Category: Food

There’s a lot more to travel than just seeing the sights of new places along the road less traveled. Don’t get me wrong, I love to explore, and although I’ve been around the block a few times, I have seen far too little of this great country of ours. Hopefully, Helen (adorable wife) and I can tow Gracey through a lot more of it before we settle in at the Relief Home for Old Soldiers and Sailors.

Of the many aspects of travel that appeal to me, I would put food and drink near the top. In fact, it might be at the top if I were honest about it. I love to eat, and I love to sample great wine. Furthermore, with the explosion of craft beer in this country, there is always something new to try in every place we visit. All of the food and drink experiences we shared on our snowbird tour added greatly to this journey.

Our next stop after we departed from the Mayport Naval Station near Jacksonville was Melbourne, Florida, to spend two nights with my sister, LeAnn, and her husband, Marty. We were eager to arrive.  My sister is a lot of fun, and we always have a great time together. Marty is one of the greatest guys I’ve ever met, and I enjoy his company tremendously. Also, this would give us a chance to give Gracey some downtime while we slept in a real bedroom for a change.

We arrived late in the afternoon and spent the evening catching up over a lovely dinner prepared by my sister.  LeAnn and Marty own a large motorhome, so we spent much of the dinner talking RV and planning some future trips together.  It wasn’t long after dinner that I took advantage of my sister’s hospitality and checked out for the night…we had a full day of driving behind us. The next evening would give us a chance to sample the local culinary offerings and libations.

Before we left for dinner, my sister took the time to pull some Spanish Moss from her Live Oak tree.  We had promised to bring my mother some to use in flower decorations. There was no way my sister was going to disappoint our mother.  She filled a bag with the stuff, and it traveled with us for the remainder of the trip.

Hell N’ Blazes, a craft beer pub was a great place to begin an evening of local sampling. According to Marty, this pub was growing in popularity and always providing customers with new additions to its lengthy list of craft beer choices.  The waitress was very helpful in making our selections, and, being a lager fan, I came up with a four beer sampler that included such offerings as Spank Me Red, and Lights Out. Helen’s preferences tended toward the darker side and ordered a sampler that included Black Jack and Raspberry Beret. I can’t remember what LeAnn and Marty ordered, but they said they enjoyed them and they also posed for a picture with their selections.

After Hell N’ Blazes, we drove the short distance to The Dockside Grill for some seafood. This cozy restaurant seemed void of tourists and filled with local patrons which is always a good sign. Everyone was hungry and so much so that the food disappeared before I remembered to take pictures for Easin’ Along readers. I chose the special, and because it had been a popular selection for the evening, it arrived a little after the other meals. I was able to capture it on my camera. My choice was Blackened Snapper covered in a yellow pepper sauce with black beans and sweet plantains as side dishes.  It was magnificent. Everyone enjoyed their meal as much as I did. We owe much to LeAnn and Marty for a splendid stop on this trip.

The next day we towed Gracey across the state to Palm Harbor, Florida.  Our original reservation was for five days, but for some reason still not clear to me, two nights at Caladesi RV Park unexpectedly were canceled. Unfortunately, we could not find another place for Gracey and would leave after three nights. We still looked forward to our visit and the chance to meet up with my lifelong friend and college roommate, Jack, and his charming wife, Jewel for a day trip into the “Old Florida” town of Dunedin.  

Jack and Jewell came to the campground and took a tour of Gracey (didn’t take long) before we left for Dunedin and lunch at an open-air restaurant named The Living Room. Although I would have loved to sample the wine list and the Bloody Mary offerings in The Living Room, I passed since it was still early in the day. Jack and Jewell passed as well since it was an hour drive back to their home in Clearwater. We were there for lunch only, and it was delicious.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jack chose the winner for the day with a scrumptious looking meal of Shrimp and Grits. The accompanying picture says much about his selection. Helen selected one of the many flatbread choices and picked a Seared Yellow Tuna Flatbread Grilled with tomatoes and onions. Jewell chose an Adriatic Fig Flatbread and, as you can tell from her picture, she was very happy with her selection. I settled for a Waygu Beef slider. Everything was incredible. We took a long walk after lunch, then drove back to Gracey for an afternoon of fun conversation talking about old times. It was all too soon when Jack and Jewell had to leave.

