10 Thursday Oct 2013
I am not a squash fan, but this soup was good and easy to do.
09 Wednesday Oct 2013
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A very interesting selection of wines and food tonight. And as Erica Larsen said, “Great food and wine for $15. Bottles were $11 each! Delicious! Another dinner tomorrow if you are interested.” Wine selections from New Zealand, Germany, Hungary, South Africa and Portugal. And Cristi kept it interesting with the food parings. If you missed this dinner, there is another with the same fare and wines tonight, October 9. You just can not beat the price – $15.00 per person – and the food selections. Cheers and hope to see you at one of these dinners. Personally, I think this was one of the better Wine Dinners. Great job, Cristi!! Enjoy these photos. Left-Click to see them enlarged.
08 Tuesday Oct 2013
Nothing better than finding use for the left-overs in your refrigerator. In our case, Lamb and Buffalo Meatloaf, at least for dinner. Breakfast was a little different. Here, take a look. Enjoy!
A really yummy dinner!
07 Monday Oct 2013
We took a short trip for a couple of hours, to Marsing, ID to get “The Beast” (the motorhome) winterized. Camping World, which is a lot closer gave me an estimate of $175 and 2 to 3 days. We took it to All Seasons Fun. We have gotten parts from them this past summer and are very happy with the service and the staff. We highly recommend them if you need motorhome or 5th Wheel help and/or parts. They charged $68 and it took them about an hour. (We will take The Beast back in the spring and have them turn the system back on and check for leaks.
OK. So what does this have to do with Alejandra’s Mexican Restaurant? The restaurant is right across the street from All Seasons Fun and we have eaten at Alejandra’s in Wilder and enjoyed it very much. This one was also good and we recommend the restaurant if you are in Marsing. Just good Mexican food. Nothing fancy. Just good! Here are some photos I took. Enjoy!
Alejandra’s Mexican Restaurant dining room in Marsing, ID
Wonderful Sunny Slope fresh peaches.
Robin had the Chilies Rellenos
I had Machaca, almost a hash from beef, tomatoes, celery, peppers, eggs and cheese. I liked it, but I wonder what it would be like with pork?
05 Saturday Oct 2013
01 Tuesday Oct 2013
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For dinner last night, Brian made Robin, Marnie, Mac and I these scrumptious Pork Chops with Ginger Pear Sauce. Thank you Brian for this delightful meal – he can be awesome in the kitchen – and all of your help these past several weeks. And I know Robin appreciates your being here for her birthday. Here is his dinner. Enjoy! Here is The Recipe for these chops.
30 Monday Sep 2013
Great on this rainy, cool Fall day. Just hit the spot and very easy to make. I asked Robin what she wante for lunch and she said, “Tomato soup with a grilled cheese sandwich.” No tomato soup in the house. But a few fresh tomatoes, fresh basil, a little whole milk, salt and sugar and you’ve got a tomato soup. Grilled cheese was easy to make. Pull the fresh tomatoes from the Alley Garden and the fresh basil, too. Make a grilled cheese and ham on fresh sourdough from Acme Bake Shop. Comfort food!
29 Sunday Sep 2013
And it all started on Saturday morning …… Early, for me! 5am. It was a tailgate weekend as BSU was playing Southern Mississippi (BSU won! 60 – 7). Seeing as how we did not have a “tailgate”, we renamed this Saturday event as a “Backgate Party”! We do have a back gate. Started the smoker at 5:30am and smoked 3 racks of pork ribs for 2 hours. But before I could do anything, we needed breakfast. Look at what I made.
And then to prep for the game. But it does not start until 8:30pm. Lots of time. Smoke the ribs for 2 hours in Alder. Then finish off some of them in the oven and the others in the crock pot. Slow … Slow … Slow cooking and low heat.
Finished off in the oven for 7 hours at 200 degrees F.
Finished off in the crock pot on low for 7 hours. Yum!
Add to the ribs some Slaw, Baked Beans, Beer, Apple Crisp (thanks Marnie), Brian, Marnie and Mac and we’ve got a party. It was a long day for me. From 5am until close to 12 mid-night. Brian made breakfast on Sunday morning. Robin has this awesome recipe for Chiles Rellenos and Brian used it. Super job, Brian!
Brian preparing the Chile Rellenos.
But then, next Tuesday we have a Board meeting with the TVWS. October finds the group trying beer! Yes, beer! Not wine this month. And to keep in the “bier frame of mind”, we are also doing an Oktoberfest theme. This should really be fun. For the Board meeting, we are trying some Samuel Adams Oktoberfest Bier, German Potato Salad, Acme Bake Shop Rye Bread and I know some other goodies. (It pays to be a Board member!) I am making a Sauerbratten, click the link for our recipe. Busy, busy, busy. But fun, fun, fun! Tonight we are going to some friends house for dinner. Going to take them some wines and stuffed cream puffs. Cheers!
