Category Archives: What’s For Dinner?

Lemon Baked Chicken

01 Saturday May 2010

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

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Now here is an easy meal. Chicken, lemon, thyme, asparagus and noodles. How easy do we get?

Lemon Baked Chicken

Ingredients:
2 Chicken breasts, skinless
1 Lemon, zested and juiced
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 T Lemon Thyme
Flat Egg Noodles for 2
3 cloves Garlic, diced
1/2 lbs Asparagus
2 T Butter
1 T Olive Oil
1/2 lbs Button Mushrooms, quartered

Directions:
1). Place the chicken breasts in an oven proof casserole dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Zest the lemon and spread over chicken. Squeeze the lemon juice over the chicken. Place the lemon in the pan along the side. Sprinkle with 1 T Lemon Thyme. Let marinate for 1 hour.

2). Place the butter and the olive oil in a sauté pan over low heat. Place 1 T Lemon Thyme in sauté and cook the mushrooms. Remove from heat and set aside.

3). Place the noodles in a pan of hot water with the garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Cook until done. Drain. Place 2 T butter in the hot pan. Return the noodles,. along with the garlic, to the pan. Add the sautéed mushrooms. Cover and set aside.

4). Pre-heat the oven to 385ºF. Place the chicken in the oven and cook for 45 minutes.

To Serve:
Place a bed of noodles on the plate. Place a chicken breast on the noodles. Make a raft of asparagus and place on the plate. (See photo) Serve with a good white wine. Cheers!

Cinco de Mayo – Barbacoa Beef Cheek Tacos

27 Tuesday Apr 2010

Posted by in Cinco de Mayo, Main Dish, Party Time, Recipe: Bob and Robin Young, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?

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Cinco de Mayo (5 May) is right around the corner. And what a better way to celebrate than to make some beef cheeks (barbacoa). Here is a recipe that is pretty easy to make, but it takes some time. Enjoy these. Cheers!

(Adapted from: http://www.food52.com/. The original recipe can be found at http://www.food52.com/recipes/2731_barbacoa_beef_cheek_tacos by aargersi. The photo is from Sarah Shatz)

The marinade turns into a thick, rich almost mole-like sauce … delicious!
Serves 6-8

Pickled Onions:
1 Red Onion
1 T Salt
2 T Sugar
1 Beet, cut into ¼
1 bunch Cilantro
⅓ c Water
⅔ c Cider Vinegar

Directions:
Slice the onions very thinly and put them in a microwaveable container. Add the beet, cilantro, salt and sugar. Cover everything with the water/vinegar mix. Microwave for 1 minute, stir, and microwave for another minute. Cool, then refrigerate overnight. The beet will turn it a really pretty hot pink color.

Barbacoa Beef Cheeks:
2½ lbs Beef Cheeks
4 lg Garlic cloves
1 T unsweetened Cocoa powder
1 T Peanut Butter
1 Ancho Chili
1 t instant Espresso
2 T Olive Oil (plus 2 more for cooking)
1 T Honey
2 t Cumin
1 t smoked Sweet Paprika
1 bunch fresh Cilantro
1 t Salt
1 c Beef Stock
3 Limes
1 Avocado
Corn Tortillas
fresh Cilantro

Directions:
Clean and trim the cheeks. Put them in a container that you can marinate them in.
Remove the stem and seeds from the ancho, cut it up into chunks and rehydrate in a little water (You can stick it in a ramekin and microwave for 30 seconds)

Peel and chop the garlic. Put everything from the garlic to the salt in the food processor (including the water from the chili) and blend into a paste. Toss the paste with the cheeks and marinate for several hours or better yet over night.

When it is time to cook, heat the oven to 275ºF, and heat 2 T olive oil in a Dutch oven. Brown the cheeks on both sides. Use the stock to rinse the rest of the marinade into the Dutch oven, then squeeze the juice of 3 limes in.

Bake at 275ºF for 3½ hours – turn the cheeks over once or twice while they cook and if the liquid dries up add a bit more stock.

When the cheeks are fall-apart tender, take the pan out of the oven. Using 2 forks, pull the meat apart in the pan so that it mixes in with all of that fatty juicy goodness.

To serve – heat 2 tortillas. Fill with barbacoa (beef cheeks), a slice of avocado, some of pickled onions and fresh cilantro. Serve and enjoy!!! Join us on Facebook in the group Here’sWhat’s Cookin!

Asparagus Herbed Soup – Redone!

25 Sunday Apr 2010

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

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When you make a mistake, there are two routes you can take: (1) Ignore it or (2) Correct it. I choose to correct the mistake. So it is with the Asparagus Soup with Lemon Herb Crème Fraîche. The first time I made it I really messed it up. This time (see photo) it is much, much better. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the way Debbie made it (The Buzz). I just changed it somewhat. For instance, I used leeks along with some onion. And I also added some herbs while the soup was cooking. Look at the link above for a printable copy. But for your browsing interest, here is the recipe. Cheers!

