So this week, I have something a little different for you. I have both a review and an announcement this week!

First the review, and tomorrow the announcement!

     If you are lucky enough to have a Maple Street Biscuit Company in your neighborhood, and you haven't tried it yet, than what on Neptune's seas is keeping you?!? This has quickly become my favorite place to grab a nice breakfast that not only tastes amazing, but also fills me up for hours.

     Since I am in St. Augustine, I try to visit the Maple Street Biscuit Company St. Augustine location at least once every week or two.

     I have tried several of their biscuit sandwiches, but my favorite is The Five. It's one of their flaky homemade biscuits, with an all natural fried chicken breast, pecan wood smoked bacon, cheddar cheese and sausage gravy inside. Their sausage gravy is unlike any I've had before and I would be okay just diving into a bowl of it.

 

     If you're not a fan of sausage gravy, than go for the Sticky Maple!  You still get their nice flaky biscuit, with a fried chicken breast, and bacon.  There's no cheddar cheese on this one, but it's not needed either.  Instead of the sausage gravy, they give a nice helping of really good Grade A maple syrup, which makes the whole dish really come together.

     Everything on their menu is wonderfully delicious and filling, while the prices may seem high when you look at the menu, you quickly find out that the food is more than you could have expected.

     They have several locations in northern Florida, 4 in Jacksonville, 1 in St. Augustine, 1 in Tallahassee, and one in Chattanooga, TN. So go visit one when you can and enjoy a great breakfast!

     So as promised, here's a recipe straight out of me galley for all of ye! I call them Cannonballs, they have a water chestnut center that gives them a crunch with nice hit of heat from the hot sauce!

I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Cannonballs

by The Pirate Chef

Ingredients:

   1 C Bisquick biscuit mix

   1 C shredded sharp cheddar cheese

   8 oz bulk Italian sausage

   1 ½ tsp Snakebite datil pepper sauce

   1 can water chestnuts, quartered

Directions:

   1. Preheat oven to 400° F

   2. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil

   3. Remove sausage from packaging and crumble

   4. In a bowl, combine the biscuit mix, cheese, sausage, and hot sauce

   5. Mix with hands until completely blended

   6. Shape a little of the mixture around a piece of water chestnut, forming a 1 ¼” ball. You can use
        pre-sliced or whole water chestnuts, but slice the whole ones in half before quartering.

   7. Place on the baking sheet, ½” - 1” apart

   8. Place in center of oven and cook for 15 minutes

     After much work and conversing, the good people at Subeta have graciously allowed me to use their background as a wallpaper for the blog and cover art for the facebook page.  I really like the way this image looks on both and you can look forward to a new recipe on Monday!

     I also want to post the legal information for the image here in the post itself just in case anyone has an issue with reading it.

Subeta image © 2004-2016 Subeta.net/Agoge, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Used With Permission

     Ahoy mateys! I hope the new year is treating you all well! So this weekend I ventured into the galley to work on a new recipe for you all. Alas, it did not work out well and I have none.  Instead I have a review of a great new hot sauce that I was able to try during the Pirate Gathering last fall.

It's Captain Assjack's Minorcan Gold Hot Sauce!

     This is not your normal hot sauce in the least. They use the signature pepper of St. Augustine, the Datil pepper, to give their citrus-based sauce a nice strong blast of heat.


      In addition to the citrus, the hot sauce also contains hints of curry and peppercorns that flick your taste buds with a milder heat and flavor.

     I can see this working well with lighter meats, such as chicken and pork, as well as some fish. Pretty much anything that would go well with a nice citrus kick and a bit of heat.

      If the Minorcan Gold doesn't quite fit your style, click on the link below to go to their Etsy store and check out the Minorcan Ghost or buy both to see which one gets your cannons roaring!

 Eat well and remember my motto, cook or die!

This is one of my favorite dishes to make at home, very easy and oh so good!

 Pasta with Ham and Swiss Cheese
    by The Pirate Chef

Ingredients:
1 lb of Farfalle (bow tie) pasta
1/2 lb of thin-sliced ham (I like the smoked ham)
1/4 lb of baby swiss cheese*
1/4 lb of butter

Directions:
1) Cook the pasta till al dente per the instructions on the box
2) Grate the swiss cheese
3) Roll the ham slices into tubes
4) Heat the butter in a small pan on medium heat, stirring frequently, until it starts to foam. When you start to see some brownish foam, remove from heat immediately!
5) Place pasta in your bowl, sprinkle a layer of swiss cheese on top, tear the ham rolls into small bits and layer on top of cheese, and then drizzle the browned milk solids from the butter pan on top (these will be hiding at the bottom of the pan).
6) Stir and enjoy!

