Yesterday, I went to the Peruvian Independence Day Festival 2014, expecting to gorge myself on lot of delicious Peruvian food. Unfortunately, the festival had other plans. I was so underwhelmed that I am not going to bother with a detailed post.
Thank you, though, to Arty Photoworks for the excellent photos! Sorry again that I talked you into coming to this.
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Not long ago, a friend of mine mentioned that she cooked a grilled cheese sandwich in the microwave. She said this with pride in her resourcefulness and ingenuity. I, on the other hand, was horrified. It’s like watching someone cook a good cut of steak until it’s a dried up hockey puck of a mess. It is a crime against humanity, and it needs to STOP!
Friends don’t let friends eat bad food. These are words that I live by. Food is life. Food is happiness. Food can bring people together, and a good meal can reverse the worst of moods. If you love your ingredients, and give them respect, they will love you back. It was time for an intervention. I could not idly stand by and let this woman continue on this path of darkness. I had to show her the light. (more…)
Have you ever let a friend talk you into giving an ex a second chance? No? Good then. I have a similar perspective on restaurants. If you burned me once, I’m not likely to pay you a second visit. Unfortunately, exceptions must sometimes be made. Like, when a close friend that you have known since childhood is visiting from out of town and REALLY wants to go to that one, specific place.
This is how I wound up at Lario’s on the Beach. This, after vowing 6 years ago to never eat at an Estefan-run Cuban restaurant after my meal at Bongo’s Cuban Cafe (same as Lario’s, but downtown) was an overpriced and depressingly mediocre experience. But, in the wake of the recent renovations, I took a chance. I didn’t really have much of a choice.
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These past two weeks have been a whirlwind of mango. Yet, all good things must come to an end. As the bombardment of mangoes from my coworker’s overly fertile tree winds down, I am taking a look back at all of the mango goodness that I was able to produce with my seemingly endless stream of mangoes. Due to several requests from satisfied taste-testers, I have decided to try to compile a list of all of the mango dessert recipes that I attempted. Unfortunately, going into “Mango Mad Scientist Mode” left very little opportunity for photo ops or step-by-step walkthroughs. Still, I hope that my experiences can inspire others to get a little bit adventurous with mango, and perhaps do something those overripe mangoes besides throwing them in a smoothie. Let the Mango Madness begin! (more…)
Mango Season continues in full swing! I continue getting generous donations of ripe mangoes from work. It’s been fun experimenting with recipes to incorporate the mango. This mango flan was one such experiment. It turned out to be a success, and someone requested that I give them the recipe. So, here it is! (more…)
Don’t tell my Jamaican friends, but I am not particularly fond of Jamaican food (sorry, guys!). Even when a Jamaican restaurant has been highly recommended, I am not particularly impressed when I go and try it. But, my experiences with a certain Caribbean restaurant had led me to believe that I just wasn’t giving “Island cuisine” a fair chance. So, when I stumbled across this deal on LivingSocial for a ticket to Taste of the Caribbean, I kept an open mind and took the dive. (more…)
It’s Mango Season in South Florida! And, at my new job, my coworkers are not stingy about sharing the wealth. We have been getting bags full of mangoes every day from a coworker’s over-productive tree. But, there are only so many mangoes you can eat as is. And, overripe mangoes are plentiful. We were discussing possible uses for these overripe fruits, when he asks “can you make mango cheesecake?” Well, I never have, but there’s a first time for everything!
I came up with this recipe after a little bit of online research, and adjusting my standard mini cheesecake recipe accordingly. And, because I am a big supporter of portion control and like cute little things, I made mini mango cheesecakes. You can use my previous mini cheesecake post as a guideline, if you’re unsure of the step-by-step process. (more…)
In case you don’t already know, I hate the beach. And, not just the beach, but Miami Beach as a whole is just a cesspool of pretense and superficiality. I hate the traffic. I hate the parking. I hate the parade of Botox and silicone. Plus, I look terrible in a swimsuit.
That aside, every now and then, a restaurant garners enough buzz to get me off my lazy butt and off to a Miami Beach adventure. Prime 112 was one such instance. When I asked people what kind of food they serve, I was told “a little bit of everything.” That worried me, because most restaurants that try to dabble in different types of cuisine usually don’t excel at any of them. Still, with an open mind (and someone else’s wallet), I made my way over there. (more…)
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I am not particularly fond of peanut butter. Maybe it was too many peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as a kid. In fact, to me, peanut butter is something that I eat when my calorie counting app tells me that I haven’t eaten enough fat or protein that day.
Yet, when done right, something magical happens when chocolate and peanut butter come together. The peanut butter Lindt truffles are one of my favorite flavors. And, my absolute favorite cookies are chocolate cookies with peanut butter chips. These cookies have ruined my diet many, many times. In fact, I refrain from making them often, because I know that I will utterly destroy half a pan in one sitting if I do. (more…)
Riverwalk’s Burger Battle returned this year, and the competition at Burger Battle 2014 was fierce! As usual, 16 Broward County restaurants threw down the gauntlet to see who makes the best burger. It was a hot, humid evening. But, that didn’t stop anyone from showing up. Veteran competitors, defending champions, and newcomers all faced off. Who delivered, and who crashed and burned? Let’s find out, shall we? (more…)