Great Night at Richard’s Cafe Vicino in Boise

04 Wednesday Nov 2015

Posted by Bob and Robin in 5-Stars, Appetizers, Boise Farmers Market, Boise Food Adventures, Boise Restaurants, Buffalo, Buy Idaho, Chef Richard Langston, Cinder Wines, Classic Cuisines, Dinner With Robin, Dinner With The Winemaker, Duck, Gumbo, Healthy Eating, Idaho Chefs, Idaho Greens, Idaho Wine, Idaho's Bounty, Local Farmers Markets, Local Harvests, Local Markets, New Orleans Food, Oysters, Photos By: Bob Young, Restaurant Reviews, Restaurants To Try, Seafood, Shrimp, Special Dinners, Special Events, Squash, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food, Wine Dinners, Wines - Idaho

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buffalo, Chef Richard Langston

Actually, this restaurant used to be Cafe Vicino’s. Now it is known as Richard’s Cafe Vicino, owned and operated by Chef Richard Langston. It is a superb place to go. Every bit a 5-Star restaurant. Great date night or special occasion restaurant. The food and the service is superb. We were there for the South by Southwest Wine Dinner, featuring wines from Cinder Winery. Winemaker Melanie Krause and Joe Schnerr were both there to describe and talk about the wines. Here is what we had. Enjoy! We did. Left-Click any of these photos to see them enlarged.

The menu and accompanying wines.

Cornbread with Andouille Sausage and Mustard Greens
Grits with BBQ Shrimp
Oysters Bienville

Duck Confit Crepe with Raisin Mole

Crawfish Gumbo

Braised Buffalo Short Ribs
with
Winter Squash

Intermezzo: New Orleans Lemon Ice

Salted Caramel Upside-Down Cake
with
Pine Nut Brittle

Oktoberfest At Capitol Cellars

08 Thursday Oct 2015

Posted by Bob and Robin in 5-Stars, Anthropology of Food, Boise Adventures, Boise Restaurants, Brats, Buy Idaho, Cabbage, Capitol Cellars, Chef David Shipley, Classic Cuisines, Dinner at Capitol Cellars, Dinner With Friends, Dinner With Robin, Ethnic Foods, German Food, Herbs, Ice Cream, Idaho Chefs, Idaho Pork, Local Harvests, Party Time, Photos By: Bob Young, Pork, Restaurants, Restaurants To Try, Special Dinners, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food, Wine Dinners at Capitol Cellars, Wines - German

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jagerschnitzel, prosit, prost

What a wonderful dinner at Capitol Cellars in Boise to celebrate Oktoberfest!! Every bit a 5-Star dinner and celebration! We made some new friends as we sat at a table for 6. And that really added to the enjoyment of the evening. Sharing food comments. Wine comments. Beer comments. Logan Smyser and Exec Chef Dave Shipley did another wonderful job. Logan pouring and Chef Dave and his crew in the kitchen. From their website,

Capitol Cellars, LLC is a throwback to old world ideals and a different, slower way of living. To us, the kitchen is a holy place and meals are about enjoying the food as well as the camaraderie around the table. Adjusting our menu to suit the seasons, we follow nature and how its bounty is intended. This ensures the culinary creations you order and we prepare are made with the freshest and most flavorful ingredients.

The menu and wine/beer list for our dinner.

Exec Chef Dave Shipley and Logan Smyser

Exec Chef Dave Shipley and his kitchen crew! Thanks! Great job.

Logan serves the beer, in this case a Hofbrau Oktoberfest. Great with our dinner. The slightly sweet component went very well with Bison Bratwurst.

Logan serves the beer, in this case a Hofbrau Oktoberfest. Great with our dinner. The slightly sweet component went very well with Bison Brätwurst, see below.

New friends at our table.

