Tags
Big Lost River Meats, Boise Farmers Market, C and G Wild Alaska Salmon, Rosemary Sausage, salmon, sausage, Wild Alaska Salmon
Yes indeed! A great Saturday for three reasons: (1) Be sure to congratulate Robin on being 5 weeks smoke free! It’s not easy. (2) Wish Robin a Happy Mother’s Day tomorrow and (3) A good time at the Boise Farmers Market, even though the weather was not the best – It snowed on the mountain! I met some great new vendors today. The Big Lost River Meats in Mackay, ID ((208) 588-3085), their Garlic and Rosemary Sausage is wonderful and C&G’s Wild Alaska Salmon. I got some good salmon information from them. Enjoy the information! Cheers.
Here is some good information on salmon. We always have Coho (Silver) or Copper River Sockeye (Red) salmon in our freezer. No problem having baked or poached salmon several times a week.
C&G Wild Alaska Salmon
Great information about them and contact information on their web site
Delightful Visit at Sizzler In Boise
08 Thursday May 2014
I know. It’s a chain. But let me tell you, this was a surprisingly good visit. The Service People were tremendous. Happy. Pleasant. They appear to like to work here. The service was tremendous. I met the Manager and he was very pleasant and a pleasure to talk to. And the food was very good. But what really impressed me was the salad bar. Huge variety of objects to put on your salad. Even 1/2 avocados. And fruit. They even have a taco bar. And a dessert bar. An again, it was all really good food. We had the Steak and Lobster. The steak was well prepared and delicious. It was by no means as tender as that we have had at Bern’s Steakhouse in Tampa, but the flavor was every bit as good! Think about that. The lobster was a little small, but again was cooked well. Not rubbery. I cut it with my fork. Just look at these photos. And here is a link to their Web Site. Enjoy. We did and we will return. For a chain restaurant, it is well worth 4-Stars out of 5-Stars.
Chicken Piccata Dinner
07 Wednesday May 2014
This was one awesome dinner tonight! There’s not much else to say. Here is the recipe Chicken Piccata, pdf format.
May Events at The Buzz
07 Wednesday May 2014
Tags
Buzz Coffee, Buzz Coffee & Wine Events, The Buzz Coffee and Wine, wine dinner, Wine Dinner Buzz Bistro
I just received this from Cristi and Tommy at The Buzz here in Boise. We will be at the monthly dinners – they are fantastic and loads of fun! – and I hope we see you there, too! Remember, to participate in some of these events (Monthly dinner and Quarterly Dinners), you will need to make reservations!
(208) 344-4321
Buzz Coffee & Wine Events
Hello. Hope everyone is enjoying the rollercoaster weather that we call Spring here in Boise. We have some fun events coming up and would love to see you at any or all of them.
Thanks to everyone’s support during our families loss last month. We appreciate the prayers and well wishes, and are terriby sorry for having to cancel the wine dinner with such short notice. Again thanks for understanding.
Cristi and Tom Takeda
Buzz Coffee and WineWine Club Dinner: We will be discussing Herbs and Spices.
Join us at 6:30 on May 13 or 14 for a Five Course Dinner, Wine – pared with the food and included in the dinner price -, and a discussion of herbs and spices. Only $20 a person. Reservations required buzzwine@cableone.net or 344-4321.Music in May
May 9th Carter Freeman
May 16th Jean Cardena
May 23rd Blaze and Kelly
May 30th Pat FoulknerMusic from 7-9 with free wine tasting, dinner and dessert specials. Come join us. No reservations needed
“Scotch Eggs” – What are they?
06 Tuesday May 2014
OK. So are they really from Scotland? Well, not exactly. They were “invented” in London in an upscale department store. Here is a short history from http://www.scotch-eggs.com. And now, I will probably try some of these and pretty soon. When I do, I will post the results here and if I run into any trouble along the way. I will post a recipe below that gives a pretty complete set of instructions. Enjoy!
The History of Scotch EggsIn recent years the scotch egg has come back in to fashion, from being a fairly bland egg mayo filled affair from supermarkets to home made delicacies adorning pubs bars and menus. But where did it all start?
