Grilled Buffalo and Roasted Sweet Onions

17 Tuesday May 2011

Posted by Bob and Robin in Buffalo, Grillin' and Chillin', Party Time, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Vegetables, What's For Dinner?

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Since Bob and Gail missed our Christmas Open House and the tour of the wine cellar, we thought it would be nice to have them over for dinner. And that we did! It was great to have them. Here are some photos and recipes of what we had. This was a fun meal to prepare and even more fun to eat! Gail brought the dessert – Fresh Fruit Fondue. Thanks, Gail!

Here are the wines we had with dinner. They are listed in preference.
(1) 1992 Ridge Geyserville Zinfandel and Carignan 13.5% alc
Still very full bodied and rich. Deep purple color.
(2) 1980 Ravenswwood Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma County 13.4% alc
It is close to loosing its color. Light brown around the edges. It’s time to drink this one.
(3) 2006 Indian Creek (Idaho) Petit Verdot
It is definitely loosing it’s fruit. Turning out to be very light.

Here are the buffalo steak fresh off the grill. And yes, I can still smell them. So did the neighbors!

Buffalo Steak Diane

Serves: 4

For the steaks:
4 4oz Buffalo Steaks (your choice of sirloin or tenderloin)
¼ c Olive Oil
2 cloves Garlic, diced fine
1 Shallot , diced fine
Salt and Pepper to taste

For the sauce Diane:
¼ stick Butter
¼ c finely chopped Shallots
1½ T Dijon mustard
1½ T Worcestershire sauce
8 oz of Demi-Glace
½ c Madeira
2 t Lemon Juice, freshly -squeezed
2 T finely chopped Parsley
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions:
Mix all of the steak marinade together. Place steaks in a zip lock bad and coat with the marinade. Place in the refrigerator for 8 hours or more, turning at least once. Bring to room temperature before grilling. Grill the steaks over med-low heat, turning just once. For med rare, just let the juices flow while cooking. You don’t want to over cook buffalo so be careful not to cook them much past medium-rare. When done, remove them to a plate tented in foil to keep warm and to let them rest.

Sauce Diane:
In a saucepan, melt the butter and sauté the shallots until they are translucent. Stir in the mustard, Worcestershire and demi glace.

Add the Madeira wine, lemon juice and chopped fresh parsley. Reduce until the sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon, about 15 minutes on simmer. Finish by tasting and adjusting seasonings with salt and pepper.

A photo of the Baked Potato and the Roasted Sweet Onion just out of the oven. YUM-O!

Roasted Sweet Onions

Serves: 4

Ingredients:
4 lg Vidalias – peeled and cored
½ lb Sugar snap peas, strings removed and cut on small diagonals.
½ lb carrots julienned – blanch pea pods and carrots in salted water strain.
½ lb Enoki or any white mushrooms – soak dry mushrooms in hot salted water – used to blanch peas and carrots, strain and chop.
½ lb Spinach – sautéed with chopped onion cores and mushroom pieces in:
2 T Honey
1T Vegetable oil, salt and pepper. Add peas and carrots.

Directions:
Rub cored onions with 1T vegetable oil, 2 T honey, salt and pepper. Place in pan and fill with sautéed vegetable mix.
Cover for 35 minutes cooking at 350 ºF until soft.
Garnish plate with some of the vegetable mix and spinach.

The Meal

Grilled Buffalo Steaks
sauce Diane

Baked Sweet Onion
carrots, sugar snap peas, spinach, mushrooms

Baked Potato
fresh cut chives, sour cream

Fresh Fruit Chocolate Fondue

This was an awesome evening with good friends, good wines and good food! The Sauce Diane is a classic French sauce that really goes good with wild game and this buffalo. It’s not hard to make, just takes some time. Enjoy!

Wine Dinner at the 36th Street Bistro, Boise

17 Tuesday May 2011

Posted by Bob and Robin in 36th Street Bistro, What's For Dinner?

