Tag: Food

Travels in Aruba 2016 – part fourteen

~ Spence's Girl ~ 3 Comments

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At Bucuti and Tara Beach Resort, there is a very special, fine dining restaurant called Carte Blanche.  Seating only 14 guests per evening, the reservations must be made well in advance and re-confirmed 24 hours prior to dining.  We were celebrating my 60th birthday on this trip and I’m such a foodie that when I was able to secure reservations, I did so.

Promptly at 7:00 p.m., the doors open and the guests are ushered in.

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Hector puts the finishing touches in place as rose petals added to the romantic ambiance

Just a coincidence, when we sat down at the semi-circle, granite topped dining area, I’d chosen seats where the chef would be prepping and cooking right in front of us. Once we were seated Dennis and Glen, our chef, introduced themselves. Dennis would handle the adult beverages, offering a wine pairing with each of the chef’s special courses to come though diners could have anything they preferred. If you’ve visited this blog before, you may have guessed that we chose the wine pairing. Since we’d all be together for the next few hours they asked that we introduce ourselves, where we were from and if we were celebrating anything special.  Not surprisingly, we had anniversaries, newlyweds and birthdays.

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While Glen took drink orders, everyone had a glass of Prosecco (my favorite)  while we got a chance to talk with other guests, anticipating Glen’s first creation.

The Amuse Bouche was Grouper Ceviche, one of my favorite things in the world.  Dennis paired the Ceviche with a Reisling from Germany, Spence’s favorite wine.

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Absolutely delicious and such a refreshing start to the evening.

Glen prepared the appetizer next and to my delight it was a Seared Sea Scallop, wrapped in bacon and served over a Dutch-style potato salad with basil, capers, micro-greens, a dollop of creme fraiche, salsa verde and baby spinach.  Dennis paired this with a lovely Vin D’Alsace, French Pinot Gris.

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Presentation was perfection and the flavors were heavenly.

The next course featured white aspargus, finely chopped hard-boiled egg with ham and a white wine hollandaise with minced parsley and chives served with a Gruner Veltliner Terrassen, an Austrian white wine – perfect!

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Too pretty to eat (but I did)

Glen’s next creation was Red Snapper, Shrimp and Fennel with Carrot and Micro Mustard Greens plated over a Lobster Bisque cream sauce; Dennis paired this with Stag’s Leap Chardonnay.

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Seriously delicious!

Next up I saw the most succulent lollipop lamb chops that Glen was prepping.

The lamb chops were served with eggplant and basil roasted with tomatoes and spinach and paired with Malbec.

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What can I say?  Wow!

Around this time, Spence was nodding off a bit and I glanced at my watch – it was 10:30 and Glen was telling us that dessert was either a cheesecake or a chocolate choice, recommending we each try one and share.  As delicious as we knew they’d be, we were so stuffed, we opted to skip dessert and that last glass of wine.

All in all, a fabulous evening and a meal I won’t soon forget.

Shrimp Cocktail Wontons – an easy appetizer

~ Spence's Girl ~ 4 Comments

Shrimp Cocktail Wontons

Makes 12

  • 12-24 cooked shrimp (medium size)
  • 12 wonton wrappers
  • 2 oz cream cheese, cut into 12 cubes
  • cocktail sauce
  •  lemon, olive oil, pepper & seasoned salt (I use Melting Pot’s Garlic & Wine Seasoning)
  • cilantro – optional

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Using a muffin tin, place a wonton wrapper into each cup, pressing in as shown below. Place a cube of cream cheese in each.

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Bake for 7-10 minutes until golden brown.

While they are baking, remove the tails from the shrimp, place on a platter.  Drizzle with olive oil, seasoned salt and pepper, then squeeze fresh lemon over the top.  Place in oven for 4-5 minutes.

Lift each wonton onto a plate.  Place a dollop of cocktail sauce over the softened cream cheese, then top with a shrimp or two and a cilantro leaf, if desired.  Serve and enjoy!

Travels in Aruba 2016 – part eight

~ Spence's Girl ~ 9 Comments

 

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Mother’s Day gift from Bucuti and Tara Beach Resorts, a beautifully wrapped, scented soap – just lovely!

