Great Easter Dinner

09 Monday Apr 2012

Posted by Bob and Robin in Celebrations, Ethnic Foods, Holiday Gatherings, Holiday Menu, Party Time, Passover Foods, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, What's For Dinner?

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I can’t say that everyone had a fantastic Easter dinner, but we certainly did! It was great having Mac and Marnie, Sophia, Chris and Madison, Margaret and Robin. Family and friends always make for a great day. And Robin talked to her close friend, Nancy Bonney Chrissman in Florida and a nursing friend , Geisla, in Germany. Who can ask for more? The photo to the left is of our table center piece. I did not get the beautiful flowers Margaret brought, though.

Easter Menu
Roasted Gremolata of Boneless Leg of Lamb
Roasted Rosemary and Herbed Potatoes
Haroset Salad
Asparagus Mousse
Minted Carrots
Challah
Marnie’s Cake

Our table before “the gang” arrived.

Challah bread

Gremolata Roasted Lamb

Asparagus Mousse

Marnie’s Cake

So there you are. And I repeat. Who could ask for anything more? Thank-You one and all for making this day so very special. Cheers!

Roast Chicken and Green Beans

08 Sunday Apr 2012

Posted by Bob and Robin in Beans, Celebrations, Ethnic Foods, Holiday Menu, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Special Dinners, Special Events, What's For Dinner?

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This has really been an ethnically diverse weekend menu. Especially since Passover and Easter happened to be on the same weekend. It all started Friday with the Gefilte Fish meal. Although I don’t think gefilte fish with Bearnaise is Kosher. (See Good Friday Meal earlier on this blog.) But it has been fun. And it is particular rewarding and pleasing when one of our very special Jewish friends here in Boise reads this blog and then calls to get the recipe for the gefilte fish. It will be fun to see how he made out with the dinner and the recipe. In the meantime, here is what we had for dinner tonight. The above photo is an Asparagus Mousse that Robin is making for dinner tomorrow. We had a sample tonight and it is so awesome. Rich and smooth and the succulent flavor of asparagus.

Gremolata Popovers

Roasted Chicken
roasted root vegetables, rosemary, lemon

Plated dinner
Oven Roasted Chicken
Haroset Salad
apple, roasted walnuts, brown sugar, cinnamon, Manischewitz wine
Green Beans
Gremolata Popover

Oh what fun. Not only preparing these delights, but eating them and trying to understand what all this means. I may have to talk to Joe to get the significance of all of this. Cheers and tomorrow is the big meal. That will be fun, too!

Boneless Gremolata Leg of Lamb for Easter

07 Saturday Apr 2012

Posted by Bob and Robin in Classics, Cooking Styles, Easter Dinner, Holiday Menu, Lamb, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe: Bob and Robin Young, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food

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Easter is tomorrow. We are having 7 people in for dinner. A lamb dinner. The menu will be

Boneless Gremolata Leg of Lamb
Roasted Rosemary Potatoes
Minted Carrots
Asparagus Mousse
Fresh Baked Challah
1977 Diamond Creek Volcanic Hill Cabernet Sauvignon
1988 Dolcetto D’Alba Cascina Bordino

The top photo is of prepping the lamb. The Gremolata is on the lamb along with the spinach. This photo is of the lamb rolled, tied and in the pan for roasting. I am letting it sit for 24 hours to absorb all of the wonderful gremolata flavors. The recipe is below. Cheers!

Basic Boneless Gremolata Roasted Leg of Lamb

Total: 1 hr 25 mins
Makes: 6 servings
Adapted From: Chow (dot) com

Note: Gremolata, a mixture of parsley, garlic, and lemon zest, offers heat and fresh herb and citrus flavors to assertive leg of lamb. The best part of this recipe is that putting it all together for a dinner party or weeknight meal is a snap. Serve the lamb with a carrot mash or roasted potatoes.

Ingredients:
2 Lemons
Juice of ½ Lemon
5 Garlic cloves, minced
1 med Shallot diced
1½ T Rosemary, fresh and chopped
⅓ c finely chopped fresh Italian Parsley
2 T Olive Oil, plus more for coating the meat
Kosher salt
2 c baby Spinach
Freshly ground Black Pepper
1 (4-5 pound) boneless Leg of Lamb, netting removed
Butcher’s twine

Directions:
1. Heat the oven to 400°F and arrange a rack in the middle.

2. Finely grate the zest from the lemons. (If you’re using a vegetable peeler, finely chop the peeled zest.) Place the lemon zest, garlic, parsley, shallot, rosemary and measured oil in a medium bowl and season with salt and pepper. Stir until an evenly combined paste forms; set aside.

