Pineapple Cucumber Salad or Salsa

Gerry and I both found this recipe and sent it to each other! It makes quite a bit (more than two people can really eat) so make it for an appetizer with breads OR make it for a side dish. If making this as a salsa, dice the pineapple, cucumber and onion into small dices.

2 cups fresh pineapple, diced
1 large cucumber, diced or sliced into half moons
1/2 small red onion thinly sliced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro (or mint), chopped
1/2 small jalapeno, very finely diced

Dressing: Juice and zest of one lime; 1 T honey; 1/2 tsp. salt; 1/4 tsp black pepper
Combine the pineapple, cucumber, red onion and cilantro, jalapeno for added kick
Whisk together the lime juice, honey and salt and pepper. Pour the dressing over the salad/salsa and toss gently. Chill!

Spring Gourmet Gathering: Bacon-Asparagus Toasts with Basil Cream Cheese

My last Verandah Gourmet was this April 2025 at Tina Horton's with co-host Pam Michael. They put together a specific menu with recipes from a few of their favorite cookbooks. Luckily, they printed out all the recipes for the dinner for us to take home. It was all delicious!

Prosecco/Grand Marnier Cocktails

Deviled Eggs

Bacon-Asparagus Toasts*

Nectarine Salad with Honey -Walnut Dressing*

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Apricot Sauce 

Oven Roasted Baby Red Potatoes*

Roasted Baby Beets

Strawberry Cream Pie with Macadamia Nut Crust from Paula Deen's Cakes and Pies)

*These recipes were from The Gathering of Friends, Come Gather at my Table by Michelle Huxtable & Abby Jane Green

Bacon-Asparagus Crostini with Basil-Cream Cheese

1 # thick sliced bacon
1-2 bundles asparagus
1 loaf roasted garlic artisan bread (available at Publix in bakery)
2 T. olive oil
1/3 c. fresh basil, minced
4 ounces of cream cheese, softened
¼ t. kosher salt

Preheat oven to 400. Place bacon slices on baking tray and bake in oven for 20
minutes or until fully cooked. Snip ends off asparagus and blanch, drain. Turn oven up
to broil. Slice artisan bread and brush slices with olive oil; toast bread slices in broiler 2
to 5 minutes or until golden brown. In a small bowl fold fresh basil into cream cheese
and add salt; mix well. Arrange toasted bread on serving platter; top with bacon slices
and asparagus spears. Garnish with dollops of cream cheese mixture and serve immediately!

Nectarine Salad with Honey Walnut Dressing

2-3 ripe nectarines (or peaches if nectarines are not in season)

16 oz spring mix

1/2 c feta cheese, crumbled

1 c. walnut halves

Coarse black pepper

Wash, slice and remove the pits from the nectarines. Set aside. Place individual portions of spring mix on each salad plate and top with nectarine slices, feta, walnuts and dressing (below.) Garnish with black pepper.

Honey-Walnut Dressing

1/2 c red wine vinegar

1/2 shallot

4 T walnut oil

4 T honey

1/3 c walnut halves or pecans

1/3 c sugar

1/3 c vegetable or EVOO

2 T lemon juice

1 t. kosher salt

1/2 t coarse black pepper.

Combine all in a blender and blend until smooth. Refrigerate until using. 

Oven-Roasted Baby Reds

4 cups diced red potatoes

1-1/2 t. kosher salt

1/4 c. butter

1/3 c. heavy cream

1-1/2 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 t. coarse black pepper

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a stockpot, add the potatoes and salt to boiling water. Cook for 5-6 minutes. Remove potatoes from the heat and drain and rinse in a colander, under running cool water. 

Melt the butter for 30 seconds in a microwave. In a mixing bowl, combine the butter, cream, and cheeses. Fold in the potatoes and mix thoroughly. Place in a buttered baking dish, garnish with coarse black pepper. Cook in the preheated oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Apricot Sauce

1-1/2 lb tenderloin (often found in two pieces

Everglades Seasoning (or other grilling seasoning)

Cook the tenderloins with the seasoning, seasoned to taste. Grill until the internal temperature reaches 140 degrees, (about 20 minutes) turning occasionally. Set aside on a platter under a foil tent to rest. Serve with sauce.

Apricot Sauce: 1/2 jar apricot jam; 2 T Dijon mustard; 2 T 18-year balsamic vinegar

Combine all the ingredients in a small sauce pan and heat until hot, being careful not to boil. Can be made earlier and kept warm in a pan on the stove.

Strawberry Cream Pie

1-1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/2 c unsalted butter, melted

1/2 c finely chopped roasted and salted Macadamia nuts

1/2 c granulated sugar

1 8-oz package of cream cheese, softened 

1/2 c confectioners' sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 c whipping cream

1/2 c strawberry syrup divided into1/3 cup and remaining tablespoons  (below)

1/2 pound fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, stir together the cracker crumbs, melted butter, nuts, and granulated sugar. Press this mixture into the pie plate - sides and bottom. 

