Quarterly Dinner at the Buzz

24 Monday Jun 2013

Posted by Bob and Robin in Beef, Cabbage, Main Dish, Party Time, Photos By: Bob Young, Salad, Seafood, Shrimp, Special Dinners, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?, Wine Dinners

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food, henkell trocken, sweet and sour cabbage soup

Ah! Another great Quarterly Dinner at the Buzz! Some really good wines and the dinner was a good surprise. Especially the Caribbean Grilled Shrimp Salad and the Brown Sugar Pound Cake with Praline Sauce. But then, the tarragon cream sauce with the roast beef was a hit too! Oh please! Stop! The memory! See what you missed? The photo here are two wines that were not on the list … They are extras. The Evolution was the better of the two, so far as I am concerned. Below are some photos of the dinner. Do enjoy. The wines that were saved are also listed along with a rating based on [20]. Cheers and please VOTE above. Thanks.

Garden Beignets with Crispy Greens

2011 Jean-Luc Columbo Viognier
13.0% alc. just did not stand up to the appetizers[17] $15.00

Sweet and Sour Cabbage Soup
(Awesome!)

2010 Tin Roof Merlot
13.5% alc. a great match with this soup. [18] $14.00
2009 Hugel Pinot Gris Classic
14.0% pinot gris goes with almost everything as did this one. [18] $20.00

Caribbean Grilled Shrimp Salad 2011 Martin Codax Alborino 12.5% alc. [16] $18.00

Caribbean Grilled Shrimp Salad
(Great salad!)

2011 Martin Codax Alborino
12.5% alc. [16] $18.00
2011 Eroica Reisling
11.0% alc. again. did not stand up to the shrimp [17] $23.00

Steak House Dinner and Q!uiona Salad 2009 Basil Cellars Claret 15.2% alc. great with the steak.[18] $18.00 2011 Bridlewood Cabernet5 Sauvignon 13.8% alc. not as good as the Basil Cellars with this entree. [17] $17.00

Steak House Dinner and Quiona Salad
(Awesome tarragon cream sauce.)

2009 Basil Cellars Claret
15.2% alc. great with the steak.[18] $18.00
2011 Bridlewood Cabernet Sauvignon
13.8% alc. not as good as the Basil Cellars with this entree. [17] $17.00

Brown Sugar Pound Cake with Praline Sauce
(Oh my!!)

NV Henkell Trocken
11.5% alc not bad with this dessert. [18] $15.00
1997 Blaufrankisch Strowein
11.5% alc. this took the “show”. awesome with the dessert [19] $20.00 (375ml bottle)

Homemade Pasta. Yum!

14 Friday Jun 2013

Posted by Bob and Robin in Captain's Shack, Classic Sauces, Eggs, Herbs and Spices, Homemade Pasta, Locavore, Main Dish, Pasta, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe by: Robin and Bob Young, Salad, Seafood, Talapia, Vegetables, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food

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dinner, homemade pasta, talapia

Robin said that she wanted to make pasta sometime this week. So we bought the supplies, 2 dozen eggs and semolina flour. Combine that with talapia and look at our dinner tonight.

Lemon and Thyme Baked Talapia
Homemade Pasta with Fresh Peas
in
browned butter infused with fried fresh sage
Fresh Green Salad
2011 Dusted Valley (WA) Pinot Gris

A really yummy dinner! Left-Click the photo to see it enlarged and then grab a fork. Sorry, but there is no “Smell-A-Vision”. And please VOTE above. Thanks! Goot Essen.

William Sonoma Grilling Seminar

09 Sunday Jun 2013

Posted by Bob and Robin in BBQ Class, Classes, Classics, Cooking Programs, Cooking Styles, Food Prep, Grilling, Photos By: Bob Young, Seafood, Special Events, What's For Dinner?

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cooking, cooking shrimp, food, himalayan salt, salt block

A good seminar tonight. Next time I’ll remember (1) To take my other camera, and (2) Bring my notes home with me!!! Duh! Overall, a good evening and very well attended. I’m glad I went a little early. Food was good of which I liked the shrimp the least – way to salty for me; It was cooked on a Himalayan salt block. The pulled pork was good, but the pork tenderloin was the best. I will get another copy of the recipes tomorrow and post them. But for now, here are some photos from tonight. I did sign-up as an alternate, for their late June 2 hour seminar. Enjoy these photos.

Chef Chad roasts spices.

Searing the pork loin.

Pulled Pork

Cooking shrimp on a salt block. Personally, I think it is way too much salt.

Shrimp plated.

Pork Loin. I’ll post the recipe for the sauce tomorrow.

