Vacation Cooking - Eggs Three Ways (methods)

We decided to lounge around the condo for the mornings before going sight seeing. The entire day on Sunday (January 20^th) was spent in and around the condo as well to enjoy the view, sit around the pool and watch football. Well, he watched football while I amused myself playing Monopoly on my PDA and watching the ever changing view from the balcony. When renting a condo location is key! The fact that you get kitchen facilities is an added bonus. Being on vacation means not a lot of home cooking and working with equipment or lack thereof can really put a damper on what you can prepare. This is one of the few times that I will use pre-made convenience foods but I still prefer to pick up baked goods from a bakery. It's also I time that I rely on basics for whatever cooking I'm doing.

We seldom eat a hot breakfast at home with the exception of Sunday mornings. So a hot breakfast is one thing we like to indulge in when travelling or on vacation. I picked up a dozen eggs. 1/2 lb butter and pound of bacon for the week. The eggs weren't free range so didn't have quite the depth of flavour but they were tolerable.

The croissants were bought from Giorgio's Bakery & Bristo in Hollywood, Florida. They were delectable! I will be trying to duplicate these at home. My husband and I have very different taste in eggs. The only things we really agree on with respect to eggs is free range is preferred and is scrambled is a last resort. He likes his easy over or poached both with runny yolks. I like mine sunny side up, yolks runny and normally showing their bright yellow.

I added slices of fresh papaya. The papaya I bought was nothing like I can get at home. The flavour is so much deeper and richer, juicier, more robust. I so wanted to take a few home but my husband already thought we were pushing it with the coconut and he was concerned over crushing the fruit. So we filled ourselves with the lovely flavour of the tropicals vowing to visit again.

Method Poached Eggs: [A bit of vinegar is recommended in the water for poaching but my husband does not like that. Vinegar will cause the egg white to stay together while cooking.] Bring about cups of water to a boil then reduce heat to keep a high simmer. Stir the water to form a bit of a funnel. Drop each egg in one at a time while the water is funneling. Carefully dip a slotted spoon under each egg to ensure they do not stick to the bottom. Watch for the yolk to cloud over. Carefully dip a slotted spoon under each egg and remove from the simmering water. Tilt to drain then plate.

Method Sunnyside Up Eggs: Place about 1 tbsp olive oil or oil of your choice in a non-stick fry pan. Heat the pan on medium high. Crack eggs into the pan. Cover checking oven to remove the lid when the yolks are still yellow or if you like a firmer yolk allow the white to cover over the yolk. Remove cover and plate the eggs.

Macadamia Nut Cookies

We picked up six lovely macadamia nut cookies from Giorgio's. Now my husband is not fond of nuts so when he wanted these I was quite happy. Giorgio's smelled absolutely wonderful! I could have stayed there all day but I digress. I've been introducing more nuts into our diet but have been met with some resistance. Aside of peanuts, pistachios and occasionally cashews as snacks, nuts only appear in a few deserts and entrés. These cookies looked every bit as good as they tasted so they are another on my list of to try at home. They were nicely flavoured with a bit of chewiness accented with the nut pieces yet almost melt in your mouth. Now I just have to find a good recipe so I will be reporting back on my attempts. It is going to take a really good recipe to beat these cookies!

Lasagne

A prospect stay in day meant I went right back to the typed of food we would eat at home even though we were in the sunny south. We picked up a ready made salad with three little cups of dressing. The salad was the normal greens with peppers, onions, tomatoes and cucumbers. There was only one choice for the dressing, honey mustard but it was quite pleasant. A frozen family size (5 servings) lasagne completed the meal. The lasagne actually was made in Canada then sold in Publix in Florida. There were instructions for warming from frozen in the oven or microwave. It was was no where near to the taste of home made but it allowed us to have a leisurely evening meal while watching the ocean.

Egg Muffins

Refrigerator rolls make for quick sandwiches with little fuss making them an ideal food for vacation cooking. Egg muffins are easy to make using refrigerator rolls and slices of cheddar cheese. For best flavour do not use American processed cheese slices.

Method: Bake the refrigerator rolls as per instructions on the container. Remove from oven and cut in half. Heat a non-stick fry pan with a little oil. Fry eggs lightly turning for easy over. Place an egg on the bottom of each roll. Top with cheese and top of roll. Enjoy!

