Celebration Theme At “The Buzz”

13 Wednesday Nov 2013

Posted by Bob and Robin in Appetizers, Apple, Basque Foods, Cabbage, Celebrations, Dinner With Friends, Ethnic Foods, Food Photos, Italian Food, Main Dish, Party Time, Photos By: Bob Young, Salad, Spanish Wines, Special Dinners, Special Events, Things To Do, Vegetables, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food

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the Buzz

Just in time for the holiday season quickly approaching. Celebrations of the World was the theme of the November Wine Club Dinner at the Buzz. We had dishes with a Spanish, German, Basque, African, Italian and the Netherlands influence. It was an exciting evening, full of information and tradition. Great job, Cristi! My only criticism of the dinner is the Swedish Meatballs could have had a little more of the sauce on it. The meat was a little dry, although the flavor was still there. A little more sauce – An easy fix. Here are some photos from the evening. The wine rating is [20] maximum points. Cheers! and see you at the next event. Thank you Paul Colwell for the wines, Peggy and Austin for being our Servers and Tommy for your support “behind the scenes”. An 800 calorie meal.

Spanish Fritatta

I enjoyed this appetizer. Great flavors.
2010 Faustino Crianza Tempranello
13% alc. a light wine and went well with the appetizer. lowest score of the night. [17] $14

Pumpkin and Black Bean Soup

If I don’t like pumpkin and I liked this soup, you will also!! It was good.
2010 Durigutti Malbec Reserva
14% alc. a wonderful wine with this soup. well balanced and fruitty. best score of the night [20] $22

Holiday Salad

2011 Anselmi
12.7% alc. a good white wine that went well with the acidity of the salad. good paring. try the wine before you eat the apple in the salad – things will change. [18] $15

Swedish Meatballs Cabbage Steaks Noodles Just a little dry as I noted above, but the flavors were still there. 2011 Luna Cabernet Sauvignon 14.1% alc. good, full bodied wine that paired well with the entree. [18] $18

Swedish Meatballs
Cabbage Steaks
Green Peas
Noodles

Just a little dry as I noted above, but the flavors were still there.
2011 Luna Cabernet Sauvignon
14.1% alc. good, full bodied wine that paired well with the entree. [18] $18

Gingerbread

A good ending to this meal. It really tasted good.
2010 Renwood Old Vine Zinfandel
14.5% alc. so good with the gingerbread. [19] $22

Cristi always opens the evening with usually two wines that she labels “Cristi’s Choice”. These were two really good wines.
2012 Zolo Torrentes from Mendoza, Argentina. A really nice white wine and well worth the $15 price. [18]
2011 Arenal Vina Paralillo Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile. Again, well worth the $14 price. [18]

New Boise Farmers Market – Oct 26, 2013

26 Saturday Oct 2013

Posted by Bob and Robin in Acme Bake Shop, Boise Farmers Market, Bread, Food, Food Photos, Local Harvests, Local Markets, Locavore, Photos By: Robin Young, Sourdough Bread, Turnip Greens, Turnips, Vegetables, What's For Dinner?

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Acme Bakeshop, New Boise Farmers Market, Rice Family Farms

Robin took these two really good photos this morning at the New Boise Farmers Market. This is the last day at this location. Next week, November 2, they relocate to 8th Street and Fulton – to an indoor, heated and restroom available location. This is exciting. Good job, Robin!

Acme Bakeshop, Michael and Soraya and Friend Maria from Rice Family Farms.

Acme Bakeshop, Soraya and Michael with their friend Maria, from Rice Family Farms.

Some fresh vegetables are still available from the Rice Family Farms booth. There are other booths that still have fresh vegetables, too.

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!

Breakfast At Robin’s!

18 Sunday Aug 2013

Posted by Bob and Robin in Acme Bake Shop, Acme Bake Shop Breads, Bacon, Bread, Breakfast, Captain's Shack, Eggs, Food Photos, French Foods, Mushrooms, Photos By: Bob Young, Potato Bread, Sourdough Bread, What's For Dinner?

