Road Trip Food -- Eating Our Way Down The Keys

On our birthday road trip, Lady Sally and I ate at quite a few interesting restaurants. Here is a mini-review of what we ate where and how we rated the experiences. As you travel down the island chain the Mile Markers (MM) are local “crossroads” location identifiers, and the numbers decrease to Mile Marker 0 at Key West

El Toro Taco in Homestead, FL  MM 127

We had two of their lunch specials.  I favored the Beef Burritos, while Lady Sally had their Chicken Tamale; both served with rice and creamy beans.  There was the traditional started of chips with an excellant handmade Pico de Gallo.  Note, this is a Mexican, not Guatemalan or Cuban or other Latin national restaurant. Real Mexican, not that Taco Belltm or Lazy Iguana imitation stuff. Tasty, simple homemade Mexican food.  Although Lady Sally didn't care for the texture of the creamy Jalisco-style beans, I liked them. Good value for the dollar.

John Pennecamp Coral Reef State Park  MM 102

NOT a food stop, but one of the reasons we came to The Keys.  I had been wanting to come to the first underwater state park for a very long time. We took one of the Park concessionaire snorkel trips, not a private enterprise. Take the earliest trip you can, mid-week, to avoid  crowds and degraded water clarity.  

French Angelfish

Coralscape with Sargeant Major fish

Key Largo Conch House Mile Marker 100

This place has been the subject of several Food Network and Travel Channel shows. Most recently, Emeril LaGasse was here and filmed a show to be aired in 2015. Best Conch Fritters ever! Lady Sally's Blue Crab and Mango Stuffed Mahi was very tasty, however it was sadly lacking in the mango department. More than one small cube would have been nice. My Chorizo Stuffed Shrimp were excellent, redolent of Spanish (not Mexican) chorizo and smoked Spanish paprika. Nice atmosphere, not the cheapest but certainly worth the $$.

World Famous Conch Fritters

Of all the "World Famous" things advertizsed between MM 127 and MM 0, these come closest to fulfilling your expectations!

Cafe Moka Mile Marker 92

French bakery (real French owner) and coffee shop with roasted on-site coffees, handmade baked breads and pastries, salads and sandwiches. Fresh French bread made my simple Turkey and Swiss sandwich extra special, accompanied by a salad of “complex simplicity” – Romaine, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds and halved cherry tomatoes garnished by the perfect amount of good dark balsamic vinegar. Sally's mini quiche of mushrooms and goat cheese was the perfect lunch-sized portion when accompanied by a side salad . Mini key lime pie was the perfectly not too tart and not too sweet finish. Really good value for the price, and not your average Keysian battered fried fish and conch offerings.

Island Grill Mile Marker 87

When we got there it was in a torrential rain. On a tin roof. With an amplified guitarist not far enough away. Not unlike having dinner in a warehouse. Service was so-so. The Fried Yellowtail was excellent, the coleslaw a bit above Sysco average, and Lady Sally's Mahi with Sweet Potato Fries was above average as well.

Hog Heaven MM 87

It may be heaven for hogs, but we found it just average. Walked in on Friday night to find the locals drinking themselves silly at happy hour, and were ignored by waitstaff until I literally grabbed one by the arm. The Conch Chowder was OK, the Giant Fried Fish Sandwich (Mahi) was certainly giant enough but the breading wasn't all it could have been. We can get better Fish Tacos at half dozen places here at home. Price not bad, food not bad; but not the best.

Habaneros Oceanfront MM 73

Lady Sally had a Mahi sandwich and I opted for a conch 'burger' is this Cuban owned and operated dining spot.  Really good food at a decent price; and the murals on the buildings next door are a must see!

Bobs Bunz

Famous for their cinnamon rolls and other pasteries, we decided on a somewhat more hearty breakfast. The Cinnamon Roll French Toast was out of sight, and the Spinach & Feta Omelet was everything you could ask, and then some. On the way out the door be sure to pick up some of their Key Lime Biscotti. Although they're more like shortbread than biscotti, they are the perfect Keys road trip nibble! Great food, good value.

