Dinner and a Blog

Edible?

Dinner and a Blog — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 19:38:36 GMT

The Grand Bohemian in Orlando, FL has rates at $104 for Izeafest!

Dinner and a Blog — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 08:59:20 GMT

I am going to Izeafest in September. I have waited to book my room because I really wanted to stay where the conference is being held - The Grand Bohemian Hotel. Rates at the Grand Bohemian normally begin at $199. I lucked up and found rates as low as $104 on Expedia for the dates of the Izeafest Conference - September 11-14, 2008! If you're planning on attending now is a great time to book your room! Click Expedia TODAY!

Izeafest schedule of events

Izeafest Keynote Speakers

Rainy Day Dinner - Wordless Wednesday

Dinner and a Blog — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 19:01:48 GMT

Do you like your Gator meat smoked?

Dinner and a Blog — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 17:24:51 GMT

Wordless Wednesday

Killer Macaroni & Cheese

Dinner and a Blog — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 21:21:29 GMT

The Best Macaroni & Cheese in the World!

2 lbs Velveeta
1 quart heavy whipping cream
2 teaspoons dry mustard (i like colemans powdered)
16 oz extra wide egg noodles
shredded cheddar
bread crumbs

Melt cheese, cream and mustard together til well mixed and warm. Pour over cooked egg noodles into an oven safe pan. Top with shredded cheddar and bread crumbs and bake until bread crumbs are toasty in an oven pre-heated to 425 (15-20 minutes).

I like to make mine in an aluminum pan so clean-up is much easier. It also makes it handy to reheat in - just cover with aluminum foil and bake at 200 - 250 til heated through.

We usually don't have leftovers at our house

Pinot Grigio and a plethora of cheeses and assorted meats!

Dinner and a Blog — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 21:33:38 GMT

Today lasted a grueling 12 hours and by the time I got home at 8:30 pm I was just damn tired and not even hungry for dinner. A wonderful alternative to a late dinner is a late snack of meat and cheeses, with bread and crackers on the side.

So, tonight I am enjoying a cold glass of 47 Pound Rooster Pinot Grigio and some lovely appetizers instead of a heavy dinner before bed. The goat gouda wrapped with prosciutto was absolutely scrumptious and we found a horseradish cheddar that was amazing. Add some slices of peppered salami and it truly was the perfect late night meal.

Recipes to Kick off Shark Week on Discovery Channel!

Dinner and a Blog — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 19:55:59 GMT

Ryan Seacrest, host of American Idol, was bitten by a sand shark this week. Luckily, the bite was minor. There haven't been too many reports this year of shark bites and that's good news. If you're curious about sharks and their behavior you have to watch Shark Week on the Discovery Channel with new shows every night this week. Now for the recipes!

Drinks

Shark Bite

3/4 oz Captain Morgan® Original spiced rum
3/4 oz light rum
1/2 oz Blue Curacao liqueur
1 1/2 oz sweet and sour mix
3 drops grenadine syrup

Fill a shaker with ice. Add the spiced rum, light rum, sour, and blue curacco. Shake the ingredients well. Strain into a rocks glass. Garnish with three drops of grenadine.

Shark's Bite

2 parts Southern Comfort® peach liqueur
2 parts cranberry juice
1/2 part lime juice

Mix together the Southern Comfort and the Cranberry Juice and stir. then add the Lime Juice (be careful not to get too much lime). Serve cold! You can substitute lemon juice for the lime juice if needed.

Shark Tooth - My personal favorite!

2 Shots	Woods 100 Dark Rum
3 Shots	Orange Juice
0.5 Shot	Lime Juice
0.5 Shot	De Kuyper Grenadine

Pour the Grenadine into the glass, then blend the rum, orange juice and lime juice together and pour carefully over the Grenadine. Do not stir before serving.

Guy Fieris shark Attack - I am definitely gonna have to try this one!
Ingredients

2 cups ice cubes

1/4 cup lemon slices

1/4 cup pineapple chunks

1/4 cup tequila (recommend cuervo gold, petron silver)

1/4 cup Triple Sec

1/2 cup orange juice

1/4 cup pineapple juice

1/4 cup high alcohol content rum (recommended: Bacardi 151)

Splash grenadine

1/4 cup maraschino cherries, plus more for garnish

Directions

In a pitcher, add all the ingredients and stir to combine.

