Thats what I’m thankful for. What are you thankful for? I hope everyone has a happy, delicious, and safe Thanksgiving!!

It was absolutely gorgeous there. I loved it! The people are so sweet and make you feel welcomed. Oh, and did I mention the awesome food?! YUM! I think food always tastes better when you’re eating it on a gorgeous beach. Maybe thats just my opinion? We stayed the first couple of nights in the city of Puerto Plata. We stayed at the most amazing boutique hotel that looked like a beautiful mansion called Casa Coloniel. I highly recommend it. I went on this gorgeous vacation with my Aunt, my cousin Jesse, my cousin Leili, and my Aunt’s friend Terry. We all had so much fun and did so many amazing things!

One day when we were in Puerto Plata we decided to head into town for their Carvial! It was a huge party and everyone was dressed up in these gorgeous elaborate costumes. They all danced in the street and it was crazy. Lets just say there was a lot of Rum being drank there and the music was so loud I think me ears started bleeding. But it was worth it!

After staying in Puerto Plata a few days we headed to Samana. In Samana we stayed at a hotel called the Bannister hotel. It was gorgeous! Right on the water with a beautiful marina. Not to mention they have so many activities you can do there. The first day we were there we decided to go see what Samana is famous for : humpback whales. We got on a boat in Samana Bay and headed out to see some whales! While we were waiting there were Dominican people walking around trying to sell you all sorts of goodies but one thing really caught our eye: this huge round of coconut bread! It was delicious! It was unsweetened coconut so it wasn’t sweet but there was this faint coconut flavor that made you all warm and fuzzy inside when you ate it. After we devoured about 5 pounds of coconut bread we went out and got lucky and sale two whales! It was a truely awesome thing to see in person.

Besides going to see the Whales we also went on a boat and went to Los Haities national park which was awesome. There are huge caves that we got to go into and explore. That was a lot of fun! The last day we were there we went up in the mountains to the city of El Limon. We met up with a guide and we all got our own horse and headed to the waterfall! To get to to waterfall we had to ride though coffee plants and cacao plants. Oh my gosh!! The coffee plants had these gorgeous white flowers that smelled like heaven. It smells like a combination of Jasmin and Orange Blossom. Oh man!!! I wish you all could smell it. Also on the way there there was the cutest old man making chocolate and roasting coffee beans on the side of the road. I had to buy some! Once we were to the waterfall I was so excited. Its so gorgeous. Pictures don’t do it justice! My cousins and I jumped in the water and swam in the cold fresh water. It was just breathtaking.

After we went to the waterfall we were lucky enough to have the most amazing Dominican woman cook us an amazing lunch. We got off the horses and we were greeted with fresh pineapple juice. Oh man was that good!! After we were done with our juice we were led to the back where she set up an entire outside room for us. She was just so adorable and had fresh flowers everywhere and wine and it was just adorable. Then… the food came. We had grilled lobster, yellow coconut rice (yes coconut!), red beans, and tostones. The food was just out of this world!!!! Amazing.

Then, after we were stuffed out came dessert and delicious coffee and the Dominican’s favorite drink: Mamajuana. When you buy mamajuana you think its a joke. It looks like wood chips and leaves. They put it in a jug and fill it with half red wine, half rum, and honey. They let it sit for weeks before they drink it. It actually is pretty good! But enough about that let’s talk about the dessert… coconut flan. Are you noticing a trend here? There’s literally coconut trees everywhere! Suni, the owner of the restaurant, hand grated the coconut to put into the flan. It was by far the best flan I’ve ever had. The creamy texture with the little crunch of the fresh grated coconut mixed with the slightly sweet custard and sweet syrup. Oh man. I want some right now! I might fly back just for that flan.

