The Florida Keys, Lobster Tails & More...

As I type this post I am sitting in paradise.  The warm sun is glimmering off of the Gulf of Mexico while a gentle breeze of briny ocean air whips through the palm trees.  I am in the Florida Keys.  It is one of my favorite places on the planet!  My grandmother has wintered on Summerland and Sugarloaf Keys for nearly 20 years.  I have had the incredible fortune to come and visit many of those years.  It is the ultimate retreat from Chicago's early and usually wet spring. 

It probably goes without saying - the food here is divine!  Whether you are visiting a local fish shop for the day's catch or dining at one of the many extraordinary restaurants, the Keys offers a southernmost American cuisine rich with sweet Florida lobster tails, briny conch, moist grouper and tart key limes.

After landing at the Key West International Airport, my parents and grandmother whisked me off to one of my favorite Key West restaurants - Louie's Backyard.  The moment you walk into the old Victorian home turned Caribbean-American restaurant you know you are in Key West.  ((The King of Margaritaville, Jimmy Buffet, even lived next door in the 1970's.))  I always order the same thing:  conch fritters, fish tacos and a few freshly made mojitos.  

Once back on Sugarloaf Key (about 15 miles away from Key West), we begin planning family meals which, of course, have to include copious amounts of Florida lobster tails.  These cuties can be steamed, broiled, baked or grilled.  I prefer them grilled and buttered basted. 

Can you believe that in my excitement to eat said lobsters I FORGOT to take a picture of the final product?  GASP!!!  My apologies!  I will, however, share with you with a picture of a wonderful lobster dish that we enjoyed at yet another incredible Key West eatery.

Curry butter roasted lobster tail with coconut, fennel, pistachio pistiou, Israeli couscous and cauliflower @ fin

This beautiful plate is the creation of fin Executive Chef Michael Schultz.  Located on Key West's famous Duval Street, this Caribbean small plate concept restaurant is captivating local and visiting palates with dishes like: Foie gras waffles with orange, chestnuts, and cinnamon basil smothered in a spiced rum sauce OR Madagascar jumbo prawns roasted in key lime brown butter with chorizo piperade.  My grandmother and I both had the foie gras waffle and nearly fell out of our seats it was so good! 

A fun fact for any of my Philly readers: before coming to the Keys chef Schultz worked for world-renowned chef George Perrier at the 5-star rated le bec fin in Philadelphia.  Not sure if the name of his current restaurant fin is an homage to his former work place.

Next week I will be sharing with you my G'ma Betsy's Key Lime pie recipe.  Come back and check it out!!  Here is a preview:

Key West in a bite!!!

Hot Giardiniera Hummus

Nothing screams Chicago more than hot giardiniera.  It is the ultimate Windy City condiment as I wrote about a few months ago.  I love this stuff.  Hot peppers, celery, olives, carrots and garlic... how can you go wrong?  So you can imagine how much I squealed when I saw a tub of Hot Giardiniera Hummus for sale at my local Whole Food.  Good golly... I knew I had to try and recreate this at home.

While hummus is pretty much available at every grocery store and comes in a variety of flavors... I really encourage you to make your own at home.  It is so easy!  You have few ingredients.  You don't have to worry about additives.  PLUS you can make it exactly to your tastes.  For me and Joe that means SPICY!

I do have one hummus making tip you should try!!  REMOVE THE SHELLS!  Okay, so I know this is tedious but it is so worth it if you want super creamy hummus!  It takes a few extra minutes but the shells pop right off. 

Break out your food processor and get blending.... let me know what you think!!

HOT GIARDINIERA HUMMUS

Adapted from Chef Earl's

Ingredients

• 1 16-ounce can garbanzo/chick peas
• 1/2 cup hot giardiniera, packed in oil
• 3 tablespoons tahini
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 4 tablespoons (or more) water
• Salt & pepper
  

Directions

1. Drain and rinse the chick peas then remove the peas from their shells.  This is a bit tedious but worth it!  Simply press the individual peas in between your fingers and the outer shell will pop off.  Discard the shells and place the peas in a food processor.
2. Add in giardiniera, tahini and garlic cloves along with one tablespoon of water and puree.  Add in additional water until you reach your desired creaminess (for me it was 4 tablespoons.)  Salt & pepper to taste.  Top hummus with additional giardiniera and drizzle with oil from giardiniera jar.  Enjoy!

