Barn Owl in Winter

Estofado de Carne de Toro

An Idaho adaptation of a beef stew from the Basque territory:

2 lbs. Kelso Farms beef neck bones - thawed, rinsed, and patted dry
2 T olive oil
1 lg onion - chopped
3 cloves garlic - minced
Salt
Pepper
1 T flour
2 carrots - chopped
1/2 c Snake River Winery 2010 GSM Arena Valley Vineyard red wine
2 T Sherry vinegar
2 bay leaves
2 whole cloves
1 large jalapeno - seeded and chopped
1 large red bell pepper - seeded and chopped
2 c low sodium beef broth
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1 T parsley - chopped

In a 6 quart stock pot or dutch oven, heat the olive oil and brown the meat on both sides. Add the onion and sautee until they begin to turn translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the carrots and peppers, and sautee for another 5 minutes/until the vegetables start to soften.  Add the garlic and sautee for 30 sec./until fragrant.  Sprinkle everything with salt, pepper, and the flour and cook for another 1 minute.  Stir in the red wine and the vinegar, scraping the bottom of the pan to remove any browned bits of meat or vegetables. Then add the bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon, and beef broth. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer covered for 2 hours/until meat is tender and falling off the bones. Remove the bones, add parsley, and adjust the seasoning if needed.

Serve with mashed potatoes. Alternatively, add a few peeled, chopped potatoes to the stew for the last 30 minutes of cooking.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

2 medium sweet potatoes (about 3/4-1 lb. total)
1 tsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp rosemary salt
pinch fresh ground black pepper
2 tsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 450°F.

Peel sweet potatoes and cut into 1/4-3/8" fries.

Toss with cornstarch, mixing well to avoid any clumps. Then toss with salt and pepper. Finally toss fries with olive oil.

Place in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet, with space between fries. Bake for 15 minutes, then turn fries over and bake for another 10-15 minutes/until crisp on the outside and cooked through. Some fries may be fairly dark.

NOTE: Fries may burn on the bottom if baked directly on a metal baking sheet.

Sprinkle with a bit of additional salt.

Asian Wok

Asian Wok
3504 W. State St.
Boise, ID
(208) 384-9200

(2nd location in Star)

It may not be much to look at, but our take-out order was reasonably good - and it was at least 1/2 hour between the time we picked up the food and actually had time to eat dinner.

The Mongolian Beef was a little oily, but had very good flavor with pronounced onion.  The Moo Shu Pork had a very subtle 5-spice flavor (maybe it was actually in the Hoisin sauce). The pancakes were appropriately thin and light, and packed to travel in a ziplock so they stayed reasonably moist.  The pot stickers were a little chewier than I would like, but still fairly good.

Both location deliver, and between the two locations they have a fairly large coverage area e.g. all of Eagle is covered.

Definitely will be trying delivery from the Star location in the near future.

Idaho-local St. Partick's Day feast, featuring Baked Corned Beef

3 lbs. Porterhouse Market SRF American Wagyu ("Kobe") Corned Beef
1/4 c. Wagner's Smoky Hot mustard
1 T. Idaho Wildflower raw honey
2 T. brown sugar
10 whole cloves

Preheat oven to 350°.  Rinse corned beef to remove any whole seasonings and pat dry.  Place beef in a shallow roasting pan, fattiest side up.  Insert the cloves into the top of the beef at somewhat evenly spaced locations.

Whisk mustard, honey, and sugar together.  Coat top of beef with mustard mixture.  Cover beef loosely with foil and bake for 2 hours.

Remove foil and broil the beef until the top starts to caramelize (2-3 minutes).  The mustard mixture can burn quickly, so monitor the beef closely while broiling.

Rest the beef for 10 minutes.  Slice across the grain into 1/4" thick slices.

Serve with boiled Rice Family Farm red potatoes, sauteed cabbage, hearty wheat bread made with Idaho Gran and Flout Mill whole wheat, Cold Springs carp/ology 2006 Snake River Vally AVA Syrah, and Guinness (ok, not everything can be local).

Koenig Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon

2009 Snake River Valley
100% Cabernet Sauvignon

Dark opaque red color. Rich and jammy with lots of dark fruit and pronounced earthiness. Powerful yet well balanced with moderate tannins. An excellent representative of the Snake River Valley AVA.

Sawtooth Chardonnay

2009 Snake River Valley

Peaches, cream, straw, and melon, but with a tinny/metallic finish. Medium body with moderate acid. Overall just fair.  This could have been a nice wine for the price, but the metallic tang brings it down.