Oscar Night and Others

This particular plate is not for the Oscar Party. Sorry! But rather it is a dinner that we made the other night.
Broiled Salmon with Lemon Curd
Braised Asparagus with Lemon, Parsley and Garlic

The salmon is moist and lightly browned on top - the lemon curd caramelized. The asparagus have a wonderful slightly tartness that pairs well with the salmon. This dinner is a Yum-O dinner and easy to prepare.

This is our Oscar Party tray! We think this made a wonderful appetizer.
Truffle Oil Bruchetta
with
Muffuletta
Wild Boar Sausage
Tomato

Robin's Cream of Garlic Soup

Don't let the name of this soup fool you. Roasting the garlic removes that strong, garlicky taste and smell. After roasting, you have a sweet, soft and earthy garlic. Absolutely delicious. We first had a version of this at the Castle Ranch Steakhouse in Boise. I think Robin has done an awesome job in duplicating the soup. Give it a try and let us know what you think. And, living in Idaho, potatoes are used for the thickening agent. We have a dicer that makes this easy to prep. The photo to the left is the final soup. Left-Click to see a larger view.

Cream of Garlic Soup

Serves: 12
Source: Robin Young, Boise, Idaho

Ingredients:
2½ heads of Garlic - about 24 cloves, unpeeled
2 c Vegetable Broth
5 to 6 c of finely diced Peeled Potatoes, about a 1/4 “ dice
1 pt Chicken Broth
Balsamic Vinegar
Fresh Chives

Directions:
Cook the garlic cloves in the vegetable broth until tender. Strain to cool. Reserve the broth, Peel the garlic skins – they will pop off easily.

Combine all liquids, garlic and potatoes in a large soup pot. Cook over medium heat about one hour until potatoes are tender

Blend the ingredients with a hand immersion blender until smooth. Add about 1 cup heavy cream if you want a richer soup.

Gluten free and Lactose free if you do not use cream. Serve warm with Balsamic vinegar reduction and chopped chives. We used Trader Joe’s Balsamic Vinegar of Modena, aged 12 months and 6% acidity that was not reduced. Use a teaspoon and drizzle the balsamic on top of the soup. Do not stir. See the photo above.

Excellent with aged Chardonnay. We do love this soup. Enjoy.

Roasted Parsnip and White Chocolate Soup

Don't make that wrinkled face! You just have to try this and Cristi Takeda from The Buzz Coffee and Cafe in Boise, submitted this. It is an awesome soup! Enjoy!

Roasted Parsnip and White Chocolate Soup

Source: Cristi Takeda, The Buzz Coffee and Café, Boise, ID

Serves: 8

Ingredients:

2 lbs Parsnips

¼ c Canola Oil

8 T Butter

1 lg White Onion, chopped

2 qts Chicken Stock

1 T Vanilla Extract

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 c Vanilla White Chocolate Chips

1 c Heavy Cream

1 Lemon, cut crosswise

2 T Dill Leaves, minced

Directions:

Peel parsnips and cut into 1-inch chunks. Brush lightly with oil and place on a baking sheet lined with heavy duty aluminum foil (for easy cleanup). Roast until the parsnips begin to soften (as tested with a knife blade) and until the tips begin to turn golden brown. This takes about 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest for a few minutes while you start the other ingredients in the stockpot.

Melt the butter over medium-low heat in a large stockpot and gently sauté the onion until translucent. (This takes about 10 minutes, but more important is that they look translucent) Add the chicken stock and the vanilla extract. Increase the heat to medium. Add the parsnips and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper, cover and let cook until the parsnips are completely tender, about 20 minutes.

Stir the white chocolate chips into the soup and cook for a further 5 minutes to allow the chocolate chips to melt and to integrate the flavors.

Remove the soup from the heat and stir in the heavy cream.

Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with fresh dill. Serve with a lemon slice and a glass of 2008 Lesse Fitch Zinfandel.

Mac's Extended Birthday Dinner

Mac's Extended Birthday Dinner actually started on Feb 19. His birthday is Feb 21. Look at the dinner that Marnie and Mac made. This was a great BBQ Rib dinner as pictured here.

BBQ Ribs
Potatoes
Green Salad

And then for dessert, Sophia made a great Boston Cream Pie.

On Tuesday, Feb 21, Robin and I prepared his dinner with help from Marnie - a wonderful green salad - and Margaret, a great berry pie and fresh whipped cream. The wines that we had are also listed. The phrase, "OTH?" means "over the hill?" Actually, all of these wines turned out to be awesome. Here, take a look!

