Cruise Night At The Buzz

13 Wednesday Aug 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Classic Cuisines, Dessert, Dinner With Friends, Dinner With Robin, Ethnic Foods, French Foods, Greens, Grilled Vegetables, Italian Food, New Zealand Food, Party Time, Photos By: Bob Young, Salads, Spanish Food, Vegetables, What's For Dinner?, Wines - French, Wines - Italian, Wines - New Zealand, Wines - Spanish, Wines - Tuscan

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Buzz, Cruise Food, The Buzz Coffee and Wine, Wine, Wine Dinner Buzz Bistro

The wines tonight came from around the world with stops in Italy, Spain, New Zealand, Tuscany and France. The food came from different cruise lines and indeed was Cruise Food. And if you have ever been on a cruise and have eaten onboard, you know what a dedicated support team the kitchen Exec Chef has.
When Cristi prepares these tastings, she also has a dedicated support team and it is about time that I recognize them and tell them publically how much we appreciate their time and effort.
Tommy, Cristi’s husband, keeps the dinner plates moving and remembers that I like bread with my meals.
Austin and Bailey, Cristi’s children, help by serving, bussing the tables and setting the tables up.
Peggy Hand-Behrens researches the menu, sits down with Cristi and pairs the wines with the food, and then prepares some of the entrées. She also helps to pour the wine and prepare the dishes. She is one busy Lady!
Joseph Geist, when he is available, helps to pour the wines.
To all of these folks a BIG Thank-You! Your efforts are really appreciated and without your support, the program may not exist. So if you participate and enjoy these dinners, please let these folks know how much you appreciate them and the service they give.

Beef Carpaccio (Celebrity Lines), Italy
2011 Zonin Valpolicella
14% alc a good wine with this salad [16]

Chilled Peach Soup (Royal Caribbean) Spain
2011 Tierras Guindas
13.5% alc. a super good wine with this super good soup [17]

BBQ Sweet Potato Salad (Carnival) New Zealand 2013 Wild South Sauvignon Blanc 1.5% alc really6 a super good wine particularly with this entree. [18]

BBQ Sweet Potato Salad (Carnival) New Zealand
2013 Wild South Sauvignon Blanc
12.5% alc really a super good wine particularly with this entrée. [18]

Jamaican Jerk Chicken (Princess) Spanish
2001 LAN Rioja
13.5% alc. another superb wine paired well with the spiciness of the chicken. [18]
(notice the bread?)

Cream Brule (Royal Caribbean) France 2013 Bila-Haut 13.5% alc. a good match with the Cream Brule [18]

Crème Brûlée (Royal Caribbean) France
2013 Bila-Haut
13.5% alc. a good match with the Crème Brûlée [18]

Memorial Day/Graduation Celebration

27 Tuesday May 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Beef, Beer and Food, Blueberries, Bradley Smoker, Cakes, Captain's Shack, Celebrations, Comfort Food, Cookies, Corn, Dessert, Dinner At Marnies, Dinner With Family, Fruit, Grillin' and Chillin', Holiday Gatherings, Party Time, Photos By: Bob Young, Pork, Recipe by: Robin and Bob Young, Recipes, Slow Cooking, Smoking and Grilling, Special Dinners, Special Events, What's For Dinner?

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Bradley smoker, grilling, recipes, smoker

Such a great party to celebrate Memorial Day and Sophia graduating from Boise High School. Congratulations Sophia!!And absolutely great food from everyone – Mac for the hamburgers, Marnie for the strawberry cake, Chris and Madison brought the cookie pictured here and Robin’s awesome Tuscan Orange Cake and Blueberry Pie. Super great eats, everyone. And it was good that Mac’s Mom and Dad, Linda and Jim, drove all the way from Virginia to be at the party. Enjoy these photos! Cheers.

Sophia graduates! Congratulations and hugs Sophia.

Cricket is thinking, “Which way do I go?”