25 Wednesday Sep 2013
Ever want to know how to make a Hollandaise Sauce for your asparagus or Eggs Benedict? Here is a really great and easy recipe for making this Mother Sauce. No cooking! The photo here shows the sauce with Eggs Benedict. Thank you Russ Terrell (Boise) for this recipe. Cheers and enjoy!! Left-Click the photo to see an enlarged view.
Easy Blender Hollandaise Sauce
Source: Bob and Robin Young
Recipe Source: Russ Terrell, Boise, ID
Yield: 1 cup
Ingredients:
3 Egg Yolks
1 T fresh squeezed Lemon Juice
½ t Sea Salt
⅛ t Cayenne (Optional)
10 T unsalted Butter (If using salted butter, skip the added salt. Bob used the microwave on Defrost for about 1½ minutes 3 times to melt the butter. Came out fine.)
Directions:
1. Melt the butter slowly in a small pot. Try not to let the butter boil – you want the moisture in the butter to remain there and not steam away. See the note above using a microwave.
2. Add the egg yolks, lemon juice, salt (if using) and cayenne (if using) into your blender. Blend the egg yolk mixture at a medium to medium-high speed until it lightens in color, about 20 – 30 seconds. The friction generated by the blender blades will heat the yolks a bit. The blending action will also introduce a little air into the mixture, making your Hollandaise a bit lighter.
3. Once the yolks have lightened in color, turn the blender down to its lowest setting (if you only have one speed on your blender it will still work) and drizzle in the melted butter slowly while the blender is working. Continue to blend for another few seconds after the butter is all incorporated.
4. Turn off the blender and taste the sauce. It should be buttery, lemony and just slightly salty with a slight bite from the cayenne. Adjust to your liking. (Robin and I added a little more lemon.)
5. Store until needed in a warm spot, like on or next to your stovetop. Use within an hour or so. Great on eggs, as pictured, or on fresh asparagus.
11 Wednesday Sep 2013
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Another in a series of good wine dinners at the Buzz last night. Some very interesting wines, presented blind, and good food. Our friend Maggie, pictured here, came along with us and it was great to see that she was feeling chipper enough to join us. We always like to have her join us in these adventures. I
This was a good meal. Not particularly the best I have had at the Buzz, but very good. I am very salt conscious, and there were two dishes that could have had a little more salt and/or pepper. I will list those dishes below. All in all ….. a fun night with good friends and good food. Glad to hear and see that Bailey is doing OK after her bike fall. Enjoy these photos of the dinner and the commentary. Cheers! Left-Click any of these photos to see them larger.
Robin is studying the wines and the dinner menu.
![Quiche Lorraine 2009 Baron de Hoer Alsase Riesling 12.5% alc. went well with this appetizer, but light. [15] $14.00](https://boisefoodieguild.blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/10sept2013_1a_the-buzz-club_appetizer_quiche-loraine.jpg?w=524&h=348)
![Vegetable Trimbale (Needs a very light sprinkle of Sea Salt) 2011 Chat du Pape Cote de Rhone 14.5% alc. big wine but went well with the trimbale. [15]](https://boisefoodieguild.blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/10sept2013_1c_the-buzz-club_vegetable-trimbale.jpg?w=524&h=348)
![Beef Bourgogne (This was the best part of the dinner. Full of flavor and seasoned perfectly!) 2010 Gigondas 14.5% alc. a big red that went very well with the beef and onions. [17] $22.00](https://boisefoodieguild.blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/10sept2013_1d_the-buzz-club_beef-bourgogne.jpg?w=524&h=348)
![Cream Puff and Apple Crepe (Good job on the cream puffs, Cristi! Veuve du Vernay Sparkling Chardonnay 11.0% alc. a great choice to pair with this dessert. [18] $12.00](https://boisefoodieguild.blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/10sept2013_1e_the-buzz-club_cream-puff_apple-crepe.jpg?w=524&h=348)
This review may sound harsh to some. It is not. Cristi and I talked about some of these comments and I think she accepted them as positive. Like I stated at the start, I really try to watch our salt intake, even if the food seems to need additional salt. And I know Cristi tries very hard to limit the amount of salt in her dishes. This was just one of those times when a little more would have enhanced the dishes. It was still a good dinner. Hope to see you at the next one. Cheers!!!
