Susan in FL

Salmon fishing, awesome. Enjoying wild salmon from your own freezer MIGHT make winter tolerable! I'm continuing to take advantage of the cool temperatures, for making cold-weather foods. Last night was the first time I ever used a recipe for making chili. I "followed" this recipe for Pork, Beef, and Black Bean Chili, leaving out the pound of beef cubes, approximately two third-ing the rest of the ingredients, and substituting two Hershey's Kisses for the sugar. It was real good. Oh, and no grated cheese on top... chopped raw sweet onion instead.

I use all of the above, usually starting with Epicurious.com or the Food Network's site. I bypass FoodandWine.com and go directly to the recipe page of Cooking.com. I also like recipes from Wine Spectator.

Thanks, Jason! To those reading this, if you know any of the restaurants have closed during the past year, please mention.

Count me in among the lovers of cumin. I guess I have never used too much of it. Whew. I just had it in two dishes tonight, "Border-Style Shrimp, and Potatoes Bravas." We like it in pork preparations, chili, and potatoes as you described mongo jones. I have a real good cumin viniagrette recipe, and I could go on and on.

My friend and I have decided upon the plan for when she comes to visit in April. We're going to the Palm Beaches area for a three-day girls-night-out. We're staying on Singer Island. I'm researching quite in advance, I know, but for me the planning is almost as much fun as the trip. Please give me your recommendations, ideas, and info on where to eat and other things to do. The most important thing is good food and wine, and some decent microbrews would be fine too, if there is such a thing there. We're interested in upscale, or not. Wonderful ambience and entertainment, etc. would be a great bonus, but we don't want to compromise the quality of the food for a good view.

Kristin, that was still a nice picture. Call it special effects. Happy Birthday to Mia. Oatmeal, your attempt for something warm and southern in ALASKA was impressive. I would probably go totally insane in a place so cold. Tonight I cooked Border-Style Shrimp and Potatoes Bravas, from the December 2003 issue of Cooking Light, with very little modification of the recipes. With it was a Tomato, Mint, and Watercress Salad which we usually serve atop pork chops -- it was a nice cool contrast to the spicy food -- and once again, a 1999 Condesa de Leganza Crianza.

Yesterday's main meal was brunch: steak; soft scrambled eggs with sour cream and salmon caviar; sliced tomatoes; melon & prosciutto; and mimosas. After that I wasn't real hungry for dinner last night, so I had a helping of my husband's pasta sauce over a slice of Italian bread while he had his over penne pasta. We've been on a kick for 1999 Rancho Zabaco Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel recently, and each had a glass of that with our respective dinners.

I did. Shame on me. How ungrateful!

I loved reading about that! I hear all the time about the tremendous development in this area from just 10 years ago. I can only imagine the changes since the era you were describing. I have been living here for only 2 1/2 years. Thanks so much. Yes, the bridges are there, now referred to as the north causeway and the south causeway. I would love to hear more from you about it. Did you travel north to Ormond Beach? There are some restaurants that seem as though they have not changed at all since the 50's. Park's in Daytona Beach, Julian's in Ormond... That's not a bad thing, it's just a thing, not uncommon here!

About The Cellars, I hope we are onto something here. I'll report back after I check it out again. It might have been open elsewhere before this time. A dining friend of mine said something about that. Last night we went to New Smyrna Beach for our Friday night thing. We went to the Flagler Tavern/ Old Flagler House Inn, where they have typical bar food, with like 22 different appetizers. I was impressed because they had Bass Ale on tap... what a sad commentary that is about the local beer selection! It sure tasted good after too long a day at work. And of course another wonderful thing was al fresco dining on January 16th when most of the rest of the country was in a deep freeze. We ended up staying there to eat dinner. These places are OK, if you just prepare yourself for what it is... beach restaurants that appeal to the masses, with inexpensive seafood platters that have little plastic containers of tartar sauce, cocktail sauce and butter with the little lids on them. The stuffing in the mushroom appetizer had too much filler and the mashed potatoes tasted funky, but the bread was good and the bottle of Kenwood Sauvignon Blanc for $20.00 was decent. And, we liked their plates and bought two of them. Speaking of New Smyrna Beach and Norwoods, I guess that is one step up from last night. I think it has decent food and a mediocre wine selection, and once again, if you prepare yourself... it is what it is. The wine shop is pretty good. Will they let you select a wine for dinner from their shop? We went to a wine bar and restaurant in Charlottesville, VA where the shop was the wine list. Great idea!

Thanks, all. I learned a lot, and plan to try a step up in quality, in hopes of developing a taste for this. I'll take these notes to my wine guy that has the best selection. I would like to have an appreciation of this interesting grape!

What a great idea... what do you do, just process cooked lima beans, EVOO, and the salt, and that's it?

We drank a bottle of 1999 Condesa de Leganza Crianza tonight. I'm not sure if I ever drank a 100% Tempranillo before. I am aware of some of the background of this winemaker, including that 1998 was the first released to the U.S. The taste of the wine was different! I think maybe it would be considered a good wine of its type, but not one that I was very fond of. I think maybe I would have to develop a taste for it. Even stranger, I think I would like to. Is this a good example of Tempranillo? It tasted like what pipes or cigars smell like to me. I am interested in your comments.

