Moonstone Grill !!!!!

Moonstone Grill

Open Wednesday - Sunday
5:00pm-8:30pm | Brunch On Sunday
reservations encouraged

(707) 677-1616
100 Moonstone Beach Road
Trinidad, CA 95570

This place is so good and the view at sunset is amazing!!!

This is from the menu online but this is what we ordered.


MARYLAND STYLE CRAB CAKES
FRESH DUNGENESS CRAB MEAT CAKES SERVED WITH LEMON AND AIOLI

NEW ENGLAND-STYLE SEAFOOD CHOWDER
SWORDFISH, SALMON AND CLAMS IN A TRADITIONAL CREAM BASE WITH BACON, POTATOES, AND AROMATIC VEGETABLES

STEAMED MAINE LOBSTER
2 ½ POUND LIVE WHOLE LOBSTER, STEAMED AND SERVED WITH DRAWN BUTTER, SEASONAL VEGETABLES AND LEMON SEGMENTS. Includes a cup of soup or a house salad

GRILLED FILET MIGNON
CHOICE BEEF TENDERLOIN GRILLED TO ORDER AND SERVED WITH CHIANTI DEMI-GLACE, CYPRESS GROVE GOAT CHEESE POTATO CAKE AND GRILLED ASPARAGUS

Shrimp Alfredo with Tomatoes and Red Pepper

 Happy Thursday everyone.

It has been colder than a witch's tit here lately and pouring down rain. Needless to say I've been getting a little cabin fever. But I'm Soooo excited that the Halloween weekend is approaching!! We have a party on Friday that I'm super excited about. There's going to be live music, talent contest, costume contest, and best of all FOOD. I'm supposed to bring a finger food so you KNOW I'm going to do it up right.

Any suggestions? I usually do meatballs from a recipe from my good friend Amber.

My little Maggie has been a holy terror lately. No, really. We went to Kmart and Safeway yesterday and she lost her s*&% in both places. People were looking at me like "can't you shut that kid up"and like I was the worst mom ever. Finally, the bakery woman came over and gave little miss a cookie. That pacified her long enough to get the grocery shopping done. Who said bribery doesn't work???

Ok, so for dinner I made shrimp alfredo with tomatoes and red pepper. So here it goes:



My ingredients minus the shrimp, which is below. Shown under running water 



 

I began by thawing out my pre-cooked deveined shrimp in a collander under running cold water.

While this was going on I started my noodle water. Once it reached a rapid boil, I added my pasta and cooked it according to the package directions. Super easy.

At this point my shrimp was defrosted and ready to cook. I added 2 tablespoons of butter to a medium size skillet over medium heat. To the butter I added 1 tablespoon of dried parsley. Once the butter was melted and the skillet nice and hot, I added in my shrimp. It doesn't take long for pre-cooked shrimp to be ready. Probably about 5 minutes max, flipping the shrimp over while cooking.

When they were done I took them out of the skillet and set aside but KEEPING the butter I cooked it in, in the skillet. With the heat on all the while, I added in 2 tomatoes(chopped into large chunks) and 1 red bell pepper cut into slices. These only cooked for about 2 minutes. I wanted them to stay a litle bit firm but soak up some of the shrimp flavor from my butter sauce. Again, once they were done I took them out of the pan and set them aside.

With the pasta being done, I added my alfredo sauce. I could have made it yah, but I didn't and Bertoli is awesome anyways. All the sauce added, I gave it a quick toss and put my shrimp/tomatoe mixture on top. I was done and it looked and tasted great.







kids portion





view into the pot

Caramel Apples part 2

So..... this is my second time doing caramel apples this month. I have to say that this last batch turned out better than the first. They are just so darn good.

Ingredients: 6 medium sized Granny Smith apples, 1 bag of Branch's Milk Maid caramels, mini chocolate chips, nut topping, and Halloween themed sprinkles.

I started by melting my caramels in a saucepan over low heat. To the melting caramel, I add 2 tablespoons of water. I constantly stir while they melt, until they are all creamy and smooth. Once completely melted I start to coat my apples. With a ladle, I cover my apples and scrape the excess off the bottom of the apples.

For this next part you have to work pretty quickly. Once an apple was completely coated with caramel, I took it over to the bowl with either the nuts or mini chocolate chips and rolled the apple in it. Covering it with as much or as little as I wanted. When finished, I put them on greased waxed paper and put them in the refrigerator to set up.  I like to keep them in the frig so when I eat them, the cool tartness of the Granny Smith really pops.  Enjoy, they are really easy and really fun for the holidays!!!!


starting to melt my caramels




toppings




finished




ready to eat.



