Alyonka Russian Cuisine, Boise

23 Thursday May 2024

Posted by Bob and Robin in 5-Stars, Alyonka Russian Cuisine, Appetizers, Apple, Cabbage, Cakes, Caviar, Classic Cuisines, Dinner at Alyonka Russian Cuisine, Ethnic Foods, Food - Russian, Photos By: Bob Young, Potatoes, Restaurants To Try, Russian Food, What's For Dinner?

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borscht, honey cake, pelmeni, Russian, Russian cuisine, shuba

If you ar e in the Boise or plan to visit Boise, I highly recommend you go to Alyonka Russian Cuisine for a delightful and delicious meal. It is well worth the trip, time and experience and that is why I rate it a 5-Star restaurant. Their website and other information can be found at https://alyonkarussiancuisine.com/. Robin and I went there the other day, we have been there before, and the following photos are what we had for lunch. I do hope you enjoy these photos.

Let’s start with an **Apfelwein Hard Cider.** This one is really good. Sweet. Not sour or sharp.

Shuba. Layered salad – smoked salmon, potatoes, carrots, beets, with mayo touch

Borscht. Traditional Russian soup made of beets and garden
vegetables served with sour cream and toast

**Pelmeni.** Handmade Russian style dumplings with seasoned ground beef filling, served with sour cream

Interesting Pork Tenderloin Dish

04 Thursday Apr 2024

Posted by Bob and Robin in 5-Stars, Aleppo pepper, Android Photos, Braising, Buy Idaho, Buy Local, Cabbage, Captain's Shack, Carrots, Classic Sauces, Comfort Food, Cooking Styles, Dinner At The Captains Shack, Food Photos, Food Prep, Heirloom Carrots, Herbs and Spices, Homemade Sauce, Housemade Sauces, Idaho Greens, Idaho Pork, Idaho Vegetables, Local Markets, Malheur River Meats, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Pork, Pork Tenderloin, Recipe By: Bob Young, Recipe By: Captain's Shack, Recipes - Dinner, tarragon, What's For Dinner?

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Aleppo pepper, food, parsnips, pork, pork tenderloin, recipes, red cabbage

I do like pork! But I really need to change my preparation of the meat. If not the preparation, then the plating of it. What to serve with it? Sauerkraut is a pretty standard plating. But I wanted to change that, And o I came up with this. I used red cabbage, snow peas and carrot rounds, to sweeten it a little, and a little balsamic glaze to soften the cabbage flavor. I brazed it with just a little Aleppo pepper. The combination worked well and folks enjoyed it. Then I took parsnips and chunk diced them and braised them also.

The pork. Braised it over medium heat so not to burn it. Initially and before cooking I used our Pork Rub, (https://www.rockinrs.com/CS-Pork-Rub.pdf) all over the tenderloin and did not “skimp” on the amount. Then pat it into the meat and let it sit for about 30 minutes. The 2020 Parma Ridge Winery Boys Blend was superb with this dinner!

After braising the pork, I removed them from the heat and deglazed the pan (cast-iron skillet) with about 2 ounces of Tarragon Vinegar that we made a while back.Then a little butter in the drippings and some flour. Brought the roux together and added whole milk and about 2 T of Plochman’s mustard and stirred to combine and thicken. I then returned the tenderloin to the pan and spooned some of the sauce over it. After plating, I added a little more if it was needed. Everyone seemed to enjoy it – there is none left!

“Chopped” In the Kitchen

31 Thursday Mar 2022

Posted by Bob and Robin in 5-Stars, AirFryer, Beef, Beets, Cabbage, Chicken, Eggs, Greens, Photos By: Bob Young, What's For Dinner?

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airfried chicken, beets, cabbage, chicken fried steak, Martin's Swiss Dressing, meatloaf, seafood alfredo

It is always fun to see what is in the refrigerator or in the kitchen, in general. This week was no different. No particular recipe, “Just Do-It!”. And I don’t usually post an advertisement within a post. But there are exceptions. This is one of them. “Oma & Popies” is very local to Boise, and is very good. But, Swiss Hibiscus, https://swisshibiscus.com/made-in-portland-oregon is a superb dressing and is totally produced in Portland, Oregon. You can call them at (503) 477-9224 and place an order, or use the link. If you are in Portland, or in the area, their address is 4950 NE 14th Ave, Portland, OR, 97211. This dressing is great on salads, but I like to dip French Fries in it or use it on baked salmon. Yum-O! OK. Enough of the ads (They don’t know I have this blogged!)