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Joe Dewey is doing another fantastic Wine Dinner at the 36th Street Bistro. The wines that will be served are from the Amador Foothill and Ironstone Wineries of California. Here is what will be on the menu and the wines that Joe has selected to be pared with dinner. Cheers!

Wine Dinner at 36th Street Bistro
May 18th

Don’t miss the 36th Street Bistro Wine Dinner, Wednesday May 18th 5:30 to 8:30 pm – $45 per person. Featuring Amador Foothill and Ironstone Wineries of the Sierra Foothills AVA California

It’s going to be a lovely evening for a Wine Dinner so call the restaurant now and reserve your table. Chef Joe Leseberg has created an exquisite menu paired with unique wines that are not available in stores. We will offer special prices for bottles and cases during the window of the dinner, so make a reservation today and join is for fun evening of delightful discovery. For immediate information call the Bistro at (208) 438-5108

Menu

I
Salad Nicoise

olive vinaigrette on organic greens with feta and onion confit

2010 Amador Foothill Rosato of Sangiovese

II
Braised cabbage-tomato soup
sweet potato polenta croutons and fresh basil

2010 Amador Foothill Sauvignon Blanc

III
Rosemary-roasted lamb chops
buttered carrots, whipped Yukon potatoes, and Madeira glaze

2007 Amador Foothill ‘Katie’s Cote’ Rhone Blend

-OR-

Mushroom-crusted chicken breast
sautéed sprouts, skillet cornbread and brandy jus

2007 Amador Foothill Sangiovese

-OR-

Alaskan Sockeye Salmon

espresso demi, coriander-parmesan cous cous and zucchini ribbons

2007 Amador Foothill Esola Zinfandel

IV
Banana-cinnamon pudding
peanut butter cream and caramel

2009 Ironstone Obsession Symphony

-OR-

Dark chocolate cake
huckleberry ice cream and blueberry syrup

2009 Ironstone Reserve Zinfandel

Rye Bread with Beer and Orange

16 Monday May 2011

Posted by Bob and Robin in Baking, Bread, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe By: Gail Parker, What's For Dinner?

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This recipe came to me via Gail McClellan Parker. She said I would like it ….. I Do! This has a unique chocolaty, slightly sharp – from the beer – crunch. The cornmeal in the batter gives it that crunch. The orange comes out on the back palate. It is really a good bread and we will have some for dinner tonight, if there’s any left!
Originally, it was supposed to be made in a bread machine. I don’t own one any more. So I adapted it to the old fashioned, heat-up-the-kitchen method. Give it a try and let us know what you think. I have also made a “batch” of the sweetened whipped butter. You can find the recipe below. YUM-O! Cheers!

Rye Bread with Beer and Orange

Source: Gail McClellan Parker
Yield: 2 loaves

Ingredients:
2½ t Dry Yeast
¾ c medium Rye Flour
2⅓ c Bread Flour
¼ c Whole Wheat flour
3 T Cornmeal
2 T Cocoa
1 t Salt
12 oz Beer, warmed
2 T Molasses
2 t grated Orange Rind
2 T Butter, softened
⅓ c Warm water

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 375 ºF

Place all ingredients into the bowl of a mixer. Mix and let knead for 5 minutes. The dough will be dark brown and soft. Remove from bowl and divide into half. Place into two greased 4×8 loaf pan. Cover and let rise for 1 hour.

Bake for 35 minutes or until a digital thermometer reads 190 ºF to 195 ºF. Remove from oven and remove from loaf pans. Let completely cool before slicing.

Note: Try this bread with sweetened whipped butter: Mix 1 stick of butter (at room temperature) with 1 T honey, 2 T Amaretto (or any sweet liqueur of your choice) and ¼ t almond extract

Molé Chicken for White Wine Connoisseurs

16 Monday May 2011

Posted by Bob and Robin in Chicken, Classic Sauces, Cooking Styles, Main Dish, Recipe: Bob and Robin Young, Recipe: Chef James Grimes, What's For Dinner?

