Thanksgiving on Indian Lake

Sunrise Thanksgiving morning - lots to be thankful and grateful for...

Rick believes there is a Turkey Protection Program here in South Padre - these Turkeys are in costume.

Mushrooms - just out of the oven. Pretty gosh darn tasty!

This is a random Indian Lake bean bag game with variable rules. Tom and Aggie seem to like it though :D

Dinner with a whole lotta Indian Lakers. Some really amazing dishes at this pot luck!

Suzee's Peas and Onions with Champagne Cream Sauce

We went to the Indian Lake Potluck Thanksgiving this year, and Rick was hoping for some peas and onions. Usually we just buy them frozen, but here in South TX there was not even a package of frozen onions to be had.

I did find some raw pearl onions and figured, what the heck - lets try and make some from scratch.

I blanched the onions for 3 - 4 minutes to get the skins off (3 ten ounce packages). I figured out early on that if you leave the root end attached, and slice off the other end, you can pretty easily peel off the outter layer and slice it off the onion. I tried the "slip the skins off" method, but my onions were not cooperating.

In a stock pot I added about a 1/2 cup of flour and 3 or 4 T of butter. I stirred them together to make a roux and continued stirring as they cooked on medium for 2 - 3 minutes. I added a can of low sodium chicken broth, and whisked this together until smooth. Next I added 1/2 bottle of Asti Spumanti (Mom's fave for a holiday). Once it stopped bubbling from the carbination, I simmered it a bit to allow it to thicken. Maybe 5 or 10 minutes. I added some salt and freshly ground pepper, and I'll tell you the sauce tasted pretty gosh darn good at this point, so I added back the onions and also added 2 lbs of frozen peas. I let the the veggies simmer for about 10 minutes. After that I added about 1/2 - 3/4 cup half and half, and heated it through. I added more salt and pepper at this point as after the cream addition, it definitely needed some adjustments.

I consider this recipe a success - the 25 or so folks at the pot luck enjoyed them, as did Rick. Next time though I think I would make these adjustments.

Add the peas at the end, so they stay a nice bright green.
Consider going without the cream at all - the sauce was really nice even without it.
Add some tarragon to the mix - I think that would really make it special.

If you try this recipe, let me know how it goes! Enjoy!

A perfect day on the Island!

We had a belated birthday celebration for my father's 21st celebration of his 50th birthday. I thought he would like an apron for making his famous black bean soup!



I was able to finagle a trip to the Palm Street Pier for our celebraton - I'm sure glad my father likes it too!

Last night we also had a great swim in the pool and I got to see the sunset over at Coconuts. Every sunset on South Padre Island is a good one :D

Vacation South Padre 2009

Vacation - some sun, some sleep, and some fun :)

Not enough fish tacos, though....

Sicky Sick Weekend

This past weekend was filled with coughing, sneezing, stuffy noses and sore throats. Good I say. Great! Get it all out so when we leave in 5 days for vacation, we will be all better :)

I've been trolling the internet for appetizers to make while we are there. Usually we laze around in the morning, go out for a late lunch, and watch TV or read in the evenings. I figure if we have big lunches, no need for "dinner". Snacks will work just fine :)

I'm not sure if we will have internet access or not, so I'll have to look into that. If we don't, I'll be sure to write my entries as we go along, and then post them all at the end :)

Sunshine is coming my way!

Preparations for Vacation

Soon we'll be on our way to South Padre! I'm starting to pull together stuff to pack, and starting to surf to determine what we'll be doing, and what we should do before we leave.

I made brownies today - oh yum they are so good! I've been perusing recipes to decide what I'll bring to Thanksgiving dinner with the group (we'll be joining my parents for a turkey day feast at Skip and Linda's at Indian Lake). I've enjoyed going through all the recipes :) The good news is that if I feel like being a slacker, I can, since Mom is all set to bring 2 things :)

I ordered a bunch of books for vacation - lots of trashy beach reads I've been saving just for this occasion!

