Burgerliscious is back for another year of burger mayhem. Burgerliscious, in which participating Coral Gables restaurants complete to see who makes the best burger, drew a big crowd. As usual, I had to get in on the action and sample what each restaurant had to offer at Burgerliscious 2014. (more…)
Blog
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Mini Pumpkin Bundt Cakes
It’s that time of the year when pumpkin treats pop up everywhere. And, since my job recently hosted a craft fair, I thought it would be nice to feature an item that was pumpkin-flavored. So, I made mini pumpkin bundt cakes.
You can easily scale this recipe up and make one, large bundt cake. However, mini bundt cakes are great for sharing. They have built-in portion control, too. Just make sure your mini bundt pan is well-greased. Otherwise, you will have a hard time getting the little cakes out of the pan in one piece. Trust me on that one.
You can ice or glaze the cakes with anything you’d like, or leave them as-is. I glazed these with chocolate ganache. I think the bittersweet chocolate makes a good contrast with the sweetness of the pumpkin cake.
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DB Bistro Moderne (A Review)
Miami Spice has come and gone. Yet, being the procrastinator that I am, I still have a backlog of restaurant reviews. Forgive me, all, for I have failed in my quest to keep you all informed of the deliciousness that Miami has to offer.
A friend of mine specifically requested that we try a French restaurant this time around. So, we found ourselves at DB Bistro Moderne in Downtown Miami. The parking situation is a bit of a nightmare, but I can’t say no to a friend. At least, not when food is involved. (more…)
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M.E.A.T. Eatery and Taproom (A Review)
Burgers are, in many ways, the perfect food. I mean, you can get all of the food groups in one bite. That practically makes them health food, right!? Yes? Of course. But, as easy as it is to justify stuffing a burger in my face, finding a stellar burger is not always easy. Here at The Broke Baker, “good” is not good enough. Leave the “good” burgers to the amateurs. We’re looking for the kind of burgers that you talk about for days afterwards. We want burgers that make us dislocate our jaws to bite into while we try to keep the juices from dripping down our arms.
That, among other things, was the reason I decided to take a drive to Boca Raton and try M.E.A.T. Eatery and Taproom. Another reason was the pictures of their truffled lobster burger that happened to be floating around social media for a while. So, off I went.
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Red Velvet Cupcakes
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I started writing this post back in late June, with the full intention of posting it as a 4th of July post. Then, mangoes happened, and I got distracted. Still, a good red velvet cake is something that should be shared.I came across this recipe while I was looking for firm cake recipes that would work well for frosting-free cake pops. I used to use a recipe that required softened butter for the cake batter, but using oil is so much easier. Plus, there’s no planning required. Anyone that has worked closely with me has probably seen sticks of butter or cream cheese sitting on my desk at the office, because I need to have my ingredients at room temperature by the time I get home and am ready to bake. Hopefully, my boss isn’t reading this…
Both Fourth of July and Christmas are great times to make red velvet anything. Cupcakes are always winners, and all you need is some decorative sprinkles to cater the cupcakes to a holiday theme. (more…)
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Edge Steak and Bar (A Review)
As per my usual plan around this time of the year, I continue my foray into Miami Spice. My next visit brought me to Edge Steak and Bar in Downtown Miami. The steakhouse takes a lighter approach to the traditional steak dinner. They pair their steak with locally-sourced ingredients, and there is even a pepper and herb garden on the terrace where they grow their herbs. Pretty cool! The restaurant itself has garnered several accolades, so I had high hopes. (more…)
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Sushi Samba (A Review)
Coral Gables Restaurant Week (CGRW), like Miami Spice, is something that I look forward to every year. Restaurants will offer a 3-course menu at a fixed price per person, which is usually a decent discount from ordering the menu items a la carte. Therefore, my usual strategy is to seek out the restaurants that I probably wouldn’t be able to afford on a regular day to try out. This year brought me to SushiSamba, a nifty restaurant that offers food that is inspired by Peruvian, Japanese, and Brazilian cuisines. (more…)
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Twix Cake
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So, a good friend of mine broke her foot the other day. To cheer her up, I offered to make her any type of cake she wanted. She initially asked for a Kit Kat cake. But, some subliminal messaging from another friend, as well as an earlier suggestion from one of my coworkers, made her decide instead on a Twix cake.It was a challenge to try to capture the essence of a Twix bar – shortbread and caramel covered in chocolate – in the form of a cake. Somehow, the chocolate mousse center that I had used for the Kit Kat cake just didn’t seem like it would go as well with Twix. I toyed around with a few ideas, including making a giant shortbread cookie to be the center layer of the cake. I finally settled on the center being a later of chopped Twix bars and caramel. (more…)
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Pubbelly (A Review)
Miami Spice is finally back. And, that means a lot of good eating. For those of you that don’t know, Miami Spice is a 2-month long promotion in which participating restaurants in Miami will offer a fixed price, 3-course menu. The meals are $23 for lunch, or $39 for dinner. This can spell a significant savings from the usual price of the meal, assuming you choose your restaurants wisely.
My first stop on this year’s “Journey Through Miami Spice” was Pubbelly in South Beach. Pubbelly boasts itself as the first Asian-inspired Gastropub in Miami. This, along with its stellar reviews, was enough to spark my interest. (more…)
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Kit Kat Cake
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I have a serious problem. I obsess over things. All it takes is for the small seed of an idea to be planted, and the idea grows at an exponential rate and grabs hold of my brain. Then, it won’t let go. It’s this tendency to obsess that will lead me to do things like read a big book or watch an anime series in its entirety in a day or two, or go through dozens of web pages for “research” purposes when there’s a recipe or dish that catches my interest.This is exactly what happened about a month ago, when a coworker asked me if I could make a cake with Kit Kats (her favorite candy bar). Well, several hours (okay, maybe DAYS) and hoards of web pages later, my mind was made up. The seed was officially planted. Challenge accepted. (more…)