Rudy’s – Food Trivia

10 Monday May 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Anthropology of Food, Food, Rudy's Twin Falls, Thought For The Day, Trivia

I just love these little quips of trivia. Some of them are so unique. Enjoy!

This Week in the History of Food & Drink

May 10, 1850: Sir Thomas Johnston Lipton, grocer and tea merchant, was born.
May 11: National Mocha Torte Day
May 12, 1777: According to the International Dairy Foods Association, the first ice cream advertisement appeared in the New York Gazette on this date.
May 13, 1993: The Red Hot Chili Peppers play on the Simpsons TV show.
May 14, 1853: Gail Borden applied for a patent for condensed milk.
May 15, 1989: Hershey’s reduces the size of the Hershey bar to 1.55 ounces. The price remains 40 cents.
May 16: St. Honoratus’ Day. Patron saint of bakers, pastry chefs, confectioners, flour merchants.

National BBQ Month

06 Thursday May 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Cooking Programs, Food, Food Trivia, Grillin' and Chillin', Things To Do

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Is it really May? We had snow (in the mountains) last night! From Sizzle on the Grill, we learn …

May is National BBQ Month
Do you need a reason to throw a party?

If you actually need an excuse to invite friends over for a backyard cook-out – here’s a list of official “Observances” for you to peruse. Psst…my favorite is on May 11th.

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If you need an excuse this month to invite folks over to enjoy a meal you prepared on the grill or smoker – pick a holiday, any holiday. I’ve highlighted a couple special dates that we’ll be celebrating at my place – ya shure you betcha!

Officially Recognized Reasons to Party in the Backyard in May:

Free Comic Book Day – May 1
National Home Brew Day – May 1
Stepmother’s Day – May 1
National Play Your Ukulele Day – May 2
Weird Laughter Day – May 2
Lumpy Rug Day – May 3
Respect for Chickens Day – May 4
Star Wars Day – May 4
Cinco de Mayo – May 5
Great American Grump Out Day – May 5
No Diet Day – May 6
No Pants Day – May 7
No Socks Day – May 8
Stay Up All Night Day – May 8
Mother’s Day – May 9
Tear The Tags Off Mattress Day – May 9
Windmill Day – May 10
Eat What You Want – May 11
National Nutty Fudge Day – May 12
Frog Jumping Day – May 13
National Chicken Dance Day – May 14
Armed Forces Day – May 15 (USA)
Straw Hat Day – May 15
Nylon Stocking Day – May 15
National Sea Monkey Day – May 16
Norwegian Constitution Day “Syttende Mai” – May 17
Pack Rat Day – May 17
No Dirty Dishes Day – May 18
Weights And Measures Day – May 20
National Wig Out Day – May 22
Neighbor Day – May 23
Cookie Monsters Birthday – May 24
National Tap Dance Day – May 25
Cellophane Tape Day – May 27
Hug Your Cat Day – May 30
Paranormal Day – May 30
Memorial Day – May 30 (USA Traditional)
World No Tobacco Day – May 31
Memorial Day – May 31 (USA Observed)
Victoria Day – May 31 (Canada)

Find a reason to throw a backyard cook-out!

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And if you Are really into the BBQ Scene, here’s your opportunity!

Memphis in May
The world comes to Memphis May 13 – 15
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Naturally, Char-Broil is gonna be there!
The 2010 Char-Broil® INFRARED Grilling Tour rolls into Memphis, TN to celebrate Memphis in May’s World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest on May 13-15.

The entire Memphis in May event week is dedicated to outdoor cooking competition. So we thought we’d have one of our own – for fun – and feature some local celebrities. Here’s what we came up with – and I suspect it will be quite a show.

Big Personalities. Sizzling Competition.
Beginning at 1:30 p.m. CST on Thursday, May 13th, Char-Broil will host the first official Infrared Cooking Contest. I’ll be there (all week long) and I’m bringing 3 guest chefs to join in the fun, make some friends and spread the word about Char-Broil infrared grills.

Get the details and links to follow us on Facebook, Twitter & YouTube

The 2010 Char-Broil® INFRARED Grilling Tour rolls into Memphis, TN to celebrate Memphis in May’s World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest on May 13-15.

Hundreds of teams are ready to compete nose-to-tail at Tom Lee Park in downtown Memphis for more than $100,000 in prizes and supreme bragging rights. Teams adorn their areas with elaborate decoration, trophies attesting to their boasting rights and, as one can imagine, clever and creative team names.

Grilling is the main theme and this year Char-Broil is the official grill sponsor. The entire Infrared Grilling team will be there with the Char-Broil trailer and dozens of infrared grills, as well as grilling samples of Bubba Burgers, Johnsonville Sausages and fresh Dole fruit like pineabble and bananas – hey, you ever tasted a grilled banana? be sure to stop by and do that as well as test your skills to win prizes.

Cinco de Mayo Dinner

06 Thursday May 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Beef, Celebrations, Food, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipes

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And yes, the Barbacoa Beef Cheek Tacos were good. Not quite like we remembered the last ones, but still very good. Our daughter Marnie and Mac both liked them, too. Maybe some proceedural change, but that’s about all. Here is the Recipe Link Cheers!

