11 Friday Sep 2009
Posted in Celebrations, Food, Main Dish, Party Time, Photos, Things To Do
OK, so really, it’s not all wine and wine parties. Idaho is so lucky – we have Salmon! Fresh, wonderful, succulent salmon. Twice a year in the Boise area, there is a salmon feast: One in Meridian to support the Burn-Out Fund and then this one to help with the costs of the MK Nature Center. A beautiful natural center in the middle of Boise. Well, you be the judge. Look at these photos. And don’t be afraid to go full screen at the prompt.
See what you missed? Good salmon! Cheers!
10 Thursday Sep 2009
Posted in Dessert, Food, Wine and Food, Wine Dinners
The latest from Cafe Vicino –
Café Vicino & Belle Vallée Cellars Wine Dinner
5 fabulous Oregon wines along with 5 delicious, paired courses.
Presentation by Brad Potter of Belle Vallée Cellars
Wed. Sept. 16 – 6:30 pm
$60/person + gratuityBelle Vallée Pinot Gris 2006
Goat Cheese crostini topped with grilled Idaho Peaches. Mixed olives with citrus and rosemary Belle Vallée Whole Cluster Pinot Noir Willamette Valley 2007
Fresh local heirloom tomatoes topped Wild Alaskan King Salmon Cakes and herb crème fraicheBelle Vallée Reserve Pinot Noir Willamette Valley 2007
Quail rubbed with cinnamon, cumin, coriander and paprika served with a Mediterranean Succotash
Belle Vallée Cabernet Sauvignon Rogue Valley Oregon 2004
New Zealand Lamb Chop on yellow beet and saffron risotto with demi glaze sauce
Belle Vallée Reserve Port
Italian Plum tort with almond cream anglaiseSpace is limited and reservations are required (phone: (208) 472-1463).
Corner of 8th & Fort – Boise Cafe Vicino
If this evening is like the ones in the past, this will be an exceptional experience for all of those attending. Cheers!
09 Wednesday Sep 2009
Posted in Appetizers, Classic Sauces, Dessert, Food, Main Dish, Party Time, Photos By: Bob Young, Wine and Food, Wine Dinners
Once again, we were treated to some fantastic food and wines at The Buzz! On 8 September they presented their French Wines part II, and, as usual, it was an awesome presentation. And this bears repeating: If you have never been to one of their tastings/dinners, you really do need to go!! For $10.00 per person, it is one of the best deals going in Boise. Here is a link to their web site, The Buzz. They are located at 2999 N Lakeharbor Lane, Boise, ID 83702. (208) 344-4321. (Next to Idaho Fitness on West State Street) I can not do much more, except maybe pay your way – but that probably won’t happen.
OK, so what did we have. The numbers in parenthesis () are my scores out of 20. For wines, we started with a 2008 Collula Pinot Greigo Blanco (16). Not French. To me, it had an Ivory Flakes taste. Not good. We also had a 2007 Chateau de LaRoach Touraine, a sparkling wine (18). Sparkling wines are not my favorites. Sorry. But the Cucumber Salad, made with white wine vinegar, cucumber slices, sugar and dill was extremely good and went well with the Chateau de LaRoach.
Now, the Main Event! Boeuf Bourguignon in a Sourdough Bread Bowl. WOW! This was totally awesome! Rich. Tender. Juicy. Delicious! And the wines. A Gassier Sables D’Azur Rose that was pretty good – a (17). A 2007 Scarlet of Paris Vin de Pays
(19), a Lurton Les Fumes Blanches (17). And then the heavy hitters! a 2004 Chateau Greysac Modoc (20) that was so well balanced, it was amazing. But really not to out done by a Cotes du Reussillon (20). These two wines took the show – Best of Show, Best Red, Best French, Best Wine of the Night. You name the award!
But wait! There is more! More you say? What ever could top this? Try a Creme de Menthe Bar. And which of the above listed wines went with this heavenly delight? I would have to say the Cotes du Reussillon. So perfectly balanced with the chocolate and the mint. Sooooooo lucious! An organoleptic delight!
If you are lucky and you want to try one of these tastings, you have the opportunity in October. On 4 October you will be treated to an evening with BRJ Distributors and a special dinner. And on 13 October, you will be treated to an All Idaho Wine evening and we are told that the dinner will be fabulous with Idaho products. But, and there is always a “but”, you must make reservations and soon. These tastings/dinners sell out quickly. The telephone and web link are listed above. Call now!!
I just have to mention this. If you make a reservation – and the staff of The Buzz hopes you do – please have the courtesy to cancel if you find you will not be able to be there. How would you feel if you had a big dinner and party planned for 40 guests and they all said they would be there and then no one showed up? You would have a lot of left-overs! Great for Hunters and Gatherers, but not especially for everyone else. Pretty wasteful and inconsiderate.
Hope to see you at the next event here at The Buzz! Cheers!
09 Wednesday Sep 2009
Posted in Dessert, Recipe By: Bob Young, Recipes, Rudy's Twin Falls, Things To Do
Rudy’s: A Cooks Paradies not only has interesting trivia and kitchen supplies, they also have some very interesting Recipes of the Week. Here is one.
