Koenig Vineyards and Cottonwood Grille

11 Tuesday Jun 2013

Posted by Bob and Robin in Cottonwood Grille, Koenig Vineyards, Main Dish, Merlot, Mushrooms, Photos By: Bob Young, Pork, Restaurant Reviews, Restaurants, Salads, Salmon, Special Dinners, Syrah, Viognier, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food, Wine Dinners

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apple brandy, cottonwood grille, puff pastry, wild mushrooms

On Monday, June 10, we attended a wine dinner at the Cottonwood Grille featuring the wines of Idaho’s Koenig Vineyards. Chef Jesus did a good job with the paring of the food with the wines. My only comment about the food is it tended to be salty. Maybe I am becoming very aware of the salt amounts in cooking. Nonetheless, some of the entrees were salty. The dinner was well attended and it was interesting to talk to the people at our table. The photo to the left is the menu along with a glass of 2011 Koenig VineyardsMerlot. Below are some other photos from the evening. Do enjoy the presentations and please VOTE. Left-Click any photo to see enlarged. Thanks!

Chef Jesus of the Cottonwood Grille, Boise

Winemaker Greg Koenig and his wife Kristen.

Wild Mushrooms in Puff Pastry 2012 Koenig Vineyards Rose

Wild Mushrooms in Puff Pastry
2011 Koenig Vineyards Merlot
This dish was very good, but salty. The merlot probably would have been better with the sauce had the entree not been so salty.

Fresh Mixed Greens with Figs and Berries
2012 Koenig Vineyards Rose
A good and refreshing salad. Well paired with the wine.

Fresh Sockeye Salmon with a Lemon Beurre Blanc
2011 Koenig Vineyards Viognier
One of the better wines of the night. Went extremely well with the salmon. One of Idaho’s favorite wines.

Pork Tenderloin with Apple Brandy Cream Sauce
2010 Koenig Vineyards Syrah
The Syrah was a good paring – or would have been. This entree was way to salty and both Robin and I could not finish the dish because of the extreme saltiness. Too bad.

Peach Cobbler 2011 Riesling Ice Wine

Sorry to have to pan this dinner, but we have had much better dinners at the Cottonwood Grille. This just did not measure up to their standards because of the over use of salt in the dishes. A little salt will enhance the dish and should not overpower it. If I did not know better and know the quality of their dinners, I would not return. And that’s too bad, because the wines were overall very good.

Comfort Food Dinner

06 Thursday Jun 2013

Posted by Bob and Robin in Apple, Cabbage, Captain's Shack, Carrots, Comfort Food, Main Dish, Mustard, Party Time, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe by: Robin and Bob Young, Salad, Traditional Food, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food

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c mayonnaise, cabbage, Canoe Ridge Winery, corn on the cob, dijon mustard, dinner

Oh yes! Push the season! Fried Chicken, Corn on the Cob and our own Slaw. It was a yummy dinner, even if the slaw had apples in it. Not high on my Enjoyed That Salad list when it has apples in it! But this one was good. I’ll make it again. Must have been the dressing. 1 c Mayonnaise, 4 T Dijon mustard and 1 T Celery Seed. Blend all together and pour on the slaw. Mix, chill and eat. Slaw is 1/2 head medium Red Cabbage, 1/2 Head medium Regular Cabbage, 4 or 5 Carrots and 1 Pink Lady Apple. Run through the grater on the blender. Mix with dressing. That’s it. Quick and easy! Serve with a 2011 Canoe Ridge Expedition Chardonnay and you are set for a relaxing, start of the summer meal. Grab a fork and Left-Click to see this dinner enlarged. Cheers and please VOTE above. Thanks!

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.

June Events at the Buzz

28 Tuesday May 2013

Posted by Bob and Robin in Celebrations, Main Dish, Photos By: Bob Young, Special Dinners, Special Events, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food, Wine Dinners, Wine Tasting

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ne, Quarterly wine dinners, Special events, The Buzz Coffee and Wine, Wine, wine club

This just in from Cristi at the Buzz in Boise. There are some interesting events going on this month. I will be presenting on May 31 at the Whip Night photography ideas.

I hope everyone had a happy holiday weekend giving thanks to those that gave their all for us. There are some great opportunities coming up to enjoy food, wine, and fun. June is Idaho wine month. Each weekend we will have an Idaho wine with our weekly wine tasting. Join us on Friday or Saturday for wine tasting, our weekly dinner special focusing on “slow food”. There will be dessert specials and appetizer specials as well.

