The Divas Are Back in Town

"Spread the word around. Guess who's back in town. You spread the word around."

Divas are back in town. Divas are back in town. We're back in town.

(Apologies to Thin Lizzie.........) Yes, it has been a LONG hiatus. But we're back! And like an oldies group, we are the same, but different. New Divas have joined as original Divas have moved on. Nancy M has relocated and has moved too far away to join us for Diva Dinners. And Linda W spends much of her time with her new grandson and can't join us on a moment's notice, either. We miss them and their incisive commentary, but most of all, we miss their camaraderie. What fun we had together! But Nanzie S and I have recruited another foodie Diva, who will introduce herself shortly. In the meantime, let me just give you a few comments about our first dinner together, at Krazy Kat's Restaurant in Greenville, DE, at the Inn at Montchanin Village. Let this serve as an "amuse bouche" for our upcoming first full review.... If you have never been to Krazy Kat's, you owe it to yourself to go there. It is in a lovely setting and the atmosphere and decoration (portraits of cats, and some dogs, in military attire) are not to be missed. On top of that, the food is excellent. I also was fortunate enough to be in possession of a coupon entitling us to a 20% discount on our meals. We started with cocktails, followed by excellent salads and then enjoyed our entrees: duck; lamb chops; and rockfish. Each was delicious. Krazy Kat's offers 1/2 portions of all of its entrees, which is what we chose. The 1/2 portion was quite generous and left us with room to try an unusual dessert: Bacon Pound Cake. Interesting and smoky, we enjoyed it, but it was definitely a "one off" experience. We had also ordered creme brulee, which happens to be a favorite of mine. Yummy! And, an added surprise, our server had heard the Divas toasting my birthday, so the creme brulee was a birthday comp. This on top of our already received 20% food discount! Speaking of our server Barb: kudos to her! She was friendly, helpful, professional and definitely knowledgeable. Well, now that we are back, be sure to watch for our upcoming reviews....

Diva Update

Well, the Divas have been on hiatus for a while now. We've all been busy with other things and, quite honestly, for some of us writing the blog was getting to be too much like work. During our dinners, we found ourselves paying a lot of attention to the details of what we were eating so we could "get it right" on the blog. But we were losing the spirit of why we started the Divas: because we enjoy each others' company and we enjoy dining out.

We hope to get together again soon for a fun evening. And whatever we write about the dinner will be secondary to our goal of having a good time together.

Recipe Tests

I've been trying new recipes and fiddling with old ones since the year began. Today, I am revisiting my recipe for "Mexican Meatballs"; I have always made the meatballs with chopped pickled jalapenos, but today I substituted pepperoncini -- because that's what I had on hand. I also had chipotles in adobo in the freezer, so one of them went into the sauce. It's all cooking slowly now; smells good, so we will see....

The other day, I tried a quick Chicken Paella which turned out very nice, although it seemed to me to taste more like a Puerto Rican "Arroz con Pollo" that a true Paella.

Hmmm....I seem to be on a spicy kick; must be the cold and snow that have led me down that path. But I plan to try a recipe for "Orzo with Pesto and Lemon" this week. Yes, pesto, which I make in the summer and freeze so I can enjoy it in the winter. BTW, I freeze it without the Parmesan cheese because the cheese loses some of its flavor when frozen. And stirring freshly-grated cheese into the defrosted Pesto is very easy.

Shallots, mmmm good!

Right now, I'm making a simple marinated chicken breast which I'm roasting with a side of fingerling potatoes. Which got me remembering a simple recipe I used to make for Lenny: buttermilk mashed potatoes topped with fried shallots. It's pretty simple, so I won't try to offer precise measurements.

Make your favorite mashed potatoes. While they are cooking, thinly slice some shallots. Heat a neutral-tasting oil (eg, Canola) in a frying pan. Add the shallots, fry until they are crispy, then drain on paper towels. Top the mashed potatoes with the fried shallots. Enjoy.