Garnish with maraschino cherries, if using.

Pour into rocks glasses, garnish with maraschino cherries and serve.

Appetizer!

Deep Fried Shark Bites

2 pounds of shark fillets

3 eggs, slightly beaten

1 can beer - I like a dark beer cuz it gives more flavor

2 tablespoons dry mustard

2 teaspoons Tabasco sauce

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, divided, or to taste

2 cups fine yellow corn meal

1 cup flour

2 teaspoons corn starch

Salt & Pepper to taste

vegetable oil or shortening for deep frying

In a mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, beer, mustard, Tabasco, and a dash of salt and peppers. Cut sharkh fillets into bite sized pieces. Place fish in egg mixture, coating well; cover, refrigerate, and let soak for about 1 hour. Mix corn meal and flour in a shallow, wide bowl. Preheat oil in deep fryer to about 370ºF. Remove shark nuggets from mixture and dredge with corn meal & flour mixture. Fry until the nuggets float to the surface and turn golden brown.

Place nuggets on newspaper to drain.

Tiger Sauce makes a great dipping sauce! You can also dip in tartar sauce.

Want to learn more about sharks? Check out the latest post at TripTheLady.

Lynches Pub & Grub

Dinner and a Blog — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 13:18:35 GMT

Lynches Pub & Grub caught our attention for lunch one sunny afternoon while we were prowling around Sarasota, Florida. We were extremely pleased to find they had Guinness Beer on Draft. The beer was cold and the food was excellent! I ordered the Fish & Chips and hubby had the Danny Boy. You can check out their menu here.

Anytime you visit Sarasota you really should plan a stop by this wonderful Pub! Be sure to ask about their sign on the wall thats missing a piece of wood It has in interesting history.

Hands Down the Best Gyro Ever!

Dinner and a Blog — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 20:21:55 GMT

Tarpon Springs, Florida is one of my favorite places to visit and whenever we are there we stop by Hella's Restaurant for their Gyro. I highly recommend anything on their menu!

Visit TripTheLady for more on our visit. This is my favorite recipe for tzatziki sauce that makes any Gyro complete.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups plain yogurt
3 cloves crushed garlic
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
1 large cucumber - peeled, seeded and shredded

DIRECTIONS

Using cheese cloth, strain the yogurt over a bowl overnight. Press excess liquid out of the shredded cucumber. In a medium bowl, stir together the cucumber and strained yogurt. Mix in the garlic, salt, pepper and mint. Chill the mixture for 4 to 6 hours or overnight.Perfect on top of any gyro or as a dip for chips and veggies.

Jim's Lemonade

Dinner and a Blog — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 13:23:14 GMT

1 oz Bourbon
Pink Lemonade

Fill a glass with ice. Add Bourbon and fill with Pink Lemonade.

Refreshing drink for any hot summer afternoon! Make a pitcher and take out by the pool to share with friends!

Pitcher:
1 pint Bourbon
1 Gallon Pink Lemonade

Pour into glasses of ice. Adding ice to your lemonade will only water it down in these hot summer days

BLT & Reign Over Me

Dinner and a Blog — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 20:24:33 GMT

Wikipedia says "The BLT is a variety of sandwich containing Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato. The sandwich traditionally has several strips of cooked bacon, leaves of lettuce (traditionally iceberg or romaine), and slices of tomato, all sandwiched between slices of bread, optionally toasted. Mayonnaise is the traditional condiment used."

Mine wasn't toasted but served on small rolls like a KFC Snacker and was wonderful. Peppered bacon and the tomatoes were from the Farmer's Market - FRESH!

Just Finished Watching: Reign Over Me

What a great movie! I laughed, i cried, I remembered 9/11, I cried, I empathized...... Adam Sandler is outstanding in his role and I was amazed at his seriousness. ,I can't imagine anybody else playing that character better. If you haven't watched this movie I highly recommend it. Yes, it could be considered a chick flick but the guys do play video games so I guess that could make it a guy flick too

TripTheLady is on TopMomma!

Dinner and a Blog — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 08:53:22 GMT

Please cast your vote for me by clicking on
http://www.topmomma.com/mommas/referal/1587

Thanks!