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breakfast, coconut syrup, mrs butterworth, potato bread, sauteed mushrooms

I think most of the readers here know how much I do like Acme Bake Shop breads! I just think they take great pride in producing an awesome product: Rye, Ciabatta, Baguettes, Sourdough and Potato to name a few. Here is breakfast that we fixed this morning using sourdough and potato bread with bacon and sauteed mushrooms, on the side. Enjoy!

Acme Bake Shop Sourdough and Potato Bread French Toast
Sauteed Mushrooms on the side
Crispy Falls Brand Bacon
Coffee

An awesome breakfast. Use a topping for the French Toast of your choice. Fruit, coconut syrup, Mrs Butterworth’s or powdered sugar. Have fun with this.

Our Curry Hake Dinner Tonight

16 Friday Aug 2013

Posted by Bob and Robin in Captain's Shack, Curry, Ethnic Foods, Food Photos, Green Beans, Hake, Indian Cooking, Local Harvests, Main Dish, Mushrooms, Photos By: Bob Young, Salad, Seafood, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food

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chantrell mushrooms, cinsault, coconut milk, costco, tomato salad

Our supply, bought from Costco, comes from Namibia, South Africa. We are going to make a Coconut Milk Curry Hake with Roasted Couscous and Green Beans

Coconut Milk Curry Hake
on a bed of
Roasted Quinoa with Chantrell Mushrooms and Raisins
Fresh Cucumber and Fresh Tomato Salad
Sauteed Green Beans with Garlic
2012 Sawtoth Winery Cinsault Rosé

Oh my! This was really good. Our supply of Hake was bought from Costco, comes from Namibia, South Africa. The mushrooms, green beans, lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber were all from the New Boise Farmer’s Market.

Crab Dip – East Coast Style

01 Thursday Aug 2013

Posted by Bob and Robin in Appetizers, Blue Crab, Captain's Shack, Classics, Crab, Food, Food Photos, Horseradish, Party Time, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe: Bob and Robin Young, Recipes, Salads, Seafood, What's For Dinner?

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annapolis md, east coast style, food, yellow tomato

Ah yes! Costco does carry Blue Crab and it is pretty good. Robin wanted me to make some of this dip. I did, but it must rest a while before eating. She waited long enough. So I made her a small green salad with yellow tomato and the crab dip.

Crab Dip – East Coast Style

Author: Bob and Robin Young
Source: Marge Young, Annapolis, MD
Servings: 20
Cooking Times
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Comments: The Blue Crab can be bought from Charleston Seafood Company, http://www.charlestonseafood.com or use Phillips canned Blue Crab.
Author Notes: This recipe comes from Bob’s sister-in-law, Marge Young.

Ingredients:
1 lbs Crab Meat (Blue Crab)
1 lg Package (8oz) Cream Cheese, softened (No fat works fine)
½ cup Mayonaise …. more or less to taste
1 Tbs Horseradish …. more or less to taste (We like more. Like double the amount.)
½ Lemon, juiced

Procedure:
1. Beat the last four ingredients together …. fold in the crab meat. Hide the dip in the refrigerator until ready to use. (This is the hardest part.) Serve with crackers or small breads.

2. As you can see, this is not an exact science and the tasting part is important and the most fun.

One can really get hooked on this dip. It is that good!! Cheers and enjoy! Thanks Marge for sharing this so many years ago.

Maggie’s Dinner, II

31 Wednesday Jul 2013

Posted by Bob and Robin in Calves (Veal) Liver, Captain's Shack, Chianti, Food, Food Photos, Garlic, Local Harvests, Main Dish, Onion, Photos By: Bob Young, Special Dinners, Stella Artois, Things To Do, Tomatoes, What's For Dinner?

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chianti, garlic mashed potatoes, green salad, liver and onions, stella artois

Sunday we made Baked Chicken for Maggie and Trish. (See below) I asked her what she was hungry for4 and she said, "Liver and onions and a Stella Artois and/or a Chiant." Well, her is what we made for Trish and Maggie: Liver and Onions Green Salad Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes Trish is a friend of Maggie's that is staying with her a lot of the time and cooking for her. Three of us decided that Trish does enough. We can make some dinners. We love doing this for those two!

