SoFla Bloggin’
I was interviewed by the Miami Herald about food blogging in South Florida, along with several other local bloggers. The article also mentions some of my favorite MIA bloggers, Mango and Lime and Miami Dish plus I found a few new blogs that I’ve added to my google reader. Check out the article here. Also BIG thank you to my husband Stephan for pushing me to start blogging and taking all those fabulicious images!
This is for You, Grandma
I generally keep this blog for my recipes and random food related thoughts, but today is a very personal one.
Last Thursday, January 17th, was the saddest day I’ve experienced in my 33 years. That was the day my grandma Evelyn passed away. I want to share with all of you how amazing and beautiful my grandma was. She loved to laugh and at 82 years old… still got most of my attempts at humor.
My grandma was a voracious reader, and since I am one too, we started to mail each other books after reading them. I would send her murder mysteries, and she would send me books that were, well, geez…. downright naughty. I found myself blushing while reading some of them thinking “OH.MY.GAH… GRANDMA READ THIS.” :) I finally had to tell her she could just hang on to the romance (aka dirty) ones, as they were not my cup of tea! How embarrassing, right? Of course she just laughed it off!
Grandma was also a wonderful cook of all things Southern. Her cornbread, biscuits, butter beans and turnip greens were specialties that I would always look forward to. My absolute favorite was her cornbread. She had this knack for making amazing cornbread, and her secret was… old buttermilk. She liked it when it was just shy of funky. According to her, the buttermilk needed to be a little (several weeks) past the expiration date to make great cornbread. I also brought home two of her cast iron pans that are the backbone of real southern cornbread. These pans are so beautifully seasoned, I must assume they are older than I am. Unfortunately, I never had her write down the recipe… not that she probably had one anyway. So my next challenge for myself is recreating her cornbread. I already have a container of buttermilk festering away in the back of the fridge, waiting for my challenge!
I ask all of you who still have your grandparents, to give them a call and tell them you love them. They may not be here tomorrow. Also, I must thank my amazing husband, Stephan, for being there for me. You’re my rock, and I have no idea how I would have gotten through the past few days without you.
Grandma, I hope you’re up there eating a big bowl of ice cream and gossiping with Aunt Lizzie. You will always be in my heart and memories.
Ratatouille
OK… who hasn’t seen this delicious movie? Ratatouille is officially my new favorite animated movie, perhaps even my current favorite movie! Confession: I love animated flicks, and have about 20 assorted Disney VHS Tapes that I can’t seem to part with. Funny thing is that we no longer own a VHS player… what’s a girl to do, huh? I’ve been collecting them since high school… and yes, that was many moons ago! Darn the creators of DVD!
Anyway, now that I’ve shared a slightly embarrassing confession, lets dish about the movie. Its about a rat that has a very well developed palate. And he cooks… very well. He teams up with a gawky kid that can’t cook worth a flip and the two of them cook at a famous restaurant in Paris. I don’t want to give away too much, but its a definite must see.
Ode to the In-Laws
We’ve been eating like crazy for the past week… but we’re on vacation, and that’s what you’re supposed to do, right? I’m so lucky that Stephan’s mother and sister are both fabulous cooks. We haven’t gone out to eat much because they have been cooking up a storm. When we were in France last week, I was disappointed to not find Boeuf Bourguignon or something similar on the menu. So my mother-in-law made it! It was fabulous… thank you mom! Then last night, we celebrated the new year at my sister-in-law’s home. She made a fantastic Coq au Vin. I really wish we had some cold spells at home in South Florida to warrant cooking dishes like this!
Thank you for cooking so much while we are here… we really appreciate it!!!
Cheese in Filo Pastry
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That’s One Spicy Meataballa!
Before we left for Germany, we had our annual Holiday Party for Stephan’s photography studio. We decided on Cafe Martarano for some Italian fare. The food there is among the best I’ve had in South Florida, and I’ve eaten at some great restaurants. We’ve eaten there a handful of times, but only for special occasions, as its quite pricey. Cafe Martoranos is known for its loud music, punctuated by loud “whacking scenes” from whatever mob movie or Soproanos episode is playing. Its true Italian in that it is served family style.
