Staying Young in Charlotte County

Friends from Deep Creek Community Church gathered on a Thursday morning for coffee at Pies & Plates!

 

When I moved to Punta Gorda in 1990 from Gainesville I experienced culture shock!  I’d moved from Gainesville, Florida a university town with an average age of 23 years to Charlotte County with an average of 99!  Just kidding!  It wasn’t quite that bad.  I remember Dennis and I going out to dinner and trying to find a restaurant filled with young people!  We finally gave up and dined at a restaurant where we were undoubtedly the youngest in the building…including the staff! 

I remember my friends Sue Sifrit and Annette Emerich telling me that when they first moved to Charlotte County they would hang out at the grocery store hoping to meet someone their age so they could find children for their kids could play with! 

The demographics of Charlotte County have changed!  Today, our community is filled with young families.  Charlotte County will probably always be thought of as a retirement community.  But, it’s not a retirement community where you go to grow old and die.   It’s where you retire to STAY YOUNG!  I’ve never seen a more vibrant, active and energized group of retirees than we have right here in Punta Gorda! 

Money Magazine had it right - Punta Gorda is one of the best places in the US to retire!  And, I’m blessed to be living where I plan to retire!  

To learn more about our community check out these websites: 

www.discoverpuntagordaflorida.com
www.puntagordachamber.com
www.charlottecountychamber.org
http://www.charlotteharbortravel.com

It’s Cold Out There!

Sarah delivers free coffee and biscotti to workers installing new signal lighting near Pies & Plates!

It’s cold out there…well cold for Florida anyway!  Today I received a Facebook message from an old high school pal, Dave Myers who lives near Blair, Nebraska.  After reading his recent posts all I could write back was “I guess now is not a good time to complain about how cold it is in Florida!” 

Iowa (where I grew up) has been buried with snow.  Over 32 inches in Des Moines in December with another 4-6 inches expected this weekend.  My brother Randy and his wife Cindy own a block of businesses in Rockwell City, Iowa.  With each snow fall comes hours of shoveling!  I especially worry about Randy who recently began taking Kidney dialysis three days a week.

I’d like to say I wish I lived closer to Randy and Cindy so I could help them out…but I honestly can’t say that!  Instead, I WISH THEY LIVED CLOSER TO ME so they didn’t have to put up with the cold! 

This weekend I’ll be traveling to Atlanta for my spring buying trip!  I’m really looking forward to it!  Maybe I’ll see some snow!  I’ll be shopping toasty and warm inside the huge America’s mart.

If any of you are reading this message from the fridge north, I’d just like to point out that the work crew you see in the above photo were decked out in shorts and T-shirts last week!   So if you’re looking for a great place to defrost we invite to check out www.discoverpuntagordaflorida.com!

Hope to see you soon!   Cindee

Hello World

Hi!  Welcome to Pies and Plates’ first blog!   We’ve enjoyed communicating with you through our web site and newsletter but we’re really excited about this new blog because it’s interactive!  You can easily add your comments to our discussions!  How cool is that?

We will provide links to this blog in each of our newsletters but we’d love for you to register to receive our blog as well!  We promise to fill it with interesting articles, recipes and discussions that will make reading it worth your while!  Maybe even some videos!

So sign up now using the email registration link in the column on the right!  We look forward to chatting with you!

Cindee & the Pies & Plates Gang

Chicken Taco Cup Appetizer Recipe

Last week, Cindee taught TV anchor Amy Sedlacek how to make Pies & Plates most requested appetizer – Chicken Taco Cups on Fox 4 Rising!  If you missed the newscast you can view the 3-minute video clip by clicking here!   It’s a great appetizer to serve for New Years or the Super Bowl!  Enjoy the recipe below!    

Pies & Plate's Most Requested Catering Appetizer

 

Ingredients:      

2 cups diced and cooked chicken
2 tablespoons taco seasoning
1/3 cup chopped onion
1 cup cheddar jack or Mexican blend cheese
1 cup prepared salsa
1/4 cup sour cream
24 wonton wrappers (small size)     

Lightly oil both sides of each wonton wrapper.  (I like to spray a baking spray like Pam onto a plate and rub the wontons on the plate to coat.)  Place the wonton wrappers in mini muffin cups arranging them so that the top is open to form a cup.  Bake wontons in 350 degree oven for 5-7 minutes or until the edges just start turning brown.  Set aside.     

In a bowl combine the chicken, seasoning, onions and half of the salsa and half of the cheese.  Stir well and then fill each baked wonton cup with a heaping teaspoon of mixture.  Next, top each with a spoonful of salsa and a sprinkling of cheese.  Bake at 325 degrees for an additional 8 minutes or so to warm through and melt the cheese.  If they start to brown too much cover with aluminum foil.      

To serve spoon dollop of sour cream on top and sprinkle with green onions.     

Enjoy!

Culinary Tourism Growing in Punta Gorda

Marion Avenue in the Morning

 

Florida Life & Travel Magazine just named Punta Gorda as one of the 52 Best Places to Spend a Weekend in Florida!  Not because of our great boating and fishing but because Punta Gorda is a great place to EAT!             

Here is an excerpt from the magazine article:      

26  Punta Gorda   Best for Gourmets willing to go out of the way.  Discover a mix of small-town charm and surprisingly tasty eats at this Gulf-side town that hugs Charlotte Harbor.   Perfect Day  Shop the Saturday farmers market, stroll the nearby art galleries and studios and then head to Pies & Plates for cinnamon bun bread pudding and a class on how to make gelato or crab pesto succotash (it doubles as a culinary school).   Best eats  Dine along Marion Street, where your choices range from Piemontese burgers at the Tavern to pork prime rib at River City Grill to perfect confit at the Perfect Caper.   Best Drinks Grab a Zinfandel or Venue Cliquot right off the bottle-clad walls of Bin 82, or hit the 1890s Ice House, now chilling 200 craft drafts and bottles.   Country flavor  Hop a  hay ride tour of Worden Farms’ 55 acres of organic bounty.   Sleep Check into the Wyvern, a boutique hotel with river views and more good food at LuLu, the hotel’s Nuevo Latino restaurant.         

Way to go Punta Gorda!