Sunday we made Baked Chicken for Maggie and Trish. (See below) I asked her what she was hungry for and she said, “Liver and onions and a Stella Artois and/or a Chianti.” Well, here is what we made for Trish and Maggie:

Liver and Onions with Bacon
Green Salad with Fresh Tomato Cubes
Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Trish is a friend of Maggie’s that is staying with her a lot of the time and cooking for her. Three of us decided that Trish does enough. We can make some dinners. We love doing this for those two! And yes, she was resupplied with Stella and some new Chianti.

Maggie’s Dinner

29 Monday Jul 2013

Posted by Bob and Robin in Captain's Shack, Chicken, Food, Food Photos, Friends, Main Dish, Photos By: Bob Young, Special Dinners, Special Events, What's For Dinner?

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baked chicken thighs, miss maggie, onion, roasted potatoes, sweet friend, trish

Miss Mggie’s Dinner

Baked Chicken Thighs
with
fresh sage and fresh thyme
Roasted Potatoes and Onion

Miss Maggie is a dear, sweet friend of our who is very sick. So we, and others, are doing some cooking for her and Trish, her friend who stays with her most of the time. This dish we made today. Hope she enjoys it. Sure did make the house smell wonderful. Cheers! Left-Click the photo to see enlarged.

Chicken Tagine and Mushrooms with Moroccan Green Olives Revisited

28 Sunday Jul 2013

Posted by Bob and Robin in Acme Bakery, Captain's Shack, Cooking Styles, Ethnic Foods, Food Photos, Herbs and Spices, Main Dish, Moroccan Food, Moroccan Spices, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipes, Slow Cooking, Sourdough Bread, Special Dinners, Special Information, Spices of Morocco, Tagine, Tagine of Chicken, What's For Dinner?

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chicken tagine, cloves garlic, dinner, food, vegetarian

Yup! Here it is. We tweaked it a little. Added some carrots and green beans. But that is all. The recipe was adjusted a little too, from the original, but only a little more turmeric and ginger. See what you think.
To the left, is the plated tagine. As you can see, we served it on a bed of lemon infused rice. Probably not traditional, but it added another dimension. We really liked it this way. Overall – We would grade it probably a 4 out of 5. But I think with the additional turmeric, it will be better, possible that 5 out of 5 elusive rating. Also, there is a lot of garlic in here, but it seems to be hidden. Just some of our comments. Try it and see what you think and please let us know. Just remember if you use Spanish olives, rinse them well to remove the vinegar. The preserved lemon may also need to be rinsed. There is a lot of salt in both of these ingredients. Left-Click any of these photos to see enlarged. Cheers.

Chermoula – Marinade. See recipe below.

Ready for the oven.

Adding the mushrooms and the preserved lemon. See recipe below.

The completed chicken tagine.

Here is the adjusted recipe. Thank you Roni Spilios-Kinane for the recipe. Enjoy. This could be used as a basic taagine recipe. Try it, for instance, with lamb shanks.

Chicken Tagine with Mushrooms and Moroccan Green Olives

Source: Roni Spilios-Kinane, Morocco
Oven Temp: 325°F
Cooking Time: 2+ hour
Serves: 3
Note: It really is good! It is my Moroccan Mother-in-Law’s recipe..

Ingredients:
1 lemon cut into wedges
Kosher Salt
¾ c Olive Oil
1 T White Pepper
5 cloves Garlic, chopped
1 preserved lemon, sliced
1½ t ground Ginger
2 t Turmeric
2 T Parsley, chopped
2 T Cilantro, chopped
5 Chicken Thighs, or any chicken parts you want to use
3 med Red Onion
Moroccan Green Olives
Mushrooms

Directions:
First you make your chermoula (marinade) olive oil, salt, white pepper, garlic (to your liking) 3-5 cloves, cilantro, parsley, ground ginger, and turmeric. Mix that all together.

