Tags
Béarnaise sauce, Colters Creek winery, cottonwood grille, Crème Brûlée, garlic mashed potatoes, London Broil
It was a good meal. And to get the negative out of the way, I thought the peas we had were a little salty for us – we eat very little salt – so the saltiness may not be entirely true for everyone. We would have liked a little more garlic in the potatoes. So will this keep us from going back? Probably not. The Kobe beef that Robin had was so very tender and delicious. My London Broil was good and the Béarnaise sauce on it was wonderful! Robin had an awesome Chocolate Mousse served in a White Chocolate Cup and I had a delicious Crème Brûlée. Here. Look at these photos and enjoy! If you want a more detailed review of the Cottonwood Grille, look at Our Restaurant Guide.
Wonderfully fresh seafood!
How fresh were these? You could taste the ocean and smell the ocean and hear the waves crashing on shore. That’s how fresh they were!
Love how this is presented.
with
garlic mashed potatoes and steamed peas
with
garlic mashed potatoes and steamed peas
And with our dinner, we asked for a Fraser Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon but they were out of it. So we got a good 2011 Colter’s Creek Syrah, both are Idaho wines are very good and went quite well with our dinners.
But beforer we went for dinner here at the Cottonwood Grille, we went to the Arid Club, which is designed “To establish a club of business and professional men and women whose members are uniformly congenial with one another as nearly as may be, to provide them with an attractive and convenient meeting place, and to exclude there from bigots, propagandists, boosters, go-getters, uplifters, reformers, and snobs. [Arid Club Preamble]” for the release of the documentary film on the Idaho Wine Regions called “Idaho Wines: From Bud to Taste Bud”. It is on its way to be presented at the Sun Valley Film Festival.
Our Visit to “Twin Dragon Restaurant” in Boise
20 Friday Feb 2015
Tags
Our recent visit – we have been there before – was OK. Nothing more. Just OK. 3-Stars out of 5-Stars. Twin Dragon, Boise, 2200 W Fairview Ave, Boise, ID 83702, (208) 344-2141 for take-out or reservations. One reviewer has stated that, “Twin Dragon is a local staple in Boise for classic Americanized Chinese food.” and I completely agree. The food has been Americanized. Another reviewer, from TripAdvisor, says that, “Like the sort of place you see in movies & TV from the 1950’s Old world classic American Chinese Nothing special, yet still nothing wrong in Boise….” Yup! That pretty much says it. But there are reviews that rave about Twin Dragon. Try it yourself and make up your mind. Here are some photos from our visit. Enjoy!
They do serve beer if you want some.
Disappointed in this. Hard to find the seafood. Taste was OK, but lacks some seafood. Robin and I got the Family Dinner #5. $11.00 per person. This photo, and the following ones, are what is included in this selection.
I think this was warmed over from earlier in the day. It had the consistency and flavor of “left overs”.
Not bad, but lacked some intense, Oriental flavor.
Probably the best dish of the evening.
We still believe that Sushi Joy and Yen Ching far out shine the Twin Dragon Restaurant. The Chinese Buffet on Fairview at Five Mile is better, too.
Valentines Dinner – Chicken Marsala With Mushrooms
15 Sunday Feb 2015
Posted in 5-Stars, Beans, Capers, Captain's Shack, Chicken, Chicken Marsala, Classic Cuisines, Classic Sauces, Dessert, Dinner With Robin, Ethnic Foods, Green Beans, Housemade Pasta, Italian foods, Mushrooms, Party Time, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe By: Bob Young, Recipe by: Robin and Bob Young, Recipes - Sauces, Special Events, What's For Dessert?, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food, Wines - Italian
Oh, it was really soooooooo good! Robin and I really liked it. The recipe for the Chicken Marsala can be found in the recipe file above.
on a bed of
housemade angel hair pasta
Steamed Green Beans
dinner was served with a
2008 Frescobaldi Chianti Rufina
Crock Pot Black Bean Chili
08 Sunday Feb 2015
Yes. This is a vegetarian dish. Yes. It is really good! No. I did not miss the beef. The Quinoa gave the dish the “texture” of ground beef. The chunks of Butternut Squash gave the dish the “feel” of beef. You really should try this. It is that good. The recipe came from an Idaho Power mailing and every once in a while, they do come up with a good recipe. I just increased the corn to 1 cup and rinsed the cans out with a little red wine. That is the only change I made. The recipe is below. If you want to see these photos enlarged, Left-Click them. Enjoy!
Crock Pot Black Bean Chili Recipe courtesy Idaho Power
The chili is in the crock pot getting “happy”.
The chili is plated with tortillas and shredded lettuce.
