2015 – Here We Come!

30 Tuesday Dec 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in 5 Hour Duck, Acme Bake Shop, Acme Bake Shop Sourdough, Appetizers, Bread, Captain's Shack, Carrots, Celebrations, Comfort Food, Crockpot, Dinner At The Captains Shack, Dinner With Robin, Duck, Grilled Vegetables, Holiday Gatherings, Holiday Menu, Local Farmers Markets, Local Harvests, Local Markets, Meadowlark Farms, Photos By: Bob Young, Slow Cooking, Special Dinners, Special Events, Tomatoes, What's For Dinner?

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new years day, new years eve

Well, 2014 has been a good year. We spent some time on a houseboat in Portland, OR. We saw my brother and sister in Jacksonville, FL – I had not seen them for “too many years”. We saw old high school classmates in Florida, too. Had a great time in the kitchen and will be making our own pasta from now on – we got a pasta machine for our Kitchen Aid – and we will be making our own pie crusts now. The store bought ones although being good, have too much salt in them. Buddy, pictured here with his Teddy Bear, is now 12 years old. Here is how we are preparing for the New Years celebrations – Our menu.

New Years Eve
East Coast Crab Dip
Stuffed Mushroom Caps
Fried Baby Artichokes with a Yogurt Dip
Bacon Wrapped Scallops

New Years Day
Open House at Meadowlark Farms in Nampa. We are making an Italian Pot Roast with as much local products as possible; Beef, onions, carrots and potatoes are all local.

Here are some photos of our meals for the past few days; Our New Years Prep meals.

Start off with

Shrimp Pasta
Acme Bake Shop Garlic Sourdough

5 Hour Chicken
Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
Creamed Onions and Spinach

We have done 5 Hour Goose, 5 Hour Chicken and the original 5 Hour Duck. The duck is by far the best.

Baked Ham
Grilled Zucchini Squash
Baked Yam

So there is our Lead-Up dinners and then our menu for New Years Eve and New Years Day. And of course, there will be wine from our cellar and Martinelli’s also. What are you having? Staying home? Going out? Be careful and have a Happy New Year! Cheers!

Happily, Healthy Wine Tasting

10 Wednesday Dec 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Carrots, Chicken, Dill, Ginger, Party Time, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipes, Salads, Soup, Special Events, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food, Wine Dinners

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lentils, the Buzz, The Buzz Coffee and Wine, wine club dinner, Wine Dinners

Cristi, in her Queen of Wine Crown, led us through a wonderfully different Wine Club Dinner last night at The Buzz here in Boise. (Her recipes for these dinners can be found at Buzz Wine Blog.) Several interesting points that she made. (1) “Superfood is a marketing term used to describe foods with supposed health benefits. [The term ‘superfood’ is] not commonly used by dieticians.” She also pointed out that there is no evidence to support that 8 – 8oz glasses of water a day is beneficial. However, soaking in water relaxes us; cleanses us; sounds of running water are soothing and swimming is good exercise to name a few. Best rule of thumb for water consumption is thirst! The amount of water intake varies on size and activity and general overall health.
As for wine: There is a 16 year Harvard study showing that drinking wine reduces heart attack. That does not mean a gallon a day of wine – 2 oz a day would be a better target. A French study showed that wine reduces the risk of heart disease. A 12 year study in Amsterdam shows that limited amounts of wine reduces the risk of Type 2 diabetes.
And to balance out the wine, here is what we had for dinner. Enjoy the photos; check out the link above for recipes from some of the wine dinners and Left-Click any of the photos to see them larger. Cheers!

Some of the 7 wines we had.

