SPICY SAUTE’ COD DINNER

Delicious, healthy Cod dinner ~ your guest will think it took you all evening to make and really it only takes about 30 minutes from beginning to end. It’s served with a warm salad. This meal will not leave you hungry but satisfied. Summer is upon us and this on is perfect for the season or anytime.
Ingredients:

2 Cod Fillets
3 Carrots, cut long ways the quartered
5 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 Bunch of Arugula, cleaned, dried and stems removed
1 Lemon, zest to get 2 t. and quarter and de seed and juice
1 Medium Red Beet, peel and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
4 T. Flour
1/3 C. Sliced Almonds
2 T. Butter or 3
1 Shallot, diced
5 t. Olive Oil
1/4 C. Water
2 t. Cayenne
2 t. Cumin
2 t. Black Sesame Seeds
Directions:
Prepare all of your ingredients and heat a small pot of salted water to boil.
In a bowl add shallot and lemon juice.
Add the beets to boiling water and cook for 20 minutes, until tender. Add to shallot and lemon juice and set aside.

While the beets are cooking, in a saute’ pan, heat 3 t. olive oil till hot, add carrots and sautee’ for 5 minutes until lightly brown and a little soft. Add 1/4 C. water, salt and pepper. Cool for another 4 minutes while stirring until the water is mostly evaporated. Move to a bowl and wipe out the pan.
Wipe off Cod to dry then flour the cod then salt and pepper. Season both sides with cayenne and black sesame seeds and cumin.

Add 2 t. olive oil on medium high heat. Add the seasoned cod to hot pan, cool 3 to 4 minutes each side, until golden brown. Move to a plate and salt and pepper.

Wipe the pan. Melt butter in the same pan, add garlic and almonds, cook stirring for about 1 minute. Add the beets with lemon juice, cooked carrots and lemon zest. Remove from heat and toss Arugula. Season with salt and pepper.

Time to plate up. On two plate put the warm salad and top with cod. ENJOY.

And here you have your new healthy delicious dinner. If you like fish and veggies this could be your new go-to week night dinner or even lunch.
Thanks for reading, following and sharing.
Lana Gandy with “What’s on Your Stove?”
Remember, home is where the heart is and the kitchen is its soul!

LAKE BREEZE SKI LODGE

Well I gave Mom a choice of 4 different restaurants to go to on Mother’s Day and she didn’t pick any of them and asked for Lake Breeze and whatever Mom wants, she gets.

This is a perfect place to go to on any day and it’s fantastic for holidays. Even with a sprinkle rain coming down we still had a great meal and enjoyed the scenery.

I love it when it’s buffet day (any major holiday). Chef Dave and his wife Becky have been running this kitchen for many years and do an excellent job.

Don’t get me wrong, they have a great every day menu too. Today the buffet had: pork tenderloin bake, grilled chicken, shrimp and crab bake, the cheesiest of mac and cheese ever, squash medley, brocoli salad and many more yummy items.

For dessert Dave made an Apple Crisp with soft serve ice cream along with several different cakes. They have a full bar and hands down the best margarita this side of Mexico.

It was a perfect day even though the weather wasn’t perfect.
Mom and I have been coming here since I was in high school and that’s a very long time. Buzz Moeller has been the owner for as long as I can remember and is still very involved. You can never have a bad day at Lake Breeze. It is a private club but worth checking out. You can get there by boat or car. It is set back in the 60’s and hasn’t changed a bit. Super kid friendly and everyone has a great time in the pool. You need to check the schedule to find out what days they have ski shows and what time fire works are displayed.
Give them a call and ask about all the particulars.

Happy Mothers Day to all!
Thanks for reading, following and sharing.
Lana Gandy with “What’s on Your Stove?”
Remember, home is where the heart is and the kitchen is its soul!

CBQ SMOKEHOUSE ~ CREEKSIDE

My Oh My!!! I’ve fallen in love. Chuck Stanley and his crew have got BBQ down. Chuck is the owner and chef of this fine operation. It’s located in Creekside and if you haven’t heard of it before, well you have now. Dine in, carry out and catering.

Mom and I stopped in to try out the flash fried black eyed peas and have a drink. I asked the bartender for something refreshing and boy did he ever get it right! Not sure what it is called but I called it delicious. It hit the spot. The black eyed peas are a deal changer, they are great for a bar snack but also would be great as a side, they have bacon and Cajun seasonings.

