3 Restaurant Visits

03 Friday Mar 2017

Posted by Bob and Robin in 3-Stars, 5-Stars, Alejandra's Mexican Restaurant, Appetizers, Asian - Sakana Sushi and Sashimi, Asian Food, Boise Restaurants, Classic Sauces, Cooking Styles, Dinner at Sakana Sushi, Dinner With Robin, Enchiladas, Food Photos, Hollandaise Sauce, Omelet, Photos By: Bob Young, What's For Dinner?

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Sakana Sushi and Sashimi

Well, 2 out of 3 isn’t bad. Le Peep in Meridian, ID, at 3036 North Eagle Road, Meridian, ID, 208-629-0155, is a 3-Star restaurant out of 5-Stars. On the other hand, Alejandro’s Mexican Restaurant in Marsing, ID at 208 Main St, (208) 896-5339 and Sakana Sushi, 7107 W. State St., Garden City, ID 83714, (208)-853-4993, Mon.-Thur.: 11:00am – 10:00pm, Fri.-Sat.: 11:00am-11:00pm and Sun.: 12:00pm – 9:00pm are both 5-Star restaurants. I urge you to look at these links and visit the restaurants and make up your own mind.

Le Peep reception desk.

Le Peeps dining area. Very open and may be loud and noisy if full.

Le Peep dining area. Very open and may be loud and noisy if full.

Lobster Omelet. It’s the sauce that cuts this dish down.

Spinach Crepes. There’s that “sauce” again. Plus the potatoes were cold.

Le Peeps problem is in their Hollandaise Sauce. It is advertised as Hollandaise, but it is far from it. Not bad flavors, just not Hollandaise and an unexpected taste. Plus, the potatoes were cold as noted in the caption above. Just can not give Le Peep a higher rating. Two of the better restaurants we went to were –

Alejandro’s Mexican Restaurant menu. #23 is superb!! (See the link above)

#23 Camerones al Estilo Provincia were superb. Great flavor. Sorry I didn’t get a photo of Robin’s 1 Chile Relleno and 1 enchilada

#23 Camerones al Estilo Provincia

Sakana sign on W State Street, Boise.

Cucumber and Calamari Appetizer

House Green Salad and Miso Soup

Robin had a Sashimi Delux

I had a Sushi and Sashimi Plate.

We watched as they made a Pink Lady for someone.

We also watched them make a Candy Cane. Someone had some beautiful and great food.

Irish Days Are Upon Us

14 Monday Mar 2016

Posted by Bob and Robin in Ahi Tuna, Asian Food, Asparagus, Avocado, Beer and Ale, Beer and Food, Buy Idaho, Captain's Shack, Carrots, Classic Sauces, Dinner For Robin, Ethnic Foods, Heirloom Carrots, Herbs and Spices, Hollandaise Sauce, Housemade Hollandaise Sauce, Idaho Greens, Idaho Lamb, Idaho Potatoes, Idaho Vegetables, Lamb, Local Farmers Markets, Party Time, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe by: Robin and Bob Young, What's For Dinner?

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ahi tuna, asian food

And that mean “Party-Hearty”! Time for lamb. Or Laphroaig. Or Glendronach. Or maybe some Corned Beef with some Cabbage. I am going to make some Irish Soda Bread, or maybe an Irish Brown Soda Bread, for a St Patrick’s Day party on Saturday. Gonna wear my kilt, too! And the socks that my niece Beth made me. We just made some Irish Stew, that turned out pretty darn good. Just need to tighten the sauce a little. Doesn’t this just look scrumptious? And yes, the Boise Farmers Market at 10th and Grove in Boise opens up on April 2, 2016! Yea!!!

Prep for the Irish Stew. Carrots, celery, lamb cubes ()Felzien lamb!), Red onion, green onion and spices.

Prep for the Irish Stew. Carrots, celery, lamb cubes (Local Felzien lamb!), Red onion, green onion and spices.

Irish Stew with Sourdough Bread and Guinness!

And the other night we had this delicious beef dinner. The beef was just OK. Nothing to brag about. But the dinner was good.

Beef Tenderloin with Mushrooms and Sherry Cream Sauce, Steamed Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce, Twice Baked Potato and Green Salad with Tomatoes

Beef Tenderloin
with
Mushrooms and Tarragon Sherry Cream Sauce

Steamed Asparagus
with
Hollandaise Sauce

Twice Baked Potato
Green Salad with Tomatoes

And then we also had,

Ahi Tuna with Avocado Slices
Steamed Asparagus with Almonds
Green Salad with Radish Slivers

