Fagiolini alla Panna

30 Thursday Dec 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Anthropology of Food, Italian Food, What's For Dinner?

On one of the blogs I read, Memorie di Angelina, I received this recipe. Very timely. Robin has a pot of green beans on the stove. This really looks good. And for those who need a translation, Fagiolini alla Panna translates as Green Beans In Cream Sauce, I think. Anyway, here is the copied recipe and the Original Recipe.

Fagiolini alla Panna

Source: http://memoriediangelina.blogspot.com/
Servings: 6
Notes: When most people (myself included) think of Italian style green beans, fagiolini in umido (green beans in tomato sauce) is likely to come to mind or perhaps fagiolini all’agro, a simple green bean salad. Here is a less well known but perfectly delicious dish from Lombardia that I recent came across while perusing a little cookbook called La cucina lombarda by Alessandro Molinari Pradelli: green beans simmered in cream. I can almost guarantee that once you try this, it will become a regular part of your repertoire!

Ingredients:
1 kg (2 lbs.) green beans
A shallot, fine chopped
50g (3 Tbs) butter (or more if you’re feeling indulgent)
2 dl (3/4 cup) cream (or as much as you need)
Nutmeg
Salt and pepper
A handful of parsley, finely chopped

Directions:
Trim off the ends of your green beans, then plunge them into a big pot of well-salted boiling water. Cook them until they are quite al dente, remembering that they will cook some more later. This should take no more than 5 minutes or so, depending on the size and quality of the beans.

While the green beans are boiling away, gently sweat your chopped shallot in the butter in an ample skillet or sauté pan until soft but not browned.

Transfer the green beans from the boiling water right into the skillet and mix them well with the butter and shallot soffritto. [NB: If you like, you can ‘refresh’ the green beans in cold water before adding them to the skillet, which will help them retain their color, but being a bit lazy I often skip this step.] Raise the flame just a bit and let the green beans braise for a few minutes, stirring frequently, so they can absorb the flavors of the soffritto.

Now add your cream, enough to just about cover the beans. Season with salt, pepper and nice scrape of nutmeg. Raise the flame a bit more so that the cream bubbles fairly vigorously. Continue stirring from time to time, and simmer until the cream has thickened into a saucy consistency. Taste and adjust for seasoning if need be.

Mix in the chopped parsley and serve immediately.

NOTES: The great thing about this dish, as for any braised vegetable dish, is that you can use green beans that may have been around for a while without much trouble. That is, in fact, what I did this time and I can tell you the results were more than satisfactory.

This makes for a fine contorno for grilled meats, in particular. I would not serve it, on the other hand, with a braised meat dish. And I actually had it as a vegetarian lunch one day, with a nice chunk of crusty bread.

Party Time!

29 Wednesday Dec 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Appetizers, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food

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Quite often we are at a loss as to what to bring to a New Year’s Eve Party. And too, we are often asked to bring some champagne or other sparkling wine. Here are some suggestions: (1) Crispy Udon Noodles with Nori Salt paired with a NV Jacques Lassaigne Les Vignes de Montgeux Blanc de Blancs, (2) Hush Puppies with Remoulade served with a NV Alfred Gratien Blanc de Blancs Brut or (3) Potato Pancakes with Smoked Salmon, Caviar and Dill Cream served with a well-structured, Pinot Noir-dominated Champagne: Lamiable Grand Cru Brut.

All of these recipes, photos and champagne suggestions, and more, can be found at Food and Wine Champagne Parings. Have fun with these treats, drink responsibly and be safe.

Have A
Happy New Year Party
and a
Great 2011!

Yes It Was Robin’s Day!

19 Sunday Dec 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Flying Pie Pizza, Food, Food Prep, Photos By: Bob Young, Pizza, Pizza and Brew, What's For Dinner?

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And that it was at Flying Pizza Pizzaria on State Street in Boise. Margaret and Robin standing below the Flying Pie Pizzaria sign that announces her day! Even though it was rainning, 0.19″ per hour, it was a great party and we thank Flying Pie Pizzaria for the opportunity to make Robin’s Special Pizza. But here, look at the photos and see the fun all of us had. And when you are in Boise, stop in at Flying Pie Pizzaria for a pizza, salad and fantastic beer!

Here is Robin – my Robin – getting her instructions on what is going to happen.

But then there was more than one Robin who arrived for “Their Day“. Actually, there were four Robins that showed up. How great!!

Then there is always the prep work to making any dinner or pizza or whatever.

Fondle the pizza dough!

