Found a great Carrot Dog recipe

A buddy of mine, a vegetarian, mentioned to me decades ago (IV) that he had tried a carrot dog. It stuck in my brain and I finally prepared a recipe I found on the internet. This a great way to have a dog that is good for you and tastes GREAT. Try it out.


http://ritasroots.wordpress.com/2009/04/23/carrot-dogs/

The Jones Knocked It Out of the Park Once Again

THE JONES KNOCKED IT OUT OF THE PARK ONCE AGAIN

How do they do it? Last night's meal at The Jones was  perfection. From my notes:

"The Jones was its always glorious dining experience. I always order the sea food specials and my mind was blown once again. The Mahi Mahi with green tomato relish, collards, and polenta cakes was awesome. The Salad with Tahini-Ginger Dressing over beautifully chopped ingredients was celestial."

Meals like that are why God invented the bounties of North Florida. Fresh, local ingredients given the space, place, love, preparation to shine. All at our table were impressed and pleased. I wanted to bow towards the chef and food servers on the way out. It was that good. 

Thanks to all at the The Jones!

New Product I Like: handmade Rosemary, Pistachio, Savory Biscuits by My Foodie Food

My friend, Wendi Wilkie, is a foodie of the highest order, savoring and exploring the culinary universe by both instinct and design. Lately, she has been developing food products such as a variety of flat breads and, more recently, produced a product that I find to be extremely promising: Rosemary, Pistachio, Savory Biscuits.

Wendi left us a sample and we both gave it high marks. She says that these biscuits are excellent with honey and/or brie. I tried them without any accompaniment and found the flavors to be multi-tiered. Kind of like a CT scan in food form. No flavor was obscured, yet all worked together to please.

She labels the four biscuits as "handmade in small batches, with love." It shows. I think she has nailed this one. If I were to make any suggestion, I would add a fine zest of tangerine for color and another "zing" experience.

Presently, her product is available in the Sarasota area at selected stores. Contact Wendi at 239-634-1049 to find out where she has placed her products. I understand she has several in this sort of line and I look to trying more. Also, Gainesville stores may be in her line of sight.

Lots of good food being produced by local entrepreneurs. Patronize them and report what you find.

Ruby's Restaurant Menu: fine food from one of my favorite restaurants

MY UNCLE JED'S TUNA CASSEROLE

My old friend, John Dawson, had the initials JED. Last night, waiting for the advance of tropical storm Beryl,  I was in the mood to have this comfort dish. I recalled it was one of first dishes I learned how to prepare in the 70's. I remember John dictating the recipe to me while we were crossing Paynes Prairie on the commute back to Gainesville from Ocala where both of us worked as paralegals. 


The version I cooked last night is both named for John (JED) and a song by Happy and Artie Traum, "My Uncle Jed" that was popular around our college campus dorm.

Thanks John for providing me with the beginnings of this. Back then, to have something palatable for the table was an act of survival. Last night, it was comfort food par excellence. We remembered and toasted my old friend!


MY UNCLE JED’S TUNA CASSEROLE

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flat noodles, 12 ounce bag
Salt
Cream of shrimp/seafood can of soup
Cream of mushroom can of soup, low sodium/fat if possible
Rotel Original, drained
Artichoke hearts, drained
Large olives, one can drained. Slice or chop.
Season with black pepper and a pinch of Cajun Seasoning
Olive oil
Sharp cheddar cheese

Prepare pasta according to package directions in robustly salted water.
Mix remaining five ingredients in large bowl. Add pasta and combine.
Place in large casserole dish sprayed with Pam.
Drizzle with olive oil. Cover with grated cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees until brown.  Remove and let it rest for 2-4 minutes. Serve.

YOGURT PIE

I was long concerned that I had lost this recipe. Fortunately, it rose to the top when clearing out a box of papers.

YOGURT PIE

Ingredients:

2 - 8 oz containers of yogurt (whatever flavor you like)

1 9- oz container of Cool Whip

Mix. Pour into a pie shell. I use a graham cracker crust pie shell. Freeze for four hours. Thaw for 30 minutes and serve.

  

THEY GO GA GA OVEN BAKED CHICKEN

My friend, Bob Morris, just published an article on his blog (I will post the URL later today) about using pork rinds in deviled eggs. Here is how I use them.


THEY GO GA GA OVEN BAKED CHICKEN

Take a large bag of pork rinds and empty contents into a food processor. Grind them
up until the rinds turn into crumbs, shy of powdery crumbs.

Add 3/4 - 1 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese. Add about a
tablespoon of no-salt Cajun seasoning (I mix my own), healthy dose of pepper. Do not add
salt. The rinds and cheese have plenty.

You might want to try a tablespoon of garlic power, but I doubt it is needed.

Dip the chicken in some sort of liquid that will serve as a binder. My
recipe calls for melted butter but there are alternatives. I use Smart
Balance instead and it comes out great. You can also use egg
substitute or egg white substitute as well. You might also marinade
the chicken in buttermilk awhile too. Regardless, pull chicken pieces
from the liquid letting excess drip back into the pan.

Put the dry ingredients into a container and place a piece of two of
the chicken in. Turn to coat, press the dry stuff into the
skin. Shake gently.

Place on a shallow cooking sheet  sprayed with Pam or oil.

Bake at 325 degrees until internal temperature is at least 170.

Remove from oven and allow to rest for five minutes or so before eating.

Tried "Relish", the burger joint near campus. Yikes!

Our students must be rolling in money.

I visited Relish yesterday to try one of their burgers. They are located across from The Swamp near campus and below The Copper Monkey. Yikes,  $8.25 for a cheeseburger, fries, and a regular diet soda!.

Yes, it tasted good but everything else was marginal or worse. The service was flaky and I spent considerable time just getting a cup for my drink. Their pump ketchup was bone dry and I had to rely on a paltry handout of tiny plastic envelopes of ketchup to douse my fries.The fries looked like they were good at one point...maybe twenty minutes before. What I was served had been sitting for awhile under a "heat lamp" and showed no signs of needed warmth.

The cashier was flaky and all the staff seemed more enamored with her low cut top than serving food to paying customers. The manager appeared briefly and seemed more concerned with the machinations of recording sales and less about ensuring a quality dining experience. No one attempted to greet any customers, explain the menu, ask how the food was, etc.

Back to our students here in Gainesville. Take this tip from a resident. Go to Mac's Drive-Thru if you want the best burger in America that is served hot and fresh. Plus, you will spend less and it will taste infinitely better.

Oh, and don't go to Five Guys either. If I bought the same meal there it would have been $8.75 and neither place holds a candle to Mac's... particularly if you are not rolling in money.