Boise Food Truck Rally and Dolly’s Bar Grand Opening

09 Friday Nov 2012

Posted by in Boise, Boise Adventures, Party Time, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Special Events, What's For Dinner?, Whole Foods

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An exciting time tonight with, at least for me, two special events going on. First was the November Boise Food Truck Rally held in the parking lot of the brand new Whole Foods Store, that is actually not open until next Wednesday, November 14. Here is some of the crowd that fought the cold winds and light snow. Yes, it did snow lightly! Enjoy these photos! It was good to see my friend, Yvonne, at the Brown Shuga Soul Food truck.

The Whole Foods booth. Glad to have you in Boise!

Great to see Tammy and Mike McClure of Indian Creek Winery. Their spiced wine was great. Glad to hear that harvest went well for you Mike.

 

Then there was the Grand Opening of Dolly’s Bar at 1108 Front Street in Boise. Small, but cozy! Thanks Karyn for inviting me to attend your opening. I do hope the business goes well and grows. Here is the sign that was out front along Front Street. Rather difficult to see at night. It should stand out during the day.

This is the patio at Dolly’s Bar.

Quail and Sausage with Grape Sauce

09 Friday Nov 2012

Posted by in Captain's Shack, Chicken, Food Prep, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe by: Robin and Bob Young, Recipes, Rice, What's For Dinner?, Wild Game

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Such a good dinner last night. We finally got to use some of the chukar that Dr Mofid gave us. Thank-You, Afshin, it was delicious. We still have some left along with the pheasant. To the left is the plated dinner and below is what was on the menu. If you want the recipe, Click Here. You can also use Cornish Game Hens or chicken. Enjoy these photos of the process. Be sure to view the photos in full screen.

Quail and Sausage with Grape Sauce

Black Rice with Carrot and Celery
Lamb Sausage with Grape Sauce
Chukar with Grape Sauce
2011 Panul Cabernet Sauvignon

Chukar breasts resting with salt and pepper.

Grapes being reduced to make the sauce.

Chukar, sausage and grape sauce cooking and blending the flavors. Cook slowly and covered.

Stu Smith, Smith-Madrone Winery, Visits Boise

07 Wednesday Nov 2012

Posted by in Cottonwood Grille, Main Dish, Party Time, Photos By: Bob Young, Restaurants, Special Dinners, Special Events, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food, Wine Dinners

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On November 6, Stu Smith from Smith-Madrone Winery and Vineyards, visited Boise and we were honored to go to dinner with him at the Cottonwood Grille. From the Smith-Madrone website, there is a link Here, we read that “Brothers Stuart and Charles Smith are the vineyard managers and winemakers of Smith-Madrone Winery. Their family lineage includes the Fetherolf family, German farmers from the Palatinate region, who came to America on the Good Ship Thistle in 1730 … He is an active member of the G.O.N.A.D.S. (the Gastronomical Order for Nonsensical and Dissipatory Society), founded in the early 1980s by a group of Napa vintners who meet for lively monthly lunches, chronicled in James Conaway’s books Napa: An American Eden and Napa: The Far Side of Eden … He enjoys barbecuing for guests at the winery; favorites are the (Smith-Madrone) Cabernet-marinated butterflied barbecued lamb and (Smith-Madrone) Cabernet Risotto (made on a camp stove as people gather around).” Here are some photos from the evening. Enjoy! We did. Be sure to Left-Click the photos to see enlarged. The photo here is the hearth at the Cottonwood Grille. Cheers!

Stu Smith and Robin

Cristi Takeda from The Buzz in Boise, joined us for dinner and a lively discussion. Thank-You, Cristi for being there.

Also joining us for the special event, were Peggy and Eric Behrens. Peggy helps out at The Buzz at their Monthly Wine Dinners. Glad you and Eric could make it, Peggy.

Stu was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the 2006 Fraser Vineyards (ID) Cabernet Sauvignon. We pulled these three from our cellar to have a comparison tasting with the Smith-Madrone 2010 Cab. All of these wines were awesome.

