Bon Voyage!!!

We're off tomorrow morning to two weeks in France! I'll have my lap top, but not sure if I'll have Internet connection, so may not post again until after October 12th. If I can, I will post updates from my trip, but if not, please check back mid October. Not only will I feature photos and fantastic food from my trip, I will also be featuring my very good friend Emily M and her Hot Havana Mama Ropa Vieja, mojitos, and flan. The Cuban diva herself will be sharing some of her authentic Cuban recipes. We will be joined by some of my craziest, closest friends.

Good luck to Gloria and her MBA mid terms! The Cuban extravaganza will be hosted in her lovely kitchen, with my favorite pooch, HASHI!!!

Also a HUGE thank you to my mom, who will be taking care of my Harry while we're away. The claws are clipped, the cupboard is stocked, the scratch box is in the window, and his nest is made in the closet.
See you all soon!!!

Culinary Creations: Pesto Pork

My mom came over Sunday night for a pre-thank you dinner since she will be taking care of Harry while we are away. We wanted to keep it nice and simple so opted to do a pesto (or pistou since we're going to France) coated pork tenderloin.
This is super easy to do. I had half of a jar of pesto left over from the Layered up Chicken and Roasted Vegetables. I like cooking with jarred pesto as it has a stronger flavor (i.e. more salt & garlic), than the refrigerated pesto, which makes it not so desirable on pasta itself. With the pesto, I also added in some Herbs de Provence, then coated the tenderloin and let sit for 30 minutes. After, I baked at 350F for 45 minutes.

The results were divine. The pork was nice and tender and had such a good flavor. My house smelt absolutely divine! As we were keeping it simple, we served it with salad, olives, Boursin cheese, and a French baguette.

We sliced the tomato, added some chopped basil, lemon thyme, and chives - then drizzled it with olive oil and sprinkled a bit of Maldon sea salt.

The rest sort of speaks for itself. My Classic French Vinaigrette made another appearance, this time in the form of the pesto jar. The baguette is actually an import from France that I get from my local supermarket's freezer section. It is a nice staple to keep on hand, takes under 10 minutes to bake, and it as close to Paris as you can get in Florida. We threw in some nice French mustard, a bottle of rose, and felt like we were ready for Provence!

Food Memory: Salcombe Coffee Company

One of my favorite places in England is Salcombe. Salcombe is a lovely Victorian town on the East coast of Devon. This photo was taken on a cold and drizzly morning. It is of the harbor looking towards Kingsbridge.

The last time we were there, we opted out of the breakfast included with our stay at our B&B and ate at the Salcombe Coffee Company. This was a very good decision. Not only did they have great coffee, I was partial to the cafe mocha - which was made of nice strong coffee and rich dark chocolate, their breakfast menu was superb. Their bacon sandwiches were the best I've ever had, and I will go as far to say that they are the best in the world. They use good quality smoky bacon rashers, thick cut multi-grain bread toasted to perfection, and enough brown sauce to keep a smile on my face. Sadly I didn't get an photos of this blissful sandwich, but it's reason enough to go back.

Salcombe Coffee Company
Fore Street, Salcombe
Telephone: 01548 842319

For more information on Salcombe, please click the following link: http://www.salcombeinformation.co.uk/

Creatures in My Garden: Toad or Frog

Is it a toad or a frog? I'm not really sure but it was on my glass door. It was very tiny and I loved it's little toes...

Dancing with the Stars: For Jane

This isn't going to be a normal forum for TV reviews, but since it's the debut week in both countries, I just couldn't pass it up.

Jane, how was Strictly Come Dancing?

Well, this year I was a little in the dark with some of our "stars". It was nice to see Jefferson from Married with Children, Lance Bass was actually good, and Susan Lucci looked like she needed a sandwich - STAT!!! Susan - may I recommend any of the recipes from my blog!

