South Florida Night

In the middle of our little snow storm on Saturday the Stephens Family was enjoying a little taste of South Florida.  This week was inspired by a Key Lime Pie recipe that I saw while I was on allrecipes.com and Steve saw it and asked if I could make it.  I immediately saved it in my recipe box and started to make a plan to form other dishes around it so we could have it this week.  Now like I state the snow storm changed my menu a bit but I still tried to get some of the dishes I wanted done starting with the Key Lime Pie.  Next I searched a recipe for Cuban Sandwiches because I remember Steve always telling me stories of him having these when he went down to Tampa to visit his dad and older brother so I figured why not add it in the mix and see what I find.  I was happy when I found a simple and easy recipe for a Classic Cuban Midnight Sandwich. Finally I capped the night off with a simple and easy Strawberry Daiquiri recipe.

Now the original plan was to do a penne and spinach pasta with feta cheese for our veggie dish because I promised someone I would post some of those every now and again but the snow and the naked shelves at Walmart made that a little impossible to do but I am still going to do the dish today as a side dish but it could be a main dish just make bigger portions for the more people you are feeding so check back for that dish.

Let me share the pictures of the dishes.

These sandwiches were simply amazing.  If you click on the link above you can find the recipe I used.  I did make a few adjustments because of the whole snow issue.  I didn’t use any pork in the dish just the sliced deli ham and I am not a pickle person so mines didn’t have pickles but the others did.  I loved mines just as and my husband truly enjoyed his.  So don’t be afraid to switch things up a bit to suit your taste buds the idea is to enjoy it the way you want.  Also we don’t won a sandwich press so we just used a griddle and put something on top of the sandwich to press it down on the griddle just to mess those ingredients and melt the cheese a bit.  I also used Honey Dijon Mustard and it just gave the sandwiches a little extra kick and it was just great.  Nest is the pie.

I am not a big pie person so this really wasn’t for me but more so for my husband and from the little piece that I tasted it was good.  Not too tart and not to sweet just perfect.  The recipe I used didn’t call for green food coloring but I used three drops anyway just to give it the color since Steve wanted it green.  I also didn’t have key lime juice so I just used regular lime juice and it was just fine.  As you can see from the pictures I am not a decorator but you get the idea I was trying to make.  It tasted great and was surprisingly easy.  Lastly we had the drinks.

Let me first start off by saying this is not your average Daiquiri.  I was surprised when I took a sip and boy did the liquor pack a punch.  I had to take a major short cut on this dish because the store didn’t have frozen strawberries and I didn’t want to buy fresh ones since its not the season for them they are very bitter and I didn’t want that to leave a taste in the drink so I just opted for a frozen mix that just need the rum and some ice.  I must say the goal wasn’t to make it strong, I didn’t want to make anyone drunk it was just  something to have with dinner.  That being said I made th emix per the directions and I also added about 3 extra cups of frozen lime flavored soda to add another layer of taste.  Well to my surprised the rum I used was still strong even then you could smell it.  I should thank my sister for bringing us back that bottle of Royal Oak Select Trinidad Rum when she went back home last year.  Now I wasn’t happy I had to open the bottle because we were planning on saving it but since I didn’t have any choice I just used it and boy it was so strong I under estimated how strong it was.  I had to add extra soda to mine because it was so strong but overall it was a great drink.  I still have one glass left in the freeze and you know its strong when none of the men in the house wants to finish it off.  Hey I may amend it a bit and drink it with dinner tonight.

Before I go I should add that I did another dessert that wasn’t apart of the original plan but I did it because its been a while since I had made a pound cake.  I found this recipe for Something Different Pound Cake and when I saw it the first time I knew I had to try it.  I did make a few small changes to the recipe.  I used margarine instead of butter.  I know that a lot of bakers would be upset that I did this but I wanted to see what it would come out like and since I had to use shortening I figured what harm could it be.  I also didn’t use the evaporated milk in the recipe I used all milk and I am not sure how that changed the flavor or taste but to me it was excellent.  It was perfect – nice and heavy, perfect moisture and a nice crunchy top, the way I like my pound cakes.  The coconut and rum extracts gave it some a wonderful taste it was just filled with flavor and surprises.  I used McCormick extracts and it was perfect in the recipe if you can’t buy those then try the store brands if they have them but be sure to use those two in the cake and it will be great.  I also didn’t make the glaze for mines but next time I make this cake I will.  Here is a few pictures of the cake.

I may not be posting dishes next week because we will be traveling but keep checking back for more dishes.

The Submissive Wife

Nickida