12 Saturday Jun 2010
Such a nice Saturday morning for the Boise City Market. 77 degrees F, 55% RH, Winds NNW@5 and a clear, very blue, sky. I just love to see how much this has grown this year. Here are some photos.
A new section of the market!
Pies and homemade Seasonings!
Some of the people enjoying the market.
Handmade wood products!
CSA Gardens vegetable booth.
09 Wednesday Jun 2010
Posted in Buddy, Flying Pie Pizza, Food Trivia, Photos By: Bob Young
Everyone in Boise likes Flying Pie Pizza! Even our American Eskimo dog. I don’t know what it is about the Samoyed strain of genetic material, but these “guys” love pizza and can become very aggressive for a piece, a slice or the whole thing! It would be better if they did not get any. And the hotter the better!
09 Wednesday Jun 2010
Posted in Photos By: Bob Young, Things To Do, Wine Dinners
Another wonderful Wine Dinner at the Buzz with wines from Spain, Tempranillo and Verdejo. It was also great to have Kim and Victoria Williams join us.
Kim and Victoria Williams joined us for this wonderful Wine Dinner! (I was using my daughter Marnie’s camera. Fast lens … stopped Kim’s eyelid movement. My camera is being repaired. Thanks Marnie!)
Oh my! To start, Debbie prepared Shrimp and Bacon Brochette that was delicious. Of course, it has bacon on it! This went well with the 2007 Tapena Verdejo, 12%, $11.00, (17). This wine, however, tended to over power the bacon, of all things.
Next on the menu was a delightful and refreshing Cucumber Roulade. This went quite well with the 2004 Martin Sancho Verdejo, 13.5%, $16.00, (18). This light and refreshing wine went very well with the cucumber. Although the alcohol is somewhat high, this wine is not “hot”.
Here are Parmesan Bites. We had a 2007 Canfeixes , 12%, $20.00, (17) with these. Vanilla and sulfur on the nose. Soapy.
Grilled Romaine with Vinaigrette. An excellent NV Tapena Tempranillo, 13%, $11.00, (19), went very well with this salad. The vinegar in the dressing did not conflict with the wine. A creamy and smooth wine.
Grilled Chicken Kabobs with Romesco Sauce, Cucumber and Asparagus in Dill and Quinoa. A hardy 2004 Marquez Riscal Tempranillo, 11.5%, $12.00, (19), was the perfect match with this entree.
And finally, the dessert. I had mine devoured before I realized that I had not taken a photo. Oh well. Debbie made us a Brownie and Strawberry Trifle. Yum-O! And the wine? A 2004 Zuccardi Tempranillo, 14%, $20.00, (20). A hot wine, but it did not distract from the essence of black cherry and smoke. This wine was perfect with the dessert.
See you at the next Wine Dinner? The second Tuesday and Wednesday – you have your choice of seating – of every month. Call the Buzz for reservations. $15.00 per person includes the dinner, the wine and great company. Cheers!
08 Tuesday Jun 2010
Posted in Food Trivia, Rudy's Twin Falls, Thought For The Day
Ah yes! Another week in the saga of Food Trivia From Rudy’s. Such fun! And this week I’ll even post the Recipe of the Week – It has peanut butter in it. (I think, though, I would change the margarine to butter.)
Recipe of the Week: Celebrate National Peanut Butter Cookie Day (June 12th) with this recipe!
Yield: 2 dozen
Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Margarine, Softened
1/2 Cup Peanut Butter
3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Egg
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 1/4 Cups Rolled Oats
3/4 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
Directions:
In a large bow combine the softened margarine and peanut butter. Add the sugar or and the egg to the bowl. Mix until smooth, fluffy and glossy. Add the vanilla and stir. Add the salt, baking soda, oatmeal, and flour. Mix well. Add the dry ingredients. Drop the dough by spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
These cookies don’t spread very well so flatten the cookies with a fork or the flat bottom of a cup which has been dipped into flour.
Bake at 350°F for about 12 minutes.
Half a cup of chocolate chips may be added to the batter if desired.
June 7, 1867: At the Café Anglais, Chef Adolphe Duglere served the now famous ‘Dinner of the Three Emperors,’ for Tsar Alexander II of Russia, his son (later to become tsar Alexander III) and King William I of Prussia. The table service used for the dinner is still on display at the oldest existing restaurant in Paris, La Tour d’Argent.
June 8, 1784: (Author’s note: Sorry for the length of this day in history. Carême is just too huge a figure in food history to pass over lightly!)
