Ah yes! Life in the kitchen in one of the hottest July’s on record at The Captain’s Shack (The Shack). But so much fun to make and serve. Some of these dishes are “eye candy”, too. Some have recipes; Some don’t. (If you want a recipe, just let me know. I’ll see what I can do.) As with most photos on this blog, Left Click them and see them enlarged. Enjoy these photos and if you make any of the recipes, let us know how you liked them. Thanks and Cheers!
Fruity and sweet with a moderately spicy component. Great with seafood.
Here is the recipe: Idaho Trout Nage
with
Tomato and Bacon Sourdough Toast
Recipe: Crab Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms
Recipe: Chicken Yakitori
We modified the Yakitori sauce somewhat and have our own Teriyaki sauce that we use. Here are the recipes: Sauce Recipes.
And if you are interested, here are some of the main sauces we use. Enjoy.
Peas and Beet Greens
Jasmine Rice
Lemon Rice
Green Salad
with
Shaved Baby Golden Beets
White Carrot Threads
Heirloom Tomato
Martin’s Swiss Dressing
Avocado Slices
Heirloom Tomato Slices
Acme Toasted Sourdough
Vanilla Ice Cream and Peach Jam Drizzle
Awesome Dressing
22 Saturday Apr 2017
This is one awesome dressing that can be used on a variety of dishes; burgers, steak, salads, shrimp dip, etc.
Combine 1 part Oma & Popie’s Drunk Uncle Wing Sauce (see them at the Boise Farmers Market or Oma & Poppie’s on FB) and 2 parts Martin’s Swiss Dressing (available online at Martin’s Swiss Dressing). Martin’s Swiss Dressing almost has an Asian component. I do hope you like this combination. We do!
Boise Farmers Market Opens April 1!
30 Thursday Mar 2017
Here is the latest from the BFM.
We are excited to get started on Saturday. Although the late winter has been cool and wet, you will be pleasantly surprised to see all the delicious fresh produce that will be at The Market!
Join us for a slice of Birthday Cake and take home first-of-the-season fresh greens plus oh so much more. What’s Fresh!
Apples
Asparagus
Baby Cucumbers
Bedding plants
Carrots
Container Gardens
Dried Fruit
Green Garlic
Dried Herbs
Fresh Herbs
Curly Kale
Lacinato Kale
Mache
Micro Greens
Miner’s Lettuce
Salad Mix
Tomatoes
Heirloom Seeds
Hanging Strawberry Baskets
Specialty Foods
Pickled Asparagus
Baked Goods
Pickled Beans
Custom Spices
Granola
Hard Cider
Herb Blends
Hummus
Jam
Jelly
Organic Kombucha Tea
Pickles
Salmon Bacon
Smoked Salmon
Tamales
Teas
Wine
Protein
Grass-fed Angus Beef
Pastured Raised Chickens
Duck Eggs
Chicken Eggs
Grass-fed Goat
Pasture Raised Lamb
Pasture Raised Pork
Sockeye and Coho Salmon
Smoked Meats
Sausages
Dairy
Artisan Cheeses
Goat Cheese
Goat Yogurt
Ice Cream
Raw Milk
Yogurt
On-Site Foods
Baked Goods
Coffee
Cookies
Crepes
Matcha Lattes
Sambusas
Tacos
Tamales
Waffles
Wood-fired Pizza
Cold Weather Plants!
Next Generation Organics is bringing fun 24 packs of hearty cold weather plants. They are ready to go in the ground right now!
Delicious Hot Samples!
Desert Mountain Grass-Fed Beef, will be cooking up some samples on opening day!
Ed says, “Come and getcha some!”
“Snack Size” Opening Day Steals!
Lampe Granola will be offering “snack size” steals at $1.50 a bag! Grab ’em while they last!
Fish Three Ways!
C&G’s Wild Alaska Salmon will have frozen fillets of sockeye and coho salmon. Plus smoked salmon strips and salmon BACON
Tasty treats!
