CS Coconut Shrimp

04 Thursday Jun 2026

Posted by Bob and Robin in 5-Stars, Asian - Sauces, Asian - Spices, Asian Food, Captain's Shack, Classic Herb Blends, Classic Sauces, coconut shrimp, Cooking Styles, Food, Food - Asian, Homemade Sauce, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe By: Bob Young, Recipes, Seafood, Shrimp, What's For Dinner?

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coconut shrimp, food, orange sauce, recipes, shrimp

I do love Coconut Shrimp. And I finally found the correct recipes to combine to make the ones I like. My sister asked me for the recipe and I sent it to her. She really liked them! I have been asked by many folks if I have a recipe for the dish, so here it is. I hope you enjoy them. Let me know. I have also included a Sweet Orange Marmalade Dipping Sauce for the shrimp if you would like. I serve the shrimp with celery and carrot sticks. If cooking in the oven, line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and lightly oil. Helps in clean up and making the shrimp crispy.

CS Coconut Shrimp

To recreate the restaurant-style coconut shrimp experience from scratch, follow these simple preparation steps. I prefer the oven cooking.

Prep: 15 mins Cook: 4 mins Servings: 4
Bob Young Boise, ID 27 May 2026

Ingredients:
1 lb large Shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails left on
1 1/2 t Celtic Sea Salt
1/4 t Garlic Powder
1 c All-Purpose Flour
2 lg Eggs, beaten
1 c Panko Bread Crumbs
1 1/2 c sweetened Shredded Coconut
Frying oil, such as peanut or vegetable oil

Instructions:
Season: Pat the shrimp dry and season them with salt and garlic powder.
Set Up a Dredging Station: Place the flour in one shallow bowl, the beaten eggs in a second, and mix the Panko breadcrumbs and Shredded Coconut in a third.
Coat: Hold the shrimp by the tail, dredge lightly in flour, dip entirely in the egg, and then press firmly into the coconut -Panko mixture so it sticks well.
Fry: Heat 1 1/2 inch of oil in a skillet to 350°F. Fry the shrimp in batches for about 3–4 minutes total, turning halfway, until deeply golden brown and crispy. Drain on paper towels before serving.

Oven: Pre-heat to 425ºF. Arrange shrimp in a single layer on a non-stick baking sheet and cook on middle rack. Bake for 11-12 minutes and turn half way through cooking process.

Sweet Orange Marmalade Sauce
1/2 c Orange Marmalade
1 T Dijon Mustard
1 T Rice Vinegar, or Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2 c Soy Sauce

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl until smooth and serve alongside the shrimp.

Pistachio Encrusted Salmon

02 Tuesday Jun 2026

Posted by Bob and Robin in 5-Stars, Boise Food Adventures, Brussels Sprouts, Classic Cuisines, Classic Sauces, Food - French, Main Dish, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe by: Robin and Bob Young, Recipes, What's For Dinner?

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cooking, dinner, food, pistachios, recipe, recipes, salmon

I think it is great when one gets challenged. I don’t think my sister Peggy actually challenged but she sent me a photo of a dinner she made of this very same of salmon. So I set out to make my own using several different sources. This is what I came up with. Really s good change for using salmon. You be the judge. Even the Brussels Sprouts with a balsamic vinegar glaze is different and works wonders for those who say, “I don’t like Brussels Sprouts” and have not even tried these.

Source: Captain’s Shack Boise, ID 1 June 2026 Bob Young

This pistachio crusted salmon might seem like a fancy salmon recipe but you will be surprised how Easy it is to make! The salmon crust is perfectly complimented by the sweet and savory maple Dijon glaze.

Prep: 10 min Cook: 25 min Total: 35min Servings: 1

Ingredients:
Skin-On (2 – 8 oz filets)
3 T Roasted/Salted Pistachios Skinless filet add ⅛ cup extra to coat
1½ t Course Ground Dijon Mustard
1 t Maple Syrup
Celtic Sea Salt and fresh ground Tellicherry Black Pepper to taste

Instructions;
Preheat oven to 350º F
Pulse pistachios in food processor. You don’t want whole chunks but you don’t want meal like powder – about in the middle. You want it to stick to the salmon but still have good crunch.
Mix course ground Dijon and maple syrup. Add salt and pepper to taste. If you like it a little sweeter you can add more maple syrup.