Sunset Grill & Raw Bar – MM 33 at the Seven Mile Bridge, turn at north end of bridge

This was where I took Lady Sally for her birthday dinner, on the way back from our day trip to Key West. She had the Florida Lobster Tempura Roll, and raved over every bite. I had the most excellent Captain Calamari – a Caesar salad topped with a mound of fried calamari. Here we discovered the Best Conch Chowder ever! Not a watery base, but a rich, thick, unctuous broth; tons of conch meat perfectly cooked, not chewy, and other perfectly blended ingredients. A must for conch chowder lovers.  A bit pricey, but well worth it for the venue and the quality and quantity of food.  If you stop at one restaurant in the Keys, stop here at sunset!  True Keys folk, they stop the band,  and announce a moment of silence every evening as the sun slips into the Gulf.  The only thing missing was the lonely moan of a conch shell horn....

Sunset Grill view from the patio.

Next week, Mamey, the football fruit, and more...

Road Trip to The Keys

Lady Sally and I try to do something special each year for our birthdays, which are exactly one week (and several years) apart.

This year we decided to take a mini-vacation to the Florida Keys.  Sally had been down that way years before, but although I like Jimmy Buffet music I had never visited Margaritaville along US Hwy 1.  One thing I really wanted to do was snorkel at John C. Pennecamp State Park (the first underwater park in the US), or somewhere nearby in the marine reserve attached.  Through AirBnB.com we found a fabulous place to stay in Islamorada,  advertised as Island Life, an "apartment" in a house hosted by Jackie and Tim.  We booked a 4 night stay with them and drove on down.  Really great location, beautiful accommodations, and hosts who went above and beyond to make our stay delightful.

Tim is a charter fishing captain in his 'free' time, and brought us a huge slab of grouper filet  from a fish he'd speared on Saturday.  Rather than take it to a restaurant and have them cook it for Sunday dinner, we kept it in the fridge, then on ice as we drove home Monday, and after we got home, I went to the grocery store to get some ingredients to prepare it in a special way. This preparation of one of our favorite fish is the newest signature dish in The Kilted Cook's repertoire.


Captain Tim's Keysian Grouper with Mango Pico de Gallo


Mango Pico de Gallo
serves 8-10
1 ripe Mango, peeled, pitted and diced into about 1/4" cubes
3 Roma Tomatoes, diced 1/4"
1/2 medium White Onion, diced 1/4"
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 3" jalapeno, seeded, veined and diced 1/4"
juice of 1 Lemon

Toss everything to combine well, and allow to chill for at least an hour before serving.

Pico de Gallo

Grouper
serves 2
1/2 pound fresh (if you can get it) Grouper filet
Original Everglades Seasoningtm to taste
6-8 capers
1 tbsp 1/4" diced White Onion
1/2--3/4 cup White Wine
1 tbsp 1/4" diced Red Bell Pepper
1 Persian Lime or half a dozen Key Limes, sliced into 1/4" thick rounds

Lay the lime slices in your skillet in a pattern that will support the fish. If desired, some of the skin can be removed from the lime slices to prevent overpowering the fish.  Dust the top of the fish with Original Everglades Seasoning.  The seasoning blend is a mild to moderately spicy blend reminiscent of a Creole or Cajun seasoning.

Pour the wine around the fish until it almost touches the bottom of the filet.  Create a "courtbouillion" (flavored poaching liquid pronounced 'coo-be-yon')  by adding the onion, capers, and bell pepper to the liquid.  Bring the liquid to a simmer, cover, and poach for about 15 minutes (check for the fish flaking after about 10 minutes) until just cooked through.  Plate and top with the Pico de Gallo.

Grouper for two in courtbouillion 

Sides
For the starch I made French Potato Wedges by quartering a couple white potatoes and tossing them with a splash of olive oil and a few pinches of Herbs de Provance seasoning before cooking.  For the vegetable I combined Sugar Snap Peas and stripes of Red Bell Pepper splashed with EVOO as well.  Both dishes can be steamed or microwaved.