WHIP Night At The Buzz and Lobster and Potato Salad

31 Friday May 2013

Posted by Bob and Robin in Captain's Shack, Lobster, Main Dish, Party Time, Photos By: Bob Young, Salads, Seafood, Special Events, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food

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digital photography, Potato Salad, rye bread, self portrait, WHIP Night

The last Thursday of each month will be WHIP Night at the Buzz here in Boise. There is more information on the previous post here on the Foodie Blog. Attendance was low so maybe there will be more folks next month. Mark Your Calendars – Thursday June 27 from 5:00pm – 8:00pm. Different topics each month. Fun time. Good food and great wines.
This month – and repeated in June also – we talked about digital photography. The photo to the left is a self portrait. People say I don’t take enough photos of people. Left-Click any of these photos to see enlarged and please VOTE above. Thanks. Here is some food that we had. Enjoy!

Asian Tacos. Yummy!

Cristi is learning to make cheese. Here is one she made and it was good!

And then Friday night, Robin and I made a wonderful Lobster and Potato Salad. Click the link to get a recipe in PDF format.

Lobster and Potato Salad. Loved it!

Lobster and Potato Salad with Acme Bakery (Boise) Rye Bread.

Actually a great end to a weird week. The holiday Monday, got everything all messed up. Timing was weird.

Lunch at Ben’s Crow Inn – Dinner at Home

17 Friday May 2013

Posted by Bob and Robin in Acme Bakery, Beer and Food, Boise Adventures, Captain's Shack, Comfort Food, Eggs, Halibut, Main Dish, Photos By: Bob Young, Restaurants, Seafood, Steamed Clams, What's For Dinner?

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restaurants, rye toast, steamed clams, taste of the sea

Great meals today! Started out lunch at Ben’s Crow Inn just east of Boise. This place has been around for years and has not changed much. So why do people go here? Clams. Steamed clams. They smell and taste of the sea. They are that good ….. even here in landlocked Boise. And it was good to have Maggie join us for lunch. Here are some photos. Enjoy and please VOTE above.

Ben’s Crow Inn – Steamed Clams

Ben’s Crow Inn Halibut Plate

Our House – Dinner
Scrambled Eggs with Pancetta
Fresh Pear and Strawberry Mixed Fruit
Acme Bakery Rye Toast

Pacific Northwest Wine Dinner at the Buzz

16 Thursday May 2013

Posted by Bob and Robin in Chicken, Cooking Styles, Main Dish, Miner's Lettuce, Party Time, Photos By: Bob Young, Salads, Salmon, Seafood, Special Dinners, Special Events, What's For Dinner?, Wine Dinners

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bryan carter, strawberry rhubarb crisp, tomato salad, wine dinner

This was an interesting wine dinner. Differently good! One does not often get spinach at a wine dinner. Hard to pair with the wine. The roasted tomato salad was good. There was no Miner’s Lettuce in it. The Miner’s Lettuce pictured here in in our garden. Here are the photos of the dinner and you be the judge as to whether it was different from the norm of wine dinners. I will score the wine on a [20] point rating system. Left-Click on any of the photos to see them full screen. And please VOTE above. Thanks and Cheers!

Salmon Canapes
Potato and Mushroom Apple Cake

2011 Iris Pinot Grigio
12.5% alc. a good wine with a full taste and long finish. went well with the appetizer. [18] $15.00

Pea Soup
(Interesting and good!)

2011 G3 Chardonnay
13.7 alc. nice gold color but lacking in taste. went well, however, with the soup [17] $15.00

Roasted Tomato Salad

2010 Willamette Whole Cluster Pinot Noir
13.5% alc. sand and clay on the nose. not a big Pinot as some are. it did pair well with the salad and the dressing. [17] $23.00

Huckleberry Chicken
Creamed Spinach
Biscuits

2010 Bryan Carter Abracadabra
13.8% alc. really went well with the chicken and especially the spinach. great body and taste and finish. [19] $19.00 2011

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

Sawtooth Syrah
13.3% alc. Idaho’s first 91+ nationally scored wine and I can see why. the aroma was a little lite but everything else was superb. congratulations to Sawtooth Winery. [19] $15.00 (Great buy!)

And just as a closer, here are some spring flowers that Robin likes that are planted in our garden. Enjoy.

Columbine

Bleeding Hearts

Breaded Mahi Mahi For Dinner ….. Warm Beet-Orange Salad Recipe

13 Monday May 2013

Posted by Bob and Robin in Asparagus, Beans, Captain's Shack, Mahi Mahi, Main Dish, Party Time, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipes, Seafood, Special Information, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food

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ahi Mahi, beets, homemade tartar sauce, leon millot, Mahi Mahi

Yes we did have Braised Mahi Mahi tonight. But first ………….. I was showing the wine cellar to a friend, Mike from Acme Bakery in Boise (Mike makes awesome bread and his rolls are the ones used by 10 Barrel Brew Pub in Boise, for their burgers) when I noticed a seriously leaking bottle. Yes, it was the one shown here. Almost 75% of the wine was gone – most evaporated. But now the question is, how many of the readers here have ever had a wine made from the Leon Millot grape? I never had one. Here is some information from House of Vines blog.