This is the last of pictures and commentaries of foods cooked in the condo during our vacation. Only a small portion of the foods we experienced on vacation were made in the condo. If you are considering renting a condo as part or all of your vacation accommodations a considerable amount of money can be saved if you cook the majority of your meals there even if you buy convenience and pre-made foods. However, as I found out ask ahead of time what types of cooking utensils and cookware there is. This will vary greatly from one condo owner to the next. Items lacking in the condo we rented were sharp knives, baking sheet, medium saucepan, small saucepan and phone book. Ask too whether items you are used to using such as food storage containers or tinfoil are included for storing any left overs. Ask if there are laundry facilities and a dishwasher and if so bring detergent with you if that is not included. If not you can pick up enough for your vacation at a dollar store then leave whatever is left behind especially if you are flying. When grocery shopping buy only what you can use during your stay. You will more than likely have to buy basics like sugar, salt, pepper and any spices you wish to use along with butter and oil. With the exception of butter, all could be brought with you even if flying if properly packaged depending on room in your luggage. This is a good opportunity to use up some of those left over restaurant condiment packages kept for just in case as well. Other than that keep your cooking simple, kick back and relax!

More Vacation Foods in Florida

We left Key West just after 10 am on Thursday (January 17, 2008) stopping at a cute pub called Don's Place where we waited for the Mac store to open. Island life is just a bit slower paced :) From there we travelled to my husband's aunt and uncle's on No Name Key. Now this is just a really pretty place to visit! They are totally solar powered and they gather their own water. So I had to share a little on this stop. Our final destination for the night was the condo in Hallandale, Florida. Upon arrival and getting settled, we did a little grocery shopping then settled in on the balcony to watch the ocean.

Coconut Palm

As many of you know I love to garden. It influences my cooking style so when we stopped at my husband's aunt and uncle's place I was in seventh heaven! Their gardens were amazing. They are totally solar so that in itself really impressed me and you can be sure I will be asking more questions on that but the gardens were like a magnet. They had a few coconut palms all loaded and along with some lovely looking tomatoes and herbs were star fruit, papaya and figs as well as other tropical plants. They take the boat out fishing catching fish I can only buy and offered to take us out fishing knowing we would have kitchen facilities but we had to meet the owner of the condo so could only stay a short time. After a lovely and relaxing visit we left with star fruit, figs and my much coveted coconut. His aunt offered more coconuts but my husband was firm that only one would be allowed. With visions of moving to an island like this where we could grow produce year round we headed up US 1. We saw three Key deer and even though we were travelling slow they were a blur when photographed.

My Coconut!

My coconut weighs in at 5.75 lb but that's with the husk. My husband took one look and hinted several times as to how to rid ourselves of the coconut but I was determined to bring it home. His concern was the weight since apparently someone (rolling eyes, shrugging shoulders, looking very innocent) packs too much. My concern was getting it through Canadian Customs which ended up be no problem. Now I have this gorgeous coconut that needs to be husked then I am going to find something special to make. As soon as I figure out how to break the baby open you will hear about it. I brought a tin of cream of coconut in the Key West and already had a tin of coconut milk at home, I think a Pina Colada type of desert might just be around the corner.

Bruschetta

Friday afternoon we stopped at Giorgio's Bakery & Bristro at 800 N. Ocean Drive, Hollywood, Florida. This was a short drive up from our condo on the intercostal. There is indoor seating but we opted to sit at a table outdoors right on the water. It was a beautiful, bright sunny and warm day. We watched the boats come in and out as we basked in the sun.

We ordered bruschetta with roasted garlic, homemade mozzarella, vine ripe tomatoes, garden fresh basil and extra virgin olive oil as an appetizer. The bruschetta was a half loaf of their fresh made bread topped with cheese, tomatoes, garlic and very lovely tasting fresh basil drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. That touch of balsamic really made the flavours burst! This is definitely a must try at home!

Not pictured was my husbands Phily Cheese Steak (apparently he has developed quite the liking for these) and my smoked salmon wrap with herb cheese and cucumber. Both were exellent! On the way out I bought dinner rolls and coissants from the bakery. I took pictures of the bakery as well. So many wonderful looking foods and the smell was incredible.

Condo Kitchen

This is a photo of the condo kitchen. It was a small "L-shape" with seating for two but it was clean and bright. I really liked the ceiling that doesn't show in this photo. The appliances were all medium range GE but more than adequate. I'm not sure of the problem but the fridge freezer seemed to be icing where it shouldn't. The sink had a garburator but we didn't use that. The oven while being self cleaning was very small, about a third the size of my home oven. The stovetop was smooth glasstop that gave me a few times trying it out. Whether I will by a glasstop module for my stove is still up in the air. There were things I liked about the glasstop and things I didn't. What was rather neat was the microwave as it had a browning element in it so you could microwave the food then brown the top. The Salton coffee maker had an option to make espresso something we might consider for home.