This makes enough for about 4-6 servings

* DO NOT use pre-shredded cheese! It's coated with a chemical that prevents it from clumping in the back and also makes it hard to melt compared to grating it yourself.

Cook or die!

     I had to make this a couple of times over the past few months, came down with some weird crud last year and again last month.

     It seems that we have another season of sickness going on with the crazy temperature changes going on here in Florida. So for those of you that might be feeling a little under the weather, I have a simple recipe for some feel-good food for you.

Broth and Pastina:
   by The Pirate Chef

Ingredients:

1 lb of Acini de Pepe pasta, or a similar little pasta
64 oz of chicken broth (I prefer College Inn)
32 oz of beef broth (I prefer College Inn)

Directions:
1) Cook pasta according to directions till al dente
2) Combine broth in another pot and heat to a low boil
3) Place pasta in a soup bowl and top off with broth
4) Add either grated cheese or ground black pepper to taste

Enjoy! I also enjoy eating this just because it's good and light.

      I'm sure that some of you have heard of the Pirate's Booty line of snacks. I recently tried the aged white cheddar puffed snacks from them, and I was pleasantly surprised! While I don't generally go for puffy snacks or white cheddar, I wanted to try them because they have a cartoon pirate on them and why not try them?

     They were good, very good in fact! They had the usual aspect of a puff snack, kind of melting in your mouth, but they also retained a significant crunch aspect to them as you ate. The aged white cheddar flavor was nice and sharp and makes one want to eat more of them.

     Not only do they taste good, but as far as snack foods go, they're a pretty healthy one as well.  They are baked and not fried, so no extra fat or trans fats in them.  Also, they're all natural so no weird chemicals to throw your systems off!

     I think this will become a standard carry in my pantry as it works well to fulfill those late night cravings, or I'll just grab some to go with my favorite ale.

Here's a simple drink idea for everyone from the holiday season!

Pirate's Cider

Pour yourself a mug of your favorite mulled cider, leaving some room at the top, and add a shot of your favorite spiced rum for a little extra kick. Enjoy!

     This review is of a new hot sauce for the wings and blingz (boneless wings) at Dicks Wings here in St. Augustine.

      They recently (at least in my book) added several new hot sauce flavors for their wings and I tried their new Pirate Sauce. It's a blend of 3 of their signature flavors: Cajun Ranch, Mango Habanero, and Firestorm. One of the interesting things about Dick's is that you can pick your sauce, or rub, and add more heat to it if you want.

     Now I didn't add any heat to this but that's because it didn't really need it. The flavors blend beautifully and it has a wonderful burn from the hot peppers used.

     I'm also a big fan of their burgers, so I ordered their Cajun Ranch burger and had the Pirate Sauce put on it. Talk about a taste bud explosion on that one!

     If you have a chance to go, visit them at 4010 U.S. 1 in St. Augustine. They're just north of the Publix shopping center that is currently being remodeled.

As always, questions and comments are always welcome!

     This was a new recipe I came up with last year and I truly enjoy it, I may work on a version that has me working from scratch instead, but this version was easy and very good!

     Behold, a new recipe for you all! Nothing fancy, but it's tasty and easy to make.

                                               Meat and Potatoes Poutine

Ingredients:

1/2 bag frozen tater tots (I like the extra crispy ones)
1 package of Beef tips & Gravy (Hormel makes a decent one)
5 scallions, sliced thin
2 oz of mozzarella, shredded

Directions:
1) Cook the tater tots per the instructions on the bag
2) Heat the beef tips and gravy per the instructions
3) Split the cooked tater tots up onto two plates/bowls
4) Spoon beef tips and gravy onto the tater tots
5) Sprinkle mozzarella on top of the beef tips and gravy
6) Garnish with a decent amount of scallions
7) Let sit for a minute or two until the cheese starts to melt
8) Enjoy!

This makes about 2 servings, but you can easily double or triple it to make more.

