During my recent delightful visit to Savannah, I found the warm and welcoming Kehoe House Bed and Breakfast Inn
(https://www.kehoehouse.com/) ideally situated to enjoy Savannah's gorgeous historic district.
My large and beautifully decorated room was very comfortable. The evening turn down of the bed included a couple of large, delicious cookies.
The Kehoe House offered a breakfast menu that included the choice of an egg or sweet main course with sides that included fruit, bacon or sausage, grits or potatoes, and biscuit or toast. They also served juices and coffee or tea. If the menu main-dish choices didn't appeal, they offered to prepared another dish.
Breakfast could be enjoyed in one's room, or at a large dining room table with other guests. I enjoyed chatting with very interesting guests at the breakfast table.
From 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the evening, there was a free happy hour with wine and choice of several appetizers. I enjoyed the Kehoe House label Pinot Noir and their Cabernet Sauvignon.
At one happy hour, an engaging historian gave a very interesting presentation about the Kehoe House, which was built in 1892 by William Kehoe, who had come to Savannah as a poor Irish immigrant child and eventually became a very successful foundry owner. For about 10 years, the building was owned by former New York Jets football star, Joe Namath, who purportedly intended to make it a "bunny club."
As is fitting for a mansion built for a foundry owner, all of the building's exterior stairways, window frames, columns and fences are cast iron.
There is an elevator inside.
The staff was supporting and attentive in every respect. When I left, the staff sent me on my way with a nice bag of snacks.
My cost per night, including taxes and fees, during the three midweek nights I stayed there was $298. There was an additional charge of $20 per day for parking in the nearby uncovered Kehoe House parking lot. Just beyond that lot is a covered lot where parking is $10 per day.
I discovered that I would have received a better rate had I booked directly with the Kehoe House rather than through a booking service.
It is easy to understand why the Kehoe House has nearly 1,200 excellent Trip Advisor reviews.
What a fantastic experience - sitting outside chatting with wonderful friends at a shaded table, while looking out onto Little Sarasota Bay on a sunny day with temperatures in the mid-70's, and enjoying delicious food and drinks. That was our experience at Turtles Restaurant (http://www.turtlesrestaurant.com/) on Siesta Key.
My food and wine were delicious. I started with a cup of their signature crab bisque for $4. It was really delicious and filled with crab.
My main dish was a tasty North Atlantic salmon BLT grilled with a dill sauce for $13.
My drink was a nice White Haven Sauvignon Blanc for $8.50 per glass.
The hostess was very accommodating, the service excellent, and the prices reasonable.
Turtles does not take reservations and can be crowded.
It is located at 8875 Midnight Pass Road.
My only regret is that I don't live closer.
I found this great and very easy Japanese-style dressing on The Spruce Eats (https://www.thespruceeats.com/onion-ginger-and-carrot-salad-dressing-3863338) I used all the ingredients, including the optional ones. It easily serves eight. I reworded the original directions to simplify.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup chopped yellow onion
- 1/4 cup chopped carrot
- 1/2 tsp peeled and minced ginger
- 2 tablespoons ketchup or tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 1/2 tsp salt (to taste)
- Optional dash of black pepper
- Optional 1/2 tsp of granulated white sugar
Directions
Place all the ingredients in a food processor or blender, and purée. (I used a blender.)
Chill for 1-2 hours before serving.
For a recent Japanese-style meal for family, the dessert I served was an approximation of a Japanese fruit sandwich. It was very tasty and easy to make.
Normally, Japanese fruit sandwiches are made with a light, fluffy, slightly sweet Japanese bread known as milk bread (shoku pan) or Hokkaido bread. Since I could not find that bread, I used a butter pound cake instead.
The ingredients are simple:
- A firm bread that will not easily get mushy from fruit and that does not have non-dessert ingredients like garlic.
- Fruit that is not too juicy - kiwis, mangos, strawberries, peaches. I used the first three.
- Homemade whipped cream. Homemade whipped cream is unbelievably easy to make. The ingredients are just whipping cream, powdered sugar (optional), vanilla extract (optional). There are plenty of instructions on line.
The preparation is simple
1. Slice the bread
2. Cut the fruit and place it on the bread.
3. Spread the whipped cream on the fruit.
4. Assemble the two pieces.
When using the larger milk bread slices, the sandwich is sliced diagonally and the properly positioned fruit looks very nice from the sides.
How do I love thee Saasota-Bradenton - Let me count the ways, er, uh, Let me count the restaurants (but not the traffic). Today, I had the very tasty experience of trying a Czech restaurant for the first time - Prague, located on Main St. in Sarasota (https://thepraguerestaurant.com/). It offers a nice variety of Central European and American dishes.