Captain Tim's Keysian Grouper Dinner.  Thanx Tim!

Next Week:  Road Trip Restaurants

Mango x 3

Yet another Mango episode here Fooding Around With The Kilted Cook.  The last until we actually get into mango season and I have a bushel of new inspiration.

Last week I stopped at the local Farmer's Market and got a pound of fresh-off-the-boat 20-count Gulf Pink Shrimp.  Yuuuuummmm all by themselves.  But I decided to take them to the next level, of course:

Barbecued Shrimp & Mango Salad with Mango Vinaigrette
Here's the salad I put together.  Almost anything you like in a leafy salad goes good here -- spinach, arugula (which the Brits call Rocket), mesclun mix, etc.  Just don't use that watery, tasteless Iceberg junk.  Arrange things to show off the separate elements -- we eat with our eyes as well as our mouths.

Salad
1 head Romaine, chopped
1/2 cup fresh Basil, julienned
4 Green Onions, sliced
6" Carrot, sliced into thin coins
6 each Red and Yellow Cherry Tomatoes
1 Mango, cubed

BBQ Shrimp
With the tails and shell on, saute the shrimp in a bit of oil, liberally sprinkled with a Cajun/Creole type seasoning.  I prefer Evergladestm Original  seasoning; or for more heat I use Tony Cachere's Creole Seasoningtm.  If you want even spicier shrimp, peel them first - but leave the tails on for the look of things.  Cook on med-high heat, just until they turn that beautiful orange.  Don't overcook or else you're eating Creol flavored rubber!  Cool slightly and arrange the shrimp artistically on your plated salad.

Vinaigrette
1 Mango, peeled, pitted and cubed
1/2 cup EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
1/2 cup white vinegar (I like Rice Wine Vinegar, but White Balsamic would also be good)
Pinch of Salt

Take the mango, salt, and vinegar for a spin in your blender.  I like the Aerate setting as it gives the dressing some extra body and brings out the flavors.  Gradually drizzle the EVOO into the spinning fruit vinegar so that it makes a strong emulsion.  If you like a bit of heat against the sweetness, add a pinch of cayenne to the blender.  I serve the vinaigrette alongside the salad so that diners can add as much or little as they prefer.

Mango Black Tea

No, I don't make this.  I buy it from Trader Joe's.  If you don't have a Trader Joe's near you, look in Fresh Market, Whole Foods or similar shops for a Mango flavored tea.  Especially nice when iced.

Several years ago, when I competed on Food Network's Ultimate Recipe Showdown, I had the pleasure of meeting Bobby Flay.  He gave this Mango Iced Tea recipe on one of his Boy Meets Grill episodes:

1-1/2 quarts cold water

6 Black Tea bags

2 cup Mango Nectar {note below}

Sugar, to taste

Mint leaves for garnish

Mango slices for garnish

Boil the water, add the teabags and steep until the tea is dark.  Remove the bags.  Add the mango nectar and sugar to taste.  Stir until combined.  Pour over ice into tall glasses and garnish.

Note:  Make your own Mango Nectar by pureeing mangos and sugar to taste,  then pressing through a wire sieve to remove the pulp.  

If you buy Mango nectar, I prefer the Jumextm brand available in many megamarts or your local Latin markets.

Lest We Forget

The very best, simplest mango recipe of all:

Mango

Bowl

Eat...  Who needs a spoon or fork????

Photo courtesy of TastyAppetite.net

Mango Tango - part deux

Last week I posted my recipe for Brazilian Black Bean Mango Stew, so it would be there for folks who attended the Saladmastertm Open House yesterday.  I didn't include a photo last week because I didn't have one.  At the event yesterday I took a photo of the bucket o' stew (9 quarts) just before the ravening horde of attendees swarmed the serving line:

Feijoada is the Brazilian Portuguese name for this quintessential dish.  Like all good homemade dishes, ingredients vary.  The meat can be spicy Portuguese style chourico sausage (not the same as the chorizo that I used, which is a Mexican sausage), shredded or cubed pork, etc.  As you know from last week, I make the dish with the Tofurkey brand chorizo-flavored faux meat.  The citrus factor is often orange wedges, but mango versions are not unknown.