The last night of our trip we headed back to Puerto Plata to the same hotel we stayed in before. In the hotel they have this great little restaurant. We called ahead and they put us out in the garden by ourselves. It was so romantic. Too bad there were no men there! They had awesome food there. To start out we got mushroom caps stuffed with goat cheese. Mmmmm… goat cheese. For dinner I had the Yucca gnocci in a spicy sauce with shrimp. OH MAN! Party in my mouth so good. I’ve never heard of putting yucca in gnocci but its genius. Then, of course, we had to get dessert. We had a chocolate lava cake with macadamia nut ice cream, passionfruit flan, and a tropical fruit cobbler. Then of course we had to wash everything down with some white wine right? Right! Everything about the trip was just fabulous and I love every minute being there. I think I’m having withdrawals. I hope everything is doing great! Stay tuned for updates, my ebook being up, and more videos and recipes! Thanks everyone

So once we’re on the boat we head out. We don’t have to go very far offshore to find those spiny delicious lobsters. They can’t hide from me! Once we’re out there we put on our masks, snorkels, fins, and we grab our nets and “tickle sticks”. “Tickle sticks” are just long sticks that we use to get the lobsters from out of their holes. We dive down about 12-20 ft depending on where we stop. While you’re swimming on the top of the ocean looking down you’ll see a ledge with two long tentacles. Thats when you dive down and “tickle” them with the tickle stick until they walk out of their ledge. When they come out you put your net behind then and hit them in the face so they shoot back into the net. Once you have then in the net you need to twist your net up so it doesn’t get out! That happens.. and it sucks! Then you swim it to the boat and measure to see if it’s a keeper! As I’m typing this I’m realizing it doesn’t sound near as fun as it really is. Just swimming in the ocean and seeing the beautiful fish and big coral heads is what I love. It’s so relaxing (but hard work!) swimming around and looking at the beautiful ocean bottom. Can’t beat that! That’s my dad catching a big one!! Nice daddy-o! So when we catch our limit ( 6 lobsters per person on the boat) we head back to the marina. This is where we dismember the poor things. Sorry guys! But, for the biggest ones we keep them for a traditional lobster dinner that night at our favorite restaurant Hot Tin Roof.

When we get back to the hotel we just rest and get ready for dinner. If you ever go down to Key West you MUST go to Hot Tin Roof in the Ocean Key Club hotel. I’ve mentioned it before in an earlier blog and I can’t express how much I love it there. The chef is so inventive and the service is impeccable. It’s not very often you see people loving their jobs and the people that work there do, and it shows.

For dinner we had lobster ( of course ) with all the fixings. They had Manchego cheese mac and cheese ( <- oh my god), a great ceasar salad, baked tomatoes with mozzarella, and a cucumber crab salad. It was so good!!! The regular menu is amazing as well. A definite must try!

Another place I really recommend if you go down to Key West is…

All I have to say is….. YUM!!! My brother, my grandma, and I went here after a long day of lobstering as a treat to ourselves. We heard from people how great it was and had to check it out ourselves. I can’t pass up a good crepe! We went there and had two.. the crepe with chocolate ganache and strawberries and another one with raspberry cream cheese. They were un-believable. They also serve savory crepes… which I will definitely be trying next time I go! The way they make the crepe is really awesome to watch. They start off with with these flat circle.. things? I have no idea what they are but they’re bad-ass! She puts a little melted butter on it and ladle the batter in the middle. They then take this rake looking thing ( I apologize to the owner for not knowing what everything is called!) and spread it around till its nice and thin. They then flip it over and let it cook a little more. They put the filling in the middle and fold it into a little love package that I cannot resist. Yummy!!!!

The owners are these great French ladies  Yolande Findlay and Sylvie Le Nouail. What I love so much about this place is its cozy and the owners make you feel at home. They even make the crepes for you… which is rare for owners to do. Oh man, just writing this is making me hungry again. Ok, well that is all for now. I’ll keep you up to date on all my adventures and the great food finds! Bon Apetit!!!

The first night we were in Chicago we went here for dinner:

Carnivale!!!!!!!!!!!! Its the best Nuevo Latino restaurant I’ve ever been to. Every time we go to Chicago we always make sure we go here. They have a great menu and bar and the food is so inventive. The restaurant use to be a nightclub so it is 2 stories and they use crazy colors!! Awesome atmosphere! For a pre-appetizer ( I know, how fat of us!!!!!) we got a cheese platter. They have amazing cheeses and if you get cheese platters you get almonds, seasonal jam (this time it was blueberry),  and homemade crackers. We got Hook’s Cheddar which is my favorite, Rosemary Manchego which is a nutty sheep milk from Spain, and Mount Enebro which is a creamy blue goat milk from Spain. All were spectacular and the presentation was so gorgeous and simple… easy appetizer for entertaining!

