I haven't blogged in a while - two reasons. One, I have had a stomach virus and haven't felt like eating much of anything, let alone talk about it. Two, I sometimes think I'm just writing to myself and maybe I am so whether anyone is actually reading this or it's a daily diary, it is what it is.

Yesterday was the first day in a week that I started to feel normal again so we went out to eat somewhere where we hadn't gone for dinner, only breakfasts. The Ritz-Carlton's Temple Orange restaurant. The food was very good. I had their fetticine bolognese, something I am pretty particular about (the last good dish of this I had out was at a hole in the wall restaurant around Mt. Dora, FL) - very unexpected but wonderful. Anyway, the Ritz's version was really good too and the portion was enough so that I could bring some home. The Temple Orange is a cute restaurant but as for evening ambience, it leaves a little something to be desired - it's a great setting for breakfast and lunch though. Maybe it's because it just wasn't crowded, people were mostly sitting outside. They told me they will be opening a fine dining restaurant in the fall at the Ritz. My husband was happy because they had Colorado lamb chops. I guess I should backtrack a bit to tell you that I enjoyed a very good cocktail before dinner - akin to a Bellini. It was vodka, champagne and some peach nectar - very good and refreshing. My husband had his usual Dirty Martini.

A little about the Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach. They did a very big renovation a couple of years ago and it is beautiful. Someone said they spent $65 million on it - it's classic and casual - lots of whites, silvers and golds with seashells everywhere. The lounge/bar area is cute but one would think after all the renovation, they would add more seating to the actual bar. It still has only 5 bar stools and that's just not enough for a "bar fly" :-) They do have a cute little sitting area though with tables and chairs and a bar bites menu for something lighter. We might try eating there next time as the little menu looked good to.

Bonefish Grill

Bonefish grill has been around a while and I've always wanted to try it - I got the opportunity over the weekend and I'd like to give it a big thumbs up. I always figured it to be a good restaurant chain (I'm not big on chains but this is among one of the better ones). Thing is, you have to get there early and/or go on a Sunday when they open as they are always packed. Another reason I haven't gone till now; it's always crowded. So we got there early and sat down at a nice booth by the window but within 20 minutes, there wasn't a seat to be had and there was already a wait. I see why. The food is good and very fresh - it smelled wonderful upon going in like herbs and a wood burning oven. They have a great variety of fish and since I eat mostly seafood, this is right up my alley.

I got the special - the wild shrimp Pad Thai and it was excellent. But was very tempted to get the Arctic Charr done on a cedar plank. My husband got the Tokyo style Ahi Tuna with jasmine rice and Asian veggies. The dessert special looked great (Jamaican coconut pie) but I still had those cupcakes at home :-) Oh and lest I forget, I loved the Bonefish Martini which I started with - vodka, cranberry juice and Prosecco (Italian champagne). The price was right for all of this too. We will definitely go back here.

Orange Cupcakes with Raspberry Frosting.

Being a cupcake lover, I did something new today per a recipe I saw Giada de Laurentis make. She made a layer cake that looked so good and so pretty and very different. But being a cupcake lover, I did cupcakes instead. You can look up the recipe on Food TV but I did a little adjusting. I followed it pretty much but used more orange zest in the icing, I used sour cream in place of creme fraiche as I couldn't find it at Publix. I didn't feel like taking a bit longer to go to Fresh Market or Whole Foods but do know they do carry it. The sour cream worked just fine. You basically take a white cake mix and doctor it up with fresh orange zest and fresh orange juice. And the icing is just butter, sour cream, powdered sugar and raspberry jam. You end up with pretty orange cupcakes with pink icing. I topped each with a fresh raspberry. What a great combination! Next time I'm asked to bring cupcakes to a dinner party, this will be the ones I take.

