Hi Everyone,
Our brief summer hiatus has ended and our doors are open again
at the Fat Tuscan for all your culinary pleasures. You can now
turn those ‘missing us’ frowns upside down and come to enjoy a
Panini or two and some great dinners in our newly (super green)
herb planted courtyard. I know your taste buds are having a little
fiesta in your mouth at this news. I’ve heard from several of you
that you missed us and our cuisine very much, but please be
careful with this information as my subconscious starts playing
tricks on me and I actually begin to think that my master plan of
taking over the world is working little-by-little through all of
your stomachs. At least I hope so.Yes, we have all returned with slightly tanner skin and brighter smiles on our faces as well as a little sparkle in our eyes. In my case, that glazed look is actually from hiking up and down the VERTICAL jungle island I was on and the resulting dehydration and heat exhaustion. Yes, I swear I spent two weeks climbing straight up and down its mountain hills in 100% humidity and 90° degree heat with no shade. Even though the map says St. John is not on the equator, I felt like I was. I don’t know what I was thinking. The heat, the humidity and the fact that water was more expensive than rum, was not necessarily a good mix. But, the worst part, (seriously the very worst part), was the lack of Island food scene I had imagined…well, unless you were a Rockefeller and went to an exclusive resort…at least that was what I was told. And, to top it off, unfortunately, a piece of raw tuna at the local grocery store was $25.00; no, that is not a pound, it’s a piece! I am still scratching my head about this aspect of the local economy as technically the island is in the middle of a HUGE Ocean surrounded by miles and miles of salt water FULL of fish!! (I know this for a fact, by the way, because I saw schools and schools of them swimming at arm’s length away from me while snorkeling the reefs. This, of course simultaneously resulted in my mask filling with drool and me wishing I had a spear for the huge school of Yellow Fin Tuna swimming just under my belly.) So, in retaliation for the frustration of my sad taste buds, next Month’s September Candlelight Dinner, (Sunday, September 29th), will be an ode to ‘what should have been’. Please make a reservation as soon as possible as we expect it to fill up fast.
Here is a sample of the preliminary menu of “Italian Island Cooking”
1st Course – Grilled Eggplant stuffed with crab and served in a light coconut milk reduction.
2nd Course – Mixed tossed greens topped with fresh mango, candied walnuts, toasted coconut and feta cheese with an Orange Ginger Vinaigrette
3rd Course – Coconut Risotto topped with Rum Seared Scallops
4th Course – White fish baked with Plum tomatoes and caramelized red onion.
5th Course – Trio of house made Sorbets (Mango, Lemon and Coconut) served with classic Panna Cotta.
**Side Note** To all my favorite people who come to these fantastic dinners and especially to some of you who have not missed any of them. This is the last year we will be doing these dinners. But, I promise we are going to be going out with a bang, so something extra special will be done at the rest of the dinners scheduled for this year. So be sure to sign up for them. You know how I love cooking for you guys.
Yep, we are heading into September and back into full swing over here at the Café with some new faces in the kitchen such as our new baker who made S’more Brownies that were so good that I could not restrain myself. I could have eaten them directly from the oven just from the smell. She will be adding her style and flavors to our lunch time pasta salads as well, so come in to check her out and tell me what you think. We have also slightly updated our menu. Eggplant Rollatini was added to our dinner menu, as well new salads and additional options for panini’s. Our lunch menu features new gourmet sandwich combinations too. We also brought back the Tuna Tartar appetizer to the night menu, a favorite of mine currently. (Okay, I’ll admit that this particular addition may be a direct result of the lack of tuna consumption on my trip and the teasing, little crafty reef fish swimming so close to me, wickedly teasing my sad lonely taste buds again and again. Ha, ha, I will get you little fishes’ and then I will bake you and sear you and fry you and soak you in coconut milk and olive oil and shove fresh herbs in your bellies while peppering you with spices and then I will gobble you up one by one…yes I will! I’ll teach you to stare at me with your beady little fish eyes in your clear blue salt ocean and pretend to mentally stick your tongue out at me! I will, I will. (um, so yeah, I may have gotten a little TOO much sun...ha ha ha.)
After this trip, now more than ever, I am reminded how lucky I am and how much I’ve fallen in love with my little Green Tree Town and its natural beauty and heart here in Gainesville. Upon returning from my trip, as I walked to the new local bakery around the corner from me to get a warm croissant the other morning, I realized how I sometimes take wonderful local places such as the bakery for granted. I suppose spending time on an isolated island in the middle of the sea that had its heritage and heart stripped of it eons ago reminds me just how important these things and places are that create a sense of distinct community to an area and to a culture. And, so as I watched my fresh croissant being put in a paper bag by the owner, baker, cashier all-in-one I thought about what time in the morning he had to get up to prepare it personally. And about how small local businesses such as the bakery and the Fat Tuscan mean to a city, a culture, a society and a lifestyle. These people and places stimulate connections to places through memory, emotion, and nostalgia. And, they are what make living here exceptional. So, I would just like to remind us all to not forget to patronize these local establishments, because they need to stay around and really they need nothing more than your business and perhaps an occasional thank you or a smile on your face (and perhaps to know they were a part of putting it there from time to time), because, sadly small local businesses may be of a dying breed in today’s corporate world that exists only to chase the dollar. So, on my last note here and to get somewhat serious (ha ha), I’ll end this quirky newsletter with something I wrote upon returning from my summer hiatus on that hot desolate island in the sea full of fish I couldn’t eat. It kind of sums up the way I live and hope that many of you, if not live it too, at least understand its meaning.
‘The ones who slave over their hearts and passion to make and produce, thank them,
because, ultimately they don’t do it for the money, but for no other reason than they must,
their heart and their passion won’t let them be any other way’.
Hope to see you soon, I’m always cooking for you here, Michelle