Eat dessert first, life is too short!!

Chris and Madison look at that awesome cookie!

Robin made this Tuscan Orange Cake and made these decorations. Great job, Honey!

Robin made this Tuscan Orange Cake and the decorations, too. Great job, Honey! Here is the recipe for the Tuscan Orange Cake (Schiacciata Alla Florentina).

Robin also made this Blueberry Pie. I do like blueberries!

Marnie made the Strawberry Cake. This was really good.

Now that dessert is over, we can eat the main meal. Yummers!

Robin and I made these Baked Beans totally from scratch. The Lyle’s Black Treacle is a Scottish addition.

Great corn, Marnie, for this early in the season. Did not need and salt, pepper or butter.

And the ribs just coming out of the smoker. Top Two Shelves - Memphis Rub. Middle Shelf - Casey's Hot Sop and the bottom shelf, Regular rub or garlic, onion and salt and pepper.

And the pork ribs just coming out of the smoker. Top Two Shelves – Memphis Rub. Middle Shelf – Casey’s Hot Sop and the Bottom Two Shelves, Regular rub – garlic, onion and salt and pepper.

Sweet Dessert

11 Friday Apr 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Apricots, Captain's Shack, Dessert, Fruit, Ice Cream, Photos By: Bob Young, Pound Cake, What's For Dessert?

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apricots, fruit, Hood-Crest, Muirhead canning

Personally, I think anytime that you can get good ones – notice I said good ones – is the perfect time for apricots. And when we can not get our fruit fresh off the tree, pick them ourselves, or from our local Farmers Market, then we go to Hood-Crest (Muirhead Canning) and buy one of the 6-pack of great fruits. Last night, Robin asked if we had any of the fruit left. I checked. Apricots, plums and pears. She said that we should have the apricots. So here is what I made. Simple. Easy. Good! Enjoy!

Hood-Crest Apricots
Pound Cake
Vanilla Ice Cream

Baked Salmon and Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce

21 Friday Mar 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Bedrock Wine Company, Captain's Shack, Classic Sauces, Dessert, Herbs, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe By: Russ Terrell, Recipes, Salad, Salmon, Seafood, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food

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blender hollandaise sauce, Extravagonzo Infused Oil, Hollandaise Sauce, Idaho wine

This was, by far, one of the better dinners we have made in a while. It was almost comfort food. I would easily pay $15 -$20 for this meal. It was scrumptious. To the Hollandaise Sauce I added a little lemon zest to “liven it up” just a little more without adding a lot of cayenne. The Extravagonzo Infused Oil and the Cold Springs Winery wine are both Idaho products.

Baked Copper River Salmon with Myers Lemon Infused Olive Oil Tarragon Steamed Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce Ben and Jerry's Penut Butter Fudge Ice Cream and Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia Ice Cream

Crisp Fresh Green Salad
Baked Copper River Salmon
with
Extravagonzo Myers Lemon Infused Grapeseed and Olive Oil Blend and Tarragon
Steamed Asparagus with Easy Blender Hollandaise Sauce

Choice Of
Ben and Jerry’s Peanut Butter Fudge Ice Cream
or
Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia Ice Cream

Choice Of
2013 Bedrock Wine Company Grenache
or
2011 Cold Springs Merlot

Cloud 9 Nano Brewery, Boise

18 Tuesday Mar 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Beer and Ale, Beer and Food, Beer Tasting, Bistro, Burger and Brew, Cloud 9 nano Brewery, Comfort Food, Dessert, Gaston's Bakery, Hamburger, Idaho Breweries, Idaho Wine, Local Markets, Main Dish, Party Time, Photos By: Bob Young, Restaurant Reviews, Restaurants, Salads, Sandwiches, Side Dishes, Sliders, Special Beers, What's For Dinner?, Whats For Lunch?