3. Unroll the lamb, lay it flat on a cutting board, and remove any large pieces of gristle, sinew, or fat. Season the top surface of the lamb generously with salt and pepper, then, using your hands, spread the lemon-garlic-parsley paste over the seasoned meat. Place 1 layer of spinach over the lemon-garlic-parsley mixture. Roll the lamb back up and tie it in several places, about 1 to 2 inches apart, with butcher’s twine. Rub some olive oil, salt, and pepper all over the outside of the lamb and place it in a shallow baking dish.

4. Roast in the oven until the internal temperature reads 135°F to 140°F on an instant-read thermometer, about 1 hour. Transfer the lamb to a cutting board and let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the twine, carve, and serve.

Good Friday Meal

06 Friday Apr 2012

Posted by Bob and Robin in Cooking Styles, Ethnic Foods, Main Dish, Passover Foods, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, What's For Dinner?

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Here are the eggs we did for Easter. Using white vinegar and food dye. Just as colorful as the store bought dyes. Even more fun is the making of gefilte fish. Look at these photos. All of this was homemade. My hat is off to the Chef! Enjoy!

Yup! That’s Robin making the gefilte fish … from scratch. You can purchase them already prepared, but these are so much better.

Gefilte Fish with Bearnaise Sauce
And yes, the Bearnaise is from scratch. Serve the gefilte fish with a glass of Manischewitz and you’ve got a good party going! Cheers!

And this plate?
Poached Sole with Bearnaise Sauce
Gefilte Fish
Manischewitz wine

Crooked Fence Beer Tasting at Salt Tears

04 Wednesday Apr 2012

Posted by Bob and Robin in Beer and Ale, Boise Adventures, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Salt Tears, Special Information, What's For Dinner?

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It has been a while since we have been to Salt Tears Coffee House and Noshery, 4714 W State St., Boise. Last night they held a beer tasting for the Crooked Fence Brewing Company at 5242 Chinden Blvd., Garden City, Idaho. We really had some good beers and the food to accompany it was well matched.

I have also posted a general menu from Salt Tears here. They have specials several times a week and music. Left-Click these graphics to get a larger and printable view of these menus.

This is the weekend special menu. Live music every Thursday and and Saturday with Fridays being a different fish meal. Use the scan code to go to their site.

Jennifer and Danny, Manager of Salt Tears (Thanks Jan), are stocking the Finger Foods to go with the beer.

Andy Leathers of Crooked Fence Brewery. Story goes that the fences in the meadows of Sun Valley are “crooked” and that is where the name of this brewery came from. Andy previously worked at Widmer Brewery in Seattle.

The three beers of Crooked Fence. (L-R)
Picket Porter
nice blend of chocolate and coffee. I also got some sesame off of it so it might go well with an Asian dish. 5.5% alc
Rusty Nail Pale Ale
my favorite for the night. an Idaho pale ale with cascade and galena hops. great with a summer BBQ.
5.5% alc
Hole Wheat
a very light beer that will work well as a thirst quencher. made with wheat, pilsner and 2-row hops. orange peel and grains of paradise

(L-R) Picket Porter, Rusty Nail Pale Ale and Hole Wheat

Finger Foods to go with the beers
Salt Tears Pickled Vegetables
Onion Sour Cream Dip
Cheese Fondue

Salt Tears
Cream of Broccoli Soup

Awesome Birthday Wine Dinner At the Buzz

02 Monday Apr 2012

Posted by Bob and Robin in Celebrations, Party Time, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Special Events, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food

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This was a great birthday for me. Michelle Larson also had a birthday and Cristie and Tommy, owners of the Buzz, did a superb job creating a party atmosphere! Both Michelle and I thank them sincerely for allowing this party to happen. Look at the menu we had. See anything “strange”? The dinner was served backwards – that is, dessert first! Cristie is so creative. I want to thank our friends and family who joined us and the many cards and gifts they gave: Ed and Mary, Jan (Maize), Margaret, Robin, Bob and Gail, Marnie and Mac, Sophia, Madison and Chris and Barbara and Patrick. Thank you all so very much for making this a fantastic day.

Brunch at Berryhill and Co. Hard to see the cake with the candle.

Some of the gifts received at the Buzz.

70 Beers!!!

Ed and Mary, Jan, Margaret and Robin.

Bob and Gail, Marnie and Mac, Madison and Chris. Sophia was not in the photo.

An awesome TBA that Robin and I offered to all of our friends who were there. It’s a sweet wine so there were some who did not like it. But not many. We are happy that we could share this fantastic wine with everyone. Auction value? $425.00

One beer for every year – 70 different beers!