Chicken Satay with Kale Chips 2011 Tapiz Chardonnay 13.9% alc. well rounded and went very well with the kale and the yogurt sauce. [18] $20.00

Chicken Satay with Kale Chips and Yogurt and Honey Mustard Sauce
2011 Tapiz Chardonnay
13.9% alc. well rounded and went very well with the kale and the yogurt sauce. [18] $20.00

Ginger Lentil Soup (delicious!) 2012 Revelry Merlot 13.6% alc. this was a superb match with the spiciness of the ginger in the soup. perfect paring! [18] $17.00

Ginger Lentil Soup
(delicious! Robin enjoyed this.)
2012 Revelry Merlot
13.6% alc. this was a superb match with the spiciness of the ginger in the soup. perfect paring! [18] $17.00

Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing
(Delicious!)
2012 Tangent Albarino
13.5% alc super paring. went especially well with the dressing and the oxalic acid of the spinach. another great paring! [19] $16.00

Beef Stroganoff Dill Carrots Cauliflower with Peas 2012 Vistalba 14.0% alc it was surprising how well this plate went with the wine. even the fresh dill pared well. [18] $22.00

Beef Stroganoff and Noodles
Dill Carrots
Cauliflower with Peas
2012 Vistalba
14.0% alc it was surprising how well this plate went with the wine. even the fresh dill pared well. [18] $22.00

Chess Pie with Raspberries
Henkell Brut
11.5% alc. good paring with the pie, even for this non-sparkling wine enthusiast. it did go well with the berries. (We purchased 2 bottles.) [17] $16.00

A good – great healthy meal! Great wine parings. Overall a great food preparation. Cheers and hope to see you at the Wine Dinner in January.

Skillet Chicken and Dumplings and Crab Fritters

02 Tuesday Dec 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Acme Bake Shop, Acme Bake Shop Holiday Breads, Acme Bake Shop Sourdough, Boise Farmers Market, Captain's Shack, Carrots, Cast Iron, Chicken, Chicken and Dumplings, Comfort Food, Crab, Crab Fritters, Dinner At The Captains Shack, Dinner With Robin, Heirloom Tomatoes, Housemade Tartar Sauce, Local Markets, Main Dish, Oak Knoll Winery, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe by: Robin and Bob Young, Salad, Salmon, Seafood, Special Dinners, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food, Wines - NW

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chicken and dumplings, crab, crab fritters, Oak Knoll Winery, Skillet Chicken and Dumplings

Ah! Two really delicious, although somewhat different, dinners. A differently delicious chicken and dumpling dinner all done in a skillet by Chef Ron Lock, Skillet and Chicken Dumplings and a delicious variation to crab cakes, crab fritters! Crab Fritters. Both recipes and dinners are well worth a try. If you don’t like crab, try using salmon. Here are the photos from the meals. Enjoy!

Skillet Chicken and Dumplings cooking!

Skillet Chicken and Dumplings
Acme Bake Shop Cranberry Sourdough Bread
Housemade Cranberry Relish

Crab Fritters Fresh Salad Greens Heirloom Tomatoes Housemade Tartar Sauce 2013 Oak Knoll Muller Thurgau

Crab Fritters
Fresh Salad Greens
Heirloom Tomato Wedges
Housemade Tartar Sauce
2013 Oak Knoll Muller Thurgau

Lasagna Tonight

18 Wednesday Jun 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Acme Bake Shop, Acme Bake Shop Breads, Acme Bake Shop Sourdough, Basil, Boise Artisan Bakery's, Boise Farmers Market, Buy Idaho, Captain's Shack, Carrots, Comfort Food, Dinner At The Captains Shack, Dinner With Robin, Ethnic Foods, Herbs, Italian Food, Lasagna, Local Farmers Markets, Pasta, Photos By: Bob Young, Purple Sage Farms, Salad, Tomatoes, Trader Joe's, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food, Wines - Italian, Wines - Tuscan

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Collazzi Toscana, lasagna, Trader Joe, Tuscan wine, Tuscany

Yes lasagna! And summer starts Saturday! Light snow around the Sun Valley area. 66 degrees F and light rain here today. So it really did taste good. Actually, we had to try some Trader Joe’s lasagna and it was pretty good. Add a nice glass of 2004 Collazzi Toscana and the meal was complete. Here is a photo of what we had. Enjoy, we did!

