The recipe is very simple.

For the Salad:

• 1 cucumber
• 1 quart strawberries
• 1 large bag spinach
• sliced almonds
• 2 chicken breast

For the dressing

• Juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil
• 1/3 cut sugar
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds

Salt and pepper the chicken generously.  Pan sear it on both sides, careful to cook all the way through, but don’t over cook.  Put the chicken aside and let it cool before slicing it for the salad.  Peel and cut the cucumber in half, scrap out the seeds with a spoon and dice.  Slice the strawberries.  Toss the spinach, cucumber and strawberries together.

Toast the almonds, but don’t go in the other room and start playing on Twitter and expect them to behave.  They won’t.  If you get something like this, you’ve done what I did: messed up.

It’s okay if you do, just pick out the bad ones or start over again. Once you get the toasted, but not burned, set them aside.

To prepare the dressing, I use a jar with a cover, toss in all the ingredients, cover the jar tightly (this part is important) and shake to emulsify.  Takes about 30 seconds of shaking.  Pour it over the salad, toss gently, top with your almonds and sliced chicken and enjoy.  Should feed about 4 (or 2 if you’re really hungry).

This weekend I decided to do a simple braise after picking up some short ribs on sale.  I’m not going to give you a recipe, but instead give you the basic guidelines so you can improvise a braise yourself.

To begin: a coarse cut of meat, fatty is good, big is better and bones are just fine.  Short ribs work, but so do almost any of those big round cuts of red meat that you always avoid.  Look for sales.

Salt and pepper the meat.  Optional: dredging through flour (or add cayene pepper and paprika for spice and color).  Sear on all sides in a pan big enough to later pour in a couple cups of liquid and veggies.  Remove the meat and set aside, but leave the juices in the pan.

This next step is completely optional.

I like to render some bacon and cook my veggies in the fat.  It gives the final braise a yummy mouth feel, the kind of thing that makes everyone say, “Wow, yum, this is so good.” But usually they don’t understand it’s because you put secret bacon in their dinner.  It also gives the final sauce a nice shine.  If you want, dice some bacon (or pancetta) and brown it before the next step.

Cut up some veggies.  Above we have your classic aromatics of carrots, onions and celery (or mirepoix if you’re French).  You could also do mushroom, or whatever you’d like.  Cook them in the pan with the juices.  You might have to add a little butter or olive oil.  Optional: garlic (which I skipped for the braise, but used roasted garlic in the mashed potatoes).

Once they are fork-tender, pour in some wine.  How much?  So that the veggies unstick from the bottom.  What kind?  Something you’d drink, is my rule, but on sale.  Here’s what I got for $4.68 at my grocery store:

Let the wine reduce to half, then put the meat back into the pan and pour in enough beef stock to almost cover the meat (1/3 exposed-ish).  Bring to a boil, then cover and stick in the oven at 375 for anywhere between 1-3 hours depending on how much and how thick your meat is.  Add more water if needed.  When it’s falling off the bone it’s done.  Serve as you’d like. I did roasted garlic mashed potatoes and used the remaining liquid as a sauce (you can use it straight up or strain it or thicken it or puree it, it’s up to you).

Other options:  You can also add tomato paste or you could  do this with miso paste.  I’ve seen sticky recipes with honey.  The bottom line: sear, soak, slow cook.

As with everything at Ka’ana, the beauty is in the attention to detail.  Our group had arranged to meet the new chef Sean Kuylen, who was there to tell us about their organic garden and unique blend of local flavors and gourmet techniques.  Instead he dashes off to the kitchen to prepare an impromptu stew, something someone had brought up in the discussion about the traditional food of Belize, called sere.  He didn’t want to talk about food… he wanted to show us.

For lunch, I kept it simple.  I ordered the Mayan cochinita pibil tacos that were served with a pineapple pico de gallo.  The pull pork was cooked in a spicy pibil sauce and the pineapple was a surprisingly sweet and fresh counterpoint.  To drink I had fresh watermelon juice, which was my favorite when living in Guatemala and prepared daily by my house mother.  This time it was even better than I remembered it, perfectly sweet (but not too sweet) and well blended.

If you find yourself in Belize, head inland to San Ignacio where you can spend the day hiking the ruins, then relax at La Ceiba over some locally grown and lovingly prepared food.