Warm German Potato Salad
with
Yukon gold potato, onion, chive, parsley and apple cider vinegar
2014 P.J. Valekenberg Pinot Blanc

Bison Bratwurst with braised red cabbage, all blue potato puree, mustard cream sauce, garlic hips

Bison Brätwurst
with
braised red cabbage, all blue potato puree, mustard cream sauce
Hofbrau Oktoberfest

“A bratwurst (German: [ˈbʁaːtvʊɐ̯st], also known as a brat in American English, is a sausage usually composed of veal, pork or beef. The name is derived from Old High German Brätwurst, from brät-, which is finely chopped meat and Wurst, or sausage. Though the brat in bratwurst described the way the sausages are made, modern Germans associate it with the German verb “braten”, which means to pan fry or roast. Bratwurst is usually grilled or pan fried, and sometimes cooked in broth or beer.” [Wikipedia]

Jagerschnitzel breaded Kurobuta pork cutlets, red wine mushroom sauce, whole grain mustard spaetzle, braised Swiss chard 2012 Pfluger St Laurent

Jägerschnitzel
with
breaded (Panco) Kurobuta pork cutlets, red wine mushroom sauce, whole grain mustard spaetzle, braised Swiss chard and garlic chips
2012 Pfluger Pinot St Laurent

In my opinion, this was the best wine of the evening! Fruity with cherries. Slightly hot with higher alcohol. Very smooth. The red wine mushroom sauce was superb!

Apple Kuchen traditional apple cake, nutmeg ice cream (awesome), oat crumble 2014 Dr Loosen Blue Slate Riesling

Apple Kuchen (Apfelkuchen)
traditional apple cake, nutmeg ice cream (awesome), oat crumble
2014 Dr Loosen Blue Slate Riesling
green apple and pink grapefruit

This was a super dessert.

Have a great Oktoberfest! Prosit! ( “may it be for (you)”, “may it benefit (you)”)

Birthday Dinner at Alavita in Boise

18 Friday Sep 2015

Posted by Bob and Robin in 4-Stars, Alavita, Arugula, Birthdays, Boise Adventures, Boise Restaurants, Buy Idaho, Chevre, Classic Cuisines, Cocktails, Comfort Food, Cooking Styles, Cream Sauces, Dessert, Dinner At Alavita, Dinner For Robin, Dinner Reviews with Robin, Dinner With Robin, Fennel, Feta Cheese, Food Photos, Green Salad, Homemade Pasta, Idaho's Bounty, Lobster, Locavore, Main Dish, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Restaurant Reviews, Restaurants To Try, Salads, Seafood, Shell Fish, Special Dinners, Things To Do, Vegetables, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food, Wines - Italian

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Alavita. Italian food, feta cheese, Heirloom Beets, Italian restaurant

September 17th will always be a special day – It is Robin’s Birthday. This year we celebrated the 43rd anniversary of her 29th birthday at Alavita, a good Italian restaurant. Actually a solid 4-Star Italian restaurant. On their webpage, they say, “ALAVITA is all about fresh pasta and local ingredients—from Agnolotti to Tortellini to Garganelli, Linguini to Pappardelle—created freshly every day. A restaurant whose name means “to life,” (Well actually two words– ‘alla’ ‘vita’ –that we put together to create one) ÀLAVITA is a great place for celebrating life with good friends and family alike.
What we believe: great food need not be too convoluted or overwrought, but rather fresh, uncomplicated, relatable and well executed in order to get out of the way of the local ingredients and find the pleasure in their innate flavors and qualities. In the vein of a traditional Italian osteria as a casual, local gathering place (An Italian Joint) to discover food, friends, wine, and creative libations, our menu reflects a new twist on Italian fare that is inspired by local, regional ingredients. As we do at Fork (Our big brother concept located next door by same creators), we firmly subscribe to our mantra of being ‘Loyal To Local.’” And they adhere to these words, rigorously. Enjoy these photos of our visit. We will return.

Robin enjoys her Birthday Dinner!

We have known Kerry, the Floor Manager, for many years – we go back to the Andrae days – and it is good to “find” her again.

The open kitchen area.

How about a

Barrel Aged ÀLAVITA
Crater Lake gin + St. Germain + sweet vermouth + bitters (aged for six weeks in charred oak bourbon barrels). Salute To Life!