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As promised, Chef James sent this recipe for his Molé Chicken for White Wine Connoisseurs. This was the Main Dish for the May 2011 tasting of white wines at the Treasure Valley Wine Society. Thank-You Chef James for sharing this recipe with us. Do enjoy this.

Molé Chicken for White Wine Connoisseurs

Executive Chef James Grimes

Ingredients:
2-2 ½ lbs Chicken diced ¾” pieces, boneless skinless thigh meat
2 T Corn Oil
½ c Onion, diced bruniose (See below)
2 cloves Garlic, minced
10-12 ea Tomatillos, skins removed and quartered
127oz can Green Chilies, diced or fresh Anaheim Chilies, roasted, peeled & diced
2 ea Jalapeno Peppers, seeded and chopped
¼ c Cilantro, fresh snipped
2 T Sesame Seeds, toasted
2 T Almonds, sliced & toasted
¼ t Cinnamon, ground
¼ t Kosher Salt
1½ oz White Chocolate, small pieces
¼ c Corn Meal, lightly roasted
½ c Sparkling Wine, vintage of choice
1 Glass Sparkling Wine, for the cook

Directions:
Rinse and pat dry chicken. Heat 1 T, tablespoon, of the corn oil in a heavy duty 12 ” skillet, add onion and garlic, cook 3-5 minutes until onion is translucent, not browned.

Remove from oil and place into stock pot with additional oil and balance of ingredients except corn meal, sparkling wine and chocolate, cook 15-20 minutes, medium heat, stirring frequently to not scorch or burn bottom.

Combine corn meal and sparkling wine to make a smooth paste and incorporate into vegetable mixture to create a slight thickening, binder. Blend sauce ingredients until smooth and cover browned chicken pieces. Add white chocolate. Adjust seasonings to taste i.e. salt & liquid pepper (Tabasco).

Add chicken pieces to heavy duty skillet and brown thoroughly on all sides, medium high heat. Cook 10 to 15 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165° for at least 15 seconds. Add sauce to chicken and simmer 10-15 minutes.

Serve with white rice, your favorite vegetable to accompany and of course your favorite Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc or Riesling Wine.

Note: Bruniose [broo-NWAHZ] – Name for a French style of cutting vegetables. This term is applied to a method for both cutting vegetables into a minute dice (small dice) and for the actual diced vegetables. Most often braised in butter, brunoise is used as a garnish for soups, sauces and stuffing, and also serves as a flavoring, for dishes like Osso-bucco.
General size: 2 to 3 mm square.
Knife Skill: Brunoise is an extremely fine and exact dice.

Great Ideas on How To Cook Fish

15 Sunday May 2011

Posted by Bob and Robin in Seafood, Special Information, What's For Dinner?

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Robin originally sent this article to me. But since, I have subscribed to the forum – there is a hot link in the sidebar to this site. All of this information came from The Daily Meal web site. Here is the article on,

A Chef’s Secrets for Cooking Fish
Scottish chef Michael Smith shares an easy way to avoid overcooking fish ever again

May 10, 2011 @ 4:17 PM
Posted by Yasmin Fahr, Editor
It’s not often that you walk around Chelsea Market with a man wearing a skirt — especially one who is a celebrity. A Scottish celebrity chef that is. I recently had the pleasure of perusing the seafood selection at the Lobster Place with chef Michael Smith from The Three Chimneys on Scotland’s Isle of Skye to learn about local cookery and how to avoid overcooking fish.

Chef Smith comes from a distant and seemingly magical land that has preserved nature’s beauty and takes advantage of it. For instance, chef eats the wild oysters growing outside of his house because there is little pollution in the water, and his cooks dive for wild scallops during their lunch break right outside the restaurant. He told us about a minor revolution in his kitchen — when one chef went diving in his wet suit, the rest quickly followed to buy their own suits and catch their share of wild scallops and sea urchin. All the chefs also have fishing rods for hauling in the local catch like mackerel, lythe, pollack (member of the cod family), salmon, brown trout, and rainbow trout.

