21 Sunday Nov 2010
Ahhhh! Such a delightful dinner, Canard à l’Orange, French Roast Duck with Orange Sauce. And with ours we had Wild Rice with Mushrooms and Brussels Sprouts in a Browned Butter and Horseradish Sauce. So much fun to do, although it does take some time. If you like duck, try the recipe. Good luck and Cheers!
20 Saturday Nov 2010
Posted in BSU, Photos By: Bob Young, What's For Dinner?
We don’t really eat a lot of pizza, unless it comes from Flying Pie Pizza in Boise. It was Game Day with BSU playing Fresno State on a cold, rainy night. BSU was victorious with a 51-0 score and a very slow 1st quarter. Along with the game we had this pizza.
The Combo is undeniably our most popular pizza; it gets reams of fan mail and makes the other pies jealous! This delectable combination has a brilliant blend of 6 meats and 4 veggies: Mozzarella, Pepperoni, sliced Ham that we changed to Canadian Bacon, Italian Sausage, Italian Salami, Ground Beef, Linguica, sliced Mushrooms, We Left The Green Pepper Off, Onions, and Black Olives. We also added Sundried Tomatoes. Yum-O!!!
It was a delicious pizza and went very well with a 2003 Ravenswood Zinfandel Dickerson Vineyard and a blow-out football game. Cheers!
19 Friday Nov 2010
Posted in Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food
“Le Beaujolais nouveau est arrivé!” And that it did at the Le Café de Paris in Boise last night! It’s been a while since we’ve been to the restaurant and it was great to get back. And what a night. But whats all the fuss about a wine? Well, here is some information for you. Enjoy!
“Beaujolais nouveau (French pronunciation: [boʒɔlɛ nuvo]) is a red wine made from Gamay grapes produced in the Beaujolais region of France. It is the most popular vin de primeur, fermented for just a few weeks then officially released for sale on the third Thursday of November. This “Beaujolais Day”, or “Beaujolais Nouveau Day” sees heavy marketing from the producers, with races to get the first bottles of the vintage to different markets … Beaujolais Nouveau is intended for immediate drinking, and in general should not be kept for more than a year. On the other hand, it usually benefits from being left a few weeks to recover from the effects of bottle-shock – and in the Northern Hemisphere the weather is more suited to Beaujolais drinking in Spring than in the chill of November. However, this rather misses the point of Beaujolais Nouveau’s “immediacy”, and patient drinkers can buy standard Beaujolais AOC wines released the following year at lower prices without the Nouveau hype. The wines show definite variation between vintages, at worst the wines start to decline after Christmas; wines from a very good year might still be drinking well 12 months later … In the United States, it is promoted as a drink for Thanksgiving, which falls a week after the wine is released. Duboeuf remains the biggest producer of Beaujolais Nouveau; unlike the “flower” labels of his other wines, his Nouveau features a colourful abstract design that changes every year. Duboeuf has silk ties made each year with the label’s abstract design, and releases them through select wholesalers and distributors.” (Wikipedia)
Here are some photos of the dinner we had. Cheers!
Pâté Paysanne
Salade Paysanne
Elk Bourguignon
Sole Meunière
Crème Caramel And the really surprising thing was ….. The Beaujolais Nouveau went extremely well with everything. Yes, even the Brussel Sprouts, which, by the way, were awesome! Steamed and then tossed in a butter/horseradish sauce. Yum-O! The elk was so tender, it melted in your mouth. And the pâté was delicious. It was all extremely good. An awesome evening out with Robin. We’ll do it again next year!
13 Saturday Nov 2010
We had a wonderful breakfast this morning at the Red Feather Lounge in Boise and next to the Boise City Market. We met our friend Barbara there for breakfast. We have known her since about 1984, but have not seen her for several years. It was good to catch up on “old times”
Then it was time to walk through the Boise Market to try to find some products to purchase and to locate some people we wanted to meet. There is one vendor there – they used to own the Sweetwater Cafe – that we wanted to find who makes dog food and dog biscuits, but they were not there. Maybe next time.
I did find Nonna’s of Sun Valley who we met on Facebook. It was great to visit with them for a short time and to sample their sauces. Here is information gleaned from their information sheet. The photo on the left is of John and Carolina. Their business card below will give you a little more information.
Carolina Belfiore Stevens,Owner/Creator (208) 720-3100
John Stevens, Marketing/Sales (208) 720-5795
“Nonna’s of Sun Valley offers Traditional Tomato Sauces and Dinners made locally in Idaho using Old World Recipes. In our family, recipes were not written on paper but rather learned through experiences. I would follow my grandmother around the house and garden, collecting ingredients and preparing “Sunday” dinner. We used the freshest and most local ingredients, same as we do today. Our signature sauces are Marinara Sauce, Red Wine Marinara Sauce, Puttanesca Sauce and Vodka Cream Sauce which are available all year long … We use Muir Glen 100% Organic Tomatoes in all our products. We use the highest quality natural ingredients and whenever possible, we use local ingredients such as Ballard Cheeses, Blue Ice Vodka and Cloverleaf Dairy Cream. We purchase many ingredients from Fair Mountain Farm in Fairfield, ID., Kings Crown Organics in King Hill, ID., MM Heath Farms in Buhl, ID., Peaceful Belly in Boise, ID, Rice Family Farms in Meridian, ID., Sweet Valley Organics in Star, ID, Wood River Organics in Bellevue, ID. And many more Idaho farms.”