Bake until lightly browned, 10-15 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla with a mixer at medium speed and combine. Add the cream and 1/3 cup of the strawberry syrup. Beat on high speed until stiff peaks form. Spread the mixture on top of the prepared, baked crust. Top with strawberry slices and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. Serve with the remaining syrup. 

Strawberry syrup: 

1 pound fresh strawberries, hulled and chopped

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

1/2 tsp salt

1 t fresh lemon juice

Bring all but lemon juice to a boil over medium heat and then reduce heat and simmer about 12 minutes.  Remove from heat and let cool completely. Stir in the lemon juice.

Pour the strawberry syrup into a blender or processor and pulse three times to keep the rich, red color. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a small bowl, gently pressing the solids with a spatula to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard solids. Cover and refrigerate.

Chicken Enchilada "Lasagna"

Gerry loved this recipe I put together. He remembers a tamale pie that one of his friend's mother made that he loved.  She sent him home with his own huge Tamale Pie every so often.

I made this in too-small of a Pyrex casserole. Use a 10 x 8 so that it isn't full to the top!

One package of 18 corn tortillas (small rounds not large like flour tortillas)

Filling:

Two  8-oz. cans enchilada red sauce
One 8-oz. can fire-roasted tomatoes
Three tomatillos, diced
One medium onion, diced
1/2 cup sour cream
1-2 T Badia taco seasoning usually found in the International sections of grocery stores.
Salt and pepper

One round of queso fresco cheese, crumbled
1/2 or 1 cup of chopped  cilantro
One can sliced black olives, drained

Chicken:

4 chicken breasts diced into large cubes or torn. You can also use the meat only from a rotisserie chicken. 

Mix whatever chicken you use with 1/2 can enchilada sauce. 

Toppings:

1 cup Mexican blend of grated cheeses (or cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses)
Optional: 1/2 cup grated Cotija cheese
Rest of enchilada sauce

Instructions and Assembly: 

1. Cut the corn tortillas into 2"strips.
2. Mix 1/2 can of enchilada sauce, the tomatoes, the tomatillos, the onion, sour cream and seasonings in a large bowl. Add the crumbled queso fresco, olives and cilantro. Mix well.
3. Cover the bottom of the casserole with a few tablespoons of one of the cans of enchilada sauce. Place strips of the tortillas along the bottom and sides of the dish, overlapping if necessary. 
4.  Cover with a few more tablespoons of enchilada sauce. Cover with 1/4 of the filling. Cover with 1/4 of the chicken. Cover with tortilla strips. Repeat until all ingredients are used.
5. Cover with any of the rest of enchilada sauce and the grated cheeses.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes and make sure it is bubbly before removing from the oven.

Cathy's Strawberry-Kiwi Spinach Salad

We've had a busy winter in Florida this year and I've been cooking but using all my old recipes and favorites for a change. We had another Verandah Gourmet Chinese New Year here in January, a Irish Feast in March and a few other delightful meals using recipes on this blog. 

Besides eating at home, we've discovered a few new restaurants (the Silver King Ocean Brasserie in the Luminary Hotel and Sip & Sizzle - both in downtown Fort Myers and Seventh South Craft Food and Drink in Naples); visited many old favorites (Jordan's Wine Bar, First Watch, the Boat House, McGregor Cafe, Cristoff's, Mainely Seafood in Burnt Store and Caffe Milano in Naples); and found that a few disappointed us this year (Chocolatte's and Brie and Blossoms, the new version of Rosy Tomorrow's in North Fort Myers). Further afield, we discovered two new restaurants in LaBelle to the east (Forrey Grill and the Launch on the water where you can watch seaplanes land and take off if you are lucky!) We also love the cozy little cafe in LaBelle, Bridge Street Coffee & Tea. 

We cooked up Gerry's meatballs and my Ricotta Braid for the potluck for our graduation from the Florida Master Naturalist Program on April 11 in Charlotte County. My favorite of the day was this delicious Strawberry-Kiwi Spinach Salad made by Cathy, one of our instructors in the course. I didn't really need anything else to satiate my palate - this was a yummy lunch. Thanks, Cathy!

Strawberry-Kiwi Spinach Salad

• Fresh strawberries- washed and cut up into bite size
• Fresh kiwi ( just a little soft, not hard) washed and cut up into bite size; Cathy didn't peel the kiwi or take out the core but you can always do that)
• Baby spinach, washed & dried
• Chicken is optional but Cathy uses a generous amount of rotisserie chicken pulled apart in bite-sized pieces

Toss all these ingredients.  Either toss these with the dressing or wait to add it right before serving.

Any locally-made, homemade, or store-bought strawberry poppyseed dressing

Toss, refrigerate, serve or if everything is cold serve immediately. It’s great to make the salad a day ahead, adding the dressing right before serving and then toss.

Additions to the salad can also be bacon, avocado, feta cheese, pecans, scallions and/or red onion.

There are lots of dressings found in the groceries or farmstands, and many online. Here's one.