Yummers, but drink it slow!

A good white wine goes with seafood.

Alois Lageder Riff Pinot Grigio (12.5%)… Veneto, Italy

Potato, Leek and Fennel Soup

Robin had this really very good soup as an appetizer.

I had a very good –

Heirloom Beet Salad
rainbow beets, shavel fennel, arugula, Rolling Stone goat cheese feta, toasted pistachios and champagne vinaigrette

Tuxedo’ Linguine {gf}... squid ink & orange zest infused linguine, ÀLAVITA clam sauce, chili flake & Manila clams

Tuxedo Linguine
squid ink and orange zest infused linguine, ÀLAVITA clam sauce, chili flake and Manila clams

Robin had this and the clams were so very fresh – gout la mer!

Black Ravioli... stuffed with West coast lobster & fontina, butter poached shrimp & lemon-fennel-thyme infused local Cloverleaf cream sauce

Black Ravioli
stuffed with West coast lobster and fontina, butter poached shrimp and lemon-fennel-thyme infused local Cloverleaf cream sauce

I had this and basically, I would get it agin. But I did not get much lobster flavor.

Robin’s Birthday Cake. Kerry had this done for her.

ÀLAVITA Tiramisu
espresso lady fingers, Grand Marnier and orange zest

I finished with a

Dark Chocolate Mousse
hazelnut cream + crushed vanilla-maple spiced hazelnuts

Sinful!

Great Visit to Capitol Cellars

26 Wednesday Aug 2015

Posted by Bob and Robin in 4-Stars, Beef, Boise Adventures, Capitol Cellars, Dinner With Friends, Dinner With Robin, Food Photos, Idaho Beef, Idaho Chefs, Idaho Greens, Idaho Lamb, Idaho Polenta Floriani, Idaho Potatoes, Idaho Wine, Lamb, Photos By: Bob Young, Seafood, Shell Fish, Shrimp, Special Dinners, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food, Wines - Idaho, Wines - Washington

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Capitol Cellars, lamb, seafood, shrimp

Really a good visit tonight to the newly opened – March 2015 – of Capitol Cellars at 5th and Main Streets in Boise in the Belgravia Building. (There is also an AirBNB in the building, Belgravia AirBNB.) The ambiance is like entering a “wine cave”. Dim lights; cool air and wonderful Waite Staff. In certain sections of the restaurant, it is like sitting in a wine cellar – because you really are! I have placed a permanent link in the sidebar of this blog so you can contact them, make reservations or check their manu. Definitely a 4-Star (out of 5-Stars) restaurant. My only comments about the food is that the risotto seemed to be a little gummy – undercooked. The crispy fries were not really as crispy as I had expected. I expected more of a twice fried Belgium style potato. Here are some photos from our visit. Enjoy! It is great to see that they use Idaho products and produce as much as possible. This would be a great Date Night restaurant or Special Occasion.

The entrance at 5th and Main in the Belgrade Building.

The entrance at 5th and Main in the Belgravia Building.

Part of the main dining room.

The wine cellar.

Wine cellar ambiance.

Shoup Pernod Shrimp
garlic, shallot, basil, Pernod cream sauce

Cheese plate
specialty artisan and local cheeses, fruit, spiced nuts, port-fig jam, imported olives, baguette & crackers

Borah Burger
Idaho Kobe beef, fresh mozzarella, basil, tomato, balsamic reduction, roasted garlic aioli, brioche bun

Risotto

The Senator’s Prime Rib
Idaho-northwest raised beef, Idaho bake potato, warm horseradish sauce, au jus

Pete’s Idaho Lamb Shank
Lava Lake Lamb. goat cheese polenta, seasonal vegetable, natural jus

Logan Smyser, Director of Operations, shows us how to use a sabre to remove the top of a champagne bottle.

It’s Been A Long Time – Salisbury Steak Time!

