15 Monday Jun 2009
Posted in Food, Party Time, Recipe By: Robin Young, Recipes
And while the action has slowed (watching the Boise Peregrine chicks in downtown Boise.), Robin came up with these Left-Over Danish – I told you she is fantastic with the left-overs. Basically it’s left-over doughnut dough flattened out. 1 Tablespoon of cream cheese and homemade strawberry jam. Fold over and bake at 350 degrees F until browned. Not difficult at all and just wonderful with a cup of El Pico, Cuban Espresso! Cheers!
14 Sunday Jun 2009
Posted in Classic Sauces, Food, Things To Do
So, what’s for dinner on a rainy, muggy Boise, Idaho Sunday afternoon? Not your conventional “Old Peoples” dinner – Chicken Mashed Potatoes and Gravy and Peas. Nope! None of that. Try a great Duck l’Orange with Smashed Turnips on a bed of Greens and a Watercress and Orange Salad with a Balsamic Dressing. Ahhhh! So good! Cheers!
13 Saturday Jun 2009
This is some really awesome bread. It does, however, take a while to make. Thanks Kyle Yost for the recipe. Here is a link for a Printable Recipe for the bread.
3 Cups flour – any kind is fine, but I like King Arthur brand – I like 1 cup whole wheat and 2 cups unbleached. Sometimes when I like it lighter, I just use all unbleached and no whole wheat.
½ teaspoon yeast – instant is fine
Almost a tablespoon of salt
1.5 cups warm water
Mix ingredients with a butter knife or your hands, and then cover the dough with plastic wrap. I get better results mixing the water, salt and yeast before adding flour. Maybe put a note on it to remind you of when you started it. Let sit in (preferably) a 70+ degree environment for 12 – 24 hours.
Peel the dough out of the bowl onto a floured board. Flour your hands, and pat the dough gently. Fold sides and ends, and flip dough over, folded side down. Using a cotton towel, cover the towel with cornmeal, flour, or wheat bran. Drop the folded side of the dough onto the cornmeal (or otherwise) covered towel. Put more cornmeal (or otherwise) across the top of the dough. Fold the towel over on itself. Let rise for another 2 -3 hours or so. Don’t touch it, or even look at it. Don’t even THINK about looking at it.
Preheat oven and a Dutch oven to 500 degrees. Flip bread, folded side up, from the towel into the hot Dutch oven. Shake slightly in the pot. Put the lid on the pot and return it to the oven. Bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove lid, return Dutch oven to oven. Bake for another 15 minutes. Remove bread from pot and let cool on a baker’s rack for 30 minutes. Slice and enjoy.
Note: I (Bob) adjusted this just a tad: I used 1/2 c Whole Wheat Flour and about 2 Tablespoons of honey. I added the honey to the warm water and then bloomed the yeast. I then added this to the dry ingredients.
10 Wednesday Jun 2009
Posted in Wine and Food, Wine Dinners, Wine Tasting
A great night at The Buzz on 09 June and tasting California wines. Once again, they did a fantastic job on the dinner and matching the wines. Here are some photos of the dinner. The wines are listed below. Enjoy! We did!
And the winner is? The envelope please …………….. Forre Petit Syrah!!! We saved a little to try with the Cheesecake along with the Zin. The Petit Syrah went far better with this cheesecake. Cheers!
30 Saturday May 2009
Posted in Party Time, Things To Do
I think we’ve found ’em! I received this from Gail this morning – Not the photo, just the email:
Hi, Robin and Bob,
I seem to have the magic touch on Scottish computers. One touch and they die. After a couple of days the one at the Selkirk Arms is up and running again–with some help from the desk person. This hotel, which has been renovated, was once a stopping place of Robert Burns. Guess one of his favorite ales was Selkirk Grace–we tried it, of course. A bit bitter for my taste, but good. From what we hear they’ve kept it place-specific, but are now distributing it more widely in UK.I’ve tried a number of Scotch whiskys and find I prefer the ones from the Isle of Islay–peaty, smoky and rich. Glennfiddich and The Glenlivet, the 12 year olds, seem more alcohol and less taste to me. But you know everyone’s palate is very different.