Whip Nights – We Help Inspire People. This is a casual evening at the Buzz. Each month we will have a member of the community with great passion and knowledge related to a hobby or pastime. May 30th we invited Bob Young to answer our questions about digital photography. Come down enjoy a flight of wine (featuring female wine makers) and our small bite specials for the night. No reservations needed, just stop by between 5 and 8 on May 30 and bring your questions.

Wine Club – We will continue our journey through the world of wine by learning about the wines of Australia and New Zealand at our wine club this month. 6:30 PM on June 11 or June 12 . The cost is $15.00 per person including dinner and wine tasting. All wines will be on sale 10% off after dinner. Reservations are required. Buzzwine@cableone.net or 344-4321.

Music in June
Many talented muscians will be entertaining us in June, at the Buzz. May 31 Dr Todd Palmer
June 1 Jean Cardena
June 7 Wayne White
June 14 Jack Brown/Jean Cardena
June 15 Classical Jam Session
June 21 Dr Todd Palmer
June 28 John Cazzan
Music from 7-9 except classical jam night from 6-8. (This event is sooooo much fun!

Quarterly Dinner/Special Bottle Sunday – June 23 Quarterly Dinner. This is an amazing 5 course meal with each course paired with 2 different wines. This is a great way to learn about wine pairing. Come learn about wine pairing. Cost is $30.00 per person with all wines being 10% off the day of the event. Dinner starts at 6:30 with reservations required. buzzwine@cableone.net or 344-4321. Special Bottle Sunday is inspired by the by the Wall Street Journal columnists Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher’s who wrote Open That Special Bottle Night, Special Bottle Sunday- is just what it sounds like: an evening to invite over your friends to share special wines you’ve been saving. The wines will be fun bottles to share and the food will be based on recipes from the newspaper.

We anticipate everyone is enjoying the beginning of summer and hope to see you all soon for one of the great summer events we have planned at the Buzz. Watch for menu changes over the next few weeks.
Sincerely,
Cristi and Tom Takeda
Buzz Coffee and Wine
344-4321 or buzzwine@cableone.net

43.624890 -116.214093
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Not Your Standard Memorial Day Dinner

27 Monday May 2013

Posted by Bob and Robin in Acme Bakery, Bread, Captain's Shack, Food, Lamb, Local Harvests, Local Markets, Main Dish, Morels, Mushrooms, Party Time, Petit Verdot, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipes, Salads, Special Dinners, Spinach, Vegetables, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food

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hard cooked eggs, morel mushrooms, Potato Salad, white wine vinegar, yukon gold potatoes

Oh my. Who could ask for more? So much fun to put together and prepare. Enjoy! We did. Here is the recipe for the Potato Salad. Left-Click these photos to see enlarged and please VOTE above.

Spring Bounty Potato Salad

Source: Sunset Magazine, May 2013

Ingredients:
2 pounds small Yukon Gold potatoes
1 cup shelled fresh peas
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 cup mayonnaise $
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4 spring onions* or green onions, thinly sliced
5 hard-cooked large eggs*, peeled and roughly chopped
About 3 tbsp. chopped tarragon

Preparation:
1. Bring 1 in. water to a boil in a large saucepan. Set potatoes in a steamer basket and steam in pan, covered, until tender, about 20 minutes. Cool in ice water, then pat dry. Cut potatoes into chunks and put in a large bowl.
2. Meanwhile, bring some water to a boil in a saucepan. Add peas; cook until tender, 3 minutes. Drain and transfer to ice water, then drain again.
3. Whisk together vinegar, mayonnaise, and salt in a small bowl to combine. Add onions, peas, and half the dressing to potatoes and gently stir to coat. Add eggs and 3 tbsp. tarragon and gently stir to coat.
4. Spread remaining dressing on bottom of a wide bowl, add salad, and sprinkle with more tarragon if you like.

Note: Look for spring onions (regular onions picked young) at farmers’ markets in spring and at Latino markets year-round. They have a fatter bulb than green onions–which have less crunch but make a good substitute. For perfect hard-cooked eggs, cover them in cold water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let stand 12 minutes. Plunge cooked eggs into ice water, crack all over, and let sit in the water for a few minutes before peeling.