Asparagus Soup with Lemon Herb Crème Fraîche

Author: Bob and Robin Young
Source: The Buzz and Food and Wine
Web Page: Rockin’ R’s Web Page, Boise Foodie Guild Blog

Comments: This is a different and an awesome Asparagus Soup that we first had at the “Buzz” in Boise.
Degree of Difficulty: Moderately difficult
Servings: 6

Ingredients:
½ c Crème Fraîche
1 T Parsley, chopped
3 t Chives, chopped
2 t Tarragon, chopped
1 t Lemon Zest, finely grated
1 t Lemon juice, fresh
Sea Salt and fresh ground Pepper
2 lbs medium Asparagus, tough ends discarded, tips reserved and stalks coarsely chopped
2 T Butter, unsalted
1 med Leek, white and green cut into rounds and then cut in half
¼ med Onion, finely chopped
1 qt Chicken stock
2 c Water

Directions:
1). In a bowl, blend the Crème Fraîche with the parsley, 2 t of chives, 1 t of tarragon and the lemon zest and juice. Season with salt and pepper, then cover and refrigerate. In a small saucepan of boiling salted water, blanch the asparagus tips for 1 minute; drain and ice down. Transfer to a plate.

2). Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the onion and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, 4 minutes. Add the stock and water and bring to a boil. Add the chopped asparagus and season with 1½ teaspoons of salt and a few grindings of pepper. Add the remaining tarragon and chives. Boil over moderately high heat until the asparagus are tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes.

3). Working in batches, puree the soup in a blender and pour it into a clean saucepan. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer over moderate heat. Use an immersion blender and puree the soup until smooth and creamy. Place about 4 or 5 asparagus tips in a warmed bowl and ladle the soup into shallow bowls. Top with large dollops of the Lemon-Herb Crème Fraîche, some cut chives and serve.

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What’s For Dinner? Pork mit Kraut!

24 Saturday Apr 2010

Posted by in Food, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Sauerkraut, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?

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Try this for dinner:

Braised Pork Chops with Mustard Cream Sauce

Homemade Sauerkraut

Mashed Garlic-Rosemary Potatoes

Fresh Homemade Sourdough Bread

But also, there is something that I found out: Robin likes her pork chops cooked crispy. Not burned, but well done and crispy on the outside. That must come from when pork – the other “White Meat” – was not produced as strictly as it is today. But that’s OK. Next time, I will make sure it is done to her liking. The sauerkraut was fermented for six weeks. The sourdough starter has been going for about five weeks. And there is a “thing” now that if one is going to eat bread – and what good German won’t have bread with a meal? – that you should eat sourdough breads because of the fermentation of the starter. Enjoy, we did. Cheers!

Le Café de Paris "Bon Anniversaire"

16 Friday Apr 2010

Posted by in Food, Photos By: Bob Young, Restaurants, What's For Dinner?

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Such an adventure! Another great epicurian adventure! On 15 April, Robin and I went to the Le Café de Paris Anniversary dinner! Look at the menu (Left Click the graphic to view full screen) If you missed this one, come join us on 22 April at 6:30pm for another awesome Wine Dinner. You will have to make reservations. Look at the dinner photos.

The music was really good as usual.

The Poiters sparkling wine was a great opener. Made from Folle Blanche and Sauvignon Blanc. Refreshing.

The 2008 Poligny Montrachet was superb with the dinner – all phases of the dinner!

To open the dinner, a wonderful Canard de Rillette (Duck Rillette) with a Red Pepper Gastrique. Made from 100% shredded duck meat and cooked in duck fat and wrapped in puff pastry. This was delicious!

The Salade de Haricots Verts (Green Bean Salad) with Roasted Hazelnuts, Roasted Tomatoes, Fresh Basil and Crème Fraîche. Now this was delicious!! (Sorry the photo is not as good!) The beans were so crisp, yet tender. And the Crème Fraîche just hit the spot with the basil.

Coq au Vin (Red Wine Chicken), Free Range Chicken with Fresh Pasta and Grilled Croutons. I don’t know that I have ever had a “bad” Coq au Vin. This was no exception. It was delicious and if I were to have a special catered meal, this would probably be on the menu. It’s just that good!!

You just think I’m done! Look at the Saumon Pave with Roasted Mushroom Consommé, Moral Mushrooms and Saffron Potatoes. Everything in this dish was a dream. I can’t say anything else.

One of the great things about Le Café de Paris are the pastries and the breads. This Des Quatre-Quarts – Berry and Chocolate Salad, Fresh Mint and Whipped Cream dessert was the ultimate. The warm sponge cake with the mint, blueberries and chocolate was an epicurian delight!