Coat the salmon top, bottom and sides with your Dijon maple mixture. Place pistachios on plate or wide bottom bowl.Gently place salmon on top of pistachio mixture, top down. Push gently so that the pistachio mixture sticks to the salmon. Coat sides of salmon by hand or gently turn to press sides down.

Place salmon in a Pyrex baking dish or on a non-stick cookie sheet. I cover the baking sheet with aluminum foil. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Let rest five 5 minutes. Serve with Balsamic Glazed Brussels Sprouts.

CS Pear and Rutabaga Soup

24 Tuesday Mar 2026

Posted by Bob and Robin in 5-Stars, Bay leaf, Bread, Carrots, Idaho Vegetables, Onion, What's For Dinner?

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Celtic sea salt, Creme Fraiche, dinner, food, fresh herbs, recipe, recipes, rutabagas, soup, Spices, Tellichery pepper

Source: adapted from Mustard’s Grill Napa Valley, California      Bob Young Boise, ID
The Captain’s Shack          23 March 2026         PDF: CS-Rear-Rutabaga-Soup.pdf
Serves: 6      Located: Napa Valley, Yountville, CA
Prep; 35 min             Cook: 15 min                        Total: 50 min
Note: Mustards Grill has been a Napa culinary fixture since 1983. Their farm-to-table fare celebrates local ingredients and a love for California cuisine.

Ingredients:
2 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 small Red Onion, finely dice
2 Celery stalks large carrot
1 lbs Rutabaga, diced
½ lbs Pears, peeled, cored and chopped
1 tbs fresh Tyme
1 Bay Leaf
1 whole Clove
1/8 t Cinnamon
1 c white Wine, Pinot Grigio works well
6 c Chicken Stock
Celtic Sea Salt and Tellicherry Fresh Ground Black Pepper
½ c Crème Fraiche
Roasted Almonds

Directions:
Heat the oil over med-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally until soft. Add the celery, carrot, rutabagas, pears, thyme, bay leaf, clove and cinnamon and cook for about 10 minutes until the vegetables are soft and fragrant.

Add the wine, bring to a boil and cook until all the liquid has cooked away. Add the stock and return the soup to a boil. Season with the Celtic Sea Salt and Tellicherry Fresh Gouund Blacp Pepper as needed. Lower the heat to a simmer and skim any froth that comes to the surface. Cook for about 12-15 minutes.

Remove the bay leaf and discard. You can either puree the soup or leave it chunky. Add cream after removing from the heat. Garnish with almonds and chives and serve.

I don’t normally post just recipes, but here is the exception. Robin was in the hospital for quite for some time and then moved to her daughter’s home. A long illness and she died Feb 13, 2026. I miss her! At one of the hospitals they made from scratch – actually it was from scratch, it was a private hospital – this Pear Rutabaga Soup and it was delicious! I would never think of pears and rutabagas together, much less in a soup. But it works! Try it and see for yourselves. A good toasted sourdough bread would go good with this soup.

Different Kinds of Peppers

06 Friday Feb 2026

Posted by Bob and Robin in 5-Stars, Asian Food, Beef, Classic Cuisines, Cooking Styles, Pepper, What's For Dinner?

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cooking, food, health, Pepper, recipe, recipes, Spicy pepper

I have been questioned a lot about pepper. Well there are over 50,000 different types of pepper worldwide and I’m not about to discuss all of them in this post. Just the most common. Pizza is but one way to make a dish with a spicy type of pepper in it. You toss a “mild” pepper into chili, pizza or a BBQ meat of some sort, only to end up chugging milk like it’s water. It’s not your fault—most folks think “jalapeño” means medium heat, but it can swing from barely warm to eye-watering. The real issue is guessing based on color or size. Truth is, heat hides in the placenta (that white veins inside), not the skin. So let’s cut through the chaff with something concrete: the Scoville Scale.

