Seafood Almondine


This Seafood Almondine actually was quite good. And besides, my Doctor would be pleased that I am eating so well – I did loose 21 pounds since my last appointment with him this past Spring – while he is eating his Rib-Eye and French Fries. It’s not that we eat less – we eat smarter! Heres what we had.

Le Menu

Seafood Almondine
Cod and Shrimp

Spicy African Beans in Onion, Tomato and Pomegranate Molasses

2009 Horton Vineyards (VA) The Tower Series, Viognier

The wine was really extremely good with this dinner. Almost as good as an Estencia Pinot Grigio. It went quite well with the spiciness of the beans but did not cover the light cod and almonds. I would have this again. Except this time, I would remove the bean from the pods, although the pods were good. Full of fiber. Cheers and Goot Essen!

Exciting Events at "The Buzz"


You say you need a night out? You say you want a different wine dinner experience? I say, check out these events at The Buzz this month! Good food! Good wine! Good company! Great price! I don’t know where in Boise you can beat this night out. See you there! Look for their logo in the sidbar and a hot link. You must be 21 to attend these functions!

September Wine Club

It may seem a little late this month due to the first being a Wednesday, but we are all ready for our feature wines this month of Chenin Blanc and Shiraz (Syrah). So join us on September 14th or 15th at 6:30 for our Wine Club Dinner. Reservations required. The cost is $15.00 per person with 10% off all featured wines after the dinner.

Quarterly Dinner

Our next Quarterly Dinner is September 26th at either 5 or 7:30. If you have not had the opportunity to join us for this event, please try to attend. This is a fun filled evening, you will be served a five course dinner (this quarter’s theme is Classics with a Twist), with each course you will be served two different wines. After each course we vote on which wine was paired better with the food. The cost for the dinner and wine tasting is $30 per person with featured wines being 10% off after dinner. This is a fun event to bring a group to and discuss wine. Reservations are required and seating is limited.

Reservations for any of our events may be made online at Buzz Wine or at (208) 344-4321. Also follow us on Facebook and watch for information on Twittertasting…coming soon.

Cristy and Tom

Buzz Coffee and Wine
2999 N Lakeharbor Lane
Boise ID 83703

Baked Cod with Squash Tapenade


Just another good dinner. We’ve got all these tomatoes and squash to use. The Elbow Noodles with Browned Butter, are just that. Easy to do. The Baked Cod is rubbed in olive oil and seas salt then baked at 350 degrees F. Again, easy to do and pretty straight forward. The Squash Tapenade is a little more complicated, bu not much. Caramelized Onion, diced Summer Squash, chopped Fresh Roma Tomato, Capers and Dry Roasted Pine Nuts.
Here’s what to do. Dry roast the pine nuts and set aside. Caramelize the onion slowly over medium heat. Add the squash and cook over medium heat. Add the tomatoes and cook until broken down to a heavy sauce.
While the tomatoes are cooking, bake the cod at 350 degrees F until slightly flaky.
Back to the tomatoes. Add the capers and pine nuts. Stir to mix and serve as pictured above. Enjoy!

Alley Tomatoes


Alley Tomatoes

There is an old song called Home Grown Tomatoes by Guy Clark. These tomatoes are some of our Alley Tomatoes and they are soooo good! But even more than that, there is a line – the chorus – in the song that says,

“Home grown tomatoes, home grown tomatoes,
What’d life be without home grown Tomatoes,
There’s only two things that money can’t buy:
True love and home grown tomatoes.”

And just for kicks, here are the rest of the lyrics.

“1. There’s nothin’ in the world that I like better than
Bacon, lettuce and home grown tomatoes
Up in the morning and out in the garden
Pick you a ripe one, don’t get a hard ‘un.
Plant ’em in the springtime eat ’em in the summer,
All winter without ’em’s a culinary bummer.
I forget all about the sweatin and the diggin
Every time I go out and pick me a big’un.

CHORUS

2.
You can go out and eat’em that’s for sure,
But there’s nothin a home grown tomato won’t cure
You can put em in a salad, put em in a stew
You can make your own, your very own tomato juice
You can eat em with eggs, you can eat em with gravy
You can eat em with beans, pinto or navy
Put em on the side, put em on the middle
Home grown tomatoes on a hot cake griddle

CHORUS

3.
If I could change this life I lead,
You could call me Johnny Tomato Seed
I know what this country needs,
It’s home grown tomatoes in every yard you see
When I die don’t bury me
In a box in a cold dark cemetery
Out in the garden would be much better
Where I could be pushin up those home grown tomatoes.

CHORUS
Home grown tomatoes, home grown tomatoes,
What’d life be without home grown Tomatoes,
There’s only two things that money can’t buy:
True love and home grown tomatoes.
“

And I feel so very lucky! I’ve got both!!! And if you look hard, you can probably find a copy of the song. Neat song and so appropriate! Cheers.

BSU vs VT Dinner


OK. So here is the BSU Game Dinner. Go Broncos!

Bob and Robin

Robin and Margaret

Marnie and Mac

Virginia Wine on the left and Idaho Wine on the right

Margaret’s BSU Potato Salad

BSU Mesquite Smoked Corn

The Dinner plated.

Pulled Pork

BSU Corn

BSU Potato Salad

Baked Beans

BSU MJ’s Cake

It was a great dinner. We are still watching the Pre-Game hype! Cheers and Good Luck!

Labor Day Festivities #1


I guess a picture is worth a 1000 words. MJ’s contribution to the big party this afternoon – BSU Victory Cake! Thanks MJ … I know it will be good! 3:00pm Dinner is Served!