Mango Matrimony De Luxe
by Levi Root of Britain’s “Caribbean Foods Made Easy”Ingredients
1 ripe mango, peeled, stone removed, flesh chopped
2 kiwi fruit, peeled, cut into quarters, cores removed, flesh finely sliced
2 ripe passionfruit, pulp and seeds
1 large piece preserved ginger (from a jar), finely chopped
1½ tbsp ginger syrup (from the jar of preserved ginger)
½ lime, juice only
double cream or ice cream, to serveMethod
1. Mix the chopped mango, sliced kiwi and passion fruit pulp and seeds together in a large serving bowl.
2. Sprinkle over the chopped stem ginger and mix well.
3. Drizzle over the ginger syrup and squeeze over the lime juice. Mix carefully until the fruit is coated in the ginger and lime juice.
4. To serve, spoon the matrimony de luxe into four shallow serving bowls. Drizzle over double cream or add a scoop of ice cream.
If you like dessert or mango, you just gotta try this one. It sounds soooo refreshing! Do you want more recipes like this? Look at Rudy’s: Cooks Paradise. Cheers!
09 Wednesday Sep 2009
Posted in Rudy's Twin Falls, Trivia
Another week of interesting food related facts. Enjoy:
This Week in the History of Food & DrinkSeptember 8, 1621: Prince Louis II de Condé, known as the Great Condé, was born. He was a French general who loved to hunt and had a passion for rice. Several dishes have been named for him, including Consommé Condé and Creme Condé.
September 9, 1890: France introduces the first metric weight, the kilogram.
September 10: National Hot Dog Day
September 11, 2001: World Trade Center and Pentagon Terrorist Attack. Among those who perished, due to these heinous attacks, were many food workers who worked in the restaurants of the 2 Towers, including Windows on the World.
September 12: National Chocolate MilkShake Day…Happy Birthday Candy!
September 13, 1916: Roald Dahl was born. British author, one of his most popular books was ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,’ the film version was titled ‘Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.’ Some of his other books are ‘A Piece of Cake,’ ‘Pig,’ ‘Royal Jelly,’ ‘Smell’ and ‘Lamb to the Slaughter.’
September 14: Feast of Notburga of Eben, patron of waiters, waitresses and farmers.
September 15, 1981: The USDA announced that ketchup could be counted as a vegetable in the school lunch program. (Really?!)
Interesting, huh? Cheers!
07 Monday Sep 2009
Posted in Dessert, Food, Main Dish, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe By: Robin Young
The recipe for the Broccoli Bacon Salad is listed below. But here is the Rib-Eye steaks that I made with a super special marinade.
Super Special Marinade
1/4 c Grapeseed Oil
1/2 c Olive Oil
2 T Balsamic Vinegar
2 Lg Garlic cloves minced
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/4 c Huckleberry Vodka
Mix all thoroughly to emulsify. Pour over the Rib-Eyes and marinate for 2 hours, turning twice. Grill over low heat. Remove from heat and let set for 15 minutes. Serve with the Broccoli Bacon Salad and for dessert try Frozen Lemonade Squares. Try this dinner with a fabulous 2008 Dry Rose of Pinot Noir by Indian Creek Winery. You won’t be disappointed! Cheers!
07 Monday Sep 2009
Posted in Food, Food Prep, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe By: Bob Young, Recipes
OK, so it’s late summer headed for fall and the cabbage family of vegetables is in. That includes broccoli. A great vegetable, but one that I must have at the very least, lightly blanched. So here is a good little recipe from WEcooks, an area of Wildearth. (If you are in to wild life and touring the African bush in real time but from home, this is the site for you!!). So with that said, there is an area on that site for recipes and this is just one of many. Enjoy it and Cheers!!
Broccoli Bacon Salad
Source: Adapted from KimJ on WEcooks, WEcooks1 med Head of Broccoli- cut up in small pieces
½ Red Onion, cut in small pieces
4 strips Bacon, fried to crisp, crumbled
1 lg Carrot, diced in ¼” rounds
6 med Button Mushrooms sliced
½ c Craisins
Optional- raisins, sunflower seeds, nutsBlanch the broccoli and set aside to cool. Boil the carrots in salt and pepper and brown sugar until tender. Set aside to cool. Sauté the mushrooms until golden brown. Set aside to cool.
When everything is cool, dice the onion. Place all vegetables, bacon and mushrooms in a bowl and toss lightly to combine. Add the Craisins and toss. Serve as a cold vegetable salad.
07 Monday Sep 2009
Posted in Food, Main Dish, Party Time, Things To Do
Do you like salmon? We do … almost any way you can prepare it. Would you like to go to a Salmon BBQ? Well then, here is your opportunity to have some really great BBQ Salmon. From the Idaho Fish and Game, we received the following information:
Idaho Salmon and Steelhead Days Barbeque
Thursday September 10, 2009 — 5:30 pm – 8:00 pmThis is the 13th Anniversary of Idaho Salmon and Steelhead Days. Enjoy a delicious salmon dinner donated by Fred Meyer and prepared by Murphy’s Seafood Bar & Grill, followed by some tasty ice cream provided and served by Goody’s Soda Fountain and Candy Store. Activities during the BBQ include live music, gyotaku fish printing and Kids In the Creek. The Nature Center stream walk will be open for viewing live Chinook salmon and kokanee salmon.
Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for kids (salmon dinner) and $3 for kids (hot dog dinner) and can be purchased at Fish and Game Headquarters in Boise at 600 S. Walnut St., beginning August 17, Monday through Friday, 8 am-5 pm or at the MK Nature Center (located behind the headquarters building) Tuesday through Friday, 9 am-5pm; Saturday and Sunday, 11 am-5 pm. Tickets are limited and sold on a first-come, first-serve basis. If you would like more information regarding this event contact Cass Meissner at 208-287-2901 or by email.
Date: Thursday September 10, 2009
Time: 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm
Cost: $ 10.00 adult, $ 5.00 kids (salmon dinner), and $3.00 (hot dog dinner)
There you go, so hope to see you at the party. Cheers!
06 Sunday Sep 2009
Posted in Food, Photos, Smoking and Grilling, Things To Do, Wine and Food, Wine Dinners
On 5 September, Robin and I took a “day trip” to visit the Holesinsky Winery in Buhl, Idaho for their Grand Opening. A great day trip. (Below are some photos) It was a good event and we also were able to taste some awesome wines. Here are the wines we had.
1. 2008 Riesling – German style fermentation in stainless steel fermented with special yeast to create a crisp, off-dry finish.
2. 2008 Rosé – Irrigated with lava filtered spring water and pressed one-half hour after crush. Syrah grapes were grown in rich, old soils. (1st In Class at the 2009 Idaho Wine Competition)
3. 2007 Merlot – An extended cold soak extracted complex flavors of the fruit leaving chocolate and raspberries on the palate.
4. 2007 Medley – A blend of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot compose this summer blend. Well rounded mouth feel leaves the taste of wild berries. High alcohol.
5. 2007 Syrah – Picked at the peak of ripeness. A gentle press in late November and then directly to French oak barrels.
Visit their web site Holesinsky Vineyards and Winery for more information and ordering info on these wines.
So who could ask for more? How about the appetizers: Fresh fruit, Chocolate Dipped Strawberries, a variety of cheeses and crackers, Ham, Roast Beef, Turkey, Shrimp, Artichoke Dip, Fresh Vegies, Olives and on and on!And yes, there was dinner: BBQ Pulled Pork, Pork Ribs, Beef, Beans, Potato Salad, Cole Slaw, Fresh Green Salad, Bread, Corn On the Cob and other drinks besides wine and beer.
Really a great day and we met some very interesting people, drank some awesome wines and ate and ate and ate and ate. But then the wines are made to be consumed with food. The more wine – The more food! Cheers!
30 Sunday Aug 2009
Posted in Food, Food Prep, Recipe By: Bob Young, Side Dishes, Things To Do
OK, so the storm last night really cooled things off. All doors and windows open. Fresh, cool air all around! So, what will I do? How about making some Idaho Wild Huckleberry Jam? Sounds good to me. (If you can not get huckleberries at $8.00 per pound, try wild blueberries or elderberries.) Here is the recipe I use.
Wild Idaho Huckleberry JamBob and Robin Young, Boise, Idaho
Degree of Difficulty: Moderately difficult
Yield: 12 ½-Pint jarsIngredients:
5 lbs Huckleberries, fresh
¼ t Baking Soda
8 c Sugar
2 pkg Sure-Jell
12 ½ pint Canning jars and lids, sterilizedProcedure:
1. Pick over the huckleberries to remove stems. Wash. Place in a 12 qt pot and bring level up to 12 cups using water if necessary.
2. Simmer for 35 minutes or until reduced to 10 cups.
3. Measure out sugar and set aside.
4. Add Sure-Jell and mix. Bring up to a full rolling boil and boil for 3 minutes (No Longer) stirring constantly.
5. Add the sugar all at once and stir to mix. Bring up to a rolling boil of 220°F and reduce mixture by ¼.
6. Place a dish in the freezer. Place about 1 t of the liquid on the plate and return to freezer. Check to see if the jam is thickening to your liking. If not, return to freezer for another 3 minutes. Repeat until you are satisfied that the jam is correct.
7. When correct, immediately remove from heat. Pour the jam into sterilized canning jars. Place lids and rings on. Hot pack for 12 minutes. Remove from water and let cool until you hear the lids “pop”.Cooking Times:
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hour
Inactive Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 3 hours and 20 minutes
So, there is the recipe. There is a hot link to the recipe if you want a hard copy. If you have not seen the movie, Julia and Julia, you really gotta see this one. Funny, very funny, informative, although I don’t know how historically accurate it is. But there are parts that are factual – Julia Child’s trying to get published and her stint at Le Cordon Bleu. It’s a very well done movie. Go prepared to laugh! Cheers!