Then for our real appetizer we got the Ropa Vieja. Now, its not your typical Ropa Vieja… its wayyyy better. They start out with sweet plantains, braised beef, spicy mayo, queso fresco cheese, and chopped onions. It’s by far the best appetizer I’ve ever had. Its a party in your mouth. You have sweet and soft from the plantain, savory from the beef, spicy from the mayo, and crunchy from the onion. It makes me want to cry its so good! For dinner we all got the same thing… the Arrachera. Its just a grilled skirt steak, rice and beans, and topped with chimichurri sauce and sweet red onion. Then to wash it down, Mojitos. Of course!! There’s so much food we always order we have yet to try a dessert. Sorry if I’m ranting about this place but its deeeelish!

The next morning I woke up.. hungry and ready for a good breakfast. The place I recommend : Tiempo cafe. AWESOME breakfast. Its just a little hole in the wall but they feed you.. real good. The have fresh squeezed OJ which is one of my favorite things ever being from Florida. They have the biggest pancakes and omelets you’ve ever seen! I got an omelet with spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, and cheddar cheese. Other people at my table got chocolate chip pancakes, waffles, and eggs benedict. All were awesome! Definitely recommend this place as well!

Later that night we went to Wrigly Field to see a Cubs Astros game.  Wrigly Field really is one of the coolest places I’ve been. The fact that you’re sitting in the same stands that people were almost a 100 years is really a cool feeling. While we were there my favorite actor was sitting next to the Astros dugout. Can anyone guess?? Vince Vaughn!!!!!!! He’s my favorite actor. I was so excited.. and so were about 1,000 other fans. He stood up to stretch and you see a million cameras come out. Pretty funny!! Well, there’s a lot more about Chicago but I don’t want to ramble. Tuesday we are going to Key West again for LOBSTER SEASON!!!!! SOOOO excited. My favorite times of the year are as follows: 1) Christmas 2) Lobster season 3) Thanksgiving 4) everything else Will be writing soon!!

Sorry I haven’t put up anything new lately… I’ve been here….

I know…. its gorgeous. Every year since I was 2 my family has gone on a family vacation to Paradise Island, Bahamas. If you’ve never been…. GO!!! Its so gorgeous there, you can’t beat it. The people are so sweet and really make you feel like you’re at home. Plus.. the food is amazing!!!! Expensive, but amazing. If you ever get to go there and want to eat like the locals you must go here:

In Nassau, if you ask any of the locals where to eat they’ll tell you to go to “da fish fry”. The “fish fry” is about 10 restaurants all next together that specialize in… well, frying fish. Everything you get there is fresh caught that day and let me tell you… its amazing. Fried fish must be in their DNA or something because let me tell you its the best fried anything I’ve ever had!

When you ask any of natives which one of restaurants they recommend, its always different. The Bahamians are very loyal and only stick to one of the restaurants. To them their favorite restaurant is the best, the food is the best, and it is the only place you should go to. Since I’m basically a citizen of the Bahamas I have my favorite as well… Seafood Haven. I get the same thing every time : conch fritters and conch salad for an appetizer, fried nassau Grouper (fresh caught that day!) with pigeon peas and rice, and plantains. Then… for dessert.. the mother of all that is delicious: Guava Duff. Now, if you can’t already tell I love sweets. As my mom says: ” you can put chocolate on poop and it will taste good”. I live by those words.  Guava duff is a rich dessert that melts in your mouth. It a a sweet dough with pieces of guava rolled up in it. They cook it and serve it with a hard sauce which is basically butter, sugar, eggs, and rum. I looked up the recipe and I felt my butt getting bigger just looking at it! But, its a must if you go.

Another thing that is a must if you go there is the Conch Salad. No matter where you go, they sell it.

