The Boca Raton Beach & Yacht Club

The Anniversary Weekend or Traveling on the Company Dollar (8/22/08-8/24/08)

Jay's company does some nice things for its employees ... the benefit of working for a highly successful, privately owned business in the good ol' USofA where most employers refer to their workers as human capital. Gee, thanks ... lemme get my gray coveralls out of the dryer and where the hell is my metal lunchbox, comrade?

One of the really nice things this company does is take its employees who are celebrating 10, 15, 20, 25-year, etc. anniversaries with them on a weekend getaway to the Boca Raton Beach & Yacht Club. The whole trip is on the company and employees are allowed to bring one guest. Aren't I lucky that Jay asked me to come along?

Employees and their guests are allowed to choose two excursions that are sponsored and paid for by the company. We chose the following:

Everglades Airboat Tour: You and your guest will witness nature's wonders all around you while gliding over a river of grass in an airboat! Climb aboard the state-of-the-art, covered passenger airboats for an unforgettable experience in the Florida Everglades. The airboat tour is brought into focus by experienced guides who point out the highlights along the trip. These include the history of the Everglades and fascinating facts about the unique flora and fauna found there. Special stops are made along the way where you will see exotic birds, and even alligators, just feet from the boat!

Gallant Lady Intracoastal Cruise: You and your guest will have the opportunity to take a leisurely cruise aboard the 168-foot Gallant Lady. Spend time visiting with fellow associates while enjoying hoovers-doovers (thanks Lori!) and refreshments.

A note about the Gallant Lady ... it's owned by the company.

The company owns more than one yacht.

Goddamn - that's plush!

The rest of the schedule involves group pictures, two cocktail hours, and two banquets. There won't be a chance for us to visit the spa or lounge at the pool or stuff our stomachs at some of the many, varied dining options at the Boca Resort. We've already decided that if we really like the looks of the place and its amenities that we may come back in May 2009 and celebrate out 10th wedding anniversary here.

Some other nice things that the company is doing: each employee has been given a $100 Visa gift card to cover the cost of potential baggage fees being charged by airlines that are too stupid to know how to operate profitably in good economic times, let alone during a recession; all employees will also receive a $75 food allowance for the weekend (in our case that should be just enough to cover coffee and excess booze); transportation to and from the airport is being provided, all tips and gratuities have been pre-paid, there is a massive breakfast buffet each morning of our stay, and the company is hosting a hospitality room that will be open throughout the entire weekend where free food and drinks will be in ample supply.

Oh, and they totally overpaid for our airfare, which is probably the only "complaint" that I have about the whole setup. Not only are they flying us out of Stinktown on Delta, but it's not even a direct or non-stop flight. We get to spend two hours hanging out in Hartsdale International Airport in Atlanta. There are definitely worse airports to waste time in, but the anal travel planner in me gets annoyed when I realize that we could fly non-stop to Fort Lauderdale on Southwest for half the cost of what the company has spent on the tickets we have.

The above paragraph is the reason that I don't use travel agents. I'm a control freak when it comes to travel and by Gawd no one can plan better than I can. If I come across a corporate travel schmo next weekend I'm going to tactfully (for me) point out how I could have saved the company more than $500 on airfare while I had a second browser window opened on my computer at work yesterday as I underwrote a loan request for nine million dollars.

It's true ... I'm just that good at multi-tasking. ;-)

Stay tuned for pictures and reviews from our Boca getaway ... we leave in 10 days!!!

We're Melting, Melting!! Ohhhhh, What a Restaurant!!

The Melting Pot, Town & Country, MO (August 2, 2008)

For some reason I got it into my head that Jay and I had to go out to dinner (ya know, like a date) after our cheese pairing at Whole Foods. And since we've never been to the Melting Pot by ourselves this seemed like a good opportunity to do so. I booked a table for 8:30 PM just to give us some extra time, but we arrived about 30 minutes early and so were forced (wink wink) to wait in the bar until our table was ready. And you all know how hard it is not to order a drink when hanging out in a bar, especially a bar with a tasty martini menu.