One addition that was very welcomed was Lacy from So You Think You Can Dance. While she isn't as traditional as the other pros's, she will make an interesting change.

As always, it's nice to have Len and Bruno at it, and you just can't beat Tom Bergeron.

All-in-all, yay that it's back, but at this point, no obvious favorite.

Culinary Creations: Easy Leek & Cheese Topped Cottage Pie

This is my "cheat" version of cottage pie. Cottage pie is the correct name for this dish when using beef. Even though it is commonly know as "shepherd's pie", shepherd's pie is actually the name of this dish when using lamb. Which ever you call it, it is a very comforting dish. While I try not to use packets too often, there are just some nights when it's inevitable. Most of the ingredients for this dish are staples in my cupboard, with the mince in my freezer, making it an impromptu dish. Some time in the next few months I will post my "100% from scratch recipe".

I first start by browning 1 pound of mince beef or buffalo, with a good pinch of dried thyme. Once most of the pink is gone, I add in some chopped onion and carrot.

Next comes the packet of Coleman's Shepherd's Pie mix. I'm not only partial to Coleman's because I used to live in Norwich, I really do think their mixes are top notch. My local supermarket even carries it so I don't have to rely on stocking up in the UK or scouting out an import shop. Once you mix in packet, add 100ml of red wine, 200 ml of water, and if you are so inclined, two chopped slices of cooked bacon. This is also when I rely on my cupboard staples where I keep a small supply of dried vegetables. From that I added some dried celery, corn, and peas. Gently simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Once simmered, put into baking dish and top with mashed potato. Now, I did say this was impromptu. Instead of running to the supermarket for potatoes, I also have organic dried potato flakes in my cupboard. While I wouldn't serve this to company, it's a good solution for when its just us. I will say that I use a good quality butter (mostly Kerrygold Garlic & Herb Butter) and I always add fresh herbs. In this photo I used chives, rosemary, and thyme. Bake for 15 minutes at 350F.


This step was inspired by another Norwich legend: Delia Smith. After baking for 15 minutes, take out and top with 1 leek, sliced, then top with shredded cheddar cheese. Bake for another 15 minutes, or until bubbling.

Here is what it should look like when finished.

Enjoy! Some may turn their nose up at the use of packets and dried ingredients, but i think it beats the heck out of over processed frozen meals!

Variations:

• If you can't find Coleman's mix, any sort of beef, mushroom, onion, or brown gravy will do.
• For a vegetarian version, use meat free gravy and lentils and mushrooms instead of mince. Or even vegetarian crumbles.
• If you make this in advance, I would wait until the day of serving to add the potatoes, then follow instructions from that point on.

Creatures in My Garden: Lizards

First I'd like to introduce Harry. Resident feline, lover of sunshine, and all around super star. Harry loves being out on the lanai. He is in his element watching lizards, soaking up the sun, and having a good nosey look at what the neighbors are up to. He loves spending most of his time out there, that is at least until the temperature dips below 70 degrees Fahrenheit or it starts to rain.

Then there are the lizards, or Anolis sagrei sagrei - Cuban Brown Anoles to be precise:

They are everywhere... the first one is on my bathroom window, trying to find a way inside. The second one is on the door going out to my lanai. He wasn't a very lucky lizard, as part of his tail was missing. This isn't critical as a lizard's tail is able to break off to escape an attack, then will slowly regrow. This guy was unfortunate as the breaking point was pretty high up. Many lizards around our house are sporting shorter tails, thanks to Harry. That is another, if not his most favorite past time: catching lizards!

A few weeks ago, we witnessed a first: Harry went in for a lizard, only to have the lizard bite him back! He dropped it and ran towards to house to sit and cower. Their teeth are so small and can't do any damage, so Harry was suffering more from a bruised ego. Who could blame him? They can be very intimidating:

First you see them and the look as if they are smiling... then they start doing push-ups and their dewlaps come out! This was more than enough to scare me off!