From alibaba.com, we get a good explanation of the Scoville Scale, or SCU units. For many years, different cultures worldwide have been adding peppers to their food for spiciness ranging from mild and sweet to intensely hot for centuries. The SCU scale measures that spiciness. (I’ll For instance, Bell peppers have an SCU of 0 as do Banana peppers. Poblano 1000, Jalapeño 2500, Serrano 11,000, Cayenne 40,000, Cayenne 40,000, Thai 75 ,000, Habanero 100,000, Red Scotch Bonnet 150,000, Jamaican Red 150,000, Scotch Bonnet 200,000, Caribbean Red 445,000, Trinadad Scorpion 1,000,000 and Naga Morich and Naga Jolokia 1,000,000, Ghost pepper 855,000 – 1,041,427 and the Carolina Reaper 1,400,000-2,200,000+. The heat comes from the compound called Capsaicin, which is found mainly in the white veins inside the pepper, not the skins. (To see more information on the peppers listed, use the hot link.) (Bell peppers, which my wife can’t eat and I love Stuffed Peppers, to Jalapeno are about as high in SCU that I can handle.)

So let’s look at some varieties of pepper. The hottest pepper known is the Pepper X 2,693,000, (2) Carolina Reaper 2,200,000 – 200x as hot as a jalapeño, (3) Trinidad Moruga Scorpion 2,009,231, (4) Pot Douglah 1,853,936, (5) Pot Primo 1,469,000, (6) Trinidad Scorpion “Butch T” 1,463,700, (7) Naga Viper 1,349,000, (8) Ghost Pepper (Bhut Jolokia) 1,041,427, (9) Pot Barrackpore ~1,000,000 and (10) Red Savina Habanero 500,000. (pepperhead.com 2026 data)

Now you have the peppers, so what can I cook them with? Here are some ideas. Tellicherry (black), a premium pepper with meats, sauces and everyday use. Malabar (black – classic Indian and less pungent that Tellicherry) with Indian curries, etc. Madagascar (black) excellent all-purpose with balanced sharpness. Sarawak (black) great table pepper or for lighter dishes. Lampong (black) with a stronger bite and good for robust dishes and grilling. Muntok (white) good for cream sauces, poultry and seafood. Sarawak White (white) complements delicate flavors. Green Pepper (green and not a bell pepper) often used in a brine and in sauces and light meats.

So there you are. Tread lightly when using these peppers. I gave you some ideas for using them in your cuisine. That is by no means all of the uses.

Lamb Rub, Garlic Aioli and Juicy Burgers

20 Friday Jun 2025

Posted by Bob and Robin in 5-Stars, Bacon Jam, Beef, Brunch, Cheese, Cloud 9 nano Brewery, Condiments, Food, Garlic Aioli, What's For Dinner?

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avocado oil, burgers, Celtic sea salt, Housemade Aioli Mayo, Manuka Honey, recipes, Tupelo Honey

I know it’s been a long time since I posted anything, but hospitals and DR visits have kept me busy elsewhere. But yesterday, I was released! Yeah!!! I am OK now! But in my hiatus, I came across these recipes that I needed to adjust.The Juicy Burgers are really interesting.They have a Bacon Jam instead of ketchup or whatever on them. The Lamb Rub gives lamb, especially Rack of Lamb, an interesting crisp outside and a great flavor. Give them a try. And if you like garlic, try the Garlic Aioli.

Lamb Rub
Prep: 20 min Bob and Robin Young, Boise, ID The Captain’s Shack 15 June 2025
Note: A very easy marinade/rub for lamb, any cut but especially good on Rack of Lamb and Lamb Chops. Use a good honey! (Tupelo or C) Serve with Potatoes au Gratin, and throw in spring veggies such as Sauteed Asparagus or Candied Carrots. A rub of garlic, fresh rosemary, Dijon mustard, and a little bit of honey promotes caramelization and creates a delicious crust on the surface of the lamb. The USDA recommends cooking lamb to an internal temperature of 145º F, then letting it rest for at least 3 minutes. This will give you lamb that is cooked to medium, the ideal temperature for lamb.
Ingredients:
3 T Avocado Oil
2 T chopped Fresh Rosemary
2 T Dijon Mustard
2 t good Honey
Directions:
In a small bowl, stir to combine the garlic, rosemary, mustard, honey, and 3 tablespoons of Avocado Oil. Spread all over the lamb racks. Set aside for 1 hour. That’s it!