Hagis is OK, but not my favorite thing. At least I’ve tried it–tastes sort of “livery” to me. Blood sausage is sort of tolerable, but it is so black, it kind of turns my stomach a bit. I’ve had a lot of wonderful salmon. Very good and fresh. We are right on the Solway Sound which is salt water–we see the tides go up and down. Seems mostly down when we are out and about, so what we see is acres of mud. Every where we look we see darling, sweet little lambs gamboling about on the rolling green hills. How anyone could eat them, I don’t know…
These are our last few hours in Scotland–we are on to Carlisle, England (Hadrian Wall) tonight and Oxford tomorrow and on to the plane on Monday around noon. I am not looking forward to getting across London to the airport. Also, the flight is so long.
It is unseasonably warm here–about 70+ degrees. We have one short sleeved shirt each–brought mostly sweaters, which we really needed in the Highlands, so will be wearing the same thing from yesterday until we get home. We will probably have heat prostration when we get back to Idaho and it is just normal there.
Will see you soon–Board meeting on Tuesday, I guess.
Take care,
G&B
It really sounds like they are having a Great time! Hope so. Cheers!
28 Thursday May 2009
Posted in Things To Do
This may not be entirely associated with food, but then again … it might? Did you find a great restaurant on your travels? Need a place to travel to? Try Visit South West Idaho to find a place for your sojourn. Tour the Snake River AVA (Wine Country) or the McCall Area – find information from SWITA. This posting may end up in the Archive, but I have also placed a “blog blip” in the sidebar. Cheers!
27 Wednesday May 2009
Posted in Food, Things To Do, Wine and Food
And not just because they are from Idaho. And remember, wines are meant to be sampled with food. Robin and I just had a Basil and Herb Chicken (actually from Albertsons and pretty good) with Fresh Orange-Mojo Dipping Sauce for Take-Out Chicken and a Golden Rice Salad. Hopefully, Robin will post the recipes for these.
Actually, this is the wrong label, but the design is the same.
2008 Parma Ridge Vineyards, Snake River Valley Dry Gewurztraminer.
A light, German Style Gewurztraminer. “… Try this Gewurztraminer with pork roast, sauerbraten, turkey and other flavorful dishes.” This went extremely well with our herbal chicken and rice. On the back of the tongue, a hint of citrus fruit, like light orange. This is a wine that will leave you saying, “What was that?”. You can find more about Parma Ridge Vineyards by Clicking Here. At this writing, there are only 50 cases in stock. Order some now – you will not regret it! It’ll be great at Thanksgiving.
The other wine, and this is not the correct label either – it should be a Syringa bush label – is:
2008 Indian Creek Winery, Mountain Syringa.
An awesome wine that is definitely fruit forward – Pear, Citrus. “…Tasty alone or with turkey, many highly spiced fish and meat dishes, breads and cheeses.” A blend of Gewurztraminer (50%), White Riesling (22%) and Chardonnay (22%). Mike and Tammy have done an outstanding job. At last check, there were 5 cases of this left. You can view their Web Site and get more information. Be one of five people and buy a case!!
Both of these wines are outstanding, but for different reasons. You really need some of these in your cellar! Cheers!
27 Wednesday May 2009
Posted in Food, Recipe By: Robin Young, Recipes, Wine and Food
Copyright © 2009 Lynne Rossetto Kasper
Makes about 2 cups and doubles easily. Keeps 4 days in the refrigerator.
1 to 2 large cloves garlic, minced
Juice of 1 large lime
1 cup orange juice
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
6 sprigs parsley (flat-leaf preferred), or 5 large basil leaves, chopped
1/2 cup good tasting extra-virgin olive oil
1. Put the garlic in a medium bowl. Squeeze lime juice over it and let stand 15 minutes while you set the table and pour a glass of wine.
2. Whisk in the remaining ingredients. Taste for seasoning and set out in small bowls for dipping in forkfuls of roast chicken.
Serves 4 and halves or doubles easily.