Throw the pizza to get the most stretch in the dough.

Putting the goodies on the pizza!

Marine and Robin. Robin’s pizza is in the center.

Jalapeno pizza!

Marnie, Robin and Maddy!

Margaret, Chris’ friend Nate, Chris, Marnie, Robin and Maddy.

Marnie and Mac.

Robin

Bob and Margaret

Robin, Bob and O Holy Night brew!

The Nectar of the Gods!

Yes it was an exciting afternoon. Great family, great friends, great beer and great pizza! Thank-You all!

Robin’s Day At Flying Pie Pizzaria!

19 Sunday Dec 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Flying Pie Pizza, Food, Food Prep, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?

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Yessireee Bub! It’s Robin’s Day at Flying Pie Pizzaria tomorrow, Sunday! So what does that mean? She gets to make her own pizza!! And we get to party, Dutch Treat, of course. We will be at the store on State Street in Boise, tomorrow, Sunday at 2:00pm. We have 6 other people coming. We’d love to have you there to join in on the festivities. Maybe even Joe and his family can make it. Maybe Joe? We’d love to see you all there.

If you can, 2:00pm at the Flying Pie Pizzaria, 4320 State Street, Boise – just as the graphic on the left says.

It’s been a pretty good day today – The University of Delaware defeated Georgia Southern for the NCAA Div 1 semifinals and now they go to Texas on 7 Jan 2010 to play Eastern Washington and that should be a great game for the NCAA National Title. And Troy is sticking it to Ohio 43-14 in the 4th quarter. (I thought Ohio had all these Hot-Shot football teams that don’t like to play the “little guys”. See what happens?) Fresno State had their heads handed to them. ): DircTV is back on the air and my phone finally found the satelite. So, if you can make the pizza party tomorow, that will be great, too. Maybe fill the shop? Cheers! And bring your cameras.

Here’s A Great Chili Recipe

16 Thursday Dec 2010

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

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No matter what you do, don’t forget to serve this chili with a Stella!!! But, before you can serve it, you have to have The Recipe. And this is, even if I say so myself, one awesome chili. Not your run of the mill chili. It has some very different ingredients in it. Chocolate for one. It does take some time to prep and to cook. But you can make it ahead of time. Have fun with this one and enjoy!

Wine Club Dinner At "The Buzz"

15 Wednesday Dec 2010

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

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On December 14, 2010 we attended the Wine Club Dinner at The Buzz in Boise. The theme tonight was Gewurztraminer and Carmenere.

Cristi informed us that these dinners will continue next year, 2011. The yearly theme will be the Small Family Owned Wineries and she will start with Indian Creek Winery from Kuna, Idaho. The price per person for the full dinner (see photos below) and 6 to 9 wines will remain the same at $15.00. WOW! Reservations are encouraged. With the cost of this meal and the wines served, it would be the polite thing to do – Make Reservations. You can contact the Buzz to make your reservations at Their Website, by phone at (208) 344-4321 or by email at Buzz Wine E-Mail.

The menu for tonight was awesome. Spicy, yet sweet. Along with the dishes prepared by Debbie, I will also list the wine that was served with the dish and the score (20). Enjoy and see you at the next Wine Dinner in January 2011. Have a great Holiday Season!

Firecracker Chicken and Fiery Vegetable Bites
2009 Chateau St Michelle Gewurztraminer, 12.5% alc, (19), $10.00

Blossom Cups with Shrimp
2009 Sawtooth Winery Gewurztraminer, alc 13.0%, (15), $10.00

Red Pepper and Fennel Soup

(This was an awesome soup!)
2009 Nbed 2gether Carmenere, alc 13.5%, (19), $10.00
(We bought 1 bottle!)

Spicy Chopped Salad
2007 Trimbach Gewurztraminer, alc 14.0%, (20) $22.00
(This is a benchmark wine and we bought 2 bottles! Spend the money.)

Ropa Viejo with Santa Fe Vegetables
2009 Santa Rita Carmenere, alc 13.5%, (17), $1`0.00

Chocolate Sybil Cake
2005 Korta Carmenere, alc 13.5%, (15), $10.00

So there you have the ingredients for the last of the 2010 Wine Club Dinners! We are looking forward to the wine dinners at the Buzz in 2011! Cheers! And don’t forget to make reservations.

