Despite the continued threat of snow… (I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised, we do live in Denver) we are embracing all of our favorite things about spring. Warmer evenings and cocktails on the patio are no longer just a distant memory. They are happening!!! With the construction on the patios and terrace finished, we are finally able to get the most out of our outdoor spaces. So… whether you’re dreaming of happy hour bites around the fire pit or a lively Wednesday night party with 400 of your closest friends, it’s no longer a dream. Visit http://secondhomedenver.com/cherry-creek-events for the latest patio event details or come down for a cocktail and see for yourself!

This time of year brings our favorite things. Baseball, patio weather, and new spring flavors top the list if you ask around the kitchen. We’ve been starting the research and development phase in the Second Home Kitchen. This always leads up to a new menu launch. We’re trying out some fresh flavors and looking at the new food trends. Everything has potential at this stage in the game and it’s exciting to see the beginnings of some new dishes. Often our inspiration for new dishes comes straight off of our menu addition sheets. Chefs Denis, Chris and Jordan have been putting some very cool dishes together for the nightly additions. Come in and check them out. You may just be the first to get a preview of a new spring menu staple.

One thing we do really well at Second Home is make great food. It’s easily done when you love what you do as much as we do. We’re so proud that the media and our guests get excited about our different culinary programs and inventive dishes. It’s a thrill to have so many passionate fans. There is, however, another side to the business that we get especially excited about. When an opportunity to give back to the community presents itself, we jump on it.

We regularly work with local non-profits to support causes that are close to our hearts. Some of our favorite charity events in the last year have taken us from one end of Denver to the other and even up a mountain on a pack of road bikes. We wanted to use our blog post this month and share with you some of our favorite volunteering moments from the last year.

• The Corner Office and Second Home’s Century Ride crew from June 2012 raised money for Big Brothers Big Sisters.
• Attendees at the Denver Food and Wine Classic last September enjoyed the BBQ Brisket from Second Home. Proceeds from the silent auction at the event went toward scholarships for Metro State University of Denver students.
• Denver’s Road Home was the beneficiary of the money raised at the 8^th annual PJ Party last month. Second Home brought down our famous Build Your Own Bloody Mary Bar and some delicious Pork Hash and Mini Chicken + Waffles.
• In January, our chefs got together for the Kroenke Sports Charity’s Mile High Dreams Gala.
• Dreams Gala guests enjoyed our Roasted Beet Salad and Colorado Lamb Meatballs.

Are you doing date night with your main squeeze or enjoying the company of your friends and family? Don’t stay in!! Enjoy the candle-lit ambiance, the rich flavors and a night out with the ones you love at Second Home. It’s the best way to honor St. Valentine. We’re offering a four course dinner for $60 per person with ala carte options and V-Day inspired wines and spirits for pairing. Call to 303.253.3000 to make your reservation and we’ll see you on February 14th.

We at Second Home love Colorado products and feel blessed that we have access to great local products. Chef Bolton’s relationships with local ranchers, farmers, and purveyors allow us to bring amazing Colorado products to our diners. To highlight these relationships, we’re putting on our inaugural Rancher’s Dinner on Wednesday, January 9th. The dinner features four courses of lamb dishes from Theo’s’ Swallow Fork Ranch and we’re pairing each course with wines from Two Rivers Winery in Grand Junction. We’re looking forward to sharing the evening with the folks from Two Rivers and Swallow Fork Ranch and we’d love to see you there. Come have dinner with the chef, the shepherd and the winemaker! Call 303.253.3000 for reservation information.

This time of year means holiday pageants, company parties and shopping ‘til you drop. More often than not, the rush of the season has your head spinning and before you know it… it’s January.
What’s the best way to slow down?

How about savoring the sweet simplicity of waffles with rich maple syrup?
Good, right?

Then what if you amp up the syrup by adding Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey to it?
We like whiskey.

Then what if you get really crazy and add some fried chicken into the mix.
That’s right, fried chicken.