Garlic Aioli

Prep: 8 min Yield: 1 cup Serves: 12
Ingredients:
5 cloves Garlic, finely grated, minced, or pressed
1-2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 1 small lemon)
1 t Dijon mustard
¾ c Mayonnaise
Celtic Sea Salt
Directions:
Stir 5 finely grated garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice, and ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard together in a small bowl until combined. Let sit for 15 minutes for the flavors to meld.
Whisk in ¾ cup mayonnaise until smooth. Taste and season with Celtic Sea Salt or up to 1 tablespoon more lemon juice as needed.

Juicy Burgers
Note: These burgers are awesome with Bacon Jam and Garlic Aioli on the buns.
Ingredients:
4 slices American Cheese
1½ lbs Ground Beef (15 to 20 percent fat content)
1¼ t Celtic Sea Salt
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
¼ t freshly ground Tellicherry Black Pepper
1 T Avocado Oil
4 (4-inch) Hamburger Buns
Sliced Kosher Pickles, for serving
Directions:
Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 400ºF. Stack 4 slices American cheese. Cut in half, then cut each piece in half again to form 4 stacks of squares.
Place 1½ pounds ground beef, 1¼ teaspoons Celtic Sea Salt, spoon the garlic powder into the mixture, ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, and ¼ teaspoon Tellicherry Black Pepper in a large bowl. Gently mix with your hands until just evenly combined. Divide the beef into 8 portions (3 ounces each) and form each into a ball. Form 1 Juicy Lucy at a time: Using your fingertips, press 2 portions into 1/4-inch-thick patties that are about 1 inch wider in diameter than the hamburger buns. Top 1 patty with 4 pieces of cheese, overlapping the slices to cover the patty but leaving a ½-inch border. Place the second patty over the cheese-topped patty. Pick up the Juicy Lucy and pinch the edges to form a tight seal. Cup the stuffed patty with your hands to round out the edges, and press on the top to flatten slightly into a single thick patty. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with the remaining patties and cheese to form 4 stuffed patties in total.
Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large cast iron skillet or frying pan over medium heat until shimmering, 3 to 4 minutes. If using a 10-inch pan, place 2 patties in the pan; if using a 12-inch or larger, add all 4 patties. Cook undisturbed (do not press down on the patties) until dark golden-brown on the bottom, about 4 minutes. Using a spatula, flip the patties and cook until the second side is dark golden-brown and the patties are cooked through, about 4 minutes.
Transfer to a clean plate. Let rest in a warm place or tent loosely with aluminum foil while you toast the buns. Split 4 hamburger buns, place cut-side up on a baking sheet, and toast until starting to brown around the edges, 4 to 5 minutes.
Place a patty on each bun bottom, top with a few pickle slices, and close with the bun top.

Well, that’s it, again. Try them and see what you think. Let me know.

New Recipe – Alabama Orange Rolls

24 Friday Jan 2025

Posted by Bob and Robin in 5-Stars, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipes, What's For Dinner?

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Baking, dessert rolls, food, oranges, recipes, sweet rolls

Now this was a fun and challenging recipe to follow and make. There is at least one update to do and that is the baking time. The recipe calls for 40 to 50 minutes or 195 degrees F. I think I will adjust the product temperature down to probably 180 degrees F and t he time down to 40 minutes at most. The finished rolls were a little dry. The orange flavor was lacking probably because the oranges were small. Here i s the recipe – https://www.rockinrs.com/CS-AL-Orange-Rolls.pdf I will be interested in your comments.

A Twist to Bagel and Lox

13 Monday Jan 2025

Posted by Bob and Robin in Brunch, Captain's Shack, Eggs Basted, Kitchen Adventures, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe - Seafood, Recipe by: Robin and Bob Young, Recipes, Recipes - Seafood, What's For Dinner?