Stu brought with him the 2011 Smith-Madrone Riesling and the 2012 Smith-Madrone Cabernet Sauvignon. These were two excellent wines. Thank-You for sharing, Stu.

For appetizers, we each selected an appetizer we wanted and then shared it with the wines. Here is a cheese plate, CG Cheese Plate. An assortment of cheeses served with crostini, fruit, candied walnuts and crackers

And Crab Cakes, Fresh Pacific crab mixed with shallots and Pernod, cooked
crisp and served with lemon beurre blanc. We also had Croquetas, Traditional Basque fritters made with creamed béchamel and served with rumescu sauce

One of us had this Tomahawk Chop. Yum!

We also had North American Elk, Premium elk loin, sautéed, sliced and served with a green peppercorn sauce; Northwest Premium Buffalo, Fresh buffalo sirloin sautéed, sliced, and served with a rich Cabernet Sauce. It was over cooked. Lemon Roasted Chicken, All natural chicken roasted with rosemary and lemon pepper, served with a lemon scallion cream sauce. Different soups were also on out table. Overall, a good dinner, with few exceptions, and some terrific wines. Oh, almost forgot to mention. We opened the evening with a 2010 Pend d’Oreille Chardonnay from the Vickers Vineyard at Sunny Slope.

BBQ Sauce for Chicken

31 Wednesday Oct 2012

Posted by in BBQ Sauce, Chicken, Classic Sauces, Comfort Food, Food Prep, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe: Bob and Robin Young, Recipes, What's For Dinner?

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Robin had been asking – in her soft and gentle way – for chicken wings. And believe it or not, I don’t know where to find any in Boise where one can purchase a “bucket” of them. I know there has to be a place, I just don’t know where. I can see another assignment coming up. Anyway, I decide to make some. And here is the Recipe that I came up with. This recipe is also posted in the Recipe File as listed above. Try it and see what you think. It is really easy to do. The photo here is the end result. Left-Click and view this full screen. And the casserole dish? A Pampered Chef. They are awesome baking dishes and they carry a Lifetime Warrantee. Don’t be in the kitchen without one … or two …. or three. Enjoy!

Dinner At Maggie’s Place

29 Monday Oct 2012

Posted by in Chicken, Comfort Food, Main Dish, Party Time, Photos By: Bob Young, Salad, Special Dinners, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?

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A perfectly delightful evening at Maggie’s Place on Sunday night. Chef Maggie did an awesome job with the Chicken and Dumplings, again! And as always, she served up the perfect chalice of Stella Artois. And Robin chipped in with a great Huckleberry Pie. I feel so lucky to have two super-duper Chefs. Well here, you be the judge and look at these photos. Be sure to Left-Click on the photos and see a larger view. Cheers and Goot Essen!

A good German Sekt wine to go with the chicken. Not too sweet and a little frizant – bubbly.

A super great and delicious salad. Who would have thought that avocado and sweet red onion would go so well together. (Go full screen on this one. The colors are so delicious.)

And the star of the show! Maggie’s Chicken and Dumplings. Yum-O!!!!

Huckleberry Pie fresh out of the oven. Another gastronomic delight! It is not often that one can get huckleberries.

Yum!!!

So there you are. Such a treat. Such a joy! And if you clean your computer screen and go Full Screen to enlarge the photos, you could probably eat right off the screen. Try it. You’ll like it! Mikey would, if we could find him.

Great Fall, Oktober Fest Dinner

27 Saturday Oct 2012

Posted by in Beer and Ale, Brats, Ethnic Foods, Main Dish, Oktoberfest, Photos By: Bob Young, Sauerkraut, What's For Dinner?

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A very typical Fall day. Cool. Rain. Snow – in the mountains where it belongs. Good football games:U of Delaware lost, but a good game. Boise State University beat Wyoming 45-14. They are now 7-1 and Coach Peterson is 80-7. But better than that, is this meal we had after the games. Delicious! Enjoy.