Happy Birthday beverages for Mac – February 21, 2012
Fat Tuesday …………………………………Mardi Gras

1971 Rene Manuel Meursault Poruzot Blanc $40.00
Richard Sajbel Selection White Burgundy
Appellation Meursault Controlee Nuits-Saint-Georges
(Cotes- d ‘Or) OTH No due date French Table Wine 11-14%

Garlic Soup and Pain de seigle


1971 Corton Bressandes Tollot Beaut and Fils, France $ 122.00
Frank Schoonmaker Selection Red Burgundy
Appellation Corton Controlee [Cote-D-Or]
OTH? No due date Table Wine 11-14%

Roast Leg of Lamb with Rosemary and Juniper

Roasted Root Vegetables

Asparagus Gremolata

1987 Rose Creek Winery, Hagerman, ID $33.00
Grapes sourced from Yamhill County, OR
OTH? 2009 13.4 %

2006 Maysara Jamsheed McMinnville, OR $35.00
OTH? 2009 Screwcap 13.9%

Salad M and M McNeil
Fromage

Margaret’s Berry Berry Pie
with
Fresh Whipped Cream

Dessert Wine:
2005 Winery at Eagle Knoll Myron’s “Port” De ‘Blanc $49.00
Snake River AVA ‘American’ Eagle, ID 18 %

Sophia's Boston Cream Pie

The wines for the February 21 dinner. At least some of them.

Our dinner table.

Margaret

Robin

Just a super couple of days to party and eat and have some awesome wines. Wonder what next year will bring? Worth "hanging around" for, I think. Cheers!

Sawtooth Winery Wine Dinner at the Boise Hotel

On February 18, the Boise Hotel and the Castle Ranch Steakhouse, held a fantastic and delicious Wine Dinner featuring wines from the Sawtooth Winery, an Idaho winery located in Nampa, Idaho. The Castle Ranch Steakhouse is by far, the best place in Boise to get a fantastic steak. They use only local beef from the Double R Ranch.
The wine pictured here is their  award winning 2010 Gewürztraminer. This is definitely a great wine. Make sure you have some in your cellar. Look what we had for dinner. Enjoy the photos!

Seared Winter Spiced Scallops
cranberry jam, beurre blanc

2010 Gewürztraminer
The scallops were awesome and the paring of this wine with the appetizer was well done, as were the parings of each course prepared by Chef Jack Charles. Winemaker Bill Murray did a great job in selecting the wines. They make a great team! Thanks to both for a job well done. The wine is $8.00, if you can find it.

Poached Garlic Soup
balsamic reduction and chives

2009 Chardonnay
The soup was made from chicken stock, poached garlic and then reduced. Potatoes were used for thickening and then a reduction of balsamic was added. The soup was then finished by a sprinkle of fresh chives.  Tended to be a little spicy, but delicious. And no, the garlic was not over powering. The only drawback that I found with this dish, I had no bread to "clean" my bowl. That's a German thing! Bread was lacking with the meal. The soup and the wine were both well balanced. Cost of the wine is $10.00.

Mixed Green Salad
pickled cucumber napkin rings, blue cheese crumbles, roasted beets, apple cider vinaigrette

2008 Reserve Chardonnay
The little yellow beet in this salad were delicious.Great blends of the vegetables with the wine, which had overtones of dark chocolate and a slight bitterness. However, the earthiness of the beets, even though they were small, did tend to over power the wine. 

Duck Breast
pomegranate walnut sauce with quinoa.

2008 Reserve Tempranillo
Great paring!! This dish is actually the Mid-East version of the Asian sweet/sour. Quinoa is a complete and very ancient food. This was delicious. Sawtooth Winery makes only 200 - 300 cases of this wine, so if you want some, and you should look hard. $22.00 per bottle.

Champagne Grapefruit Sorbet
Great for clearing the palate. An awesome dish.

Double R Ranch Fillet Oscar
petite filet with béarnaise and Dungeness crab
butternut squash gratin
asparagus bundles

2007 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
There are not many wines that hold up to asparagus - among some other vegetable - but this cab certainly did without overpowering the delicate flavor of the asparagus. The beef and the crab also pared extremely with the wine. Another great job in matching the food and the wine. A bottle of this wine will cost you $12.00.

Thomas Keller's Molten Chocolate Tart
raspberry sauce with crème anglaise

2006 Gewürztraminer Ice Wine
Sink your taste buds into this one, but don't burn your mouth. Rich and awesome warm chocolate tart with the tartness of the raspberry hidden in the background. Then add to that a fine glass of the Ice Wine and you have an epicurean delight! This is one of Chef Jack's favorite desserts and it shows.

There is just not much else I can say. Except that it was a well deserved and spent $118.00 meal for two. And then they gave us an option of spending the night in the hotel for $39.00 a room, which we gladly accepted. A great finish to the Valentine's Week celebrations. Left-Click any of these photos to see them larger. And when you are in Boise, be sure to visit the Castle Ranch Steakhouse. Look for the link in the sidebar. It is a 5-Star restaurant along with Bern's Steakhouse in Tampa, Florida. There were others there at the dinner that agreed with our assessment. Cheers!