Now I prefer to shred my own cheese for a very simple reason. The chemicals used in pre-shredded cheese to keep it from clumping also prevent it from melting as easily as cheese in block form.

A well-deserved review of one of my favorite spiced rums from shortly after Halloween.

     Well I hope you all survived your haunted weekend and had a bloody (or not so bloody) good time! So here's a review for all of you to get the month started with.


                                                           Code Spiced Rum

     Now as most of us know, spiced rums are one of the more common types of rum available nowadays. However, Code Rum's version is of a different nature and it stands alone in a sea of spiced rum. It stands up to ice very well and doesn't get watered down as you enjoy your drink.

     The guys at Code Rum have also figured a way of enhancing the flavor as it sits and ages a bit. "But rum can't age in a glass bottle" you say? Well you are right, in a way, but these guys use powdered nutmeg in their rum and leave it in the bottle instead of screening it out. What this does for the rum is that as the bottle sits, the powdered nutmeg breaks down over time, releasing more and more of the nutmeg flavor creating a slightly different experience each time you open the bottle and enjoy a drink.

     In my opinion, this rum definitely counts as a better dual rum than most with the smooth feeling of it and the beautiful finish of real vanilla. If you haven't tried it yet, go to your local liquor store or check out Code Rum to find out more about them.
Now, enjoy and fair winds!

So here be a drink idea fer all ye pirates who be loving yer Sunday brunch.

                                                          The Bloody Pirate!

     This idea hails from those fine guys at Code Rum, using their key lime version, which I have previously reviewed and still enjoy myself. Simply substitute Code Rum Key Lime for the vodka in your favorite Bloody Mary recipe and enjoy!

     I have included a recipe I have had before and enjoy, it comes from that fine gent, Alton Brown, a true master of the galley.

The Bloody Pirate
   by Alton Brown and Code Rum

Ingredients:
1 3/4 pounds cherry or grape tomatoes, rinsed and dried
2 teaspoons hot sauce
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 to 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, to taste
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
6 ounces Code Rum Key Lime

Directions:
1) Remove the stems from the tomatoes.
2) Put the tomatoes, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, and salt into a blender, cover and blend on high speed for 1 1/2 minutes.
3) Fill an ice cube tray with about 2 cups of the juice and freeze overnight. Pour the remaining juice into a lidded container and reserve, on the counter, overnight.
4) Just before serving, put 3 frozen cubes into each of 4 Collins glasses and add 1 1/2 ounces of rum to each glass. Stir the reserved juice, pour 4 ounces into each glass and serve immediately.

The reason for making ice cubes out of some of the juice is quite simple actually. As the juice ice cubes melt, they won't dilute the taste or make your drink watery. This way you have an enjoyable drink from start to finish.

Now, enjoy and fair winds!

     The Series 2 of St. Augustine Distillery's rum is the last one I reviewed as I could not bring myself to sampling the rest of their rum series.  From what I ave heard from others, it did not get much better and was still not worth the price they wanted for them.  That is too bad as I love to promote good quality local products.  You can see from this review last year, why I decided to stop trying their rums.

     So the St, Augustine Distillery's Series 2 rum was just released recently and I was able to try it this past weekend.

     So there's good news and bad news. The good news is that while it has been aged a little longer than Series 1, the price is still around $45. Also, Series 2 is also a little smoother on the throat.

Now onto the bad news. While it is smoother, it has only moved from a tequila-like burn to a cheap rum burn. Also, the flavor is a little stronger, but there's still an overwhelming alcohol taste to it.

     I'm hoping that by Series 4, it will be closer to a Bacardi rum but I would still rather spend my money on a better rum for sipping, or something cheaper and tastier for mixing. Regardless though, I'm not holding my breath in anticipation of a decent rum to come from these folks.

      So for next week, I will have a new recipe for you after I play in the galley for a bit. If you have a recipe you would like me to feature on here, with you being credited for it, just send me a message and I will be glad to make it and share it with everyone here!

     So today I shall share with you, not a recipe per se, but a common dish that led itself to piratical ingenuity in the kitchen. Yes, I speak of that all-too-familiar dish of Salmagundi!

     It was also known as salmi or salamagundi, which is from the French word for hodgepodge, salmagundis. Which quite fits the dish as it was a mix of whatever was on hand for that day's meal.

     Salmagundi could be served two different ways, as a cold salad or as a hot stew-like dish.

