BRRRRRRRR! WE GOT COLD IN DECEMBER.
However, now we are nice and warm down in sunny Florida. Y’all come on down, and see us in Largo, key west, Orlando, AND… the International Fiddler Crab Festival in lovely Steinhatchee. Here we are warming up in Margaritaville. (Photo by Rick Zimmer)
CAESAR SALAD WITH SHRIMP AND ASPARAGUS
1 head of romaine cut up
1 bunch of lightly steamed asparagus, cut into one inch pieces
1 small onion, sliced thin
Fresh milled pepper
1 pound of very fresh deveined boiled large shrimp (do not over cook)
Parmesan cheese grated
Dressing
Juice of a lemon
Juice of an orange
2 eggs
2 oz. of anchovies chopped
Olive oil
Croutons
1 head of garlic minced and 2 or 3 slices of bread cut into one inch pieces, then sautéed in olive oil
The trick with a Caesar salad is to get the croutons and coddled eggs to the table when they are still warm. So I get every thing ready except for the eggs and croutons. While the eggs are boiling, I throw the bread and garlic into hot olive oil. After one minute, mix the eggs with the rest of the dressing, then mix with the rest of the salad. The last thing is the croutons. That way, the dressing is warm, smooth and comforting, and the garlic croutons are nice and crunchy on top.
MYKONOS
628 Dodecanese Blvd. Tarpon Springs, FL 34689 727-934-4306
Ready for a Mediterranean scene? Complete with lively, slightly tipsy, giggling, revelers, having some fun after dinner. Complete with the flamboyant Old Man holding court with the locals and tourists. Complete with the jostling flow of patrons hungry for an authentic Greek salad and atmosphere to go with it. Complete with a menu that might be offered on the island of Mykonos. Then, Mykonos is it! The Old Man knows what he’s doin. The grilled octopus is fabulous. Oven baked potatoes. YUMMMM. They bring a complimentary apple drizzled with honey and powdered with cinnamon with your meal for dessert. Every thing I ever ordered was good. It’s like my Mama’s old southern cookin with olive oil instead of bacon grease. (Don’t get me wrong. What she did with it was sooooo tasty. My Mama could COOK. DON’T SAY NOTHIN BOUT MY MAMA! She could make a feast out of a can o salmon and a loaf o bread. How did she do it? I think it was love… I digress.) Any way these guys have that same attitude about food and service. When my Mama made dinner, she served you in the classic sense of “serve”. As Bob Dylan said, “It might be the devil or it might be the Lord, but you got to serve somebody”. And some people know how to “serve”. I digress again… But I’m talking about these Greek guys at Mykonos. What is it about a satisfying meal that’s so hard to come by in this day of ApplebyMackyDeeKFCWendyArby, you know what I mean.
And I haven’t talked enough about the food other than a cursory glance at the octopus and potatoes. So…Actually… if you really want to know the truth… I’ve eaten there many times but I don’t remember ordering anything other than…OCTOPUS! And octopus, grilled to perfection, is very hard to come by. Every time I walk in the door, the waitress is carrying some scrumptious, absolutely gorgeous dinner to someone – smelts, pastistio, moussaka, grilled shrimp, lamb chops. What do I get? Octopus. All I ever get. That’s all.