• La Ceiba
• San Ignacio, Belize
• at the Ka’ana Resort

• 1 (750-ml) bottle Moscato wine
• 2 cups simple syrup
• 2 cinnamon stick
• 2 tablespoons wild flower honey
• 1/4 cup fresh ginger, peeled, and finely chopped
• 1 whole vanilla bean
• 6-8 ripe Anjou pears
• serve over vanilla ice cream or gelato

I picked up this bottle at Trader Joes. You don’t have to use a moscato, any sweet dessert wine will do.

The key to this dish is the whole vanilla bean. Can’t get it? Can’t afford it? Well, maybe I’d skip the poached pears (seriously) and just have the gelato. I honestly can imagine this recipe coming out well if you used vanilla extract.

I mean look at this thing. Seriously.

The directions:

In a saucepan (I used a stock pot), add the wine, cinnamon, honey and ginger. Scrape in the seeds from the vanilla bean and add everything to the pot (beans, seeds and all). Bring it to a simmer, until the honey has melted. Add the pears and simmer for 15-20 minutes, turning occasionally. Once the pears are tender, remove them from the mixture and allow to cool.

Continue to simmer the liquid until it thickens and is reduced by half, about 15-20 minutes. Cool to room temperature. Remove the vanilla bean and cinnamon sticks.

Place each pear on a small serving plate with a scoop of vanilla gelato (I recommend Bella). Drizzle with the honey, ginger and cinnamon syrup. Serve immediately.

First, we had the ceviche.  Executed well, generous with the seafood, especially the lobster.

Next was this delicious garlicky squid dish, with a pleasant snap to each bite.

A fresh salad.

The Mayan fish– cooked in a banana leaf in a rich spicy tomato based sauce.  The fish was fork tender, but not overdone.

Shrimp sere, a local stew with coconut milk, plantains and shrimp.  Served over coconut rice, this dish is addictively sweet and savory.

Fried plantains, a perfect side dish before the Pièce de Résistance…

An entire fish, in this case snapper, deep fried and scored for easy dismantling.

Mr. Fish from the front view.  We appreciated the olives-as-eyes touch.

And in case you were still hungry, it was served with fried plantain chips.

Finally a palate cleansing dessert, a frozen key lime piece with fresh whipped cream.

And then this super sweet, caramel flan.  It was almost a shame to break it open.  Don’t worry, we totally did.

Final Take

I don’t have a single bad thing to say about Elvi’s.  I was thoroughly impressed with their service, food quality, quirky ambiance… everything.  In our week in Belize we dined at some of best restaurants, but the meal at Elvi’s beat them all.  Seriously.  Take that Conde Nast whatever award.

Restaurant: Elvi’s Kitchen

Website: http://www.elviskitchen.com/

Location: San Pedro, Belize

We ended up spending the first two dinners and breakfasts at The Inn at Robert’s Grove. I had done some research before I left and based on their website, I was expecting more of a beach-side, grab and go type atmosphere. However I was pleasantly surprised. There’s a formal sitting area and a full outdoor veranda. The Inn is on the water, so during the day, it’s a great place to grab a bite and enjoy the views.

We were lucky as it was both Lobster and Conch season when we arrived. We started out with the Conch Fritters.

I’ve had these before, but this time they were more substantial. There was large chunks of conch meat and the breading was fried perfectly. They added a bit of jalapeno, which is a deviation from the traditional recipe, but the sweet heat was a nice accent.

For the main course I ordered the Chef’s Special, which was a seafood trio of Lobster tail and drawn butter, coconut curry shrimp and grilled fish, served with coconut rice. The lobster was sweet and a little tougher than the Maine variety, but it was cooked well and pared perfectly with the coconut curry shrimp.

The stand out of the meal was the banana gelato, which is made locally. It was powerfully sweet and smooth. I tasted a few of the other desserts around the table, but for me the banana gelato won the day.

Breakfast the next day:

Being in Belize, I had to order the traditional Belizean breakfast. It was fried fish, scrambled eggs, refried beans and of course fry jacks (a puffed dough, similar but less sweet than the fried dough found at carnivals). The fish was very flavorful and I enjoyed dipping my fry jack into the refried beans. The fry jacks seemed to be a little heavy, but overall it was a wonderful breakfast.

You know the food is good, when your Belizean breakfast-mate is this excited about it.