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Albertsons Shopping Center, Classic Burger, cloud 9 nano brewery, Gaston Bakery, nano brewery

The Cloud 9 nano brewery opend on March 17th in the Albertsons Shopping Center at 18th and State Streets, 1750 W. State St. It was a full house! In the following quote from their website – link above – we see that they are trying very hard to use locally produced products, both in their beer production and their food preparation. I know their hamburger rolls come from Gaston Bakery here in Boise.

We are Boise’s first nanobrewery, and the only certified organic brewery in the state, producing only four barrels per hand-crafted batch. We are focused on sustainable, local, and organic beers and our brewery also houses an amazing restaurant with a similar focus.
By keeping batches to only four barrels in size, we are able to vary our beers to match seasonal ingredients and provide a wealth of variety for craft beer lovers.
Expected Hours:
Monday – Closed
Tuesday – 11:00am to 10:00pm
Wednesday – 11:00am to 10:00pm
Thursday – 11:00am to 10:00pm
Friday – 10:00am to Midnight
Saturday – 10:00am to Midnight
Sunday – 10:00am to 9:00pm
Happy Hour from 4-6 with $1 off pints and a limited Happy Hour Menu is coming soon.

Their seasonal menu includes such items as Classic Burger – $9.50 and photo below, Chicken Pesto – $9.50, Roasted Veggie – $9.50, Shepard’s Pie – $10.50, Vegetarian Shepard’s Pie – $10.50, Corned Beef and Cabbage – $10.50 and Corned Beets and Cabbage – $8.50. I had the burger and it was very good. They use Gaston Bakery buns and 3/1 burgers (3 burgers to the pound).They also serve a wide variety of appetizers ranging from $5.00 – $7.00. Some of the folks there were getting their salads and they looked good. $2.50 – $8.95. They serve beer, of course, and their own made root beer which I had earlier and it was very good.
Good to see that they serve Idaho wines, Indian Creek Winery and 3 Horse Ranch Winery. Seating is limited, about 35 seats at tables and at the bar. They hope to have outside seating when the weather changes. Enjoy these photos and hope to see you there!

The bar area and menus.

The menus and an empty Irish Dark Lager – good lager!

Irish Dark Lager

The beer menu. They do have samples and from what I saw, three different sizes of servings. Great idea.

Classic Burger. Very good! I think I would rate this a 4-Star pub. Remember the size. It is small and not near the size of 10 Barrel Pub downtown or Kilted Dragon or Sockeye. The beer is good. The food is delightful and the service is good. Don’t be in a rush. They are just getting started and give them time. Enjoy!!

“The Buzz” Monthly Wine Dinner – Small Wine Regions

09 Wednesday Oct 2013

Posted by Bob and Robin in Appetizers, Beef, Cooking Styles, Dessert, Dinner With Friends, Ethnic Foods, Finger Foods, Photos By: Bob Young, Salad, Soup, Things To Do, Vegetables, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food

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the Buzz, wine dinner

A very interesting selection of wines and food tonight. And as Erica Larsen said, “Great food and wine for $15. Bottles were $11 each! Delicious! Another dinner tomorrow if you are interested.” Wine selections from New Zealand, Germany, Hungary, South Africa and Portugal. And Cristi kept it interesting with the food parings. If you missed this dinner, there is another with the same fare and wines tonight, October 9. You just can not beat the price – $15.00 per person – and the food selections. Cheers and hope to see you at one of these dinners. Personally, I think this was one of the better Wine Dinners. Great job, Cristi!! Enjoy these photos. Left-Click to see them enlarged.

Silverware, A Menu and A Glass of Wine

Pastry Twist
Mint and Pea Pesto
Cheese Dates
2013 Walnut Block Sauvignon Blanc (NZ)
13% alc . one of the better wines of the night. great finish and appeal. superb paring with the appetizer [18] $16

Pumpkin Tortilla Soup 2012 St Urbans Reisling Germany)

Pumpkin Tortilla Soup
2012 St Urbans Riesling (Germany)
9.5% alc. not my favorite wine for the night. The soup was spicy and I enjoyed it, but this wine just did not match with that flavor level. The wine was good by itself as was the soup. [16] $18

Hungarian Potato Salad 2001 Bull's Blood 12.5% alc. This was a very light version of this wine. We have had it before and it was full bodied.