For the salad, cooked meats and seafood would be served with vegetables, fruit, leaves, nuts, and/or flowers and topped with a dressing of oil, vinegar, and whatever spices they had on hand.

     The stew was a little different than the salad though. It would contain most of the same ingredients, but possibly without the dressing, the fruit, the flowers and leaves.

     For both versions, they would usually slice up the meats they had available and cook them in a pot with the vegetables, nuts, herbs, spices, and whatever else they could get their hands on.

     This was a meal that you truly did not know what you were going to be eating and was best not to anger the cook that day.

Here's a review I did for one of my favorite rums of all time, Code Rum Key Lime.  Enjoy!

     After being talked to into it (more like 'here try this'), I tried Code Rum for the first time this past weekend. I was intrigued and went out to the local store to snatch a bottle of the Code Rum Key Lime, as I do love key lime.

     One thing that turned me onto this rum was the fact that it is the product of a couple of crazy pirates, or at least crazy pirate lovers, here in Florida. Another thing I like is that it's relatively local and not a big box company.

     I was very impressed with the overall flavor and the smoothness of it. It does have a slight liquor burn, but just enough to let you know you're drinking something nice and strong. The key lime flavor is well balanced and doesn't overpower much of anything that you can mix it with.

     For me, this is definitely a dual rum as I enjoy it mixed in a cocktail or straight out of the bottle and one that I will gladly keep in stock for myself.

     As an extra little bonus for you mates, here's the award-winning recipe for their rum punch, which can be found right on the back of the bottle itself. I made myself a glass of this last night to try it, and I really enjoyed it. Now that's saying a lot because I do not like guava anything, but this was very enjoyable. Bottom's up mates!










Code Key Lime Rum Punch
     by Code Rum

2 oz CODE Key Lime Rum
3 oz Guava Juice
2 oz Cranberry Juice
1 oz Grenadine
Fresh Squeeze of Lime Juice floating on top

Not all rums are created equal, as I prove with this review from last year.

     This was back from the celebration of St. Augustine's 450th birthday.  We started the day off with some rum, but not just any rum, the 1st release of the St. Augustine Distillery's Discovery series rum!

      A quick blurb about the Distillery for those that might not know of it. It used to be an ice plant back in the days before refrigeration and was converted into a distillery and a bar/restaurant, opening up just last year. They first released their sugar cane vodka and Florida Mule drink, both of which I thoroughly enjoy when I can get there for their great tour.

      Now back to the rum. They are planning on releasing 4 different rums over the next several months, each one being aged a little differently and using a different mix of sugarcanes and syrups. This was the first one to be released and I was not impressed, I am hoping the others will be better.

     Please understand, I am by no means a rum snob. I enjoy all different kinds of rums and like to arrange my rums into 3 catagories:
1) Mixers - These are rums I would rather use to make mixed drinks than drink straight
2) Sippers - These rums I would gladly drink by itself, no need to mix here
3) Dual - These are rums I can enjoy straight or use in a mixed drink

     I tend to buy less expensive rums for 'Mixers,' more moderately priced ones for 'Dual,' and 'Sippers' tend to be more expensive. Although I need to be finding more prey for the latter.

     

     So here's my thoughts on the new rum from the Distillery, like I said, I was not impressed and I do like their vodka very much. The rum had a very mild flavor, that was easily overwhelmed by the tequila-like burn as I sipped it straight. I also tried it mixed and it was definitely better, but still not worth the hefty price tag of $46 a bottle. I would definitely put this rum in the 'Mixer' category, but at that price, I would rather save my money and buy something less expensive but just as good. I do hope that following releases will be getting better, but only time will tell.

Here's a recipe for one of my favorite drinks, I modified this from another drink recipe and it has quickly become my go to rum drink when I want something more than straight rum.


Pirate's Tea
by The Pirate Chef

Ingredients:
Ice
1 shot Spiced Rum
Lime Juice
Sweetened Ice Tea

Directions:

1) Fill a tall glass with ice.
2) Pour in a shot of your favorite spiced rum.
3) Add a splash of lime juice.
4) Fill with sweetened iced tea.
Stir and enjoy!

     So I'm going to ramp up my blog updates to catch up with the Facebook page. Plus, I feel like introducing you to a rather unusual treat I discovered while roaming the streets of St. Augustine.