Le Café de Paris – Dinner In Burgundy

30 Friday Apr 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Classics, Food, Photos By: Bob Young, Things To Do

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29 April 2010. April has much to offer. (There’s a double meaning here!) Dinner in Burgundy presented by Le Café de Paris in Boise. We have been to several of these specials, and we have yet to be disappointed. Tonight was great! Just look at this menu and the dishes that were prepared. Mathieu Choux and his Staff did another great job. Thank-You to every one of you! And please do let the kitchen staff know how much we appreciate them.

And to go with this dinner, the perfect wine. A 2007 Domaine Vincent Sauvestre Savigny Les Beaune. Smooth and silky. A nice touch of fruit. And it went exceptionally well with everything on the menu.

First Course

Salade de Chevre Chaud
(Warm Goat Cheese salad)

Wild arugula

Fig Compote

Second Course

Fricassé de Escargots
(Snail Fricassee)

Wild Mushrooms

Butter

Dijon Mustard

Fresh Herbs

Main Course

Bœuf Bourguignon

Potato Purée

Spring Vegetables

Pan Sauce

Dessert

Poire au Vin

Red Wine and Vanilla Bean Poached Pears

Spiced Bread

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

And as the sun sets gently in the West, another spectacular meal comes to an end. The wine is done; The glasses are almost empty: The bread is gone. We did not see you. We missed you. Maybe next time. Cheers!

And just as a side note. Normally, and I must emphasize normally, I do not like escargot or goat cheese. But this selection of goat cheese and escargot that we had tonight was absolutely wonderful. If I could and if I have the opportunity, I will order either one or both of these again. It was that good! Cheers!

Boise Underground (Food) Market (BUM)

26 Monday Apr 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Food, Food Prep, Things To Do

≈ 1 Comment

I just found this new group called the Boise Underground (Food) Market (BUM) that some of you might be interested in. Here is what their blog pages says about them – you can also find them on Facebook.

Hello and welcome to the Boise Underground Food Market web page. We are a group of people who make delicious foods. As aspiring culinary professionals, we make professional quality foods in our homes. We want to share that with you and hopefully you will share with us. There are many legal and monetary limitations to starting your own food oriented business in Idaho. Supporting this underground club means supporting local food entrepreneurs who want to start becoming legitimate.

Take a look. Cheers!

Asparagus Herbed Soup – Redone!

25 Sunday Apr 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Food, Food Prep, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe: Bob and Robin Young, Recipes, Vegetables, What's For Dinner?

≈ 1 Comment

When you make a mistake, there are two routes you can take: (1) Ignore it or (2) Correct it. I choose to correct the mistake. So it is with the Asparagus Soup with Lemon Herb Crème Fraîche. The first time I made it I really messed it up. This time (see photo) it is much, much better. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the way Debbie made it (The Buzz). I just changed it somewhat. For instance, I used leeks along with some onion. And I also added some herbs while the soup was cooking. Look at the link above for a printable copy. But for your browsing interest, here is the recipe. Cheers!

Asparagus Soup with Lemon Herb Crème Fraîche

Author: Bob and Robin Young
Source: The Buzz and Food and Wine
Web Page: Rockin’ R’s Web Page, Boise Foodie Guild Blog

Comments: This is a different and an awesome Asparagus Soup that we first had at the “Buzz” in Boise.
Degree of Difficulty: Moderately difficult
Servings: 6

Ingredients:
½ c Crème Fraîche
1 T Parsley, chopped
3 t Chives, chopped
2 t Tarragon, chopped
1 t Lemon Zest, finely grated
1 t Lemon juice, fresh
Sea Salt and fresh ground Pepper
2 lbs medium Asparagus, tough ends discarded, tips reserved and stalks coarsely chopped
2 T Butter, unsalted
1 med Leek, white and green cut into rounds and then cut in half
¼ med Onion, finely chopped
1 qt Chicken stock
2 c Water

Directions:
1). In a bowl, blend the Crème Fraîche with the parsley, 2 t of chives, 1 t of tarragon and the lemon zest and juice. Season with salt and pepper, then cover and refrigerate. In a small saucepan of boiling salted water, blanch the asparagus tips for 1 minute; drain and ice down. Transfer to a plate.

2). Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the onion and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, 4 minutes. Add the stock and water and bring to a boil. Add the chopped asparagus and season with 1½ teaspoons of salt and a few grindings of pepper. Add the remaining tarragon and chives. Boil over moderately high heat until the asparagus are tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes.

3). Working in batches, puree the soup in a blender and pour it into a clean saucepan. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer over moderate heat. Use an immersion blender and puree the soup until smooth and creamy. Place about 4 or 5 asparagus tips in a warmed bowl and ladle the soup into shallow bowls. Top with large dollops of the Lemon-Herb Crème Fraîche, some cut chives and serve.

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What’s For Dinner? Pork mit Kraut!

24 Saturday Apr 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Food, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Sauerkraut, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?