Slacker Friday - Truth in Labeling?

Dinner and a Blog — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 12:30:34 GMT

Thanks to My Top Ten Droppers!

Dinner and a Blog — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 14:00:32 GMT

Joining Entrecard is free and easy and a great way to get new readers. I want to thank each of you who drop on my blog and especially the Top Ten Droppers listed below!

Dropper	# of drops
Turnip of Power	30
On The Bricks	30
Squeaky's - Madmouse Blog	29
The Path to the Pegasus Letter	29
Technically Easy	28
All In A Day	28
Software Outsourcing to China	26
Juuust a Bit Outside	25
Aerten Art	24
The Success	24

Slacker Friday - Diet Cartoon

Dinner and a Blog — Fri, 30 May 2008 08:23:39 GMT

Wordless Wednesday - It's 5 O'clock Somewhere

Dinner and a Blog — Wed, 21 May 2008 10:09:10 GMT

Dish Network drops ALL VOOM channels

Dinner and a Blog — Fri, 16 May 2008 17:59:48 GMT

Without any notice, Dish HD subscribers had stolen lost 15 channels because Dish Network decided it's paying subscribers didn't watch them enough. Did Dish ask any of it's subscribers? They didn't ask me and apparently many others are just as upset and highly irritated to have lost Monsters HD.

TV's first and only all horror channel. Monster movies are brought to life like never before on MONSTERS HD. From Frankenstein to Freddy, Godzilla to Jason, this monstrous mix of horror features blood-curdling clarity and spine-tingling sound. VOOM HD Networks

So, in protest, I have been calling the Dish Network support line at 800-333-3474 and asking if there's any news on when I would be getting my VOOM channels back. I also emailed the CEO and complained. If you would like to email the CEO of Dish Network you can reach him at:

CEO@echostar.com

Personally, I think if I complain enough Dish will do something - if not they will lose me as a customer.

Other links of interest regarding Dish dropping VOOM are:

Petition Online - Bring Back Monsters HD

Satellite Guys Dish HD Discussions

Dish drops unpopular Voom Channels

Cornish Game Hens

Dinner and a Blog — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 10:33:57 GMT

Cornish Game Hens

1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons lemon-pepper
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 Cornish game hens, about 1 1/2 pounds each, rinsed and dried thoroughly
1 green bell pepper, large dice
2 stalks celery, large dice
1 onion, large dice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a small mixing bowl, stir together salt, lemon pepper, dried basil and poultry seasoning. Rub olive oil all over the hens and season each with the salt mixture. Place the hens on a baking sheet pan with plenty of space between them. You may need to use 2 pans. Loosely stuff the cavities of each hen with some green bell pepper, celery and onion. Roast the hens in the preheated oven for about 1 hour or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165 degrees F and the juices run clear. Remove the hens from the oven, loosely tent with foil and let rest 10 minutes before carving or serving.

Chicken Quesadilla

Dinner and a Blog — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 19:00:59 GMT

Wednesday night was dinner out at Cypress Grill and I had the chicken quesadilla. It was great as usual! Here's my favorite recipe for chicken quesadillas.

Chicken Quesadilla

Ingredients:
1/2 ounce shortening
2 (12-inch) flour tortillas
2 tablespoons chipotle sauce (optional)
4 ounces grilled chicken (spicy seasoning optional)
1 cup shredded lettuce
Sour cream
Green onion
Salsa

Quesa Filling (amounts as desired)
Jack and Cheddar cheeses
Jalapeño pepper, diced
Tomato, diced
Onion, diced
Cilantro, minced
Bacon, fried and crumbled

Directions:

Brush one side of each tortilla with shortening.

Place one tortilla, shortening side down on work surface. Spread chipotle sauce evenly on one tortilla. Microwave chicken approximately 45 seconds, then distribute on top of sauce on tortilla. Evenly distribute Quesa Filling on top of chicken. Cover with other tortilla, shortening side up. Brown on griddle or in non stick skillet evenly on both sides until internal Quesa Filling is thoroughly melted.

Use shredded lettuce, sour cream, green onion and salsa as accompaniments.

Winding Down

Dinner and a Blog — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 11:38:36 GMT