Lasagna

Fresh Salad Greens and Tomato
with
fresh basil and carrot threads and Strawberry Vinaigrette

Acme Bake Shop Toasted Sourdough
with
garlic

2004 Collazzi Toscana

Fish Sticks – Not Mrs. Pauls!

13 Friday Jun 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Beer and Food, Boise Farmers Market, Captain's Shack, Carrots, Cheese, Dinner At The Captains Shack, Dinner With Robin, Garlic, Herbs and Spices, Italian Food, Local Farmers Markets, Local Harvests, Local Markets, Main Dish, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipes, Salad, Salmon, Seafood, Spices, Vegetables, What's For Dinner?

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Beer, Carrot Threads, copper river salmon, Fish Sticks, salmon, sweet potato

In fact, these are made from some fresh salmon. Breading is totally different from the store bought “things”. The recipe follows the photo. Enjoy! We did. This is an awesome way to make salmon.

Housemade Salmon Fish Sticks

Special Dipping Sauce

Fanned Baked Sweet Potato
with
garlic butter

Fresh Green Garden Salad
with
carrot threads and “peachy” peach vinaigrette

Full Sail LTD Lager

And the recipe for both the salmon and the dipping sauce.

Parmesan Fish Sticks and Special Dipping Sauce

Recipe courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis

Total Time: 21 min Prep: 4 min Cook: 17 min Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Level: Easy

Ingredients:
1 (18-ounce) center-cut Salmon Fillet, about 9 by 4 inches, skinned
1/2 c All-Purpose Flour
1/2 t fine Sea Salt
1/4 t freshly ground Black Pepper
3 Egg Whites
1 c grated Parmesan
1 c seasoned Bread Crumbs
Olive oil, for drizzling
1/3 c Mayonnaise
1/3 c Plain Yogurt
1 T Dijon Mustard
1 T chopped fresh Parsley or Chives

Directions: For the Fish Sticks:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Rinse the salmon fillet and pat dry with paper towels. Cut the fish in half to make 2 fillets each about 4 by 4 1/2-inches in size. Starting on the longest edge, slice the fillets into 1/2-inch pieces. Lay the widest pieces, from the center, cut side down, and slice in half lengthways so all the pieces are equally about 1/2 by 1/2 by 4 1/2-inches in size.

Place the flour in a medium bowl and season with the salt and pepper. Place the egg whites in another bowl and beat until frothy, about 30 seconds. Combine the Parmesan and bread crumbs in a third bowl.

Coat the salmon pieces in the seasoned flour and pat to remove any excess flour. Dip the floured salmon in the egg whites and then into the Parmesan mixture, gently pressing the mixture into the fish. Place the breaded salmon pieces on a liberally oiled baking sheet. Drizzle lightly with the olive oil. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown.

Directions: Dipping Sauce:
Mix the mayonnaise, yogurt, Dijon mustard, and parsley (or chives, if using) in a small dipping bowl.
Arrange the fish sticks on a serving platter and serve with the dipping sauce.

Great Halibut Dinner

31 Saturday May 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Capers, Captain's Shack, Carrots, Cooking Styles, Dinner At The Captains Shack, Dinner With Robin, Greens, Halibut, Herbs, Idaho Wine, Main Dish, Parma Ridge Winery, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe by: Robin and Bob Young, Recipes, Salad, Seafood, Snake River AVA, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food, Wines - Idaho

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capers, Filets de flétan en papillote, halibut, halibut packet, saffron

Last night we had this awesome Saffron Halibut Packets, a recipe adapted from Roger Mooking. This is an absolute keeper recipe. The style of cooking halibut in parchment paper is called Filets de Flétan en Papillote, or generally en Papillote. There is a great Mexican recipe – I can’t remember it correctly right now – from the movie Tortilla Soup where they prepare a fish this way. Anyway, here is our adaption. Enjoy!

The halibut is being prepared for the parchment wrap.

See the halibut and carrots in the packet?

Opening the parchment. Be careful. There is steam in the packet.

Fresh Made Potato Leak Soup
Great starter!

The halibut is being prepared for the packet.