CBQ is the only full service BBQ restaurant in New Braunfels with a complete bar.

Because everyone was so awesome here we decided to go ahead and order the “Whole Lotta Smokie”. That’s right, two ladies that were not hungry at all ordered one of the biggest things on the menu, why because we wanted to try it all. It consists of ANGUS BRISKET, PULLED PORK, ST. LOUIS RIBS, TEXAS SAUSAGE, TURKEY BREAST and two sides.

Our waiter Marvin suggested the mac and cheese and baked beans. He was spot on. So everything was delicious and I don’t have a favorite, oh wait, that would be everything!!! The mac and cheese is award winning and the baked beans have burnt ends. They have 2 sauces, one regular that has a little bit of sweet side and one spicy that is WOWZA.
The brisket is juicy, the turkey has just enough smoke on it and is super tender, the sausage is delicious and the St. Louis ribs are mouth watering.
The platter is enough to feed 4 and mom and I will be enjoying it for several meals.
Don’t take my word for it, get over to CBQ Smokehouse and enjoy some mouth watering perfectly smoke BBQ.

If you check out Chuck’s website at http://www.CBQSmokehouse.com you will find yourself in the car driving to CBQ for some world class BBQ.
Oh yes, the staff is also award winning!!

Thanks for reading, following and sharing.
Lana Gandy with “What’s on Your Stove?”
Remember, home is where the heart is and the kitchen is its soul!

FISH PARTY ~ SPRING FLING ~ ELVIE & NEFER

Nothing like living off the land! Elvie and Nefer have about 5 acres outside of NB and they have surely made the best out of it. I’m 100% sure that I’ve never had such freshness. They have a spring Fling annually that is pot luck but Elvie goes all out!

They have a stock pond with all types of fish but today Nefer cooked by about 50 perch, they were alive in the tank 20 minutes before they were served, unbelievable! They raise chickens, some for meat and some for eggs, all I heard were yum yum noises from everyone about the grilled chicken. We grilled beautiful baby bells and Jalapenos, sweet potatoes and sausage.  A little oil and salt were the only seasonings on the grill. Simply delicious.

 

We made black cherry and lime water and cucumber/lime water that were a huge hit.

Someone brought a cooler with individual zip locks with fresh fruit for one, I thought it was a great idea. All of the food that everyone brought was amazing. the people that came to this party have so much love in their hearts and lots of music in their souls, this was the most special thing about the party, the people.

It was truly a blessed day, thank you Elvie and Nefer.
Thanks for reading, following and sharing.
Lana Gandy with “What’s on Your Stove?”
Remember, home is where the heart is and the kitchen is its soul!

THE RIVER HOUSE ~ GRUENE, TX

You may remember it as The River Haus Tea Room but it has changed hands to owner Ross Wilkenson with Chef Collin. They have brought a Southern flair to the menu and a real freshness about it. All of the ingredients are from a 200 mile radius and the menu changes in seasons. The patio is much larger so more seating is available to enjoy our gorgeous Tx days and nights under the big trees. You can still enjoy some of Chef Carol’s specialties that they kept on the menu like the muffins and salad sampler.

I was joined with a life long friend Shawn Phillips that has never been here at all. He is already wanting to go back for the country fried ribeye, it looks amazing.
We started off with a special soup, Green beans and ham soup. It sounded a little unusual so we had to try it. Pleasantly surprised, it was creamy yummy goodness in a cup with a won-ton on top. When you take the lid off you are hit with a beautiful aroma of delicious cream and silky soup.

Shawn had a salad which I’ve never seen him do because he has a much bigger appetite. It was The River House Salad ` mixed local greens, strawberries, blackberries, candied walnut, apples, gorgonzola, grilled chicken served with black berry vinegarette. Not one morsel was left on his plate so I do believe it’s safe to say, he loved it!

I had the Country Chicken Salad ~ mixed greens, boiled egg, cheddar, Monterrey jack, tomato, sprouts, served with ranch and I added a side of gorgonzola because it’s home-made and I had to try it. It was absolutely delicious.

The River House offers small plates, green plates, daily specials, burgers, deli sandwiches, hot sandwiches and a full dinner menu. On Sundays they offer an all you can eat fried chicken dinner. Be sure and call to see what the specials are for the day. You can check out the menu at http://www.theriverhousetx.com

Heather was our server and very good. You can find The River House tucked away on the side street, 1617 New Braunfels St. in Gruene, TX.