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bagels, breakfast, brunch, food, lox, micro greens, recipe, recipes, salmon, seafood

We do like a good bagel, cream cheese and lox, We have been known to make our own lox – cured salmon. We also like an old dish, Egg in Hole. This is a twist on that theme – Grilled Bagel (any kind), Egg in Hole and Lox. A n easy recipe, quick – 10 minutes and delicious. Here.s how to do it.

Ingredients – (Serves 2)
2 Bagels, any kind
4 lg Eggs
Lox
unsalted Butter
Micro Greens, any kind, I like Alfalfa/Broccoli

Directions –
1. Cut each bagel in half, leaving half of the hole with the bagel hole. Enlarge the hole if necessary.
2. Thoroughly butter both sides of the cut bagel, Add butter and a little vegetable oil to a large skillet. Start to grill the bagel halves, cut side up. Grill until the bagel is browned, Turn bagel over and grill the cut side until barely browned. Add an egg to the hole and cook until the white is set.
3. Add a little water to the pan and cover with a glass lid. Cook until the yolk is set to your liking. Remove from pan and top with lox and then some sprouts on the lox. Serve immediately.

Spaghetti Puttanesca

10 Friday Jan 2025

Posted by Bob and Robin in 5 Hour Duck, Buy Idaho, Buy Local, Capers, Classic Cuisines, Food Italian, Herbs and Spices, Merlot, Pasta, Prep Work, Recipes - BBQ, What's For Dinner?

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anchovy, black olives, capers, dinner, food, pasta, puttanesca, recipe, recipes, spaghetti

This is really a good version of spaghetti, full of flavor. I have made it before, several times, but I have no idea where the recipe is. Can’t even find it on my computer. I came across this one which is very similar to the one I have made. Fun to make, it only takes about 20 minutes as long as you have all the ingredients prepped. Have a go with it and have fun making it. A classic Italian dish.

Spaghetti Puttanesca
(Spaghetti With Capers, Olives, and Anchovies)
Source: adapted from Serious Eats
Bob and Robin Young, Boise, ID
The Captain’s Shack           10 January 2025
PDF: CS-Spaghetti-Puttanesca.pdf
Note: Pasta that packs an aromatic punch, thanks to garlic, anchovies, capers, and olives. Go light on the additional salt. The anchovy, cspers and olives have plenty.
Prep: 15 mins       Cook: 20 mins      Total: 20 mins
Serves: 3 to 4

Ingredients:
6 T (90ml) Extra-Virgin Olive Oil, divided
4 med Garlic Cloves, thinly sliced or finely chopped by hand
4 to 6 Anchovy Fillets, finely chopped (1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons)
Large pinch Aleppo Pepper
¼ c Capers, drained and chopped (about 2 ounces; 60g)
¼ c chopped Pitted Black Olives (about 2 ounces; 60g)
1 c (225g) Whole Peeled Tomatoes, preferably San Marzano, roughly broken up by hand, about half a 14-ounce can
One 5-ounce (140g) can Oil-Packed Tuna (optional)
Celtic Sea Salt
8 ounces (225g) Dried Spaghetti
Small handful minced Fresh Parsley Leaves
1 oz (30g) finely grated Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, plus more for serving
¼ t freshly ground Tellicherry Black Pepper
Directions:
In a medium skillet, combine 4 tablespoons (60ml) oil, garlic, anchovies, and red pepper flakes. Cook over medium heat until garlic is very lightly golden, about 5 minutes. Adjust heat as necessary to keep it gently sizzling. Add capers and olives and stir to combine.
Add tomatoes, stir to combine, and bring to a bare simmer. If using, stir in canned tuna, flaking it gently with a fork. Remove from heat.
Meanwhile, in a 12-inch skillet, 12-inch sauté pan, or large saucepan of lightly salted boiling water, cook spaghetti until just shy of al dente, about 2 minutes less than package directions.
Using tongs, transfer pasta to sauce. Alternatively, drain pasta through a colander, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water. Add drained pasta to sauce.
Add a few tablespoons of pasta water to sauce and set over medium-high heat to bring pasta and sauce to a vigorous simmer. Cook, stirring and shaking the pan and adding more pasta water as necessary to keep sauce loose, until pasta is perfectly al dent olive oil, parsley, and cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately with more grated cheese at the table. Serve with a good red wine, like merlot.