Who’s at The Market This Week
Farmers & Ranchers
Brown’s Buffalo Ranch
C&G’s Wild Alaskan Salmon
Campbell Tailor Made Beef
Desert Mountain Grass-fed Beef
Feathers n Horns
Fiddler’s Green Farm
H & H Tomatoes
Kelley Orchards
Lost River Meats
M&N Cattle Company
Malheur River Meats
Matthews Family Farms
Meadowlark Farms
Next Generation Organics
Ohana No-till Farm
Peaceful Belly Farms
Purple Sage Farms
Ribier Gardens
Rice Family Farms
Smith Berry Farms
Snake River Seed Co-op
True Roots Organics
Volcanic Farms
On-Site Food Vendors
Il Segreto Wood Fired Pizza
Funky Taco
Haji’s International Foods
Tamales Nelly
The Great Crepe
Two Trees
Waffle Me Up
Wanna Macha
Prepared Food Purveyors
Acme Bakeshop
Apple Lucy’s Pies
Big Walls Bakery
Blue Feather Bakery
Cherino’s Bloody Mary Mix
Ferranti Fresh Pasta
Form & Function Coffee
Gaston’s Bakery
Lampe Granola
Meriwether Cider Company
Molly’s Mills
Neckar Coffee
Oma & Popie’s Wing Dressing
Potter Wines
Sevz Kitchen
Snake River Winery
Stack Rock Cider
Sunshine Cookie Company
Sweet Valley Cookie Company
The Jelly Lady
Urban Rustic Gourmet
Selected Artisans
Apis
Firefly Garden Art
Red Chair Lavender
Scented Room
T&S Metal and Glass
Wonderful 5-Hour Roasted Duck
13 Tuesday Dec 2016
Posted in 5 Hour Duck, Apple, Beets, Captain's Shack, Dessert, Dinner At The Captains Shack, Dinner For Robin, Dinner With Family, Duck, Food Photos, Heirloom Beets, Heirloom Carrots, Heirloom Onions, heirloom vegetables, Idaho Vegetables, Idaho Wine, Local Farmers Markets, Local Harvests, Onion, Petit Verdot, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Prep Work, Raspberries, Recipe By: Bob Young, Recipe By: Captain's Shack, Recipe by: Robin and Bob Young, Recipes - Dinner, Recipes - Sauces, Roasted Vegetables, Snake River AVA, Special Dinners, Vegetables, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food, Wine Dinners, Wines - Idaho
Love to make this and it really is so easy. 5 Hour Roasted Duck and add to that some Roasted Root Vegetables and 5 Hour Roasted Duck Sauce, also really good with ham, and you will have a superb and wonderful dinner. A good 2013 Indian Creek Petit Verdot goes extremely well with it.
Several people have asked how to make the duck. Basically – season with Celtic sea salt and fresh ground Tellicherry Black Pepper, stuff with sweet apple and pear, prick the skin all over and cook in a 300°F oven and turn every hour for 5 hours. Last hour raise temperature to 350°F. Do not cover throughout the cooking process.
First of all, the moon must be full. If not, the recipe may not work.
Duck has been salt and peppered and stuffed with Braeburn Apple and Bosch Pear. Oven is preheated to 300°F
After each hour, turn the duck and prick the skin. This is after 1 hour. Pricking the skin at each turn, keeps the duck fat basting the duck.
At 3 hours, things happen. Starting to brown nicely.
Root vegetables are large cut and put into the bottom of the baking pan. This roasts the vegetables and keeps the duck off of the pan surface. The vegetables here are heirloom carrot, heirloom beet, local onion, parsnips and turnips.
Make stock from the vegetable pieces and the duck neck and parts. Simmer low and slow!
Lay the duck directly onto the vegetables and return to the 300°F oven. Cook for another hour.
At 4 hours last turn. It is smelling yummy now.
At 5 hours, remove from the oven and let cool, somewhat.
Yummy slices.
Here is the Cranberry/Cherry sauce for the duck.
Oh yes. Dessert – Pound Cake with Fresh Raspberries and Fresh Whipped Cream.