Jay ordered something called Like it Dirty. A classic martini with a spicy twist, this drink was made with Pepper Vodka, Dry Vermouth, olive juice, and horseradish & blue cheese stuffed olives. I opted for a Pomegranate Cosmo which was made with PAMA Pomegranate Liqueur, SKYY Citrus Vodka, and cranberry juice.

That's Bond ... Pedro Bond.

I love to match my drink with my dress!

We ordered the Big Night Out which included cheese fondue, salad, entree with cooking broth, and decadent chocolate fondue to finish the night. The meal began with a Caribbean Cheese Fondue - Gouda and Gran Queso cheeses blended with fresh garlic and sweet and spicy Peppadew peppers topped off with scallions and a zest of fresh lime. For dippage we were given a bowl of bread, a bowl of cut up Granny Smith apples, and a bowl of raw veggies - carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower.

Jay and I both thought this was a very good cheese fondue choice - it was a little on the sweet side because of the peppadews but hints of garlic and spice popped out every now and then. The fondue was tasty with the bread but it was terrific with the apple - the sourness of the Grannies meshed really well with the sweetness of the cheese mixture and ended up being the surprise winner of our cheesy fondue course.

What's a peppadew, anyway?


Dippin' stuff...


Although I don't usually eat a lot of salad since the Crohn goblin doesn't like it, I did go ahead and order one since it came with the meal. The Melting Pot's House Salad includes crisp greens, Roma tomatoes, cucumbers, eggs, and Emmenthaler Swiss cheese. I requested the dressing on the side. They only offer one dressing and that's a house dressing which is a sweet / tangy thang that I didn't care for too much, but I'm not a fan of dressings and sauces for the most part anyway. I picked at this and then had our server box it up so Jay could eat it for lunch the following day.

A heaping, healthy plate of intestinal distress ...


Jay chose the Tropical Salad - crisp romaine and field greens, fresh tomatoes, mangos, and hearts of palm with a light creamy citrus dressing and a touch of coconut encrusted cashews. The hubba said that this was very good and he thought the mangos added a nice hint of sweetness.

A tropical delight in Stinktown...


This might be a good time to mention that we each ordered a glass of wine with dinner. Excessive? Perhaps, but why stop drinking now? I ordered one of my all time favorite white wines: Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio. This is a medium bodied wine with a clean aroma and a slight aftertaste of golden delicious apples, which probably explains why I like this wine so much - I loves me some golden delicious apples! My lovey ordered a glass of Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc (New Zealand) and pronounced it very tasty indeed. He said that there were a lot of citrus overtones to this wine and it had a very clean taste.

For our cooking broth we chose Mojo Jojo Style - Caribbean-seasoned bouillon with distinctive flavors of fresh garlic with a citrus flair. It sounded really good and it was tasty but at the end of the day it was too strong for my taste and it seemed like it really warred with some of the items on our entree plate. Jay enjoyed this one more than I did, but he agreed that it seemed at odds with some of the meats that were part of our entree. At the end of the evening I was glad we tried something different but in retrospect I wished we'd chosen the Coq au Vin cooking method, which includes a burgundy wine base with fresh herbs, garlic, spices and even the dreaded mushroom.

Stewing the Mojo ...


For the entree to cook in the broth we chose the Fondue Fusion - Lobster Tail, Filet Mignon Medallion, Jerk Seasoned Sirloin, Vanilla Rum Chicken, Marinated Pork Tenderloin, Zesty Peppered Shrimp, Butternut Squash Ravioli, and Fresh Vegetables.

Plate of meat and some sauces and such ...


An aerial view of the entree ... lots of stuff to boil in the broth!


Now the Mojo has really got it going on!


Feel like being healthy? Boil a few veggies!


For dessert we chose the Yin & Yang - half dark chocolate and half white chocolate, artfully swirled for a perfect balance of flavors. But we were bold and substituted milk chocolate for the white ... oh it was so good!

Yummmmmmmmm ...


We were given a plate of dippers to soak up all that lovely chocolate that included fresh strawberries, bananas, cheesecake, brownies, marshmallows, and pound cake. My favorites were the cheesecake and the brownies. I'm not usually a big fan of marshmallows, but there's something about dipping one into a warm, double chocolate bath that makes it taste ever-so-scrumptious!

