Wine Dinner at Chandler’s

03 Tuesday Feb 2009

Posted by Bob and Robin 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.

Salute to Robert Burns

01 Sunday Feb 2009

Posted by Bob and Robin in Food, Photos

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On 31 January, Robin and I attended the Robert Burns (1759-1796) Birthday party, Scotland’s National Poet. We had a great time with great food.

Thanks to all who participated and to Mairi and Guy for hosting the event and spending countless hours in the kitchen preparing “The Farin'”.

The Farin’

The Selkirk Grace

Colonial Consomme

Smoked Trout Salad

Address to the Haggis (Jim Davidson)

“Haggis, warm ‘n reekin, wi’ neeps and tatties and wee dram..”

Stirk Stew

w’ Poppyseed Dumplings

The Immortal Memory (Mairi)

Toast to the Lassies (Don)

The Response (Carolyn)

Tipsy Laird

Tales From 250 Years Ago

Kebbuck ‘n Oatcakes

Port and Anither wee dram

Tea and Coffee

Auld Lang Syne

Such an awesome experience. If you would like to see all of the photos, look at Our Retirement Blog. There are several.

Rudy’s , Twin Falls, Idaho

30 Friday Jan 2009

Posted by Bob and Robin in Cooking Programs, Food Prep, Local Markets, Photos

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On 29 January, we took a very, very exciting trip to Twin Falls to see Rudy’s – A Cooks Paradise. Here are some photos.

You can see Rudy’s on the web at Cooks Paradise. A very pleasant place to shop. The staff is extremely helpful and the owner, Tom Ashenbrener is very pleasant to talk to. Go and visit them, either in person or via the web, where you can sign-up for their Newsletter. Enjoy! (See the larger piaella pan?)

Artichokes and Peas

23 Friday Jan 2009

Posted by Bob and Robin in Appetizers, Food, Photos, Recipes, Side Dishes, Vegetables

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So after a morning of oral surgery, it becomes somewhat of a challenge to eat potato chips. So, let’s puree the steak! Or, if you are inventive, try this one (photo below)and I’m not sure the recipe name is correct:

Frozen peas, thawed
Mint
Cream
Artichoke Bottoms
Polenta with Basil and Garlic (Available in your super market in the vegetable dept)

Thaw the peas. Place in a food processor along with some mint and cream. Cream until smooth. Place about 3 Tablespoons in the artichoke bottoms and on some polenta rounds and “nuke” until warm.

Try this with some sauteed Sole. It also might be a good one for St Patricks’ Day. Something to think about. Certainly better than pureed steak!

1st Paella!

13 Tuesday Jan 2009

Posted by Bob and Robin in Food, Food Prep, Main Dish, Photos, Recipes

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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.