I wish I could cook like this. (The tears are rolling down my chubby, little cheeks.) Cheers! Don’t miss the next one.

Cedar Plank Salmon

15 Thursday Apr 2010

Posted by in Recipes, Salmon, Seafood, What's For Dinner?

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I belong to several recipe and cooking newsletters. “Sizzle on the Grill” comes from Char-Broil, the manufacturer of my grill. I do get some really awesome recipes and information from them. Here is one such recipe for salmon. I can taste the Beurre Blanc now. But I think I would still add a little tarragon to the Orange Muscat – just a little. I can smell it and taste it now. I have edited the recipe: The original recipe called for 16oz servings. 8oz servings are plenty. This would be great with a good Pinot Griego. Enjoy! Click Here for the original recipe.

Cedar Plank Grilled Salmon with Orange Muscat Beurre Blanc

Yield: 4
Prep Time: 1 Hour
Cook Time: 20 Minutes

Ingredients:
4 Salmon Fillets each about 8 oz. (with skin is fine, without is fine also)
2 lg (or 4 small) Cedar Planks for grilling
2 t Fennel Seeds, lightly crushed
Olive Oil, Sea Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper
1 Shallot, finely diced
2 T Orange-Muscat Vinegar (Available at Trader Joe’s or make your own.)
¼ unsalted Butter, cut into teaspoon sized pieces
finely ground Sea Salt and freshly ground White Pepper, to taste

Directions:
Soak the cedar planks, completely submerged, in cold water for at least 1 hour. Preheat your grill to medium-high heat before grilling.

For the beurre blanc, heat a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the diced shallot and about 1 tsp. of olive oil and cook until the shallot smells great, about 3 minutes. If it looks like the shallot is starting to brown, reduce the heat. Add the white wine vinegar (in this case, orange muscat vinegar) and stir to deglaze the pan. Continue to cook until the vinegar has reduced by half, about 5 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and 2 teaspoons of butter. Continually whisk the butter until it is completely melted. If the butter starts to foam, place the bottom of the pan on a cold surface (like a stone countertop) to cool it. Add the remaining butter, 2 teaspoons at a time, whisking continually. If the butter refuses to melt, hold the pan over very low heat for a few seconds and then remove.

Once all the butter is incorporated, taste the sauce and adjust with a fine-grain salt and freshly ground white pepper. You can use black pepper if you want, but white pepper will make the sauce look prettier.

Prepare the salmon fillets by patting them dry and coating with salt, pepper and fennel seeds on the flesh side. Rub the fillets on all sides with olive oil. Make sure your grill has been preheated to medium-high heat. Arrange the cedar planks on your grill and place the fillets, skin side down (if they have skin) on the cedar planks. Close the lid and grill for 15-20 minutes, or until the fish is fully cooked. The planks will give off a lot of smoke which adds to the excellent flavor. However, if your planks should catch fire, simply spray them with a small amount of water (I recommend San Pellegrino 🙂 ) until the flames dissipate.

When the salmon is cooked to your preferred doneness (let’s face it, either it’s undercooked, done, or overcooked), use a long spatula or a chef’s knife to remove them from the planks. Top with a spoonfull of the beurre blanc and serve!

This recipe is presented as a courtesy of Seattle Food Geek

The 39th Anniversary of My 29th Birthday!

02 Friday Apr 2010

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

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Such an awesome dinner at Le Cafe de Paris here in Boise for my birthday dinner. Thank-You Robin for being here and there and everywhere. Here’s what we had for dinner. Enjoy, we did!

Lamb Chop Curry

22 Monday Mar 2010

Posted by in Lamb, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food

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Don’t touch that dial!! It’s really very good. Try it with eggplant sometime. Making it with beef would be a cultural faux pas. Maybe pork. Start by making an Indian Raita. Both recipes are hot linked.

A raita is a liquid salad – yogurt, cucumber, some spices, even the Greeks make it. But a memorable raita needs precise balance of the right ingredients.

Ingredients:
2 c liquid unsweetened Plain Yogurt
2 fresh Scallions
1 lg Jalapeno Chili Pepper, seeds and ribs removed, diced
1 thumb-sized Ginger root
1 Garlic clove
1 Cucumber
Juice of 1 lime
Salt
1 T Cumin seeds
1 T Black pepper corns

Directions:Peel the cucumber then remove the seeds with spoon. Pour the yogurt into a bowl and coarsely grate the cucumber. Use a knife to cut any pieces that break off into small strips.

Purée ginger and garlic and mix in. Chop the chili and scallions. Reserve some for the decor and mix the rest in. They will provide crunchiness.

Heat cumin seeds in a dry saucepan until they smoke, then reduce to a powder with the peppercorns and salt. Add to the raita.

Leave at least one hour in the fridge before serving so that the flavors combine.