To read the rest of the article, click here – Chef’s Secret Cooking Fish

There are some really great thoughts and ideas in this article. It is a must read. And probably the most common complaint about cooking fish is that is is dry and over cooked. Here is a Chef’s comment on preventing this,

Chef Smith says to make sure that the fish is at room temperature, not warm, but not straight from the refrigerator. You don’t want to overcook the fish, so if the center is cold, then it won’t cook evenly. With room-temperature fish, get a pan really hot, add a little butter/oil and salt and put the fish in it. Sear it quickly on one side so it gets a little crust then immediately remove from the heat, flip the fish over, leaving it in the pan.
The heat from the pan will permeate through to cook the fish from the bottom up, while the side that was initially on the heat will also continue to cook the fish from the top down — this way you will never have to worry about overcooking it.

Enjoy your seafood this summer! Follow these directions and you should end up with The Perfect Dinner and not The Perfect Storm. See how you can expand this lesson to include grilling the fish. Same principles apply. Cheers and Goot Essen!

Chilean Wine Dinner

11 Wednesday May 2011

Posted by Bob and Robin in Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?, Wine Dinners

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On May 10, 2011, the Buzz Coffee and Wine in Boise held another fantastic monthly Wine Club Dinner featuring wines from the Santa Rita Winery in Chile. The wines were good as was the dinner of Chilean inspired dishes – some of the recipes taken directly from the wineries web page. To quote some information on the Santa Rita Winery, “Santa Rita was named Value Brand of the Year 2010 in the June issue of the distinguished US wine magazine Wine and Spirits, which honored the company for having one of the best price/quality ratios among wineries worldwide.” The following photographs of the dinner selections and discussion on the wines is a testament to the evening. My scores are in [20], twenty being the highest. The scores were really grouped tightly. Cheers!

Cristie’s Choice
2008 Tapeña Garnacha
13.0% alc, $12.00, celery, tar, tobacco [14]

2009 MontGras Reserva Sauvignon Blanc
13.5% alc, $12.00, bright and crisp, [19]

The people at our table:
Ed, Joe, Mary, Mazie (Jan) and Robin

Mary

Crab Casserole
2005 Santa Rita Reserve Chardonnay
14.1% alc, $14.00,not quite bold enough for the crab, [14]

Spicy Slaw
2010 Santa Rita 120 Sauvignon Blanc
13.5% alc, $10.00, good flavors but the spices out shined the wine, [14]

Cebiche with Dill Sauce
2008 Santa Rita 120 Merlot
13.5% alc, $10.00, good balance and went well with the cebiche, [17]

Baked Chilean Pork Ribs
Chile Mashed Potatoes
Tangy Marinated Tomatoes
Zesty Corn Salad
2008 Santa Rita Reserve Carmenere
13.5% alc, $14.00, outstanding with this dinner plate, held up well [18]

Summer Fruit Crostata
2007 Santa Rita Medalla Red Cabernet Sauvignon
14.0% alc, such a delight with this dessert, [18]

The scores of these wines reflects the grouping of the wine flavors and the consistant quality of the wines. But remember, wine judging is a very subjective activity … What I like, you may not. That’s why there is more than one type of wine. Cheers!

Baked Salmon II

10 Tuesday May 2011

Posted by Bob and Robin in Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe: Bob and Robin Young, Salmon, What's For Dinner?

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I never in my wildest dreams expected to have so many emails about this dinner. So here is the recipe as I adjusted it. Do enjoy this.

Baked Salmon II

Adapted From: Allrecipes, Baked Salmon II
Prep Time: 15 Min
Cook Time: 45 Min
Ready In: 2 Hrs
Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients:
2 cloves Garlic, minced
6 T Olive Oil
2 T chopped Basil, fresh
1 t ground Black Pepper
1 T Lemon Juice
3 T Capers, rinsed
2 (6 ounce) fillets Salmon

Directions:
In a medium glass bowl, prepare marinade by mixing garlic, light olive oil, basil, salt, pepper, lemon juice and parsley. Place salmon fillets in a medium glass baking dish, and cover with the marinade. Marinate in the refrigerator about 1 hour, turning occasionally.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C)

Place fillets in aluminum foil, cover with marinade and capers and seal. Place sealed salmon in the glass dish, and bake 35 to 45 minutes, until easily flaked with a fork.