Grilled Lamb and Good Friends Start the Summer Season

25 Saturday May 2013

Posted by Bob and Robin in Acme Bakery, Appetizers, Asparagus, Baked Onion, Boise Farmers Market, Captain's Shack, Cooking Styles, Friends, Grillin' and Chillin', Lamb, Local Farmers Markets, Local Harvests, Locavore, Main Dish, Onion, Party Time, Photos By: Bob Young, Salads, Special Dinners, Vegetables, What's For Dinner?, Wild Game, Wine and Food, Wine Dinners

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chocolate liquor, food, grilled lamb chops, lamb chop, vanilla ice cream

It is always a “great start” to any event when you are joined by friends. Geno and Debra (pictured here) were in town, so we had them over for a grilled lamb dinner. The weather was super good and we ate outside. Most of the food was local, too. The lamb was and the onions and asparagus were from Washington. The wine was from California. Still, a delightful time. I even helped Debra with her blog. She is doing fine with it. So here are some photos of the food that we had. Enjoy and please cast your VOTE above. Thanks. Cheers! Left-Click any of these photos to see enlarged.

Asparagus Stuffed Walla Walla Onions getting ready for the oven.

This wine was awesome with the lamb. We have more of the wine.

Robin made this super Mousse d’Phaison and Chukar Pâté with Toasted Acme Bakery Rye Wedges (not pictured). Those are fresh chives from our garden.

Grilled Lamb Chops
Fresh Green Salad
Asparagus Stuffed Walla Walla Sweet Onion

Geno enjoys a lamb chop.

French Vanilla Ice Cream with Idaho Peach Half and Chocolate Liquor Cup . What a great dessert!

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!

Spring Is In The Air at The Buzz

07 Tuesday May 2013

Posted by Bob and Robin in Party Time, Photos By: Bob Young, Special Events, Special Information, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food

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buzz music, restaurants

This is just in from the Buzz in Boise. Hope to see you at one of these events. Cheers!

May at the Buzz
Music and Wine
We at the Buzz, hope that everyone is doing well. We will be having a few fun and interesting events at the Buzz during May. We will be featuring music on May 10 Nancy Kelly, May 11 Carter Freeman, May 17 Todd Palmer, May 24 John Cazan, May 31 Johnny Shoes. Music starts each night at 7 PM and continues until 9 PM. Each Friday and Saturday Night we will have winetasting, dinner specials, dessert specials, and appetizer specials. Come join us for some great food, wine, music and company.

May Wine Club
Wines of the Pacific Northwest
We will continue our journey through the world of wine by learning about the wines of the Pacific Northwest. Wine club this month is May 14 and May 15 at 6:30. The cost is $15.00 per person including dinner and wine tasting. All wines will be on sale 10% off after dinner. Reservations are required. Buzzwine@cableone.net or 344-4321.

Mother’s Day
Don’t forget Moms Day
Make reservations for our brunch buffet on May 12 from 10:30 until 2:30. All moms get complimentary champagne with their brunch. $9.95 for adults $6.95 for children 4-12. Reservations at buzzwine@cableone.net or 344-4321.

WHIP – We’re Helping Inspire People
Join us for our first WHIP night. This is a night for our friends and customers to inspire each other. This will be the last Thursday of each month (Thursday May 30), bring a project you are working on or questions you may have and join the group. May will feature digital photography. We will have “small bite” specials and flights of wine. No reservations required. Hope to see you there.

Broiled Lamb Chops with Asparagus Stuffed Sweet Onion

05 Sunday May 2013

Posted by Bob and Robin in Asparagus, Baked Onion, Captain's Shack, Herbs and Spices, Lamb, Main Dish, Photos By: Bob Young, Salads, Side Dishes, Special Dinners, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food

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broiled lamb chops, sweet onion

We wanted to try something different tonight with broiled lamb chops. So we decided to stuff a sweet onion with fresh asparagus and just a “tad” of cheese. (Photo to the left.) There was enough liquid in the onion and cheese to keep this very moist. Baked it off for about 45 minutes at 375 degrees F. When we make it again, I will remove more of the interior of the onion – make thinner walls – and add more asparagus. It was quite good! Here is the plated dinner. Left-Click to see enlarged. Enjoy and please VOTE above. Thanks!