Top Ten Things For My Next Visit To SPI

10. Siesta!

9. Try Black Beards, Scampi's and Wanna Wanna

8. Attend the entire SPI Music Fest!

7. Sand Castle building lesson with Amazing Walter (nice web site!)

6. Water Park Schlitterbahn

5. Go deep sea fishing

4. Rent a Jet Ski!

3. Order a car to bring me to Mexico so we can try some authentic mexican food :)

2. Have more grilled fish tacos at the Palm Street Pier!

And the number 1 thing I want to do when I come back

1. Have a BBQ and fire on the beach at sunset, driving my car on the beach so I don't have to drag anything there :) Grill those fish I caught from number 5!

Top Ten Things About South Padre Island!!!

10. Peace and quiet, elbow space, gorgeous weather and warm ocean water!

9. Sunrises and sunsets over water within walking distance.

8. More beaches than you can visit in a week (or really a month!)

7. People say "Nice to see ya' Darlin'!"

6. Anything you might need is at the IGA, and you can walk if you want.

5. Blue Herons come to the Palm Street Pier to observe Humans in their natural habitat.

4. Siestas!

3. 124 Bahama Avenue - call Service24 on South Padre Island to rent! http://www.service24.com/sed0012/

2. Grilled Fish Tacos at the Palm Street Pier

And the NUMBER 1 REASON South Padre Island is awesome???

1. We get to go back anytime we want!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

South Padre Pictures

This is our first night out - we watched the first of many sunsets over the Laguna Madre (aka the bay). This one was observed at Louie's Backyard. By the way - my father was right - don't have dinner downstairs at Louie's - Just enjoy the appetizers and cocktails on the upper deck. He likes the sports lounge too (second floor) but it was just too nice out to sit inside to see if we agree.

DO NOT under any circumstances order any cut of beef "Pittsburgh Style" which is described by the server as "kind of burned" on the outside and "pink" on the inside. The first try was barely warm and barely brown on the outside, and still refrigerated on the inside (moo!). The second try looked like it could be ok - a nice brown on the outside. But no, still refrigerated cold on the inside. And I thought Texas was the home of fabulous beef.... stick with fish - it's great! Or if not a fish fan (and you know this because you tried the fish here) stick with pasta, chicken or salad :)

My favorite place continues to be The Palm Street Pier - a literal shack on the bay where the breeze blows through and there is a roof to get a little shade if you've had too much sun. Also on Laguna Madre for marvelous sunset viewing. One of the fabulous things here are the grilled or blacked fish tacos - I will miss those a lot now that I'm back in the city. More on my favorite local later :)

Note the great blue heron waiting on the pilon - who knew they squawk?

We are at Amberjacks here - another locale on the Laguna Madre :) Once the sun goes down, on the second floor deck outdoors, they have sickly green neon lights where everyone looks like they are dressed for Halloween. The service however was impeccable - maybe over kill - we didn't have to wait long for anything.

The Palm Street Pier had Halloween celebrations, including a pumpkin carving contest. They handed me a pumpkin and I brought it back the next day. This picture is after it sat in the sun at the restaurant for a couple of days - it was supposed to be singing ghosts, but I wasn't able to add the mouth at the end - should have started with the details. So now they are dancing ghosts!! Gotta love those Wal-Mart pumpkin carving kits :) After all that I even won honorable mention :)

Rick and I stopped at the Palm's for lunch. My parents really wanted to buy a condo here (before they bought the one where we stayed) but unfortunately some big developer bought up all the units. I can appreciate why they wanted a spot here - it is lovely and oceanfront. I'll bet they had a lot of damage with the hurricane, though...

The last night in South Padre we wanted to enjoy the first night of the South Padre International Music Festival (see my blog list for more info). We parked our butts at (yes) the Palm Street Pier, and watch the preparation. A barge was brought in, sand was spread over the entire top of it, beach chairs were spread across it, lights added, an amazing sound system, and some original music. This was one of six stages. Nice. Loved it. Gonna have to stay for the whole thing next time :)

Here is the sunset over the barge for the music fest, and one of the performers :)

Making Our Way to SPI - Nice Condo!

OK - those commercials for Dial 7 car service to the airport - yup, it's all good. They showed up at o-dark-thirty (on time) and brought us to Newark. We had a little starbucks and a bagel after we got through security (yes, they still make you take off your shoes, but they totally missed the water bottle I accidentally left in my purse). We were on Continental, and the plane was practically brand new. Nice ride. Once we got to Brownsville, we picked up our car from Avis. $199 to rent the car for the week, and another $400 for the insurance. That was a surprise - glad we got it though - it bottomed out a couple times crossing Padre Blvd.