Salmon En Croûte
07 Saturday Feb 2015
Table ambiance.
In the culinary arts, the term en croute (pronounced “on KROOT”) indicates a food that has been wrapped in pastry dough and then baked in the oven. Salmon en Croûte is a popular recipe. Pâté and brie cheese are also frequently prepared en croute.
One of the classic en croute recipes is Beef Wellington, or in French, Boeuf en Croûte.
Traditionally, the type of pastry used for making Pâté en Croûte is a simple straight pastry dough called pâte à pâté, or pâté pastry. But today, puff pastry is frequently used for most en croute recipes.[http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/glossary/g/En-Croute.htm]
The salmon packet is ready to go into the oven at 400 degrees F for about 25 minutes.
The packet is cooling after baking.
The plated Salmon En Croûte. Yum!
A Visit To Da Vinci’s Italian in Eagle
06 Friday Feb 2015
Posted in 3-Stars, Boise Restaurants, Capers, Classic Cuisines, Cooking Styles, da Vinci's Italian, Dinner With Robin, Green Salad, Italian Food, Pasta, Photos By: Bob Young, Restaurant Reviews, Restaurants To Try, Salads, Salt, Tuscan Cuisine, What's For Dessert?, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food, Wines - Idaho
Overall, a good visit and meal at da Vinci’s Italian in Eagle, ID last night. Overall good flavors in the food and good wines. My only negative comment is that there seemed to be an overuse of salt. Things were salty. But the layers of flavors – after you got by the salt – were very good. Had it not been for the overuse of salt, we would have rated da Vinci’s a 4-Star restaurant. Instead, we rate this as a 3-Star (out of 5-Stars) restaurant. You can see their menu at Yelp. From their website, “All Full Size Entrees Include Our Bottomless House Salad Bowl With Da Vinci’s Homemade Italian Dressing And Freshly Baked Tuscan Bread, Or Substitute A Caesar Salad For An Additional $2.95.all Chicken And Veal Dishes Are Complemented With A Side Of Angel Hair Pasta With Aglio Olio Or Tuscan Tomato Sauce. Add Extra Chicken $2.50 Add Extra Veal $4.50” Here are some photos from the evening. Enjoy!
The “party” area.
Art on the walls.
Table ambiance.
Robin had,
Veal scaloppini sauteed with lemon, white wine, capers and garlic
Bob had –
Veal scaloppini sauteed with sweet marsala wine and mushrooms
The 2010 Terra Nativa Cabernet Sauvignon went very well with this veal. The wine was light enough that it did not overpower the subtlety of the veal and the marsala sauce did not interfere with the wine. Good paring.
We shared –
Coffee and rum-soaked chocolate sponge cake layered with mascarpone cream, dusted with cocoa, and garnished with chocolate pieces
Super Bowl Vittles
01 Sunday Feb 2015
Well it was a good game, even though the Seattle Seahawks lost. But then, that was a weird call in the last 20 seconds and on the 2 yard line that probably cost them the game. 24-27 was a good score. The way a Super Bowl should end up.
I think our appetizers were much better. And 99% of it from Idaho products by local farmers. If you want to see these photos enlarged, Left Click the photo and it will go larger. Here. Take a look. Enjoy!
Steamed Shrimp with Housemade Tartar Sauce
Idaho Grits
A very good breakfast!
What you don’t see are the Steak Tacos that we made. Again, from scratch. They were yum! Actually the food all night was yum!
Thailand Express by Chef Pong
19 Monday Jan 2015
Posted in 4-Stars, Asian Food, Brocolli, Buy Idaho, Dinner With Robin, Duck, Ethnic Foods, New Restaurant Trial, Oriental Food, Photos By: Bob Young, Pork, Recipe by: Robin and Bob Young, Recipes, Recipes - Sauces, Restaurant Reviews, Restaurants, Restaurants To Try, Rice, Seafood, Shrimp, Singha, Soup, Special Dinners, Spring Rolls, Thai Food, Thailand Express, Vegetables, Vegetarian Foods, What's For Dinner?
Located at 2025 12th Ave Nampa, Idaho 83686. This was a very good surprise! Super food. Great Waite Staff. Ambiance was OK – open and more like a country cafe, not formal like Mai Thai in Boise. From their website, “Looking for mouthwatering Thai restaurants in Nampa, ID? Call Thailand Express at (208) 501-7975 and ask all about our menu that is chock-full of delicious Thai Food. Our chef has years of experience working in top tier restaurants and provides some of the best Asian food in the area. Whether you are looking for quick and easy lunch specials to share with coworkers or something a little fancier for dinner, you will find it here. We have both spicy and mild dishes for the whole family.” Here is a link to Thailand Express.