I chose one of the Happy Hour specials - a salad and a main dish with sides for $15.
There were two salad choices - Caesar and a Czech cucumber salad (okurkový salát). I chose the latter. It was on the sweet side and had a tiny bit of a kick. I loved it.
The main dish I had was the Czech national dish, slow-roasted pork with a homemade brown sauce and caraway seeds (vepřo knedlo zelo) accompanied by Bohemian dumplings, sweet and sour cabbage, and sauerkraut. The combination was very tasty, down-to-earth food. I particularly liked the pork and the cabbage. The dumplings (knedliky) are boiled and look like slices of bread. They were unexciting, but went nicely with the pork.
The dessert I had was terrific - two different types of Czech rolled crêpes (palačinky). One was filled with sweet cream cheese, cinnamon, and rum raisins. The other was filled with raspberry jam. They were topped with whipped cream, powdered sugar, and chocolate. The cost was $9.
I had a nice glass 2016 Lyric Pinot Noir from Santa Barbara County for $10 and a cup of espresso for $5.
The drink list includes two types of draft Czech beer.
The next time I go, I intend to try another Czech dish - the roast duck Bohemian style.
The owner and staff are Czech, and the service was efficient and friendly.
There are tables inside and out.
Prague is open 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday and for brunch on Saturday and Sunday. It is located next to C'est la Vie on Main St. For reservations, phone 941-329-2882.
In looking for a way to use leftover butternut squash from a recent beef stew recipe that I made, I found this really easy, tasty recipe on allrecipes.com - https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/229733/simple-roasted-butternut-squash/.
This recipe makes 1-2 servings. The addition of cinnamon is my idea. (The allrecipes recipe called for a whole butternut squash. Since I only had a part of a squash, I reduced the amount of olive oil and garlic by half.)
Ingredients
- 2/3 pound of peeled and seeded butternut squash cut into 1 inch chunks. The squash I had from Publix was already seeded.
- 1 clove of minced garlic
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- salt, pepper, and cinnamon to taste
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400°
- Mix squash, garlic, and olive oil in a bowl
- Sprinkle salt, pepper, and cinnamon to taste
- Place squash in a single layer on a baking sheet
- Bake 25-30 minutes until squash is tender. (27 minutes did the trick for me.)
A couple of days ago, I prepared a Tuscan dinner for friends. The main course I chose was Pollo alla Cacciatore, which means hunter-style chicken. Variants of this dish are popular throughout Italy. I found two Tuscan versions and chose elements of both to create the one I cooked. It was easy to make and I love it.
The recipes I used as a starting point are at:
1. https://www.santacristina.wine/en/cookbook/ricette/chicken-cacciatore/
2. http://lifeisabowlofpasta.com/recipe-items/pollo-alla-cacciatora/
The version below serves two. I scaled it up to serve eight the other night. (I scaled it up enough that I probably could have served 12.)
The other dishes I served with the chicken were:
- Crostini with goat cheese, fig preserves, and prosciutto di Parma
- Crostini with olive paté (crushed black olives, lemon juice, olive oil, breadcrumbs)
- Carabaccia - Florentine onion soup
- Carote in Stufato - Tuscan braised carrots with pancetta
- Schiaciatta alla Fiorentina - Florentine sweet bread/cake
The wine I served with the main course was a superb 2010 Máté Brunello di Montalcino.
(I did not consider serving Chicken Florentine for this dinner because, despite the name, it's an American dish.)
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless chicken thighs, cut up
- Half of a 28 oz can of peeled San Marzano tomatoes
- 3 oz of pitted olives, halved. I used Sicilian Castelvetrano olives.
- 2 oz red wine. I used a Tuscan Chianti.
- 1 garlic clove chopped
- 1/4 Spanish onion, diced
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 1 celery stalk, chopped
- 1 rosemary sprig
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt
- pepper
Preparation
1. Coat the base of a large sauce pan with extra virgin olive oil Heat to medium high and add chicken. Brown the chicken on all sides, and then remove it.
2. Add onions, carrots, celery, garlic, bay leaves, fennel, and a pinch of salt. Cook until vegetables are softened - about 8 minutes.
3. Add chicken to the vegetable base and stir for two minutes to coat.
4. Add wine; stir gently again, and let wine evaporate.
5. Once the wine is almost reduced, add the tomatoes and rosemary, and adjust salt and pepper. When I added the tomatoes, I included the juice from the can. Cover and let cook on low heat for 20 minutes.
6. Stir in olives and cook for another 10 minutes.
