ORMOND WINE COMPANY - RESTAURANT REVIEW #2

I've been a horrible slacker as of late. Judy and I went to the Ormond Wine Company a few weekends ago and I never wrote up the review. So here it is. Please note - this is my second review of this restaurant. You may view the first review here. Also please excuse the quality of the pics. They were taken with my cell phone and the restaurant was rather dark. Take my word for it - the pics do NOT do the food justice.

We stopped by for lunch on a Saturday afternoon. We were the only people there at first, although a couple came in and did have lunch at the bar a little later. For the high quality of food the place puts out and for the beer and wine selection - this place should be packed. Even on a Saturday afternoon. Our server was wonderful and very informed on the wine and beer lists. She answered Judy's wine questions and my beer questions. We started off with the House Blue Chips. Although quite salty, the chips were delicious and crunchy. They were topped with blue cheese and blue cheese dressing, along with truffle oil and a kalmata olive sauce that upped both the saltiness and taste factor. The appetizer was more than ample for two people. 

We both decided on salads. Judy chose the duck breast salad (duck, field greens, blue cheese, dried cherries, red onion, mixed nuts and a raspberry walnut vinaigrette.) I went with the steak and mozz salad (grilled sirloin, field greens, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, roasted red peppers, Roma tomatoes, and a balsamic vinnegarette.) We don't usually choose salads, but we had seen the dessert menu and had ulterior motives. 

We couldn't choose which dessert to share so we of course ordered two. The white chocolate coconut creme brulee was one of the best creme brulees I had ever eaten. The top was caramelized just right and the dish was flavorful without being too strong, as I often find coconut desserts. We also split a truffle tasting plate. We had their truffles on our first visit and were eager to try more. The flavors included on the plate included: caramel with Fleur de Sel; dried cherry; Grand Marnier; and espresso. We also enjoyed a freshly brewed coffee.

All in all - another great meal at the Ormond Wine Company! And they have a web site now!

CHICKEN MARSALA

I based my recipe on Emeril's recipe for chicken Marsala. In his version, Emeril does not do the three step breading method that I use. Other ways my recipe differs - I reduce my sauce twice, I use more Marsala, I use different mushrooms, and I do not add the cutlets to the finished sauce in the pan. Rather I spoon the sauce over the cutlets which are already on the serving platter or dish.

The first thing you need to do is to prepare your chicken cutlets. I pound mine as thin as I can get them, as long as the breast is not falling apart. You, however, may pound YOUR chicken to whatever degree you wish. After all, it is YOUR chicken. And if you've had a bad day, it could be therapeutic.

After pounding the chicken, I dredge it in flour, seasoned with Emeril's Essence, available in your grocery store spice aisle. (The above link also has a recipe for making your own Essence, just scroll to the bottom of the recipe at the link and you'll find it.) If you have a seasoning you prefer, change it up!

I then dip the cutlet in egg, allowing the excess egg to drip off before I put it in the seasoned breadcrumbs. I'm making the assumption that you know how to pound and bread chicken cutlets so I won't waste much time on it. If you are new to the breading of chicken cutlets, here's a nice short video showing you the method I use. Please note that I always pound the chicken to the desired thickness before I bread it for this recipe. (And no . . . it's not me on the video.)

Video

Breading chicken cutlets

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour, seasoned with 1 tablespoon Essence

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup of seasoned bread crumbs

2 (6 to 8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in halves and pounded thin

1 tablespoon olive oil
4 tablespoons butter, divided
3 cups sliced mushrooms, I use baby bellas
1 1/2 cups of Marsala, divided

1 cup chicken stock

Directions

Pound the breasts to desired thickness. Dredge in seasoned flour, dip in eggs, then place in bread crumbs until thoroughly covered.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until very hot but not smoking. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter and cook the chicken breasts until golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and set aside. (I usually place mine in the microwave until I'm ready for them.)

Add 1 tablespoon of the remaining butter to the pan and add the mushrooms. Cook, stirring frequently, until mushrooms are brown around the edges and have given off their liquid. Add 1 cup of the Marsala wine and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, scraping to remove any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. When the wine/broth mixture has reduced by half, add the rest of the Marsala and reduce again or until the sauce has thickened slightly. Be patient. Reducing a sauce takes time. It will be worth it. Swirl in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Place your cutlets on the serving platter or dish and spoon the Marsala and mushrooms over the cutlets.