But then I did find some very good Pine Bark Toffee made with pine nuts and sunflower seeds. A very different and amazing flavor to toffee. Here is some information about them.
Here is their business card with all their information. I don’t know if they ship or not. You will have to contact them directly.
And yes, it’s time to think Turkey. Fresh Turkey! Thanksgiving Turkey! Maybe this will help to get you in the spirit. Hope so.
That was our morning on this cool – almost cold – fall morning in Boise. Enjoy and check these businesses out. They will appreciate it. Cheers!
12 Friday Nov 2010
Last night we had a delightful dinner with Wes Malvini, among other things, now working for Idaho’s Bounty. Wes has been marketing director for Holesinsky Winery and Davis Creek Winery (both wineries in Idaho), film maker, writer, author, wine maker and vineyard manager. He has been busy! It was great to have Wes over for dinner and to talk to him about his achievements and future endeavors. Here is what we had for dinner. The photo to the left is the table setting Robin created. Enjoy!
Prepping the Grissini.
Grissini
Frying sage leaves.
Cheese Crisps with Fried Sage
——————————
Rabbit Dinner
with
Wes Malvini
The Menu
Appetizer
Virginia Prosciutto and Figs/Grissini
Entrée
Lapin a la Moutarde
(Rabbit In Mustard Sauce)
Tarragon Carrots
Wild Rice
Salad
Lemon Cucumber and Fennel Salad
Bread
Fresh Baked Sourdough Baguettes
Dessert
Goat Cheese and Apple Slices
The Wine List
2006 Parma Ridge Vineyards Chardonnay
2004 Fat Bastard Chardonnay
2000 Haight Vineyard Chardonnay
(The winner for tonight! What a surprise.)
1978 Chalone Vineyard Pinot Blanc
——————————
Appetizer
Virginia Prosciutto and Figs
Entrée
Lapin a la Moutarde
Dessert
Goat Cheese and Apple Slices
——————————
So there you have our wonderful dinner with friends from last night. Enjoy the photos!
11 Thursday Nov 2010
The other day while we were in the Boise Coop Wine Shop for a Port tasting, there was this gentleman there tasting the port and saying he was making a Puttanescsa tonight. We said we were making a Pasta With Portanesca Sauce. Then someone from Italy on Facebook asked if the Portanesca was the same as the Puttanescsa. Confused yet? Here is the recipe and the history behind it for Puttanescsa. Enjoy!!
Note: A classic sauce made with tomatoes, capers, olives, and anchovies. The lore of Pasta alla Puttanesca, which translates as “Whore’s Pasta,” varies: some say it refers to the spicy, pungent aroma produced by its ingredients that enticed passing customers; others claim pragmatically that this out-of-the-larder dish was the easiest thing workers could prepare between customers, and cheap to boot. People cook it today because it has a remarkable flavor, is easy, and is made of ingredients easily kept on hand.
Ingredients:
1 lbs Spaghetti or Linguini
½ cup + 1 tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
6 Anchovy fillets, chopped
½ tsp Garlic, finely chopped
3 c canned Whole Peeled Tomatoes (keep the juice), coarsely chopped
salt
2 t fresh chopped Oregano, fresh chopped or ½ tsp dried oregano
2 T Capers
8-10 Black Olives, pitted and julienned
Directions:
Put all but 1 T of the olive oil and the anchovies in a large skillet over a low heat and cook, stirring until the anchovies dissolve. Add the garlic and cook for about 15 seconds, taking care not to brown it (garlic gets bitter if browned)
Raise the heat to a medium-high and add the tomatoes, and juice, with a pinch of salt. When the sauce comes to a boil, turn the heat down and simmer until the tomatoes have reduced and separated from the oil. This will probably take 20-40 minutes.
Remove from the heat and set aside. If you want, you can now refrigerate the sauce and save for the next day.
Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot, add 1 t of salt, and drop in the pasta all at once, stirring until the strands are submerged. If you have a smaller pot, you can use less than 4 quarts of water, but you must constantly stir the spaghetti for one minute.
When the pasta is halfway done, return the skillet with the sauce to a medium heat, adding the oregano, capers, and olives. When the pasta is cooked al dente, drain and toss with the sauce in the skillet over a low heat, adding the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Taste for salt and serve at once with fresh Parmesan cheese.
So there you have it. It really does look good and easy to prepare. Have fun and choose a good wine to go with it. Cheers!