While in Aruba we celebrated Mother’s Day and after seeing that there was a special menu being offered at Bucuti and Tara Beach Resort’s Elements Restaurant (our favorite in Aruba) we made reservations.  It didn’t disappoint!

Mother’s Day Dinner Menu

 Choice of:

Smoked Salmon Carpaccio – Norwegian smoked salmon thinly layered over frisée greens with pumpernickel wedges and balsamic emulsion

– or –

Cauliflower Cream Soup – Roasted cauliflower unified with a hint of truffle butter and gently infused with parmesan cheese

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Grilled Mango Sea Bass Fillet – Carefully pan seared and topped with fresh mango salsa
Set on a mirror of Passion Beurre Blanc and served with roasted seasonal vegetables

– or –

Twin Tournedos Argentina Style – USDA choice tenderloin steaks char broiled and accompanied by a savory Chimichurri sauce and seasonal vegetables

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All main courses are served with choice of garlic mashed potatoes or wild rice

Mint Chocolate Crème Brûlée -Flavorful custard with a touch of mint and flamed caramelized sugar

Spence and I both selected the Salmon Carpaccio appetizer.

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For our entrees, I chose the Sea Bass and Spence chose the Twin Tournedos – mine with the wild rice and his with the garlic mashed potatoes.

And of course, we saved room for the Mint Chocolate Creme Brulee – did you have any doubt?

 A truly scrumptious meal and memorable Mother’s Day!

Travels in Aruba – part six

~ Spence's Girl ~ 2 Comments

For this next installment, as promised, I’m going to talk about the daily breakfast included with our stay at Bucuti and Tara Beach Resort. Spence teases me about photographing my food when I travel “Laura’s Eating and Drinking Vacation Diary” as he calls it.  But come on, if you’re a foodie it makes sense!

At home, I’m lucky if I can get Spence to have the occasional yogurt for breakfast.  He just isn’t a breakfast guy – until we get to Bucuti.  

Serving till 11:00, we stroll down around 10:00, are greeted by Martin who seats us (we prefer inside).  Then comes the decisions – what to choose?

  • eggs to order – Nancy or Marjorie (depending on the day) will prepare eggs expertly including omelets – a favorite of Spence’s
  • Bacon and sausage
  • Potatoes – different varieties each day
  • Specialty items that change daily – some of which were eggs benedict, arepas, red beans and rice, empanadas style meat filled little goodies were among my favorites
  • 4 kinds of juice plus fruit or veggie infused water
  • 2 -3 kinds of meat – ham, pastrami, mortadella to name a few and 2-3 kinds of cheeses – always including gouda
  • smoked salmon or smoked trout with cream cheese, onions and capers
  • fresh fruit platters – multiple varieties each day including: pineapple, papaya, watermelon, cantelope, honeydew, mango, dragon fruit and passion fruit as well as bananas, apples, kiwi and orange on the other side of the buffet
  • easily eight types of bread as well as pastries, croissants, bagels, english muffins, banana bread and pound cake with an assortment of jams, spreads and butter
  • Yogurt and topping of granola, dried fruits
  • Cereals (3-4 varieties)

I’ve probably forgotten something but I think you get the drift.  Amazing.  This year I got to try dragon and passion fruit, both of which I’m totally smitten. Succulent, perfectly fresh and delicious, I had to stop short of gorging on these, such a treat.  With attentive, friendly service from Nakarid, Ricardo and Lina, it is the best way to start each day when staying at Bucuti and Tara Beach Resort.

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The inside of a Passion Fruit, I found it easiest to eat with a fork and the seeds and flesh just lift out. The seeds are edible in both Dragon and Passion fruit.  Now the challenge, can I find these in Michigan?  I hope so!

7 Can Soup in a Crockpot

~ Spence's Girl ~ Leave a comment

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I recently came across a recipe on Pinterest by The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond.  I’ve long admired her rise from blogger to Food Network star.  She’s also a busy wife, mother of four, photographer and cookbook author who lives on a massive working ranch in Oklahoma. Her food is hearty, delicious and prepared with love.