We found their food to be deliciously intriguing. Not spicy hot, unless you want it that way. Very large servings – Robin and I could have shared a bowl of the soup – no telling how large the pot size of soup was. Probably good for a family. Presentations were good. Prices were good for the quality and serving sizes. Watch their opening times as they are open twice daily, with a break in the afternoon when they are not open. “NEW BUSINESS HOURS – LUNCH —Tuesday-Friday–11:00a.m.2:30p.m., Saturday-Sunday–12:00p.m.-3:00p.m., Dinner –Tuesday-Thursday 4:30p.m.-9:00p.m., Friday-Saturday 4:30p.m.-9:30p.m., Sunday 4:30pm – 9:00pm. Monday Closed”
We rate this 4-Stars out of 5-Stars – on their FB site and their website they have a rating of 4 1/2-Stars. We will return to Thailand Express by Chef Pong. Enjoy these photos of the evening. Left-Click any of the photos to see enlarged.
Wall decorations.
Table Appetizer
Marinated roasted duck and fresh veggies wrapped in rice paper and served with special brown sauce.
4 pieces, $6.95 (Well presented and delicious!)
Thai Brown Sauce. This recipe is what we came up with after trying theirs. It is very close.
Coconut milk, chicken and mushroom in lime juice and fish sauce served mildly.
Bowl $3.95, Pot $8.95 (Robin had a bowl. Delicious!))
A traditional Chinese soup with homemade wontons and veggies, mixture of seasoned ground pork, minced shrimp, chicken and water chestnuts.
Bowl $4.95, Pot $9.95 (I had the bowl. Delicious!)
Half duck marinated in sauce and then roasted. Served with special honey sauce on top a bed of vegetables and jalapeno soy on the side. $13.95
(Robin made a really good choice with this.)
Your choice of pork, beef, chicken, veggie, tofu, shrimp or duck (Pork) stir fried in Thai peanut sauce and served atop a bed of stir fried broccoli. Jasmine rice on the side. $9.95 and worth every penny. There was none to take home!
Glad I tried this Thailand beer. Light and a refreshing lager that was a perfect match to the food. After a language lesson, it is pronounced “sing-ha” with a slight inflection on the “sing”. Our Waite Person was delighted that we asked how to pronounce this. She was very helpful throughout the meal. Thank-You!
Fresh Alaskan Salmon 2 Ways
10 Saturday Jan 2015
Posted in Alaskan Salmon, Asian Food, Captain's Shack, Classic Cuisines, Classic Herb Blends, Cooking Styles, Dinner With Robin, Grilling, Heirloom Carrots, Herbs, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe by: Robin and Bob Young, Recipes, Recipes - Marinades, Salad, Salmon, Seafood, Vegetables, What's For Dinner?
Wow! This salmon was super good and fresh! It should be. Our neighbor, Cary White, returned from an Alaskan trip and brought us a side of fresh salmon. Thank-You so much, Cary, this was superb. We made Asian Grilled Salmon, a new and awesome recipe that we tried, and Robin’s Icebox Lox from the side. I know the Asian Grilled Salmon was wonderful – we had some last night – and I know the lox will be superb. Here are some photos of our endeavor. Enjoy and Enjoy the recipes! Cheers.
Robin’s Icebox Lox getting ready for the refrigerator and the weight.
Asian Grilled Salmon getting to know the marinade. Just remember to use a hot grill and 3 – 5 minutes per side. Cook just long enough so the salmon releases from the grill or grill pan easily and is slightly “marked”.
Fresh Asparagus and Snap Pea Saute
Green Salad with Yellow Heirloom Carrots
Tailgate Food?
04 Sunday Jan 2015
Robin has made some awesome “tailgate” food in the past several days. Here is the Tiramisu recipe from Giada De Laurentiis on the Food Network. Raspberry Tiramisu. The photo here is Robin wearing her new BSU Bronco hat! You can Left-Click any of these photos to see them enlarged. Enjoy!
Robin constructing the tiramisu.
Completed tiramisu.
Want a slice? Left-Click to enlarge.
Black Bean, Corn, Chicken and Avocado Salad. Another yum offering.
Egg Salad on Sourdough with Water Cress. Corn, Chicken, Avocado and Black Bean Salad. The Acme Bake Shop Sourdough was not available at the COOP when I went there, so I tried the Bigwood Bread Sourdough out of Sun Valley. This sourdough was a lot denser than the Acme sourdough. Not bad, but I prefer Acme Bake Shop. Hard to overcome that bias! Just a personal preference.
Boise Foodie Guild 