31 Friday Jul 2015

Posted by Bob and Robin in Alley Gardens, Backyard Garden, Basque Bread, Beef, Boise Farmers Market, Buy Idaho, Captain's Shack, Comfort Food, Dinner At The Captains Shack, Dinner For Robin, Herbs, Idaho Beef, Idaho Potatoes, Idaho Wine, Local Markets, Main Dish, Mushrooms, Onion, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Vegetables, Weston On The Lake Winery, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food, Wines - Idaho

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Comfort Food, salisbury steak

Every so often, one has a yearning for “things from the past”. In this case, comfort food. A Salisbury Steak and Baked Potato. Not much more basic than that. Add a good and hard to find Idaho wine, and you are in ecstasy!

Salisbury Steak with mushroom dark gravy Baked Potato with butter and chives Toasted Basque Bread

Salisbury Steak
with
mushroom, garden fresh thyme, onion and bacon dark gravy

Baked Idaho Potato
with
butter and garden fresh chives

Toasted Basque Bread

2012 Weston Winery and Vineyards Murray Hill Estate Malbec

How easy was that? Yum.

“State and Lemp” – Awesome

17 Friday Jul 2015

Posted by Bob and Robin in 5-Stars, Acme Bake Shop, Anniversary, Appetizers, Apricots, Beets, Boise Adventures, Boise Restaurants, Bread, Buy Idaho, Carrots, Celebrations, Chardonnay, Classic Cuisines, Dinner Reviews with Robin, Dinner With Robin, Food Photos, Friends, Heirloom Carrots, Heirloom Squash, Idaho Greens, Idaho Potatoes, Local Harvests, Local Markets, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Restaurant Reviews, Restaurants, Restaurants To Try, Salads, Special Dinners, Special Events, Special Information, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food, Wine Dinners

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State and Lemp

I could, and probably should, fill up this page with the word awesome, but that would be boring! If you are in Boise and have been here for awhile, do you remember Andrae’s? That definitely was a 5-Star restaurant. And so is State and Lemp. It is every bit as good as Andrea’s was; If not better. But I can only give 5-Stars and State and Lemp earned every one of those stars. From the local art on the wall, as pictured here, to the outstanding service. Also outstanding was the plating of the different food offerings. We eat with our eyes first, and as you will see, the presentations were super good! The seating is limited to about 28 people, so call for a reservation. We did like the way they have the tables set, it gave us time to chat with our table “neighbors”. Here are some photos from the evening. Enjoy! We will return for another special celebration, whatever that may be!

Robin at our seating.

The seating arrangements.

The menu and our place card. Yes, it is that formal!

It is great to see that they use as much local products as possible. Here is Acme Bake Shop Sourdough Bread. For a complete list of their farmer suppliers, check their web site.

It is great to see that they use as much local products as possible. Here is Acme Bake Shop Sourdough Bread. For a complete list of their local farmer suppliers, check their web site.

Sardine
with
Micro Greens and Flowers

Strawberry & Cucumber Scallop. Cilantro. Shiso Patrick Bottex – “La Cueille” Gamay / Poulsard

Strawberry and Cucumber
Scallop. Cilantro. Shiso
Patrick Bottex – “La Cueille” Gamay / Poulsard

Summer Squash & Fava Beans Black Cod. Sea Beans Nasturtium Taft Street – Chardonnay

Summer Squash and Fava Beans
Black Cod. Sea Beans. Nasturtium
Taft Street Chardonnay

Carrot & Apricot Goat. Sesame. Fried Rice Maxime Magnon – “La Démarrante” Carignan / Cinsault

Carrot and Apricot
Goat. Sesame. Fried Rice
Maxime Magnon – “La Démarrante” Carignan/Cinsault

Intermezzo – Huckleberry Sorbet

Beets & New Potato
Pork. Gooseberry. Sorrel
Domaine Gayda – “Flying Solo” Grenache/Syrah

Currants & Cherry Ginger Ale. Vanilla Cream. Mochi Taylor Fladgate – “LBV” Port

Currants and Cherry
Ginger Ale. Vanilla Cream. Mochi
Taylor Fladgate – “LBV” Port

Those little ginger ale “balloons” just “popped” flavor in your mouth. I intentionally did not pick a “favorite” dish – they were all superior. The wines also were paired perfectly. Here is a little more about State and Lemp from their web site.

