Winston of Villa Woodbine misses Kim K’s wedding in Santa Barbara and ends up in Yellowstone Park instead!

 Sir Winston here….what a week! A week ago Friday I started my flight out to the left coast for Kim K’s wedding….but then somewhere around Dallas I heard that my owner Bill was in Yellowstone, hiking with his son, Jim. You know what….family is family….and Kim has plenty of family…so rather than go out to Hollywood and star gaze, I headed northwest to Wyoming to gaze at the real stars with Bill and his son. The nighttime sky in Yellowstone is amazing for viewing the heavens….although the food there was not close to as good as home cooking by Bill at Villa Woodbine, or Wolfgang Puck’s, who catered Kim’s bash.

One of the highlights of my trip to Yellowstone, aside from spending quality time with my family, was to meet some of my very distant cousins, the bald eagles who ruled the park from the air. They were all over the place, but they can’t shake a tail feather like I can.

The flight back home, to Villa Woodbine, was much easier than flying out, with the jet stream at my back all the way. When I got home yesterday, I was enthralled by how good Villa Woodbine looks…….I am proud to live here……and perhaps if Kim’s wedding to Kris Humphries doesn’t work out, next time around she can have it with Bill and me in Coconut Grove. (I’ll be the Best Bird!)

Sir Winston of Villa Woodbine

Celebrate National Filet Mignon Day (today) with Bill Hansen Catering's recipe for the best beef you’ve ever eaten!!!!!

Happy National Filet Mignon Day from Villa Woodbine in Coconut Grove, which of course has been known for its fabulous food and ambience since 1983. Today, we're going to share with you, Bill’s recipe for making the best Beef Tenderloin (the cut of meat that the filet comes from) with you, our loyal readers....

This recipe is so simple, even Winston the peacock can do it! And if you’re someone that thinks the word “vegan” comes from an ancient Navajo Indian word meaning “poor hunter”, then this recipe is for you.

If you want to have a fabulous main course for eight to ten guests do this.

1. Purchase a whole beef tenderloin which will weigh between five and seven pounds. It will cost somewhere around $60 or so.  
2. Bring it home, trim off the fat and silver skin. 
3. Marinate it in your favorite meat marinade for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight. We use crushed garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil as ours. 
4. Brown the whole piece of meat on your grill outside or in a frying pan. This will take about 7 minutes or so. You do not need to cook it all the way through….that comes later. Let the meat rest. If for more than a couple hours, refrigerate. 
5. 30 to 45 minutes before serving time place the whole tenderloin in a preheated oven (375 degrees) and roast for about 25 to 30 minutes. We like it medium rare with an internal temp of 130 degrees or so. I know some folks like it well done, but it’s simply not as good and is very dry! In my opinion, well done is a great way to ruin and excellent piece of meat. 
6. Let the meat rest for 5 to 10 minutes and then slice. The small end will be more well done, the center is the best part and the large end has the most flavor, but it has a firmer texture. 

VOILA! A wonderful way to celebrate National Filet Mignon Day.  Enjoy.

Jail Break!!

I believe that this peacock who escaped from the Central Park Zoo is my cousin, Cedric of Central Park. We grew up together as pea chicks down here in Coconut Grove, at Villa Woodbine. One morning, after a big wedding, Cedric was nowhere to be found. I asked my caretaker, Bill Hansen what happened to Cedric and he said he believed that Cedric was napping in the back of the limo. Next thing he knew he was in the honeymoon suite at the Plaza Hotel in New York!! Bill thinks that the bridal couple thought that having a peacock on their honeymoon was good luck!!!

Soon there after Cedric moved into the Central Park Zoo by the request of New York's finest...The ASPCA. As soon as he could, Cedric escaped. You'd think the zoo would have caught wind of his plan...his favorite movie was The Great Escape starring Steve McQueen.

As much as Cedric loved the Big Apple, his escape means that he wants to return to the sunny South and Villa Woodbine. He never really was much of a Yankees' fan. Safe travels, Cedric! I really miss you! You are my Prodigal Peacock!!


Hope to see you soon,
Your Long Lost Cousin of Villa Woodbine

The New Gardener at Villa Woodbine is Interrupting My Rest

Lately I’ve been losing sleep because Bill’s new staffer who maintains our gardens is blowing the leaves from driveway and front garden party area while I’m trying to sleep. The noise is awful, but I gotta admit that the Villa has never looked better. Leonilla , the gardener, does a great job keeping our Coconut Grove mansion neat, clean, well-groomed and immaculate.

For some reason, last week, the blowing and the noise stopped and I was able to resume my beauty naps without all the racket. It turns out that the blower was broken!!! Wow…great news for me, but bad news for Bill! For five days there was no blowing and lots of beauty naps for me. In the meantime, Leonilla is raking and bagging by hand. Suddenly, last Wednesday, the noise begins again and I’m back to staying up way past my nap times.

Being the nosy bird that I am, I had to find out what happened. Here’s what Bill told me……Firstly, Home Depot would not cover the repair on the blower, even though it was less than a year old.  Leonilla, tried to get it fixed, but no luck there.

But superstar that she is, home at night, while on her own time, she researched the blower online and figured out how to fix it on her own. She used her own initiative to fix it, at no charge to Bill. I must admit that although I miss my naps, I’m really glad to living at a place where everyone really cares about what they do…and they go the extra mile to keep our mansion and catering business at the head of the pack.

I tip my feathers to Leonilla….Who Goes the Extra Mile!!!! And I know that Bill has rewarded her too for her great work ethic.

Well, I think she’s done blowing now, so I’ll head to the bushes for my nap…..Sweet Dreams!

Sir Winston of Villa Woodbine