When you are shopping in Gruene or just in the area, I suggest you try The River House for yourself, I bet you love it.
Thanks for reading, following and sharing.
Lana Gandy with “What’s on Your Stove?”
Remember, home is where the heart is and the kitchen is its soul!

GUMBO COOKOFF & CRAWFISH FESTIVAL NB

We just had a blow out of a good time at the Comal County Fair Grounds for the Crawfish Festival of New Braunfels. Our sweet little town is growing like crazy and this event just shows how we are embracing the changes. Nothing like Ben and Gina Jones throwing the biggest, most fun Crawfish festival New Braunfels has ever seen. They used to have it at their home on River Road and it grew and grew and finally Gina said, “that’s enough, go big and have it at the fair grounds.” Well, I think it was something like that. It was a family fun event for 2 whole days that included; Crawfest Washer Toss, Kids Zone, 5K Crawdaddy Dash, Splash Dogs (one of my favs), Crawfish Races, vendors galore, the most unbelievable music line up New Braunfels has ever seen and YES, a GUMBO COOKOFF.
The Gumbo Cookoff had about 20 participates and I was lucky enough to be on one of the teams. Four girls, Rayann Henk, Wendy Moore, Penny Stuman and me.

Penny came with the recipe that was from her cousin and we all came eager to WIN. I’m including the recipe that we followed pretty darn close.

We did add more water because we added more flour to the roux. Check out the pics.

We turned in our sample at 1:00 and then started handing out tastes. Everyone that tried our gumbo said we were the winners. Well dang it, we didn’t place with the judges but all the tasters said we did. I will for sure use this recipe again and again.

It was a fantastic event, here are some of my pics.

Thanks Ben and Gina.  Also, thanks to my team, we did so good and had a ball.

If you want to check out all the fun (and you do) go to http://www.crawfishfestivalnewbraunfels.com You can also follow Ben on FB for next years event, you don’t want to miss it.
Thanks for reading, following and sharing.
Lana Gandy with “What’s on Your Stove?”
Remember, home is where the heart is and the kitchen is its soul!!

FRIESENHAUS ~ Voted best German food in NB

This is authentic German food at its finest! I’m not German but this has been my home town since 1972. I must say I didn’t know much about the culture or cuisine but I do know good food and Friesenhaus is spot on! This dining adventure I had two of the best teachers to tell me about the food and helped me order. The son of the owners of Friesenhaus, Walter Dirks and my dear friend, Craig Kneuper.

 

Walter sat with us and told us story after story about German and his up bringing. They moved here in 2005 from Germany.  Why call it Friesenhaus? The Dirks family descended from a northern region of Germany bordering the North Sea called “Friesland,” so Friesenhaus means the “House of the Frisians.”
The first item on the table was pretzels, I guess it’s like their chips and salsa. Everything we ordered was as German as you can get. We started off with Leberknodel suppe, that is liver dumpling soup in a hearty broth. Talk about a soup that hits the spot, perfect beginning.

Our next course was authentic Potato Pancakes, not what we’re use to at Wurstfest but the bomb. They are sauteed’ed  to a perfect brown and served with apple sauce that you could bathe in, not kidding!

For dinner we shared a sample plate that was green beans wrapped in bacon, German potato salad and meatballs that were covered in a delicious cream sauce with capers. They only use salt and pepper for seasonings because the food is good the way it comes, natural.

If you are not sure what to order be sure and ask Walter or your server, we had Mandy and she was so accommodating.
There are 16 German beers all on draft ranging from Pilsner, Lager, Dunkel, Bock, Black, and Wheat beers. All of our beers are served in authentic German glassware ranging from .3 liter to a full 2 liter “Das Boot” glass. The bar also offers a wide selection of regional German wines ranging from a dry Pinot Gris white wine to a fruity white Spätlese wine with many more in between. Craig and I enjoyed a delightful Pinot Noir of Germany.

Coming in June for 10 weeks they will be having Masskrugstemmen which is a Bavarian feat of strength and endurance where contestants hold a 1-liter stein of beer (which weighs about 5 pounds) out in front of them at shoulder level for as long as they can. No beer can be spilled, no elbows can be bent, and extended arms must be kept parallel to the ground. It’s every Thursday night starting in June at 7:00. People in New Braunfels take their beer very serious!
The Friesenhaus Restaurant offers a unique German experience that the whole family can enjoy!