                                                                   Kill Devil Taffy!

     I didn't choose to review this because salt water taffy is a common find in many, if not all, beach side towns in Florida and some cheesy relationship between them. No, I chose it because it is the same name as the favorite drink of the infamous pirate, Blackbeard.

     The Kill Devil drink was referred to as a "hot, hellish, and terrible liqour" as it was a mix of spiced rum and gunpowder and this taffy certainly lives up to it's namesake! The Kill Devil taffy from the Old Town Taffy Company is incredibly hot and damn near hellish, but it has a great overall flavor.

     This is definitely not a taffy for the soft landlubber types out there!  The heat in this taffy comes from St. Augustine's famous datil peppers, so there's no joking with the intensity of this stuff!

     Feel free to check out their website and other historically-inspired flavors at Old Town Taffy and stay tuned for an upcoming recipe that will help to cool those burning mouths of yours!

     If we have another stint of cold weather in the next few weeks, I will make this again, I remember that the heat builds up on you but it was still very very good!

     So here's a recipe for Pirate's Bite Chili, to be served over pasta or refer to an earlier recipe post for hardtack biscuits!

Pirate's Bite Chili
by The Pirate Chef

Ingredients:
1 Tbs vegetable oil
1 LB ground pork
1 LB ground chuck
2 cups sweet onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
3 1/2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp Pirate's Bite Spice Blend
29 oz can of tomato puree
2 cups beef broth

Procedure:
1) Heat the oil and brown the meat in batches. Remove from heat and set aside for now.
2) Add the onions and garlic to the pot, cooking for 4 minutes on medium high or until they begin to brown. Be careful as garlic does like to burn easily.
3) Stir in the spices and cook for another 2 minutes.
4) Return the meat to the pot and stir everything together.
5) Add the tomato puree and beef broth to the pot; stir together bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 1 hour, skimming fat as needed. Adjust seasoning and add water if needed.

 This makes enough for about 4-6 people so enjoy!

     Here's a post from July about what is becoming one of my favorite spice blends, the Spice and Tea Exchange's Pirate's Bite spice blend.

      So today I will be sharing a wonderful food product with you all, Pirate's Bite Spice Blend from The Spice & Tea Exchange.

      Let me start out with saying that this stuff is HOT! This isn't surprising as it contains a mix of 6 spicy peppers, including the local Datil Pepper of St. Augustine historical fame. The blend is rounded out with sea salt, coriander, cumin, and fennel; which provides a rich flavor that works so well with it. Add a little to your steak, chicken, or wing sauce to give it an extra little fire!

You don't need much of it to add a little bite to your food, but if you happen to add too much, just eat a little chocolate to quickly quench the burn. That was a little tip given to me by Colleen, the owner of our local store.

     Here's a couple photos for you all and a link to a recipe that they were so kind to send to me for all of you to enjoy. Be sure to look at their site for more products and recipes!

Crispy Lemongrass Fish Sliders

Here's a recipe I posted back in June of last year, I hope you enjoy as the season for festivals and faires is upon us once again!

Hardtack Biscuits

Ingredients:
4 cups flour
1 1/2 - 2 cups water
3-4 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons shortening

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F
2. Mix ingredients in a bowl by hand, adding just enough water so that the dough sticks together but not to your hands.
3. Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface and shape into a crude rectangle.
4. Bake at 400°F for 1 hour.
5. Remove dough from oven and cut into 3 inch squares.
6. Using a fork, or the tip of a knife, punch 4 rows of holes into the squares. You should have 4 rows of 4 punches in each square.
7. Flip biscuits over and cook for for another 30 minutes in the 400°F oven.
8. Let cool and enjoy!
Now make sure you be remembering that the longer they sit, the harder they get!

     Welcome to the new Pirate Chef blog page!  I will be updating this page with posts from the Facebook page as much as I can, at least daily, until it's caught up.  After which, I will be posting on both sites equally.

So to start off, here's the first post from back in May of last year, a recipe for Bumbo!

A simple drink that tastes better than some grogs out there.

Ingredients:
2 oz of dark rum (not spiced)
1 oz of cold water
2 brown/cane sugar cubes or 2 tsp of simple syrup
A sprinkle of cinnamon
A sprinkle of nutmeg

Directions:
 Combine all ingredients, stir, and serve without ice (this is why you want to use cold water).

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