HistoricOmaha

Food: RecipeZaar

This is what I intended to write first when I thought of a series on Food (& Wine). A couple of other timely ideas jumped ahead, though. As you will see, it is mostly about the best cook I know, Kim. In fact, the Food & Wine series is a way for us to work together & discuss some of our favorite subjects: cooking, food, & wine.

There are many recipe resources on the internet. One of the best is Recipe*Zaar: A Cooking Community & Recipe Resource. The homepage boasts “Real people from all over the world have shared and rated more than 153,000 recipes and 38,000 photos — we’ve added 159 new recipes and 82 new photos today.” The advantage of online recipe sources is that you can search by ingredients, cooking time, course, cuisine, & much more. RecipeZaar also generates the nutrition information for each recipe.

It is my wife’s favorite because the recipes are submitted and reviewed by users. She has posted 144 recipes with an average rating of 4 1/2 stars! Chef Kimke’s profile reads:

About Me:
I live in Omaha NE and work at Boys Town National Research Hospital. I love to cook, as does my husband Michael. In the summer, we have a large garden and try to use alot of fresh fruits/veggies in our cooking. We have a 3 1/2 year old daughter and enjoy introducing her to new foods. Her current favorite is fresh pesto smeared on crackers!

Favorite Foods:
I love Mexican food. Hot and spicy is what I often crave! We love to eat Indian food as well. Most often, we like to make things from scratch, not using highly prepared ingredients. Homemade bread, pizza dough, great cheeses, good produce–it’s all important.

Some of Chef Kimke’s highest rated (and my favorite) recipes are:

• Mashed Sweet Potatoes This is our version for Thanksgiving. Wonderful fresh taste! Not for those who want a marshmellow covered sweet potato! Recipe can be double but you must allow for more cooking time.
• Salmon with Pistachio Basil Butter I don’t remember where I got this recipe but it is totally sinful! We eat ALOT of salmon and I am always looking for new ways to prepare it. This is really different and has a very rich taste. It would be an appropriate dish for a special night.
• French Potato Salad This recipe is adapted from the Barefoot Contessa cookbook. It is WONDERFUL! The fresh herbs are essential–don’t even try to make it with dried. It is also important to use a good flavored olive oil. Whenever we make this, it gets rave reviews.
• Teriyaki Ginger Salmon This simple teriyaki dish works great with salmon or other firm fish. This is my husband’s speciality dish from the cookbook, Big Bowl. It is incredible. We typically double the sauce. For six weeks, we had this every week! It’s to die for!!
• Stir Fried Snow Peas with mushrooms his is an easy stir fry that is great to accompany salmon or other fish. Also a great main dish if doubled and served with white rice.
• Chicken Marsala There are many, many different variations of Chicken Marsala. This has a tomato based sauce that has a wonderful flavor. We usually double to sauce because it is so good!!
• Maple Butternut Squash with Sage Butter This is a wonderful fall dish. I like it because I can use the sage in my garden before winter comes.
• Rum Cake This cake is one of my favorites. It is wonderful for parties and carry-ins during the holidays. It is very easy and so tasty!
• Mike’s White Chili This is the recipe my husband is famous for. Everyone loves it and always asks for the recipe. It’s great, easy, and can be doubled for a crowd!

If you are inspired to make one of Chef Kimke’s recipes, please come back & post a comment to let us know how it turned out.

Wine: Bogle
 
I have long been a fan of Bogle Petite Sirah. This week, we bought a couple of bottles of Bogle Merlot. Both are great wines for around $10. Bogle Vinyards also produces Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Old Vine Zinfandel, and Petite Sirah Port.

Although the Bogle family has been farming since the mid-1800’s, it was not until 1968 that the father and son team of Warren and Chris Bogle planted their first 20 acres of wine grapes in Clarksburg, California. In this small farming community nestled along the Sacramento River, the Bogle family’s years of hard work have developed into an impressive grape growing operation, as well as a nationally acclaimed winery.

Today Bogle Vineyards farms over 1,200 acres of wine grapes in the Delta region. While the winery was established ten years after the first grapes were planted, its success has grown tremendously along with the vineyards.

If you are a fan of Petite Sirah, you may want to check out the Petite Sirah Advocacy Organization. The site has information about the history of the Petite Sirah varietal, food pairings & recipes, and a list of gold medal winners.