Simple Syrup

Is really simple to make - I've gotten where I love keeping one around. The basis is that you just take equal parts water and sugar, heat until sugar dissolves and keep in a container in the frig to use for whatever you want. But you can also do variations on them. I made one the other day and once the sugar was dissolved, I put in a couple of mint leaves and a piece of fresh ginger and let it steep over a simmer. Took the ginger and mint out before storing. What I like to do is take a fresh lemon or two, squeeze into a glass, add water and a couple teaspoons of the simple syrup for instant lemonade. Another option is make citrus flavored simple syrups that you can use with water and ice for lemon or lime ades or you can even use for a glaze by adding powdered sugar. Examples - equal parts of fresh lemon or lime juice and sugar until sugar dissovles and now you have a citrus simple syrup.

Tart Pops

No, I didn't mean to say Pop Tarts. I'm talking about Rhubarb Ice Pops. Here's an interesting ice pop if you like rhubarb. I love the fruit - vegetable - or whatever it is. Alice Waters said about rhubarb "Rhubarb is the vegetable bridge between the tree fruits of winter and summer".
1 lb. of rhubarb
4 oz. water (plus more to cover rhubarb)
4 oz. cane sugar
1 cinnamon stick
2 1/2 oz. heavy cream
10 3 oz. ice-pop molds (or you could us ice cube trays with wooden sticks inserted)
Wash and chop rhubarb into 1 inch pieces. Add approx. 1 inch of water (or enough to cover rhubarb. Cover the pot and cook over med. heat until rhubarb breaks down into a lumpy puree'(about 15-20 min.) Strain the puree' from its juice and reserve both. For the simple syrup: Combine 4 oz. of water with the cane sugar. Add cinnamon stick. Gently heat stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from burner and discard cinnamon stick and let syrup cool. For the ice pops: In a pitcher, combine rhubarb puree' and simple syrup. Adjust sweetness now by adding some of the reserved rhubarb juice(some sweetness will dissipate upon freezing - you can use the reserved juice for another purpos - cocktails perhaps? Blend in the cream and pour mixture into ice-pop molds and freeze overnight.

New, refreshing vinaigrette - compliments of ....

....Nordstrom's. Yes, a new twist on the traditional vinaigrette. A lot of people probably don't know, and maybe they don't care, but Nordstrom's at The Gardens Mall in Palm Beach Gardens has a restaurant on the second floor. I even forget about it half the time because I don't always get upstairs. But I decided to go in today for lunch and am glad I did. What impressed me wasn't so much the food (though it was good) but a salad dressing they make fresh daily. I had it on my salad and what a great, and refreshing change for a vinaigrette (though it's a bit creamier). It's a Lime Cilantro Vinaigrette. I replicated it at home and it's pretty darn close. I really guessed on everything so it's a matter of tasting. Equal parts of fresh squeezed lime juice and seasoned rice wine vinegar or regular white wine vinegar (I did a mix of the two), a little honey (not much because it's not supposed to be sweet), fresh cilantro (about 1/2 a bunch), fresh chopped garlic (I used 4 cloves), Kosher salt and either extra light olive oil or canola oil (about double the amount of lime juice and vinegar. Oh and you do not want to taste the olive oil in this vinaigrette so using the extra light is best if you are using olive oil. I mixed everything in a blender and it's wonderful....and beautiful. A bright green salad dressing that tastes like summer.

Faith sez ...

OK, Faith may be a dog, in fact she's my friend Kathy's dog and she doesn't often get to go out to eat with Kathy. So, she's discovered a place where she is welcome and she wanted other doggies and their owners to know about it. Scully's on Federal Hwy. in Boynton Beach is the place.

You can bring your dogs on leash and sit outside and have lunch or dinner. Now I personally can't rate the place properly because I've only eaten there once for lunch. And before I recommend a place to dine, I like to eat there several times. So this one is for dog owners out there who are looking for a night out and just don't want to leave Fido home alone again.

