Dining in Sarasota Florida

A few weeks ago I posted a few of my favorite recipes for all of the fresh fish my husband caught during our family vacation to Long Boat Key.  Honestly most nights we eat in; this way we can stay at the beach longer or enjoy the pool until when ever we want.  However sometimes it is really nice just to go out to dinner or lunch and not have to do dishes.  When I go out I really am very picky. We've tried several places in the area but a few are new this year to us and others have stood the test of time.  So I thought I'd put together a list of a few good restaurants that my whole family enjoys.

Rick's French Bistro  was new to us this year.  If you like simple French food this is it.  The restaurant is run by Rick and his wife who does all of the cooking.  There is seating for about 40 so call ahead for reservations.   We went twice and both times the food was lovely.  The menu is very small, but I enjoyed my salmon plate followed by lamb chops and creme brulé.  They also have a small wine list and you can also bring your own wine for a uncorking fee.  We enjoyed our first dinner so much we came back at a later day. As a side note it was so nice to speak in French to people who are not my students.  

C'est la vie was another new to us restaurant.  We went there for lunch and I really enjoyed their salade nicoise.  Other members of my family loved their omelets and of course desserts.  They have a wonderful pear tart and great breads.  A couple of times I went into town just to pick up good bread and dessert for the night.  

The Old Salty Dog has been a family favorite for many years.  The restaurant doesn't look like anything from the outside yet you are sitting right on the water enjoying your food. I really like their mussels and with a glass of Chardonnay I could stay their all day.  

Portofinio is another long standing family favorite.  You can order pizza out or go for dinner.  The restaurant is part of the Long Boat Key Club and looks out onto the marina. I love their caciucco, a fish stew.  

Bon Appétit!

And as always with love from the Midwest,

Beth 

Summer Reading

I love to read and luckily I've been able to read a lot this month; going on a vacation at the beach really does help.  Sitting outside with my book under a large tree is a great way to spend part of my day or if I'm near a beach I'm there with a book in my hand.  

Tout Sweet and Picnic in Provence took me back to France, a country and culture I love so much.  I always wonder what it would be like to pack up our family and move to France.   I don't think it would be that easy.  Elizabeth Bard also has some delightful recipes.  Recently I made her Zucchini Soup after a stop in my local farmer's market.

A Time to Kill is older, but I've never read it. It was a definite page turner. I would say almost as good as The Firm.  

Crazy Rich Asians and Sightly South of Simple were just fun beach reads.  Both of these have sequels coming out soon if not already.  

That leaves Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk.  This book was very well written and makes me think about all the stories people have that you see walking around your own city.  I think this book is a must read for anyone.  

What are you reading lately?

As always with love from the Midwest,

Beth 

Summer Drinks

As I have mentioned before I really enjoy a Kir while I am cooking dinner or having appetizers.  But in the summer I like to change things up a bit, so recently I've turned to rum drinks.  I'm not one for too much hard liquor, but nothing says summer beach quite like a rum drink.  Of course I have always liked a Pina Colada, and it is very easy to make with a minimal bar.  I just follow the recipe on the back of the Coco Real Cream of Coconut and use about 1 cup of ice.  Recently I've added Pain Killers to my list of tropical drinks.  Again they are easy to make with a minimalist bar.  

Pain Killers for 2:

6 oz pineapple juice

6 oz orange juice 

3 oz cream of coconut

6 oz rum ( please use something good)

I put everything in the blender with about 2 cups of ice and blend together.  If it is not strong enough for you go ahead and add a rum topper. This can also be made without the rum for a Virgin Pain Killer for kids, and the adults can add the rum later. 

Enjoy!

And as always with love from the Midwest,

Beth 

Fresh Flordia Fish

Well the last few week my family and I spent in Florida.  It was hot and sunny perfect summer weather for the beach.   I'm so luck that my husband likes to fish; even though he doesn't eat any of it. But none the less for most of our  lunches and dinners we were blessed with fresh fish.  Usually after sitting at the beach for a few hours I would come home to my fridge looking like this.