PORK LOIN WITH PEANUT SLATHER

This is a wonderful tasting recipe, but I have yet to take a decent pic of it. I had some pics of it being served with roasted green beans and jasmine rice, but somehow or another I deleted the pics before I could post them. {sigh} You can use your oven or your grill. I've tried it both ways.

If you like peanut sauces, you'll like this. I usually make a double batch of the slather.

You'll need . . .

2 pork tenderloins, each about 12 ounces

Flavorless cooking oil to brush on the cooking rack

Trim off and discard any excess fat from the pork. Set aside the cooking oil, if grilling.

Ingredients for Slather

1/2 cup chunky peanut butter, salted

1/4 cup Chinese rice wine or dry sherry 

2 tablespoons dark soy sauce 

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar 

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons flavorless cooking oil 

1 tablespoon dark sesame oil

1 tablespoon Sambal Badjak Fresh Ripe Chili Paste with Onion or other Asian chile sauce

4 cloves garlic, finely minced

2 tablespoons finely minced ginger 

1/4 cup minced green onion

To Make the Slather

In a small bowl, combine all the ingredi­ents for the peanut slather and mix to combine evenly. Reserve, cover, and refrigerate 1/2 cup of the slather. Evenly coat the pork with the remaining slather and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 8 hours. All advance preparation may be completed up to 8 hours be­fore you begin the final steps.


Final Steps

Thirty minutes prior to cooking, remove the pork and 1/2 cup reserved peanut slather from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature.

To Grill: If using a gas or electric grill, preheat to medium (350°). If using char­coal or wood, prepare a fire. When the gas or electric grill is preheated or the coals or wood are ash covered, brush the cooking rack with the oil, then lay the pork in the center of the rack. Make sure the pork is lying open on the grill. Cover the grill and regulate the heat so that it remains at a medium tempera­ture. Grill the pork until an instant-read thermometer registers 150° when in­serted deeply into the meat, about 20 minutes.


To Roast: Preheat the oven to 450°. Roast the pork until the internal temperature reaches 150°, about 30 minutes.

To Serve: Let the pork rest for 5 minutes. Cut the pork into serving-sized pieces and transfer to a heated serving platter or 4 dinner plates. Spoon the reserved peanut sauce around the meat and serve at once. 

TILAPIA ROASTED WITH LIME

Ingredients

2 lbs. tilapia filets
3 tbsp extra-virgin Olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2-3 pickled jalapeno chilies, chopped
6-8 tbsp chopped fresh basil
lemon and lime wedges


1 Place the fish fillets in a nonmetallic bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper. Squeeze the juice from the lime halves over the fish.

2 Heat the oil in a skillet. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until softened. Remove the skillet from the heat.

3 Place a third of the onion mixture and a little of the chilies and basil in the bottom of a shallow ovenproof dish or roasting pan. Arrange the fish on top. Top with the remaining onion mixture, chilies, and basil.

4 Roast in a preheated oven, 350°F/180°C, for 15-20 minutes, or until the fish has become slightly opaque and firm to the touch.

5 Serve at once, with lemon and lime wedges for squeezing over the fish.

BLACK BOTTOM CUPCAKES

My grandmother always made these for me. This recipe will yield about 30 cupcakes. The cupcakes also freeze well, so you don't have to eat them all at one time. But good luck trying to get them to the freezer.

Filling

8 ounces of cream cheese
1/3 cup of sugar
1 egg
1/8 teaspoon of salt
6 ounces of chocolate chips

Cupcakes

2 1/4 cups of flour
1 1/2 cups of sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda
3/4 teaspoons of salt
1 1/2 cups of water
1/3 cup of oil, plus 2 tablespoons of oil
1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Beat cream cheese, sugar, egg, and salt until smooth. Add chocolate chips. Set aside.

Sift flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in large bowl. Add water, oil, and vanilla, and mix until smooth.