Dessert
Donauweller Cake
NV Zonin Lambrusco
8.5% alc, not my favorite, light on bouquet and balance [12] $10.00
NV Fonseca Porto
20% alc, it was a good port, good balance and bouquet [16] $20.00 (750 ml)

Chicken Rollatini
Baked Tomatoes
2010 Poggio Sangiovese
13.5% alc, weak on body but overall a good wine. [17] $17.00
2010 Bolla Bardolino
12.0% alc, week on body and finish. [14] $10.00

Salad
Asparagus and Edamame
(Interesting and good salad)
2010 D’Aguino Pinot Grigio
12.0% alc, really a good wine. [17] $10.00
2010 Tabali Sauvignon Blanc
13.5% alc, weak on color and balance. [14] $13.00

Soup
Sopa Poblano
Awesome soup!
2010 Arenal Carmenere
14.0% alc, a little weak on the bouquet but went well with this soup. [17] $13.00
2010 Montes Malbec
14.0% alc, a good strong malbec. did not over power the soup [ 18] $13.00

Appetizer
Salmon Bites
Worstenbroodjes
Chiles en Nogada
2009 Luna Merlot
14.9% alc, a big and bold merlot. [19] $22.00
2008 Yellowtail Reserve Merlot
14.0% alc, another big merlot [18] $11.00

Again, I thank everyone for making this a great Birthday Party! Cheers.

Braised Pork with Cream Mustard Sauce

25 Sunday Mar 2012

Posted by Bob and Robin in Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Pork, What's For Dinner?

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Braised Center-Cut Pork Chop
with
Cream Mustard Sauce
Balsamic Brussels Sprouts
Green Salad with Carrot Strips
Baked Sweet Potato
(not pictured)
2006 Parma Ridge Vineyards Zinfandel

This was a really good dinner. Easy to prepare. Enjoy!

TBA For When?

24 Saturday Mar 2012

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

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Most people, if they are extremely lucky, will have 3 TBA’s (Trockenbeeren Auslese) in their lifetime. This will be my 6th! This is an Austrian wine. A rich gold color and awesome! Each grape is picked by hand and each grape has sugar concentrated in it. This particular wine has an alcohol level of 10.0%. Question is – When will be a good time to open this?

Greek Tilapia

24 Saturday Mar 2012

Posted by Bob and Robin in Ethnic Foods, Greek Food, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, What's For Dinner?, Wine Dinners

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You see? We eat other seafood than salmon. Here is a good recipe for tilapia done in a little different way. Our menu for tonight?

Greek Tilapia
(See recipe)
Rice Stuffed Grape Leaves
Greek Green Beans
2008 Vale Wine Co. Merlot

Greek Tilapia Recipe

While on a trip through the Greek islands, my husband and I had a dish that we loved. I tried to duplicate it by combining several different recipes and came up with this. —Sally Burrell, Idaho Falls, Idaho

Ingredients:
6 tilapia fillets (4 ounces each)
4 teaspoons butter
1 egg
1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled tomato and basil feta cheese
1/3 cup fat-free milk
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 large tomato, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup chopped ripe olives
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Directions:
In a large skillet, brown fish in butter in batches. Transfer to a 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan coated with cooking spray.
In a small bowl, combine the egg, cheese, milk and cayenne; spoon over fish. Sprinkle with tomato, olives and pine nuts. Bake, uncovered, at 425° for 10-15 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.
In a small bowl, combine the parsley, lemon juice and pepper; drizzle over fish.

Yield: 6 servings.

I reduced the recipe to feed just Robin and I and it turned out just fine. You can see the plated dinner in the photo above. Enjoy!

Margaret’s Irish Soda Bread

20 Tuesday Mar 2012

Posted by Bob and Robin in Bread, Party Time, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, What's For Dinner?

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Great to have these small cooking/baking classes for those interested. This one was particularly nice because Margaret requested it. Well ……. Sort of! Fun to make this Irish Soda Bread – it only has 3 ingredients in it – and quick. Total time about an hour. And look at what she made. (Do I hear applause for her?) Left-Click for a larger view of the photos.

But before baking this morning, we had to have some dinner last night. How about

Broiled Talapia
with
Fresh Made Tartar Sauce

Braised Asparagus and Mushrooms
with
Montmorency Cherry Sauce

Wow! This was super! And serve it all with a 2010 Indian Creek Winery Mountain Syringa and you have an awesome and delicious dinner!

Now …… Back to baking!

Margaret. Ready to learn how to make the Irish Soda Bread. She did a great job!

Look at what she made! So easy and so good. Great Job Margaret!

But wait! Here are two loaves. We’ll make one additional loaf at no additional cost! Sucha deal. Spread a little butter on and maybe some honey. Oh my!