Category Archives: Appetizers

Two Recipes for the Holiday Season

05 Monday Dec 2011

Posted by in Appetizers, Dessert, Holiday Menu, Recipe By: Robin Young, Recipe: Bob and Robin Young, Recipes, Relish, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?

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Here are two – now three, I added another – recipes that I think you will like. And just in time for the holiday season. The first one is Banana Cream Pie that is awesome. Rich banana flavor in a light and smooth banana cream custard.

The second one is a Spinach Bacon Onion Dip. Full of bacon. Great combination of the onion/spinach and bacon. Topped off with a lightly browned cheese. This will go fast! Enjoy!

And for turkey or chicken? Try this Robin’s Cranberry Orange Relish. It is a good alternative to the stand-by canned cranberry jelly. Tart, yet sweet.

Party Time!

29 Wednesday Dec 2010

Posted by in Appetizers, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food

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Quite often we are at a loss as to what to bring to a New Year’s Eve Party. And too, we are often asked to bring some champagne or other sparkling wine. Here are some suggestions: (1) Crispy Udon Noodles with Nori Salt paired with a NV Jacques Lassaigne Les Vignes de Montgeux Blanc de Blancs, (2) Hush Puppies with Remoulade served with a NV Alfred Gratien Blanc de Blancs Brut or (3) Potato Pancakes with Smoked Salmon, Caviar and Dill Cream served with a well-structured, Pinot Noir-dominated Champagne: Lamiable Grand Cru Brut.

All of these recipes, photos and champagne suggestions, and more, can be found at Food and Wine Champagne Parings. Have fun with these treats, drink responsibly and be safe.

Have A
Happy New Year Party
and a
Great 2011!

What’s For Dinner?

25 Wednesday Aug 2010

Posted by in Appetizers, Cooking Styles, Main Dish, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe By: Robin Young, What's For Dinner?

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OK, so we probably missed our Meatless Monday, so lets make it today. No problem! Lets look at what we have here starting in the upper left corner.

A great appetizer called Sicilian Eggplant Caponata. A great use of the eggplant that is coming into season now. Eat this hot, warm or cold. It makes not real difference. Serve it on some Baguette Rounds.

And for a main dish, try Potato-Leek Soup. What? Another Potato/Leek Soup? Yes! But this one has no bacon, ham or other meat in it. It is thick and rich with no cream! Eat it hot or cold.

And finally, that green “stuff”. A great vegetable that is usually overlooked. Too bad! Really it is good. Try this really easy to prepare Chard. Really a wonderful compliment to the rest of the dinner. Full of vitamins and other good stuff and much like spinach, but I actually like it better. But, you be the judge. Let us know how you liked these. Cheers!

Wines For The Silver City Party

22 Thursday Jul 2010

Posted by in Appetizers, Recipe By: Robin Young, Silver City, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food

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Just thought I’d let you know that we hit the cellar and came up with three delightful wines to take to Silver City.

  1. 2002 Ridge Vineyard Dynamite Hill, Petite Syrah – AP: $42.00
  2. 2003 Ridge Vineyard Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay – AP: $51.00
  3. 2004 Ridge Vineyard Stone Ranch Zinfandel – AP: $69.00. This is a blend of 88% Zinfandel, 12% Carignane

So there you go. This should really be a nice selection and especially for those of you who have never had a Ridge Vineyard wine. They are awesome.

To go along with this wonderful wine, Robin is, as I enter this news, preparing Oenophyle, Tyrophyle Bread Twists for the party. These little twists of bread are so very good, cheesy and spicy. Great with wine. Cheers!

"the Buzz" Bistro Opens

06 Tuesday Jul 2010

Posted by in Appetizers, Bistro, Party Time, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food

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On July 5, 2010 the Buzz started their new menu and style. Monday through Saturday after 4:00pm they will be serving Bistro Style dinners. Monday – Thursday: 4pm – 9pm; Friday and Saturday: 4pm – 10pm. Closed Sunday. Their menu is displayed below. Along with the bistro, they are also serving a wide variety of affordable wines. Here are some photos of the first night. Cheers!

Here is the menu for the bistro. (Left Click to see a larger picture) You can see that the prices are great and there is a wide variety of choices. Robin and I spent $32 which also included a very good $12 bottle of Rosé.

Robin is enjoying the relaxing atmosphere of the Buzz. On the weekends (Friday and Saturday), they usually have live music from 7 – 9.

Cristi suggested this fine bottle of French Rosé. She was right. The wine went very well with the food selections we made. Light and fruity and not expensive.

Crab Nachos. A delightful change from your standard nachos. These come with tortilla chips topped with crab, blend of cheeses and black olives. Big enough for two!

Flat Iron Steak Salad with Thai Dressing. I really liked this. (Robin and I shared each others selections) The steak was done just perfect – slightly pink as you can see. This is served with chopped romaine, red onion, cucumber and tomato tossed in a Thai dressing. This is an excellent salad.

Tuna Salad with Fennel. Again, not your everyday style of tuna salad. The fennel gives it an extra boost. Served on romaine leaves and the tuna has been blended with fennel and cucumber and seasoned with tarragon. Wonderful!

Unusual Lemon Meringue Pie. Yes … yes … yes! The pie was made with puff pastry. Cristi – You have a winner here!

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If you want a relaxing and fun evening out, the Buzz Coffee and Wine and Bistro is a good place to go. Take your friends. Hope to see you there sometime. And don’t forget their 2nd Tueaday and Wednesday wine dinners. Awesome!

"the Buzz" – New Menu Preview!

28 Monday Jun 2010

Posted by in Appetizers, Food, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, What's For Dinner?

