Marco Vacation Dining – 2

Over the past couple of years, several of you have commented that I should open a restaurant and serve some of my breakfast creations, and if I were younger with plenty of money, I probably would.  I’d want to do it like some of the places on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives serving good quantities, of all homemade food at a reasonable price.  This is in contrast to a lot of the tourist food places that seem to predominate Marco who do just the opposite – mediocre food at high prices. 

But one we’ve discovered is like the place I’d want to have.  It’s called Hoot’s and in the off season it’s a breakfast and lunch place, but open for dinner Dec-Apr.  It’s large enough to support itself, but small enough to make every meal memorable.  I’ve posted about Hoot’s before, but just had to again.  Their day begins early by making their own bread – best rye I’ve ever had - then using it for their breakfast toasts and lunch sandwiches.  Not surprisingly, Hoot's has 4-5 stars everywhere I found it rated.

We went for breakfast and as usual were not disappointed.  Pat had the Southwest Cheesebake and ate about a third of it, Bev ate half of her Huevos Rancheros, and I tackled the Crab Cake Benedict with hash browns (the waitress recommended them vs. the home fries and they were perfect - Waffle House good).  Here’s Bev’s then mine.

The waitress said she remembered me as I’m the only customer who photographs his food.  The only negative for the meal was I’d taken my appetite suppressant and couldn’t finish it all, so I removed the English muffin from the bottom and shared the potatoes, but I still hurt it.

Before leaving, we ordered a loaf of rye for pick up the next day.

We skipped lunch and the ladies laid around the pool as seen from our balcony - they love their Kindles. 

For supper we grilled up some steaks brought from home and sided them with a salad and garlic cheese Naan bread - Pat needed a break from fish.

Not a bad way to end up another hard day at the beach, and we have a partially cooked steak left over for another meal.

All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

One year ago:  Marco Island on Saturday

Two years ago:  Chili For The Third Straight Night - Yum

Larry

Smoky Pork Chili with Black-Eyed Peas Ala Velva

If you're a regular reader, you may have noticed that I only occasionally post a recipe from a cookbook and usually post about a creation or one of your recipes.  I know many of you are avid cookbook readers (Bev likes to read them as well), but my cookbook is primarily your blogs, even though I have some very good cookbooks.  This is why most of my dishes will look familiar to many of you and here is another one.

As the garden winds down for the year, I continue to look for recipes to use my produce, especially tomatoes and peppers, so when Velva, over at Tomatoes On The Vine posted a recipe for Smoky Pork Chili with Black-Eyed Peas, I knew it had to be tried.  My belief was I had some purple hull field peas (similar to black eyed) in the freezer and I’d only have to buy some pork, but alas they were nowhere to be found so I used canned peas.

I invited good friend Kathy and her mom (both from Texas) over to help me eat it – what could be better than inviting two women over while the wife is out of town – one would have probably been enough or maybe way more than enough (LOL).

When I use a recipe from the computer, rather than print it and use another piece of paper, I just write it down on an envelope from the trash, of which there are many.  I pretty well followed Velva’s recipe as written, except I roasted fresh Anaheim’s (New Mexico chile)  rather than use the dried ones – I did use the dried Ancho’s I had on hand (three as they were small), but blistered them on the grill, and I added ¼ cup less vinegar than called for. 

As I was stirring the chopped veggies prior to roasting, it occurred to me that I was making chili but had not chopped up any onion – this cannot be right.  So back to the computer I went for a look at the original recipe and sure enough I’d failed to write down the onion on my envelope – the planets felt more aligned at that point.

When I was tasting it in the pan, I thought it needed something but wasn’t sure what so I dished it up and added the dollup of sour cream and diced green onions called for in the recipe.  I stirred it all together and really liked it as did Kathy – the sour cream was just what it needed, so if you make it, don’t assume it’s just for garnish and omit it.  Sorry about the messy bowl. 

A couple of mornings later, I decided to give it a try for a quick breakfast of nuked tortilla with the chili, topped with a couple of fried eggs (I know big surprise) and it was very good.

Thanks Velva for a delicious dinner and breakfast.

All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them. 

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

One year ago:  Hodgepodge From The Marco Condo Balcony On Day 3

Two years ago:  None 

Larry

Marco Island Vacation – Dining 1

One of the things that describes a vacation for Bev is spending very little time in the kitchen, so at least one daily meal is at a restaurant – usually the main meal of the day.

When we were last here, I went to Captain Briens, just up the street, for take-out fish sandwiches to be eaten in the condo.  I was very under-whelmed and we didn’t eat there again but Pat (SIL) and Bev gave it a try before I got there this year and liked it, so we went back.  They split a fried seafood platter and I had one of the specials which was flounder (I chose herb broiled), accompanied by two sides and I had baked potato and Boston baked beans.