New Year; New Recipes

Happy New Year everyone. I hope any bad times are behind you and bright days are ahead.

I am trying a new recipe for baked whole chicken tonight; I'll let you know how it comes out. I'm also making a tried-and-true recipe for Potatoes Savoyarde and another for roasted asparagus. Just in case!

This winter weather inspires me to make comfort food, either new or old recipes. How about you? What do you love to make in the winter?

Really tasty (and healthy) Carrot Soup

I made this recipe for friends recently (you know them, my tasting "victims" whom I always ask to taste new recipes the first time I make them). Well, this soup is from a very old Gourmet "Best of" volume. It is lovely. And easy. It is a small recipe, serving 2, but I think you could double or triple it without a problem.

CURRIED CARROT SCALLION SOUP

1/3 c thinly sliced white part of scallion, plus thinly sliced scallion green for garnish
1 teaspoon olive oil
pinch of mild curry powder
1-1/2 cups thinly sliced peeled carrots, plus finely grated carrot for garnish
1-1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

In a saucepan, cook the white part of the scallion in the oil over low heat, stirring, until softened.
Add the curry powder and cook, stirring, about 1 minute.
Add the sliced carrots and broth; bring to a boil, then simmer until the carrots are very tender (15-20 minutes).
Transfer mixture to a blender or food processor; puree mixture.
Return mixture to the pan, heat over moderate heat.
Ladle into two bowls, garnish with scallion green and grated carrot.

Walter's Steakhouse - A must!

Last Saturday, October 2nd, my husband and I celebrated our 32nd wedding anniversary with dinner at Walter’s Steakhouse on Union Street in Wilmington. This was not a Diva night out; this Diva was out for dinner with her hubby. It has been years since we last dined at Walters. While our previous visit was pleasant, this time our total dinning experience and the food was outstanding! We especially want to mention our waiter, Andre. We cannot remember when we had a waiter that was so professional, absolutely top notch! He was so on top of everything attentive with out hovering, did not remove the dinner dishes until we were both done eating, and did not rush us through each course. Let me share our experience.
First the décor is very warm and reminded us of a fine dinning restaurant in the early 1900; lots of wood, dark reds and greens, white tablecloths, etc. I recall the décor being similar to what it was the last time we were here but it seemed fresher.
We were seated at a nice sized table, one where you did not have to move all of the table appointments to one side to make room for your dinner plate and bread basket. You know what I am talking about …how often have you had to move that little vase of flower, salt and pepper and candle to one side of the table? Not all of the tables for two were this large but we were lucky enough to get this one.
My hubby and I ordered our before dinner drinks. Fred had a Dewars and water, and I had a Grand Mariner Martini. We made a toast for our Anniversary and within a 30 seconds., so it seemed, Andre was at our table side with two glasses of Champagne and the bus boy walked by and wished us “many more”! We did not realize Andre was near by and overheard us. Impressive! The bread for the table was warm and delicious. We ordered from the $29.95 special menu which included an appetizer, salad, an entrée and a dessert. Fred ordered the Lobster Bisque, filet and crème brulee. I ordered the scallop wrapped bacon, prime rib and bananas foster. Fred’s filet was medium and was perfect to order. I ordered prime rib medium rare, and emphasized “rare” and it also was perfect, full of flavor with little fat or waste. We gave the over all dinner an outstanding rating. The last and final touch for the evening was the coffee. When the Divas go out coffee is one of our pet peeves it is usually just ok or so so. Not a Walters. There coffee was so out standing that we had to ask what is was, and hoped that would not tell us “Maxwell House”. Well, he didn’t. It was a brand we had not heard of I believe it was Casa. It was absolutely the best and a perfect ending to a perfect meal. We are putting Walters on our list of places that we plan to frequent more often. Andre, thank you for making our special evening extra special!


http://www.walters-steakhouse.com/index2.html