Just one plate?


And how on earth, given my recent addiction to the stuff, could we not order a glass of port to go along with our dessert? I chose a glass of Sandeman's 20-year Tawny Port, and despite the picture below, I did share with Jason. This port receives a 91-point rating from Wine Spectator (I looked it up just for you!) and is a well-aged tawny with tastes of honey, nuts, and orange. It's sweet and smooth and delightful!

If I give you the port, what will you give me???


So, overall, what did we think of the Melting Pot? We liked it just fine although it is a bit pricey - it's a fun place to go if you're celebrating something and it's a great date night because there's always something going on at the table. Jay and I like to fence with the food skewers that you're supposed to use to cook your food in the fondue pot, but if you prefer to behave in a more mature manner that's OK, too. We received wonderful service and had a ton of fun with our meal; after all, who doesn't like to play with their food?

Super Fancy Cheese ... Fancy Schmancy, Indeed!

Whole Foods, Town & Country, MO, August 2nd ... Yet Another Cheese Tasting Class!!!

When the cheese lady mentioned this class how could we pass it up? It was scheduled for a Saturday night instead of Tuesday like the last two classes - she did that on purpose to make this more of a date night event. Hubba Hubba!!

Here's the irresistible class description: You literally will not find these cheeses anywhere else in Stinktown (OK, they didn't call STL Stinktown, that's my irreverent voice). All of these scrumptious jewels are painstakingly handcrafted by master cheese makers with milk often coming from a single herd. Whether you call them art, artifact, or snack, there is no denying that cheeses such as these have provided not just sustenance, but also great pleasure! And of course, we will have to wash all this fancy cheese down with some fancy wine.

Cost per person $30; a little more expensive since there are supposedly uber-wowser cheeses involved, but still not a bad deal.

Your cheese-guides for this report: Colonel Chevre and his trusty sidekick Frau-mage.


We managed to take a couple of pictures this time - three really is a charm! **As a side note, it also helps to bring a camera** There were only eight cheeses to sample at this class as opposed to nine cheeses at the previous two classes ... what a letdown (wink wink). With the exception of one, all of these cheeses were from France ... ah, France some among us may call you weak-kneed collaborators but no one can match your skill in the art of blissful, cheesy goodness.

More cheese, please!


Starting at midnight and moving clockwise around the plate we had the following tasty treats:

Cone de Port Aubrey - This is an aged raw goat's milk cheese from France, known for its distinctive shape ... think inverted bra cup. The texture was firm, but not hard, and it was crumbly. On its own I thought it tasted kind of sour, but when I tried it with some Tuscan honey it was absolutely wonderful. A note on the honey - it was almost clear in color, similar in appearance to a thick, simple syrup.

Sechone de Pays - A blooming cow's milk cheese that was rich and delicate; the taste reminded us of a very light blue cheese. I apologize if I spelled this wrong ... I try to double check all of these with on-line references but I can't find this cheese anywhere so I must have really butchered the spelling. Too bad, really, because it was was quite tasty and I'd like to try it again some day.

Charolaise - An aged goat cheese with an herby aroma and a very spreadable, creamy texture. We tried this with some purple basil jelly which was interesting and actually pretty good once I grew accustomed to the flavor. To quote Homer Simpson, "It's purple ... purple's a fruit."

Ossau-Iraty - Hey, we know this cheese and it's one of our favorites! And we've purchased it right here in Stinktown so you, Whole Foods, are guilty of false advertising and we may want our money back ... as soon as we finish eating. Anyhoo, this is a raw sheep's milk cheese with a firm, creamy texture and a slightly nutty taste. We had some lavender honey with this but in all honesty I would have preferred some balsamic vinegar.

Pave du Nord - This is a semi-hard cow's milk cheese that looks like cheddar and has a sharp, thick taste. The aroma was distinctly unpleasant ... just like a field of cows who've recently shat all over the pasture. If my notes are correct this is a cheese from Herve Mons and it's produced in the Normandy region of France. The yellowish color is from the seed of the annatto plant ... whatever that is.