Fondue did it

Went out with my daughter yesterday to celebrate Mother's Day early - as is usual, we wondered where to have dinner. As we were shopping at this new outdoor shopping area in Hallandale, we just couldn't make up our minds - so typical when neither of us has a craving for anything in particular. Didn't want chicken since I'm make chicken on the Cocorico today for us, along with steaks and lamb chops for the guys (it's my husband's birthday today). Anyway, we thought maybe pasta or maybe Asian but still nothing jumped out at us. Heather had an idea - why not go to Anthony's Runway 84, Italian place and neither of us had been. We get there and decide "no" - that's not it either. At long last, we decided on something we don't do often and haven't done in ages. The Melting Pot - it was such a nice leisurely dinner. Got some wine and started off with their cheese fondue with bread and veggies, next course we did the seafood in a court bouillon and we couldn't leave without chocolate with fruit, brownies and Rice Krispies treats - all bite size and wonderful. Oh and of course, it was a great dark chocolate. Everything was really good and it was a very nice way to spend dinner - I would def. recommend it for anyone who just wants to linger and eat slowly. When I looked around, and/or think about it, it seems most suitable for ladies who want to visit, chat and eat or a couple who is still at the dating stage unless you are married to a guy who enjoys bite size food and doesn't mind spend hours eating :-)

Chocolate - a good for you indulgence

At long last, something I adore is actually good for you. Well, it is, but in moderation like everything in life. But at least I an feel good about indulging in this sweet treat. And the kind that is good for you, is dark chocolate and luckily, that's my favorite. Here is a list of my favorite dark chocolate bars starting with my favorite. I highly recommend any of them....

Valrhona
Sharffen Berger
Green & Black's
Dagoba
Guittard
Lindt
Ghirardelli

Salmon - let me count the ways

Salmon is something I turn to often as it's a healthy choice and there are so many really easy recipes. These are two of my favorites - both quick and both delicious. Thanks to Erica for the Horsey Salmon recipe (I don't think she'll mind if I share it:-). And thanks to Sara Mouton for the other one.


Horsey Salmon
Coat a baking dish with olive oil. Spread a light layer of prepared horseradish sauce on a salmon fillet, lightly dust with breadcrumbs and bake at 350 for about 45 minutes.


Roasted Salmon with Hot Mustard Cracker Topping
1/3 cup sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons prepared English mustard (preferably Colman's)
1 1/2 teaspoons packed light brown sugar
35 to 40 wasabi rice crackers
Kosher salt
Four 6-ounce pieces center-cut salmon fillet, skin removed

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Combine the sour cream, mustard, and brown sugar. Coarsely crush the rice crackers (about 1 cup). Season the salmon on all sides with salt. Arrange the pieces in one layer in a shallow baking pan, skinned side down. Spread the top of each piece with the sour cream mixture and top with some of the crushed crackers. Bake the salmon for 10 to 12 minutes, or until barely cooked through.

Frozen Berries with Hot White Chocolate

As the weather starts to get hotter, I think about easy to make cold desserts - and this one is a favorite. The frozen berries tempered by hot white chocolate makes for congealed, gooey goodness. Here's the recipe:

Frozen Berries with Hot White Chocolate

1 ¼ pounds good white chocolate, coarsely chopped (or white chocolate chips)
2 ½ cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
2 ¼ pounds combination of blueberries and red raspberries

Mix the berries together (you'll want a little of each type per serving). Then measure out enough of the berries to fill individual dessert plates (about one cup per person is about right) and then put each serving into individual plastic bags and put in freezer until about 5 minutes before ready to serve. You want the berries frozen solid so you can do this hours before using.

When ready, combine the white chocolate, heavy cream, and the vanilla in a
heat-proof bowl and set it over a pan of simmering water until the chocolate melts. The white chocolate must be very warm so make it right before ready to use.
About 5 minutes before serving and as the white chocolate is melting, remove the berries from the freezer and place them on individual serving plates. Ladle the hot white chocolate over the frozen berries and serve. Great interaction between the ice cold berries and hot white chocolate. This will make several servings; you can cut the recipe in half easily.