Saffron Halibut Packets
Fresh Carrot and Green Salad
with
lemon, olive oil and salt dressing
2004 Parma Ridge Vineyards Dry Gewurztraminer
Be sure to check the recipe above.

Boise Farmers Market Today

31 Saturday May 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Acme Bake Shop, Acme Bake Shop Sourdough, Acme Bakery, Android Photos, Boise Artisan Bakery's, Boise Farmers Market, Buy Idaho, Carrots, Local Farmers Markets, Local Harvests, Local Markets, Parma Ridge Winery, Photos By: Bob Young, Strawberries, What's For Dinner?

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Boise Farmers Market, farmers market, fresh strawberries, super bike lane

Great to have Purple Sage Farms back at the market after graduations and weddings. Congratulations! But we did miss you. Also great to have fresh strawberries in today and fresh carrots!
I have been riding my bike to the market every Saturday because the City of Boise has added a super bike lane to Main Street going East and Idaho Street going West. These specific and guarded lanes help to keep the riders much safer. They are a great thing and I hope they keep them. Enjoy these photos!

Protected bike lane in downtown Boise. I do like them very much!

More of the protected bike lane.

The line at the fresh strawberries. I was one of the first in line. They went fast!

Here is what I waited for. I bought 2 pints. Yum!

Chicken Piccata Dinner

07 Wednesday May 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Arugula, Cabbage, Capers, Captain's Shack, Carrots, Cheese, Chicken, Dinner With Robin, Greens, Healthy Eating, Idaho Wine, Indian Creek Winery, Italian Food, Local Farmers Markets, Local Markets, Main Dish, Photos By: Bob Young, Piccata, Risotto, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food

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Chicken Piccata, idaho wineries, indian creek winery, risotto, truffle

This was one awesome dinner tonight! There’s not much else to say. Here is the recipe Chicken Piccata, pdf format.

Chicken Piccata with Truffle Risotto and Peas and Steamed China Peas and Celery. 1990 Indian Creek (Idaho) Chardonnay

Chicken Piccata
Truffle Risotto and Peas
Steamed China Peas and Celery
1990 Indian Creek (Idaho) Chardonnay

Fresh Made Chicken Pot Pies

10 Monday Mar 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Carrots, Chicken, Classics, Comfort Food, Healthy Eating, Onion, Pastries, Photos By: Bob Young, Things To Do, Vegetables, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food

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Carrots, celery, Chicken Pot Pie, Frank Purdue, potato, tender chicken

Our $7.95 whole chicken, just gave us 7 meals. That’s $1.11 per meal. Or, if you figure per person for the chicken, that’s $0.56 per plate. Guess we can get our meds this month! The chicken was a little over 6 pounds. Not one of Frank Purdue’s chickens (“It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken”) but it was good. The final meal was these Chicken Pot Pies that Robin made. The pies are ready to be placed in the oven in this photo. We use both round and rectangular bowls to make the dinner. Add to this a good Tuscan wine, and we had a good dinner. Here are photos of the final dish. Enjoy!

Robin’s Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken Pot Pie in a rectangular dish. Works any way you want to make them. Delicious!

Two Awesome Meals Yesterday

10 Friday Jan 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Brussels Sprouts, Captain's Shack, Carrots, Eggs, Idaho Lamb, Idaho Trout, Idaho's Bounty, Lamb, Local Harvests, Photos By: Bob Young, Seafood, Tagine

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Crown Roast of Lamb, Hollandaise Sauce, Idaho Trout, lamb, tagine, tagine cooking

Such fun to make these. We had some Idaho trout and some Crown Roast of Lamb “left-over” and we had to use it. Here is what we did. The trout was left-over from the TVWS wine tasting and the lamb was the last that Brook, our neighbor, bought us for Christmas. Not difficult and very good. You can get the recipe for the Easy Blender Hollandaise Sauce by clicking the hotlink or finding it in the recipe file at the top of this page. This Hollandaise is so very easy to make and only takes 5 minutes at best. Try it. Enjoy!