6-quart pot with 5 quarts of boiling salted water
1 tablespoon ground turmeric
1-1/2 cups long grain white rice
[optional] 1 sweet yellow or red pepper cut into 1/4-inch dice
5 whole scallions, thin sliced
20 fresh mint leaves, torn (optional)
2 to 3 tablespoons cider [or sherry] vinegar
2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
1. Set the pot of salted water to boil (with the turmeric) before starting the mojo. Once it’s boiling, drop in the rice and boil like pasta for 10 minutes. Taste for tenderness. Cook longer if necessary. You want the rice tender, but not mushy.
2. Toss with the remaining ingredients. Season to taste and serve with the chicken.
LYNNE’S TIPS
Take-out roast chicken is my answer to what’s for supper on those too-tired-to-think nights. Many supermarkets put out a fresh batch right about the time people are stopping to grab something on the way home. Check the label and pick the latest one to emerge from the oven. The time should be noted on the label. If possible, go for an organic chicken.
Make a double batch of this recipe and you’ll have mojo for dressing salads and marinating just about anything, including leftover cooked chicken for tomorrow night’s supper salad.
Do use the juice from a fresh orange, not bottled orange juice. It makes a difference.
A dynamite rice salad is the rice as it is cooked in our recipe then dressed with the mojo.
[Optionally add pineapple and/or mandarin orange sections – for more ‘golden’ fruit. ] RY
The chicken we chose was an Albertsons Roast with Basil and Garlic.
The wines that accompanied this meal were the 2008 Parma Ridge Vineyards Gewurtztraminer … a purest’s perfection of spice and fruit, very Alsatian Dry style, an exceptional effort – not many wines accompany oranges in recipes, but this and the 2008 Indian Creek Winery Syringa = ‘Mock Orange’ = Idaho’s State Flower … which has a ‘Syringa bouquet’ and the blend of 60% Gewurtztraminer, 20% Riesling and 20% Chardonnay were really exciting, refreshing and both paired well with the food.
Thank You to Lynne Rosetto Kaspar for the incentive to try this ‘mojo meal’ … we may have to try it with mojitos. Yummmmmo
27 Wednesday May 2009
Posted in Dessert, Food, Photos, Things To Do
I knew I forgot something! I posted our Memorial Day menu and told you I would post a photo of the Cheesecake Robin made. Here is the photo – I am selfish with this cheesecake! Actually, a good German Chocolate Cake and a big glass of real milk, is a good way to pass the time. But the cheesecake she made, will do just fine. A great, crispy chocolate crust; The “cake” portion about 1″ thick and a lemony, citrusy flavor that comes through that really goes well with the smiley fruit on top. What a way to end a great picnic! Cheers!
27 Wednesday May 2009
Posted in Restaurant Reviews, Spring Plants, Things To Do
A ride to where? Wilder? What’s in Wilder? Ahhh, you say, two things!
First, there are hops! Miles and miles of hops! Just coming through from a long Winters nap. They will grow to 16 to 20 feet tall. And after they grow, they will find their way to your favorite brew.
And Second, there is Alejandra’s Mexican Restaurant. (It always comes down to food!) A very excellent restaurant and almost better than those in Boise and Kuna. Read our Review. We will probably go back to this one. However, there is one in Marsing right on Main Street, which might be a wee bit closer.
We were actually at Parma Ridge Winery and we asked the winemaker – Dick Dickstein – where a good Mexican restaurant was in the area. He highly suggested Alejandra’s and he was right! (One really should not take a photography amid chews! It gives a false impression.)
It really was an enjoyable morning and afternoon. A good Idaho winery visited – no, we did not buy any – we have some in storage; We found another good restaurant to frequent and it was a pleasant drive through the Idaho countryside on a beautiful spring afternoon. Not much traffic on the roads as most people have returned from the Mountains and the Memorial Day Weekend and are now back at work. We are still retired!!! So Robin and I will spend out days searching for good wine and good food and report to you what we have found. It’s tough – But someone has to do it! Cheers!
Boise Foodie Guild 