Baked Salmon II

10 Tuesday May 2011

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

I never in my wildest dreams expected to have so many emails about this dinner. So here is the recipe as I adjusted it. Do enjoy this.

Baked Salmon II

Adapted From: Allrecipes, Baked Salmon II
Prep Time: 15 Min
Cook Time: 45 Min
Ready In: 2 Hrs
Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients:
2 cloves Garlic, minced
6 T Olive Oil
2 T chopped Basil, fresh
1 t ground Black Pepper
1 T Lemon Juice
3 T Capers, rinsed
2 (6 ounce) fillets Salmon

Directions:
In a medium glass bowl, prepare marinade by mixing garlic, light olive oil, basil, salt, pepper, lemon juice and parsley. Place salmon fillets in a medium glass baking dish, and cover with the marinade. Marinate in the refrigerator about 1 hour, turning occasionally.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C)

Place fillets in aluminum foil, cover with marinade and capers and seal. Place sealed salmon in the glass dish, and bake 35 to 45 minutes, until easily flaked with a fork.

Note: We steam fresh asparagus in the packet with the salmon. The herbs and spices make a nice addition to the asparagus.

Serve with a Red Rice, Pico de Gallo and a Pinot Noir. See the photo above. Cheers!

Salmon With Capers and Basil

10 Tuesday May 2011

Posted by Bob and Robin in Asparagus, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Rice, Salmon, Seafood, Vegetables

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Well, on meatless Monday, here is a good dinner entrée.

Baked Salmon
capers, basil, garlic, olive oil

Steamed White and Green Asparagus

House Pico de Gallo

Red Rice

2006 Indian Creek Winery Pinot Noir

This really was a good dinner. Everything went so well together and the salmon was scrumptious. And I really do love the rice done this way – roast grains in butter until golden brown. Add 6oz can of diced tomatoes and the liquid and 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a low simmer and steam until liquid is gone, but the rice is still moist, not sticky. Cheers!

Update: I have had several requests for the salmon recipe. Here is the recipe for Baked Salmon II from Allrecipes. I did not have any parsley, so I used the capers on top. I also steamed the asparagus right in the packets. It is an interesting recipe, but easy to do.

Sushi Joy – Chinese and Japanese Food, Boise

09 Monday May 2011

Posted by Bob and Robin in Celebrations, Chinese Food, Japanese Food, Party Time, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Sushi Joy, What's For Dinner?

≈ 1 Comment

In some respects, I’m glad this weekend is over. It was like being in the winter holiday season – all we did was eat! Not that any of the food was bad. The food was absolutely awesome. And we finished it all off with a trip with our friend Margaret to Sushi Joy – Chinese and Japanese Cuisine located here in Boise. And in my NSHO (Not So Humble Opinion) it is one of the better Chinese/Japanese restaurants in town. Here are some photos of what we had. We also had green tea and mango ice cream. Three of us ate for $61.00. For the quality and the amount of food we had, I consider that very good. Just look at these photos. Left-Click any of the photos for a full screen view. Cheers!

Our friend Margaret.

Bob

House Salad
The dressing they use makes this salad, as it should. Tonight there was a sweet element to it. Honey?

Pu Pu Platter
egg rolls, crab rangoon, chicken fingers, chicken wings, teriyaki, fried shrimp

Lobster Tempura Maki
tempura lobster, mango, avocado, jalapeno wrapped in soy bean paper with twin sauce

Chef Roll
tuna, salmon, scallion, cucumber
wrapped in colored soy bean paper and deep fried and served with spicy unagi sauce

Sashimi Moriawase
the Chef’s choice of different fish. 12 pieces

Oh my. What a delightful dinner. This is the third time we have been here and we will absolutely return. They also have a wonderful lunch menu. Just remember, this is a wonderful blend of Chinese and Japanese cuisine. One you should not miss.