Legend has it the scotch egg was invented not by the Scots, but by Fortnum and Masons in London. Fortnums archives reveal that back in the 1730s they invented the scotch egg due to customer demand. Back then their customers would partake in long carriage journeys and needed portable snacks for sustenance.
The first reference of a scotch egg recipe appeared in Mrs Rundell’s cook book in 1809 entitled A New system of Domestic Cookery. You will however find better more conventional recipes in our recipe section!
The naming of the scotch egg came to fruition as “scotched” means processed, referring to wrapping a boiled egg in meat and then breadcrumbs. Scotch eggs can be made from hens eggs, quails eggs, duck eggs and at times goose eggs, though technically you could use most eggs, even ostrich!
With interchangeable eggs in the centre of scotch eggs comes experimentation in meat wrapping as well. Popular variations on classic sausage meat include black pudding, haggis, venison or less conventional alternatives like salmon!
As promised, here is a recipe for Scotch Eggs from Jamie Oliver. Enjoy!
Scotch EggsIngredients:
4 large free-range eggs
10oz sausage meat
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 spring onion, very finely chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
4oz plain flour, seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 free-range egg, beaten
4oz breadcrumbs
vegetable oil, for deep fryingDirections:
Place the eggs, still in their shells, in a pan of cold salted water. Place over a high heat and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to simmer for exactly nine minutes.
Drain and cool the eggs under cold running water, then peel.Mix the sausage meat with the thyme, parsley and spring onion in a bowl and season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper (Simon recommends being generous with the freshly ground black pepper).
Divide the sausage meat mixture into four and flatten each out on a clean surface into ovals about 12.5cm/5in long and 7.5cm/3in at its widest point.
Place the seasoned flour onto a plate, then dredge each boiled egg in the flour. Place each onto a sausage meat oval, then wrap the sausage meat around each egg. Make sure the coating is smooth and completely covers each egg.
Dip each sausage meat-coated egg in the beaten egg, rolling to coat completely, then dip and roll into the breadcrumbs to completely cover.
Heat the oil in a deep heavy-bottomed pan, until a breadcrumb sizzles and turns brown when dropped into it. (CAUTION: hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.)
Carefully place each scotch egg into the hot oil and deep-fry for 8-10 minutes, until golden and crisp and the sausage meat is completely cooked. Carefully remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.
Serve cool.
Cinco de Mayo Enchiladas
06 Tuesday May 2014
What a great use for some hamburger – Thanks Brook! Lightly fry the crumbled hamburg. Add diced onion, garlic and Ro-Tel and cook until heated. Place on one end of a 12″, Whole Grain Tortilla and roll up, folding in the ends. Place in a casserole dish and add enchilada sauce and cheese. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees F. Serve with a green salad and slaw. You could serve with rice of black beans, too. Serve with Dos Equis. Then for dessert, fresh made Flan. Yum-O!
Original Pancake House, Boise
04 Sunday May 2014
I am not particularly one for pancakes in the morning. I tend to make them too sweet. So today, on our visit to The Original Pancake House in Boise, with Marnie and Mac, I opted for an omelet. Not your stand-by Denver Omelet, but rather a Mushroom Omelet with a Mushroom/Sherry Sauce. Add some home fries, and we have a big breakfast. Enjoy!
Omelet For Breakfast
29 Tuesday Apr 2014
Posted in Acme Bake Shop, Acme Bake Shop Breads, Acme Bake Shop Rye, Asparagus, Boise Farmers Market, Bread, Breakfast, Breakfast At The Captains Shack, Captain's Shack, Cowboy Eggs, Eggs, Local Farmers Markets, Local Markets, Omelet, Photos By: Bob Young, Vegetables, What's For Dinner?, Whats For Breakfast?
I made Robin an Egg In Toast – make a hole in bread, grill it, add an egg, serve it – and noticed that there was some asparagus that had to be eaten and some mushrooms. So, for me, I made this omelet that was terrific. Left-Click to see the photo enlarged. Cheers!