As mentioned above, these stops were not for sightseeing, but more about meeting friends and family, eating local foods and consuming interesting local drink selections. I can’t think of much else I had rather do–especially when we’re just Easin’ Along.  

I’m going to do Easin’ Along readers a big favor. I’m going to share my recipe for southern gumbo because it’s too good to keep a lid on.  You can thank me later.

This is a recipe I dug out some 30 years ago from one of the many cookbooks we had in our home back then.  It appealed to me for several reasons. First, at that time I was spending several weeks each year near New Orleans while on Army Reserve duty and had fallen in love with the dish but I was not a big fan of andouille sausage. The spicy meat was a bit tough on my tender tummy. I also did not particularly care for gumbo file and it was difficult to find a source for the seasoning where we live.  This recipe did not call for either ingredient.

Nevertheless, this recipe did call for most of the ingredients found in the traditional Creole concoction including shrimp, crab, and included a thick, brown roux, as the foundation. This recipe soon became a family favorite and one we shared with friends for many years while vacationing at Pawley’s Island, South Carolina. Therefore, I refer to it as Pawley’s Island Gumbo. I have posted a copy of our recipe below and it is fairly simple, but I will cover a few of the steps here and add a picture or two as I go along.

There is one undeniable fact about preparing a good gumbo…it requires several hours to do it well. There is a lot of chopping, and stirring, and simmering, so go into it with that in mind and you’ll have a dish that will have everyone asking for seconds.

Helen (adorable wife) and I do this as a team effort. She usually chops all of the vegetables while I prepare the roux.  Vegetable chopping is pretty straight forward and probably takes a half hour for one person while the roux takes almost an hour of constant stirring. At the end of that time, the vegetables are added to the roux and cooked for an additional 45 minutes to one hour. As the vegetables are cooking in the roux, I fry the okra.  One note about the okra is that I usually buy it frozen.  Fresh okra is great, but it is only available a few months of the year so frozen is often the only option, and I really can’t tell much of a difference in gumbo.

At this point, the mixture of roux, vegetables, and okra can be frozen for later use.  I do this by spooning the cooled mixture into a large freezer bag and setting aside in the freezer.  I have left it frozen for several weeks in some cases and then thawed it at room temperature with no problem.  This is another reason that I like this recipe.  When pressed for time, it can be helpful to prepare it in phases.

The next step calls for bacon, tomatoes, spices, and liquids.  Here is where I departed from the original recipe.  I add no plain water to my gumbo.  I add the water that was used for boiling the chicken and make up the difference with chicken broth that I purchase from the grocery.  Using chicken stock and broth enhances the flavor greatly.

Next, the entire mixture needs to simmer for several hours and stirred occasionally.  This allows time to peel and devein shrimp, sift through the crab meat for shells and shred the chicken.  Notice I said shred as opposed to chopped. I always shred the chicken to give it a lighter or smoother texture rather than chunky as it would be with chopped pieces.

About thirty minutes before serving, add the shrimp, crab, and chicken and let it simmer some more.  I usually begin taste testing about 15 minutes into the last simmering.  If it needs more body, I might add a chicken bouillon cube or salt or even a flavor enhancer like Accent.

All that is needed now is rice, some good crusty bread, and a hearty appetite. My motto, however, is “go light on rice” because it can fill you up pretty quickly and you want to savor every drop of gumbo.  I also bring Tabasco to the table to spice things up a bit for those who like things on the warm side.  Hint:  This recipe gets better when it has a chance to sit and let the flavors blend.  Leftovers are wonderful! 

Here’s the recipe!  I would love feedback and please feel free to ask questions if you have them. A complete picture gallery (click here) of some of the steps is published following this post and may be helpful.  Enjoy!