Hungarian Potato Salad
2001 Bull’s Blood (Hungary)
12.5% alc. This was a very light version of this wine. We have had it before and it was full bodied. It was light enough to go with this delicious version of potato salad. I liked the salad. Different. [17] $11

Pumpkin Beef and Mushroom “Salad”
Pasta and Chimichurri Sauce
2009 Sebeka Cabernet Pinotage (S Africa)
13.5% alc. good clarity and color. full bodied and good balance [18] $11
I really enjoyed this entree. Good flavors and a good paring with the wine. Spaghetti squash on the bottom with caramelized onion made a perfect match.

Double Chocolate Bundt Cake
Noval Tawny Port (Portugal)
19.5% alc. I don’t particularly like port, but this was WOW! great balance and body. [19] $20
This was a superb paring between the chocolate cake and the port. Well done!!!

Another Good Cooking Seminar At Williams-Sonoma

21 Wednesday Aug 2013

Posted by Bob and Robin in Appetizers, Brunch, Classes, Cooking Classes, Dessert, Food Photos, Fruits, Local Farmers Markets, Local Harvests, Local Markets, Locavore, Mahi Mahi, Photos By: Bob Young, Salads, Special Events, What's For Dinner?

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food, ground mustard, mission figs, Williams Sonoma, yummy dessert

A good seminar with Chef Chad entitled Farm To Table. It was good to have Robin with me at this event too. In keeping with the theme, Chef Chad emphasized the use of local and fresh products from local farmer’s markets and vegetable stands. He did a good job in using these local products where ever possible. Black Mission Figs don’t grow in the Treasure Valley! Here are some photos of the dishes that Chef Chad showed us this evening. Cheers and enjoy! There are recipes available if you would like one. Just let me know.

Fig and Fromage Blanc Crostini

A great appetizer. The recipe says to use ciabatta, but Chef Chad changed it to sourdough which worked very well.

Baby Arugula Salad with Berries and Gorgonzola

Gorgonzola is not one of my favorite cheeses, but the combinations in the salad worked very well with the cheese. It was suggested to add some toasted nuts to the salad. Try adding fresh thyme and stone ground mustard to the vinaigrette. You can also make this into a main dish by adding marinated red onions and thinly sliced grilled steak.

Rolled Eggplant with Sausage and Mascarpone Reday for the oven to bake at 450 degrees for 4-7 minutes.

Rolled Eggplant with Sausage and Ricotta

Ready for the oven to bake at 450 degrees for 4-7 minutes.

Rolled Eggplant with Sausage and Ricotta

Sauteed Pluots with Mascarpone and Almonds

Ok. What are “pluots”? Good question. They are a cross between apricots and red plums. Also known in some places as Red Apricots. Slightly sweet. Slightly tart. A yummy dessert!

So as you can see, a delicious and wonderful seminar/class. We will not be able to make the September event, but will try to make the October class. Most of these recipes come from the Williams-Sonoma Cooking from the Farmers’ Market by Tasha DeSerio and Jodi Liano (Weldon Owen, Inc. 2010). Cheers and Bon Appetite!

Can’t Stay Away – Janjou Pâtisserie

17 Thursday Jan 2013

Posted by Bob and Robin in Baking, Breakfast, Cooking Styles, Dessert, Ethnic Foods, French Foods, Fruits, Janjou Pâtisserie, Locavore, Pastries, Photos By: Bob Young, Quiche, Restaurants, Special Information, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?

