The Food of Christmas

We always start our morning with a variety of smoke fish and lox and bagels. And we can't forget the Bloody Mary to wash it all down.




Pre-dinner cocktail was a Pomagrante Martini.



Dinner was filet with lobster tails, baked potato and asparagus. And we can't forget a glass of wine to wash it down.

We had a Mixed Berry Tart (store bought.....oh the horror!) But I forgot to take a picture.

Ugh! Lucky I got the Wii Zumba workout for Christmas !!!!!!!!

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Game Night Dinner

We had game night tonight with our neighbors, The Husband usually does all the cooking in our house but tonight I thought I would take the helm. I am not a great cook but if I had to fend for myself I wouldn't starve.

The Husband did do the appetizer:



Shrimp Mufungo, doesn't look like much in this pic but is quite tasty. a Cuban dish made with grilled shrimp and fried green plantains.





Okay my plating isn't as pretty as The Husband's but here is my dish. Puerto Rican style pork, Cuban black beans and rice and sauteed plantains. It was good, not a knock you socks off dish but presentable to company.

I made this for dessert........







This is a Snickerdoodle Cheesecake. It WAS a knock your socks dessert! I am not a cheesecake person and this is the first I ever made and it was like eating a giant creamy snickerdoodle cookie..........YUMMY! And it was simple to boot.

There will be more Snickerdoodle Cheesecakes in my future.

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Labor Day .......summer's end

Where did the summer go? While I love fall and the coming cooler weather, I have to wonder where the summer went and so quickly! Seems like as a kid the summer was long and lazy, now it zips by like high-speed rail. Or is it just that I'm getting older and all time seems to be zipping by and not just summer?

We had neighbors over for dinner and games last night. Always fun!




I went with a summer into fall theme with my table, based around the beautiful golden roses and orange gerber daisies I got at the market. I made a pitcher of peach sangria that was delicious.




First course, a tuna poke salad in a little corn tortilla cup on a bed of guacamole with a hint of shiracha. I loved this and could have made a meal out of it.......in larger portions of course.




Salad course, spinach with a bacon vinegarette. The white stuff is grated egg white. The yolks were soft boiled separately. When you broke the yolk and mixed with the salad it gave it such a heavenly richness. It was sooooo yummy.




Main course was Chicago style baby back ribs and twiced baked potatoes. Chicago style ribs don't get as much press as other styles but that's okay, they are our little secret. Chicago style ribs offer more resistance, none of this fall off the bone stuff, these are ribs to sink your teeth into. And the sauce is a little sweeter so you get a good carmelization. All in all, yummy.

Dessert was apple pancake with ice cream (sorry, ate it so fast, no picture).

Several rip roaring rounds of UNO put the cap on a great end of summer evening.

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Yummy, Yummy, Yummy I Got Fish in My Tummy!

Yesterday was the Saturday from hell. I won't go into much detail but we broke in 'Blutto' (The Husband's 1997 Expedition)......TWICE! Once 50 miles from home and then 30 miles! Poor Louie was alone for almost 10 hrs.........his eyes were yellow by the time the neighbors dropped us off.

Today was much better. We went to the beach, to outdoor mall for coffee and people watching and home for a delicious sashimi dinner.

We started with my second infusing experiment....'The Blue Raja'.....okay, it's really kinda purple.......




This was made with the blueberry infused vodka, Pinnacle Cotton Candy vodka and lemonade. It was good, but not the flavor bomb like the the Atomic Fireball martini. It might be better with more ice served in an old-fashion glass. But it was tasty.

The The Husband made this for dinner....






Fresh sashimi! Our quest yesterday was for fish at Joe Patti's in Pensacola, which we did make in between breakdowns. This was soooooo fresh and good. I could eat it every day. We had Ahi tuna, fresh salmon and escolar........yummy!

Kickin' back the rest of the evening.

Dinner fit for a Valentine

The Husband out did himself today with this yummy dinner for his special Valentine....ME!

Pan-seared duck breast in blackberry sauce, kale with shallots and parmesan, and the cutest little mashed potato rosettes....it was delicious!  We washed it down with this..........

Best meal in town tonight was at our house!