BLT Cups

We are getting our bacon fix today at Wendy See Wendy Do!!  Some days you just need some salty, briny, crispy bacon!  This recipe calls for one of my favorite types of bacon:  PANCETTA!

Pancetta, also know as Italian bacon, is unsmoked pork belly cured in salt and spices (like nutmeg, fennel and pepper) and then aged for months.  It usually comes rolled up which makes it perfect for bacon cups.  

These BLT Cups are the perfect party bite in a pinch.  Seriously... they take 15 minutes to make! 

BLT CUPS

Adapted from Not Martha
Makes 10

Ingredients

• 10 slices pancetta
• 1 cup of baby spinach, julienned
• 1 tablespoon mayo
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 5 cherry tomatoes, quartered 
• salt & pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450ºF.
2. Place a mini muffin pan upside down on a rimmed baking sheet.  Spray ten of the upside down muffin molds with non-stick spray, alternating between molds.  (This will ensure the cups don't stick to each other.)  Gently fold each pancetta slice around the sprayed muffin mold.  Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the pancetta is crisp.  Allow to cool for five minutes until removing to a plate lined with a paper towel.  Set aside.
3. To make the dressing, combine mayo and lemon juice in a small bowl.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  In another bowl, toss the julienned spinach with the mayo dressing.  
4. To assemble, divide the spinach salad into the pancetta cups.  Top each cup with two of the cherry tomato quarters.  Enjoy!

Walnut Plum Puffs

Confucious say: EAT LOTS OF PLUMS!

No really.  Would you believe this tasty stone fruit was listed as one of the most popular Chinese foods back dating back to 479 B.C.?  According the About.com, the plum has been written about and drooled over for centuries with even Confucious himself comparing them to a love interest: 

"The branches of the aspen plum
To and fro they sway
How can I not think of her?
But home is far away."
-Confucious 551-479 B.C.

Food writer Peggy Trowbridge Fillipone says plums are the second most cultivated fruit on the planet, second only to apples.  That is A LOT of plums!

This tart harnesses the power of the plum:  brown sugar balancing the natural tartness, walnuts complimenting the earthiness, and puff pastry creating the perfect buttery package to wrap it all up.  I think Confucious would approve!!

WALNUT PLUM PUFFS

Adapted from Grace Parisi

Makes 6 

Ingredients

• 3 ripe plums, pitted and thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, lightly toasted
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons corn starch
• 1 sheet of store-bought puff pastry, defrosted
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup or more granulated sugar for topping

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine plums, brown sugar, and corn starch to make filling.  Set aside.
3. On a lightly floured surface unfold puff pastry.  With a sharp knife cut dough into six sections.  Working with one section at a time, roll out the puff pastry to about a 4X4 inch square.  Spoon 1/6th of the filling onto the center of the dough square and top with about one tablespoon of walnuts.  Bring together the four corners of the dough and, using your fingers, pinch together the sides making sure to leave the top open to vent steam. Carefully place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper (OR foil that has been sprayed with non-stick spray.) Repeat with remaining dough sections.
4. Brush all the puffs with the beaten egg and the sprinkle with lots of granulated sugar.  
5. Bake for about 30 minutes or until pastry is golden brown.  Allow to cool in the pan for about five minutes.  Enjoy!

In Memory of Marge

Last week the world lost an amazing woman: my future mother-in-law, Marge.  Her death was sudden. She had only been diagnosed with cancer three weeks before her passing.  At the young age of 67, she left behind a 45-year marriage to the love of her life, three successful children, three gorgeous grandchildren, and a beautiful garden.   As we all grieved and said our heartbreaking goodbyes something extraordinary was happening around us.  In the middle of March, in Michigan, Marge's flowers began to bloom.  The unseasonably warm weather spreading across the northeast had coaxed the blooms from their buds leaving splashes of yellow and purple and green.  Marge's garden was springing into life.

