Good Eats in St. Auggie (Mac and Cheese recipe)

Oh, I love going to FL. Many good things there. Let me give you a run down...

Florida Cracker Cafe - I enjoyed this place in downtown St. Aug when I lived there, and Phyllis and I went and ate there on Saturday for lunch. Their house salad is perfect! Big salad with apples, raisins, dates, sunflower seeds, tomatoes, cuks, mandarin oranges, with a poppy seed citrus vinigrette (sp?) that is awesome. I used to get a bowl of minorcan clam chowder to go with it, but we just opted for the salad this time. Perfect place to ride the bikes to that day.

Half-Time Fare - Jeremy and Billy fried some shrimp and fish, and then boiled some shrimp for the halftime of the Gator game. It was delicious! Jeremy used to work at Barnicle Bills - my favorite seafood restaurant hands down. The best thing is the Dat'l shrimp. Now, Datil peppers only grow in St. Augustine and a guy I know from living there has turned it into some WHEW good stuff! They put the hot sauce in the batter than make a dip out of mayo, ketchup, datil sauce, and worcestershire sauce. Billy made the sauce, Jeremy fried. What a great team.

Gypsy Cab (greek food). They were having a greek festival in town, but Devan and I went to Gypsy Cab. Little pricey, but good food. I had the hummus platter. Tons of veggies, hummus, and a pita. The best thing on their menu is the Gypsy chicken - it comes with homemade mashed red potatoes, and carrots. very good eats. www.gypsycab.com

Baked Mac and Cheese - Two of the Robshaw clan are going to serve their country, so they had a going away, celebrate every holiday, dinner. So, Phyllis made Jason's fave dish - baked mac and cheese. Here it is:

16 oz elbow mac (minus 2 cups cooked)
1 stick butter
2 cans evap milk
5 eggs
salt/pepper
5 cups cheese

Cook pasta. Take 2 cups out. Beat eggs and pour over, then add the milk. Pour into greased 9x13 or bigger pan. Stir in grated cheese. Then put 2 cups of cheese on top (3 in, 2 top). Make sure it looks liquidy enough or it will be too dry. Bake for about 45 minutes at 350. This is so good. Will become my staple baked mac and cheese recipe! Thanks Phyllis - see you are still teaching me how to cook! :)

Pumpkin Pancakes - This place on 11th Street on the beach, www.cafeeleven.com is a great treat. They have cool live music, great stuff, and rooibos peach tea which is great. Phyllis had told me about their pancakes - normally not something to rave about. But these were pumpkin pancakes. Much lighter than I thought they would be, we each got one, and they weren't that big, so you didn't leave feeling stuffed. They had real whipped cream and a brown sugar syrup to top it with. The only way to improve it would be to have the syrup hot - it was cold. But, yummy! :)

Shrimp/Bacon BLT - I finally found something I like at the Cheesecake Factory (besides their cheesecake of course). It was good - Billy and I split it.
GRILLED SHRIMP & BACON CLUB Charbroiled Shrimp, Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato with Our Special Dressing. Served with French Fries. I had the asparagus which Dad wouldn't have liked b/c it wasn't cooked enough.

Then I came home - having only gained less than a pound. That was due to the healthy eating the rest of the time and bike riding all around St. Augustine! :)