Happy Valentine's Day..........

I'm Getting Fat!

And it's The Husband's fault.  Just look at what he made for dinner Saturday night:

Oysters Rockafeller made with fresh Appalachicola oysters).

Gone in sixty seconds (I only had 6)! AND:

Prince Edward Island mussels in a garlic wine sauce. Yes this is just my bowl....I ate them all but 2, one was cracked and the other didn't open. Both dishes were DELISH!

Then on Sunday night he made this:

Lobster Mac n' Cheese. That is all claw meat that he carefully removed from the shell.  This was a good dish, but frankly I like his cajun crawfish mac n' cheese better.  I really think lobster is best served steamed or grilled with just a side of butter for dunking.

I contributed to our meals by eating everything on my plate and setting the table with this lovely centerpiece:

Even Lily helped by cleaning up any crumbs that may have found their way on to the floor. I'm sure there weren't many.

The Husband really needs to learn how to make a simple soup and salad don't you think? 

Mmmmm....Falafel

We live in a small town in NW Florida.  Aside from chinese, thai and korean, the variety of ethnic food is somewhat limited.  Coming from a diverse area like Chicago this can be a problem at times when you get a hankrin' for something.  Have no fear, The Husband to the rescue:

 Homemade falafel, homemade pitas and homemade cucumber tahini sauce.  He didn't make the feta, olives or grow the veggies....what a slacker ;)

Middle Eastern

The Husband had a hankerin' for middle eastern cuisine today.  We enjoyed homemade kefta, hummus and warm from the oven pillowy soft pitas along with a lovely fresh salad.

Delish!

Unwired

The Husband got his jaw wires clipped last week so he is off of liquids and onto soft foods.  I am happy he is cooking again, but my waistline isn't. He made crabcakes and salad the other night.

It was very yummy!

The Last Supper.........

Rack of lamb on a potato and leek gratin with carmelized baby carrots. Served with a nice malbec.

A little over a month ago we found of The Husband needed to have his jaw wired shut for a minimum of  4 weeks.  This is due to his lower wisdom teeth never coming up but growing down into the jaw bone.  Cycst have formed and the jaw bone itself is almost no existent in certain spots.  So wiring it is.

Tomorrow is the big day. Three hours of surgery. Needless to say The Husband is NOT a happy camper.  This was his choice of meal........it was delicious.

Everyday Italian

The Husband was feeling very creative and energetic this afternoon.  He whipped up this lasagna-like spinach pasta, then rolled them up with ricotta and sausage and topped them off with provolone, homemade sauce and fresh grated parmesan. Oh, yeah I almost forgot the bechamel sauce........made from scratch...natch'.  What I guy!

Mediterranean on the Fly....................

Pan-seared halibut on garlic mashed potatoes with tomatoes, olives, Feta and onions in olive oil. Yum!  The Husband threw this dish together for dinner tonight............what a guy!  It was so ggod!

When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie........

That's Amore!

And that is just what this lovely white pizza The Husband made last night was!  It was delicious.  I think I might like it better than his usual pizza, which is very yummy.

Hmmm, maybe I need to do a side by side taste test......yeah, that's the ticket!

Go Fish!

Yesterday we went to Joe Patti's in Pensacola to stock up on fresh fish....yes, we can get fish here but the selection and price is worth the trip to  Joe Patti's.  The Husband got a new toy a few weeks back....a vacuum sealer.  So he is giddy with delight and on a mission to stock the freezer.

Last night we have a dozen oysters on the half-shell and a dozen Rockefeller.  Then we had this:

Maguro (tuna)  sashimi with edamame and pickled radishes.  The white fish is Escobar or white tuna.  They gave us a small piece for free when we told them we were doing sushi.  It is heavenly, like butter in your mouth.  It was all very good.  Oh, did I mention that this was just MY plate?

I served up this cocktail:

A Caribbean Cruise.  It went okay with it, not as good as Sake or Plum wine would have gone, or even better a Medori Colada.  But it was all good!

Oysters Rockefeller

I've been very lack showing off The Husband's culinary skills of late, so I thought I would tempt you with the yummy Oysters Rockefeller he made for us last night.