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breakfast, Cooking Styles, Ethnic Foods, Ethnoic Foods, French Foods, Janjou Pâtisserie, Pastries

Pain au Chocolate and Almond Croissant

OK! We’re hooked! We had Marnie join us this morning at Janjou Pâtisserie in the Albertson’s Shopping Center at 18th and State Streets in Boise. Oh such a delight! It is soooooooo good! The last time we were there, we rated it a 4-Star and it was well worth it. Now that we have been back, it is a 4+-Star and headed for the top 5-Star rate. The food is awesome and they try very hard to keep the ingredients local and all natural. They succeed! We urge you to try them out and let them know that you heard about them here on this blog. In the meantime, enjoy these photos! Cheers. You can Left-Click any of the photos to see them full screen.

We tried to wait for you.

Yea right!

Goat Cheese and Onion Quiche. I love this. They are also preparing today a Quiche Lorraine!

From the cooler.

Have not tried any of these …. Yet!

Next time. Hmmmm. One of each?

See what you are missing? When – not IF – you go, let us know you are buying. We’ll meet you there. Cheers!

Robin’s Pineapple Upside Down Cake

19 Monday Nov 2012

Posted by Bob and Robin in Dessert, Party Time, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe By: Robin Young, Recipes, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?

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brown sugar mixture, cast iron skillet, dessert, food, ground cardamom

Robin found and made this awesome Pineapple Upside Down Cake, after she “tweaked” it a little bit. The original recipe says that the run is “optional”. Yea! right! She also added pecans in between the pineapple rings. I remember growing up (that assumes that the goal was net), my Aunt Peggy making this cake. Robin’s is just as good if not better! This was an awesome finish to a good BBQ Ribs dinner. Enjoy!

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Source (Adapted): Robin Young
Ingredients:
¼ c Butter
¾ c Light Brown Sugar
2 T Pineapple Juice
3 T Dark Rum
½ small fresh Pineapple, peeled, cored, and sliced
½ c Butter
1½ c All-Purpose Flour
⅛ t ground Cardamom
½ t Salt
2 t Baking Powder
½ c White Sugar
1 egg
½ c cold Milk

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C)
Melt ¼ cup butter in a 12-inch cast iron skillet over medium-low heat. Stir in brown sugar, pineapple juice, and dark rum. Cook over medium-low heat until sugar is dissolved and mixture is bubbling, about 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and spread pineapple slices in a layer over the brown sugar mixture, completely covering the mixture. Set skillet aside.
Melt ½ cup butter in small skillet over low heat until the butter begins to brown and release a nutty fragrance, about 5 minutes. Watch carefully, butter burns easily. Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes.
Whisk together flour, cardamom, salt, baking powder, and white sugar in a large bowl. Whisk in egg and cold milk until just combined. Pour in melted butter and stir to mix thoroughly.
Pour batter over the pineapple slices in the skillet; spread evenly to cover. Optional maraschino cherries and/or pecan halves between pineapple slices. Bake in preheated oven until the cake begins to bubble around the edges, the top is browned, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool in the skillet for 10 minutes.
Loosen the cake from the skillet by running a knife around the inside edge of the cake. Invert a large plate over the top of the skillet and flip over, releasing the cake to show the pineapple slices on top.

Dockside’s Peanut Butter Pie

23 Wednesday May 2012

Posted by Bob and Robin in Dessert, Party Time, Recipe: Bob and Robin Young, Things To Do

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This is an awesome peanut butter pie and so very easy to make. No cooking. Just mix it together, place in the freezer and wait – if you can – until it sets up. This is the original recipe from the Dockside Yacht Club in South Chesapeake City, Maryland. You can either go full screen and save the graphic below, or see the recipe by Clicking Here. There is also a copy in the Master Recipe List on this blog. (See above) The graphics displayed here are the original copies of the recipe handed out by the Dockside Yacht Club. I don’t know if you can still get them. The recipe as scanned here is at least 30 years old. I scanned these from the original. Enjoy!