Mother’s Day Brunch at Salt Tears

08 Sunday May 2011

Posted by Bob and Robin in Celebrations, Main Dish, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Salt Tears, Special Events, Things To Do

≈ 2 Comments

Wow! What a weekend. All we did was eat and have wine, with a Mint Julip – more Julip than Mint – thrown in just for spite. We went to Meredith Nelson’s Graduation Party and to the Seasons Bistro party on Saturday. Then today we went to here to Salt Tears and tonight we are going to Sushi Joy!
And then I look out the window and up to the top of the mountains – 15 miles from us – and I see snow falling. They can keep it there. Just raining down here. So here are some photos from the Salt Tears Mother’s Day Brunch this afternoon. They were “slam dunked” and did not expect the crowds that came. I think that is great to have such a crowd. They were lined up out the door at one time. They had to struggle to keep up on food delivery at the buffet table. But all was extremely good and worth the short wait for refills. Good time to catch up on the Mimosas they were serving. It was great to meet Rick Dean, President/CEO of Moxie Java International and his family. Look for his link in the sidebar. Look at these photos. Cheers!

The music was good. A nice blend of titles and rhythms.

See the 4-Handed violin player?

They had a full house!

Here is a Goat Cheese Torte, Bacon and Sausage offering.

A great vegetable offering. I think the asparagus were “cooked” in their pickle marinade. They were really good!

And a plated selection. They also had a variety of scrambled eggs, toasts and breads.

Seasons Bistro Saturday Special

08 Sunday May 2011

Posted by Bob and Robin in Cajun Food, Party Time, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Seasons Bistro, Special Events, Things To Do

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I would be quite remiss if I did not say that we have not been to Seasons Bistro in Eagle for quite some time now. It has changed since we were there last ….. It is better! The floor plan in the main dining area now has a small stage where the cooler used to be and that opens the area up. The food is still as good as it was. So here are some photos we took Saturday while we were there. Much fun and excitement. Loved the band!

Along with the band and a book signing for Gretchen Anderson’s, The Backyard Chicken Fight and Patti Murphy’s, Mother Knows Best – Wit and Wisdom from Idaho Moms, there was a great wine tasting from the Houston Vineyards, Houston, Idaho. (Yes, there really is such a place as Houston, ID!) And Yes, there really is a road named Chicken Dinner Road, but “…. Therein lies another tale!”

Here is their wine list. The 2010 Chicken Dinner White is $22.99 and well worth that price. The 2009 Chicken Dinner Red is $25.99 and the 2009 Houston Vineyards Merlot is $38.99.

The appetizer plate. Yum-O!

The Bill McKeeth Band. A really good locally talented band. I loved the songs.

I think he “thumbed” a ride!

Tapas at Le Café de Paris, Boise

06 Friday May 2011

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

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Earlier in this in in another blog, I posted a lead-in article about Tapas At Le Café de Paris. It was a great evening and Barbara Herrick joined us. I talked to Mathieu and told him that this was probably one of the best tapas events that he has held. And it was awesome! Here are some photos of the tapas night. Robin is posing in festive Cinco de Mayo costume at the Boise City Hall Fountain. Enjoy!

We shared with Mathieu and his Staff, some Lemon Huckleberry Curd that is made here in the Boise area. It is really good on the bread.

2002 Monte Dos Cabaços ($25.99, 14% alc) table wine that went extremely well with our tapas. We also had a glass of NV Esporã Reserva White ($30.99).

Clams Alentejo
linguica sausage, cilantro, peas, wine
Gazpacho
Salmão Ahumada
smoked salmon, arugula, pears, capers, tomato dijon-vinaigrette

Caranguejo e Abacate
crab and avocado croustini, peppercorn aioli
Marinated Olives
Alcatra
red wine and garlic marinated beef

Queijo de Portugual
Portuguese cheese
Bifanas
marinated pork tenderloin
Camarroes piri piri
sauteed shrimp, black pepper sauce

Bolo de Bolacha Maria
Portuguese Cookie Cake
——————————

So there you have our wonderful night. Good friends! Good food! Good wines! Cheers!

Backyard Gardening Tips

03 Tuesday May 2011

Posted by Bob and Robin in Alley Gardens, Backyard Garden, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?

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It really doesn’t take a lot of space to make yourself a very productive garden. A Victory Garden, if you please. From Better Homes and Garden, I received this link on Schoolyard Gardening, but think of it also in the terms of a backyard garden. Same principle. Same idea.
The photo to the left is where I have “re-claimed” some minimal space along an alley that raises some beautiful tomatoes, edible flowers, fruit (quince) and many, many herbs. We have lettuce and chives in this year already. The Better Homes and Garden article starts off with the statement,

There is no better way to get kids to enjoy fresh vegetables than involving them in the process of planting, growing, and harvesting. That’s the message that celebrity chef Jamie Oliver is promoting with his Food Revolution project. Start your own Food Revolution this year, whether at your child’s school or in your backyard, by building a raised-bed garden.