What is the Tuscan Cooking Style?
28 Monday Apr 2014
Tags
I had an interesting question the other day as to what is the Tuscan Cooking Style. Quite simply – It is a very basic style of Italian cooking using the barest of food essentials. Fresh herb, pasta, wine, bread. Not particularly a heavy tomato sauce, although tomatoes are used. Only a light sauce, if any, and pasta with herbs and cheese. There is a wide variety of information on the Tuscan Style of cooking on the web. I offer only a small portion of that information here.
If you are looking for some Tuscan traditional recipes, here is one source: Tuscan Recipes. And if you want that well known 3″ thick Tuscan Porterhouse steak, aka Bistecca alla Fiorentina, here is that recipe: Tuscan Porterhouse. And the traditional Tuscan dish of Osso Buco – here is a recipe for Veal Osso Buco. Or maybe you prefer a Lamb Osso Buco. An Osso Buco is referred to in the article by Delallo (dot) com below.
Information from the Examiner,
Tuscany is the land of simple and honest flavors with cooking that might be heartier than much of the rest of the country. It features excellent ingredients including a fair variety of herbs such as basil, rosemary and sage, strongly flavored olive oils, meat dishes from cattle and wild game like wild boar, and seafood on the coasts. Soffritto, a mixture of chopped celery, onions, garlic, peppers and herbs sautéed in olive oil, similar to the French mirepoix, is used as a base for soups and sauces, might be more popular here than elsewhere. Beans have long been a big part of the diet, and spinach is the most popular green vegetable. Excepting the spinach and the few tomato dishes, much of the cooking is unattractively brown… Commonly found dishes include the hearty peasant bread soup, ribollita, pappa al pomodoro (bread and tomato soup), pappardelle sulla lepre (fresh pasta ribbons with wild hare), pappardelle con cinghiale (with wild boar), fritto misto (fried meats, offal and vegetables), tagliata (thinly sliced beef served with arugla), and the famous bistecca alla fiorentina (a thick steak traditionally from the prized and enormous Chiana cattle that used to clutter the Chianti hills, simply prepared and grilled over an wood-fired flame).
And here is some information fro EHow,
Tuscan-style cooking evolved from “la cucina povera,” or peasant cooking. The cuisine relies on home-grown ingredients, prepared fresh with nothing left to waste … Tuscan-style cooking employs a wealth of vegetables: artichokes, asparagus, green beans, fava beans, peas and all types of greens, including Swiss chard, spinach and escarole. Peaches and pears are popular fruits … The most famous Tuscan meat is the bistecca alla fiorentina, a large grilled porterhouse. Game meats, including wild boar, duck and rabbit are also important to Tuscan-style cooking … Wild porcini mushrooms and truffles add an exotic touch to Tuscan dishes. The porcini can be served raw, grilled, sauteed in olive oil and garlic. Truffles are added to pasta dishes or shaved over eggs or steak … The basis of many Tuscan dishes is soffritto, which means “under-fried” in Italian. Soffritto is made by lightly frying minced vegetables in olive oil. The soffritto goes into sauces, soups and other recipes.
And finally from Delallo (dot) com,
… The single most pervasive food image associated with Tuscany is likely that of the olive tree, which grows in a gnarled profusion throughout the region. But Tuscany’s climate also provides ideal soil for the grapes grown to create the region’s world-renowned Chianti wine. Cattle also weigh heavily in the region’s food production. Chianina cattle is one of the oldest breeds of cattle in the world, as well as one of the largest, producing prized Fiorentina beef for bistecca alla fiorentina (a T-bone steak brushed with olive oil and grilled perfectly rare).