BP_30Mar2022_1d_Captains Shack_AF Fried Chix and Cabbage

Daughter Marnie, said she had some chicken and would make dinner. There was some cabbage that needed to be used so she made this delicious AirFryer Chicken with steamed cabbage. It was delicious!

There was some sea scallops – those are the big ones – and large, 16-20 count, shrimp, parsley and parmigiano that was begging to be used. So how about making a Scallop and Shrimp Alfredo. Easy one pot meal. Made it with fettuccini and and some white wine and served with chopped parsley.

Wife Robin asked for Chicken Fried Steak one night. Had some steak that needed to be used and some crushed saltines (won’t use saltines twice for this!), but they did not adhere to the steak like I wanted. Served with baked potato and peas and carrots. Good, but not Earth shattering.

And finally, meatloaf. Hard to find a good meatloaf. This was good, but a little too loose. This is what the crushed saltines were originally used for. A cup of milk in the mix is a little to much. Need to cut back to a half cup. Flavors were good. The salad was some canned beets from last summer, spinach and lettuce blend and had cooked eggs. All-In-All, a good, flavorful dinner. http://www.rockinrs.com/CS-Meatloaf.pdf

Chopped In The Kitchen

11 Friday Mar 2022

Posted by Bob and Robin in Apple, Apricots, Buy Local, Cabbage, Classic Sauces, Dinner At Marnies, Dinner For Robin, Eggs, Eggs Benedict, Food Photos, Food Prep, Grilled Pork, Housemade Sauces, Idaho Grains, Idaho Pork, Idaho Potatoes, Krusteaz, Lark and Larder, Latkes, Local Markets, Main Dish, Malheur River Meats, Photos By: Bob Young, Pork Belly, pork chops, Potatoes, Recipe by: Robin and Bob Young, Recipes - Sauces, Sauces, What's For Dinner?

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cabbage, caramelized apple, fried potatoes, Hollandaise Sauce, pork belly, potatoes, recipes, strawberry, waffles

So you have some “stuff” still in the refrigerator that you don’t quite know what to do with. Don’t throw it out, unless, of course, it’s green and fuzzy. It’s not exactly Réchauffé – a dish of warmed-up leftovers, but more like Utiliser les restes – using leftovers. We have strawberries that need to be used, so we make Strawberry Waffles. And there is some Pork Belly, “… pork belly is uncured meat (while) bacon is a cured meat…(it is) the boneless cut that remains after the loin and spareribs are removed.” (pork.org) Just in case you wanted to know. So why not make an Idaho Benedict or a sautéed cabbage and apple to go with a Malheur River Meals ( https://malheurrivermeats.com ) pork chop? (Or you can get their products at the Boise Farmers Market or at Lark and Larder in Boise Good idea! So let’s take a look. Bon appetit!

Strawberry Waffles are so delicious. I have made waffles from scratch but here I used Krusteaz, because I had some that needed to be used. Just altered it slightly with strawberry jam and 1 egg in the batter. Then when I cooked it, I put sliced strawberries in the batter plus more sliced strawberries on top of the waffle before serving. A dusting of powdered sugar, too. You can use other fruits, also, like blueberries.

Malheur River Meats Pork Chop with Braised Apple and Cabbage

This was a yum dinner. A Smoked Bone-In Pork Chop with Braised Apple and Cabbage. Caramelized the apple first in butter and brown sugar over med-high heat and watched it carefully so as not to burn the apple. Just golden brown. Then added some chopped cabbage and caraway and sautéed it all together. There were no left-overs from this dinner!

This was so differently good! If you like Eggs Benedict, try this version. Instead of a toasted English muffin, I used a potato pancake, of sorts. More like a latke than a pancake. I had the “cake” keep its shape and form by using an egg ring. Worked well. Cooking was a challenge to keep it from burning. Med high heat and used the rendered pork belly fat – some of it – to cook the potato in. Turned it over carefully when I noticed some browning on the edges. It really came out fine and was cooked all the way through. Then for serving, placed potato on plate, then one strip of thick cut pork belly broken in half, poached egg and finally Hollandaise Sauce. ( CIA Basic Hollandaise Sauce )

So there you have it. Another fun week in the kitchen!