The question is what to do with a limited supply of seasonings and lack of a desire to spend a huge amount of time in the kitchen.  Well since the fish was so fresh, caught that day, not much needs to be done to it.  Sometimes I would cook our Florida Grunts whole.  I baked them for about 10 minutes in a 450 degree oven with butter, white wine, parsley and salt & pepper.  That served with a baked potato and veggie was heaven.  

Other times I heavenly seasoned the fish, usually a Red Fish, with salt, pepper, paprika & thyme.  Usually I grilled this very meaty white fish. Sometimes a quick broil with fresh herbs underneath  worked well too. 

However most of the time I pan fried the fish. Permit and Sea Trout really worked well for this preparation. I either dredged them in seasoned flour or in Italian style breadcrumbs.  They would cook in about 2-3 minutes per side depending on the thickness of the fish.  Also many times we had a few types of fish as you can see by this last picture. 

Since the meals were light I usually served a Chardonnay. At the grocery store they had a really good price on Chateau St. Michele.  Can't let that opportunity pass me by.    

Bon Appétit!

And as always with love from the Midwest,

Beth 

Beach Bag Essentials

I love the beach; it is really one of my favorite places to go in the summer.  There is something about the sun, the sound of the water lapping upon the shore and the wind rustling the leaves of a tree.  A palm tree is my favorite. None the less where ever I am I have the same essentials in my bag.  

I love my Land's End tote to carry everything.  Its sturdy and washes easily if necessary.  A monogram is a must.  Other essentials include a cover up, towel, a water bottle ( I have a camel back glass jar),  a wide brimmed hat or a baseball hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, goggles if you plan on doing any major swimming.  Also I love to read so I always have my paper white Kindle.  I use it in the hot Florida sun, and I can always see perfectly well.  This is also my place to relax so I try not to have my phone ringer on. I use it to take pictures if really necessary.  Otherwise if I need to check the time the Kindle has a built in clock.

Enjoy your summer beach time.

As always with love from the Midwest,

Beth 

3 Petites choses en juin

Well since summer vacation started I find myself spending time trying to do those things I haven't been able to do during the school year.  One of those is walking with some of my girlfriends.  While I always walk in the morning not many people like to get up at 5:20 to exercise in the dark.  However with the early sunrise I can usually find some willing friend at 6 am.  

Of course I've also been trying new recipes.  Sometimes my children are the inspiration and help behind the recipe sometimes not.  So recipes are good some are just okay.  This recipe for Southern Living's Humming Bird Cake was fantastic. My daughter wanted to make a 3 tired cake and it did not dissapoint.  Next time I might reduce the recipe to a single tired cake so the 3 of us who ate it are not eating cake for way too many days.

The second new little thing I did this summer is community yoga in the park.  I'm ashamed to say that for all of the years, 13 total, that  I've been practicing yoga I've never been to an outdoor community class.  It was great.  There were well over 100 people there, and it was so nice just to listen to the sounds of nature as I did my yoga.  This is something I will do again.

The last little thing is our new bird's nest.  Now usually we have a robin's or dove's nest in our trees, and I never tire of seeing the new little eggs.  However this year the dove decided to nest in one of my hanging baskets. It does make watering the baskets a little tricky since she rarely leaves.  

I hope you've been able to find little ways to enjoy your time.

As always with love from the Midwest,

Beth 

Grad Party Bruch

 First of all I want to apologize for the misspelling of holes in this case.  

So this past weekend we celebrated our eldest daughters graduation from high school.  She is headed off to UW-Madison this year fall.  As we were deciding on the date and time for the party I came up with the idea for the brunch.  Breakfast is her favorite meal of the day so I thought what a wonderful way to honor her.  I did a lot of the catering from a local bakery for the croissants, cupcakes muffins and donuts.  A few days before we roasted a half of ham on our BGE.  The day before we sliced the ham very thin so our guest had the choice of a ham and cheese croissant sandwich.   I did try a new recipe for the breakfast casserole.  Everyone liked it and I made it the day before.  It worked out really well.  I also substituted mozzarella cheese for the swiss.  I was able to stagger bringing out 2 casseroles so they stayed warm over the course of the party.  

As always with love from the Midwest,

Beth