Lobster,Shrimp and Risotto Timbales

11 Saturday Dec 2010

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

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Robin comes up with some really awesome dinner ideas. Here is one that, I think, she saw in a photo. (She has this knack of making items from a photo. She did her Prom dress from a photo when we went to the dance in 1960! I had to wait until she finished it. Her Dad just smiled.) I didn’t see the photo of this dish nor a recipe, which leads me to believe that the recipe for the dinner is, at best, an educated guess. And that makes it fun. Here’s the menu and recipe. The recipe looks long and involved. Read through it first – it is really pretty straight forward. Cheers!

Baked Lobster and Shrimp

Truffle Oil Risotto Timbales with String Beans and basil cream sauce

Orange Fennel Salad

1999 Mainzer Domherr Spätlese Rheinhessen
2008 Cold Springs Phren/ology Riesling

Source: Robin Young
Serves: 2

Ingredients: (Lobster and Shrimp)
2 med Lobster Tails
12 med Shrimp

Directions:
Pre-Heat Oven to 375°F
Reserve all shells. Remove the lobster meal from the shell. Cut in half lengthwise. Shell and devein the shrimp. Lay the lobster meat from 1 tail on the edge of a 1-2 cup round ramekin. Place 6 shrimp in center of lobster ring. Repeat for a second ramekin. Set aside. Heat a ‘Bane Mare’ – jelly roll pan or baking dish with at least 1/2 inch of water for a hot water cooking bath to set the seafood ramekins in and bake.

Place all shells in a saucepan. Add any orange peel or lemon peel that you may have from making the salad and risotto. Cover with water and simmer until the lobster shells are a deep red and the shrimp shell are pink. Reduce heat and continue to simmer. This is the liquid for the risotto. You may need up to 4 cups for the risotto. Hot pack the remaining into canning jars. I ended up with 1 quart of the lobster stock canned.

Ingredients: (Risotto)
3 c Lobster broth (Above)
2 T Butter
3 T Shallot, minced
1 c Risotto
⅓ c dry White Wine
1 pinch Saffron
Sea Salt to taste
1 t Chives, chopped
1 t Lemon peek

Directions:
While cooking the risotto, bake the lobster and shrimp bowls in the water bath in the oven. It should take about 20 minutes.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter. Add the minced shallot and sauté until it is transparent. Add the risotto and stir until coated with the shallot/butter. Add the chives, lemon peel, wine and saffron and stir until the wine is completely absorbed. Add enough of the warm lobster broth to just cover the risotto. Cook over medium heat adding more broth as needed. Continue to cook until the risotto is soft, but not gummy. About 20 minutes.

Ingredients: (Herb Cream)
2 T Basil, chopped
1 t Tarragon, dried
¾ c Heavy Cream

Directions:
Place all ingredients in a small saucepan over med-low heat. Stir until the cream is reduced and thickened.

Ingredients: (Salad)
Fresh Fennel sliced
Fresh Orange sliced and peel removed
Fresh Mixed Greens
Flat Leaf Parsley

Directions:
Place the mixed greens on a plate. Place the orange and fennel on the greens.

Now, let’s put it all together! The salad is already plated.

Ingredients:
Truffle Oil
Ramekins
Frenched Green Beans, drained of all liquid [* Optional – just because I like to use up leftovers]

Directions:
Risotto
In each ramekin. place a drop or two of the truffle oil. Spread it all around using your finger. Place a ring of green beans along the bottom, leaving the center open. Add the risotto and fill to the top. Press down slightly to pack. Cool slightly. Loosen the edge with a fork.

Turn the ramekin upside down on the plate. The risotto should come out of the ramekin and maintain the round shape. See photo.

Lobster
Remove the lobster from the cooking bowl. Place in a ring on the plate. Place the shrimp in the center.

Drizzle a small amount of the Herb Cream on the lobster and shrimp mixture and on the risotto. Serve with a fine Riesling or German wine. Enjoy!!

——————————

Kitchen Notes:
1) The photo does not show the Herb Cream correctly. I did not get this thick enough. The Herb Cream should not be this runny. The original had one small ring of seafood on top of the risotto ring served with Bearnaise sauce,
2) Use the truffle oil sparingly. All you want is the essence of truffle. It does not take much to achieve this.
3) If you have questions, look at the photo. Left-Click the photo to enlarge it.

Chicken Paillard

10 Friday Dec 2010

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

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While watching the Home Depot College Football Awards tonight on ESPN – Kellen Moore, BSU was nominated for the Davey O’Brian Award for Outstanding Quarterback and the Maxwell Award for All Around Player and the Heisman Award coming up later this week (I didn’t see any Ohio school or player nominated for any of these awards), Robin wanted to make this Chicken Paillard with Tomatoes, Fennel and Olives. Enjoy and let us know if you make this.