2 Classic Dishes: Kielbasa and Pierogis and Pork Wontons

04 Friday Feb 2022

Posted by Bob and Robin in 5-Stars, Asian - Sauces, Asian - Spices, Asian Food, Cabbage, Captain's Shack, Cooking Styles, Dinner At The Captains Shack, Dinner With Family, Ethnic Foods, Food - Asian, Food - Make Your Own Meals, Food - Polish, Food Photos, Ginger, Local Markets, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe by: Robin and Bob Young, Recipes, Recipes - Dinner, recipes appetizers, What's For Dinner?

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kielbasa, pierogi, pork, recipes, sauer kraut, Wine

Actually I have never made either of these dishes before, so this was an exciting trip! The idea for the kielbasa dish came from Rachael Ray, but I radically changed some of the ingredients by adding additional spices and herbs and eliminating others. The sauerkraut, for instance, was to be one with cumin and caraway and if you could not find one like that, adjust it by adding a “scant” teaspoon each. I went to a 2 teaspoons each and it was wonderful. I also added turmeric and Riesling wine. I guess that’s the German in me. Here is the recipe for our CS Kielbasa and Pierogi Combo dinner – http://www.rockinrs.com/CS-Kielbasa-Pierogi-Combo.pdf

Kielbasa and Pierogi Combo ready for the oven

The second dish we made, my wife Robin came up with this one, I definitely have never made. It takes some time and effort, but I think well worth it. It’s basically, ground pork, not sausage, fresh ginger and garlic, Shoyu soy sauce (Japanese) and green onions wrapped in wonton pastry. Care must be taken when frying these and not burn them. They should be a light brown color. Here is the recipe for these – http://www.rockinrs.com/CS-Pork-Wontons.pdf.

Filling the wontons. You might want to use a little shredded Napa cabbage in each one too.

The wontons sealed and ready to cook. There is more than one way to seal these.

The wontons out of the fryer. Notice they are brown and not burned. Keep your eye on them while cooking. They will burn quickly.

Presentation plate with Shoyu soy sauce with grated ginger.

So there you have two more dishes to try. The wontons might just make a good appetizer or “tailgate food” for a sporting event. Enjoy!

Smoked Venison

03 Sunday Jan 2021

Posted by Bob and Robin in 5-Stars, Brocolli, Cabbage, Classic Cuisines, Crab, Photos By: Bob Young, Traeger Scout, Venison, What's For Dinner?

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Venison

Eric, daughter Marnies friend, received a Trager Scout Smoker for Christmas. This venison roast was the Maiden Voyage for the smoker. It was awesome! And with the venison, we had Steamed Cabbage in Apple Juice with Apples. Crab Puffs and Steamed Brocolli. What a great New Years Day treat. Super job, Eric, thank-you.

Venison Roast just coming off the Traeger

Venison plated.

Good Snowy Weather To Make Sauerkraut! Here’s How.

04 Wednesday Jan 2017

Posted by Bob and Robin in Boise Farmers Market, Cabbage, Canning, Captain's Shack, Classic Cuisines, Comfort Food, Food Photos, German Food, Homemade Sauerkraut, Idaho Pork, Idaho Potatoes, Idaho Vegetables, Local Markets, Main Dish, Oktoberfest, Photos By: Bob Young, Pork, Pork Tenderloin, What's For Dinner?

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There have been many people asking how to make their own sauerkraut. Well here is a great link – Kraut In A Jar or the entire site by Holly Howe, Make Sauerkraut. Both resources are superb and chock full of some great information from recipes to keeping the kraut from going bad.

This photo is from Holly’s site and some kraut she made in a jar.

Shredding the cabbage using a mandoline. See the belnd of red and white cabbage. 4 heads of white cabbage to 2 medium heads of red cabbage. Nice color blends.

Shredding the cabbage using a mandoline. See the blend of red and white cabbage. 4 heads of white cabbage to 2 medium heads of red cabbage. Nice color blends.

