Sandi is blogging from the WhistleStop Cafe kitchen. It's all about good home cooking; food, family and fun. Thousands of posts . . .

~In the south and around the world.



Monday, September 29, 2008

A Bootlegged Blog Post

This Blog has been Hijacked for the time being by Hollydayze...

She may be turning 50~
But she is not slowing down.
"Some people go through life trying to find out what the world holds for them only to find out too late that it is what they bring to the world that really counts"
Anne of Green Gables
Well finally~we have been celebrating this big event for months now! Sandi is about to join the rest of us, as Oprah puts it, for the best years of her life. If you know and love Aunt Sandi like we do, you know that she has not waited for a birthday to have fun! ......you just have to have the camera ready!
We Love you Aunt Sister!

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Strangest Scoop of all

This is the most unusual scoop of ice cream I have ever seen~ Roquefort-Honey Ice Cream.

If it hadn't been PalmaBella's choice from 'The Perfect Scoop', I would have never tried it. I am a dedicated Sunday Slow Scooper, so here it is.

Roquefort-Honey Ice Cream
6-8 Tbs honey
4 ounces Roquefort or blue cheese
1 cup milk
4 egg yolks
1 cup heavy cream
Warm the milk. Slowly incorporate the egg yolks. Cook the custard until thickened. Place the cheese in a bowl with a colander on top. Pour the custard through the colander to catch any bits of scrambled eggs. Stir until most of the cheese is melted. Stir in cream and honey and stir until cool over and ice bath. Chill according to directions.
Cheese and pears go together, so I served mine up with a scoop pear crisp. Made quickly with our WhistleStop Apple Crisp . This was the perfect blend. The combination of the blue cheese, pears, and sweet crisp worked well together.

Now, Bill is a southern meat and potatoes kind of guy... his idea of ice cream is a big bowl of vanilla or maybe moosetracks. This was not his favorite~ but I did notice that there was nothing left in the bowl when he was done. Trying something different every now and then is fun.

This is worth a try!
Y'all enjoy!
Sandi

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Photo Hunt ~View

This week's photo hunt is View.
What a view from the back wall of our villa in Montisi.

In addition to my photo hunt, I have to get y'all to hop over to Fifi Flowers. She has done a post featuring the WhistleStop Cafe. If you don't know Fifi~ she is an incredible artist. I love her bright fun drawings.
We have been Fifi-fied!
Ciao y'all~
Sandi

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Walk on the beach


One last walk on the beach.
Y'all enjoy!
Sandi

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Love Bug Season

It is love bug season in Florida.
These pesky critters are everywhere. Apparently September is the season of Love. ~Unfortunate for those who were flying near the interstate. Just look at this picture of the front of our car. It was a mess.
This brings up a question for me... why are they called love bugs?

Does this look like love to you?







One bug leads and the other just blindly follows... I thought that there was something wrong with that picture.
Then I googled 'love bug' (be careful googling things like that). I found that the larger bug is the female and the male joins on and just follows where she goes.
Hmmmm~





This is more of my idea~



Happy Fall y'all!
Sandi

Monday, September 22, 2008

At the Marina

We stopped in for lunch at Uncle Ernies Bay Front Grill. This is a local hangout in Panama City on the marina; far away from the 'Miracle Strip' and the wall to wall condos. We sat out on the covered deck with a nice sea breeze.
Once again we tried the smoked tuna dip~ great! They make their own breads, the sun dried tomato bread was awesome. My salad was fresh with tomatoes, feta and olives... loved it. They also serve home brews, so we sat back and enjoyed the view. We picked up some fresh shrimp from the shrimp man. I will be making this recipe for shrimp with green tomatoes and basil that I found on Taste With The Eyes as soon as we get home. In the mean time, another day, another sunset.

Y'all enjoy the view.
Sandi

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Scoops of Cinnamon

The Sunday Slow Scoopers are at it again this week. We are making David Lebovitz's page 38 from 'The Perfect Scoop'. This recipe contains a delicate flavor of cinnamon, using cinnamon sticks to infuse the cream.
I have been using organic creams and milks in all of the ice cream I've made. I love the fresh flavors~ and feel a little bit better about this weekly scooping event. There is not much we can do about the calories, except another hour at the gym.



