Tag Archives: chicken

Florida Noms: Stonewood Grill and Tavern (Wellington)

1 Jun

 

 

For a dinner with Mike’s family, we went to Stonewood Grill and Tavern in Wellington, Florida.  It’s a small chain across Florida with one location in North Carolina.

It reminded me of an Outback but without the Australian theme.  The salmon looked great and was enjoyed by all who ordered it.

 

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A few of us got steaks, and all were quite tasty with good char.

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Char is key in my opinion.  A good char can lift the quality of even a bad steak, and these were quite good.

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The baked potato came with a lovely set of fixins.

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The lamb chops were also artfully plated and delicious.

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Overall, I thought this was a very good dinner for a “chain”-type place.  I would prefer Outback, simply for the sweet potatoes, but this was still tasty and had a big enough menu for everyone to find something they liked.

Total Nom Points: 6.5 out of 10

 

 

 

 

Tuity Fruity Chicken and Corn Fritters

1 Sep

It is no secret that I love fruit paired with chicken/turkey/pork/scallops. We happened to have a lot of fruit that needed to be used, so we made up a Tuity Fruity Chicken and paired it with a great Weight Watchers recipe for corn fritters.

We cut up some plums, peaches, and sections of clementines and combined it with some Diet Sunkist, garlic, apricot preserves, salt, and pepper.

I didn’t have a broiler pan, so I tried to put a baker’s rack upside down… It actually didn’t work really, however, it was just fine.  Then… we broiled. That’s it!

As for the corn fritters, it was a bit more complex… but ENTIRELY worth it!  The directions were to beat egg whites until they were stiff but not glossy.  Meh? 

As someone that has made many a meringue, I wasn’t sure I had ever seen eggs glossy… so I just went until it peaked.

Then you mix together corn, tomatoes (we substituted these for the peppers), scallions, salt, pepper, and flour.  Then you fold in the egg whites.

Then after you spray down a pan, you scoop a dollop of the mixture onto a heated pan.  I was concerned that they wouldn’t stick together, but oh…

They did.

And they were amazing!

And the fruity chicken was pretty damn good, too.

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RECIPES
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Fruity Chicken (5 points for 1 1/4 pound chicken breast)

Ingredients:

·         1 tsp olive oil   

·         1 medium garlic clove(s), minced   

·         1/8 tsp table salt   

·         1/8 tsp black pepper, freshly ground   

·         1/2 pound(s) uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast   

·         2 medium peach(es), sliced   

·         1 cup(s) Sunkist Diet Orange Soda   

·         1 small plum(s)   

·         2 small clementine   

·         2 Tbsp Polaner Sugar Free Apricot   

Directions:

1.       In a shallow bowl, mix the orange soda, preserves, oil, garlic, salt and pepper; set aside 1/4 cup of the marinade for basting.

2.       Add the chicken and peaches; refrigerate, covered at least 1 hour.

3.       Preheat the broiler; spray rack with nonstick cooking spray. Transfer the chicken and peaches to the rack.

4.       Broil 6 inches from heat until cooked through and peaches begin to brown, basting with reserved marinade,

5.       7-8 minutes on each side (ours were thick, so it took longer)

6.       Cool slightly; spoon fruit over chicken

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Corn Fritters (3 points for a quarter of the recipe)

Ingredients

·         2 large egg(s), separated (keep egg whites only)   

·         4 medium corn on the cob, kernels removed with a knife*   

·         1 medium sweet red pepper(s), diced the size of corn kernels   

·         1/3 cup(s) scallion(s), diced   

·         1/2 tsp table salt, or more to taste   

·         1/4 tsp black pepper, or more to taste   

·         2 Tbsp all-purpose flour   

·         2 spray(s) cooking spray, butter-flavored   

Directions

  1. In a small bowl, beat egg whites until stiff but not glossy; set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl, lightly beat egg yolks. Add corn, red pepper (or tomatoes), scallions, salt, black pepper and flour; thoroughly combine and then fold in egg whites.
  3. Coat skillet with cooking spray and warm over high heat; when skillet is hot, reduce heat to medium.
  4. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of batter onto skillet to make each fritter. (Do not press fritters down with your spatula since they are meant to be fluffy.)
  5. Cook for about 2 to 3 minutes; carefully flip and cook until lightly browned and cooked through, about 2 to 3 minutes more.
  6. Remove cooked fritters to a serving plate and cover to keep warm. Repeat until all batter is used and then serve immediately. Yields about 4 fritters per serving.

*Frozen corn can be used instead. Thoroughly thaw before using.

Market Cafe

26 Jun

Right around the corner is a brightly lit place called Market Cafe (9th Ave between 37th and 38th) that looks slightly out of place below the Port Authority area.  Hopefully, for those of us in the neighborhood, places like this will continue to pop up and take over some of the abandoned and not-so-desirable store fronts in the neighborhood.  Don’t get me wrong, I love authentic, old New York, however, this area is still a bit more run down and loaded with the homeless population to be counted as a “desirable neighborhood” to live in.  I have never exactly been one to flock to the hot neighborhoods, however, and much prefer these “up and commers.” 

Anyway… Market has been a place we have been meaning to try since moving in, but it took us about 6 months to get there with dad and Maggie.  I started with sangria… which wasn’t great, but thirst quenching at least.

Maggie went with the salad… which I cannot remember.

Mike went with… shocker… the burger.  He was a good boy and got veggies instead of fries. Bravo Mike!  He liked it.

Dad chose the grilled shrimp with stewed lentils and and parsley oil.  The shrimp were delicious.  Mmmm char.

I chose the (“crisped”) roast garlic chicken with creamed potatoes, spinach, and roast garlic sauce.  It was nice and juicy, but I expected it to be crispier since it did say it was crispy in the description.  The garlic sauce was perfectly sweet.  Quite enjoyable.

Overall, Market is a nice part of the neighborhood and while not outstanding, it seems like an easy, reliable place to grab a meal.  Entrees are a little on the pricey side for a place that is a bit off the grid, but it matches the effort that the place is trying to make by being modern in the neighborhood.  All entrees were less than $20, but even the burger was $14.

Total Nom Points: 6.5 out of 10