Riggin's

What would a blog from me be without talking about Riggin's Crab House in Lantana. We've been going there for over 20 years and still go several times a month. They have some of the best crabcakes, 99% crabmeat and not much filler, just enough to barely hold them together for cooking. Their blue crabs are great too with Old Bay seasoning but the best time to get them is in the summer when the crabs are fuller and not as watery. We recently discovered they also have great Buffalo wings - so after all these years, I often get them when we're not in the mood for crabs. Make sure to have them double cooked so they are crispy and well done. For those who haven't been, it's a very low key, down home type restaurant and bar that is mostly full of locals and regulars. It's not easy to find either as it doesn't sit out on a main road but the sign is visible from I-95. Dave and Marty have been the two main bartenders for years though Dave is cutting back on his days/hours and the owner's nephew will be taking up the slack. If you go in and happen to see Marty behind the bar, be sure and mention The Rolling Stones and you'll have a conversation going all night long and maybe make a new friend. He is a dyed in the wool Stones fan. Those two peas in a pod couldn't be more opposite - Dave is from Canada and worked in marketing many moons ago, is an avid golfer and is a conservative from what we gather. Marty is a 60' kind of guy who is a staunch Democrat - around election time, it gets pretty interesting :-) If you go, be sure and tell someone there that I recommended it. Danny the owner is sometimes there but now his sister Toni manages it when he's not; it's pretty much all in the family. If it's crabs you want, I can't think of a better place.

Contessa

My 2 year old grandson Lex loves Ina Garten, aka, The Barefoot Contessa. Whenever her show comes on at 5:00 here, he stops to dance to the theme and often gets a mixing bowl out to stir along with her as she's cooking or baking. When a commercial comes on, he looks upset and yells "Contessa". I have to tell him she'll be right back after the break. When the show is over and The Neeley's come on, he sometimes cries. I agree, The Neeley's make me cry too - well, they just sort of drive me nuts and I guess they do the same to a 2 year old. Anyway, I decided to write to Ina Garten at Barefoot Contessa in The Hamptons where the store is. I know she sold it a while back but I figured someone there would surely know how to get a letter to her along with a photo of maybe her youngest fan, Lex. I know these people are busy so imagine my surprise when I got an email back saying they got my letter and the photo of Lex for "Contessa". This was followed up by a photo in the regular mail of Ina Garten signed to Lex! I showed it to him and he tried to hug the picture, wrinkling it a bit. What a nice keepsake. Do we, per chance, have a future "Rocco DeSpirito" on our hands?

Hey Cupcake

Most people know I love cupcakes and when someone asks me to bring dessert to a dinner party, I usually bring cupcakes. I love making unusual colored ones too - like yellow cupcakes with purple icing, red velvet with green icing at Christmas, orange with black icing at Halloween and so on. Now I normally don't recommend a place unless I've tried it so I can't say YET that I recommend this place. But my daughter Heather gave me the menu from a new cupcake place in Delray Beach that she says I must try and I so agree. It's called Cupcake Couture and the names of the cupcakes are great - for someone who likes clothes, shoes, purses and sweets - this seems to right up my avenue, er alley. Here's some of their offerings - Donatella Vanilla, Jimmy Choo-colate, Red Valentino, Dolce & Banana, Yves Saint Lemon and so on. They have some big names to live up to - I have a feeling, it'll be a cake walk.

Cocorico

You're probably wondering what in the world that is. Well, it makes the best roast chicken I've ever had. NapaStyle sells these Cocorcios along with the great roasted garlic rub and roasted garlic paste that you use to make this moist delicious chicken. It's great with any root vegetables of your choice. The secret is in the vertical cone which makes for fast cooking while keeping the juices in. I highly recommend one of these but I'm not sure if you can get them anywhere but NapaStyle mail order. But that's not all bad - I think NapaStyle has some of the best food items whether it's their wonderful assortment of salts to their specialty chocolates from their wonderful rubs to their condiments - I highly recommend anything you buy there.

Books

No, not cookbooks (though I love them too) but fun novels that incorporate a lot of detail about food or drink within the pages. These are just a few of my favorite books that have wonderfully descriptive scenes about food. And might inspire you to want to cook or bake something fantastic.