He also made some lovely mussels in broth....but my picture just didn't do it justice (I am still getting use to my new camera phone).  We are having the remaining dozen oysters a la' natural tonight along with a beautiful piece of redfish wrapped in rice paper and sauteed.

Rainy Days and Football Games (and a Birthday Dinner)

It is finally raining here in the FL panhandle and we can sure use it.  That also makes it a great day for watching football without feeling guilty about not being outside doing something.  A win/win situation if you ask me.

Yesterday was our friend Kenny's birthday and Mike put out a really nice spread for his best bud.

Of course we had to start off with a cocktail.  I made one of Kenny's favorites, Caribbean Cruiser.

 The it was time for the cold first course, seared Black Fin tuna (locally caught) with cucumbers, radishes and edamame topped with a spicy mayo and ponzu sauce.

 The warm second course picture should be here........but I didn't remember to take it until we were done eating it...oops.  Anyway it was delicious Tomato Cream Shrimp Risotto.

 Salad course was a simple but tasty Baby Spinach salad with Warm Bacon dressing.

 Main course was Braised Beef Shortribs in a Red Wine sauce, homemade Sharp White Cheddar Mac n' Cheese and Fried Brussels Sprouts (individual leaves) with capers and vinegarette.  The brussels sprout recipe is courtesy of Chef Michael Symon.  These are absolutely delicious!  I could not stop eating them.

Okay, we cheated on dessert. We just couldn't decide what to make, we were flummoxed.  So we picked up a small Chocolate Fudge birthday cake from Walmart.  Let me tell you this was an excellent birthday cake. chocolatey and fudgey, mmmmmmm!

Here's the Birthday Boy.

Here's the Birthday Boy's wife.

Lily also attended the party.......she loves the Birthday Boy.

Ed also attended but even though he is fast approaching 8 years old, he still can not contain himself around company.  So he enjoys the party from the comfort of his kennel which is placed amid the festivities.  He does get to come out and go outside with the boys when they enjoy their cigars.

And here is Birthday Boy's wife showing us her dance moves to her favorite song "Brickhouse".  Shake it, girl!

I think it is safe to say a good time was had by all.

Lynn's Birthday Dinner

Last September I posted the birthday dinner The Husband did for our friend, Kenny.  Last night The Husband put out an equally amazing spread for Kenny's wife, the lovely Lynn's birthday.

To start the festivities off I served "Hairy Sunrise" cocktails....they were very good, but I forgot the picture.

Opening cold appetizer, beef carpaccio served with homemade bread.

Second warm appetizer, ragout of wild mushrooms over homemade polenta.

Salad course, caprese.

Main course, linguine with clams in cream sauce.

Finally, dessert, individual homemade tiramisu.

And the Birthday Girl!

The Husband out did himself, this dinner was as close to perfect as you could get.  Even the under $10 wines we threw with this went perfectly.  And what can you say when you get to spend the evening with the your bestest friend.....PERFECT!

Super Bowl of Food

Okay, so my team didn't win. But we all know that the Super Bowl isn't really about the game....or who wins, or loses (sure I can be all philosophical about it now because my team lost). We know it's all about.....the FOOD!

The Husband and I usually try to come up with a menu that reflects a little about both teams......but really does anyone know what food specialty Indiana is known for????? We were stumped. Internet searches turned up zip, zilch, nada, bupkis!

So we did the best we could  with a Super Bowl of Sandwich tasting plate: Top Right: The Lynn Dog ( a Hebrew National Kosher Frank wrapped in bacon and baked in phyllo), Bottom Right: Mini Muffalatta, Top Left: A Slider, Bottom Left: Mini Shrimp Po' Boy.  Accompaniments: homemade cole slaw, homemade dill pickles and tomatoes. Oh, yes and Blue Maragaritas in honor of the Colts.

The Husband has a little problem with portion control and size......I swear each plate weighed 7lbs easy.  We were full for days!!!

The Husband tackles the Muffalatta.........

Our good friend, Lynn................namesake of the, you guessed it, Lynn Dog.

My team may have lost, but we had a great time. And after all that is what the game is about....good friends, good food, good drinks.......good times!