As far as table side accouterments, I loved the habanero pepper sauce that’s found on every table. Great for a smoky, strong heat that lands on the mid to back part of your mouth.

Dinner the next night:

I had enjoyed the coconut curry shrimp from the night before, so I ordered the coconut lobster, served with the same sweet curry sauce with large chunks of lobster in the lobster shell (with a side of coconut rice). It was a great dish, albeit one-note and about half way through you start wondering if it’s okay to leave uneaten lobster on your plate (I decided it wasn’t).

For dessert I tried their chocolate cake, which looked pretty. Unfortunately the texture was off, a sort of congealed mess, as if someone added a few too many eggs to the batter. The most disappointing item on the menu by far.

Breakfast the next day:

I decide to take it easy and just order a fruit plate. If you stay at the Inn, there is a large continential breakfast bar included free, so this fruit plus assorted breads, pastries and muffins are available. The fyffes bananas were a treat, especially as they are not available in the US. The pineapple was under ripe, and I wasn’t able to eat it.

Final Take:

I loved the seafood here, and for that I’d definitely return. It seems like they reuse a lot of menu items, for instance the coconut curry sauce was the same on the coconut shrimp and the lobster and the grilled fish was the same on my seafood trio and breakfast the next day. However stand outs like the conch fritters make up for the repetitive menu items. The little details like fresh fruit were lacking, and while the table service was generally good, I did have to ask for refills on my water more than once. If you get a chance, try their banana gelato and conch fritters, they’re almost worth the trip alone. Overall, worth the trip, but just once.

Restaurant: The Inn at Robert’s Grove

Website: http://www.robertsgrove.com/

Location: Placencia, Belize

How to get here: transfers from Belize City airport are available

Pie:

• 3/4 cup apple butter
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
• 3 eggs, slightly beaten
• 3/4 cup evaporated milk
• 1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell

Mix, pour into pie shell and bake at 425 for 40 minutes.

Cream:

• heavy whipping cream
• To taste: powdered sugar, almond extract, cinnamon and nutmeg.

So what happened?  Well I think there is too much apple butter in the pie and I didn’t cook it enough.  As you can probably see from the photo, the pie didn’t set.  The pumpkin filling is mushy and falling apart.

And the whipped cream?  It’s over whipped.  Oops.

So the whole thing is a big mess, but you know what, it tasted great.  I’ll probably try this again, because it was that good.

The Burger:

• Ground turkey
• salt, pepper
• mustard (I used stone ground)
• cumin (maybe 1/4 teaspoon)
• curry powder (same amt as cumin)

The Topping:

• Roasted Habanero
• Roasted Roma Tomato
• Avocado
• Gruyere Cheese

To roast the pepper and tomato, you could use a comal (if you have one), or do what I did and put it in a glass dish in your oven on broil.  You want to blacken all sides and then carefully remove the seeds and slice.

Caution: you need very little habanero to make this very spicy.  For two burgers I used just one.

I love the intense heat of the habanero.

When the chicken came out it was falling off the bone.

Then I made Gratin Dauphinoise (aka Potatoes au Gratin), pulling the recipe from the Professional Chef.  The recipe called for nutmeg, which was a little surprising, but it totally works.

The recipes in the Professional Chef are meant to be restaurant-sized, so I roughly cut their recipe in 1/5, eyeballing most of the ingredients.  I won’t post the recipe here, simply because it’s a completely standard interpretation.

Then the gravy.  I did all the usual steps.  I took the droppings and cooked them down.  I mixed a little cornstarch into some heavy cream and slowly added to the reduced liquid.  It made this wonderful gravy that had a hint of rosemary, onion and garlic from what I stuffed the bird with.  It was bubbling nicely, I tasted it, turned off the heat, then turned my back on it.

It was so good.  Maybe the best gravy ever.  Then I broke it.

In the time it took for the heat to die down, and while I wasn’t looking, it overheated and reached that very bad point where it starts separating.  When I came back to it, it was grease on top and clumps on the bottom.  I tried to save it, but it was done.

Huge lesson learned: Remove your sauces from heat immediately when they are done!  Overheating can deconstruct the whole shebang.

The upside is that we still had slow roasted chicken (which was moist enough not to need the gravy) and Gratin Dauphinoise.  Perfectly comforting.