Thanksgiving 2016
25 Friday Nov 2016
Posted in 5-Stars, Apple, Bacon, Baking, Captain's Shack, Carrots, Celebrations, Comfort Food, Corn, Dessert, Dinner At The Captains Shack, Dinner With Family, Dried Corn, Food Photos, Green Salad, Heirloom Carrots, Heirloom Onions, Heirloom Parsnips, Holiday Gatherings, Holiday Menu, Idaho Vegetables, Idaho Wine, Local Farmers Markets, Party Time, Photos By: Bob Young, Snake River AVA, What's For Dinner?, Wines - Idaho
And a great day it was! Dinner finished almost on time. Marnie, Chris and Anna joined us. The turkey tuned out fantastic – the first time I have done a spatchcock turkey and it was awesome. Veggies roasted great. Turkey was moist, tender and delicious. I took several pictures on my phone – 3 – of the dinner plated, Marnie and Robin and Chris and Anna, but they never appeared on my phone. They’re out in La-La land somewhere. Here, though, are some photos of preparing the dinner and maybe I’ll make a photo of the plated dinner – at least close to it. Cheers – This was really fun to do!
Getting the Bacon Wrapped Dates ready. Stuffed with Chopped Almond.
Dates ready for the oven.
Mushroom Stuffed Puff Pastry.
Finished product.
Turkey has been spatchcocked (backbone removed) and sitting on heirloom root vegetables – carrot, parsnips and onion – to keep the turkey off the bottom of the pan.
Cooking in the oven at 400 degrees F. This after 1 hour. One more hour to go for a 14 lbs turkey.
Plated
Robin’s Cranberry Sauce
Dried Corn
Wilted Lettuce Salad
Roasted Heirloom Vegetables
Stuffing Cups
Mashed Potatoes and Gravy throughout
2006 and a 2008 Indian Creek Winery (ID) Pinot Noir
These wines were available for dinner. We only had the oldest two on the left. Super paring and wines.
In order to do a dinner like this, one needs to make a “schedule of events”. Thursday, I also made a schedule like this hour-by-hour.
Korean BBQ Beef
12 Saturday Nov 2016
Well, I thought this BBQ was good, but then, I like grilled meats. The recipe is in the file above, if you want it. Takes about 2 days, counting the marinating time. Very short to grill on a screaming hot grill.
The beef
Marinating
Grilling
Plated with a dipping sauce and Sautéed Bok Choy.
Tournedos with Creamed Spinach
11 Tuesday Oct 2016
Tags
Escoffier, French Food, Sauce Bible, tournedos, truffles, veal
I saw this recipe this morning and really thought it looked interesting. Tournedos with Creamed Spinach. The recipe comes from Rachael Ray, but we have adapted it somewhat. I have also placed some fairly deep information on the recipe. Here is some of that info.
- Note: Tournedos are: A beef tenderloin, known as an eye fillet in Australasia, fillet in France, the United Kingdom, South Africa and Germany, is cut from the loin of beef.
Tournedos Rossini (pictured here) is a French steak dish, perhaps created for the composer Gioachino Rossini by French master chefs Marie-Antoine Carême or Adolphe Dugléré, or by Savoy Hotel chef Auguste Escoffier. The dish comprises a beef tournedos (filet mignon), pan-fried in butter, served on a crouton, and topped with a hot slice of fresh whole foie gras briefly pan-fried at the last minute. The dish is garnished with slices of black truffle and finished with a Madeira demi-glace sauce.- Demi-glace (English: “half glaze”) is a rich brown sauce in French cuisine used by itself or as a base for other sauces. The term comes from the French word glace, which, used in reference to a sauce, means icing or glaze. It is traditionally made by combining equal parts of veal stock and espagnole sauce, the latter being one of the five mother sauces of classical French cuisine, and the mixture is then simmered and reduced by half.
