Grand Boulevard, Sandestin Town Center, Sandestin, Florida

Located in the Sandestin Town Center in Sandestin, Florida, VIN’TIJ is a not to be missed dining experience, we thoroughly enjoyed a relaxed dinner on a Friday evening and were not disappointed.

The bar offers up a great selection of imbibing’s, drink specials daily, wines by the glass or bottle are offered for just about all their vintage selections, by the glass servings include a 3oz or 6oz pour, and the wine list is quite extensive.

We arrived about 15 minutes before our reservation time, and were sat immediately, reservations are recommended, in fact, upon our arrival several parties before us were turned away without reservation, the bar was even packed with no room for overflow.

Our server approached within a few minutes of seating along with fresh glasses of water while introducing the specials menu and asked for our drink orders and if we had any starters to order. Three of us ordered wine by the glass and one drink from the specials menu. We started out with the $10 Bread Basket, which is served with herbed olive oil, roast garlic puree, marinated and stuffed olives assortment, roasted red peppers and parmesan cheese. We requested a side of hummus which was roasted red pepper and typically only served on the charcuterie board. The bread was a selection of fresh baked ciabatta and crostini slices, both were quite good.

The specials included a Grouper with Mango Salsa served with miso broth and rice ($50), three in the party ordered this special, I ordered the Shrimp Fettuccini Primavera ($32), made with house made pasta. Both were fabulous, and enjoyed by all.

Our server was attentive, responsive, and accommodating, we had a wonderful meal and dining experience, and will be back the next time we vacation in Destin, Florida.

500 Grand Blvd #100K, Miramar Beach, FL 32550 – +1 850 650-9820

After a brief and welcome 5-day vacation where we celebrated Monique’s birthday with Ben and Carol in Miramar Beach Destin, FL, we returned home yesterday to find plenty of produce ready to pick from our garden. Cucumbers, patty pan squash, yellow squash, blueberries, poblano peppers, Shishito peppers, okra, and tomatoes were ripe for the picking. I actually picked 19 cucumbers this morning, yesterday I picked just over 500 blueberries (two pints) and determined that a pint of them includes around 250 of the little blue gems.

Before our trip last week, I had harvested fourteen cucumbers, four patty pan squash, two yellow squash, two zucchini squash, a gallon of Shishito peppers, and two pints blueberries that we carried along for the vacay and ate during our stay.

One of the few photos I took during our vacation because my iPhone storage is just about full, ugh!

Rabbit was a regular special menu item at the Columns Hotel, I worked there under Chef Chris Canan and Sous Chef Bryan Coates. Crickhollow Farm out of Jayess, MS would deliver whole rabbits along with fresh herbs and edible flowers on a weekly basis. This was around the years 1986-1988, and way before the farm to table movement became a trendy option for restaurants, Chef Canan was way ahead of his time, and it was one of the reasons I enjoyed working under his wing.

As soon as the rabbits were received we would immediately break them down, meaning, we would separate the forequarter, hindquarter, and loin, then debone all the pieces. Once the butchering was completed the rabbit was then placed into a marinade for several days, up to a week. The marinade was made from white wine, olive oil, fresh garlic, fresh chopped herbs including thyme, rosemary, and basil, some salt and black pepper.

The rabbit was always cooked in the same fashion, once an order came into the kitchen, the marinated rabbit, loin section was carefully removed from the marinade and lightly dusted with seasoned flour, then pan sautéed in clarified butter until browned on both sides, then into the hot oven to finish cooking for about 10-15 minutes.

Each week a new sauce would be rotated for the rabbit, my favorite was the au Poivre sauce, or with pepper sauce. Green peppercorns and pimentos provide the spice and heavy cream makes the sauce.

This recipe, found on pages 96 – 97 in my new cookbook Complete Cajun Cookbook (available at Amazon and local bookstores), is a preview recipe, I hope you like it as much as we do! Click on the recipe page images for a larger view.

Bon appetite!

If you only try one recipe from my new cookbook, this should be the one you pick. The Bread Pudding Soufflé recipe on pages 168-169 in the Complete Cajun Cookbook – 100 Home-Cooked Bayou Classics is some of the best bread pudding you will ever taste. The recipe is copied and displayed below for your preview, 99 other recipes are included in the book. Get yourself a copy and have fun with Cajun cooking.

Perfect for Valentine’s Day, this dessert is sure to please the love of your life!