Their fried platter was decent, but Captain Brien’s is 0 for 2 with me.  The fish was barely okay but certainly nothing special to be the special and, the beans were doctored up pork and beans from a can, like we fix at home, and nowhere near Boston BAKED beans – however they were served in a little crock.  The biggest disappointment was the potato which had to have been baked the day before and judging from the color degradation, it could have been 2 days old.  After my 13 hour drive and 1:30 am arrival, I was tired and in no mood for any type of conflict, so I ate what I could, but should have sent it back.  I will not make a third mistake with them.  Too bad even for photo.

Now for the good.  Knowing that Sam and Meakin Hofer (MyCarolina Kitchen) have spent lots of time in the area I requested a recommendation and was advised to try The Dock on the water in Naples.  Since the girls have to make an annual shopping trip to nearby Tin City, we made an afternoon of it beginning with lunch at The Dock. 

The restaurant is all open with only drop down clear plastic walls for use in bad weather. We started at this inner table then were able to move to the rail for the second shot from the table.

I’d been wanting some good shellfish and we even stopped at a couple of fish markets on the way to Naples – finding no oysters and I was shocked at the $17 price for a dozen raw oysters in the restaurants – I remember when they went from 15 cents to a quarter each and being in dis-belief.

I’d about decided on my meal when Bev said I should get the Shellfish Tower, which I’d missed on the menu, but decided I could not pass up.

This baby had 6 raw oysters and clams, 12 steamed mussels, 6 boiled shrimp and half a snow crab, plus 3 sauces and lots of napkins.  I enjoyed every bite and while it looks like a lot to eat, about 75 percent of it was still on the tower when I finished – I was pleasantly full.  The waitress said she’d served several as a table-wide appetizer but never to a person as a meal – she can count on her second time when I come down next year.  Bev had fried oysters and Pat had coconut shrimp and everything was delicious – thank you Sam and Meakin, you guys know your restaurants.

All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

One year ago:  Marco Day 3

Two years ago: A Long Busy Day - But Worth It

Larry

Rib Roast Revisited

While I realize it is critical to the success of a business, I HATE advertisements and we are absolutely bombarded with them – I may go crazy at the next rendition of the J.G Wentworth song.  For this reason I’m very selective about the magazines I read – it used to be “Birds And Blooms”, “Taste Of Home”, and “Cook’s Illustrated”.  The B & B was allowed to lapse when I realized neither Bev or I read it and the T of H was let go when it started looking like every other mag – full of ads and hard to differentiate between the articles and the ads.

I realize that many folks – my wife for one – enjoy the ads and those during the Super Bowl get as much (or more) attention than the game, so I may well be in the minority, and I can live with that.  Enough railing as this is really about the prime rib article I just read in the new "Cook’s Illustrated", which I still look forward to getting. 

According to them, the best way to achieve a good crust and minimize the thickness of the gray well done layer around the outside it to give it a quick hot pan sear (or use a blow torch) for crust development then roast at 200*F to an internal temp of 110*F.  Turn off oven and allow internal temp to go to 125*F for medium rare.  Then remove from oven, tent, and rest for another 30 or so minutes.

Then move back under the broiler to crisp the top (fat cap) side.  Since it’s already rested, it’s ready to slice and serve.

The low temperature roasting is consistent with what I’ve been reading and doing on the smoker or in the oven for a couple of years.  The thing I haven’t done and probably won’t, due to the way and amount of spices I apply, is the initial pan sear.  Check out my blog posts below for those I’ve done.  This first one in December 2009 wasn’t rested between the smoker and the grill and it took longer to add the crust on the grill than in the oven – note amount of well-done.

This one in Dec 2010 was done with a year’s more knowledge and rested in a pre-warmed cooler for over an hour before going into a 450* oven for crust development – note the layer of well-done is hard to find.

For this year (with still more experience), I’ll cook it on the smoker and rest it the same, but for crust development I’ll crank the oven up to 550* or use the broiler as it wasn't quite where I wanted it.  I'm hoping to have it down pat after this time and I don't know why I don't cook them more often.

If you plan a rib roast (prime rib) for your holiday meal, whether it’s done in the oven, on the grill, or in the smoker, initial sear or reverse sear, the key to an even doneness across the face of the slice sure seems to be roasting it at a low temperature.

All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

One year ago:  Marco Day 2 Supper

Two years ago:  It's BBQ Day Round Here

Larry

Marco Island Vacation

We've been coming to our timeshare condo in Marco Island, Fl for about 10 years and when we come in October, we frequently have to close the drapes at night to block any light so the sea turtles can hatch and not be confused about where the ocean is.  We've come this week in the past but for the first time there is a nest just down the beach from the condo.