My husband cooked tonight: Black bean soup with pork and potatoes, nicely seasoned; Salad; 1999 Condesa de Leganza Crianza (That needs a topic of its own.)

My husband makes such good pancakes, and uses the recipe from an original Joy of Cooking. He uses buttermilk some of the time. I love them because they turn out light, and like cake. I don't do pancakes. That is, I don't cook them. On them I love just butter and maple syrup and sometimes powdered sugar. We eat pancakes for dessert sometimes!

Last night a friend invited us over and fed us in exchange for my husband's hooking up her new computer: Lentil soup, cornbread, chocolate chip cookies, and vanilla pudding, all homemade. Tonight: Starter, roasted sweet onions with Cabrales and pine nuts, dressed with EVOO (the good stuff) and Sherry vinegar A chicken cordon bleu type thing I made up, using skinless, boneless thighs, Beaufort, Black Forest Ham, panko, etc. Panko is great stuff, isn't it? It browns so nicely. To drink, Bordeaux. Tomorrow I go back to work after several days off... Not sure what dinner will be, but then... it's the weekend!

Laurel, your photos are very good. They are small enough to not be obtrusive or have to widen the screen like crazy to view them, AND they are clear, bright, and well captured images. You're an inspiration!

They are doing a great job in mail order, and customer service, too. I sent two emails with questions and they were answered promptly. Now I know what my next order will include... Number One, Ubriaco Prosecco! Aged Mahon, Very Old St Maure, and Carles Roquefort to follow at some point in time. Looking forward to reading about Tuesday's beer dinner... Enjoy!

I've been using EVOO for almost all everyday cooking, too. If not, I get picky about what kind of oil I use... soybean, peanut, canola, or etc. depending on what I'm cooking. I don't do much baking and use whatever is called for in a baking recipe. Thanks for the links, everybody. I plan to try those olive oils that were unfamiliar to me. My current good EVOO is Ariston Reserve, Greek. I love it! Whatever its style is, that's the style I like best right now. It is fruity and smells divine. If any experts know more, to teach me how to describe this, I would welcome the info. Iain, so far I also disagree about not using EV for sauteing, etc. I use EV, and usually for everyday use, cooking, it is Bertolli (fruity not "delicate") or Colavita. Has anyone had good experience regularly using grades other than EV for cooking? I also like grapeseed for a neutral oil. I tried Vigo once and maybe it was a bad bottle... I didn't like it. I did like Lucini OK for everyday. I've been trying to decide what would be a good 3 litre size to buy. MichaelB, are those in 3 litre tins that you mentioned other grades or EV? The "Oh, my God" type sounds like one to try for sure.

That sounds so good. I love posole. I am assuming it was just the green chiles you smuggled and not the entire posole dish ...do you have a recipe to share or a description of what you did?

It was quite cold here today, and I was in the mood to pretend it was colder than highs in the 60's. I love to cook stove top, so I made tonight's dinner of beef stew with shiitake mushrooms and baby vegetables. As far as I can remember, this was the first time I've made beef stew since 1997... that was the date of my note on this recipe which I adapted. It called for fresh shiitake mushrooms, but those in the store today were not good enough. I used dried instead, saving out a cup of the beef broth to warm and soak the mushrooms, and added the strained liquid later, and then the mushrooms toward the end of the simmering. I also threw in some wonderful sun-dried tomatoes at the end. With it was a salad of mixed baby greens, etc. with gorgonzola, and a bottle of 1999 Rancho Zabaco Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel. Yum!

We had discussion about the less than good dining spots under a Central Florida topic. Orlando has some fine dining, so since it's mainly in and around Daytona Beach that is lacking, I thought I would start a thread about this area in particular. With the current release of the movie, Monster, we have a claim to fame that would not be considered by most to be part of The Good category. The Last Resort was the last stop of Aileen Wuornos, the serial killer, before she was arrested and this biker bar is in the movie. Not exactly the kind of place I'm hoping to discuss routinely... but I thought it is worth a smile. We may have actually found a decent restaurant right in Datona Beach, The Cellar, on Magnolia Avenue. It was one of our happy hour stops Friday. We had just a glass of wine and an appetizer, but it was a good glass of wine, and our first impression of the food was favorable! We had carpaccio, and a roasted red pepper stuffed with fresh mozzarella and prosciutto. These and entrees like pappardelle with rabbit and various risottos are items we don't often see on the menus of our beach restaurants. I've got my fingers crossed and plan to return for dinner another time. Has anyone eaten lunch or dinner there?

I am so glad to see this topic. A friend from up north is going to visit and we're planning a short trip within Florida as part of her stay. We want a destination with the beauty of Florida beaches AND good restaurants. I was thinking about this area. Thanks!

It seems like one of those things for which some people refuse to give a "favorite," but do you have a "current favorite" EVOO? Do you use EV for everything? If not, what and what brand are you using for cooking, or when not EV? Do you have an everyday or standard olive oil, that you keep on hand as a staple, besides the most premium olive oils? I'm expanding my knowledge, use, and tastes of olive oil, and am interested in your discussion. Do you do olive oil tastings, or belong to anything like an olive oil of-the-month club? Who has several different olive oils on hand for use depending on the foods? What are they? Last, but not least for those of us who don't have the greatest variety available from local sources, which online ordering sources come highly recommended?

That is too funny.