The folks at Service24 were very nice and we got the keys to the condo. It was in a great location, and beautiful - King sized bed, around the corner from the beach, around the corner from the bay, pool and a nice little patio :)

Nice sunrise, don't you think? Less than a block away :)

Packing My Bags

So we've decided to take our vacation without the laptop - totally off line for a week at the beach! This means, of course, no posts until we get back. I'll post pictures then :)

South Padre is very relaxed and casual in a beach bummy kind of way. No need to bring lots of clothes - just a few pairs of shorts and t-shirts. And flip flops. And sunscreen. You'd think my bag would be light, but those books are heavy :) Having wheels on your luggage really is the best thing since sliced bread!

Tonight I'll add my toothbrush, and go get a manicure and pedicure. It will be great to start vacation with someone massaging my hands and feet and making them look pretty :)

I am *very* excited to go! See you when we get back!!

Vacation Reading in South Padre

Next week at this time I'll be in South Padre, TX. Woo! I'm ready for the beach, and the sand, and some relaxing down time. I ordered a bunch of books this morning from Barnes and Noble to test out the "Same Day Delivery In Manhattan" deal. My order went in at 7:15 or so this morning, and no books yet. Good thing I ordered early. (update - 6:68 pm - the books arrived! Yay!)

Here is what I'm taking - not sure if I'll read them all, but probably will and wanted some options incase one or more of them wasn't what I was in the mood for...

Most is new stuff I've never read before that may turn into an interesting series - or maybe not. We'll see.

Agnes and the Hitman by Jennifer Crusie, Bob Mayer

Post trip notes: Finished this one on the plane (started it at home). Entertaining and humorous. I loved Cranky Agnes and her voluptuousness, cooking ablility - gathering her friends around, and her personal discussions with herself - as well as her relationship with the hitman :) Very much a sit back and enjoy the ride - no thought required.

Plum Lovin' (Stephanie Plum Series) by Janet Evanovich

Post trip notes: One of those series so many have read that I don't need to say much - just what you'd expect in a shorter version of the usual - Loved it :)

On What Grounds by Cleo Coyle, Cathy Gendron ( Illustrator) , Rita Frangie ( Designed by) , Kristin de Rosario

Post trip notes: Interesting story, though all the coffee facts interspersed in the story were sometimes a little distracting. I'd read the next one if I didn't have any of my regular faves.

The Outlaw Demon Wails (Rachel Morgan Series #6) by Kim Harrison

Post trip notes: I forgot this one on the trip - I'll review once I'm done.

Postmortem (Kay Scarpetta Series #1) by Patricia Cornwell


Post trip notes: Rick actually picked this one up when he was finished all his books, and the Tess Garritson. Hasn't finished yet.

Deja Dead (Temperance Brennan Series #1) by Kathy Reichs, Kathy Reichs ( Illustrator)

Post trip notes: I'm still reading this one - pretty good so far!

The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen


Post trip notes: Rick picked this up while we were still at SPI (he needs to bring more than 4 books next time). He thought the descriptions of how women were treated was disturbing. I didn't read this one yet.

Freakin' Fabulous : How to Dress, Speak, Behave, Eat, Drink, Entertain, Decorate, and Generally Be Better than Everyone Else by Clinton Kelly

Post trip notes: This is a hilarious afternoon read - I doubt those folks who need the grammar lessons actually understood them, but the example thank you notes were worth the price of admission :)

The One Hundred : A Guide to the Pieces Every Stylish Woman Must Own by Nina Garcia, Ruben Toledo ( Illustrator)

Post trip notes: Boring enough that I left this one behind as a contribution to the "library".

Sedona Method : Your Key to Lasting, Happiness, Success, Peace and Emotional Well-Being by Hale Dwoskin, Jack Canfield ( Foreword by)

Post trip notes: Light reading, but heavy exercises - still working on this and probably will for a while. Good to have some positive thoughts inserted along the way.