356th Fighter Group - Take the Virtual Tour and Pass on the Food

photo taken from Google Images

I typically blog on things that are positive, can promote life-change and as a way to record some milestones in our little family. I've thought about writing some restaurant critiques at times too, but never really made time for it. Today is the day to make that happen.

It's spring break in our school district and the grandparents flew the kids down to spend the week with them in Florida. So the hubby and I decided to eat somewhere nice this afternoon for brunch. The 356th Fighter Group has been under the ownership of Bob Scofield for 24 years now and I think that's quite long enough.

After discussing our experience, the hubby and I agree that we cannot remember a worse meal. I could walk you through the various disappointments of the meal from the cold sausage, to the transparent bacon, to the soggy shrimp, to the tasteless chicken breast, to the rock hard biscuit, to the floppy Belgian waffle, to the unrecognizable sediment that I discovered in the bottom of my water glass (sadly after I had already drank half of it) and our waiter that had the personality of telephone pole. But no one has time for mindless details like that. Let's focus on two big points.

Moldy cheese and a blame shifting owner. Yeah. After picking over our less than appetizing food and making our last visit to the buffet area, the hubby came back with a small variety of items and a few cubes of pepper-jack cheese. Taking a closer look, he noticed mold... on all three pieces. To which he slid his plate away and waited for Bob to walk by so he could mention the infraction to someone who might care. It didn't take long for him to materialize and the hubby motioned him over. Please understand that my dear man hates confrontation of any kind, but felt that the owner of the business would want to know. Business owners that care about the reputation of their business welcome criticism that is offered in the spirit of helping, not just complaining to complain. He didn't plan to go through the laundry list from above, he just wanted to let him know the cheese was moldy and that he might want to pull the tray before anyone else was offended. And what was the response of the owner of this fine establishment, "Hunh, well we've been having trouble with this supplier for a few weeks now." and then he walked away. There was no apology, there was no mortification and the slouch didn't even bother to take away his plate with the offending food that the hubby was clearly not going to eat.

When the waiter produced the bill he mentioned that Bob took a few dollars off, but there was no mention from the telephone pole of an apology either. I can't remember walking out of a restaurant and hoping I wouldn't get sick later in the day. But sadly our tummies are already starting that unsettling rumble as I type and anticipate the rest of the day not being as pleasant as we had hoped.

Although it is a rather enchanting place to visit because of the decor, we would recommend viewing it from the virtual tour on their website and avoid the food. Mr. Scofield, we will not be back... ever.

Basil and Tomatoes for Dinner

Some pictures don't need heavy words.

Huge, heirloom tomatoes, freshly torn basil from my home, coarse sea salt, olive oil & fresh cracked pepper.

Oh and just a bit of buffalo mozzarella.

Dinner was glorious this evening. 

Enjoyed from our 3-Season room with the crickets, squirrels and lots of laughter.

My family's favorite joke of the evening:

Why did they invited the mushroom to the party?

Because he was a fungi.

Why did they ask him to leave?

Because he took up too mushroom.

Making Cream Cheese

If I had known it was this simple, I would have done it a long time ago. I had no idea how easy it was and then when it was done, there was this early American, back to grass roots, satisfaction with the end product. That is until I did a little more research online to see if I had done it right. From what I can understand, I started the process at the half way through point. You can read about it here, but it has something to do with the right pH level and heating of milk. However, my kids and I had a great time with our little experiment and look forward to "making" cream cheese often.

Items you'll need: Organic, low fat, plain yogurt, 2 bowls, 2 cotton towels and something to tie it all up (yarn, twine, etc.)

Take one of the cotton towels and line a bowl with it. If there is a fuzzy side and a flat side, be sure to put the flat side up. It's easier to pull the cheese off the towel when it is finished. 

Pour half of the carton of yogurt in the towel. You will want to divide the carton between two towels and two bowls. If you don't, there's a chance the inside of the cheese will not dry out enough during the process.

Pull up the side of the towel to make a sort of package and tie it securely with your string. Use enough string so that there is leftover to make a loop. Slip the loop over a knob or hook somewhere in your kitchen with the bowl resting underneath. You will need to let it drip for a minimum of 6 hours. Overnight is probably best.

The liquid that drips out is whey. You can either discard the whey, or use it to lacto-ferment vegetables and fruits. I will be blogging about that soon. What was left after we let it hang for 6 hours was a very creamy version of cream cheese. Every single person in my family loved it and agreed we should no longer purchase the store brands. This was easier to spread on bagels and will make a nice low-fat substitute for butter. I will have to see how well it works in a recipe that calls for the processed store bought version. I think the next time I make it (tomorrow) I will hang it overnight and see if it doesn't get a little drier with the longer hanging time.

All in all, we were very pleased with the outcome and would recommend to anyone to give it a whirl.