Marie-Antoine Carême was born in Paris, France. Marie Antoine Carême was known as “the cook of kings and the king of cooks”. He is the founder and architect of French haute cuisine. His story is one out of a Dickens novel. He was one of 25 (?) children born to an impoverished family who put him out on the street at the age of about 10 to make his own way in the world. Lucky for the world he knocked on the door of a restaurant for a job.
By the age of 21 Carême was Chef de Cuisine to Talleyrand. He also served as head chef to the future George IV of England, Emperor Alexander I of Russia, and Baron James de Rothschild. He wrote several large books on cookery, with hundreds of recipes and menus, a history of French cooking, instructions for organizing kitchens, and directions for elaborate architectural constructions of food for display (pièces montées). Carême died at the age of 48.
June 9, 1902: Frank Hardart and Joe Horn opened the first Automat on June 9, 1902 at 818 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia. The birth date of modern fast food. (My Note: I think Horn and Hardart’s is still in existance. Someone out there should know. I remember going there with my Dad, usually when we went to the Phillies baseball game.)
June 10, 1869: Frozen food was shipped long distance for the first time. Frozen Texas beef shipped by steamship to New Orleans.
June 11, 1742: Benjamin Franklin invented the Franklin Stove. He purposely did not patent it, so that others could freely copy the design.
June 12: National Peanut Butter Cookie Day
June 13, 1789: Mrs. Alexander Hamilton served a new dessert treat for General George Washington. The highlight of the dinner party was ice cream! And all this time you thought Dolley Madison was responsible.
04 Friday Jun 2010
Posted in Food Trivia, Interesting Information, Thought For The Day
Here is a graphic of the different types of chilies. It will give you a visual reference for them, if you did not already have one. (Left Click on the graphic for a larger view). Cheers!
03 Thursday Jun 2010
Posted in Party Time, Things To Do, Wine and Food
Let’s not forget that tonight is Tapas Night at Le Café De Paris in Boise. The menu looks like it will be interesting and good. The serving are large enough to satisfy even the hungriest of people. I will expect to see some fine Mexican wines, as listed. That will be an interesting wine selection. Hope to see you there around 6:30. Cheers!
Bonjour Mes Amis!
Le Cafe is once again presenting First Thursday Tapas Night. This month will feature wine tastings from Mexican winery Vinisterra Macouzet. Paired with some of our fabulous tapas! For reservations please call (208)336-0889. Live music! Bon Appetit!
Don’t forget… starting this month we will start our fabulous “Farm and Wine Night,” which is sure to please! We will also be updating our website this month, so please take a peak soon and let us know what you think!
A Bientot!
Mathieu
All Tapas $4
Choose 5 for $18
Choose 7 for $25
Choose 9 for $33
HALIBUT AND TUNA CEVICHE
TOMATILLO BRAISED PORK TAMALE
GRILLED CORN SALAD
ancho lime dressing
FISH TACOS
niergo mandero habanero, battered cod, cabbage slaw
BEEF TACOS
marinated flat iron
GRILLED VEGETABLE TOSTADA
chipotle cream sauce
BRAISED BEANS
jalapeno corn bread
CHORIZO AND POTATO EMPANADA
TORTILLA SOUP
So there is the menu. This will be an exciting evening (too bad my camera is in the shop!!!) and a great way to try some Mexican wines. Yes … There are some very good Mexican wines. Cheers and see you there!
02 Wednesday Jun 2010
Posted in Pottery Dishware, Things To Do
Robin and I have purchased several place settings of this type of dishware, among some other pieces – 8 place settings, 8 salad plates, Deviled Egg Platter, 2 medium and 1 large serving bowl and a stove spoon holder. We are extremely happy with the pieces and they are completely dishwasher safe! Connie does an awesome job. And in her own words,
Thank you for the suggesting the use of my pictures … One is called European Countryside and the other is my Cats. I have LOTS of pictures!
I will still do Art in the Park in September and see where I go from there!
Contact Connie if you have any questions, want to get on her showing list or want to purchase some of this dishware.
European Countryside
Cats
01 Tuesday Jun 2010
Posted in Food, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe By: Robin Young, Salad, Things To Do
We went to a family reunion on Memorial Day and had many requests for the recipe for Robin’s Quinoa Salad. You can get a copy of the recipe by Clicking Here. Do enjoy this salad …. It is quite good! You can also use it as a type of salsa for a dip. Cheers!