Brebis Something or Other - Alrighty... well, here's the problem: the cheese lady spelled this cheese wrong so that I cannot for the life of me figure out through process of elimination (no gross pun intended) what the hell it was that we actually tried. My notes indicate that this was a raw sheep's milk cheese with a washed rind. It smelled like a barnyard but mercifully did not taste like one; the texture was creamy and soft while the taste was actually kind of earthy.

Stanser Flada - The best part of this cheese is the translation! Stanser is for the town Stans, in Switzerland, where the cheese is produced, and Flada is for cow pie. Literally I think this translates as Cow Pie of Stanz!! Bwaaaaahahahahahahaha!!! As you may have guessed, this is a cow's milk cheese ... a washed rind, uncooked, unpressed cow's milk cheese that is aged for only a few weeks. The aroma was definitely barnyard and the texture was uber-creamy - the taste was very strong and distinct and not enjoyable for my tastebuds at all.

Persille du Beaujolais - A cow's milk cheese from the Burgundy region of France, this is considered a medium strength blue cheese with a creamy texture and an almost nutty, spicy flavor. The condiment provided with this was a Black Mission Fig spread with black pepper. As far as blue cheeses go I suppose this wasn't bad but it was still pretty damn strong and stinky by my standards. Everyone else in the class thought it was fabulous.

To make up for the lack of a ninth cheese our lovely cheese lady provided us all with a plate of Bissinger's Caramel Corn drizzled with chocolate and some delicious Valrhona chocolate nibs. Bissinger's is a local chocolate confectioner ... it used to be called Karl Bissinger's and it was owned by the Bissinger family since beginning operations here in Stinktown back in the 1860s. Prior to that, so the story goes, Karl Bissinger used to create bonbons for French royalty. All I know is that their chocolate is to die for but their popcorn could kill me. So, I ate the Valhrona (I did share with my lovey ... I'm not a total cow) and Jay took care of the corn. Both were very tasty with the red wine that we were finishing off and don't know the name of.

Dessert and cheese? Boo-yah!!!


Final verdict? We liked this class very much but weren't exactly sure why it carried a slightly higher price tag. I haven't priced the other seven cheeses that were served, but Ossau-Iraty is usually about $22 per pound, so I'm not entirely convinced that we were eating the most rarefied of cheeses available if you know what I mean. However, we did think that the portions and accompaniments were generous and we liked many of these cheeses very much. The dessert was a nice touch, too! This will probably be the last cheese class we participate in for a while - our schedules just won't allow for it, especially if the classes are primarily offered during the week.

As I've said before, for any of you lucky enough to be close to a Whole Foods, try one of their classes; they appear to be a great value for the price and are educational and fun. Thanks for sharing the cheese luv!!

Tasty Treats from Whole Foods!

A Tasty Saturday Night Carpet Picnic ...

Last weekend while I was out doing some girl stuff, Jay took a day trip over to Whole Foods and bought some tasty treats for us to enjoy later in the evening. We like to have carpet picnics in the summer months, especially when it's too hot and disgusting to eat outside. Come along for a quick look into a Saturday night feeding frenzy at Jay & Brenda's not-so-opulent pleasure den!

First up some sushi freshly prepared at Whole Foods' sushi counter. At the top of the picture there is the misleadingly named Volcano Roll, made with salmon. The name is misleading because Jason said there was no spice to this sushi at all ... he had to make his own tongue-searing sauce off the top of his head to make up for the lack of heat. I cannot offer any comments on this particular sushi because I didn't try it - I don't do sushi with seaweed because it does not encourage easy digestion for this old Crohn.

The bottom left-hand picture is tuna (pink) and salmon (orange) sushi ... yummmmmm! Me likey the tuna best, I could eat that until I grow gills although the salmon was pretty good, too. The tuna was just a bit more flavorful and had just a hint of sweetness while the salmon was slightly salty. The bottom right-hand picture is shrimp sushi; as much as I love shrimp I didn't really like this as much as I thought I would. It seemed kind of tasteless compared with the tuna and salmon and it was a little too chewy for my taste.

Pretty fishies!