Place your cleaned (with lemon wedges and salt) chicken and let it absorb the chermoula as you massage it into and under the skin (some people use smin (ghee, clarified butter) I sometimes do)

Chop finely about 3 medium onions (or more if you have a lot of chicken pieces or a large chicken) let the onions sweat a bit and then add your chermoula drenched chicken and pour any remaining chermoula over the top. Place the tagine cover.

After about 30 minutes, add some preserved lemon slices and the mushrooms.
When you have about 10 minutes left to cook, add the green olives and let all the flavors incorporate.

You CAN!
a) remove the chicken from the tagine and place it in the oven to get crispy if you like!
b) and/or
c) stuff your chicken with a stuffing of chopped mushrooms, cilantro, parley and vermicelli! This is absolutely delicious!

Garlic Explained

20 Saturday Jul 2013

Posted by Bob and Robin in Ethnic Foods, Food Photos, Food Prep, Food Trivia, Garlic, Healthy Eating, Herbs and Spices, Interesting Information, Local Farmers Markets, Local Harvests, Locavore, Special Information, What's For Dinner?

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food, garlic scapes, hardneck garlic, northern gardeners

Here is some great information about some of the different garlic varieties that are available at the New Boise Farmer’s Market. There are many, many varieties. This is but a small sampling that is available here in Boise. Enjoy!

Edible Garlic

Note: All of these garlic types are available at the New Boise Farmer’s Market, 10th and Grove. The following information was produced by Glenn’s Farm.
“Hardneck and Softneck garlic are described as some are mild and others are Hot. It is hard to describe the slight differences.”

This information is from organic gardening at about.com.
“Hardneck garlic varieties are generally hardier than softneck varieties. They are the best option for northern gardeners. They are also the best option if you want to enjoy garlic scapes in early summer, since hardnecks are the only type that send up a strong central stalk in spring (this is the scape.) Hardneck varieties tend to form fewer cloves per bulb than softneck varieties, but they also are usually a bit larger.

Within the hardneck family, there are nine sub-types of garlics: Purple Stripe, Marbled Purple Stripe, Asiatic, Glazed Purple Stripe, Creole, Middle Eastern, Turban, Rocambole, and Porcelain. The Purple Stripe and Rocambole types are the hardiest, best for gardeners who live in the northeastern U.S. and Canada. Gardeners who live in mild climates will have good luck with Porcelain varieties.

Softneck Garlic Varieties (Allium sativum var.sativum)
Softneck garlic varieties are the best ones to grow if you live in a milder climate. They don’t form scapes, and generally form several small cloves per head. They mature quicker than hardneck varieties. Softneck varieties tend to store better than hardneck varieties, so this is the type to grow for long-term storage. Sub-types within the softneck family include Silverskin and Artichoke varieties.”

Chinese Pink: The first garlic of the season. Mellow with a pleasing after taste.

Asian Tempest: Asian hardneck. When eaten raw it is breath taking. When baked, the flavor is sweet.

Chesnok Red: Hardneck. All around good for cooking. Full bodied flavor with a delightful aroma. When baked, it holds it’s shape and has a creamy texture.

German Red: (One of my favorites) Hardneck rocambole. Strong, hot and spicy.

German Porcelain: Hardneck. Good, all purpose garlic.

Zemo: Hardneck. Smooth and hot flavor and aftertaste.

Northern: Hardneck. A very pungent and one of the best for baking.

Music: Hardneck. Medium hot with flavor that lasts a long time.

Romaine Red: Porcelain hardneck. Hot with a long lasting bite.

Georgia Crystal: A hot garlic.

Metechi: Very hot when eaten raw.

Siberian: (Another of my favorites) Hardneck with a medium-strong heat. Rich earthy taste. Has a high allicin content. Allicin supports normal cholesterol levels and helps boost the immune system.

Spanish Rojo: Hardneck Rocambole. Rich flavor. Also called Greek Garlic or True Garlic.

Polish Jenn: A medium strength garlic.

Italian: (Another favorite of mine.) Softneck with a great taste and a good cooking garlic. Great to roast.

Silverskin: Softneck with a strong flavor and another great cooking garlic.

Inchillium Red: Softneck garlic with a mild flavor. Great baked and the blended with mashed potatoes.