31 Monday May 2010
Posted in Food, Party Time, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe By: Robin Young, Salad
Don’t wrinkle up your nose! Think of it like a macaroni salad. This is really an excellent salad. Enjoy!!
Robin’s Quinoa Salad
Source: Robin Young
Serves: 12
Tip: This salad can be made up to 2 days in advance. Cover and refrigerate. Serve chilled.
Ingredients:
1 c Quinoa
2 c Water
½ c Orange Juice, fresh
¼ c Cilantro
¼ c Parsley
1 c Celery, chopped
1 t Turmeric
1 t Cumin, ground
4 T Rice Vinegar
1 T Toasted Sesame Oil
1 T Ginger, fresh and minced
Sea Salt to taste
Pinch Red Pepper Flakes
1 Mango, diced
1 Jalapeno, seeds removed and diced
2 cans Black Beans, drained
1 Sweet Red Pepper, roasted and diced
¼ c Red Onion, diced
¼ c Sweet Yellow Onion, diced
½ pint Grape Tomatoes, cut lengthwise
Directions:
1). Toast the quinoa in a small dry saucepan over medium heat, stirring often, until it crackles and becomes aromatic, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a fine sieve and rinse thoroughly. Return quinoa to pan and add water. Bring to a simmer; reduce heat to maintain a simmer. Cover and cook until the quinoa is tender and the liquid has been absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes.
2). Whisk the orange juice, vinegar, oil, ginger, salt and pepper flakes in a medium bowl. Add mango, jalapeno, grape tomatoes, celery, cilantro, parsley, roasted red pepper, beans and onions. Add the spices. Toss to coat.
3). When the quinoa is finished cooking, add to the vegetable mixture and toss to combine.
30 Sunday May 2010
Posted in Food, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Restaurant Reviews, Restaurants, Seafood
Back around the first of May, I received an email from Danielle Dussult, Account Associate at MS&L Worldwide for Bonefish Grill, a marketing firm, asking us to review the Bonefish Grill and another comparable restaurant. For doing this, she sent us two $25 gift certificates, one for the Bonefish Grill and the other for Red Lobster. She also sent a nice fish spatula. We thank her for these items. Look at the review for Bonefish Grill and Red Lobster that will correspond with these photos. I will start with the Bonefish Grill photos.
Here is the Bang Bang Shrimp appetizer. This is really a good appetizer.
I had the Diablo Shrimp Fettuccine. This was very good, but I think it had too much sauce on it and it was a little spicy. I think it would have been better with less sauce.
Robin had the Long Fin Tilapia. The tilapia tastes like a fresh water fish – Gout de Terrior. And the shrimp tasted like the Song of the Sea – Chansons del Mare. That is very difficult to do in Boise.
We took pour daughter and her friend with us. He had the Fish and Chips and he said they were very good. She had the Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos and said they were spicy hot.
We shared a Key Lime Pie for dessert. I did not get the intense lime flavor, nor did Robin.
The Crème Brûlée was really very good. Smooth and creamy as it should be. The caramelized sugar was good.
Here are the photos from the Red Lobster.
For an appetizer, Robin and I had the Wood Grilled Shrimp on Brochette. A good appetizer.
I had a combination platter called Seaside Shrimp Trio. It had Walt’s Favorite Shrimp, which was a little too salty, Shrimp Scampi, good, and Shrimp Linguini Alfredo, very rich. Not as good as the Bonefish Grill, Diablo Shrimp Fetticine.
Robin had the Chef’s Grilled Tilapia. She said that the flavor of the tilapia was hidden by the soy sauce. It was not as good as the Bonefish Grill.
The Apple Crisp had very little apple in it and the cake base was overwhelming.
The Key Lime Pie was more like a NY Cheese cake. It was heavy and not light.
So there you have our opinion. The rankings?
Our reviews are based on the following statement and have been for many years now.
We will endeavor to critique these restaurants on (1) Ambiance, (2) Food Presentation, (3) Food Quality, (4) Service and (5) Cost. We will rate these places from one (1) to five (5) stars. A 1-Star restaurant deserves the comment, “That’s good enough for this year” and a 5-Star restaurant is superb and deserves a note home to Mom. There is nothing wrong with a 3-Star restaurant – We would take friends and relatives to a 3-Star restaurant and we will return to a 3-Star restaurant.
There was one other contributing factor to the Red Lobster loosing this contest: We had to ask for table settings and napkins. To me, this is a huge mistake and should never happen at any restaurant. But then too, the food was just OK. You can see all of Our Reviews by following the link.