Mango Jam
This recipe is almost as easy as my Ten Minute Marmalades!

I had been wanting to try some mango preserves, and the opportunity came up recently. Lady Sally's tree got a really big crop of fruit on it this year. But strong winds in early May knocked down a couple dozen fist-sized fruit that were just starting to ripen – her tree usually comes ripe in mid-late June and lasts through July.

I hate to see something as delectable as mango go to waste. So I collected a couple dozen of these fallen fruits that were showing signs of ripening, put them in a large brown paper bag, and set them on the counter for a week to ripen.

By the end of the week, some of the fruit were over-ripe and showing mold, so they got tossed. The rest I decided to turn into Mango Jam. Some of these fruit were still pretty bitter, some were sweet, but the mango goodness came through. They were so immature that you could slice completely through the central pit! So I did, and scooped the flesh out from behind the pits. When done, I had 2 ½ cups of flesh, which I chopped up fine, and to which I added a cup of Splendatm (we had a big bag of Splenda on hand, but were low on regular sugar). On the advice of several folks who had posted mango jam recipes, I also added the juice of a lemon and most of the zest as well. Tasting the combination I found it “just right” as Goldilocks said.

I ladled the mixture into my electric skillet, set the temp for 325F and let it cook.  I could have used a pot on the stove top, but it was 92F outside, 79F inside,  and I really didn't want to heat the house.  After about 20 minutes I turned the temp down to 200 and let it keep cooking for at least another half hour. Keep it on the heat until all the water is cooked off, and the surface of the puree takes on a nice glossy sheen. By then it's pretty thick, too. I got about a cup and a half of jam from 2 ½ cups of puree and a cup of sugar substitute.

Spoon the jam into a freshly dishwasher-sterilized canning jar, and let it cool to room temp before refrigerating. The jam will keep in the fridge until it's entirely consumed, or 3 months, whichever happens first. 

This can be a really good recipe to use for those bruised or bitten fruit that you just can't stand to see wasted.  Cut away the bad bits and make some jam!

Mango Hummus
Lady Sally likes a container of hummus and some crackers as part of her lunches.  Last year we found this recipe in the local newspaper, and I adapted it for her.  A little sweet, a little tangy, a lot tasty.  To avoid extra salt in your diet (a GOOD thing), buy dried chickpeas/garbanzos, and cook them up yourself -- a simple process.

1 can chickpeas, about 1-1/2  cups home cooked garbanzos

½ cup diced FIRM mango -  save the thin soupy mango for a smoothie

1 clove garlic, minced

2 Tbsp Tahini

about ¼ cup EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil).

Combine the first 4 ingredients in blender or food processor until it forms a thick paste. Drizzle the EVOO until you get the smooth consistency you prefer for your hummus. I usually use less than the listed amount of EVOO. Add a bit of fresh cracked black pepper for an additional tang to cut the sweetness, if desired.  You could also add fresh grated nutmeg.

Stay tuned for more Mango Tango next week, when we explore mango and shrimp together...

Doing The Mango Tango -- part 1

Well, here we are in June.  More or less the beginning of Mango season here in Southwest Florida.  Lots of great mango recipes and information, so this will be at least a two-part post.  Hopefully you'll find some of these recipes as tasty as Lady Sally and I do.

There are a LOT of mango varieties, from the little yellow uber-sweet ones to those with patches of red or yellow when ripe.  Each has a unique taste, and you should shop around until you find one that suites your taste.