Westside Drive-In Opens Additional Location

Yes. It is true! Chef Lou has opened a second location for the Westside Drive-In. And it is definitely a 5-Star location, just as the original location is. The new drive-in is located at 1113 Parkcenter Blvd, Boise (208) 424-0000 whereas the original drive-in is located at 1939 W State street, Boise (208) 342-2957. Chef Lou still has the same website at Chef Lou. The food is delicious and one can tell that his staff takes great care in producing a good product. Will we be back? Probably. 

Here is page one of the Westside Drive-In Menu. Left-Click to see a larger view.

Here is Page Two of the menu.

Page 3

Page 4.
Look at the daily specials. Are you a Senior Citizen - or as my Mom said, "A Seasoned Citizen" - then you get a 10% discount every day! Want a recommendation? Don't miss the Prime Rib! It is awesome.

Hard to pass this photo up! It says it all.

The interior. The Parkcenter location has indoor seating, something the State Street location does not have, although State Street has a heated outdoor dining area. Look at the smile on the young lady at the cash register. Everyone was smiling. So pleasant to see that!

I had the Fried Egg Burger and Fries and Robin had the BLT. Loved the mustard, or "special" sauce on mine, that had a hint of turmeric. It was delish!

Robin and I waited for you, but food this good just will not last long. There is a little lettuce left and some fry sauce (an Idaho thing). Maybe next time. Cheers!

New Page - Buzz Coffee and Café

I am going to start a new page for the Buzz Coffee and Café, much like I did for Brown Shuga Soul Food. The first article on their new page is from the Valentine's Dinner on February 14, Chocolate and Zin where all of the dinner selections had chocolate as at least one of the ingredients! A chocolate lovers dream! Enjoy and while you are at it, don't forget the following events -

1. Feb 23, 7:00pm. Renwood Dinner with Captain Zin. Reservations are required!! $25.00 per person. (208) 473-7147
2. Feb 29 Cristi's Birthday! Yup that's right! She is a Leap Year Baby so that makes her 11 years old. There will be a dinner special (I hear maybe Tommy's Meatloaf!) and music. Drop in ... have some dinner and wine, or beer ... listen to the music ... and wish Chisti a Happy Birthday.
3. March 13 and 14 - Wine Club at 6:30. Full dinner and at least 6 wines. $15.00 per person. Reservations are appreciated as space fills up quickly! (208)473-7147

Look at the Menu above and see the new Buzz Coffee and Café articles, starting with last nights Chocolate and Zin Dinner. It was great!

Valentines Special at Brown Shuga!

Wow! Look what Yvonne just sent! Why not stop by and pick dinner up for your honey! Her regular daily menu will also be served. Look at the Heading above. Cheers and have a great Valentines Day!!

If you can't get in a restaurant tonight because they are all booked up and you didn't plan ahead. I'm geste to help you with a take home dinner. Tonights special for dinner is

Potato Soup
Tossed Salad
Smoked Sliced Beef
with
Mushroom Gravy
Red Skinned Mashed Potatoes
Roasted Fresh Vegetable Medley

$24.95 dinner for 2 people! Served from 4 till 6 tonight. Call ahead if you want it ready for pickup or just stop by on the way home. Have a fantastic day!‏

Cassoulet D'Artagnan For Valentines Dinner

What an awesome dinner! Robin spent most of the day on the complete dinner and it was .... well, Super Delicious! This is a "country stew" and in this case, the primary meat is duck. But it also has different types of sausage in it. D'Artagnan is where she ordered the supplies for doing this fantastic meal. The photo on the left is the finished product. Look on their web page for more information. But for now, here is the recipe. It is a long and somewhat involved recipe, but it is not difficult. Enjoy!!

Cassoulet D'Artagnan

By: D'Artagnan Staff
Yield: 12
Prep Time: 30 minutes, Total Time: 90 minutes
This hearty casserole of preserved duck, sausages and beans is the heart & soul of Gascon cooking.

Ingredients - (Bob and Gail Parker, Mac, Robin and Marnie)
• 3 pounds D'Artagnan Haricot Tarbais Beans, rinsed and picked over
• water, as needed
• 12 ounces D'Artagnan Ventrèche, in one piece
• 10 cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 medium onions, skinned and cut in half
• 5 whole cloves
• 1 carrot, coarsely chopped
• 1 bouquet garni, made of 5 parsley sprigs, 3 celery leaves, 1 thyme sprig, 1 bay leaf and 10 peppercorns, wrapped in cheesecloth and tied
• 6 D'Artagnan Duck Leg Confit, cut in half at the joint
• 6 1/2 ounces D'Artagnan Duck and Veal Demi-Glace, dissolved in 3 1/2 cups of water
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• Salt
• Pepper
• 2 packages D'Artagnan Duck and Armagnac Sausage
• 1 pound D'Artagnan French Garlic Sausage, cut into 12 slices
• 1/4 cup D'Artagnan Duck Fat, at room temperature

