04 Monday May 2009
Posted in Celebrations, Main Dish, Party Time, Wine and Food
Geno has a list and he’s checkin’ it twice! What’s that? Wine in the kitchen? Beer in the kitchen? This is going to be good! What’s he up to?
What is all of this? It looks like maybe onions, scallops, fish and did I say an empty bottle of wine? Where did the rest of the bottle go, Geno?
Not at all what I expected. What is he making? He is so intense.
Maybe the “Bosses” know what is happening. I see two empty bottles of wine and some homemade bread and some sly smiles. Any guesses? Cheers!
09 Thursday Apr 2009
Posted in Bread, Celebrations, Main Dish
Well, the season is upon us. It’s time for our Lamb Dinner and here is how it is shaping up.
Green Salad
Pancetta Wrapped Asparagus with Citronette
Dried Corn
It should really be a fun dinner. And of course, Robin will come up with a great wine! Jerri Nelson, Idaho Hotel, Silver City, Idaho, sent us the recipe for the asparagus, so Robin and I decided to revise the menu for Easter. That dish really looks good.
27 Friday Feb 2009
Posted in Main Dish, Photos, Photos By: Guy, Recipe By: Guy
Here’s the recipe for the Shrimp Etouffee. It’s from the cookbook Le Bouche Creole by Leon Soniat. The only thing I did differently was to poach the shrimp shells in the beef broth before adding that to the dish for more shrimpyness. Also, I cooked the shrimp only for a minute at the end, not the 20 minutes in the menu. (The key to reading this recipe is to Left Click where you can get a full screen version and then print it.)
Shrimp Etouffee
Taste Testers. No, this is not our kitchen —– Yet!
13 Friday Feb 2009
03 Tuesday Feb 2009
Posted in Food, Main Dish, Photos, Restaurants, Wine Dinners
On Monday, 2 February 2009, we went to a wine dinner – with the winemaker – at Chandler’s here in Boise. Wow!! Food quality – Superb! Serving size – Large. Food presentation – Superb.
From inside of Chandler’s. The Bar area.
Seafood Trilogy: Escargo, Crab Bouche and Oysters Rockefeller. Served with a wonderful 2006 “La Brume”, Dry Creek Valley Chardonnay.
King Salmon with Eggplant Duxelle and Sauce Meurette. Served with an awesome 2005 Dry Creek Valley Syrah.
Pork Tenderloin with Herb and Stone Ground Mustard encrusted with Potato Cake and a Mustard, Red Wine Reduction. Served with a 2004 Dry Creek Valley Merlot and a 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon. The Merlot was used in the wine reduction.
Oven Roasted Rack of Lamb with Apple Couscous and a White Peppercorn, Port Wine Jus. Served with a 2002 “Deux Terres”, Dry Creek Valley Cabernet Sauvignon which went very well with the lamb. However, I liked the 2004 Cab slightly better with the lamb.
Cheese Plate garnished with Chocolate Ganache and served with Belle de Brillet “Poire au Cognac” that was awesome.
At our table were:
(Dr) Will and Elaine Fredrickson
Mark and Carrie Matsko
Stuart and Maggie Dollinger
Kelsey was not sitting at our table, but she was there. She is a great Server and it was really good to see her again. She just bubbles and is an excellent dancer! I sent this photo to her Mom in Montana.
All in All a great evening with the winemaker from Michel-Schlumberger Wine Estate in Healdsburg, CA. These Wine Pairing Dinners are held the first Monday of each month at Chandler’s. Chandleer’s Web Site is a good place to go and get on their mailing list for these dinners.
26 Monday Jan 2009
Posted in Food, Main Dish, Recipes, Vegetables
Here’s a recipe that Robin found – some place.
1/3 cup water
1 onion, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic
4 cups vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon powdered saffron
1 cup Arborio rice
2 cups cut green beans
2 zucchini, cut in half lengthwise, then sliced
1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
1 or 2 ears corn, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 Tablespoon minced fresh basil
1 Tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 14-ounce can artichoke hearts, drained and rinsed
Place the water, onion, and garlic in a large saucepan. Cook, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes.
Add the broth, pepper, and saffron. Bring to a boil and stir in the rice and green beans. Reduce the heat, cover, and cook over low heat for 8 minutes. Add the zucchini, bell pepper, corn, basil, parsley, and lemon zest. Mix well. Cover and cook for an additional 8 minutes. Add the garbanzo beans and artichoke hearts. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes.