 

I will miss Marge's smile.  I will miss her passion for cooking.  I will miss hearing her quietly singing and humming around the house.  I will miss Marge's creativity.  I will miss her stories about Joe growing up.  I will miss Marge's hugs and kisses.  I will miss all of those mother-in-law/daughter-in-law moments.  I will miss many things about the woman who gave birth to the love of my life.  I am forever thankful I had the chance to meet her, love her and be loved by her.  Anytime I see a beautiful flower I will think of Marge and her garden.

Wendy See Wendy Do will be back next week with more recipes and fun stories but this weekend I ask you all to hug those you love.  If you can't, call them on the phone and tell them how much they mean to you!!

Cinnamon Sugar Pull Apart Muffins

Ahhhh, cinnamon sugar!!  The perfect combination of spicy sweet.  Doesn't it just scream childhood memories?  I am pretty sure everyone was treated with a cinnamon sugar something when they were a kid.  For me, it was cinnamon sugar toast.  My mom used to slather lightly toasted bread with lots of salty butter and then top it with a heaping amount of cinnamon sugar.  The spice mixture just perked me up and made me smile!  It still does today!!

Don't be intimated by this recipe.  It is quick, easy and super delicious.  What is my secret weapon, you ask?  Store-bought bread dough!  Have you ever used this stuff?  I love it!!  Use it to make a loaf of tasty french bread, roll it out to make a thick pizza crust OR pull apart muffins!!  YEAH BABY!!

CINNAMON SUGAR PULL APART MUFFINS

Adapted from JOY THE BAKER and Tease-spoon of Sugar

Makes 6 muffins

Ingredients

• Pillsbury Simply Rustic French Bread dough
• 1/2 stick of butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. In a small skillet, brown butter over medium-low heat, about 5 minutes.  You know the butter is browned when it turns a light caramel color and smells slightly nutty.  ((Be careful not to burn the butter!))  Once browned, set the butter aside to cool.
3. Remove bread dough from tube and place on a cutting board.  Starting in the middle, divide the dough with a small slit.  The divide again and again until you have 31 slits.  Using a very sharp knife, slice the dough.  You should end up with 32 slices.  Flatten each slice with you hands or a rolling pin and place on a sheet of parchment or wax paper. 
4. In a bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
5. To assemble the muffins, brush each dough slice with the brown butter.  Then sprinkle with the entire sugar mixture.  (Yes, ALL of the cinnamon sugar!)  Stack the dough slice on top of each other. (some stacks will have five slices and some will have six.)  Using a sharp knife, slice the stacks down the middle.
6. Place two of the sliced stacks, side by side, cut side down into a greased muffin tin.  Repeat with the rest of the stacks.
7. **This step is very important!!**  Before you put the muffin tin in the oven place it on a larger, rimmed baking sheet.  This will catch any butter/sugar overflow and avoid a very smokey oven.
8. Bake muffins for 20-25 minutes until tops are golden brown.  Allow to cool for 10 minutes.  Gently remove.  Enjoy!!

Buffalo-Style Deviled Eggs

Here is the scenario:  you were invited to a picnic or party months ago and the day of you remember you were supposed to bring an appetizer.  Crap!  You have two choices: take a shower or go to the store to pick up something.  Shower wins (I am sure the party guests will appreciate it!) and you raid your fridge.  

I don't know about you but there are a few items that always gather in my fridge and pantry.  Mayo and eggs because they are essential.  Hot sauce because my fiance is a hot sauce hoarder.  Crumbled blue cheese because you never use the whole tub.  AND lastly, celery seed because I bought it for a dish that only called for 1/8th teaspoon leaving me almost an entire bottle.  Combine all those and you have Buffalo-style Deviled Eggs!!  Is that not the perfect party or picnic appetizer?  

Now while this scenario has never happened to me personally... yet... I now have my go-to deviled egg dish just in case!!

BUFFALO-STYLE DEVILED EGGS

Ingredients

• 6 hard boiled eggs
• 4 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons hot sauce (I used Frank's)
• 2 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese
• About a teaspoon and half of celery seed
• Salt & pepper

Directions 

Cut eggs in half, place egg yolks in a mixing bowl and set egg whites aside.  Using a fork, mash the yolks.  Stir in mayonnaise and hot sauce.  Fold in blue cheese.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Spoon yolk mixture back into egg whites or pipe yolk mixture in using a pastry bag.  Top with a sprinkling of celery seed.  Enjoy!!

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