DiGiorno Pizza

One of the neat things about travelling is you can try foods you normally wouldn't at home. Even if you are cooking them in a kitchenette or condo you still will be making easy to prepare foods and likely relying more on convenience foods. And there is nothing wrong with that as after all you are on vacation. However, do try to keep it relatively healthy.

After much discussion we decided on a DiGiorno pizza for a snack Friday (Jan 18) night. We had bought a few groceries and this was one of our convenience splurges. The condo amenities simply did not lend themselves for cooking from scratch much so this was a close second. I have to admit it wasn't bad especially since it had spinach as one of the toppings. I will be adding chopped spinach to my list of toppings for homemade pizza.

More on Key West Food

Today I was pouring through the 640 pictures taken during our Florida vacation. Surprisingly there are less pictures of the foods we ate that I thought. Unfortunately I did not take pictures of the food at the last two places we ate at in Key West. In fairness we arrived in Key West just after 9 pm on January 15 (Tuesday) and left at 10 am January 17 (Thursday) so there really wasn't a lot of time so I was obviously caught up in the excitement of seeing as much as possible in a short period of time.

Sloppy Joe's Bar

Sloppy Joe's Bar is on the corner of Greene and Duval streets. It has been in business since 1933 and has the reputation of being Ernest Hemingway's favourite bar. Of this author's works I have only read Old Man and the Sea but seeing his house and visiting the bar he liked somehow seemed just right.

Sloppy Joe's is really a pleasant place with open walls to both streets. The bar has a relaxing atmosphere with live entertainment starting at noon. They offer a nice menu as well. We ordered a quesadilla to share as a snack since we had enjoyed a substantial breakfast at Cypress House. The quesadilla was quite large, folded in half and cut into three pieces. It came with spicy salsa sauce and sour cream. The filling was simply melted cheeses, onions and black beans. Now my husband wasn't very pleased at the prospect of black beans but he tried them and ate a few of them. I really enjoyed the black beans. [I'm already thinking of ways to serve black beans at home!]

While sightseeing we made several stops including the southernmost point of the United States. We bought Key West Scooter Hot Sauce, Jolly Roger Hot Sauce that promises to bleach your bones, and key lime juice. The nice thing is I can purchase these products online if we run out before we get back to the area.

Rum Barrel

After an afternoon of sight seeing on the scooter we headed back to Cypress House to park the scooter for the night. Then we headed to the Rum Barrel for dinner. To the right when you enter there is a small dining room where we ate. One thing that quickly becomes apparent is eating heavy foods in Key West is not as appealing as eating snackier types of foods but that is likely because we came from a cold climate so had a bit of wanting something different or it could be we were too tired to eat a larger meal. I ordered the Creole Gater Bites [sorry no picture] served with Creole honey mustard for dipping and a side salad. My husband ordered a Real Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich. The prices were more than reasonable.

The Philly Cheesesteak was quite large, filled with generous slices of thinly sliced beef and cheese served on a large bun. The garter bites were interesting and yes my husband even tried one. They came battered with the Creole honey mustard on the side in a dipping bowl. Be warned the honey mustard does have a bit of a nip to it. The alligator has a texture a little firmer and heavier than frog legs with a bit more chewy. It does not taste like chicken either! I would like to recreate this appetizer at home so will be looking for an online source for fresh or frozen alligator.

After dinner we moved to a table in the bar section under the Rum Barrel sign in front of the window closest to the meter except the windows were open that night. We settled in for the evening to listing to the live music of Jeff Clark's band. The band members and our mixologist autographed our daily specials menu. It was a nice way to spend our final night in Key West.