Valentines Weekend – Meals Made For Robin

16 Tuesday Feb 2016

Posted by Bob and Robin in 5-Stars, Bearnaise Sauce, Blueberries, Boise Farmers Market, Breakfast, Breakfast At The Captains Shack, Breakfast With Robin, Buy Idaho, Captain's Shack, Carrots, Celebrations, Chef Lou, Classic Cuisines, Classic Sauces, Dessert, Dinner For Robin, Eggs, Eggs Benedict, Herbs and Spices, Hollandaise Sauce, Housemade Béarnaise, Housemade Hollandaise Sauce, Housemade Sauces, Idaho Beef, Idaho Chefs, Idaho Eggs, Idaho Lamb, Idaho Wine, Kitchen Adventures, Lamb, Meadowlark Farms, Mushrooms, Onion, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe By: Chef Lou, Recipe by: Robin and Bob Young, Recipes, Recipes - Breakfast, Recipes - Dessert, Recipes - Dinner, Recipes - Sauces, Snake River AVA, Special Dinners, Valentines Dinner, Vegetables, What's For Dessert?, What's For Dinner?, Whats For Breakfast?, Zhou Zhou Winery

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Boeuf Bourguignon, Chef Lou's Orange French Doughnuts, Parsnip and Celeriac Puree, recipes

Such a wonderful Valentines weekend spent in the kitchen making the meals for Robin and I to enjoy! And that we did! “And if you [read this article] in the next 5 minutes, we’ll include a link to the recipes!” where you can find some of the recipes for some of these treats. Boise Foodie Blog Recipes! Enjoy these photos and the recipes. And yes, the Hollandaise and Béarnaise Sauces were all made from scratch! Most of the items here are Idaho products. Zhoo Zhoo Winery Claret was served with the Valentines Dinner. 2009 Bedrock Wine Co. Rebecca’s Vineyard Pinot Noir was used in the bœuf bourguignon (French Beef Stew). Cheers!

Flowers for Robin. Loving her was the easiest thing I ever did!

Flowers for Robin
Loving her is easier than anything I’ve ever done before!

Weekend Appetizers Fennel and Celery Salad Cucumber Salad Chicken Pate Rye Toast Wedges

Weekend Appetizers
Fennel and Celery Salad
Balsamic Cucumber Salad
Chicken Pâté
Rye Toast Wedges

Saturday night Felzien Family Farms Lamb Chops with Bearnaise Sauce Steamed Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce

Saturday night dinner
Felzien Family Farms Lamb Chops
with
Béarnaise Sauce
Steamed Asparagus
with
Sliced Almonds and Hollandaise Sauce

Sunday morning breakfast Eggs Benedict and Fresh Fruit

Valentines Breakfast
Eggs Benedict with Fresh Fruit and Sausage Links

Sunday dinner Boeuf Bourguignon with Parsnips and Celeriac Puree

Valentines Dinner
Bœuf Bourguignon
with
Parsnip and Celeriac Puree

Valentines Dessert Skillet Apple Pie [Modified] with Whipped Cream and Chocolate Strawberry

Valentines Dessert
Skillet Apple Pie
[Modified – I added blueberries and pear slices]
with
Whipped Cream and Chocolate Strawberry

Monday Morning Recovery
Scrambled Eggs
Bacon
Chef Lou’s Orange French Doughnuts

And as an added bonus, here is Chef Lou’s Orange French Doughnuts. I worked several years with Chef Lou at the Westside Drive-In in Boise. Great experience. Enjoy!

Chef Lou’s Orange French Doughnuts

Source: Chef Lou Aaron, Westside Drive-In, Boise, ID
Yield: 12 doughnuts

Ingredients:
5 T Butter, room temperature
½ c Sugar
1 Egg, beaten
1/3 c Milk
½ c Ricotta Cheese or Cream Cheese, softened
Juice and Zest from one orange
2 c All Purpose Flour
1 t Salt
1 t Nutmeg
¼ c melted Butter
1 T Cinnamon mixed w/1 T Sugar

Directions:
1. In a mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar; add egg and mix well. Add Milk and Ricotta, or cream cheese, to the mixture alternately w/dry ingredients. Mix in orange rind and juice.
2. Fill greased muffin cups to ½ full. Baked in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Cool slightly and pop doughnuts out of pan.
3. Roll doughnuts first in melted butter, then in the cinnamon sugar mixture.
For variation, you can also garnish with strawberries & whipped cream.

National Eggs Benedict Day!

16 Thursday Apr 2015

Posted by Bob and Robin in Boise Farmers Market, Breakfast At The Captains Shack, Breakfast With Robin, Buy Idaho, Captain's Shack, Classic Sauces, Comfort Food, Eggs, Eggs Benedict, Eggs Poached, Ham, Hollandaise Sauce, Local Farmers Markets, Meadowlark Farms, Photos By: Bob Young, Traditional Food, Whats For Breakfast?

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blender hollandaise sauce, Eggs Benedict, hollandaise, Hollandaise Sauce

Yup! Today is National Eggs Benedict Day. So treat yourself! Have them for lunch or dinner, if breakfast is already past for you. There is a recipe for Hollandaise Sauce in the recipe file above. Enjoy!

Eggs Benedict
black forest ham, toasted English muffin, housemade hollandaise sauce
Cantaloupe Wedge

Salmon En Croûte

07 Saturday Feb 2015

Posted by Bob and Robin in Alaskan Salmon, Captain's Shack, Classic Sauces, Classics, Dinner With Robin, Ethnic Foods, French Foods, Green Peas, Hollandaise Sauce, Pastries, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe: Bob and Robin Young, Recipes, Recipes - Sauces, Salmon, Seafood, What's For Dinner?