Preparation - (Cassoulet plated)
1. Add beans to a large, non-reactive container(s), cover completely with water and soak overnight at room temperature. Keep water level several inches above beans. Check back every so often as beans will absorb a lot of water. Use a few separate containers if necessary.
2. Drain beans, put into a large, heavy pot with whole ventrèche, garlic, carrot, bouquet garni and onion that's been studded with cloves. Add enough water to cover at least 3 inches above beans. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat then reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring often, until beans are barely tender, about 1 hour.
3. Drain beans, discard onion and bouquet garni, leave carrots and garlic with the beans. Remove ventrèche, cut into ½ inch squares, set aside.
4. Season beans with 1 teaspoon salt and several grindings of pepper.
5. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
6. In a medium skillet over high heat, sear duck and Armagnac sausages until just browned. Remove from pan, cut into thirds and set aside.
7. Lightly grease large casserole, preferably earthenware or enameled cast-iron, with duck fat, on both bottom and sides. Place half of the bean mixture in casserole. Add duck legs, browned duck sausages, chopped ventrèche, and sliced garlic sausage. Drizzle with duck fat. Cover with remaining beans.
8. Stir tomato paste into demi-glace, mix well until dissolved. Pour evenly over bean mixture. Drizzle with remaining duck fat.
9. Cover and bake until hot and bubbling, about 2 ½ hours, checking occasionally to make certain the beans are not drying out. (See Ariane's Recipe Tips below)

(Cherry Coke Cake)
NOTE: Cassoulet may be prepared ahead up to this point, then cooled and refrigerated up to 3 days. Remove from the refrigerator to bring up to room temperature before proceeding.
10. Increase (or preheat) oven to 400 degrees F. Uncover casserole and bake until top is browned, about 45 minutes. If at this point, cassoulet is not heated through, cut open the crust, pour ½ cup of water and/or demi-glace, and continue to cook until hot all the way through.
11. Serve immediately. Each guest should get an equal proportion of beans to meats.

(Valentine Cake)
Ariane's Recipe Tips:
Don't hesitate to open the crusty top to make sure the cassoulet is not drying out. The texture should be similar to a thick stew. If it seems too dry or pasty, add some liquid, such as stock, demi-glace or even water. Typically, you'll have to cut the crust and add liquid about 3 times before it's hot all the way through. Some cooks in Gascony think cassoulet will only be ready after 7 times of breaking the crust and adding liquid!
If adapting the recipe, try to use as many confit meats as possible. They will give the most flavor. Cassoulet should always be eaten very hot! Don't forget the leftovers. Cassoulet is even better the next day after flavors have had time to develop and marry.


And of course, no meal is complete without some fantastic and well aged wines. Here is what we had! The labels are self explanatory.

Special Valentines Dinner - The Wine List

This year, Robin is doing dinner. She wants to do something with duck. So on Sunday, Feb12 at 3:00pm, she will be serving the following dinner. This looks like fun and very special! We have so much fun doing these Special Dinners. YUM-O!!! And look at that wine list.

The Wine Selection


1989 Joseph Swan Vineyards Zinfandel Sonoma County


1989 Côtes du Rhone Kermit Lynch


2001 Clos les Lunelles Côtes de Castillon


2008 Jean-Louis Denois

Boise Food Truck Rally a Success!

Wow! Such a great evening!! If you missed this Boise Food Truck Rally, you may have another chance. Try to reserve the 2nd (second) Friday of each month for this event. The venue will change, so keep watching this blog for more information.
Here are some of the Food Trucks that were represented: Brown Shuga Soul Food, Archie's Place - Soup and Joe's, Riceworks, B29 StrEATry and A Cupcake Paradise. And we had liquid refreshment from Payette Brewery, one of the sponsors. The other sponsors were the Boise Weekly, KRBX 89.9 FM, Northend Organic Nursery and The C.O.T. Be sure to support the sponsors and of course the Food Trucks when you see them around town. What a great evening. And just look at some of this food. And the prices ... They were good. Not expensive for the quality of the food. Enjoy and Left-Click any of these photos to see a larger view!

Here are some of the people. We got there at about 5:30. The Rally went from 5:00pm - 9:00pm.

Riceworks Food Truck

Brick 29 truck

Payette Brewery. A local brewery!

Brown Shuga Soul Food menu. Good prices.

Brown Shuga Plated Meal
Pulled Pork
Mac 'N Cheese
Red Beans and Rice
and of course
Payette Brewery liquid delights!

Check this dessert out!

And from Brick 29

The entree from Riceworks