Game meats and fowl, fish, pork, beans, figs, pomegranates, rice, chestnuts and cheese are earthy staples of the Tuscan table, and the coveted white truffle abounds in the region. Tuscan cooking is an interesting blend of dishes made from odds and ends for poor tables, as well as choosier fare created for the powerful noble house of Medici which once occupied and ruled from the Tuscany area. Osso bucco is a well-known favorite of the area, as are finocchiona (a rustic salami with fennel seeds), cacciucco (a delicate fish stew), pollo al mattone (chicken roasted under heated bricks), and biscotti di prato (hard almond cookies made for dipping in the local desert wine, vin santo). Barlotti beans, kidney-shaped and pink-speckled, provide a savory flavor to meatless dishes, and cannellinibeans form the basis for many a pot of slowly simmered soup. Breads are many and varied in Tuscan baking, with varieties including donzelle (a bread fried in olive oil), filone (an unsalted traditional Tuscan bread) and the sweetschiacciata con l’uva (a rolled dough with grapes and sugar on top). Pastas are not heavily relied upon in Tuscan cooking, and papparadelle (a wide egg noodle) is one of the region’s few traditional cuts. Pecorino Toscano cheese is native to Tuscany, as are semi-soft cow’s milk Tendaio and mixed sheep and cow’s milk Accasciato cheeses.
Soups, sauces and stews are the cornerstones of Tuscan cooking, many beginning with and relying upon the mastery of a perfect soffritto on which to build more complex flavors. A soffritto can be considered a sort-of Italian cookedmirepoix, and is a “pre-prep” combination of olive oil and minced browned vegetables (usually onion, carrot and celery) that creates a base for a variety of slow-cooked dishes. Herbs (sage and rosemary are used in many Tuscan dishes) and seasonings can be added to the soffritto as needed to bring out the unique flavors of each different recipe. Try the following Ribollita Toscana (Tuscan soup) recipe any time of year to transform your kitchen with the smells and flavors of the Tuscan countryside.
Wait a minute! What about the big, bold, deep red to purple wines of Tuscany? Have no fear. Here is some delightful information http://www.winecountry.it:
Wines of Tuscany – Tuscany’s winemaking industry counts on one of the most noble and ancient traditions that predates the universally known Chianti wine that often springs to mind when this region is discussed … Nowadays, the most grown variety is the noble Sangiovese, which is often combined with small amounts of locally grown Cabernet Sauvignon, Canaiolo, Ciliegiolo and other grapes into wonderful blends such as the Brunello di Montalcino, Morellino di Scansano, Carmignano and, of course, the signature Tuscan wines, the Chianti and Chianti Classico, which probably are the best known Italian wines in the world. Other grapes grown here are the Mammolo, Malvasia, Colorino, Raspirosso, Gamay, Grand Noir, Barbera, Moscatello, Aleatico and Vernaccia, among others.
Some interesting reading. But like I say, there is much, much more information available on the web about the Tuscan style of cooking. Indulge yourselves and look for more specific answers to your questions. Cheers!
Awesome Beef Short Ribs!
27 Sunday Apr 2014
Posted in Acme Bake Shop Sourdough, Beef, Boise Farmers Market, Buy Idaho, Captain's Shack, Comfort Food, Cuts of Beef, Dinner At The Captains Shack, Dinner With Robin, Food Prep, Idaho Beef, Local Farmers Markets, Local Harvests, Local Markets, Locavore, Photos By: Bob Young, Purple Sage Farms, Recipes, River View Gardens, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food
Tags
beef short ribs, Boise Farmers Market, buy Idaho, eat local, Homestead Natural Foods, Meadowlark Farms, River View Farms
This was an awesome dinner! Beef Short Ribs from Ed Wilsey and Homestead Natural Foods. It is really nice to see that most of these products are available, and were bought at, The Boise Farmers Market. If you live in, or around Boise, this is the “place to be” on Saturday mornings. And I sincerely urge you, whether or not you live in Boise, to visit and support your local farmers and your local farmer’s markets. In this meal, we used products from Homestead Natural Foods (beef short ribs), River View Farms (wild garlic and carrots), Meadowlark Farms (eggs) and Purple Sage Farms (rosemary and salad greens). From our own garden, we used fresh thyme, Miner’s lettuce and Mexican oregano. An Indian Creek Winery wine was served with dinner and a 2002 Parma Ridge Vineyards Milange was used in the recipe. Enjoy these photos and the recipe of this awesome dinner. Cheers!



