Cinnamon Ice Cream

1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
10 cinnamon sticks
2 cups heavy cream
5 egg yolks

Warm the milk and spices with 1 cup of cream. Cover and allow to steep for 1 hour.
Rewarm and remove the cinnamon sticks. Slowly incorporate the egg yolks and cook, stirring the custard over low heat until it thickens. Pour the custard through a strainer into the cream. Chill the mixture and freeze according to directions.


I have served my scoop of cinnamon with a bite of warm black and white brownie. Imagine how yummy this would be with a piece of pie over the holidays. I know I say this every week... but this is my favorite (so far). I am making this cinnamon ice cream again!
Y'all enjoy!
Sandi

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Photo Hunt~Road


The photo hunt event for the week is road~

Even in Venice, Italy the roads can be crowded!

Ciao y'all~

Sandi

Friday, September 19, 2008

Good Eats!

I was asking for some suggestions of good places to eat on the coast. Some traveling friends suggested The Red Bar in Grayton Beach. We are always game for something new.

Gail and Jan didn't lead us astray. This is a great place to eat, drink, and get merry. I understand the owners are from Belgium and the place reflects it. The decor would be a little European- RedNeck funky, with great food. The bartender makes a perfect key lime martini. Just my kind of place!
They had a live band in the corner, surrounded by cozy couches (that could be off of some one's front porch) and chandeliers for subtle lighting. They played jazz all night long with an invitation for dancing or just enjoying.
They have a short selection on a chalkboard of what they are serving for that night. We had a plate of awesome smoked tuna dip. Bill had the grilled grouper and I tried the eggplant stuffed with seafood. Both were great!
The Red Bar will be on our list in the future!
Y'all check it out.
Sandi

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Sandy Beaches and Sunsets

There is nothing more beautiful than the gulf coast.
I'll let you be the judge of that.
I wish you could hear the ocean breeze.
Or do you feel the ocean breeze?
The sunset is different every evening!
Want to join me on the deck?
Y'all enjoy!
Sandi

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Headed to the Beach

There is something about having your toes in the sand to recharge a body. Who ever thought of the ad campaign 'Milk~ does a body good' must have been sitting under an umbrella listening to the waves.

Sand~ does a body good!

There is nothing like a get-away on the coast! We plan to eat a lot of fresh sea food, drink some bushwackers, and just relax.



But... not to worry. I'm taking my shiny new toy with me.



Y'all stay tuned!
Sandi

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Look at my new baby~

Look at my new baby~
She is tiny and sleek.

We are going to have so much fun together.

I have so many things to show her.

And she'll have a lot to teach me.


My new Sony Vaio!
I will be so chic sitting at the WiFi spots in Italy next spring!
Don't y'all think?
Sandi

Monday, September 15, 2008

A WhistleStop Tour!

Have you been following the news?

Not the lipstick comment, or the price of gas....

Good Morning America is going on a WhistleStop Tour. The tour begins today, and they will hit every state in the country.

When I heard this I thought... finally the 'drive by media' is doing something good. What could be better than a WhistleStop Tour?


I hope every market out there uses this chance to put their Whistlestop products right up front. It is not often that you get ABC to advertise for you... For Free!

We are going to take the chance to do a little road trip of our own. Off for a few days on the gulf. Maybe we will include a few trips to the local markets.
A WhistleStop tour of our own.
Bye y'all!
Sandi

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Panforte Scoops


Have you ever tasted an Tuscan panforte? It is sort of an Italian fruit cake~ a spicey cake with fruit and nuts. Panforte is the inspiration for this weeks Sunday Slow Scoopers.

I made my own candied orange and lime peels a few days earlier. They turned out so pretty! When it came time for ice cream, I got the 'veto' on adding them into the mix.

Panforte Ice Cream
1 cup half&half
2/3 cup sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 cups heavy cream
4 egg yolks
3 Tbs honey
1/4 cup mixed candied citrus peels
1/2 cup almonds

Warm the half&half with sugar and cinnamon stick- broken in half, add cloves and nutmeg. Cover and set aside to all of flavors to infuse for 30 minutes. Rewarm, and slowly incorporate the egg yolks. Cook custard until thickened or temperature reaches 170°. Pour through a strainer into a bowl filled with cream in an ice bath. While it is cooling warm honey and stir into the custard. Chill before freezing.

During the last minutes of churning add orange peel and almonds.
I served my scoops on a bed of candied citrus peels. It tasted just as good!

Y'all enjoy!
Sandi
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