Five Quarters of the Orange
Blackberry Wine
Chocolat
Bread Alone
The Baker's Apprentice
Hotel Pastis
The Vintage Caper

Stick to the perimeter

As I was grocery shopping once again this morning (I think I make a run to Publix every other day) it brought to mind something I wanted to share. I know some of you have told me you are trying to eat healthier, lose weight, etc. as I know I am. Here's a good tip - if you shop the perimeter and stay away from the middle of the grocery store, you'll be eating much healthier. Think about it or look the next time you're at your grocery store - the middle aisles are where most of the pre-packaged, quick to make, overly processed food are. The perimeter generally has the dairy products, fresh meats and seafood as well as fresh produce. I would bet if we all stayed away from shopping the center and stuck to the perimeter, we'd all be healthier and better off. And if you have an organic section, I highly recommend it. I also recommend you watch Food Inc. if you haven't already, I think you'll feel differently about how and what you eat. There's my two cents of the day for what it's worth.

It's 5:00 somewhere

As some of you know, I love trying new cocktail concoctions so I might be posting some that I particularly like here and there. I usually like to try a new one on the weekend especially when I'm having guests over. My latest is a Lemon Ginger Martini. Just make some simple syrup but instead of taking it off the burner when the sugar is dissovled, add a piece of fresh ginger and some cut up mint leaves. Let this simmer for about 20 minutes and then strain and chill. Now you have a great ginger mint simple syrup. To make the martini, add vodka some fresh sqeezed lemon juice and some of the simple syrup - shake well in a martini shaker with some ice and pour into martini glasses. Add a sprig of mint as a garnish.

Breakfast - every Sunday

Just about every Sunday morning we go out to breakfast. This morning we went to Perkins Pancake House in Lake Worth- seems every place we go, I have one special thing that I like to order. And Perkins is no exception. Though it's a "pancake" house, I always order their asparagus omelet. They are very generous with the asparagus too, unlike a lot of chain restaurants. It's fresh and very good. Another thing I like about it is that they have coffee on the table all the time. A good breakfast place should have a pot of coffee on the table instead, that's just the way it should be and I really judge a place by whether they do that or not. Oh and if you go, ask for Natalie; she's a hoot. Other places we go are Toojay's in Lake Worth. It's good and I like their omelets too but they don't leave coffee on the table so that's a negative. They bring fresh fruit with breakfast. One of the best local places we go to once in a while is the ocean front Ritz-Carlton in Manalapan. They have a great herb omelet and they make tiny sticky buns that are on the buffet, but the waiter always brings them to us when we ask. In Delray Beach, we like the International House of Pancakes. I highly recommend their brown sugar banana French toast. And if it's a view you want, the Holiday Inn in Highland Beach is a great spot as is Watercolors at the old Bridge Hotel in Boca. It sits right at the Camino Real bridge on the intracoastal waterway - what a view and what a breeze.

Ocean Grill

Not long ago, I found two of my best friends from high school - Diane and Pat. I haven't seen either since then and since I'm semi-retired, you can imagine how many years that has been. One of them lives in Sarasota and the other lives in Columbus, Ohio but recently bought a second home in Deltona Beach. She's going to become what we permanent residents call a snow bird. And that's great. She will be moving into her Florida home early next year so the three of us are going to meet for a day of hanging out and catching up. The place we'll meet at is in Vero Beach called The Ocean Grill. For anyone going to Vero Beach, it's a must. It is a very old, very large restaurant smack dab on the beach - if it were any closer to the ocean, it would be in it. Once at high tide in the bar, the waves were pounding under the pilings and we felt we were on a boat in the ocean. Very cool. All dark woods with lots of nautical stuff everywhere and the best ocean view of about any restaurant I've been to. Food is good too but made better because of the great view - once at your table, you don't want to leave. There is a catch, you must be there when they open their doors to get one of the coveted tables but there are quite a few. Oh and they have a quaint little gift shop too to keep the tourists happy. I can't wait to see Diane and Pat and I know they'll love this spot as well.