Common variants of demi-glace use a 1:1 mixture of beef or chicken stock to sauce espagnole; these are referred to as “beef demi-glace” (demi-glace au boeuf) or “chicken demi-glace” (demi-glace au poulet). The term “demi-glace” by itself implies that it is made with the traditional veal stock. - Espagnole sauce: The basic method of making espagnole is to prepare a very dark brown roux, to which veal stock or water is added, along with browned bones, pieces of beef, vegetables, and various seasonings. This blend is allowed to slowly reduce while being frequently skimmed. The classic recipe calls for additional veal stock to be added as the liquid gradually reduces, but today water is generally used instead. Tomato paste or pureed tomatoes are added towards the end of the process, and the sauce is further reduced.
- Auguste Escoffier King of Chefs 1846-1935.
Auguste Escoffier, “The Chef of Kings and The King of Chefs,” was born in the Riviera town of Villeneuve-Loubet, France, on October 28, 1846. His career in cookery began at the age of 12 when he entered into apprenticeship in his uncle’s restaurant, in Nice…a French chef, restaurateur and culinary writer who popularized and updated traditional French cooking methods. Much of Escoffier’s technique was based on that of Marie-Antoine Carême, one of the codifiers of French haute cuisine, but Escoffier’s achievement was to simplify and modernize Carême’s elaborate and ornate style. In particular, he codified the recipes for the five mother sauces. Referred to by the French press as roi des cuisiniers et cuisinier des rois (“king of chefs and chef of kings”—though this had also been previously said of Carême), Escoffier was France’s preeminent chef in the early part of the 20th century.
Alongside the recipes he recorded and invented, another of Escoffier’s contributions to cooking was to elevate it to the status of a respected profession by introducing organized discipline to his kitchens.
Escoffier published Le Guide Culinaire, which is still used as a major reference work, both in the form of a cookbook and a textbook on cooking. Escoffier’s recipes, techniques and approaches to kitchen management remain highly influential today, and have been adopted by chefs and restaurants not only in France, but also throughout the world. - And finally, a really great source book for every kitchen is the The Sauce Bible: Guide to the Saucier’s Craft by David Paul Larousse
Here are some other variations on Tournedos Rossini. Look at the variations and then add your own. Have fun. Enjoy!
Notice the black truffels in this one – same as pictured above.
Anyone with any ideas of getting veal bones to make veal stock in the Boise area, please let me know. Just remember, I have meds to get next month. Cheers!
Make Your Own Sauerkraut!
09 Sunday Oct 2016
Tags
Not at all difficult to make. It just takes some prep time, about an hour or so; a clean crock for fermenting the cabbage, there are really nice ones online; fresh cabbage, this is the perfect time of year to get some great cabbage from your local Farmers Market; a good recipe and many are available. Here is our recipe for Sauerkraut and you can modify this anyway you want to make it “yours”. Recipes, like dance routines, are only suggestions. The recipe listed here is also on permanent file in the Boise Foodie Guild Recipes listed above. Here is the process that I use. In the final photo, I seal the cabbage from air by (1) Covering the top of the cabbage with uncut cabbage leaves and not plastic, and (2) Make sure the water seal on the top of the crock is always full. At times, you will hear that kraut “perking”. It is fermenting when that happens – a good thing! Robin bought me this crock several years ago online. It is awesome! See the safety tips below.
Shredding the cabbage using a mandolin. See the blend of red and white cabbage. 4 heads of white cabbage to 2 medium heads of red cabbage. Nice color blends.
The shredded cabbage in the crock. See the recipe for the spices I use. There are only 4.
Uncut cabbage leaves are placed on top of the shredded cabbage. Note the “water trough” on the edge of the crock. The top lid fits right in this “trench” and seals the mash from air.
Finally, weights – these came with the crock – are placed on the leaves to hold the cabbage under the liquid that forms. The idea is to keep the cabbage submerged and out of any air.
Here are some great safety tips when making sauerkraut, or any fermented vegetables. Sauerkraut Fermentation Gone Bad. And from the site listed in the link,
Three Basic Fermentation Rules
1) Keep it Salty! Weigh your cabbage and vegetables to ensure you add the correct amount of salt to create a 2% brine. The correct numbers are 1 3/4 pound vegetables for 1 tablespoon salt OR 5 pounds vegetables for 3 tablespoons salt. Remember, these weights include not just the cabbage, but any vegetables and seasonings you’re mixing with the cabbage.
