Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Maya's Restaurant

I was at Maya's recently for the Annual Meeting of the Forum For Equality, an organization of which I'm the Deputy Political Director. The owners are supportive of our work and let us use their upstairs room for our meetings.

I really like their white sangria but they weren't serving it that night, so I went for the margarita instead. Nice and tasty and it sure took the edge off the meeting! I tasted a friend's mojito and it was as good as I make at home with the addition of a piece of sugar cane. The food they serve is Latin fusion--primarily Honduran and Cuban, with a little Caribbean thrown in for good measure. I was off to another meeting after this one, so I just enjoyed the appetizers. The house sauce is good and the empanadas were nice and spicy.

It is a little high end for my usual budget but when you want more than just a burrito or taco, give Maya's a try.

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Outback Restaurant at Buena Vista Palace Hotel

I'm in Orlando, Florida at the Golden Crown Literary Society 7th Annual Conference. My first novel, Unbroken Circle, is to be released on Monday and I am here to connect with old friends and promote my book.

It was very cool to see a box of my book for sale:


My publisher, Bella Books, held a dinner for their authors at the Outback Restaurant at the conference hotel. Not to be confused with the Aussie chain, this place supposedly had an Australian theme. However, I never tasted or saw anything at all related to Down Under.

I had the four course prix fixe meal that included a fairly bland French onion soup, an equally banal Caesar salad, and tasteless strawberry cheesecake. The prime rib, however, was cooked beautifully and well marbled. It was quite good and the roasted garlic bulb on top was a very delicious touch.

Despite my quibbles with the soup, salad and dessert, the steak and the company were great--being among such great writers is very inspiring and I hope to spend more time with them in the future.

Friday, June 3, 2011

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts

When I was just out of college, my great-grandmother passed away. I was working retail and could only take a short time off. I drove to Asheville for the funeral and then grabbed a dozen, piping fresh original glazed doughnuts for the trip back to Washington, DC. In the course of the drive, I ate the whole box and arrived to work with the shakes. I thought it was grief until someone pointed out the sugar content of a single Krispy Kreme. Live and learn, eh?

I say this all to preface how glad I am that there is a Krispy Kreme doughnut shop near my parent's home in Foley, AL. I was never a fan of cakey doughnuts so, the original glazed is a perfect food--light, airy and sugary! As a bonus, today was National Doughnut day, so I got one free! How cool is that?

I do a killer bread pudding with the leftover stale Krispy Kreme doughnuts.


Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding

2 dozen Krispy Kreme donuts (best is slightly stale)
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup coffee-flavored liqueur (I sometimes use Amaretto or Bailey's Irish Cream here instead).
2 eggs, beaten
1 pinch salt
1 or 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Butter Rum Sauce, recipe follows

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cube donuts into a large bowl. Combine milks, creams and liqueur. Wisk in the eggs. Add salt and cinnamon. Pour liquid on top of donuts and let soak for a few minutes. Stir together until the donuts have soaked up the liquid as much as possible.
Bake for about 1 hour until center has jelled. Top with Butter Rum Sauce.

Butter Rum Sauce:
1 stick butter
1 pound box confectioners' sugar
Rum, to taste (start with a generous Tablespoon)
Melt butter and slowly stir in confectioners' sugar. Add rum and heat until bubbly. Pour over each serving of Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding.