Onion Soup


OK. Here we go. This is a photo of the Onion Soup we made. Really looks good, I think. But there seems to be something lacking in the flavor. I ask that you make it and let us know what you think. Is it OK as is? Does it need something? If so, what? You can leave a comment here or email Bob or Robin. Thanks and lets have fun with this.

Onion Soup

Source: Robin and Bob Young
Serves: 6

Ingredients:
3 T Butter
1 T Sugar
1/2 med Red Onion, sliced
1 clove large Shallot, sliced (A large clove is about the size of a small yellow onion)
3/4 large Vidalia Onion
1 T Thyme, fresh and de-stemmed
2 t Celtic Salt
Pepper to taste
1 T All-Purpose Flour
4 1/4 c Beef stock. Not broth. We made our own stock but I suggest Pacific Natural Foods beef broth.
1 c Calvados, Apple Brandy
1/2 c Criterion apple cider

Directions:
1). Place butter in a large skillet. Add all of the onion and shallot, sugar and the thyme. Add the salt and pepper. Over low heat, caramelize the onion until a light golden brown. Do not burn. About 20 minutes.

2). When the onion mixture is almost caramelized, add 1/4 cup of the beef stock. Continue to caramelize for 5 minutes. Add the flour and mix thoroughly.

3). Place the onion mixture and all liquid into a 6 quart stock pot. Slowly bring the heat up until the onion starts to sizzle.

4). Add the rest of the beef stock, apple cider and brandy. (Add the brandy last!) Bring up to a low simmer and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes.

To Serve:
1). Place 2/3 cup of the soup in a bowl. Float on top 2 pieces of sliced and toasted baguette. On top of the baguette toast, add enough thinly sliced Gruyere cheese to cover the baguette toast. Sprinkle the top with a pinch of thyme. Place under a broiler until the cheese melts. Serve immediately. Be Careful: This Is Hot!!

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Please do let us know how it comes out for you and if you would cnage, add or reduce anything. Cheers!

New – To Me – Food Blogs


I knew we were not the only ones to have a food blog. Here are two more. The first, is one that is on a quest for finding the best Onion Soup is from Lazy Dog Gardens. And the second is A French Kitchen In Boise. These are full of recipes and hints and suggestions and photos. They are also listed in the sidebar under “Blogs We Like To Read”. Cheers!

Double Chocolate Pecan Pie


So I came across this recipe that really, really looks good. But then I like a good pecan pie and I like chocolate!! Here is a link to the site where I got the recipe. Thibeault’s Table.

Double Chocolate Pecan Pie
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For the filling:

3 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
¾ cup packed dark brown sugar
½ tsp. salt
2 large eggs
½ cup corn syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped into small pieces
3 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Butter-Lard Pastry
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Edited: May/2009

2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup lard (or shortening- Crisco)
5 to 6 tablespoons of ice water

For sweet pies add 1 to 2 teaspoons white sugar. Mix flour with salt, and cut in butter and lard.

An easy way to cut in the fat is to use a food Processor. Cut the butter and lard into cubes add to the flour and pulse. Butter/lard should be the size of peas. Pour mixture into a bowl and add the icewater, mixing quickly with a fork, just until the dough come stogether. Turn out on to floured board and form into a ball. Cut intotwo pieces, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for an hour.

Another way to cut into the butter is to use a box grater. Makes the perfect size pieces of butter. Just make sure that the butter is very cold.

NOTE: This crust is also perfect made with all butter.

On a lightly-floured work surface, roll the pie dough out into a 12-inch round. Transfer the round to a 9-inch pie plate by rolling the dough around the rolling pin and unrolling it over the pie pan. Trim the edges as necessary and create a fluted pattern using a finger to make the indentations. Freeze the dough-lined pie plate until firm and very cold, about 30 minutes.

Adjust an oven rack to lower middle position and heat the oven to 375° F. Remove the dough-lined plate from the freezer, press a sheet of foil inside the pie shell and fill with ceramic baking beads. Bake about 30 minutes, until the dough looks dry and light in color. Carefully remove the foil and weights. Continue baking the crust 5-6 minutes more, until light golden brown.

While the pie crust is baking, make the filling. Melt the butter in a medium heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Remove the bowl from the double boiler but maintain the simmering water. Stir in the sugar and salt with a wooden spoon until the butter is absorbed. Beat in the eggs, corn syrup and vanilla. Return the bowl to the double boiler and heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture is shiny and hot to the touch, about 130° F on an instant-read thermometer. Remove from the heat and stir in the pecans.

As soon as the pie shell comes out of the oven, lower the oven temperature to 275° F. Pour the filling into the pie shell. Scatter the chopped chocolate pieces over the filling and press into the filling with the back of a spoon.

Bake on the middle rack of the oven about 50-60 minutes, until the pie looks set but slightly soft, like gelatin, when gently pressed with the back of a spoon. Transfer to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool for at least 4 hours.

Snake River Gumbo


As Emerald would say, “Oh yea, Babe!” I posted earlier that we had an awesome gumbo at the Seasons in Eagle, Idaho. So Robin says today, “I want you to make some gumbo.” Oh well, her wish is my command! Here is what I came up with. She says it’s better than the Seasons, but I don’t think so. As good? Maybe, but not better. You be the judge.

Snake River Gumbo

Author: Bob and Robin Young
Web Page: Snake River Gumbo
Degree of Difficulty: Easy
Servings: 11

Ingredients:
2 T Olive Oil
2 T All-Purpose flour
32 oz Beef Stock
1 c Madeira
1 med Chicken breast, smoked and skinless, diced
5 Pepperoni sticks, smoked and cut into ¼” rounds
2 Anchovy fillets, mashed
¾ lbs Shrimp, 30-40 count and raw
¾ c Basmati brown rice
½ c Red Onion, diced
½ c Celery, diced
½ c Edamame beans (Soybeans, I used the frozen ones
3 lg Garlic cloves, minced
3 Bay leaves
4 sprigs Thyme, fresh
1/8 t Cayenne

Directions:
1). Dice all vegetables and meats. Remove any shells from the shrimp.
2). Add the flour and the olive oil to a 5 quart pan and make the roux. Add the beef stock and Madeira. Bring up to a slow boil.
3). Add the diced vegetables and the edamame beans. Add the chicken, pepperoni and rice. Bring to a slow boil. Add the bay leaf, thyme, cayenne, anchovy and garlic. Bring to a slow boil. Add the shrimp and bring to a simmer. Cover and let slow simmer for at least 1 hour.
4). Serve hot with a nice slice of baguette.

Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours and 30 minutes

Nutrition Facts:
Serving size: 8 ounces
Nutrition information calculated from recipe ingredients.
Amount Per Serving

Calories – 498.75
Calories From Fat (74%) – 369.91
Total Fat – 42.9g 66%
Saturated Fat – 6.37g 32%
Cholesterol – 6.4mg 2%
Sodium – 649.99mg 27%
Total Carbohydrates – 27.66g 9%

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So there you have it. We would really like to know how you liked it. It’s not your standard gumbo. Cheers!

"Dinner In Alsace"


Well, La Cafe de Paris in Boise has done it again. If you have never been to one of these dinners – they have about one a month and seating gets filled up quickly – you really do need to go. Go and get on their email list and get notices of these events. Yes, an event. You need to go! For this dinner, four courses of some unbelievable selections. That all being said, look at this meal.

Left – Cleebourg Prestige Gewurztraminer and Right – 1970 Suduiraut Sauternes

Left – 1970 Suduiraut Sauternes and Right – 2008 Indian Creek Pinot Grigio

The Cleebourg Prestige Gewurztraminer complemented the Fois Gras, while the Suduiraut Sauternes was an extension of the Fois Gras.

Mac, you have to learn how to make this! I have the ingredients.

The Dressed Sauerkraut was awesome. Look at those ingredients! And the Dijon and Bacon sauce was great.

And then, there is always a great dessert. How about this Caramel Apple Pie. YUM-O
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So there you have it. Hope to see you at the next one. Cheers!

"Seasons" Schedule


I must apologize for the “lateness” of this information. Robin and I are planning to be at the Seasons for lunch today and will talk to Rachel about the timing. In the meantime ……

January Events 2010

Friday, January 22nd 6:00PM-9:00PM
LIVE MUSIC featuring Hot Spittin Llamas

DINNER SPECIALS :

-Braised Lamb over Mashed Potatoes -this is DELICIOUS!
-Trout Meuniere
-Chicken with Cream Shallot & Mushroom Sauce
-Winter Scallop Salad
-Pecan Duck Breast with Wild Cherry Reduction over Currant Pilaf
-Chili
-New York Strip with Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Soups:
-Seafood Gumbo
-Crab & Brie Soup

NEW DESSERTS:

-Banana Split Pie
-German Chocolate Pie
Jerri-Berry Pie- (four berry pie)
Huckleberry Peach Pie
-Eric’s Caramel Bread Pudding

Saturday, January 23rd
LIVE MUSIC with The Single Car Garage Band
6:00PM-9:00PM

Monday, January 25th, 6:00PM-8:00PM
“WOMEN and WINE”
Every Monday at Seasons we will be featuring Women and Wine. Come alone or bring a friend and learn about different featured wine and cheese pairings. Cost-$15.00 per person

SEASONS 1st WINEAUXS DINNER of 2010
Join Joe (Dewey) from ID. Distributing as we learn about Romantic Reds for the month of February.
Wednesday, January 27th @ SEASONS BISTRO
6:00PM-Happy Hour (all glasses of wine are 10% off)
7:00PM-five to seven courses paired with wonderful wines
$30.00-members $35.00-non-members

*Make sure to call Rachel to reserve your seat-939-6680
Sincerely,

Rachel Hurn
Seasons Bistro
939-6680
http://www.seasonsbistrocatering.com

Don’t forget to follow Seasons on Facebook or Twitter!

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Seasons Soup & Sandwich for $7.00 Saturdays. Bring this coupon in for a cup of soup and 1/2 sandwich for $7.00 anytime on Saturdays.

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Idaho Trout Dinner


I guess we have to keep the dinner tonight a little low in carbs. About 23 carbs total. Tomorrow we go to the Le Cafe de Paris for an awesome Wine Dinner. So here was our dinner tonight. Enjoy. We did!

Start with some nice plump and fresh Idaho Trout. A little sesame oil and seeds. Stuff the cavity with lime slices, green onion and lemon thyme. Bake it at 350 degrees F for about 30 minutes.

And voila! You have a succulent Idaho trout with a nice (1 cup) green salad and kale with garlic and peanut butter (1/2 cup). Serve it all up with a 2008 Indian Creek Pinot Noir Blush and you have a delicious dinner.

So there you have it. Oh my, but that was good. Cheers!

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South African Sosaties


We were watching the walla wasalla (You cruise, You loose) from South Africa and they were making a watermelon leaf and pumpkin vegetable dish. It sound good – and looked good – but we missed the name of the dish. Sounded like “African Mocolho Sauce”. I Googled it but nothing was found. Instead, I found this recipe which really sounds good. They say you can substitute pork, chicken or beef for the lamb, but lamb is traditional. You be the judge. The South African recipes can be found at Chirundu. It is hosted by Chirundu Jason.

Traditional South African Sosaties Recipe
Source: Chirundu Jason
In Zimbabwe as kids, we often called them skewers, here in the UK they call meat on a skewer a kebab. They call a braai a barbeque (BBQ) but what ever the name, it is hard to beat the traditional South African Lamb Sosatie on a real charcoal or wood braai!

Lamb Sosaties on the braai
Below are the ingredients and the method to making the perfect Lamb Sosatie for the braai. You can use 0ther types of meat like chicken, pork or beef, but lamb always seems to taste the best.