7 Can Soup couldn’t be easier. As the owner of an always well-stocked pantry and a lover of soup on a bitter cold winter day, I had to try this recipe. This is my version, slightly modified from the original. Spence and I found it to be absolutely delicious!

7 Can Soup in a Crockpot

serves 14         Weight Watcher Smart Points 7

  • 1 can black beans
  • 1 can corn
  • 1 can pinto beans
  • 1 can kidney beans
  • 1 can Rotel tomatoes with green chiles
  • 1 28 oz can San Marzano tomatoes
  • 1 can chili with no beans
  • 8 oz velveeta white cheese – cubed
  • 1/2 c chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • garlic seasoning – to taste (I used a generous amount)
  • 1 t salt
  • 1 t pepper
  • 2 T hot sauce (optional)

Drain and rinse the black beans, pour into crockpot. Open the corn, pinto and kidney beans, Rotel tomatoes and pour into the crockpot including liquid from those cans. Add the San Marzano tomatoes after chopping them as well as the liquid from that can. Finally add the chili. Stir gently to blend and turn the crockpot on low for two hours.  Add the garlic seasoning, salt, pepper and hot sauce, stir and turn crockpot on high for one hour. Add the parsley and cubed cheese, stir every five minutes until the cheese is full melted throughout the soup and serve.

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This recipe lends itself to endless variations, check out the original version on Pinterest and enjoy!

 

 

Mexican Stuffed Mini-Peppers

~ Spence's Girl ~ 8 Comments

This recipe was created as a result of brown rice and taco meat from earlier this week as well as my purchase of those beautiful tri-color mini-peppers.  It was easy and absolutely delicious.

Mini-Stuffed Peppers – serves 4  Weight Watcher Smart Points 6

  • 1 c taco meat (see my recipe below)
  • 1 c brown rice
  • 1 T chopped parsley
  • 1 can Rotel Tomatoes with green chilies – drained, reserve liquid
  • 1/2 c finely shredded cheese
  • 16-20 mini-peppers, stemmed, seeded, cut in half

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix the meat, rice, parsley and tomatoes together.

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Load each half pepper with about a tablespoon of filling and place into a large casserole dish. It’s fine if the filling spills over the sides a bit. If there is extra filling after you’ve wedged all the peppers in the casserole simply spoon it over the top. Pour the reserved liquid over the peppers.  Top with cheese.

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Bake for 30-40 minutes. Remove from oven and serve.

Taco Meat

  • 1 lb ground beef
  • minced jalapeno
  • minced garlic
  • 1/2 medium sweet onion, chopped
  • cumin
  • chili powder
  • red pepper flakes
  • salt & pepper

Brown the ground beef with the items above – to your taste. Drain and blot any excess grease with a paper towel.  This meat is what I prefer for the recipe above as well as tacos, quesadillas, burritos, enchiladas or taco salad.

Scallops Chambord – in time for New Year’s Eve

~ Spence's Girl ~ 4 Comments

Though I featured this post one year ago, it remains one of my signature recipes and one that we are having again tonight while ringing in 2016. It’s a tradition but also, it’s an amazing and delicious dish and so here it is once again! I hope you’ll try it!

Happy New Year!

Spence and I have spent 24 New Year’s Eves together.  At some point I came across this recipe that sounded decadent, festive and delicious.  The first few New Year’s Eves I made this as an appetizer/first course, then onto lobster tails and maybe even fondue as the night progressed.  Too much food, too rich and the star here was the Scallops Chambord. Fast forward, our holiday routine now firmly established, Scallops Chambord is the whole meal! This year I prepped 4 skewers but decided to prepare two of them first, then about an hour later, two more.  This was brilliant as we savored them over the evening with a fire blazing, Prosecco and later a special bottle of Champagne. I use most cookbooks as a “guide” so this represents my version which is better than the original in my humble opinion (patting myself on the back now).

