need to do it again. But my 30th is still several years away. Then I realized this year is my golden birthday - I'm turning 27 on the 27th of November! Thanksgiving in a hut? Yes please!! The dates we want are open for reservation on June 1st, so I've been doing my best to recruit my party guests. Yeah, a destination birthday party is a lot to ask for, but it's going to be a totally awesome time. Right now we are considering the Section House, which is a much farther ski, but the trailhead is right in Breckenridge, and we'll stay two nights instead of one. And c'mon - Thanksgiving in a hut!!

In the Kitchen with RogerDog: Cheddar Biscuits

I love baking for Roger! He's pretty easy to please. Our standard go-to recipe is peanut butter oatmeal cookies, but for my birthday Meghan gave me the You Bake 'Em Dog Biscuits Cookbook, so we're doing our best to branch out!

Roger is a big fan of these - I mean, what's not to love? They're full of Cabot Cheddar. I rolled them thinner than the recipe specifies, so they're a little crunchier, which he seems to prefer. I may try them thicker next time, just for variety.

Cheddar Biscuits
-1c all-purpose flour
-1c whole wheat flour
-1c shredded cheddar cheese
-2TBSP butter
-3/4c milk
-grated Parmesan cheese (topping)
-extra flour for rolling a MUST - our dough was very sticky!

Put flours & cheese in food processor (I skipped the food processor and just mixed by hand which worked fine, but the dough was a bit inconsistent). Mix in butter & milk. Turn out on floured surface and roll out to 1/4- to 1/2-inch thickness. Poke with tines of fork and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Cut with cookie cutters (we use a pizza cutter to make bars - very efficient!). Place on baking sheet covered with non-stick foil. Bake 15-20 min or until golden brown. Store in the fridge.

Both the Sir and our guest taste tester Miss Madeline gave rave reviews, and the ingredient list is so simple that these will surely be a permanent addition to our regular cookie rotation! Let me know what your pups think if you give them a try!