Lamb Sosaties Recipe

Lamb Sosatie Ingredients, To make traditional South African Lamb sosatie you will need:
2 lbs Lamb (boned shoulder or leg of lamb)
2 large Onions
¼ c Olive Oil
4 cloves of Garlic
1 T Curry Powder
1 x t Turmeric
1 x T Brown Sugar
4 crushed Bay Leaves
1 x T Lemon Juice
2 x Lemons, cut into small wedges
½ c Meat Stock
¼ lbs dried Apricots
1 x Green Pepper, cut into bite size pieces to fit onto the kebab
Butter
Skewer sticks

To make the Lamb Sosaties, first cut the lamb up to 1½” cubes, slice one onion into wedges (for the skewer – you could use shallots) and the other chop finely, peel and crush the garlic. Heat the butter in a saucepan and sauté the chopped onion, garlic and curry powder for a few minutes. Add the turmeric, lemon and meat stock, bring to the boil.

The put the meat in a non-metal bowl with the bay leaves at the bottom. As soon as the marinade comes to the boil, pour it over your meat mixture and then allow it to cool and place in the fridge to marinade overnight.
The next day when you are ready for the braai (barbeque), skewer the meat, apricots, green pepper and onion wedges (shallots) onto the sticks.
For the sauce, pour the leftover marinade into a saucepan, add some butter and salt and pepper to taste, bring to the boil and serve warm with the sosaties and lemon wedges.

The best way to cook the sosaties is over a hot braai (barbeque) turning them as you go, but you can also cook them under a grill.

As a variation, and if you like hot food, why not try adding crushed chilies, more garlic and some peri-peri to the marinade.

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Good luck and let us know how it came out for you. Cheers!

Robin’s Meatloaf


We had some ground lamb and Robin wanted to make something different. We both agreed on a meatloaf. She blended it, though, with ground beef, 7%. Here is the result. Enjoy! It is an awesome meatloaf!!

Robin’s Meatloaf

Author: Robin Young
Degree of Difficulty: Easy
Oven Temperature: 350°F
Servings: 8

Ingredients:
¾ lbs Lamb, ground
¾ lbs Beef, ground 7%
¼ c Red onion, chopped
¼ c Bread crumbs, unseasoned
3 T Worcestershire sauce
1 Egg slightly beaten
6 Cherry tomatoes, sliced
8 Basil leaves, fresh

Directions:
1.) In a large bowl, combine all ingredients by hand. Mix thoroughly.
2.) Divide the mixture in half. Place in a 4×8″ loaf pan. Dot the top with basil leaves and sliced cherry tomatoes.
3.) Bake in a 350°F oven for about 1 hour. Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing.

Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hour
Inactive Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour and 40 minutes

Nutrition Facts:
Serving size: 1/8 of a recipe (4 ounces).
Percent daily values based on the Reference Daily Intake (RDI) for a 2000 calorie diet. Nutrition information calculated from recipe ingredients.
Amount Per Serving

Calories – 219.36
Calories From Fat (67%) – 145.91

% Daily Value
Total Fat 15.61g 24%
Saturated Fat 6.66g 33%
Cholesterol 86.4mg 29%
Sodium 90.05mg 4%
Potassium 295.96mg 8%
Total Carbohydrates 1.38g <1%
Fiber 0.3g 1%
Sugar 0.11g
Protein 16.31g 33%

Le Cafe de Paris – French Region Night: Dinner in Alsace


I think we are going to this. It should be awesome. Anyone else? Join us at French Region Night: Dinner in Alsace. Great food and great wine will be served! Don’t miss this.

BON APPETIT!
Bonsoir Mes Amis!

Back by popular demand, our French Region Night will be Thursday, January 21st, featuring Alsace. The menu is a classic four-course Alsatian menu. Live music by the Frim Fram Fellas, and some fabulous wines from this region and surrounding regions. The dinner itself is $39/person with reservations strongly recommended, and can be made by calling (208)336-0889. We hope to see you there!

Bon Appetit!
Mathieu

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Le Menu

Foie Gras Torchon

(Goose Liver Pate)

brioche crouton, muscat gelée

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Soupe A L’Oignon

(Three Onion Soup)

apple brandy, fine herbs, gruyère cheese

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Choucroute Garnie

(Dressed Sauerkraut)

braised pork ribs, kielbasa sausage,

Yukon gold potatoes, braised cabbage in chicken bouillon with roasted

pork loin, bacon-mustard sauce

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Tarte Tatin

(Caramel Apple Pie)

vanilla bean ice cream, housemade caramel sauce

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