What better way to slow down a bit than to dive head first into Chicken + Waffles. If you’ve never done it before, you are missing out. There is something about the combination of savory and sweet that makes time stop, makes your senses sit up at attention and makes life just a little bit better.

Am I over exaggerating a bit? Maybe but you’ll never know if you don’t try.

Chicken + Waffles are available for Brunch, Lunch, and Dinner at Second Home. For an extra, special treat, come get our Chicken + Waffles on Christmas Day during Pajama Brunch.

We recently had a very large delivery at Second Home… and by large, we mean about 1500 lbs! Our first Bison of the season arrived with a whole host of culinary possibilities. Chef Bolton and crew have been planning dishes for weeks and the best of the best can be found nightly at your Second Home dining table. Come by for a nightly rotating selection that recently included a Bison Burger with more flavor than a beef patty could ever provide. Don’t even get me started on the Bison Short Ribs and the Bison Pot Roast. With dishes like these, the bison menu additions won’t last long. Better get in here soon and find your favorite.

With the change of the seasons comes a plentiful harvest. The air is crisp, the flavors seem warmer and life seems to slow down, if only for a bit. At Second Home this means it’s time to infuse the menu with the best of autumn. This October we’re launching our new menu and seasonal and local flavors are well represented. The Purple Potato + Duck Confit Poutine boasts hand-cut purple potato fries, duck confit gravy, and cippolini onions. Another new flavor on the fall menu is the Braised Bison Short Rib with its nod to root vegetables and rich leafy greens. Our Rotisserie Leg of Colorado Lamb reinforces our love of local flavors. Our relationship with Theo’s Swallow Fork Ranch allows us to bring in a superior product and support local business. Come in this October to try our one of these new dishes or to rediscover some of your old favorites.

This week we sat down with Second Home’s resident infusion expert, MJ, to talk about the new flavors behind the bar and to get a sneak peak at what we’ll see in the coming months!

MJ has been at Second Home for three years and is a favorite amongst the staff and the guests. She’s had a hand in developing not only the seasonal infusions that rotate on and off the menu but she also has one of her cocktail creations on the regular menu. MJ’s Apple of My Eye features Leopold Brothers New York Apple Whiskey and has received recognition by the local food bloggers.

Lately MJ has focused her cocktail initiatives on Second Home’s seasonal infusions. This summer, she really wanted to focus on lighter flavors that are warm weather friendly. With Second Home’s seemingly endless access to fresh local produce, MJ was able to make infusions that mirrored some of the dishes on the menu. “We had the Palisade Peaches in at the end of last month,” says MJ, “and the chefs were using them for our pies and the Grilled Peach Salad. Peach vodka would have been tasty but I really wanted to create something special so we tried a different approach.” MJ took those Palisade beauties and infused them with whole vanilla beans into Square One Botanical Spirit. According to MJ, the herbal nature of the spirit complimented the flavors of the peach and vanilla well. The vanilla peach spirit was a big seller and its accompanying cocktail, The Peachy Keen, sold out in just a few days.

Another winner on the infusion list was MJ’s Pineapple and Hibiscus Tequila. The infused juice from the hand squeezed pineapple and the floral notes from the hibiscus made the tequila infusion smooth enough that many guests were just drinking it solo. The Hibiscus Margarita, a combination of MJ’s infusion, fresh squeezed citrus and basil, was also a huge hit.

When asked what her plans are for the cooler weather that will soon be upon us, MJ’s eyes lit up with her big plans. “I’d love to make an infusion for a Hot Toddy” she says. “I like the idea of baked apple and fennel as infusion flavors. I was thinking about infused bourbon. I don’t know, there are lots of possibilities.”

What does MJ have up her sleeve for the last few weeks of summer? Swing by Second Home to check out the ever-changing selection of her creative, infused spirits.

The JW Marriott Denver Cherry Creek, offers a different kind of escape. As the tallest building (and the only hotel) in the area, the JW Marriott offers fantastic views of the mountains—all in the heart of Denver’s chic Cherry Creek North shopping district. In addition to 196 guest rooms, the hotel also features Second Home Kitchen+Bar.