Eating Omaha…. Charlie’s on the Lake

 As a finale to our anniversary weekend we dined at Charlie’s today. Lunch here is $16 a plate with an amazing variety of foods to choose from. We usually dine on the patio for lunch, it was shady and cool with a waterfall and pond nearby and several mallards in attendance. The food, as always, was superb.

Brenda had a nice salad topped with grilled chicken and a side of the best blue cheese dressing I’ve had as of late with large chunks of blue cheese in a creamy dressing.

I had a blackened grouper with a side of veggies. Two good sized grouper filets graced the plate with lemon wedges, perfectly cooked and slightly spicy. I had a choice of fried, blackened or sautéed. Blackening was the way to go. Our meals included sides and a beverage. 

Great service, great cooking for a perfect lunch with my perfect bride of 43 years. 

Other lunch entrees included a large variety of seafood prepared the way you like it, burgers, salads, pastas and chicken. Such a beautiful spot for lunch that won’t break the bank. 

I made a salad….

 Since the vegetarian baptism celebration during lent, I learned a lot about sourcing great salad ingredients to assemble delicious combinations that are great for portable things as well as entertaining company. We have some friends who are vegan and I would love to have them over for dinner and I would not be ashamed to serve them any of the salads I’ve made in the last few months.

This last weekend we hit a concert outdoors that’s pretty popular in Omaha and my buddy, Mike, made a Grandmothers pizza and I made a substantial salad to serve along side. This salad was definitely not vegetarian but it hit all the notes to go with that delicious pizza.

Brenda did not want a pasta salad but liked the idea of pasta in the salad and an idea was born.

I chopped a head of romaine, maybe a head and a half.

I boiled some Trotolle pasta, about half a bag for 7 minutes. It cooks quickly, then drained and rinsed and put it on top of the lettuce.

I chopped the following:

1/2 Red onion, Pepperoncini slices, a few tablespoons, a can of medium black olives, drained, picquant provolone, 1/4 lb cubed, 1/4 lb fresh mozzarella cubed or torn, 1/4 lb salami, julienned, 1/4 lb pepperoni, julienned, 2 tomatoes cubed, a can of marinated artichoke hearts, drained and cut bite sized. I tossed the salad and waited to pass the dressing when on the plate. 

For the dressing in a lidded jar

1/4 c Red Wine Vinegar

Juice of a lemon

1-2 teaspoons of sugar

1-2 teaspoons of Italian seasoning 

A few grinds of coarse black pepper, 1 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1/2 cup olive oil or more. Top the jar and shake, taste and correct the seasonings.

The salad looked great and tasted fantastic. 

Eating Omaha…Brother Sebastian’s.

 We kicked it old school tonight for our anniversary dinner. We originally planned to hit Memoirs in the old Market but the reservations fell through and I failed to do a follow up. Not sure when the last time we were in Brother Sebastian’s. It has not changed in all the years with Medieval decor and dark romantic seating. It is a very busy place…who knew? 

The servers wear burgundy monastic type robes and a subtle chant seems to permeate the background. Service was quick and very attentive. We started with cocktails and Brenda perused the wine list but found nothing to her taste. We skipped appetizers because the portions were good sized, so good in fact I brought half my Prime Rib home. 

After cocktails were served, we were invited to the salad bar. Not seen so much since the Covid days, there was an array of lettuces and toppings and several tasty dressings to choose from. Only one salad bar in this huge restaurant and it was a hike for us to get there. 

Entrees soon followed with a Benedictine Prime Rib and a Petite Filet, perfectly cooked and delicious sides with fresh baked bread. We passed in dessert because of the amount of food but the selection looked delicious. I know I was here for a homecoming and Cath Lab Christmas party back in the day but it’s been 20+ years. 

Great food, service and price. Make reservations because it’s packed. Happy anniversary dear! 

Corn Casserole…for Jerry

 For Pascha this year we had the usual meat festival and sides including this corn dish we had made for years, originally served at TG dinner in Funk NE.

2 cans Whole kernel corn, only one drained

2 cans creamed corn

8 ounces broken spaghetti 1 inch pieces

8 ounces cubed Velvetta

2-3 Tablespoons dried minced onions 

Salt and pepper to taste

 Few tablespoons of butter

Combine everything and place in greased casserole. Dot the top with butter and cover. Bake 45 minutes, uncover, stir a bit if necessary then bake another  15-20 minutes, uncovered. 

Tuna Salad…the best

 I will occasionally use canned tuna, usually packed in water but when Brenda is not looking, packed in olive oil. For Lent though we buy Ahi Tuna usually frozen and I use this for tuna salad.

6 ounces Ahi tuna, thawed if frozen

2 stalks of celery fine dice

1/2 medium onion fine dice

1/2 lemon juiced

3/4 c mayo or more to taste

1 teaspoon dill weed

Salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste. I used Trader Joe’s Rainbow peppercorns. 

I pan fry the tuna in olive oil till medium rare, flipping once. It has a nice golden crust on it. Flake the tuna steak with forks to 1/2 inch chunks and place in a bowl with the veggies, mayo, lemon juice and dill. Stir, careful not to break up the tuna. 

Lenten Spring Pasta

 I have been very Vegetarian /vegan  this Lenten season and had some great veggies in the fridge looking for a dish to be involved with. Brenda loves Trottole pasta shapes and I have been jonesing for some mushrooms so dinner was formed. 