Scallops Chambord

  • 20-24 sea scallops
  • 5-6 slices of bacon (not thick cut)

Rinse the scallops and rest on paper towels, blot the top.  Stretch the 5-6 pieces of bacon, just pulling gently to lengthen.  Cut each slice in half.  Prepare a broiler pan and four skewers.  Wrap the bacon around each scallop so that there is a complete wrap with a little overlap.  Thread onto skewers, keeping space in between them.  Set aside.

Chambord Sauce

  • 1 c seedless black raspberry preserves
  • 1/4 c honey
  • 1/4 c Chambord liqueur

 

In a small saucepan, add the preserves, honey and Chambord liqueur.  Stir together on a very low heat to melt the preserves and honey together and incorporate the Chambord.  You’ll want it to reduce sufficiently to coat a spoon. I usually make the sauce earlier in the day to assure the consistency is right.

Set oven to broil.  Place the broiler pan with skewers in on an upper rack.  Set your timer for 10 minutes but watch the scallops during the process – your oven may be hotter than mine. Remove, flip the skewers and return to the broiler for 3-5 minutes – again, you want the bacon cooked but not burned.

While the scallops are broiling, ladle your sauce onto the plate as shown above.  When the scallops emerge from the oven, remove them and set onto the plate.  At this point, I pour Spence and I a glass of Prosecco which we enjoy with our plated Scallops Chambord.

 

Chef’s Note:  If you can’t find black raspberry preserves, a perfectly good substitute is seedless red raspberry preserves.  

Continue reading “Scallops Chambord – in time for New Year’s Eve” →

Traditional Cheese Fondue (as it’s done in Switzerland)

~ Spence's Girl ~ 6 Comments

From my travels to Switzerland, when my cousin Kristin took Spence and I to an “underground” fondue restaurant.  “Underground” in the sense that this is a place that locals know of but not “tourists” (as we learned from our tablemates later that evening). Kristin and her husband had lived in neighboring Versoix for a number of years and so she quickly established her credibility.  In reality the restaurant sat on a pier, a long stroll out onto Lake Geneva.  Kristin placed our order at a walk-up station outside the restaurant.  We carried our drinks inside and found seats at one of the long communal dining tables, very rustic.  When your number was called you needed to react immediately as the servers were moving rapidly with vats of molten fondue.  The fondue was served with bread and a side dish of fruit cocktail.  The two men seated next to us (locals) began engaging us in a spirited discussion after dinner including an explanation about Traditional Swiss Fondue and what does (and doesn’t) go into it.  There is so much more to the story of that evening and memories of that trip.  But since this blog is meant to feature a recipe, I’ll save those stories for another blog or my novel…….

Traditional Cheese Fondue

  • 1 lb of Gruyère
  • 1 lb Emmentaler
  • 1-2 cloves garlic
  • 2 t grated nutmeg
  • Dry white wine
  • Kirschwasser liqueur

Fondue Fixings

Shred the Gruyère and Emmentaler cheeses, I do so in my food processor.  This will yield 8 cups of shredded cheese.  Using a microplane, grate two teaspoons of nutmeg, set aside.  Using a garlic press, pulverize the garlic cloves, set aside.

I use an electric fondue pot but have also made this on the stovetop, transferring into an old-school fondue pot with a little can of sterno blazing beneath it.  That said, when you are ready to assemble, heat the pot – better low and slow than to risk burning this fabulous cheese mix. Start by pouring in 1/2 cup of wine and the garlic into the fondue pot.  As soon as it starts bubbling put in the first two big handfuls of cheese and stir with a fondue fork.  Now stir in the nutmeg.  By handfuls add the cheese, stirring the unmelted into the melted. Add more wine if needed.  At this point add the Kirschwasser.  How much is up to you – I use a healthy shotglass full.  Stir it in.  Serve with wine or beer of your choosing, ready your fondue fork and start dipping, relax and talk with your tablemates.

Dippers

  • Chopped granny smith apple
  • Chopped red apple (I like gala or empire)
  • Carrot chunks
  • Broccoli & Cauliflower Florets
  • Cut up chunks of a good rustic bread or baguette
Ready to go for tonight's New Year's Day dinner! Here's to 2015!
Ready to go for tonight’s dinner!