The predominent species nesting here is the endangered Loggerhead and due to the BP oil spill fouling the northern gulf coast beaches, these nests are even more important.  As soon as a nest is discovered, a lady working for the state erects posts with yellow caution tape to mark the nests which are heavily protected - serious fine for messing with it.  She then digs up the eggs, counts, and replaces them.  After hatching she will remove any remaining eggs to determine hatch rate.

About 2 1/2 months later when it gets close to hatching time, she adds black material, sealed with sand at the bottom to guide them toward the water. Then she makes little sand dunes on each side to further aim them toward the water.

I can't help but wonder if the birds are laying in wait for them.  Next shot is from the water back to the nest.

I love it when humankind is doing the right thing for the other inhabitants of the planet.

The header shot is from our Marco Island, Fl condo and this next shot is of a bunch of very small, one person, sail boats that have been going out each morning and seemingly just sitting there for several hours – it’s like they’re practicing lining up for a race that never begins.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

One year ago:  Lets Eat Some Seafood On Day 1 In Marco

Two years ago:  Today Is BBQ Prep Day

Larry

 

Smothered Stewed Potatoes Ala Mary

When Bev and Pat (SIL) headed off to Florida and left me to fend for myself, I told her I was going to try and eat items that had been languishing in the freezer for a while.  The first thing I got out was a package of Spinach Asiago Chicken Sausage from Sam’s, and grilled two links for a sandwich.

Then along comes Mary’s recipe for Smothered Stewed Potatoes, on her Deep South Dish blog and since I like potatoes and I like gravy, it seemed prefect.  One of her alternates was to add Andouille and green pepper, but I had three links of this sausage and a nice red pepper – close enough.  I followed the recipe as shown on her blog starting with a sauté of the sausage and pepper in a 75/25 olive oil/bacon grease mixture.

I sided the potatoes with a wedge of lettuce topped with some Newman’s Caesar Dressing (all I could find) and grated Romano Cheese – the taters got some as well.

The potatoes were outstanding and I have lots left over for other meals.  I can see they would work well with a variety of meats in them. 

And for breakfast next morning, I fried some in a little olive oil.

After flipping, I moved them to the sides, cracked in a couple of eggs and added a lid to get this.

The fried cheese caused them come out of the pan a little hard but they still looked pretty good and when cut up with the eggs, tasted outstanding again.

Thanks Mary for a recipe that will be used many times.

All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

One year ago:  Marco Island, Florida Arrival

Two years ago:  Another Dog – Just What We Need

Larry

Mexican Night In East Tennessee

Bev was getting ready to head for Florida for a week and she didn’t want to cook and I was watching college football, and I didn’t want to cook much, and I wanted to try some of the stuffed chile peppers I recently froze, and we had some roasted red pepper sauce left over, and we had some avocados going bad, and I wanted to try Pam’s recipe for Grilled Corn, Poblano, and Onion Salad with Lime Vinaigrette from For The Love Of Cooking.  Guess what we had for dinner?

I got out two each of the stuffed Anaheim and Poblano peppers from our pepper roasting day a couple of weeks ago and let them thaw and come to room temperature – basically they sat on the counter all day.  When SIL Pat delivered six ears of corn, I grilled it and the peppers Bev had just picked (2 red and 1 green).  When you buy poblanos in the store they are nearly always green, but when you pick your own they can be red – I guess the commercial red ones are dried for anchos.

After they were done, I re-read the recipe and found I was supposed to grill an onion so back to the grill I went.  While they were cooking, I cut off the corn and seeded and chopped the peppers and ate the little corn from the cob left by the knife  – it was sooo sweet and likely our last of the season from the guy up the road.  I mixed it up per Pam’s recipe then made adjustments (more cilantro and lime juice) based on our larger amount of corn

and then Bev decided a can of black beans would be good for color and this is what we ended up with – we had limited usable avocado and added it to our individual servings (after I took the photos – CRS you know).

I reheated the peppers in the toaster-oven at 350* for 30 minutes, brushing with oil half way thru, and added some cilantro and cumin, to taste, to our leftover roasted pepper sauce for a reheat in the microwave.  The peppers would have been better nuked or covered in the oven as they got a little chewy. 

This is my plate and the sauce worked well for this. 

Next batch, I’ll make up the tomato and pepper sauces with only S&P, then add the herbs and spices while reheating the 50/50 mix for the specific dish.  As for the salad, we both thought it was delicious and will definitely make it again - I couldn't tell if the beans affected the taste or not.  Thanks Pam and Marie for a delicious meal.

All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

One year ago:   Corn Chowder Ala Lea Ann - Sorta

Two years ago:  None

Larry