Challah French Toast

Challah French Toast

Raisin Challah French Toast
A Rosh Hashanah Breakfast

For our Rosh Hashanah dinner, we bought two challahs. A plain challah was served with apples and honey at the beginning of the evening and accompanied the savory meal. The raisin challah was set aside for breakfast the following morning.

With its egg-enriched crumb and gentle sweetness, raisin challah is particularly well suited to French toast. Thick slices are soaked in a custard scented with vanilla and cinnamon, then cooked in butter until golden brown. Served with maple syrup, it continues the holiday’s celebration of sweetness into the next morning.

Rosh Hashanah Table

THE perfect dinnerware for Rosh Hashanah! Kristy’s gorgeous Honeycomb Dinnerware Collection from Williams Sonoma here.

Rosh Hashanah Challah

Challah French Toast Recipe

Continue reading “Challah French Toast”

Silken Tofu and Wakame Hot Pot

Silken Tofu and Wakame Hot Pot

Silken Tofu and Wakame
Hot Pot
🍲 🥢 🍲

This simple Japanese-inspired hot pot pairs delicate silken tofu with a generous amount of wakame (seaweed) in a savory dashi broth. Hot sesame oil, ground sesame seeds, and shichimi togarashi (seven-spice blend) provide the finishing layers of flavor.

I love the balance in this dish—the soft tofu, the supple texture and subtle salinity of the wakame, and the measured heat of the chile-infused sesame oil and shichimi togarashi. The result is deeply satisfying without becoming heavy, with a layered interplay of texture, umami, and spice.

Hot Pot Recipe

Continue reading “Silken Tofu and Wakame Hot Pot”

Crispy Salmon Skin Tacos

Crispy Salmon Skin Tacos

Crispy Salmon Skin Tacos
🌮 🐟 🌮
Cabbage, Red Onion, Avocado
Salsa Verde

Raw salmon dishes—such as salmon crudo, sashimi, or aguachile—are prepared without the skin, but don’t discard this flavorful and nutritious part of the fish. Crisp it until golden, tuck it into warm tortillas, and let the skin steal the show. The savory salmon skin is especially good against the cool cabbage, creamy avocado, and lively salsa verde, with every bite offering a delicious contrast of flavors and textures.

When removing the skin from the salmon for these raw preparations, leave some of the flesh attached. In the oven, the flesh browns as the skin turns crisp, creating substantial pieces that are especially good in these tacos.

And September is a wonderful time to catch the last of the season’s fresh corn. Serve the tacos with simply prepared corn on the cob while it is still sweet and plentiful.

Salmon Skin Tacos Recipe

Continue reading “Crispy Salmon Skin Tacos”

Jimmy Buffett Day — Keep the Party Going

Jimmy Buffett Day — Keep the Party Going

Jimmy Buffett Day
Keep the Party Going
🍋‍🟩 🌴 🍔 🎸🧂 🍹

This year, Jimmy Buffett Day is Friday, September 4, 2026, celebrated on the Friday before Labor Day as a time to honor Jimmy’s music, generous spirit, sense of community, and the laid-back island lifestyle he shared with the world.

Jimmy left behind a clear message: “Keep the Party Going.” Today, the Coral Reefer Band continues to play his music and carry on the spirit of the incredible community he created.

And the party really does keep going.

The music still plays. Parrot Heads still gather. Margaritas are still poured. And every year here on Taste With The Eyes, another Jimmy-inspired dish joins the celebration.

It started in September 2023 with a Cheeseburger in Paradise, made in the days following Jimmy’s passing. Since then, the tradition has continued with Jimmy’s Favorite Gumbo, Jimmy’s Jammin’ Jambalaya, Margaritaville Island Rum Cake, and, most recently, Margaritaville Halibut with Artichoke Ragout.

So for Jimmy Buffett Day 2026, I’m bringing them all together — five recipes and tributes celebrating the music, food, stories, and Margaritaville way of life that Jimmy left behind.

I’m also taking a little trip back to Key West in 1991, when my brother and I visited the original Margaritaville Cafe on Duval Street. Along with a photo from that trip, I’m sharing vintage Margaritaville Cafe menus — a fun look back at the early days of Margaritaville.

🦜 My Jimmy Buffett 🦜
Recipes & Tributes

Continue reading “Jimmy Buffett Day — Keep the Party Going”

Margaritaville’s Halibut with Artichoke Ragout

Margaritaville's Halibut with Artichoke Ragout

Margaritaville’s Halibut
With Artichoke Ragout

🌴 🍋‍🟩 🦈 🍹 🧂 🎸 🦜 🍔
A Jimmy Buffett Tribute

It started with Jimmy’s passing on September 1, 2023, when I headed to the kitchen to make his famous Cheeseburger in Paradise—the kind Jimmy sang about with such enthusiasm: a big burger on a warm bun, loaded just the way he liked it. Since then, the tradition has continued with gumbo, jambalaya, rum cake—and plenty of Margaritaville spirit along the way.

This year, we’re heading straight to Margaritaville: The Cookbook for Pan-Seared Halibut with Artichoke Ragout, a recipe from JWB Prime Steak and Seafood, the restaurant named for Jimmy himself.

The halibut gets a light coating of breadcrumbs before it’s pan-seared until golden, then served with a savory ragout of artichokes, Kalamata olives, garlic, white wine, butter, lemon, and plenty of fresh parsley.

My version takes a terrific shortcut with frozen artichoke bottoms. There’s no trimming, peeling, or removing the choke. Cut into substantial wedges, the artichokes brown beautifully while keeping their shape—and they’re just the right size for dipping into a little garlic mayo on the side.

Add a margarita, turn up the Jimmy Buffett playlist, and raise a glass to Jimmy.

It’s 5 o’clock somewhere. 🦜

Margaritaville's Halibut with Artichoke Ragout

Pan-Seared Halibut Recipe

Continue reading “Margaritaville’s Halibut with Artichoke Ragout”