2) Keep it Under the Brine! Use some type of weight to keep fermenting cabbage and vegetables submerged, especially during the first 7-10 days when the microbial climate of your jar is established. Put on a lid to keep out the air! Fermenting is an anaerobic process.
3) Keep it Clean! No, you don’t need to sterilize equipment or use bleach, just make sure your tools, fermentation vessels and weights are thoroughly washed and well rinsed.
Spaghetti with Housemade Meatballs and Marinara
07 Wednesday Sep 2016
Posted in Basil, Beef, Boise Area Food Adventures, Boise Farmers Market, Captain's Shack, Classic Cuisines, Classic Sauces, Cooking Styles, Desert Mountai Grass Fed Beef, Dinner At The Captains Shack, Dinner For Robin, Food Photos, Garlic, Herbs, Housemade Marinara, Housemade Meatballs, Housemade Sauces, Idaho Beef, Idaho Eggs, Idaho Pork, Idaho Vegetables, Italian Food, Local Farmers Markets, Meadowlark Farms, Onion, Photos By: Bob Young, Pine Nuts, Pork, Raisins, Recipe By: Bob Young, Recipes, Recipes - Italian, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food, Wines - Italian
I’ve been looking for an acceptable marinara for quit sometime now. Years, min fact. Never was able to duplicate my Mothers, and it was awesome. Took her most of the day. But I came across this recipe from an Italian restaurant in New Jersey. And it is super. Think I’ll keep it. Takes about two hours to make and then dig in. The recipes for both the CS Marinara and the CS Meatballs is in the recipe file on this blog. (The link is in the header and by the photos below.) Here are some photos. Most ingredients used were from local farmers.
Note: I just received this (Sept 8, 2016) from Dave G here in Boise. “Oh my gosh! We cooked these meatballs and sauce up last night for dinner! Amazing! Everyone who loves spaghetti and meatballs has to give this a try. Wow! Thank you so much for posting.”
(Recipe)
The plated dinner of
with
Shaved Pecorino
Sunday Breakfast and Dinner
15 Monday Aug 2016
Posted in 5-Stars, Bacon, Baking, Breakfast, Breakfast At The Captains Shack, Breakfast With Robin, Buy Idaho, Captain's Shack, Carrots, Cast Iron, Cheese, Comfort Food, Corn, Desert Mountai Grass Fed Beef, Dinner For Robin, Eggs, Food Photos, Fruits, Heirloom Carrots, Herbs, Housemade Sauces, Idaho Eggs, Idaho Pork, Idaho Potatoes, Idaho Vegetables, Local Farmers Markets, Meadowlark Farms, Photos By: Bob Young, Pork, Pork Tenderloin, Recipe by: Robin and Bob Young, True Roots Produce, What's For Dinner?
These two items are so much fun to make. Somewhat quick. Somewhat involved. Always good. Give them a try. Enjoy!
Line a muffin tin with thinly sliced potato slices. Bake off for 20 minutes at 425 degrees F until potatoes are slightly crisp. Fill with a mixture of beaten egg, cheese, green onion, rendered bacon pieces, some salt and pepper. Bake at 425 degrees F until eggs are set. Remove and let cool 5 minutes. I used the convection for baking these. Top with Slasa or Pico de Gallo.
Breakfast Potato Cups Plated. They should come right out of the muffin tins as a unit. Serve with fresh fruit.
Fresh Corn
Pork Medalions
with
Port Wine and Herb Reduction
Port reduction – Using the cast iron skillet that the pork was done in, add 1 T Olive Oil, 2 c Port Wine, 1 T fresh Sage chopped, 2 t fresh Thyme and 2 T Heavy Cream. Stir to release the bits of pork that remain in the pan and the wine is reduced to 1 cup and starts to thicken slightly. Place 1 T of the reduction under the pork and 1 T on top of the pork.
Boise Foodie Guild 