Le Menu

Marinated Pulled Pork

House BBQ Sauce

Baked Beans

Margaret’s Potato Salad

MJ’s BSU Victory Cake

Robin’s Buttered Pecan Ice Cream

Robin’s Strawberry Ice Cream

Question Is: What Is Masala?


The question is: What is masala? Basically, it is an East Indian spice blend. The photo to the left is from the Masala Cook web site. The web site Masala Cook states that,

“You’ll find this term popping up in virtually all South Asian cuisines. Masala generally refers to the (sometimes) dry-roasted and ground spice powders used to add flavor and aroma to dishes. Some frequently used spices are coriander seeds, cloves, cinnamon, black cumin, bay leaves, mace, nutmeg and peppercorns. Regional preferences and the type of dish determine the infinite number of combinations.

Curried dishes have spices and chilies added to a tomato and onion base. In southern cuisines, spices are added to ground coconut paste or coconut milk gravies and stews. The resultant thick mixture is also referred to as ‘masala’.

Masala Dosa is a breakfast food/tiffin that’s a given on South Indian restaurant menus. Here, ‘masala’ is the spicy potato mixture that sits rolled up in the middle of the dosa (a crisp, rice-and-lentil crepe).

On a dull, winter day, try a masala chai to pep you up! The spice mix brewed with tea leaves and sugar varies according to individual taste, but usually includes cinnamon, ginger, cloves and peppercorn, with the dominant flavor of cardamom.”

Hopefully, this answers some questions. But as you can see from the article, the masala spice blend can be quite varied. It depends on the locale of the cooking – New Delhi cooking is different than Bombay cooking which is different than Lahore cooking or Madras cooking – and the dish being prepared. Indian cooking, curry for example, from India tends to be more spicy than the somewhat sweet curries of Indonesia. Therefore, the masala spice blend will be different. Pick the one you like and go with that. Or experiment. It’s definitely your choice. Cheers!

Indian Foods Grocery Store in Boise


One thing that Boise has really improved on in the pat 10 years or so, is ethnic foods. Ethnic restaurants and grocery stores. As C. Jeanne Heida says in her post on Associated Content,

“… Boise, Idaho is not known for having a wide range of ethnic grocery stores, and up to about 15 years ago or so, our ethnic food choices were pretty much limited to the “foreign food” aisle of the local grocery store.

Fortunately for Boise, a number of small ethnic markets have sprung up in recent years, providing a wide range of international foods. Since many of these small markets are neither advertised or listed in the Yellow Pages, they can be a little tricky to find.” Robin and I totally agree with this statement! It is great to see these small markets in Boise.

Robin and I visited this shop this morning and found it to be very complete and versatile. Hasmuka Patel has done a great job. The store is located at 6020 W Fairview Ave in Boise. Telephone is (208) 387-0000. I have not found a website for them.

The store is located in the old Bob’s Bicycles – no relation. For some, it might be a little difficult to locate. It tends to sit back off the highway. But, there is plenty of signage, as evidenced in the above photos. This is a photo of the store front.

As you can see from this interior shot, the store has a lot of shelving that is full of product. There is also a space for cooking supplies – pans, steamers, etc. This is just two isles of four, plus end shelves and another room. The products include not only food stuffs, that being the primary emphasis, they also provide incense and some light hardware. An interesting shop that if, you are looking for the East Indian, Asian or Pakistani foods, this should be your first stop. Open 7 days a week from 9:30am until early evening. Cheers!

What’s For Dinner?


So this morning, while I was contemplating the Bronco victory in Virginia, Boise’s hot air balloons were taking off over Julia Davis Park in the center of town. There is also the question of What’s For Dinner? I asked Robin if she wanted chicken. She said yes with some curried rice. Her wish is my command!

Le Menu

Braised Chicken in White Wine and Pomegranate Molasses
with

Sauteed Leeks and Garlic in Orange Infused Olive Oil

Curried Rice
with
Red and Green Tomatoes and Summer Squash

Serve all of this with a wonderful 2008 Casablanca Valley Chile Root:1 Chardonnay and you have a wonderful Saturday evening meal. Cheers and

GO BRONCOS!!

Shrimp Stuffed Cod


I finished getting the pork ready for Monday – Pulled Pork, Roasted Corn, Baked Beans and Potato Salad. Maybe one of MJ’s cakes (Hope so!) So now it’s dinnertime! Watching how the weather blew in from the west and kept Earl out to sea. That was the onslaught of BSU coming to VA Tech for the game(?) on Monday. And all 10000+ BSU fans headed to FedEx Field to show VA Tech how to yell for their team. Listen for, “BOISE …….. STATE …… BOISE …… STATE!”
But tonight, we need dinner. I remember a Lobster Stuffed Whitefish from somewhere. No lobster in our refrig. But we have Prawns! And we have Cod! So make a shrimp paste – shrimp, bread crumbs, lemon thyme, cream and salt and pepper. Run through a food processor until in paste form. Cut a pocket in the fish and stuff with the shrimp paste. Bake at 375 degrees F until browned on top. And a fresh and local vegetable saute – tomato, Zebra tomato, summer squash, kohlrabi, leek. Here was the menu:

Shrimp Stuffed Cod

Garden Fresh Sauteed Vegetables

Potato Salad

So the Little Guys can’t play with the Big Guys, eh? Why not ask Oklahoma and TCU. See what they say. Cheers! And enjoy the Shrimp Stuffed Cod!