Enjoy the links I have listed and have some fun and make some sauerkraut. Let us know how it comes out! Make a pork roast in the oven. Add to that some mashed potatoes – Idaho potatoes of course – and some of your fresh made sauerkraut and you’ll have a great meal. Wash it all down with a good Spaten. Think of this dinner for Oktoberfest. We just put up 14 pints of kraut. Cheers!

Pork mit Kraut

Make Your Own Sauerkraut!

09 Sunday Oct 2016

Posted by Bob and Robin in Boise Farmers Market, Buy Idaho, Cabbage, Captain's Shack, Cooking Styles, Housemade Sauerkraut, Local Farmers Markets, Local Harvests, Local Markets, Pennsylvania Dutch, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe: Bob and Robin Young, Salt, Sauerkraut, What's For Dinner?, White Cabbage

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fermentation, sauerkraut

Not at all difficult to make. It just takes some prep time, about an hour or so; a clean crock for fermenting the cabbage, there are really nice ones online; fresh cabbage, this is the perfect time of year to get some great cabbage from your local Farmers Market; a good recipe and many are available. Here is our recipe for Sauerkraut and you can modify this anyway you want to make it “yours”. Recipes, like dance routines, are only suggestions. The recipe listed here is also on permanent file in the Boise Foodie Guild Recipes listed above. Here is the process that I use. In the final photo, I seal the cabbage from air by (1) Covering the top of the cabbage with uncut cabbage leaves and not plastic, and (2) Make sure the water seal on the top of the crock is always full. At times, you will hear that kraut “perking”. It is fermenting when that happens – a good thing! Robin bought me this crock several years ago online. It is awesome! See the safety tips below.

Shredding the cabbage using a mandolin. See tghe belnd of red and white cabbage. 4 heads of white cabbage to 2 medium heads of red cabbage. Nice color blends.

Shredding the cabbage using a mandolin. See the blend of red and white cabbage. 4 heads of white cabbage to 2 medium heads of red cabbage. Nice color blends.

The shreeddedd cabbage in the crock. See the recipe for the spices I use. There are only 4.

The shredded cabbage in the crock. See the recipe for the spices I use. There are only 4.

Uncut cabbage leaves are placed on top of the shredded cabbage. Note the “water trough” on the edge of the crock. The top lid fits right in this “trench” and seals the mash from air.

Finally, weights – these came with the crock – are placed on the leaves to hold the cabbage under the liquid that forms. The idea is to keep the cabbage submerged and out of any air.

Here are some great safety tips when making sauerkraut, or any fermented vegetables. Sauerkraut Fermentation Gone Bad. And from the site listed in the link,

Three Basic Fermentation Rules
1) Keep it Salty! Weigh your cabbage and vegetables to ensure you add the correct amount of salt to create a 2% brine. The correct numbers are 1 3/4 pound vegetables for 1 tablespoon salt OR 5 pounds vegetables for 3 tablespoons salt. Remember, these weights include not just the cabbage, but any vegetables and seasonings you’re mixing with the cabbage.
2) Keep it Under the Brine! Use some type of weight to keep fermenting cabbage and vegetables submerged, especially during the first 7-10 days when the microbial climate of your jar is established. Put on a lid to keep out the air! Fermenting is an anaerobic process.
3) Keep it Clean! No, you don’t need to sterilize equipment or use bleach, just make sure your tools, fermentation vessels and weights are thoroughly washed and well rinsed.

From Our Kitchen To Yours!

18 Wednesday May 2016

Posted by Bob and Robin in Acme Bake Shop Breads, Alley Gardens, Appetizers, Apricots, Arugula, Avocado, Backyard Garden, Bacon, Baking, Basque Bread, BFM, Boise Area Food Adventures, Boise Farmers Market, Breakfast At The Captains Shack, Brussels Sprouts, Buy Idaho, Cabbage, Captain's Shack, Comfort Food, Crab Cakes, Dessert, Dinner At The Captains Shack, Eggs, Greek Food, Green Salad, Healthy Eating, Herbs, Herbs and Spices, Ice Cream, Idaho Chicken, Idaho Dairy, Idaho Eggs, Idaho Greens, Idaho Lamb, Idaho Vegetables, Local Markets, Meadowlark Farms, Ohana Micro Greens, Omelet, Photos By: Bob Young, Rice Family Farms, Salads, Sausage, Scallops, Seafood, Spice Blends, Spices, Spring Greens, True Roots Produce, What's For Dinner?