Crazy Lucy

No, I'm not talking about me. Though most of my friends call me "Lucy" because I've been known to get into some pretty crazy situations and well, I'm also a bit klutzy. Take me out to the best restaurant, and I will spill something, somewhere. Anyway, this Crazy Lucy I'm talking about is the soup. Crazy Lucy Soup is amazing and can only be found at Sushi Simon, a little hole in the wall susi place in Boynton Beach. It where I go every Monday for lunch (I work on Mondays). It's made of the best imported Japanese ingredients and is full of vegetables and things like lemongrass, cilantro, lemon and I don't know what all. All I know is when I have lunch there, I feel like I've eaten at least one, very healthy meal that week. With it, I usually have a bowl of steaming Edamame with sea salt but sometimes I have the Shrimp Tempura. When we go there for dinner, I order sushi; I like their Very Sexy Rolls, I don't feel sexier when done eating them but that's OK. They have the freshest sushi and sashimi around. And for dessert (when I'm eating them) - I love their Mochi (little ice cream balls in sticky sweet rice paste). My favorite is the Mango but they're all good.

Meringue Sandwiches

The other day I was watching Food TV and Rachel Ray was on. I've been pretty good about not eating too many desserts (my weakness) lately so when she showed a good, easy, yet low fat, low cal. dessert, I was in. She said to buy those little vanilla meringues you can get at the grocery store, buy some lemon sorbet and make them into little sandwiches. Off to Whole Foods I went as they have the best vanilla meringues around. Do you know how disappointed I was when they didn't have them - they've quit selling them - the horror! But I was determined. Once I get my mind set on wanting something, I will do most anything to get it including making it myself no matter what it takes. I was now in the mood for them so I thought I will just have to make them myself. My husband came home and asked what in the world I'm baking now as he looked into the oven. I told him the problem - long story short and over two hours later, I was eating the best little meringue sorbet sandwiches. You can Google the recipe - there are many variations and I'm sure they are all just fine. I did a little test the recipe that I found. I did one batch the low and slow method (200 degrees for almost 2 hours) and the other batch (325 degrees for 35 minutes). The only way to go is the low and slow method because they have to be completely dried inside while still white on the outside. But those little vanilla crunchy, yet airy bites with lemon sorbet in between - low cal. heaven!

Dutch Cookie

Since I just started this blog and it's about food, it made me think back about a baked goodie my grandmother used to make. It was called Dutch Cookie - don't ask me why or where that name came from. I've searched but can't find anything like it. But as a kid, I just loved it. She would make pizza dough, or what seems to me that's what it was. She would spread it out onto maybe 3 or 4 round pizza pans and then she would take her fingers and make little pockets in the dough. She'd then make a mixture of brown sugar and eggs until it was a gooey, gloppy substance and then she'd pour that mixture over the dough spreading it out to the edges. She'd top it off with sprinkles of more brown sugar and cinnamon and bake. The smell was so good and it tasted wonderful - like a big sweet pizza.

Get Rhythm

We went to a great little restaurant last night called Rhythm Cafe. It's in West Palm Beach and used to be a drug store way back when. The decor is very kitschy and fun. And they never fail to serve a great meal and last night was no exception. You can go to restaruants that are good but where can you go to find not only good food, interesting ambiance and people plus menu items that you just don't normally see. Sort of like comfort food but with the volume turned up, as Ina Garten would say.

I went for one of the specials. It was excellent - a beef burgundy with shitake mushrooms and crispy crumbled bacon in a demi-glace over fettucine and topped with bits of crumbled gorgonzola. It was incredible. They have wonderful desserts and I generally get one of their homemade ice creams or their coconut quiche but last night, I felt like a kid so I went for their homemade chocolate chip cookies. They bake these cookies daily using vanilla that they also make. They often walk through the restaurant with the cookie sheet straight out of the oven, so everyone can see, and smell the aroma of freshly baked cookies. Cookies and a glass of ice cold milk for dessert. You can have your fancy, schmancy desserts all stacked on a plate surrounded by a raspberry coulis, I'll take this kind of dessert any day!