10 Wednesday Nov 2010
Another great Wine Club Dinner at the Buzz last night, 09 November. Really good food and some exceptional wine to go along with the dinner. And Cristi had her helper with her, as shown here. (I’m not allowed to say who this is. Can you guess?) If you missed this one, here are some more to look forward to. Mark these on your calendar! (1) On 18 November is the Beaujolais Nouveau from 6:30. No scheduled dinner, but Bistro type foods will be available. (2) 05 December the Quarterly Wine Dinner. This is a special dinner with surprise wines picked to accompany the dinner. There is a very nominal charge for the Wine Dinner. (3) 14 and 15 December the monthly Wine Club Dinner and Tasting of Carmenere and Gewurztraminer. $15.00 per person for a 5 to 6 course full dinner and 6 to 8 wines. Reservations are strongly suggested!! Look in the sidebar for a link to the Buzz. Here are some photos from last nights dinner. Enjoy the photos; We enjoyed the dinner! Thank-You Debbie, Chisti and Tom for a great evening and dinner. My point ratings are in (20). 20 is the highest rating.
I must apologize: I missed a photo of the Spaghetti Squash that Debbie made. And it was good!! I was too busy eating it and talking!
Empty
Apple-Rosemary Blue Cheese Bites
Chicken Florentine
(I though this was awesome. Just a hint of curry made this a real treat and a surprise ingredient to this Florentine.)
2006 Grafign Cabernet (Argentina) 14% alc (18) $12.00
The Original Caesar
2007 Blue River Riesling 9.5% alc (18) $12.00
Beef Bourguignon
2008 Louis Martini Cabernet 13.9% alc (18) $17.00
Banana Split Brownie Pizza
2006 Kestrel Cabernet 13.9% alc (19) $21.00
The 2008 Winter Scene Riesling 10% alc (18) $14.00 went with the Spaghetti Squash.
Hope you enjoyed the photos as much as we enjoyed the Wine Dinner. See you there next time? Hope so. Just make reservations. Cheers!
07 Sunday Nov 2010
It’s a cold, rainy day. 52 degrees, winds E@5mph, humidity 94% and 0.34″ of rain. YUK!
Guess it’s time for the soup bowl. Here is a recipe for Berryhill and Co‘s Tomato Basil Soup which is awesome! Thanks to Chef John Berryhill for sharing this recipe which comes from his blog. Berryhill and Co, for those of you not in Boise, is one of Boise’s finest restaurants. If you are ever in Boise, it is well worth a trip to eat there. Try this soup! The photo here is actually the soup. Cheers.
06 Saturday Nov 2010
A good tasting at the Boise Coop Wine Shop of Port wines with Christian Lamotte of New West Wines. Here are the ports that we tasted.
Robin and Christian discuss the ports.
The wines we tasted.
But then, when you have tasted all of these wines and bought two bottles, now what? How about Pasta with Portanesca Sauce. Yup! You guessed it. A pasta sauce with port wine and coffee. Here is the recipe. Enjoy.
Source: Robin and Bob Young
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
4 c Pasta Shells
1 c White Port wine
1 c Water, used to soak the dried mushrooms
1 c strong Coffee, espresso
3 T Butter
3 T All-Purpose flour
½ c dried Mushrooms, reconstituted in the 1 c Water
4 T Pecorino Romano Cheese, ground
½ T Pomegranate Molasses
1½ T Hazelnuts, ground
¾ c Chicken Breasts, cooked and diced (optional)
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 T Olive Oil
4 whole Figs
Shaved Pecorino for garnish
Directions:
Cook the pasta until done. Rinse. Add the 1 T olive oil and toss to keep from sticking. Set aside.
Cut each fig in half lengthwise. Set aside.
Soak the mushrooms for 2 hours in 1 cup of water. After 1 hour, replace the water with 1 c Port. Reserve the water.
Reduce the coffee by ½. Add the reserved water and the port wine from the mushrooms. Reduce by ½. Keep warm.
Large dice the mushrooms. Set aside.
Add the butter to a saucepan and cook over medium-low heat until it is nut brown. Do not burn! Add the flour and whisk to blend. Add the reduced coffee mixture and stir to blend. Add the ground hazelnuts, the cheese and the pomegranate molasses. Add the optional diced chicken. Stir all to blend. Let the sauce thicken.
When the sauce is thick, add the pasta. Stir to mix. Heat throughout.
Plate with two figs cut in half on a plate. Top the pasta with the shaved pecorino.
As we used to say in the dance classes we were teaching, “Your turn!” Good luck.
02 Tuesday Nov 2010
It’s been a while since we have been to the Bittercreek Ale House in Boise, but it is still pretty good fixins’. We usually go to the Red Feather Lounge, Bittercreek’s kissing cousin next door, but only because we are way to early and usually on a Saturday. Red Feather Lounge has a great breakfast and super dinners. So after voting today, we took ourselves out to lunch. Here is what we had. Enjoy. We did. And when in Boise, this is a good place to eat. Cheers!
BC Burger with Bacon
BLT
Fish Brewing Co., Spire Mountain Dark and Dry Hard Apple Cider
Bicycles
The lunches were very good as were the beer and the hard cider. I do like a good corn soup, Chicken Corn Soup from Lancaster or Lehigh Counties in Pennsylvania to be exact, but this Chipotle Corn Soup was superb. I liked it that much. $28.00 for lunch for the two of us. Cheers!
Boise Foodie Guild 