Serve hot.
26 Monday Jan 2009
President Obama and his staff released the menu and recipes from the Inaugural Luncheon. Click Here for an amazing lunch menu! Good luck on preparing some of these. Wonder how long it took to come up with the menu and then the preparation.
14 Wednesday Jan 2009
Now I know there are some gnocchi lovers out there. Here’s how to make it.
Gnocchi (pronounced “nyo-kee” and derived from the German word for “knuckle”) are tasty little dumplings, one of Italy’s oldest pastas, dating back to the 12th century. Traditional ingredients vary from region to region, with recipes including potatoes, flour, semolina, ricotta cheese, spinach and even bread crumbs. My favorite base for gnocchi is the Idaho potato. Potatoes are packed with complex carbohydrates, plenty of potassium, vitamins C and B-6, and lots of great minerals. Potatoes convert to glucose in your body fairly quickly, triggering the release of insulin, which leads to increased levels of relaxing seratonin in your brain. When making gnocchi (a relaxing activity in itself), pinch each one to create an indentation, which holds the sauce. Immediately let it fall to the floured surface so you handle the gnocchi as little as possible. Cook them right away if you can. Toss the dumplings into the bubbling water and drink in the scented steam. They will emerge light and delectable.
Ingredients:
1 pound baking potatoes
1 3/4 cups unbleached white flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash paprika
Dash grated nutmeg
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Instructions:
1. Peel the potatoes, cut in quarters, cover with cold water, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and cook until tender. Drain and mash. You should have about 2 cups.
2. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, salt, a few dashes of paprika and nutmeg, and the chopped parsley.
3. Add the warm potatoes and turn out onto a floured surface. Knead just until dough is well mixed and not sticky. Let rest for 15 minutes.
4. Roll chunks of dough on floured board into logs about 1 inch thick. Cut into diagonal slices about 3/4 inch thick.
5. Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Add gnocchi. After they rise to the surface, lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, uncovered.
6. Drain well and cover with your favorite pasta sauce.
Nutritional Information:
Per serving:
289 calories
1 g total fat (0 g sat)
0 mg cholesterol
62 g carbohydrate
8 g protein
3 g fiber
250 mg sodium
(Recipe reprinted with permission of Dr Weil.com)
Might be worth a try, but I might cut back on the salt.
13 Tuesday Jan 2009
OK, so here is my first attempt! Actually it was pretty good. The recipe says serves 2, but I find that hard to understand. It’s more like serving for 6! This makes a LOT of food. But, here is the recipe made in the Paella Pan we bought today!
Basque Market’s Paella
Note: Actually this is adapted from their paella recipe for “Chorizo, Chicken and Pork Paella For 2”.
1 T Olive Oil
¼ med Onion, diced
2 lg Cloves Garlic, diced
¼ c Celery, diced
¼ c Pimientos, diced
¼ c Peas, frozen
¼ c Carrots, diced
3½ c Chicken stock
1 c Paella rice
¼ lbs Chorizos, cut into ¼” rounds
¼ lbs Ham, cut into ¼” chunks
15 pieces Shrimp, 25-30 count – shells removed
1 t Smoked Paprika
1 t Spanish Paprika
4 strands Saffron
Heat the stock on a back burner with the saffron strands.
In a 26 cm paellera (paella pan) add the oil and place on the heat at medium low.
Sauté the onion until it is translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and allow to cook until the aroma of the garlic comes through. Add the celery and cook for about 5 minutes. Be careful not to let the vegetables brown.
Add the chorizo and paprika’s and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the ham. Add the rice and the pimentos and stir well into the olive oil. Add ¾ of the chicken stock, leaving the remainder to simmer.
Mix everything well so that the rice is at an even depth throughout the pan. Do not stir the rice any more from this point in the cooking process.
Add the carrots, peas and shrimp. Add some of the chicken stock if necessary. Cook until the rice is tender.
Remove from the heat and allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving. Serve with a hardy bread.
Note: The original recipe said that this would serve 2. However, Robin and I ate one helping each and we still had an easy 4 servings left.
So, give it a try or maybe we’ll all get together and make one. Serve it with a good, hardy red wine. It’s not very hard, but still took about an hour. I think the key is to have everything prepped before you start. Think of it almost like a Stir Fry.
It is cooking.
Getting very happy. See the shrimp?
So open a bottle of wine, cut some fresh, homemade bread and eat! There it is. Any suggestions? Let’s do it!
Boise Foodie Guild 