Brussels Sprouts – A Different Presentation

09 Thursday Jan 2025

Posted by Bob and Robin in Brussels Sprouts, Caesar Salad, What's For Dinner?

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brussels sprouts, Brussels Sprouts, Caesar, Caesar Salad, dinner, food, recipes, vegetarian

Now I know what you are thinking – at least some of you. Yuk! But know, there are several ways you can counteract the sulfur in them. This is but one way. The recipe for this comes from Jamie Oliver and is Brussels Sprouts Caesar – Style. It’s a salad and some of the sprouts are seared, which tends to reduce the offensive flavor and odor. The recipe has anchovies in it; please use them. Here we go.

Brussels Sprouts Caesar-Style

Source: Jamie Oliver
Prep: about 25 min Total: 25 min 9 January 2025

Ingredients:
50g (1 ¾ oz) Parmesan cheese, plus extra to serve
1 Lemon
3 T Greek-style yoghurt
1 sm handful soft herbs, such as basil, flat-leaf parsley, dill
½ t Worcestershire sauce
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 Anchovies in oil (optional)
500g (1.1 lbs) Brussels Sprouts
2 thick slices of Stale Bread
1 clove of Garlic
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Directions:
Finely grate most of the Parmesan into a blender with the zest of half the lemon. Squeeze in the juice of the whole lemon, then add the yoghurt, herbs, Worcestershire sauce, 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and the anchovies (if using). Blitz (pulse) until smooth, then pour into a large serving dish.

Trim and halve half of the sprouts through the root. Place in a large dry frying pan, cut-side down, and char until brown and blistered. Finely slice the remaining sprouts then pile on top of the sauce. Tip the charred Brussels over the top and put the empty pan back on the heat.

Slice the bread into 1cm chunks, tip into the pan and toast. Make a well in the center, peel and grate the garlic into the pan, and then drizzle with olive oil. Give the pan a shake.

Grate over the remaining Parmesan, shake the pan, add another drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, then return to the heat, until the cheese is melted.

Tip the crunchy cheesy croutons onto the salad and then give everything a really good toss until it’s coated in the lovely dressing. Speed peel over shavings of Parmesan and serve.

Tom’s Cove Clam Chowder, Revisited

07 Tuesday Jan 2025

Posted by Bob and Robin in 5-Stars, Bacon, Captain's Shack, Chowder, Clams, What's For Dinner?

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chowder, clam chowder, Clams, food, recipe, recipes, soup

The first time I posted this recipe to this blog was in September 2009. It’s time to enhance it and give the reader some suggestions for the ingredients, especially the clams. Here is a link to the “original” recipe straight from the Jersey Shore and the Cape May area. Here is the Direct Link to the chowder. If you are not sure how to shuck clams, then lightly steam them, about 2 minutes until they are just open. Remove clam from shell and set aside. Strain and save the liquid! And there are markets available for either frozen or canned (which should work fine along with liquid). Walmart, Chef’s Store (Snows chopped) and Whole Foods for national suppliers and in Boise , Reel Foods on Vista Ave. Ok. Here is the recipe, Enjoy!

Tom’s Cove Clam Chowder

Recipe Source: Tom’s Cove, New Jersey
Serves: 8

Ingredients:
6 Bacon slices, diced
3½ c Tomatoes, fresh and chopped, optional
20 oz Clams, fresh and with juice or canned or frozen
2½ T Thyme, dried
Parsley, chopped
1 c Red Onion, diced fine
2 c Hot water
16 oz Heavy Cream
16 oz Clam Juice, if using
3 c Red Potatoes, diced
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
In a soup pot, fry bacon until crisp and golden. Sauté onion and 1 t thyme in bacon pot until onion is tender. Add potatoes, tomatoes, if using, water, cream, clam juice and salt and pepper. Cover pot and simmer until potatoes are tender, but not mushy.
Shuck and cut clams into pieces, reserving juices. Add to the pot with the juice. Add parsley and another 1½ t thyme. Simmer to taste. Cool and re-heat for better chowder.