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On 27 June, Robin and I went to try the new Buzz menu along with about 20 others. Such a great time! Such good food. Cristi asked for comments. She got them. Most were positive suggestions, constructive critiques, like cut the portion size down or the spices need to be increased a little. Starting July 7, 2010, the Buzz will have their new menu and it really looks good! Here are some photos of the evening. Cheers! Thanks Cristi and Tom for including us in the preview!

Asparagus Pesto

16 Sunday May 2010

Posted by in Appetizers, Asparagus, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe By: Robin Young, Recipes

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A couple of days ago, Robin came upon this recipe in the New York Times. Guy Hand, from Northwest News and NPR, has also posted the recipe. It must be good! Yes indeed it is! We sampled it on some Ritz Crackers, but then, anything is good on a Ritz. Enjoy the recipe. Cheers!

Asparagus Pesto

Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 4 to 6 servings (about 1½ cups)

Ingredients:
Salt
1 lbs Asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch segments
2 lg Garlic cloves, or more to taste
¼ c Pine Nuts
¼ c Olive Oil, or more as desired
¾ c Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
Freshly ground black pepper
Juice of ½ lemon, or to taste.

Directions:
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Add the asparagus and cook until fully tender but not mushy, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain well, reserving some of the cooking liquid, and let the asparagus cool slightly.
2. Transfer the asparagus to a food processor and add the garlic, pine nuts, 2 Tablespoons of the oil, Parmesan, a pinch of salt and a couple of Tablespoons of the cooking liquid. Process the mixture, stopping to scrape down the sides of the container if necessary, and gradually add the remaining oil and a bit more of the reserved cooking liquid to moisten if necessary. Add the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste, pulse one last time, and serve over pasta, fish or chicken (or cover and refrigerate for up to a day).

Try this with a Halibut fillet – baked in ¼ inch water, 2 Tbsp butter, Salt and Pepper. Bake about 12 min at 350ºF. Enjoy!!

Pre-Thanksgiving – Les Fruits de Mer

26 Thursday Nov 2009

Posted by in Appetizers, Main Dish, Party Time, Photos By: Bob Young, Side Dishes, Wine Dinners

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On Wednesday night, Robin, Christopher and Mac and I all went to Le Cafe de Paris for Les Fruits de Mer, a treat of shellfish.

It all started with a delightful salad of Stone Crab Fritters on a bed of field greens and a remoulade sauce. Followed by Fanny Bay Oysters with cucumber mignonette, King Crab Legs with beurre blanc, Clams Casino with bacon, white wine, herbs and butter. But we’re not done yet! we also had Pernod Steamed Mussels and Creole Poached Prawns with chorizo and potatoes. The wine that we had with this delightful dinner was a Chateauvieux Vouvray that was the perfect paring.

Owner Mathieu Choux and I had a discussion on the East Coast Shellfish versus the West Coast Shellfish, noticing that the East coast shellfish has more natural salt and iodine than the West Coast. We both decided that a comparison dinner would be fun to do. He may do so in the future. In the meantime, look at these photos.

Promises! Promises!

14 Saturday Nov 2009

Posted by in Appetizers, Condiments, Food, Main Dish, Photos By: Bob Young, Restaurants, Things To Do

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I said that the next time we went to Sweetwater’s Tropic Zone, that I would get the Curry Goat. As the Walrus said, “The time has come”. We returned tonight and the meal was superb!!! Here is what we had. You might want to read below, but the slides are labeled. Remember to go to full screen to view the photos.

Our dinner consisted of: Pineapple Curry Muscles that were superb. The sauce is awesome. House Salad, Trinidadian Curry Goat (there’s the goat), Cuban-Style Bistec de Palomilla (Cuban steak that is pan seared) and a Chocolate Torte. The main thing is, would I have the Goat again? The answer is simple: Absolutely! It was that good! Actually, everything we had was that good. When we go back, and we will, it will be hard not to choose the same things again. We will probably go through the entire menu eventually. You really need to visit the Sweetwater’s Tropic Zone. It’s that good and giving the old Andrae’s a race for taste and quality! Cheers!

What to do?

09 Monday Nov 2009

Posted by in Appetizers, Classics, Food Prep, Main Dish, Recipe: Bob and Robin Young, Recipes

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I had to make some more of our award winning Citrus Marmalade and, knowing how long it can take to make it, I wanted something to “snack on”. And knowing that Pico de Gallo can actually be several things – an Appetizer, Side Dish or an adjunct to a Main Dish – I made a large bowl of it. We make our own recipe. Here it is:

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Pico de Gallo

Comments: Pico de Gallo can be used as an Appetizer, Side Dish or Main Dish additive. It is a versatile component. A condiment.
Degree of Difficulty: Easy
Servings: 12

Ingredients:
6 lg Roma Tomatoes, cut into chunks
1 bunch Cilantro, chopped
1 lg White Onion, diced
1 lg Avocado, diced
6 cloves Garlic, minced
2 Jalapeno peppers, seeds removed and diced
1 T Mexican Oregano, dried
2 t Cinnamon
3 Limes juiced

Directions:

1). Dice the tomatoes and place in a large bowl. Dice the onion and add to bowl. Chop the cilantro, dice the jalapeno and mince the garlic and add to the bowl. Add the diced avocado. Mix to combine.
2). Add the spices and salt. Squeeze the limes and add the juice to the bowl. Mix until combines. Taste and adjust as necessary.
3). Place the mixture into the refrigerator for at least one hour before serving to marry the flavors. Serve cold with blue corn chips.

Cooking Times:
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Inactive Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes

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So there you have it, and a repeat for our Citrus Marmalade recipe. Enjoy! Cheers!