Every Friday and Saturday night, they feature live German accordion music by local musicians. If you love culture and German food, this is your place. We had a blast and I bet you will too!

They are located at 1050 S. Sequin St., you can’t miss it.
I hope that you enjoy it as much as we did.

Thanks for reading, following and sharing.
Lana Gandy with “What’s on Your Stove?”
Remember, home is where the heart is and the kitchen is its soul!

LAS FONTANAS ~ MEXICAN KITCHEN

It’s where Mediterranean meets Mexico. Hands down the freshest seafood dishes of any Mexican kitchen I’ve ever experienced. The flavors are a cross from the Yucatan Peninsula, central and northern Mexico with a dash of South Texas.
You can get all of your tasty Mexican dishes such as awarding winning enchiladas, chalupas, tacos and quesadillas. However, they have the freshest fish dishes that I’ve ever had at a Mexican food restaurant.
The first thing that is brought to the table makes you fall in love, Las Fontanas home made salsa, served warm with home made corn tortilla chips. Well as if that wasn’t enough yummy goodness, we added top shelf margaritas and queso; American cheese, blended with roasted hatch chile peppers and pico de gallo.

Now Craig Kneuper, Chesney Bryan and I are getting happy! For lunch Craig had what he always has, Marisco Soup, It’s a fragrant homemade seafood stew made with succulent scallops, shrimp, fish, crawfish, and crab meat. Served with rice and ripe avocado slices. No wonder he orders it every time, at least once a week, it’s beautiful and tasty.

Chesney had an appetizer for lunch that she thoroughly enjoyed for lunch and a snack later. It was the Avocado Bites, slices of ripe avocado stuffed with chicken fajitas, Monterrey jack cheese, and torreado pepper slices. Served with a queso cantina sauce.

For lunch and a dinner snack I enjoy off the lighter fare menu, Mango Ceviche, tilapia filet and shrimp cooked in a lime marinade, tossed with pico de gallo and diced mangos. Served with avocado slices and crackers. Talk about fresh and delicious, this was the ticket!

Las Fontanas has something for everyone. It’s a family run business that is eager to serve! They have happy hours and great specials. Sunday – Thursday 11 – 9 and Friday and Saturday they stay open to 10. The prices are perfect to scoop up the whole family and go enjoy the finest of Mexican food.
Thanks for reading, following and sharing.

Lana Gandy with “What’s on Your Stove?”
Remember, home is where the heart is and the kitchen is its soul!

ROASTED BROCCOLI CHEESE SOUP

The flavors in this soup just keep building all sorts of depth, from smoky, velvet creaminess and a small amount of heat. I love the way all of the flavors melt together.
Mom has a friend with cancer and so do I so I thought I’d make them something delicious,very good for them and easy to eat.

INGREDIENTS:
6 slices bacon cut into 2 inch pieces
2 lbs broccoli florets
1 onion minced
2 celery stalks minced
4 C. chicken stock
32 oz half/half
1/3 stick no salt butter
1/4 C. flour
2 t. ground garlic
1 t. ground nutmeg
1 t. crushed red pepper
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

So this is how the building begins!
Preheat oven 375
In a large baking sheet put the broccoli florets, sprinkle with a small amount of olive oil and salt and pepper generously. Bake for 20 minutes, toss and bake an additional 10.
In a large pot render the bacon till crispy, remove and set aside.
Add onion and celery and cook for about 5 minutes in the bacon grease, till onion is clear. Add garlic powder and salt and pepper. Add flour and stir for about a minute till it’s all absorbed and smells toasty. Add butter, chicken broth, nutmeg and crushed red pepper bring to a slow simmer for about 30 minutes.

Add 3 cups of the roasted broccoli and half and half. Let simmer for 30 minutes on low.

Puree the soup so that all the broccoli has no chunks, you can use a potato masher if you don’t have a immersion blender. In the meantime with the left over broccoli tear into small pieces. Add the broccoli and 2 cups of the cheese.

Stir for 5 minutes till all the cheese is melted and creamy.

Time to plate up, finish it off with cheese and crumbled bacon and a small dash of crushed red pepper.

ENJOY!
If you have a hard time getting your children to eat anything green, this one will do the trick. Mom and kid approved.
I hope you give it a try, you’ll want to lick the bowl!
Thanks for reading, following and sharing!
Lana Gandy with “What’s on Your Stove?”
Remember, home is where the heart is and the kitchen is it’s soul!!