I went on a trip recently to visit my close friend Denise for some much-needed rest and relaxation. She is also a dietitian, but more so than me, a consummate foodie. I like flavor but have been too lackadaisical and weary to cook real food for my family. I knew my visit with her would invigorate my palette and I’d eat darn tasty foods, prepared with love, by Denise. Below is a description of my food adventures and recipes.
Day 1 – Amazing green fritters – Denise used fresh ingredients from her local CSA, Garden of Eve – it took her 15min to prepare! These fritters were Chock full of iron, folate, b12, vitamin c, cancer fighting phytochemicals, protein, and love! Don’t like greens? – you’ll love these.
Day 2 – Fresh corn cakes – sweet delicious yellow corn and basil! I had a difficult time resisting another helping but decided not to be greedy…there were four other people to feed!
Day 3 – We made a quick trip to Delfiore Italian Pork Sausage Store, Inc. – family-owned and authentic Italian – to purchase homemade sopressata, mozzarella, fontanella, two types of pork sausage – tarragon and fennel and Italian parsley with cheese, black olives, and roasted red peppers. These ingredients were locally sourced – the cow’s milk to make the cheese, the pork to make the sausage, chicken, herbs, and vegetables. Our next stop – crusty bread from a local bakery!
When we got home we packed our purchases up in a cooler – along with some tasty beer – and headed to the beach to eat our fill! Denise lives 2 blocks away rom the beach!
Day 4 – Trip to Port Jefferson, Long Island – coffee
toffee frappe with extra shot of espresso…tasty little bits of toffee infused in this delicious snack/dessert! Thank you, Tiger Lily Café! For dinner at Denise’s – sautéed chicken and sausage with homemade black beans with yellow rice. Easy and delicious!
Day 5 – tour of the farms – visit to Garden of Eve and North Fork Chocolate Company – I ate an itty-bitty serving of a deconstructed truffle, savored slowly, and it was divine! And lastly, Goodale Farms where they make goat and cow’s milk, and you can pet the animals.
My first night back in Tallahassee, I made au gratin potatoes with gruyere and cheddar cheese, roasted Brussel sprouts and grape tomatoes (my throw together recipe – salt, pepper, Goya all-purpose seasoning, and drizzle of olive oil. Bake, 400 degrees, 15-20 min on a foil-lined baking sheet), and baked grouper from Southern Seafood in Tallahassee – you can find tons of easy recipes on Pinterest. Darn tasty meal; I was shocked as heck my finicky 5-year-old tried the grouper! I intend to keep up the cooking!
Thank you, Denise, for the inspiration; by eating quality foods with you I enjoyed less and, as predicted, it motivated to cook real tasty food!
Loved this quote I found in the first edition of Oh She Glows, by Angela Liddon …just one of the many hundreds of cookbooks Denise owns!
The only real stumbling block is fear of failure.
In cooking you’ve got to have a what-the-hell attitude. – Julia Childs
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