Cedar Reef Fish Camp, Bradenton

Our gang headed south to Bradenton this weekend to check out Cedar Reef Fish Camp. First impressions count, right? And so when I hear a reference to "Fish Camp" I imagine being on the water somewhere, not in a shopping plaza. However, once you walk through the doors you are surrounded by that casual dive by the bay atmosphere and I liked it!

We were seated at a long table with half of us sitting in chairs and the others against a lovely high backed banquette. My only complaint for the evening was that our very nice waitress served the whole meal by passing plates down to us instead of coming around behind our chairs to set the plates down. It may seem like a small thing but when you're in the middle of a bite with your fork in mid air and you have to stop and lean back because there's a plate being passed under your nose to the person next to you - well, that's just bad form. That may have been forgiven for those seated at the banquette side, but there was plenty of walking around room behind my side of the table to serve and bus properly.

Cheryl & Ken started with a crab dip surrounded by tri-color chips and they found it good but not great as it seemed to have too much of a cheese flavor. And my hubby started with the charmingly named "Bubba's Wedgie" which he rather enjoyed opting for Ranch vs. Blue Cheese dressing.

Five out of eight of us went for the Blackened Redfish served over rice and black beans. Here's something neat.....while trying to figure out if any of us had ever had Redfish, I stumbled upon a handy "Fish Dictionary" in the back of the menu that explained all the different types of fish.

FUN FISH FACT: Redfish are one of many game fish to catch along the Tampa, Clearwater, and West Coast areas of Florida. Reds can be found along the whole Gulf Coast and also up the Atlantic Coast, as far north as North Carolina.

Ken ordered Shrimp & Grits with the heat turned up "New Orleans Style" adding Andouille sausage, smoked bacon, and caramelized onions. Hubby went for the Garlic Mussels and upped the ante by having it served over linguini. Of course it came with garlic bread to sop up the luscious garlicky goodness. Smiles all around the table. All of this was washed down with some Happy Hour priced beer and wine (yes, we're senior citizens) and we left satisfied and happy with our meals. Back to the Fox Hole for Peach Kuchen, Hollie's Nana's recipe using peaches freshly picked that morning at the U-Pick Farm out at Fort Lonesome. Nana's recipe is generously shared below courtesy of Hollie:

Peach Kuchen

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

¼ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

1 cup sugar (separate out 2 T.)

½ cup butter

6 - 8 peaches (fresh is best!)

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 egg yolks

1 c. heavy (or sour) cream

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Sift flour, baking powder, salt, and 2 T sugar in mixing bowl. Cut in butter until texture resembles coarse cornmeal. Pat over bottom and half way up sides of 8 x 8 baking dish. Skin peaches by cutting a small X in the base, then place in boiling water for 30 seconds, followed by ice water for 10 seconds - the skins should slip off easily. Slice (or drain canned peaches or thaw frozen peaches) and arrange over pastry. Sprinkle with remaining sugar & cinnamon. Bake 15 minutes, then pour mixture of slightly beaten egg yolks and cream over top. Bake 30 minutes more. Best served warm or at room temperature. Serves 9.

We'll definitely be back to Cedar Reef some time to sample the rest of their menu.

http://www.cedarreef.com

7240 55th Avenue East, Bradenton, FL 34203