Conch salad is made with Fresh conch, onion, green pepper, celery, cucumber, tomatoes, lime juice, wine vinegar, and peppers to make it have a little kick. Its my mom and my grandmother’s (I call her Boppy) favorite. You can’t beat the food down in the bahamas. Then you add a lot of sun, beaches, pools, drinks with umbrellas in them, and you have a bomb-ass vacation!!! We love it….

Sorry I had to rub it in!!! I’m mean I know.  Well this weekend I went with my family down to Key West, FL to do some fishing. We chartered a boat and caught some Mahi Mahi ( In this picture!) along with Snapper. I’ll put a pic of the snapper later in the post. Oh, and just to let everyone know I caught the largest Mahi and Snapper. Boo Yah! We just got back and fried up some of the fish. A-mazing. I’m not really a huge fan of fish but I have to say if you ever get the chance to eat some fresh fish… do it!! It was amazing! Love me some fried fish with malt vinegar. Could it get better than that?? I don’t think so!

Isn’t that thing huge?! It’s a Mutton Snapper. GOOD eats!!! Let me tell you when… when I caught this thing I thought I was catching Moby Dick. I woke up this morning and my arms felt like jello from hauling this thing it. Took me about 10 minutes to get it in! So much fun. Oh, and in case you’re going to comment saying I’m holding it far out to make it look bigger… I’m really not! Its just THAT big!

We ended up catching 6 dolphin,4 yellow tail snapper, and my huge Mutton snapper!  I apologize in advance for all the photos.. I just had such an amazing time I have to share all the pics!

The first night we went to this amazing island off Key West called Sunset Ket. On Sunset Key there is an AMAZING restaurant called Latitudes. Its seriously unbelievable. For an appetizer we had oysters rockafeller. Oh. my. heaven. Deeeelish! I recommend this! All the food was so amazing we all finished our plates. Of course… The second night after we went fishing we went to this restaurant called the Hot Tin Roof. They were so kind to cook up our catch! Whenever we go to the Keys for lobster season they always cook up our lobster for us. They blackened some of the Mahi and the other half they sauteed in a lemon butter. SOOO good. I was impressed! The sides were so inventive and I really recommend going there if you are even in Key West. Also, if you’re in Key West, you must go to Blue Heaven. They have the best breakfast there. Its such a great place. Its all outdoors and theres roosters running around and the style is very eclectic… just like Key West! Well, that is all. I hope you enjoyed all the pics. I had fun taking them! Has anyone been anywhere lately that they really recommend? I’m always looking for new places to go! Well, off to bed for me. I have a 22 hour drive to Texas tomorrow. Fun? I think not!

I was trying to keep things light and healthy, yet filling. So I made kabobs! I marinated some steak in a bottled low fat/low sodium teriyake sauce and added those to the kabobs as well. They were delicious!!! I really recommend making those. Also, I don’t want to hear any excuses about not having a grill and thats why you can’t make them because grill pans are so cheap! Thats the second best thing. Trust me, if I can make then so can you! You can use any kind of meat and veggies you want! Yum!!!

So, as you know I’ve been working on my cookbook. Let me tell you… its a royal pain in my butt!! I’ve been having the hardest time on writing the introduction, and I thought that would be the easiest part for me to do. Buuutttt its not. At first I’m only going to do a Cooking For Bimbos ebook before a hard copy. Just to see if everyone likes it Are there any recipes that anyone is wanting to see in the cookbook? Maybe new ones, maybe ones already from my website? I have some new recipes and videos that I’ll be putting up from Easter and theres some good ones! I hope everyone is having a great Spring!  Let me know if there’s any recipes you’d like to see in the cookbook. Thanks!

Another thing I love so much about spring is its the perfect time of year to eat outside and feel that nice crisp air. I love making a delicious dinner and there’s just something about eating outside that makes everything just taste better! So everybody, take advantage of this great time of year! Go to your local farmers market ( which is one of my most favorite things to do) and get inspired by all the amazing fresh produce. I promise you that if you go you’ll want to buy everything, and that’s okay with me!  Well that what Spring means to me. What does it mean to you?? Happy Spring everyone!