Easy to Make Vodka Infusion & Sangría

Vodka is my poison of choice. I prefer it "on the rocks with a lime" since I am always trying to cut out unnecessary calories! A few years ago, I discovered infusions and immediately looked into creating my own.

Who knew it would be SO easy! 

                                                                                  All it takes is a bag of frozen mixed fruit and a bottle of vodka. Pour everything into a container that can be sealed well and place in a dark cool part of the home for about a week. I usually make it and pour the vodka along with the fruit into a nice beverage jar. It makes for an attractive presentation.  

On this occasion, I returned the vodka (without the fruit) to its original bottle so that I could chill it in the freezer. I then used the fruit to make SANGRIA! My grandmother Julia taught me my Sangría recipe. We use cheap wine. Why waste good wine since you are going to alter its flavor?!

I prefer white wine so I used a bottle of Pinot Grigio, but I added a bit of red wine. I included the vodka infused fruit into the mix, some 7up and a splash of Chambord. Mama (aka grandma) adds Brandy. Yum, yum, yum!

For a great Bloody Mary, try infusing the vodka with jalapeños. I tried it at Blu Sushi and it was DELICIOUS!

OUTSTANDING meal @ Kurrent's in the Marco Island Marriott!

It was Saturday night and we were in Marco Island looking for a nice meal with our friends from Illinois, Joe & Michelle. We headed to the Marriott since no one has anything negative to say about this gorgeous hotel.

Immediately, one of the valet parking attendants asked us if he could help guide us. We asked about dining options and even though we had thought about eating at Quinn's, a casual beachfront restaurant, his description of Kurrents grabbed our attention. Even though the view is not spectacular (it faces the courtyard and pool, not the beach)... the food and service are out of sight!

The only negative I found is something that annoys me often in Naples... The restaurant is visibly EMPTY... it is one of the slowest weekends of the low season and yet, the hostess asks if we have reservations with a "look" as if it will be impossible to find an open table for us.

Moving forward... our waiter, Frank from Jamaica, was lovely... attentive & answered questions with a firm opinion. 

Michelle ordered the 10oz Filet Mignon... delicious, but not worth $48!

Joe, Dominic and I went for 3 different fish dishes, which seems to truly be their strength! All 3 entrees were under $30.

Joe ordered the Ft. Lauderdale Swordfish with Chickpea, Spinach & Smoked Pork Cake, Stuffed Zucchini Blossom & Soy Beurre Blanc. The fish was fresh & very tasty, but I was not a fan of the pork cake. Joe seemed to enjoy his meal though. We all were very intrigued by his pepper foam... it made for an interesting presentation!

Dominic chose the Citrus Glazed Chilean Sea Bass, English Pea Raviolo, Vegetable Ficelle & Soy Beurre Blanc. Fresh, buttery in texture & very well complemented by all other ingredients. Hard to resist! Even Michelle, who does not like fish, loved the taste of the Sea Bass!

I opted for the Pan Seared Red Snapper with Thai Stir-Fry Noodles and Tempura Baby Bok Choy. Wow! This was THE BEST fish plate I have had in a LONG time! Very close to how good the food is at USS Nemo, but wow... I was soooo happy with my choice. Dominic loved my dish, Joe thought it was good, Michelle preferred the Sea Bass. Perhaps the Asian noodles were too rich in flavor, but I love Asian flavors so it was right up my alley!

We did not order one of the appetizers from the Small Plates Menu, but we could not pass up the opportunity to try their Lobster Mac (Cavatelli) & Cheese so we ordered this side to start. It was good, not too rich and not overpowering with lobster flavor even though it had a good amount of lobster meat.

We passed on dessert because our bellies were so full, but the Coconut Crème Brûlée stayed in our minds and a day later we almost went back just for dessert.

Great meal for a special occasion. Bring a full wallet though!

Chimichurri & Petite Pains au Chocolate - NOT together!

Woke up early on Sunday morning to walk Rolex, one of our Home Buddies customers. Then I headed out to the supermarket so I could get the ingredients for 2 non-related recipes I have been dying to make. 

The first was for “Pains au Chocolat” or “Chocolate Croissants”. Most recipes take a few hours, but this one, is for the lazy like myself!

 I first tried these in St. Barths and my favorite memory is of one night (or morning… as it was about 5am) after a leaving the club, my friends and I waited for the bakery to open. It was pouring down rain, we were in a golf cart, they were fresh out of the oven… nothing was more perfect!