This is another little hybrid that was developed in France. In fact it is has the same parentage as its more well known sibling Marechal Foch. Two other hybrids came from this same cross including Marechal Joffre and Lucy Kuhlman. Leon Millot is an early ripening black grape with small bunches, often 2-3 per shoot the largest usually about 70-80 grams.

It is cold hardy to approximately -25 to -30 c and while bud break is relatively early it is a little later than Foch making it appealing to those where later spring frost can be an issue. It is also known to ripen a few days earlier than Foch but these accounts appear somewhat subjective. Typically it ripens in 135-140 days, with flowering to harvest being about 85-90 days. What is known is that it regularly ripens to the same brix as Foch but does not have the high acidity problems that Foch can have in some years. In fact the juice chemistry is often excellent for wine making. [House of Vines]

Braised Mahi Mahi
with
homemade tartar sauce and bread crumbs
Rosemary White Beans
Onion and Asparagus with Morel Mushrooms

Here is the beet salad that Marnie made for Mother’s Day. She got the recipe from the food Network. Enjoy!

Warm Beet-Orange Salad

Place 1 pound beets on a large piece of foil. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and 3 tablespoons water; close into a packet. Roast at 400 degrees F until tender, 50 minutes.

Peel the beets and cut into wedges.

Whisk 1/3 cup orange juice, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and salt to taste in a bowl.

Add 2 segmented oranges, the beets and 1/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts and toss.

Enjoy the information and the recipe. Thanks Marnie for sharing this. Please VOTE above. Thanks!

Lobster Sliders

06 Monday May 2013

Posted by Bob and Robin in Baguette, Bread, Captain's Shack, Lobster, Main Dish, Miner's Lettuce, Photos By: Bob Young, Relish, Salads, Sandwiches, Seafood, Slider, Special Dinners, What's For Dinner?

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Acme Bakery, Baguette, black bean and corn salad, Miner's Lettuce, tartar sauce, yellow tomato

A good dinner tonight! Lobster Sliders Fresh made tartar sauce fresh picked miner's lettuce yellow tomato

A good dinner tonight! Left-Click to see larger image. VOTE above. Thanks!

Lobster Sliders
fresh made tartar sauce, fresh picked miner’s lettuce, yellow tomato, fresh baked Acme Bakery baguette

Homemade Black Bean and Corn Salad

Chandler’s Steak House, Boise

18 Thursday Apr 2013

Posted by Bob and Robin in Appetizers, Chandler's Steak House, Crab, Friends, Photos By: Bob Young, Seafood, Special Events, Tuna, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food

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ahi tuna, food, mustard sauce, restaurants, seafood appetizer

We went to Chandler’s Steak House this past Wednesday to a Wine Meet-Up Group party. The food was good, although I think over-priced. We did not get it, but the seafood appetizer platter was $90.00. We did get the crab cakes though, and they were good. Not over filled with bread crumbs. It’s just hard to beat a good, Eastern Shore, Blue Crab crab cake. That’s my real benchmark. Robin and I each decided on a tuna appetizer. Great presentations and both dishes tasted good, although I liked the Tower of Tuna the best. Left-Click the photos to see enlarged and enjoy the photos. Please VOTE above. Thanks.

Black Orchid Tuna
Sashimi grade ahi tuna seared rare; sliced and served with the signature “Black Orchid” mustard sauce. $18.00

Tower of Tuna
Fresh ahi and hamachi tuna, diced and towered with avocado, tomato, red onion, red chili, ginger, and sesame seed vinaigrette with Asian sesame crisps. $14.50

Great Easter and Birthday Dinner

01 Monday Apr 2013

Posted by Bob and Robin in Appetizers, Birthdays, Caesar Salad, Cakes, Captain's Shack, Celebrations, Ethnic Foods, Italian Food, Photos By: Bob Young, Restaurants, Seafood, Special Dinners, Special Events, What's For Dinner?

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chocolate hazelnut torte, cilantro pesto, food, restaurants, seared sea scallops, shrimp risotto

Such a great Easter Sunday! Robin in her RabbiT ears and me a year older. Good to have Marnie, Mac, Chris, Madison, Sophia and Maggie with us. Robin spent most of Saturday making a Chocolate Hazelnut Torte that was delicious. There are some photos of the cake below. Thank-You to everyone who was at this dinner party. Thank-You, too, for the cards and gifts. I appreciate all of you and the gifts. Here’s what we had for dinner. Left-Click any of the photos to see a larger view. Cheers! Of course, we had to have some wine. And don’t forget to Vote above. Thanks.