“Chicken Paillard with Tomatoes, Fennel and Olives

Source: Lynne Rossetto Kasper
Serves: 4

Notes: To check doneness, press your finger into the chicken breast. If it’s firm, it is done. Let the chicken rest about 10 minutes before serving. Leftovers are dynamite over greens, or broccoli, or pasta, or couscous.

“Paillard” is essentially French for cutlet. Pounding meat flat tenderizes it so it cooks faster. Butterfly the breasts by slicing them almost completely in half horizontally and opening them up like a book. Then put them between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and pound flat using the bottom of a heavy pot.

Ingredients:
1 c Peeled Tomatoes, diced and seeded
¾ c Fennel, thin sliced
½ c Green Olives, pitted and sliced
½ c Shallots, minced
¼ c Pine Nuts, toasted
¼ c Raisins, plumped in dry white wine
2 T Capers, rinsed
4 Thyme sprigs, leaves removed
2 Garlic cloves, minced
½ c Olive Oil, divided
Fine sea salt and freshly ground Black Pepper
4 Chicken Breasts, skinless and boneless. Butterflied and lightly pounded flat
3 T Basil, fresh and chiffonade
2 T Italian Parsley, fresh and chopped

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 450°F.

Toss the tomatoes, fennel, green olives, shallots, pine nuts, raisins, capers, thyme leaves and garlic in a mixing bowl. Drizzle most of the olive oil over the vegetables and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Season the chicken breasts on both sides with salt and pepper. Place the chicken in a single layer on a large baking dish. Cover the chicken with the tomato mixture and drizzle the remaining olive oil over and around the chicken. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Sprinkle the basil and parsley over the chicken and serve immediately.” (Lynne Rossetto Kasper, http://splendidtable.publicradio.org/newsletter)

——————————

We added the Roasted Yellow Squash, Roasted Brussels Sprouts and the Beets and String Bean Medley. They added so much to the dinner. This was one very delicious dinner.

Earlier in the day we made Latkes, but not as good as we had the other day. We adjusted the recipe and added fresh apple to the latkes before cooking. Different. Also, we didn’t have any apple sauce, but we did have Pear Apple Butter.

Portabel Low Poacher

08 Wednesday Dec 2010

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

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This morning, right around noon, Robin was in the kitchen and said, “Brunch is ready.” So I walked out to the kitchen and she has made this awesome Portabello, also know as Cappellone, mushroom dish. This was just great with the poached egg on top. You can adjust this recipe to serve as many as you wish. Just adjust the shallot to the number you are making – 1 shallot for every 4 dishes. Here’s the recipe. Enjoy! I did.

Portabel Low Poacher‏

Recipe Source: Robin Young
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
4 Portabello mushrooms – cleaned, stems removed and reserved
1 Shallot
4 eggs
4 T Sour Cream
4 T grated cheese
1 T Herbes de Provence
2 T butter
1 t pepper [black or cayenne]

Directions:
Mince or ‘small chop’ Portabello stems with shallot. Sauté in butter in med pan that can hold 2-4 portabellos and has a glass lid. Add Herbes de Provence when shallot is translucent – about 10 minutes on low heat

Place Portabellos gill side up on a serving plate. Spoon 1T Sour Cream into center where stem was removed. Break an egg into each mushroom over the sour cream.
Sprinkle 1T grated cheese over each egg – I used Pecorino, but grueyere, parmesan, cheddar, feta or bleu would do. Spoon the sauté mix of mushroom stems, shallot and herbs over the cheese.

Fill the sauté pan ½ full of water and bring to a gentle boil. Add about 1 T coarse sea salt to the water

Carefully place each mushroom into the poaching liquid. Cover with a clear glass lid and let poach over medium heat until egg is ‘set’ – test by wiggling the pan.
Lift out with slotted spatula or spoon onto serving plate.

Serve warm with toast, and salad or fruit.

Cauliflower Soup And More!

07 Tuesday Dec 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Salad, Soup, Special Information, Vegetables, What's For Dinner?

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At the Buzz Bistro the other night, we met and sat with Gail Ewart. She was talking about a Cauliflower Soup that she had made and said it was extremely good. I asked her to send the recipe and that she did. The recipe comes from the November 2010 More Magazine and the recipe is by Christine Hendricks. Gail also sent the recipe for a Green Bean with Basil – Garlic Dressing that sounds good, too. Enjoy these. If you Left-Click on the graphic you can get a larger image and then further enlarge from the second screen. Thank-You Gail for the recipes!