If you're lucky and have a mango tree, congratulations.  If you can find a neighbor with a tree who'll share with you, even better!   Lady Sally's tree has a unique "piney" back taste that we absolutely love, as it counters, just a bit, what can be a cloying sweetness especially as the fruit heads towards over ripe.

For those of you living outside of The Mango Zone, look for fruit that is just soft to the squeeze, sort of like an avocado.  Nothing wrong with over ripe fruit though.  But it's a LOT juicier and more suitable for smoothies, kulfi, and other yummies.  If you have to, you can use frozen bagged mango for these recipes; but stay away from canned mango, it's just not as tasty, an buried in syrup not mango juice.

If you love mango, the one tool you absolutely need is a Mango Splitter.  I used to hate prepping mangoes until I discovered this little device.  Available from housewares places like Bed, Bath and Whatever, or even the housewares section of your megamart for $10 - $20.  This little device takes all the hassle out of peeling and pitting mangoes.

Just line up the oval-ness of the fruit (with its hidden pit) with the oval of the cutting blades, and PUSH.
Turn the large pit-free halves over and with a knife slice a grid pattern.  The push to turn the section inside out:

and slice the cubes of fruit away from the skin.  When I'm done with the side slabs I peel the skin off the ends of the pit, and slice away any goodness left there.

You can also slice a mango into wedges, which is a useful technique for the first recipe.


Mango Upside Down Cake
 This is simply  the mango version of everyone's Pineapple upside down cake; but like always I like to take things to a new level.

1 box Cake Mix -- Spice Cake or Gingerbread Cake (not that wussy yellow cake)
3 Firm-ripe Mangoes sliced into wedges and peeled.
Juice and mango bits leftover from the slicing and peeling
1 cup Dark Brown Sugar
1/2 stick Butter.

Follow package instructions for your cake, but add the leftover bits of mango to the batter.  Melt the butter, remove from the heat, and stir the brown sugar into it.  Dust a 9" cake pan with flour.  Pour the butter/sugar into the bottom of the pan.  Arrange the mango wedges in a circle.  Gently pour the batter over the fruit.  Bake per package directions.  Rest the cake on a cooling rack for 10-15 minutes (but no more).  If the mango-sugar-butter topping starts to set up you're in trouble!   Run a knife around the edge of the pan to free the edge of the cake.  Invert a cake platter on top of the cake pan, and deftly (!) flip the cake over -- bottom's up!  Gently remove the pan:

Be prepared for applause and whistles!

Brazillian Chorizo Black Bean Mango Stew

On June 8th I'll be taking part in a Saladmastertm Open House Cooking School, where chefs and cooks demonstrate the usefulness of Saladmaster products and the audience gets to sample their offerings.  This is my simplified version of a recipe from the Saladmaster website that I will be cooking at that event.  The original recipe used the Mexican sausage called Chorizo.  My take uses a rich, spicy, chorizo-flavored faux meat product.  All the flavor of real chorizo but none of the animal protein or gratuitous fat!

12 oz Tofurkeytm brand Chorizo faux meat

1 medium Sweet White Onion, diced

2 cloves Garlic, sliced

2 medium Sweet Potatoes, peeled & diced

1 large Red Bell Pepper, diced large

1 large (28 oz) can Roteltm diced tomatoes with green chiles (Mild or Medium)

1 large (28 oz) can Black Beans, rinsed and drained

3-4 large Mangoes, peeled, pitted and cubed (2-3 cups of fruit)

¼ cup Cilantro for garnish

water as needed

In the MP-5 set to 350F, cook the onion and garlic until they start to become translucent. Add the chorizo, breaking it apart. As it cooks, add the yams. Then add the beans, and Rotel. Cover and cook 15-20 minutes until the yams soften. Add the mango and cook until it is heated through. Serve garnished with a few leaves of cilantro.  Serves 8.  Recipe can be easily halved by using smaller cans of beans and Rotel, one yam, one mango, etc.  

For those who don't yet own Saladmaster cookware, you'll need to use a 4-5 quart stockpot on medium  heat to make this recipe.  

More Mango Tango to come....