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BFM, Buy Local, herb chart, spice chart

It could be anything! But hopefully, it’s always pretty good. Mostly healthy and always has a local product element. Local. That’s what we try to feature always! Beef, pork, lamb, seafood, greens, fruit, vegetables, eggs, mushrooms, sprouts. You get the idea. And what’s even more fun – sometimes … most times – is preparing the meals. Here are a few photos of some of the dishes we have made recently. If there is a recipe for the item, it may be in the recipe file as listed above or you can look for it by Clicking Here.
We were going to make Greek kabobs and I wanted to find a good Greek herb blend. There is a really good Greek restaurant near us, Mazzah Mediterrean and every time I walk by it, I get this wonderfully awesome aroma of Greek spices. So I found this chart of cultural Spice Blends. We used the Greek Spice and added Sumac and Marjoram. If you are looking for a particular blend, this may help. Save the image and print it out if you need to.

I recently saw an article where folks were planting vegetables and herbs in their front yards, instead of grass! Talk about local and fresh! But we have been doing this for years. Our front lawns, as small as it might be, is our herb garden. Pretty blooms. Great smells and absolutely fresh herbs. Something to think about.

I recently saw an article where folks were planting vegetables and herbs in their front yard, instead of grass! Talk about local and fresh! But we have been doing this for years. Our front lawns, as small as it might be, is our herb garden. Pretty blooms. Great smells and absolutely fresh herbs. Something to think about.

Lamb Kabobs with Greek Spices
From the spice chart above. Local lamb and vegetables.

Greek 5-Cheese Filo on Spinach Bed
Local spinach! No we didn’t make the filo.

Vanila Ice Cream
It was super. Local dairy products.

Bacon and Cheese Omelet
Apricots
Toasted Basque Bread
Local eggs, bacon and Basque bread.

Creamed Spinach Popovers
Local spinach and dairy

Braised Scallops on Shredded Napa Cabbage Strawberries

Braised Scallops
on
Shredded Napa Cabbage
Sliced Strawberries and Kiwi
Strawberries are local.

Braised Scallops on Crab Rice
Green Salad with Carrot Strings and Micro Greens
Greens and carrots for the salad are all local.

Crab Rice and Shredded Napa Cabbage

Sunnyside Up Eggs
on
Spinach and 5 Greek Cheese Filo

Sausage Links
Apricot Chunks
Local eggs, sausage and spinach.

Mushroom Omelet
Sausage
Pineapple
Toasted Basque Bread
Everything but the pineapple is local!

Parsley Salad
with
Shaved Radish and Fresh Miners Lettuce
All local from the Boise Farmers Market (I’m there every week!)

So there you have it. Not 100% local, but darn close. And this time of year with the Boise Farmers Market being open, it gets easier to buy those local products. Plus, our herb gardens are in full swing – bloom! Enjoy.

St Patrick’s Day Party

20 Sunday Mar 2016

Posted by Bob and Robin in Appetizers, Boise Food Adventures, Bread, Buy Idaho, Cabbage, Comfort Food, Corned Beef, Dinner With Friends, Ethnic Foods, Food Photos, Party Time, Photos By: Bob Young, Raisins, Recipe by: Robin and Bob Young, Recipes, Recipes - Dinner, Roasted Vegetables, St Patrick's Day, Turnips, Vegetables, What's For Dinner?

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cabbage, Corned Beef, irish soda bread, scotch whisky, whisky

Although it was not actually St Patrick’s Day on Saturday, we still had a wonderful party and meal. Thanks to Tom and Leanne Felzien for inviting us and for opening your home to all of us. It was delightful. Our task this year was to make the Irish Soda Bread, and that we did, after a little research and combining of recipes from Chef Michael Symon and The Chew, Ina Garten and the Tasting Table Test Kitchen. Here is the recipe I used for our Irish Soda Bread. And even if I do say so myself, it is by far some of the best soda bread I/we have EVER eaten! Bar none! Try it and let us know what you think. We also had a wonderful dip that Heather brought. I think this is the recipe: Guinness and Mustard Cheese Dip! Here are some photos from the party. And, by the way, this is the farm where we get our lamb. Never had a bad piece of lamb in almost 10 years from them. We are on the list again this year for 1/2 a spring lamb! Yum.