I love these things so much that I must consume them on my birthday. Locally, the French Bread Oven & Norman Love Confections have the best! However, if you are (a) on a budget, (b) feel like making some for friends or (c) feel like eating a lot in the privacy of your home… all you need is a few simple ingredients: puff pastry sheets, bittersweet chocolate (if you like dark) or semi-sweet (milk chocolate), 1 egg & a little bit of sugar. That’s it!

 As far as presentation is concerned...

practice makes perfect!

The other thing I was dying to make was “Chimichurri Sauce”. 

Chimichurri is a sauce that is usually served with steak in Argentina. It is available at the supermarket. We’ve tried different brands, but we never seem to like any. This recipe is the solution to our problems!

It is EXTREMELY EASY! All you have to do is buy the ingredients, clean & cut them and throw them in the food processor! Nothing taste better than fresh ingredients too and after you’ve made it a few times, you can tweak it. We liked it as the recipe states.

I bought some skirt steak, pounded it to make it tender, covered it with chopped garlic, sprinkled some adobo (all-purpose seasoning) on it, squeezed a lime on it and let it marinade for a few hours. When we were ready to eat, I threw a bag of Mexican Rice on the stove and grilled the steaks.

It was one of the least expensive and most succulent meals we’ve made at home. AND… it was the first time Dominic’s parents, Frank & Emma ate something of mine that I didn’t screw up somehow. Overall, a great success! 

Mixed Feelings about Baleen @ La Playa

For our 7th Anniversary, Dominic wanted to go to The CapitalGrille, probably the best steakhouse around! However, I wanted to try a new place. I wanted it to be memorable so I went on the TripAdvisor.Com website and did a search for “romantic restaurants” in Naples. At #10 was Baleen, the restaurant at La Playa Beach & Golf Resort. I had heard some of the Camp Bow Wow customers talk about it so I visited their website. The menu and photos of the view really caught my attention. “You can sit on the sand! How romantic!” I thought.

I called to make reservations and that’s when the lack of “warm and fuzzies” began. I remembered how Dominic had told me that when he called Roy’s to make my birthday reservation, they had asked if it was a special occasion and afterwards, they surprised us with a complimentary dessert. The receptionist at Baleen was cold, didn’t ask anything more than the usual and after I requested outdoor seating, she informed me that it was “not guaranteed”. 

The day arrived and we were so excited!!! Luckily, they did have a table for us outside. Wow! What a view! I had made the reservation for 8pm hoping it wouldn’t be too hot to sit outside and the timing was perfect. The sun was beginning to set and we got to enjoy one of the many beautiful west coast sunsets!

Even though the view is VERY beautiful, the restaurant was full and loud. Because it is in a resort, not everyone there is having a romantic meal so you can hear other conversations and there are kids playing in the background. I would have preferred a more intimate setting.

Our waiter, even though polite, was not particularly friendly. I don’t know if he introduced himself. He certainly did not engage in any type of “small talk”. He assumed we were tourists and perhaps that’s why he didn’t think to ask if we were celebrating any special occasion. After he brought us our initial drinks, he disappeared for about 10 minutes. Then, he appeared to take our appetizer and entrée order. The bus boys were definitely friendlier. They brought us delicious bread and took our photo.

Dominic & I both ordered the “Lobster Bisque” soup. It was delicious with chunks of lobster, but it was definitely on the SALTY side. 

For his main course, Dominic took our waiter’s suggestion and ordered the “Roquefort Crusted Filet of Beef,
Short rib ragout, asparagus, potato crisp, natural jus”. He was very pleased with his selection and so was I! 

 

I ordered the ½ portion of the “Florida Keys Snapper with Yellow tomato fondue and green onion and Lump Crab Hash”. The fish was a bit salty, but then, the hash had a sweetness to it that balanced it all very well. 

I definitely appreciate a restaurant that serves ½ portions since I am usually full after the first course and Baleen had 3 appealing ones. 

We skipped dessert even though they had a warm dark chocolate cake with caramelized bananas & banana foster ice cream with banana caramel sauce that screamed “ORDER ME!” We may have to come back one day just for that, but we probably won’t return for the food. Dominic & I are all about good customer service and places that stand out above the rest. Our waiter didn’t go the “extra mile” for us and the food, even though good, was not extraordinary.

I would gain a LOT of weight if we lived near L'Apetito

A few weeks ago, I had a Home Buddies job in North Naples taking care of 3 funny cats (Asia, Hunter & Jade) and a very sweet Greyhound named Koby. 

Near their home is L'Appetito (2542 Northbrooke Plaza Drive, Naples). A small pizza shop & deli that can do no wrong in my eyes. It was Friday night, we had worked a long day at Camp Bow Wow. We were hungry, but FULL of patience.