Brats
Fresh Made Sauerkraut with Apples
Masher Blend
Plockman’s Mustard
Fat Tire Belgian Beer

Boise Food Truck Rally – Oct 26

26 Friday Oct 2012

Posted by in Boise Adventures, Brown Shuga, Local Markets, Photos By: Guy, Special Events, What's For Dinner?

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Another good Food Truck Rally in Boise. The location keeps moving around and this one was held in the lot at 15th and Bannock Streets. I think a good location. The trucks all were in really good positions and the patrons had ample parking. Maybe this could be a more “permanent” location. But I have heard rumors of an apartment building being constructed here. But we have heard that before for this location. Several times. We’ll just have to wait and see. But for now, enjoy these photos of some of the area. Left-Click any of the photos to see Full Screen. Cheers!

The food Trucks are lined up. This is looking East. The photo above is looking West.

This is just one of the 12 trucks that were there.

One of the BBQ trucks.

From Brown Shuga Soul Foods, Fresh Made Gumbo and Smoked Turkey Legs. Yvonne, owner of Brown Shuga, is especially known for the way she prepares the turkey legs. They are awesome. If you want one at this affair, you must go early. She usually sells out.

This is a Boise Cheese Steak from Saint Lawrence Gridiron, the red food truck in the opening photo. Different. Not a Philly cheese steak by any stretch of the imagination. “Where’s the beef?”, to coin a phrase. And I have no clue as to what that sauce was. The beer is a Payette Brewery IPA. Very good.

So there you have the Boise Food Truck Rally for October. These rallies are usually held on the 4th Friday of each month at rotating locations. They open at 5:00pm and usually run through 9:00pm. If you want to buy beer – there are other beverages available – make sure you have ID. They do card you! Everyone must show some ID. Everyone! Hopefully, I’ll see you at the next one. They really are fun and there is a good variety of food available. Follow the Food Truck Rally on FB. I will try to get the information for the next affair in a timely manner. Those in charge, should advertise somewhat better and use the available advertising media, ie. – blogs, etc. Cheers!

Ginger Scallion Crusted Copper River Salmon

24 Wednesday Oct 2012

Posted by in Food, Main Dish, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipes, Seafood, What's For Dinner?

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This was a really great dinner. The salmon was scrumptious and easy to do. It just took a little time. For the recipe, Click Here or look on the recipe page above. Either way will get you the information. Enjoy it for as I said, it is really good. To the left is the salmon ready for the oven.
Here the dish is plated.

Ginger Scallion Crusted Salmon
Spinach and Red Beet Salad
Corn

Who could ask for more? Actually we asked for more. We watched the movie, I Like Killing Flies. A strange documentary movie, but interesting. Here is a synopsis of the movie. If you can, get a copy and watch it.

A quirky documentary about Shopsin’s, a hole-in-the-wall Greenwich Village restaurant that’s been dutifully serving comfort food to satisfied customers for more than 30 years. Lording over the eatery is hilarious, ersatz philosopher/owner Kenny Shopsin. He is just as likely to throw his customers out as he is to take their orders. If you come in with 5 in your party, you will not be served and told to leave. This is a hilarious documentary and well worth watching. We got a copy on Netflix. Rated R (for language) and 1 hour, 19 minutes long.

The Buzz Quarterly Wine Dinner and Le Cafe de Paris Breakfast

22 Monday Oct 2012

Posted by in Breakfast, Food, Main Dish, Meatless Monday, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Pork, Restaurants, Special Dinners, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?

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Sunday, Oct 21, found us at another fantastic Quarterly Wine Dinner at the Buzz in Boise.Great event and great food and wines. Look at what we had and sorry if you missed this. Be sure to Left-Click for a larger view of the photos.  And as a matter of record, Christi will not tell you the cost of these wines before the end of the evening. She wants you, and rightly so, to judge the wine on its attributes and not on  the cost of the wine. Cheers!