In our effort to showcase local and regional farmers, ranchers, and artisans we have utilized the following…
Purple Sage Farms /purplesagefarms.com – Waterwheel Gardens /waterwheelgardens.com – Rice Family Farms / ricefamilyfarms.com – Sweet Valley Organics / sweetvalleyorganics.com – Peaceful Belly / peacefulbelly.com – Dawson Taylor Coffee Roasters / dawsontaylor.com – Malheur River Meats / malheurrivermeats.com – Ohana Farm Inc. Frostenson Farms – Acme Bread Co. – Double R Honey Farm – Cloverleaf Creamery …. Ownership and management will maintain a constant presence on the floor as we interact with guests to ensure an unforgettable experience. We provide continuing education and training for all team members in order to better enable them as they assist guests with decisions. Additionally, we seek to advance all team members and enable their growth as hospitality professionals.

Braised Red Snapper in White Wine Reduction Sauce

12 Sunday Jul 2015

Posted by Bob and Robin in Boise Farmers Market, Braising, Buy Idaho, Captain's Shack, Classic Sauces, Dinner At The Captains Shack, Dinner For Robin, Dinner With Robin, Food Photos, Herbs and Spices, Housemade Aioli Mayo, Idaho Wine, Idaho's Bounty, Local Farmers Markets, Main Dish, Olive Oil, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Gris, Recipe by: Robin and Bob Young, Recipe Writing, Recipes, Recipes - Sauces, Recipes - Seafood, Red Snapper, Salads, Seafood, Shaved Celery, Shaved Fennel, Snake River AVA, Vegetables, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food, Wines - Idaho

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Celery Salad, Housemade Aioli Mayo, red snapper, Tuscan wine, White Wine

Braised Red Snapper in White Wine Reduction Sauce – Just a super meal! It takes a little time, but well worth the effort. The actual inspiration came from a Cooking Channel program, Extra Virgin, which has Tuscan roots. They used tomatoes and a red Tuscan wine; I did not. Here is how we made this luscious dinner.

Shaved Fennel and Celery Salad: Cut the root end and the top off of a fennel bulb. Wash and clean. Carefully using a mandolin, shave the bulb quite thin; paper thin. Repeat the process with 2 – 3 stalks of celery, depending on the size of the stalks. You want to end up with about 3/4 fennel and 1/4 celery. Combine about 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil with the juice of 1/2 a large lemon. Salt and fresh pepper to taste. 1/4 teaspoon of Agave. Whip together until emulsified. Pour over the fennel and celery mix.

Braised Red Snapper
in a
White Wine Reduction Sauce

Braised White and Green Asparagus
with
aioli mayonnaise sauce

Shaved Fennel and Celery Salad

2009 Cold Springs Winery Riesling

Braised White and Green Asparagus: Remove the woody ends of the asparagus. In about 1 Tablespoon of garlic infused olive oil, braise the asparagus until lightly browned. Place on platter and add 1 T of the Aioli Mayonnaise (recipe link).

Braised Red Snapper: Purchase the freshest you can find – we use Reel Foods Fish Market in Boise. You will need about 2, 6oz pieces. In a bowl, make an egg wash. Dip each piece of fish in the egg wash and dust lightly with plain fresh bread crumbs. In a non-stick skillet over medium heat, add 2 T olive oil. Gently place the fish in the fry pan and braise for about 5 minutes on each side. They will be a light brown. Do not over cook and do not disturb the cooking process by turning the fish. When the fish is cooked, remove to a platter. Reduce the heat and add 3 cloves of chopped garlic and 1/4 cup chopped red onion. Saute until lightly brown. Do not burn the garlic. Add 1 cup of a good white wine and reduce slightly – a red wine might be to “big” for the lightness of the red snapper. Add 2 T of heavy cream and 1 T butter. Stir constantly as the sauce reduces to about 1/3. Spoon over the fish on the platter. Serve the dinner with a good white wine, riesling or a pinot grigio. Enjoy!