We started with the famous meatballs. So good, that Gourmet Magazine has written about these meatballs. Next, we had the giant shrimp scampi, which are the size of small lobsters. Another fantastic choice. Our main courses were both chicken, and my absolutely favorite pasta dish… the white bean and kale with sausage. Amazing, simply amazing. By the time we got our main courses were were all completely full, so most of it came home in a doggy bag. We also forgot to keep taking photos, as we had 3 bottles of wine for 4 people. :p As for dessert… what can I say? We were being gluttons!
Hope everyone has a safe and very happy New Year! See you in 2008!
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Merry Christmas!
Hope everyone has a very very Merry Christmas! We’re in Germany, freezing our hineys off, and drinking Gluhwein. Good times, good times! We’re also celebrating another very special occasion…. MY BIRTHDAY! :) It’s not easy competing with the big guy, but it is cool sharing His Birthday! Don’t eat too much!
Happy Birthday Stephan!
Today is my husband’s Birthday. We won’t say how old he is, because that is frowned upon in polite society. :p Instead, I’ll take this moment to give him a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY! He was the reason I started my blog, and does all the back-end work on it, including creating this fabulous custom blog and taking the photos. He does, however, get to reap the benefits when the food is cooked! It’s a good working relationship we have, eh?
Thank you Stephan for being you, for being so supportive of everything I do. I’m a very lucky woman to have you. Hope you enjoy your new fancy Prada Sunglasses! :)
Also, I’ll be blogging from the road for the next two weeks, as we’re on our way to Europe! So instead of cooking, I’ll be doing very cool restaurant reviews from Germany, France and Holland (Amsterdam)!
Vosges Haut Chocolat
I now have a new reason to love my blog. I have received my very first… food swag! Its not just “free stuff”, its amazing, decadent goodies from the fabulous Vosges Haut Chocolat. Vosges has been one of my favorite chocolatiers since I discovered them a few years ago. You can just imagine how excited I was when I received my complimentary treats, directly from the chocolate mothership. The Caramel Toffee with Roasted Pecans and Walnuts, Sweet Butter Toffee, Pink Himalayan Sea Salt and Milk Chocolate is to die for. Seriously, To.Die.For. All the flavors meld together and the sea salt really adds an interesting flavor.
The Exotic Caramels with every imaginable combination from Rosey (Rose Water + Pink Peppercorns + Dark Chocolate + Red Rose Petal) to Verde (Mexican Guajillo Chillies + licorice root + Organic Pumpkin Seeds) are fantastic. I haven’t been able to try all the different combinations because I just opened it, but I’m sure they are all delish. This would be a great gift for that hard to shop for person, as it comes in an extremely cool and uber-fancy hat box! Perfect for a decadent Christmas Gift!
Thank you Paige at Vosges for the complimentary gift, I love it. If anyone else wants me to be a guinea pig for their products, feel free to email me! :)
My Milkshake Brings All the Boys…
OK, maybe not MY milkshake, but Robert’s Milkshake sure does! Every time we go down to the keys, we stop at the Robert is Here Fruit Stand in Florida City for a milkshake. His stand is located just off of US 1, on Palm Ave. There is a giant sign above the building that says ROBERT IS HERE. You can’t miss it. They have amazing fresh fruit shakes, from mamey to papaya, to my favorite… Passion Fruit. Mmmmm. I usually get Passion-banana or Passion-strawberry. Perhaps next time, I’ll branch out and get passion-papaya? I’d like to think they are made of fat-free yogurt, but they are just too creamy and yummy for that to be true. At this point, I enjoy them so much, I’d rather not know.
Robert’s Fruit Stand also has every type of fresh veggie and tropical fruit you can imagine. We also usually stop on the way home (for another milkshake, snort, snort) and some fruits and veggies. The last time we stopped, we got fresh passion fruit and an avocado as big as my head. They also have amazing tomatoes that actually taste like… tomato. Fascinating, right? Definitely check it out when you’re in the neighborhood.
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How Much Chocolate is Enough?
In my world, there is no such thing as too much chocolate. This is a chocolate biscotti studded with pistachios and chocolate chips. Its good, real good. I found this recipe in an old issue of Food and Wine Magazine, December of 2005. Its makes for a lovely display with the extremely dark color and bright green pistachios. The best part is when you dip it in coffee, the chocolate chips melt ever so slightly… its choco-fabulous!
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