Weekend Cooking- More Foodie Fun in Florida

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Last week we returned to Florida and this time the weather was much better and I wasn't sick, so it was a win-win. My brother-in-law and his wife stayed with us and we had fun exploring Sarasota Bay and the Gulf of Mexico in our rented boat.

We also tried some new restaurants and returned to a few favorites. There was new food to try and new beverages to consume. A great time was had by all!

First, the drinks. We stopped at The Old Salty Dog, which is very close to our house but we had never tried. In honor of our annual trip to Barbados (which is now a trip to Longboat Key instead), Kay and I tried their Rum Punch, and we were very happy that it was almost as good as the rum punch Darlene used to make for us in Barbados. The decor in the restaurant was fun too.

Rum Punch

Another drink we really enjoyed was the Raspberry Lemondrop Martini at Michael's On East, where we had a fabulous meal. Our server, Kimberly, was terrific and the piano player was singing our favorite songs.  The presentation of the drink was just lovely. If you ever go to Sarasota and want a special evening out, Michael's On East is the place.

Raspberry Lemondrop Martini

We rented a boat and cruised around, ending up at the Star Fish Company in Cortez for lunch. After docking, we ate on the boat as their was a crazy long line for the picnic tables. Their blackened grouper sandwich was the best fish we had all week. It was so simply prepared, it got raves from all of us. They have a fresh fish market there as well.

Grouper Sandwich

My brother-in-law went out fishing one day and he caught a ton of flounder, sheepshead and even a few snappers. The man who took him out on the charter arranged for us to have a local restaurant, Harry's Continental Kitchens, cook up the fish fresh for us for dinner.

They started us out with an appetizer of sheepshead, which they fried and plated over an Asian slaw with a sauce on top. It was so fresh and delicious, we all loved it.

Sheepshead appetizer

They cooked the flounder two ways: one simply in a white wine, caper and lemon sauce and another with a coconut breading. Again, it was tasty and there is just nothing better than eating fish freshly caught. Everyone at Harry's made us feel at home.

Chris' Catch

I do have one funny anecdote for the week. We went to the Ritz-Carlton Spa for couples' massages and while I was being escorted to our treatment room, I ran into Joe Torre, former NY Yankees manager and now an executive with Major League Baseball, in the hall. We were both in bathrobes, otherwise I probably would have tried to chat him up. Next time.