Oh, foul tempter!! Not only did Jason buy sushi but he bought three wedges of my all-time favorite French cheese ... Fromager d'Affonois ... and some freshly baked sourdough bread. I heart him so much!!! This is a soft, creamy cow's milk cheese with an edible rind. I'm not as fond of the rind as I am of the oozie-goozie goodness inside, but either way this is a fine, fine cheese and I strongly suggest you buy yourself some when you get a chance and enjoy it with some fresh bread.

Best cheese evah ... nothing will change my mind!


Since we were indulging in sushi it seemed only right to wash it down with some sake. We have a giant bottle of Wakatake Sake (cracks me up every time I say it) in the refrigerator and we pulled it out and gave our sake set some good use for the first time in months. Wakatake (at least this one) is a drier, less sweet sake - it reminds us both a bit of a chardonnay - and we prefer it closer to room temperature rather than ice cold. But there really is no right or wrong, it just depends on your personal preferences.

Mojo Jo-Jo loves Wakatake Sake!


For dessert Jay stopped by the Whole Foods confectionery and purchased half a dozen chocolate truffles, or as we like to call them: chocolate nipples. The first picture is an aerial view of the nips in their box and the second one shows them plated and ready to be devoured.




From top to bottom, moving clockwise around the plate we have the following: Dark Chocolate Truffle, Grand Marnier Truffle, Chocolate Decadence Truffle, Peanut Butter Truffle, Irish Cream Truffle, and a Double Latte Truffle. So what did we think of them? The dark chocolate and the chocolate decadence truffles were good, the Irish cream truffle was lip-licking tasty, and the double latte truffle was the best of the lot ... I wish I was eating about twenty more of them right now. The Grand Marnier truffle was too overpoweringly orange flavored and the peanut butter truffle didn't taste enough of peanut butter. Overall, a delicious and naughty end to a fabulous carpet picnic.

And then at the grocery store I found this so I had to go ahead and buy a bottle; we're going to save it until we have some friends over and then everyone can try it at the same time and we won't be stuck with it all. That's right, it's the pretty pink bottle that MickeyNicki first told us all about when she came back from here June trip to Walt Disney World. On the front it reads Nuvo, L'Esprit de Paris ... Sparkling Liqueur. The back of the bottle provides the following description: Nuvo is a perfect blend of ultra-premium French vodka, French sparkling wine, natural exotic fruit nectar, and a touch of added carbonation. It's 15% alcohol by volume and looks just gorgeous in its bottle. We paid $25 for it at our local grocery store, which is less than my brother-in-law paid for a bottle over July 4th weekend when we found it at a liquor store on the other side of the river.

Get Yer Goat!

Whole Foods, Town & Country, MO, July 29th ... A Goat Cheese Tasting Class!!!

So, here's the scoop taken directly from Whole Foods class description: they are often the most loved as well as the most maligned cheeses. Goat Cheese can be refreshingly simple and incredibly complex. In this class we will indulge in both ends of that spectrum as well as some in-between! Wabash Cannonball anyone? And quench your thirst with a little white Bordeaux or Zinfandel!!

The cost per person to attend?

$20, which not only buys many peanuts but now covers a plate o' cheese as well.

Bring on the goat-ey goodness!!!

To make up for being a wee bit late to the last class, we decided to get to this one early. Apparently goat cheese really is misunderstood because there were only five other people signed up for this class aside from Jay and me. As far as the class aspect of this event goes, I wish Whole Foods would provide a pre-printed list of the cheeses and the creameries or dairies or fromageries that they're produced at because I always have to ask more than once where the cheese is made and what the hell it's called and oh, by the way, can you spell that for me?

Twice?

Thanks ... it's hard simultaneously losing my hearing and my IQ at the relatively young age of 38.

Aside from the above mentioned inconvenience, this class was as educational as the last one. All of the cheeses were new to us and the presentation was very picturesque. Just like at the last class we tried nine different cheeses; in addition to that there were some fruit compotes, chestnut honey, balsamic-infused olive oil, fresh Italian bread, and goat butter to sample along with a sparkling white wine from New Mexico and a Sauvignon Blanc from Argentina.

The first four cheeses were all from the same farm: Rollingstone Chevre in Southwest Idaho ... the Snake River Valley if that means anything to you. It doesn't mean much to me although I am not so geographically challenged that I haven't heard of the Snake River. One of the interesting tidbits I picked up about Rollingstone is that they don't use distributors - if you want their cheese you must order it directly from them because all of their products are shipped directly from the farm.

