I'm a Barbie Girl!
The original synthetic diva turned 50 this year. In homage to her fabulousness, UK based Hotel Chocolat created this fantastically girly Barbie Chocolate Box. It features Barbie inspired flavors such as strawberry, vanilla and caramel in hot pink, pink and even more pink! I want it!!!

That's Rich!
I've actually been bribed in life with a John-Georges Vongerichten Warm, Soft Chocolate Cake. I'm not kidding. His original recipe calls for bittersweet Valrhona but when I have extra bounty laying around, it's fun to experiment. This time I merged together a few Jembrana origin bars from award winning Amano and Costa Rican Rainforest Alliance bars from the Chocolate Truffle Company of the UK. Together, they made for a super decadent, complex, cake, although I'd add a small amount of extra sugar next time.

Chef Gary here...

Chef Gary here ... Let me know what you want to hear about. Here's one of my new recipes:

Asparagus & Mushroom Scramble

with Fresh Italian Relish

4 Roma Tomatoes - seeded, diced
3/4 cup Red Onion, chopped
2 T. Red Wine Vinegar
¼ cup Olive Oil
1 T. Garlic, chopped
2 T. Fresh Basil, minced
1 T. Fresh Oregano, minced
4 Tbsp. Butter
¼ cup Shallots, diced
1 cup Asparagus, cut into 1/4-in. Pieces
¾ cup Mushrooms, sliced
12 Large eggs
Salt to taste
Parmesan cheese as needed

1. To make Italian relish, combine tomatoes, onion, vinegar,olive oil, garlic, basil and oregano; set aside.

2. In large nonstick sauté pan, heat butter and shallots; sauté 2 minutes. Add asparagus and mushrooms and cook until tender, 5 minutes. Beat eggs and add to pan. Salt to taste and scramble until firm.

3. To serve, divide eggs among 4 plates. Top each portion with relish and Parmesan shavings.

Welcome to our new blog

We are excited to introduce you to the St. Francis Inn blog, where we can keep you up to date with all the latest happenings at the Inn and around St. Augustine. Please feel free to add your comments - we'd love to hear from you.