Fire Pie Pizza at Houston Winery

07 Sunday Jun 2015

Posted by Bob and Robin in 5-Stars, Baking, Basil, Boise Adventures, Buy Idaho, Chardonnay, Cheese, Classic Cuisines, Comfort Food, Cooking Styles, Dinner With Robin, Dinner With The Winemaker, Healthy Eating, Heirloom Tomatoes, Herbs, Herbs and Spices, Housemade Pie Crust, Idaho Chefs, Idaho Wine, Idaho's Bounty, Italian Food, Local Harvests, Locavore, Main Dish, Merlot, Organic Foods, Party Time, Photos By: Bob Young, Release Parties, Smoking and Grilling, Special Events, Special Information, Spice Blends, Tomatoes, Vegetables, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food, Wine Tasting, Wines - Idaho

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Basil Pizza, fire pie pizza, Fresh Margarita Pizza, Houston Wine, Houston Winery, release party

Such a great Idaho afternoon with great Idaho pizza and some great Idaho wines from Houston Winery in Caldwell, Idaho – it was their Merlot release party. Superb Merlot was released today and it is well worth buying some. It went very well with the Fire Pie Pizza made by Jamie and Kitty Martin of Hagerman, ID. (See their link in the sidebar.) If you are looking for a treat at your next party, be it family or work, try Firepiepizza! Fresh made. Local products – and you know how I am with Buying Local – cooked in a fire oven. They will make any kind of pizza that you want, providing they have the supplies on hand. Enjoy these photos of the afternoon. Cheers!

Firepiepizza Banner

Kitty Martin creates a masterful pizza. And all from scratch and using local products, especially the vegetables. Jamie Martin tends the oven.

Pizza making

An extremely hot oven completely designed and built by Jamie Martin.

Pizza is ready!

More orders are coming in!

Margherita Pizza ! Add a glass of Houston Wine and Yummers!

Fresh Pepperoni and Sausage Pizza. I need more wine!

Robin discusses wine.

Gregg Algers, Winemaker at Houston Winery, Larry and Elaine Gibson, TVWS members, all enjoy the pizza and the wine.

There was a great crowd at this release party.

More fire baked pizza, please!

A Visit to Ruth’s Chris Steak House

21 Thursday May 2015

Posted by Bob and Robin in 5-Stars, Beef, Bread, Caesar Salad, Coffee, Crab Cakes, Cream Sauces, Cuts of Beef, Dessert, Dinner For Robin, Dinner With Robin, Mushrooms, Photos By: Bob Young, Potatoes, Restaurant Reviews, Restaurants To Try, Ruth's Chris Steak House, Salads, Sourdough Bread, Special Dinners, Spinach, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food

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Ruth's Chris Steak House, Steak House

And such a good visit it was. Daughter Marnie and her husband Mac gave us a gift certificate for dinner and we thank them for that. You can find more by clicking here Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Boise. Make reservations online or reserve their Party Room. They have a full and extensive Menu that can be viewed online and get an idea of what they offer. Not ready for dinner? Try their Happy Hour Menu for lighter offerings. “… Our Sizzle, Swizzle and Swirl Happy Hour features $8 food specials and premium cocktails.” You will find the menu items either equal to or greater than Chandler’s Steak House or to the Cottonwood Grille. Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Boise is definitely a 5-Star restaurant. Here is what we had. Two of us ate for $123.00 and it was worth every bite. Definitely a Special Occasion restaurant; Great for “Date Night”.. Enjoy!

The dining area. Formal and delightful. Soft background music.

Private dining area that will accommodate 12 people. The fee is $50 for the room.

We brought our own 2005 Ridge Zinfandel ($10 corkage fee), but they do have a wide selection of wines. They also offer sparkling water instead of “tap” water if you desire.

Good Blue Crab cakes, but I think these are over priced.