Goat Cheese Torta with Dried Cranberries & Walnuts - This evening I discovered that I don't like stuff in my cheese just as much as I don't like stuff in my food. The cheese part of this cheese (there's just no other way to describe it) was creamy but there were big hunks of nuts and chewy cranberries getting in the way of my thick, cheesy enjoyment and so I passed it over to the hubby, who really seemed to like it.

Goat Cheese Torta with Fresh Basil and Pistachio - What gives with the effing nuts??? This is a cheese tasting class, not a nut dipping seminar! Some of us don't like nuts. Some of us can't eat nuts. Some of us might be allergic to nuts. And some of us have intestines that explode when nuts are introduced into the culinary landscape. Needless to say, I didn't really eat much of this cheese either. It does not bode well for the evening when you're 0-fer-2 on goat by-products with seven left to sample.

Brandywine (Banon style aged goat cheese) - Now this is more like it! The cheese is aged in a mixture of brandy and hard cider and then wrapped in grapeleaf. The taste is difficult to describe but the texture was divine ... thick and creamy. I believe that I had some kind of fruit compote with this, but I don't recall exactly what it was - it was good, though and paired well with the cheese providing a nice mix of sweet and savory.

Idaho Goatster (aged goat cheese) - A handmade Italian-style cheese suitable for grating, it's flavor and texture were similar to a parmigiano reggiano. This was my favorite of the four cheeses from Rollingstone. Yummmmm!

On a personal note, I was disappointed to try four cheeses from the same goaterie. The first two cheeses especially - the tortas - the only difference between them was the stuff they'd been stuffed with. I would have liked to have seen something from Cypress Grove or even Laura Chenel just to give us all a bit more exposure to different producers and styles. I know that the assumption was that those are goat cheese producers that everyone's been exposed to but I beg to differ. This is Stinktown after all, most people here think fancy cheese is called Velveeta.

Next up: Jalapeno Chevre - What can I say about this cheese? Nothing. I had to give this one to the hubba and pass unequivocally on the side serving of chili-infused honey. Jason is a big fan of spicy foods and he said that this was tasty, with a good spicy kick that was really enhanced by the chili-honey. But I really liked his next statement: "This cheese was gouda but not gouda because it was goat-ey."

Capra Sarda - Hello! It's an Italian goat cheese from Sardinia, Italy, and while it's good on its own, when paired with some balsamic-infused olive oil and placed on a slice of bread it's a little piece of heaven for the tastebuds. Definitely one of the highlights of the evening.

California Crottin - This goat cheese is produced by Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery in the very earthquakey state of California. This one had a rind and a fluffy texture and dare I say, a more earthy taste than the previous goat cheeses we'd tried so far. I didn't like the rind as much as the inside of the cheese, but I also discovered another woman there that night who scrapes cheese out of the rind just as much as I do!

Brunet - This is made from 100% pasteurized goat milk from the Piedmont region of Italy - it's a dense, creamy cheese with a salty, tangy flavor. We paired this with some chestnut-infused Italian honey and hubba hubba, it was incredible!

Montenebro - This is a Spanish goat cheese that's rolled in ash. It's no humboldt fog ... it tasted like stinky blue cheese to me and I had to swig the rest of my wine to wash the horrid taste from my mouth. Jay thought it was tasty but said it's just not something you typically expect from a goat cheese and definitely not something we'd seek out for purchase.

And so ends our second cheese class with Whole Foods. It was good but we both agreed that the first one was more enjoyable, in part because we like the soft, blooming cheeses more than the cheese we tried on this evening. I was personally disappointed that we didn't sample Wabash Cannonball, especially since it was the only cheese mentioned in the class description. It felt a little like a bait and switch, and I stand by my earlier assertion that sampling four of nine cheeses from the same farm is unappealing and unimaginative.

We have one last cheese class scheduled with Whole Foods ... this one is supposed to be Super Fancy Cheeses. I guess we'll make that decision for ourselves once we see what they have to offer. Stay tuned for more cheesy goodness!!