The restaurant was full. One of the waiters had called in sick (or something) so the other two waitresses were scrambling to take care of all of the customers. Dominic and I sat down and waited. Within a few minutes, one of the servers greeted us and told us they would be with us as quickly as they could. This meant the world to us! Recently, we decided to give Naples Flatbread a try. We waited for about 10 minutes and watched about 4 servers pass us by. Not once did anyone greet us or make eye contact. We left.

At L'Apetito, it didn't matter "whose" table it was. The servers were working as a team and soon one of them was advising us on their many pasta dishes. Dominic went for the "Chicken Marsala" and I, knowing well how good their pizza is, opted for the personal pizza and a small order of their boneless chicken wings... HOT... should have gone for the "inferno". As we feasted on the tasty food in front of us, we sipped on the classiest of wines... "Carlo Rossi's Paisano". 

We were very disappointed in the end because despite the fact that we were strategically seating in front of the cannoli shell storage and kept drooling at the anticipation... they were out of the filling and we were unable to indulge!

Sadly disappointed by Salsa Brava in Naples Park

A few days before trying out Salsa Brava (10265 Tamiami Trail North, Naples), I had walked into Amigo's on the East Trail with pessimism and after reviewing the seemingly "gringo-friendly" menu, my pessimism got worse. Luckily, that day, I was very pleasantly surprised.

The complete opposite happened to me when we visited Salsa Brava. It is a simple and clean restaurant. All of the patrons were Mexican until we walked in. The menu was full of promising choices and then... we asked the waitress for suggestions and advice and she didn't seem confident in her descriptions of the menu items. She was very slow and unengaging. 

They were out of "gorditas", so I ordered 2 sopes, one steak and the other "al pastor" (pork). They were very disappointing.  Its a bit hard to describe, but the "massa" didn't taste great. It tasted like it had been fried once and then again later on. It tasted a bit stale in our opinion.

 

We also ordered the steak "a la Tampiqueña" which was very good when we ordered it at "El Rincon de Mexico". The dish consist of cheese topped steak on top of cheese enchiladas with salsa verde, rice and beans. 

The enchiladas with the salsa verde were DELICIOUS!!! However, the steak's seasoning was heavy on the black pepper, something I DESPISE! The only way I was able to eat the rest was to cover up all traces of pepper with the beans and the salsa verde.

Perhaps the tacos are good, but with so many other better choices, we probably won't return soon to find out.

Negative Nancy is Pleasantly Surprised at Amigo's Mexican Cafe

 Dominic and I are obsessed with Mexican Food. The more authentic, the better... even if the 's exterior is somewhat scary. There are 4 restaurants on the East Trail in Lely within a rock's throw from one another.

Twice, we have eaten at El Tapatio (11157 Tamiami Trl E) and enjoyed its authenticity especially their sopes, which are hard to find in SWFL. Their gorditas are also really good! I can never remember if we like the steak or the pork. Unfortunately, we like one, but not the other!

Last weekend, we decided to try one of the other neighboring restaurants. We chose Amigo's (11263 Tamiami Trl E) since our friends and Camp Bow Wow customers, Dan & Katie Varano have eaten there. Dan, who owns and operates AAmco Transmissions on 3030 Davis Blvd, shares our love for Mexican food. We constantly share recipes and suggest new restaurants to one another.

We walked through the door of this uninviting strip mall unit and found a large inviting restaurant with several tables and booths, a huge assortment of hot sauces and a stocked bar! Much more elaborate than El Tapatio.

I was very tired and cranky over the weekend so my attitude was not very optimistic as I read the menu. It had Cuban items, Mexican items, Tex Mex items... I felt like it wasn't as authentic as I had hoped. There were no "traditional dishes" or "specialties". Just your basic burritos, enchiladas, tacos & fajitas.

I cringe when I there is no "asada" for the tacos and they use "lettuce & tomato" instead of "cilantro & onions" to top them off. I prefer corn tortillas, but it's not the end of the world if they only have flour tortillas. To me, these are all indicators that the food will not be as authentic and that the flavors will be bland.

Again, we were pleasantly surprised! Dominic ordered a Burrito with steak & guacamole. He was very happy. I could not decide, so I ordered a combo with a Chicken Enchilada with Salsa Verde (had a kick, but not by Mexican standards), Pork Tamale (really delicious... even better with a bit of the Salsa Verde) and a Pork Taco (I should have started with the other two!). The dish came with the best Mexican rice I've eaten in a while. 

It goes to show you that you cannot judge a place before you taste the food. Even though the items on the menu seem very "gringo friendly", the flavors are definitely worth coming back again!