Note: We steam fresh asparagus in the packet with the salmon. The herbs and spices make a nice addition to the asparagus.

Serve with a Red Rice, Pico de Gallo and a Pinot Noir. See the photo above. Cheers!

Salmon With Capers and Basil

10 Tuesday May 2011

Posted by Bob and Robin in Asparagus, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Rice, Salmon, Seafood, Vegetables

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Well, on meatless Monday, here is a good dinner entrée.

Baked Salmon
capers, basil, garlic, olive oil

Steamed White and Green Asparagus

House Pico de Gallo

Red Rice

2006 Indian Creek Winery Pinot Noir

This really was a good dinner. Everything went so well together and the salmon was scrumptious. And I really do love the rice done this way – roast grains in butter until golden brown. Add 6oz can of diced tomatoes and the liquid and 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a low simmer and steam until liquid is gone, but the rice is still moist, not sticky. Cheers!

Update: I have had several requests for the salmon recipe. Here is the recipe for Baked Salmon II from Allrecipes. I did not have any parsley, so I used the capers on top. I also steamed the asparagus right in the packets. It is an interesting recipe, but easy to do.

Sushi Joy – Chinese and Japanese Food, Boise

09 Monday May 2011

Posted by Bob and Robin in Celebrations, Chinese Food, Japanese Food, Party Time, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Sushi Joy, What's For Dinner?

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In some respects, I’m glad this weekend is over. It was like being in the winter holiday season – all we did was eat! Not that any of the food was bad. The food was absolutely awesome. And we finished it all off with a trip with our friend Margaret to Sushi Joy – Chinese and Japanese Cuisine located here in Boise. And in my NSHO (Not So Humble Opinion) it is one of the better Chinese/Japanese restaurants in town. Here are some photos of what we had. We also had green tea and mango ice cream. Three of us ate for $61.00. For the quality and the amount of food we had, I consider that very good. Just look at these photos. Left-Click any of the photos for a full screen view. Cheers!

Our friend Margaret.

Bob

House Salad
The dressing they use makes this salad, as it should. Tonight there was a sweet element to it. Honey?

Pu Pu Platter
egg rolls, crab rangoon, chicken fingers, chicken wings, teriyaki, fried shrimp

Lobster Tempura Maki
tempura lobster, mango, avocado, jalapeno wrapped in soy bean paper with twin sauce

Chef Roll
tuna, salmon, scallion, cucumber
wrapped in colored soy bean paper and deep fried and served with spicy unagi sauce

Sashimi Moriawase
the Chef’s choice of different fish. 12 pieces

Oh my. What a delightful dinner. This is the third time we have been here and we will absolutely return. They also have a wonderful lunch menu. Just remember, this is a wonderful blend of Chinese and Japanese cuisine. One you should not miss.

Mother’s Day Brunch at Salt Tears

08 Sunday May 2011

Posted by Bob and Robin in Celebrations, Main Dish, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Salt Tears, Special Events, Things To Do

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Wow! What a weekend. All we did was eat and have wine, with a Mint Julip – more Julip than Mint – thrown in just for spite. We went to Meredith Nelson’s Graduation Party and to the Seasons Bistro party on Saturday. Then today we went to here to Salt Tears and tonight we are going to Sushi Joy!
And then I look out the window and up to the top of the mountains – 15 miles from us – and I see snow falling. They can keep it there. Just raining down here. So here are some photos from the Salt Tears Mother’s Day Brunch this afternoon. They were “slam dunked” and did not expect the crowds that came. I think that is great to have such a crowd. They were lined up out the door at one time. They had to struggle to keep up on food delivery at the buffet table. But all was extremely good and worth the short wait for refills. Good time to catch up on the Mimosas they were serving. It was great to meet Rick Dean, President/CEO of Moxie Java International and his family. Look for his link in the sidebar. Look at these photos. Cheers!