Trio Bacon Potatoes
Butternut Squash Spread
Fried Mac and Cheese
2010 Toad Hollow Unoaked Chardonnay
13.9% alc. best with the Mac and Cheese [18] $14
2010 Barnard and Griffin Fume Blanc
12.8% alc best with the butternut squash [17] $12

Three Bean Salad
(I don’t normally like 3 bean salad, but this was awesome!)
2009 Blacksmith Syrah
14.4% alc hot! salad came through this wine. good food pairing [18] $16
2011 Alamos Red Blend
13.5% alc 50% Malbec, 25% Tempranillo, 25% Bernado great with the mushrooms in the salad [18] $13

Cream of Chipotle and Carrot Soup
(Great soup!)
2011 Tranche Rosé
12.9% alc Walla Walla great pairing with the spicy soup [19] $19
2007 Amador Foothill Red Blend
14.4% alc Grenache and Syrah blend in the Rhone style [18] $19

Pork Tenderloin
with
Whiskey Glazed Sweet Potatoes
Jalapeno Cornbread
(A superb main course!)
2009 Barton and Guestier Red Blend
13.5% alc [19] $13
2010 Tabali Pinot Noir 
13.5% alc both of these wines were an excellent selection with this entrée [19] $20

Pistachio Tea Cake
Panna Cotas
(What a great way to end a superb dinner!)
2010 Mothers Milk Shiraz
14.5% alc best to open this one 24 hours before serving [19] $25
2010 Cameron Hughes Zinfandel
15% alc a little “hot” for the delicacy of this dessert; still a good Zin, though [18] $16

So there you have our great dinner and adventure at the Buzz. An awesome dinner as usual with some really excellent wines. If you missed this one, maybe we’ll see you at the next Quarterly Dinner or maybe at the monthly Wine Dinner. Cheers!

And then on Monday morning – Meatless Monday Morning – we went to Le Café de Paris to meet a friend of us from Homedale, Gina. There we had breakfast. Some great toast and jam, but no pastries! That’s almost a Cardinal Sin. Almost. Gina bought several and took them back to Homedale with her. But here is what we had for breakfast and it was good. Enjoy!

Robin had this really delicious looking
Fried Egg Croissant
Fresh Fruit Bowl

I had an excellent
Omelet
asparagus, Gruyère cheese, mushrooms
Fried Potatoes with Green Onion

So, as you can see, we ate our way through the weekend. Oh. I didn’t tell you? For the homecoming game at BSU (they beat UNLV, 32-7) we had a great meatloaf. See Comfort Food at Halftime on this blog. Super weekend. It’s salad tonight. Cheers!

A Little About Bacon

21 Sunday Oct 2012

Posted by in Breakfast, Photos By: Bob Young, Special Information, What's For Dinner?

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Last week, Robin and I took a little sojourn to Mundo, Idaho to check the camping out. It was good. And the onsite Mundo Bistro, run by the daughter of the owner’s, was excellent! (It’s a family business.) Owner Becky Nolan was kind enough to chat with us for a while and the subject turned to bacon. She said that she really likes Daily’s Brand Bacon and uses it at the Bistro. Robin and I have always liked and used Falls Brand Bacon. I have finally decided that the brand and the thickness of the slices is a very personal “thing”. I found some Daily’s Bacon at the local Albertson’s. Here is a copy of an email I sent to Becky about Daily’s Bacon and Falls Brand Bacon.

I found Daily’s bacon at Albertson’s at 16th and State in Boise. A little, but not much, cheaper than Falls Brand, which is made in Twin Falls.
Daily’s is made in Missoula, MT and it is a division of Seaboard Foods. Daily’s (http://www.dailysmeats.com/) – Serving size – 2 slices. Sodium/serving – 500mg. Cholesterol/serving – 10mg.
Falls Brand is made in Twin Falls, ID (http://www.independentmeat.com/falls-brand/bacon/), a division of Independent Meats – Serving size – 1 slice. Sodium/serving – 190mg. Cholesterol/serving – 10mg
That is probably more than you ever wanted to know.

But I do believe it is in the taste and both Robin and I agree that the Falls Brand, is a little more “tasty” and has a little more “smokey” taste. Daily’s will probably be a good backup if Falls Brand is not available.