On the page too, you will find several links of tips for planning and planting your garden. There is a link for designing and planting Raised Beds or Getting More From Less Space. Both of these are good articles. You will be surprised at how much, for a little investment in time , money and resources, you can produce in a small space. Many places around us have started to use the space between the sidewalk and the street for raised beds. I would check with your city first, though, before I went to a lot of effort of building the beds and then have to remove it. Cheers and have fun with this project. These is a page on this blog to Companion Planting and the link is located in the Sidebar.

TVFC Hosts "Dinner and a Movie"

29 Friday Apr 2011

Posted by Bob and Robin in Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Red Feather/Bittercreek, Special Information, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?

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On April 28, Dave Crick, Owner of the Red Feather Lounge and the Bittercreek Ale House in Boise, hosted the monthly Dinner and a Movie event for the Treasure Valley Food Coalition. From their web page, “2011: The Year of Idaho Food is a grass-roots, year-long, statewide look at the surprising variety of foods grown in Idaho — and not simply focusing on the foods themselves, but also on the social, economic and environmental significance of those foods. The Treasure Valley Food Coalition is one of many statewide organizations that are involved in the celebration.” You can also find more information about the “Year of Idaho Food” at Guy Hand’s Northwest Food News. Basically, as Dave Crick explained, it is a “20/20” program – 20% of the food on your table is Idaho produced by 2020. The dinner tonight, created by Dave Crick and the Red Feather Lounge, is an example of that goal. Cheers!

Cold Springs Winery Hot Rod Red Blend – Hammett, ID
Cold Springs Winery

Green Salad with Fiddlehead Fern

Salmon Risotto

Beignet with House Butterscotch

One fascinating point brought out during the discussion after the movie – and there were several points – was that the average distance a dinner product travels from producer to your table in Idaho is 1500 miles. This is why the Treasure Valley Food Coalition and other organizations in Idaho, are so involved in the “Eat Local” program and the “Year of Idaho Food” program. Think the Saturday Markets in Boise and in other cities and towns throughout the state. And support these ventures. We all have some space for a small, yet productive garden. Try raised beds. Patio pots. Window boxes. Alley strips. They all work quite well. Thanks to Dave Crick and his staff at the Red Feather Lounge and the Bittercreek Ale House for their hospitality and the wonderful meal. Thanks to Janie Burns, Meadowlark Farms, for organizing this program at the Red Feather Lounge. Here is a link to other Resources about the sustainable food program. Cheers and think local!

Create Common Good Dinner

28 Thursday Apr 2011

Posted by Bob and Robin in Cooking Styles, Create Common Good, Interesting Information, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, What's For Dinner?

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Robin and I want to thank Barbara Herrick for inviting us to the Create Common Good dinner at the Cathedral of the Rockies in Boise on April 27. Chef Brent Southcombe did an awesome job in preparing the dinner.

I have placed a permanent link in the side bar if you wish to contact the Create Common Good Organization and you want to learn more about them. Their garden at 4750 S. Surprise Way in East Boise, grows some really fine vegetables. Their offices are located at 1161 W. River Street, Boise. Seasonal subscriptions for fresh vegetables are available, if you so desire.

Here are Aileen Hale, Director of Training CCG, Chef Brent Southcombe and Barbara Herrick.

Chef Brent and Celia Southcombe.

Barbara Herrick is in the food line.

A plated dinner consisting of:
Green Salad
Bread
Roasted Potatoes
Roasted Vegetables
Buffalo Stew
Various Desserts

A very delightful evening and a great cause to support. Hopefully there will be more events like this and I hope we get on their mailing list. Cheers!

Finally! Lamb Chops with Mint Sauce!

27 Wednesday Apr 2011

Posted by Bob and Robin in Lamb, Local Harvests, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Vegetables

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So we finally had the mint sauce with the lamb (the recipe is below). I did forget to serve it on Easter. Yes, I know … As our neighbor Ben said, “Any excuse to eat more lamb!” Funny, Ben! But maybe somewhat Freudian? Maybe. But the dinner last night was good.

Lamb Chops with Mint Sauce
Minted Carrots