COLORADO EXPLORER

By Linda DuVal

Prowling Winter Park paths
Cooking so it shines


Colorado Explorer
Winter Park Scenic Snowcat Tours.
Courtesy of Winter Park.

Prowling Winter Park paths

A blizzard is buffeting Winter Park, but there you are, comfortable inside a cozy snowcat, watching skiers and snowboarders attempt one last run or ride before the weather shuts them down. Winter Park Scenic Snowcat Tours provides a mountain experience for young, old, injured, and non-skiers who still want to explore the slopes in an up-close and personal way.

The snowcats hold a pilot, co-pilot and 13 passengers. Tours are $49 per person and last about two hours.

“I talk about the valley, give a little history, explain how the ski runs got their names,” says Gary Stanfill, who has been driving tours for 11 years. “Passengers say they never realized how big Winter Park is.”

He crosses some runs even average skiers would never attempt, and stops for photos and a break at The Lodge at Sunspot.

Colorado Explorer
Master chef and Mirabelle owner Daniel Joly and his wife, Nathalie.
Courtesy of Mirabelle.

Cooking so it shines

This is one of a series of profiles on Colorado AAA’s four-diamond restaurants.

Keystone Ranch
Steve Vlass, executive chef at the Keystone Ranch restaurant, came for professional culinary training and never left. His culinary philosophy can be described in two words: freshness and execution. Though it’s hard to get fresh produce in Colorado except in summer, he gets the best he can find. “The key is cooking it so it shines.”

His passion is charcuterie—a branch of cooking typically involving salted pork products but which Vlass applies to Colorado beef and lamb. His personal favorite on the menu: watermelon salad with hearts of palm, petite mache, mango and chili-cumin salt.

“We invite guests to go sit in the living room by the fire and eat their dessert,” he says. “We’ve had people fall asleep there on the couch.”

Mirabelle
Belgian master chef and Mirabelle owner Daniel Joly changes his menu every four weeks, but always serves lamb, elk, lobster and Dover sole. Preparation of the meats and lobster changes with each new menu, but not the sole, which guests love as-is. A pastry chef bakes fresh breads and pastries daily. The 1898 farmhouse is built on what local historians believe is the site of the valley’s first home. Joly and his wife, Nathalie, live upstairs.

Colorado Explorer
Recipe and photo
courtesy of Mirabelle.

Dover Sole Meuniere
(Serves 6)

Ingredients

  • 24 Dover Sole fillets
  • 1 1/2 pounds baby spinach
  • 3 Tablespoons butter plus 4 ounces butter (divided)
  • Olive oil
  • 6 Tablespoons chopped parsley
  • Juice of 2 lemons
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

  1. Cook baby spinach in a nonstick pan with a small amount of olive oil for about 2 minutes, seasoning with salt and pepper. Set aside.
  2. In a warm nonstick pan, add 3 tablespoons of butter. When the butter begins to brown, add the Dover Sole fillets and sauté for 3-4 minutes on each side, seasoning with salt and pepper. While the fish is cooking, baste the fish with the butter from the pan. When the fish is colored and cooked, add the 4 ounces of butter, lemon juice and chopped parsley. Season to taste.
  3. Serve 4 fillets over spinach on each plate. Drizzle a little butter-parsley sauce over fillets or on the side. At the restaurant, chef Joly garnishes the plate with seasonal vegetables like asparagus tips, carrots and fennel; however, you may use your imagination to plate your dish.

Linda DuVal is a freelance writer in Colorado Springs.

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