≈ 4 Comments

Try this for dinner:

Braised Pork Chops with Mustard Cream Sauce

Homemade Sauerkraut

Mashed Garlic-Rosemary Potatoes

Fresh Homemade Sourdough Bread

But also, there is something that I found out: Robin likes her pork chops cooked crispy. Not burned, but well done and crispy on the outside. That must come from when pork – the other “White Meat” – was not produced as strictly as it is today. But that’s OK. Next time, I will make sure it is done to her liking. The sauerkraut was fermented for six weeks. The sourdough starter has been going for about five weeks. And there is a “thing” now that if one is going to eat bread – and what good German won’t have bread with a meal? – that you should eat sourdough breads because of the fermentation of the starter. Enjoy, we did. Cheers!

Le Café de Paris

23 Friday Apr 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Classic Sauces, Food, Party Time, Photos By: Bob Young, Wine and Food

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I needed to get another opinion as to if my sauerkraut was ready to be packed. So, we went to Le Café de Paris and had Mathieu Choux sample some. He said it was good and it is ready to process. We talked a little about how I processed the kraut and he agreed on my procedure. I canned 12 pints today. And I am making a new batch of sourdough bread. Tonight’s dinner: Braised Pork Chops with Fresh Sauerkraut, Mashed Potatoes and Sourdough bread.
Besides, we needed to prepare ourselves for Dinner In Burgundy on 29 April. We’ll be there at 6:30. Will you?

So while we were there and the kraut testing went well, might as well stay for dinner. (That’s not to say that I didn’t get my dates mixed up and we were a week early for the Burgundy dinner!) So, let’s find a good wine. How about a 2007 Herdadeclo Esporāo Alanadra. It truly went very well with everything.

Robin had this awesome Soup Du Jour, Leek and Potato Soup as an opener.

While I had this delicious Maison Salade, House Salad with Oil and Balsamic Dressing.

Robin had Confit de Canard, Roasted Duck with Fingerling Potatoes in a Brown Sauce.

Not to be left out, I had the Poisson du Jour (Special of the Day), Red Snapper and Potato Cake in a Brown Butter Sauce with fresh Green Vegetable. Do you think the Brown Butter Sauce had anything to do with my choice?

And there’s always dessert. How about an eclair for each? OK. That sounds good. And a rich French roast coffee. Yup! That did it!

So that was a great dinner. But next week …. Dinner In Burgundy and we look forward to the Bœuf Bourguignon with Potato Puree, Spring Vegetables and Pan Sauce. We hope to see you there! Cheers!

"Seasons" Schedule

22 Thursday Apr 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Food, Salad, Salmon, Seasons Bistro, Things To Do, Wine and Food

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It looks like the Seasons Bistro and Rachael are planning some wonderful events. Look at these.

Event Schedule

Thursday, April 22nd, 6:30PM

The Menu

Mallory Asparagus Soup

Tomato Basil Soup

Greek Feta Shrimp

Garden Vegetable Salad Sausage Rigatoni

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

Friday, April 23rd Single Car Garage Band 6:30PM

Saturday, April 24th Chicken Dinner Road Band 6:30PM

Monday, April 26th

Northwest Winemakers Dinner

Pacific Rim Winery
Walla Walla Vintners
Vanduzer Winery

Dinner Menu

Wild Salmon
Tomato Basil Soup
Morel Risotto
Chevre Salad with Baby greens
Poulichette
Five Chocolate Chocolate Cake with Huckleberry Filling

$40.00 per person

These look like some outstanding events, especially the Northwest Winemakers Dinner. It might be wise to call for reservations for this dinner, (208)939-6680! Cheers!

Artichoke and Potato Salad

19 Monday Apr 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Food, Recipe By: Robin Young, Salad, Things To Do

≈ 1 Comment

Here is a recipe that Robin found and then we have altered it, somewhat. It is really a good variation on the standard potato salad. Give it a try. Cheers!

Artichoke and Potato Salad

Servings: 8

Ingredients:
1 lbs New Red Potatoes
¾ c Artichoke hearts in oil and course chopped
¼ c Ham, diced
3 cloves Garlic, crushed
½ c Sunflower sprouts
¼ c Pine nuts, dry roasted
dash Cayenne pepper
1 T Tarragon leaves, crushed
3 T Stone Ground Mustard, Plochman’s
¼ c Oil from artichokes
¼ c White Wine vinegar
3 T Sun Dried Tomatoes in oil, diced

Directions:
Cook the whole potatoes until just done, you don’t want them soft. Cool.

Place the ham, artichoke hearts, cayenne, pine nuts, sunflower sprouts and tarragon in a bowl. Gently mix. Quarter cut the potatoes and place in the bowl. Gently mix.

Place the artichoke oil, garlic from the potatoes, mustard, sun dried tomatoes and white wine vinegar in a bowl. Using a submersible blender, emulsify. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.

Pour the dressing over the bowl of potatoes and toss gently.

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That’s it! It is really that easy to do. I also would dice maybe 2 hard cooked eggs and put them in with this. Have fun.