Blue Crab Cakes

Very good housemade Sourdough Bread.

Superb Caesar Salad with Tellicherry Pepper.

Petite Filet. “USDA Prime served sizzling on a 500° plate – every bite is as
delicious as the first.” This was delicious! Loved the way the sides came in their own bowls. The Creamed Spinach was super good with a touch of nutmeg. The Mushrooms accompanied the steak very well. Robin had Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Creamed Spinach.

The Petite Filet done to perfection.

Chocolate Sin Cake. A delicious finish to a grand dinner! “… Our desserts vary by location and are homemade daily by our expert
pastry chefs, using the freshest local ingredients.”

Let’s Make Some Pasta!

17 Sunday May 2015

Posted by Bob and Robin in Arugula, Bacon, Basil, Boise Farmers Market, Captain's Shack, Cheese, Classic Cuisines, Dinner For Robin, Dinner With Robin, Eggs, Ethnic Foods, Heirloom Tomatoes, Herbs and Spices, Housemade Pasta, Idaho Greens, Italian Food, Kitchen Adventures, Local Farmers Markets, Local Harvests, Local Markets, Meadowlark Farms, Olive Oil, Pasta, Peaceful Belly Farms, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe by: Robin and Bob Young, Recipe Writing, Recipes, Recipes - Pasta, Tomatoes, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food, Wines - Idaho

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Kitchen Adventures, pasta, pasta machine, spaghetti

Fresh pasta! So very good and cooks so fast. If you make your own pasta – and we’ll show you how in this article – just think of the variations you can make and the ingredient control you have. For instance, we use only local, farm raised and free range eggs from Meadowlark Farms (they are at the Saturday Boise Farmers Market at 10th and Grove.) Even your flour source can be local.
The recipe we use is an adaptation of Chef Anne Burrell’s. We use garlic infused olive oil and semolina. Both of which are not in her recipe. Here is the recipe for Pasta that we have adapted. There are several pasta makers on the market. Some relatively inexpensive and others somewhat more expensive. We have and have used a manual one like at this link – and pictured here – from Walmart, which we still have. About $30.00. Some people have this “thing” about Walmart. No problem. You can get a good one from Bed, Bath and Beyond that is still a manual one and works very well. These sell for about $35. This one is a slightly different construction and design, but you will end up with the same product when you are finished. You can also get one direct from Italy for around $500.00 and others that are commercial grade for around $1900.00. But why when the home Chef can get a good quality product for much less, unless you are into brand recognition.The one we use nowadays is an attachment to our KitchenAid, as pictured here and I love working with it. With this package you get a set of three presses: a flat one for lasagna or the beginning press for spaghetti or fettuccini; a spaghetti die and a fettuccini die. About $150.00. So your choices are wide and varied. Get the one that suits your needs. Now on to making the pasta. Enjoy! I have placed a link to the Pasta Recipe above. Print out a copy and follow along.

Basically four ingredients: Flour or semolina as pictured here and eggs with oil and water. You will need a clean and fairly large working area.

Basically four ingredients: Flour or semolina as pictured here and eggs with oil, salt and water. You will need a clean and fairly large working area. I like to pre-mix the eggs, water, oil and salt in a bowl. Then I don’t “splash” the eggs mixing them in the “well”.

The semolina “well” The process is the same if you use flour.

Pulling the semolina into the egg mixture using a fork. Work carefully.

The dough is starting to form.

The pasta dough is ready to knead. Notice the pastry knife used to help in the kneading process.

The pastry dough is kneaded and ready to rest for at least 1 hour.

Spaghetti noodles from the dough. Dust with flour to keep them from sticking.

Spaghetti Carbonara made from the pasta dough we made. Except for the pancetta, most of the other ingredients are all from the Boise Farmers Market./

Spaghetti Carbonara Recipe and pictured here, made from the pasta dough we made. Except for the pancetta, most of the other ingredients are all from the Boise Farmers Market. Serve this with a 2012 Sawtooth Winery Trout Trilogy Petite Sirah. Awesome!