This is an extraordinary accompaniment with a curry or tandori-roasted meats. It provides an explosion of freshness – ginger, garlic, scallions, peppers on a soft, liquid yogurt-cucumber base. Always a success!

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Here is the completed and plated Lamb Chop Curry. From Left to Right: Rice with Curried Onions, Raita, Lamb Chop Curry and Diced Tomato. And really, it is not difficult to do. It just takes some time. Give yourself about 20 minutes to prep and another hour or so to do the curry. You will really like it!

Ingredients:
6 Lamb Chops
1 T Cumin seeds
1 T Coriander seeds
1 T Fennel seeds
1 lg Jalapeno Chili Pepper, ribs and seeds removed, diced
2 med Onions, thinly sliced
1 t Salt
8 cloves Garlic, chopped
1 med Tomato, chopped
Handful coriander leaves roughly chopped for garnish

Directions:
Dry roast the cumin seeds, coriander seeds, fennel seeds in a frying pan until aromatic and just starting to change colour. Remove from the heat and grind using a spice grinder or pestle & mortar into a fine powder. Set aside.

In a large pan, add the chops in one layer if possible. Cover them with water by about 5 cm, gently bring this to the boil and cook for 10 minutes.

Reduce the heat, add the spices and garlic and stir well. Let this gently simmer again for 30 minutes. Now add the onions and the Jalapeno peppers and stir in well. Let it simmer again for 25 minutes until the lamb is tender and the sauce has reduced considerably.

Serving:
Transfer to a serving platter, sprinkle with fresh coriander and tomatoes. Serve with naan breads, rice, Indian pickles and raita. Pour a nice glass of 2004 Amisfield Pinot Noir and you have a superb dinner. And it didn’t cost you $50.00 per plate either!! Cheers!

Reply From "Sweetwater’s Tropic Zone"

13 Sunday Dec 2009

Posted by in What's For Dinner?

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From Sue Zimmerman:

In response to the comment about very little meat & alot of bone, the following day I was informed by the server that that particular customer was unhappy w/their curried goat meal. I spoke w/my chef who prepared that dish & he indicated that there were 3 large chunks of meat, as well as bones & sauce & meat on that dish. The goat that we use is baby goat (under 6 mos. of age) & the meat is very tender, that’s the good part. Unfortunately, because of the tenderness of the meat, the meat has a tendency to fall off the bone & disintegrate into the sauce when it’s kept warm for any length of time in the steam table. This is currently a problem as we are not “busy enough” to sell out of the goat on a daily basis. I have spoken w/the chefs in regard to this problem & from this point forward, until business picks up, we will prepare the goat to order.

In response to the “alot of bones” comment, again this is because the meat has a tendency to fall off the bone, & the goat is cut into small chunks. Here at Sweetwater’s we prepare our meals as “authentic” as possible; the Trinidadian curried goat is always prepared with bones (as in Trinidad & other Caribbean islands), which is not only authentic, but lends a tremendous amount of flavor to the dish. There will be bones in the curry, no doubt, but there should be more meat than bone, & the customer should never leave feeling unsatisfied.

Without having served the curried goat myself, I will give the customer the benefit of doubt when they say that there was very little meat in their meal. I only wish they had commented to this fact before they had finished their lunch so we could have remedied the situation. Sweetwater’s & our chefs take pride in the food we prepare & serve; we appreciate any & all feedback our customers have, whether it be positive or negative. While it’s always nice to recieve praise, comments to the contrary allow us to delve into any issues customers may have with the food, service, or otherwise (& of course, correct these issues whenever possible).

I hope this answers any questions you may have about their unfortunate experience at Sweetwater’s on Thursday. We are not perfect, but strive to be! Thanks for the commentary!

Have a nice snowy weekend!

Sue

Hope this helps to clear up a misunderstanding. Cheers!

Kitchen Remodel Floor Plan II

21 Saturday Feb 2009

Posted by in What's For Dinner?

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OK. Monday, 23 February, is the start of this major project! Below are some drawings of the project.

Overhead view of the kitchen.

Elevation view of the major appliances: Stove, Microwave, Exhaust Hood (West Wall) and Refrigerator (South Wall)
.
The Sink (North Wall) and the placement of the Dishwasher. Note the cabinets and drawer space.

These last two views are overhead views and placement views.

What you don’t see is the Sky Light, LED lighting under the cabinets, the Ceiling Lights , the new flooring and the Pot Rack.

It is said that it will be completed in one week. I hope so, but one must always be ready for the unexpected in a house that was built 104 years ago – it’s one of the “perks” of owning an old house. We are trying very hard to keep the design and appearance in the ambiance of the early 1900’s. Joe Levitch, our contractor, is working very hard to keep this in mind and to keep us in line. He is succeeding! Wish us luck! I had promised some Fasnachts for Shrove Tuesday, but I really don’t think that will happen this year.