Vacation Eats

We arrived home to cold, snowy weather after our much needed break in the sunny south, Key West and Fort Lauderdale to be specific. This was our first trip with the exception of staying in a motel the night before flying out that we decided to not motel it at our destinations. We rented a cute little red convertible in Fort Lauderdale then made our way to Key West where we got around by scooter, back to Hallandale after a stop at No Name Key finally arriving at Fort Lauderdale to fly back home. Aside of soaking up a few of the sun's rays, sight seeing and walking along the beach we enjoyed a lot of great foods. If you are interested in the non-food side of our vacation I'll be making several entries with photos on my personal blog over the next week or so. To orient you, we stayed at Cypress House a lovely, historical bed and breakfast in Key West where we enjoyed breakfasts at the inn and ate out. Then we made our way back up to Hallandale where we stayed at a wonderful condo on the 14th floor of the Sian Ocean Condo Residences with ocean and intercoastal views. The kitchen was slightly different than pictured in the ad so I'll post pictures of that later. We were on vacation and I insisted on cooking a few meals more because taking it easy in the morning, sipping coffee while enjoying the ocean view and relaxing was nicer than rushing to get ready to go out for breakfast. I'll be sharing some of the foods we ate during our vacation foods and places we enjoyed eating over the next few posts, as always with my commentaries.

Potato Skins

Once the suitcases are packed and loaded into the car, vacation mode sets in. We generally stay overnight before winter flights simply to remove the possible delay due to weather. The night before our flight we stayed at a Four Points by Sherridan motel. I don't know what it is but I always have to try something from their menu simply because. So while my husband lounged in the room, I headed down to the motel bar where anything on the menu could be ordered. The bar consisted of a large oval bar with bar stools, table seating to the left and casual, comfy seating to the right. The staff were very friendly. Pondering the menu I decided on potato skins then patiently waited while people watching. Six well topped potato skins quickly arrived for me to take back to the room. These were quite good, very cheesy at at $7 a rather inexpensive appetizer. The next morning we woke to snow thankful to be heading south. This motel included park & fly and had a shuttle to the airport where we arrived bright and early to enjoy breakfast about three hours before our flight.

[sorry, no photo] Our experience has been that airport food can be quite good but sometimes it can be touch and go. We've been at this particular airport bar/restaurant on several occasions so know what to expect. We each ordered scrambled eggs (the only choice), sausage, home fries and toast. It was an average breakfast served on plastic plates with plastic utensils. However, the eggs were real eggs, the sausage was nicely browned and the toast was sourdough! In general the airport bar/restaurant combo serves higher quality foods than the airport fast food ones but even that varies from airport to airport.

Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville

Landing in Fort Lauderdale was slightly delayed and it took ages to get our luggage (a good 40 minutes!). A shuttle took us to the car rental then finally we were on our way towards Key West at just about 4:30 pm. We were on a time schedule to get to Cypress House before the office closed at 9 pm. Well we were warned about US 1 being tedious. As we neared the 8 pm mark the innkeeper called to see where we were and to make arrangements for us to pick-up the key if we arrived after 9 pm. Well we pulled in front of Cypress House just as the innkeeper was locking the front gate so all was well. The only stop we had made on the way down was through a drive through at Wendy's for a snack. Most of you know how I feel about fast food restaurants but we hadn't eaten since breakfast. After settling in we walked down Duval Street to Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville where we enjoyed a Cheese burger in Paradise ($8.95 each), key lime pie ($4.95 shared), a couple of drinks and live entertainment. My husband tried a Rum Runner ($6.95), a Keys favourite. This is a must eat at restaurant in Key West! Our waiter was one of the best. Although we took several photos I must have been too tired to remember taking pictures of the food only so thanks to our waiter we appear in several of the photos. A Jimmy Buffett burger comes with all the toppings including the Heinz 57. Strolling along Duval to Caroline then up to Cypress House, I vowed to take more pictures of the food as the warm breeze brushed my shoulders.

Continental Breakfast

The following morning we enjoyed the continental breakfast served from 8 am to 11 am at Cypress House. The breakfast is laid out in the kitchen of the main house. The cabinetry and appliances are modern but in keeping with the historical atmosphere. And I really loved their Viking stove! Unlike many continental breakfasts Cypress House has hot offerings as well as the standard cold cereals, fruits and breads. I do have to give them two thumbs up for their coffee as well that was rich bodied and full flavoured. The photo is of the main cold foods serving area in the kitchen. To the left not pictured is their prep area and that lovely Viking. Before the chair at the bottom is a bank of counter where the hot beverages are. To the right is the hot foods. On this particular day there were hot biscuits with sausage. The following day they had hot apple pancakes.

Once you load your plate, it is only a short walk out the kitchen door into the green space where you can enjoy your meal on the pool side covered patio. The atmosphere is calming as the palm trees rustle slightly in the wind. Other guests give a friendly greeting as does the resident pets. What's nice too is you can always take your plate back to your room then enjoy breakfast on one of the verandas off the room. Sitting on a wicker rocker gently rocking while sipping good coffee is a wonderful way to start the day!