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Boeuf en Croûte, Copper River Salmon fillets, en croûte, puff pastry, Salmon En Croûte

Table ambiance.

We saw this reccipe on a competition on the Foodnetwork. Decided we needed to make it. Think of it like a Beef Wellington, only made with salmon. We adjusted the recipe for the two of us. That is, I used 2-4 ounce Copper River Salmon fillets instead of a 2 pound side of salmon. Here is the basic recipe. Adjust it as necessary. Salmon En Croûte. Here are some photos of the cooking and prep process. Take your time and all will come out just right. Have fun with the recipe. The recipe for the Hollandaise sauce is in the recipe file on this blog. Here it is, too: Hollandaise Sauce. Cheers!

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!

Just Another Breakfast at the Captain’s Shack

16 Friday Jan 2015

Posted by Bob and Robin in Acme Bake Shop, Acme Bake Shop Breads, Acme Bake Shop Multi-Grain, Bread, Breakfast, Breakfast At The Captains Shack, Breakfast With Robin, Captain's Shack, Classic Sauces, Dill, Eggs, Hollandaise Sauce, Icebox Lox, Local Harvests, Meadowlark Farms, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe by: Robin and Bob Young, Recipes - Sauces, Seafood, Vegetables, What's For Dinner?, Whats For Breakfast?

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Eggs Benedict, Hollandaise Sauce, icebox lox

I reported earlier that we received a luscious, fresh Alaskan salmon from our neighbor. Here are two breakfasts that we made. I updated the Easy Blender Hollandaise Sauce and I think this one is a little better. Another layer of light flavor. Great on the Eggs Benedict with Lox we had. Would also be good on asparagus.
Both of the breakfasts below have Robin’s Icebox Lox in them. Again, this one really turned out great. Take a good look at the photos – enlarge them using Left-Click – and enjoy! Both of the recipes listed are really easy to do. The Hollandaise may be the most difficult of the two. And just to note: The Eggs Benedict is not an everyday breakfast, although it would be good!

Grilled Asparagus and Robin's Icebox Lox Omelet Fresh Fruit

Grilled Asparagus Omelet
Robin’s Icebox Lox
Fresh Fruit

Meadowlark Farms Eggs Benedict
Robin’s Icebox Lox
Easy Blender Hollandaise Sauce
Acme Bake Shop Multi-Grain Toast
Fresh Fruit

Wake up! Breakfast Is Ready!

25 Monday Aug 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Boise Farmers Market, Breakfast, Breakfast At The Captains Shack, Breakfast With Robin, Brocolli, Buy Idaho, Captain's Shack, Classic Sauces, Eggs, Hollandaise Sauce, Housemade Hollandaise Sauce, Housemade Sausage, Local Farmers Markets, Local Harvests, Local Markets, Photos By: Bob Young, Whats For Breakfast?

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breakfast, Broccoli, broccoli potato cakes, homemade hollandaise sauce, Potato Cakes

Breakfast. I do like to make breakfast. And this one, we used up some things that were in the refrigerator. Broccoli and Potato cakes, for one. Here. Take a look. Cheers!

Two Meadowlark Farms Scrambled Eggs
with
Housemade Hollandaise Sauce

Housemade Sausage Patties

Grilled Broccoli and Potato Cakes

Brunch at Bella Aquila in Eagle, ID

17 Sunday Aug 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Bella Aquila, Breakfast With Robin, Classic Sauces, Eggs Benedict, Hollandaise Sauce, Omelet, Photos By: Bob Young, What's For Dinner?, Whats For Breakfast?

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Bella Aquila, Carmel Crock, Ken Harris

We have been here before and really do like their brunches. And it is always great to be there, too, when Ken Harris and Carmel Crock are performing. Great keyboard and vocal duo!
Today, Bella Aquila (see their link in the sidebar) had a special Denver omelet and it was really very good. Robin had a Crab Benedict and Fresh Fruit. Enjoy these photos and please do visit Bella Aquila sometime and do look for Ken Harris and Carmel Crock when they are performing around the Treasure Valley and surrounding area. Need some great musical entertainment at your next party? Their contact information is also in the sidebar. Enjoy these photos from today Cheers!

There are waterfalls on both ends of the patio. There is also inside seating.

Ken Harris on keyboards and the charming Carmel Crock on vocals. The Dynamic Duo!

Ken Harris on keyboards and the charming Carmel Crock on vocals. Boise’s awesome Dynamic Duo!

Ken Harris

Carmel Crock

Robin had this amazing Crab Benedict with Fresh Fruit

I had this delightful Denver Omelet Special with Hollandaise Sauce.

Such a good meal and great entertainment. The food alone warrants a return trip. It was that good. And we did watch Bella Aquila’a Kitchen Director Matt Alloway smoke some fresh salmon over mesquite. We asked if he needed someone to sample the salmon for doneness and the correct amount of smoke. He just held the pan higher and smiled! Bon Appetit!