Fill paper muffin cups 1/3 full with cupcake batter. Top each with a heaping teaspoon of cream cheese mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for thirty minutes.

GOOD EATS REVISITED - CHIMICHURRI MEATBALLS

I have been dreaming of chimichurri meatballs. For the past 2 weeks, I have tried to make them, but each time I'd try, I 'd realize that I was missing an important ingredient. The first time it was the pork, then the feta, then the green onions. I finally got my act and groceries together.

Chimchurri sauce originated in Argentina as a marinade and basting sauce. The prime ingredient is parsley, although many recipes call for cilantro. While there are many commercial brands of chimichurri sauce out there,  nothing tops a sauce made from fresh herbs and other fresh ingredients. It is easy to make and you can adapt it to your tastes and dishes.

These meatballs are easy to make. The recipe should make 48 small meatballs. You want to keep them small so they cook quickly. You also want the freshest parsley possible. I grow 2 kinds and always have it readily available.

This time I put them and the chimichirri sauce over fettuccine. Worked out well.

Even if you aren't interested in the chimichurri sauce, the meatballs are excellent and could be used for other recipes. I have used the chimichurri sauce as a dressing for salads and it tastes good over pasta or rice.

Check out the recipe for yourself.
Chimichurri meatballs

PAN FRIED PANKO PORK CHOPS

 

WHAT YOU NEED

Flour

Salt and pepper (or other preferred seasoning, I often used Emeril's Essence)

Egg(s)

Panko bread crumbs

Pork chops

Olive oil for frying

Notes - I did not give amounts because that would depend on how many pork chops you are making. I usually make 1 or 2 at a time. I use paper plates for the breading process. Start off with about 1/4 cup of flour and panko. I season the flour before I dredge the pork chops in it. I use 1 egg. You can always add more of these ingredients if you need more. 

Place flour on plate. Add seasoning to taste. Stir the flour. Beat egg and pour onto plate. Add panko to remaining plate. Take your pork chops and first dredge them through the flour, both sides. Then dip them in the egg, once again both sides. Allow excess egg to drip from chop before you bread it with the panko. Allow the breaded chops to sit while you heat the oil in a frying pan. When the oil is hot enough, fry your chops until they are browned.

I use my well-seasoned cast iron frying pan for this. If you have never owned one, you truly do not know what you are missing. Best bet - buy one at a garage/yard sale. Hopefully it will already be seasoned for you. If you are more into "pretty" than practical, tale a lookie at this one I've found.

BUFFALO WILD WINGS - DON'T BOTHER

We went to the recently opened Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant/bar/whatever in Daytona this past Friday to celebrate a friend's birthday. Since there was going to be 19 of us attending, my friend thought it would be wise to call ahead. She was told that they didn't take reservations but that they would make a note of it. I know many chain restaurants don't take reservations, but when you are told that a party of this size is coming to your restaurant, I would think you'd want to know. So we stood in the sweltering heat for approximately 30 minutes because we couldn't fit in the restaurant foyer because there was so many people waiting. Finally we went into the open air section, hoping to get drinks at the bar. We walked past at least 8 empty tables.

When I got to the bar, I was very psyched about the beer selections. Guinness, Terrapin, Sam Adams, Yuengling . . . some really great beers on tap. Too bad the bartenders don't wait on women. I stood there and was ignored as I waved my money while I watched at least 5 men get waited on. I then watched Karen and Nikki go through the same thing. However, when John and Cornelius went to the bar, they were served immediately. The women ended up having to give our drink orders to the men since obviously our money isn't as good as the money held by men. Big turn-off for me.

After waiting about an hour, we were finally seated. They sat us at separate tables. We ended up having to push our own tables together and basically could only talk to the people sitting right beside us since the place was so loud. We then began our wait for food. And least another 45 minutes and they screwed up my order. When the food finally arrived, it was OK. Not worth the hassle we had been put through, but OK. If someone wanted to stop by and pick up some Asian Zing wings and some mango-jalapeno wings and bring them to me, I'd eat them and be happy about it, but I really have no interest in returning there again.

My money is the same money that people with penises have and I truly resent the bartenders' attitude towards women.

So not impressed. Out of 5 stars, I'd give them a 1 1/2.