Medium onion in 1/4 inch slices 

2-3 garlic cloves minced

1tbl oil and one of butter. 2 tbl oil if you’re  strict about the fast

3/4 c dried mushrooms  reconstituted in 3-4 cups boiling water. Reserve water

1bunch of asparagus cut into 1 inch pieces, tips reserved

1/2 c shelled edamame

Tbl corn starch

2 teaspoons of dried thyme

1 lemon, zest and juice

1 pound of Trottole or pasta of choice

Drain the mushrooms and set aside the liquid for your sauce. I added the asparagus stems to the hot liquid to blanch. Chop the mushrooms into pieces. 

In a pan, add the oil/ butter and saute the onions till translucent then add the garlic and cook a few minutes more. Salt and pepper here.  I added the mushrooms and cooked again then added the edamame and asparagus stems. I had blanched the stems briefly in the water I took the mushrooms from. I added the asparagus tips dead last to preserve the crunch a bit. 

Once the veggies were all crisp/ tender, I added the mushroom water and thickened the sauce with a tablespoon of cornstarch in cold water. Add the thyme and lemon zest and juice. Check the seasoning. 

Cook the pasta al dente. I placed the pasta in the dish and ladled sauce over it. Enjoy! 

Lenten treat…Crawfish Etouffee

 I have a few pounds of frozen crawfish tails in the freezer so tonight we made an etouffee.

Not a huge fan of green pepper so I used all red peppers for a sweeter version. This is a Lenten version so I used Vegetable stock. 

1/3 cup oil

1/3 cup flour

1 onion chopped

3 celery stalks chopped

1 red bell pepper chopped

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 14 oz can diced tomatoes

2-3 cups of vegetable broth

2 tbls of Cajun seasoning

Hot sauce to taste

1 lb of thawed crawfish tails

Rice for serving

In a large skillet or Dutch oven, heat oil and add flour. Cook on low- medium heat until it turns the color of peanut butter. Add onion, celery and peppers at this point. Coke a few minutes the add garlic and cook another minute. Add the tomatoes and their juice. After it heats for a minute add the Cajun spice. Now add the veg or chicken stock. Let come to a boil and thicken. Give a taste and add hot sauce, I used Tabasco. 

Add the crawfish tails, heat through and serve over rice. 

Chicken Curry

 Several people brought amazing dishes after my heart attack in 1998 but one sticks out as a favorite. We made it several times but forgot about it lately. Today, at the market, the air was rich with the smell of curry and this recipe came to mind. 

1 whole chicken

1 medium onion diced

2 small cans of tomato paste

2-3 cloves minced garlic

2 tbls butter

2 tbls curry powder. More to taste

Chopped banana, pineapple, mandarin oranges and peanuts for topping

Rice to serve

Cook chicken and reserve broth. Debone and shred the meat. 

Sautéed onion and garlic in butter. Add tomato paste and cook a minutes till it darkens in color.

Strain broth and add to pot with shredded chicken. Season with salt and pepper. Serve over rice and pass the toppings. 

Thanks Laura Weaver for the recipe and dinner for a few nights. 

Eating Omaha…Sand Point New England Fare

 We decided to try a new venue last night, Sand Point. Apparently a former food truck now a brick and mortar establishment it’s been open just a few months or so. We made reservations and were seated immediately. The service was prompt initially but we were warned the kitchen was short tonight and it may take a bit to get our food. No problem.our friends Mike and Cindy showed up in a few minutes and we ordered drinks.

The menu features mostly seafood appetizers and mains. A few meat entrees grounded out the menu. We tried some appetizers, fried clam strips and lobster arancini. Since the kitchen was slow we order entrees at the same time. 

The appetizers were very good and came out quickly. Before we finished them, our entrees showed up…so much for a slow kitchen.  I had a bowl of Lobster bisque and crab cakes. The bisque was not hot and the crab cakes were…meh. Brenda and Cindy had the swordfish but it was over cooked and dry. Mike had a pricey lobster roll with butter and a bowl of bisque. His bisque was hot but he ordered buttered lobster and thought the mayo version might have been a better choice. When we visited Maine a few years back, lobster rolls were not our go to. Pricey and kind of okay but not compared to a whole lobster dinner for much less. 

All in all, despite pretty decent service, the food was disappointing especially for the cost. Mike bought the wine and we split the rest. Our portion, including tip was $99. 

Unless I hear they are hitting the mark better in the future, I’m not sure we will return anytime soon. 

Pizzelles…Moms original recipe

 This waffle cookies flavored with anise are a family staple although none of my children care for them. Usually made at Christmas in our house, it involved a large, very heavy cast iron press with long handles to make one cookie at a time. The iron was picked up in Philadelphia, where I was born, at Fanta’s. Mom’s recipe, source unknown, creates a thick dough that makes thicker cookies than my easier double electric iron. I prefer thin and crispy personally. 

You can make many, many flavors but Ben recently asked about a peanut butter flavor and I see no recipe out there so I will begin experimenting. I have made peppermint, lemon, chocolate and gingerbread Pizzelles so far along with traditional anise. 

Moms Pizzelles (don’t tell her I shared, she would kill me)

6 eggs

2 1/4 c sugar

2 sticks of butter, melted and cooled

1 tbls baking powder

1/2 teaspoons baking soda

8 cups of flour as needed. 

1 tsp vanilla and anise flavoring to taste. A recipe this size would require about a tablespoon in my house.

A tablespoon of anise seed, coarsely ground. Optional 

Beat eggs and sugar. Slowly add the cooled butter, flavorings.

Combine dry ingredients and add to form a soft dough, you may not need all the flour. 

Drop on a hot greased iron and cook about 30-60 secs. Flipping if using a cast iron mold. I use cooking spray on my electric and remove easily to a rack with a fork.