Uchi & The Salt Lick BBQ

I recently went out of state and wow, I ate at some of the BEST places ever. 
My husband had been talking about this "Uchi" place for a long while. Let me start out my saying that I am, well was, totally NOT into raw fish. Probably because I had never eaten at UCHI. I have turned to the dark side on this one. I couldn't get enough. I ate so much that my husband even commented he "hasn't seen me eat so much since I was pregnant." 
The textures and flavor pairing is absolutely amazing. It is most definitely 5 stars and pricey but worth EVERY penny.  Here's a brief summary of Uchi I found online.

UCHI 

(512) 916-4808

801 S Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX 78704 30.2575 -97.7602

http://www.uchiaustin.com/

 by Monika Kowalczyk

Citysearch

"The vibe at Uchi is sophisticated albeit relaxed, with the well-heeled and tattoo-laden coexisting in harmony. On any given evening, it's filled to capacity with diners conversing beneath a bold, red expanse intermingled with golden flowers. Dimly lit lanterns hanging from the high, vaulted ceiling provide a romantic ambiance. Tender Muscovy duck, grilled on Japanese charcoal, are appetizers to salmon or striped bass sushi, Brie tempura ringo or pan-seared scallops served with samiso sauces, baby bok choy and shiitake mushrooms."

Here's some info. on owner/executive chief Tyson Cole.
(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Tyson Cole (born September 3, 1970, Sarasota, FL, USA) is a chef and restaurateur based in Austin, Texas, USA.

Biography

Cole began his culinary career as a dishwasher at a Japanese restaurant named Kyoto in downtown Austin, Texas. Attrition among the restaurant's staff gave Cole the opportunity to begin making sushi.  He was attending the University of Texas Austin, with interests in painting and architecture.  Cole worked three and a half years at Kyoto, from 1992 to 1996.
Starting in mid-1996, Cole apprenticed for six and a half years under Takehiko Fuse, owner/chef of Musashino Sushi Dokoro in Austin, TX.  Cole also learned Japanese during this stint.

In May 2003, Cole opened Uchi, a 95-seat 2,600 square feet (240 m²) sushi restaurant in Austin.
On July 6th, 2010, Cole opened his second restaurant, Uchiko (loosely translated meaning "offspring of Uchi") after a three-week soft opening period.

Awards
In 2005, Food & Wine Magazine named Tyson Cole "Best New Chef", one among ten chefs to receive that award.
He led a team of Uchi chefs against Chef Masaharu Morimoto on the Food Network program Iron Chef America in March 2008.
In 2006, Cole won goodhealth.com's "Healthy Chef Showdown" by a hair, over chef David Bull of the Driskill Grill.
In 2008, 2009, and 2010, the James Beard Foundation named Cole as a semifinalist in the “Best Chef: Southwest” category of its "James Beard Foundation Award", 2009, 2010.



Just a few pictures I found online of the incredible food.

The Salt Lick BBQ
 Driftwood, TX. (right near Austin, TX)
http://www.saltlickbbq.com/

You maybe have seen this place on TV, on the show Man v Food. Season 1, Austin episode. 
This place is no joke BBQ. I was so super excited to eat here and it did not dissappoint. It has gotten so much great press I was excited to see what all the hype was about.

I had the combo plate. My meats were Turkey, beef brisket, and pork ribs. Plates included potato salad, cole slaw & beans. Bread, pickles & onions on request.

I found these on their website's testimonial page:

"Paul and I were in Austin a year ago and if you want good, real actual BBQ, you got to go to Austin…Salt Lick, that's right, Salt Lick…tremendous. I bring this up because I'm hoping they'll send us some."
-David Letterman

Adam Richman, Host of Man v. Food - The Travel Channel

"My never ending quest for barbeque bliss has lead me to the Salt Lick. Unbelievable! It melts in your mouth. One of the best things I have ever eaten! And the burnt ends of the brisket – a work of true, true poetry - crispy, creamy, chewy, salty, and sweet from the sauce. They were perfect!"

Sandra Bullock-

"My God, this food! It’s the best, I mean, the best!"

I have to agree it's amazing. I can't get back there fast enough. Oh and you can order their BBQ sauce on their website!!! Believe I did, and a t-shirt, and a bottle opener. LOVED THIS PLACE.

Beef Stew

It's been raining so hard and cold that I decided I need something hearty and warm. Beef Stew. So good.

I started by buying pre-cut boneless beef stewing meat at the meat counter of the grocery store. I took my biggest pot and filled it half full with water. Next, I put in my stew meat and 1 cup chopped white onion, then turned the temp. to medium-high. I salted and peppered my water/beef too. Once the water began to boil I covered it with the lid and turned the temperature to medium and let it cook for an hour.

Next, I added to my soup:  1 cup of freshly chopped carrots,  1 can of peas (drained), 1 can of kidney beans (also drained), 2 cups freshly chopped red potatoes, 2 diced up tomatoes, and 1 tablespoon garlic salt.  I gave it all a quick stir and let it cook altogether on medium heat for another hour.
Throughout the hour I stir my stew. But once that hour is up, that's it you're done!!!

 Caramel Apples to come TODAY!!!