Haven't been posting for a week or so, not because I haven't been eating though. Last week brought some awesome food including a grilled cheese w/brie and bacon in NYC, a trip to Bobby Flay's restaurant Mesa Grill, several Stella's, crab risotto w/seared scallops, and shrimp spaghetti.

First time making crab risotto, definitely won't be the last either. Scallops are just cooked in butter for 2 min on each side. Even if you don't think they're done, they are.
New Yorker at Jason's Deli. This sandwich was awesome, but led to a massive case of heartburn that lasted from about 2 - 5 am. Next time I'll have to eat it with a Zantac.
Made this shrimp spaghetti in my apartment kitchen in DE. This was an accomplishment considering it basically has no kitchen equipment.
Stella, and a backup just in case the first one gets empty. Too bad the engineers at BP don't have this type of foresight.
Grilled bacon and brie at The Grey Dog in NYC which is now one of my favorite spots. All their food is great, and they have a really good Belgian beer on tap. Not sure what else you would need.

Seared tuna salad

Made use of my significant fresh fish inventory for dinner. Seared some of the yellowfin tuna with blackening seasoning and some sesame seeds. Added some tomatoes and blue cheese to make a good dinner salad.

Sushi

Here is some fresh sushi. We caught these fish about three or four hours prior to slicing some off to eat back at the docks. The one on top is a yellowfin tuna and the bottom is a blackfin tuna. They were caught in the Gulf stream about 60 miles out from Carolina Beach. I had a few big bites of the yellowfin back at the dock which were excellent. More sushi to come for sure.

Pork Burgers

I was recently inspired by this NY Times article to cook pork burgers. I seasoned mine with five spice, and added a little grill seasoning on the top. Topped it with tomato, onion, and a drop of Dave's Insanity. Trust me, all you need is a drop or you'll burn your mouth off as I witnessed some of my guests.

Argintinian Deli

Stoped by Buenos Aires Bakery in Miami Beach for breakfast this
morning. This is one of about 5 cases to choose from. This is way too
many decisions for 9:00 a.m. in the morning.

Oshi Thai

Had some good spicy red curry at Oshi Thai in Aventura. This is an
awesome $8 lunch in Miami.

US Air

A little first class candy.

Spinach spaghetti lunch

Still trying to use up the big bag of spinach I bought before going back out of town. Made wheat spaghetti with sauteed spinach in olive oil with onions, garlic and some lemon juice. Not a bad dish, but way outclassed by the lemontini I had to go with it. This is just a good summer drink. I make mine w/some Triple Sec, that way I can have more.

Lemontini:

1/4 fresh lemon

1 oz citrus vodka

1 0z Triple Sec

1 oz simple syrup

Spinach Souffle

Have the day off so decided to start with some good breakfast. After several cups of coffee I scoured the fridge and pretty much only had enough for a spinach souffle. I had to substitute Pecorino Romano for the Parmigiano Reggiano since that's all I had. The souffle was accompanied by some mimosas and Mahalia Jackson played loudly.

Beef stir fry

Read an article about beef stir fry in the NY Times yesterday, so decided to give it a try. I used skirt steak and added zucchini to my recipe, but pretty much followed this one. Not a whole lot to making this really, hardest part is stopping yourself from continuing to eat it all night long. Finally had to stop what I was doing and put the leftovers away just to stop myself.

Ox Tail

Got to enjoy my first ox tail at the Haitian resturant Tap Tap in
Miami. Tasted like it was braised in a tomato base sauce that gave
nice flavor to the meat. The meat tastes about the same as a braised
short rib but less fat. On the side was beans mixed with cornmeal
which I now like better than beans and rice. Not pictured are several
rum punches used to wash everything down.

Heavenly Biscuit

Awesome biscuit and homefries at the Heavenly Biscuit in Ft Meyers
Beach. Biscuits with tomatoes on them are my new favorite. The
homefries seemed to be deep fried potato slices with onions and sea
salt. Great noon-time breakfast to get the day at the beach off to a
good start.
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Il Migliore

Got the chance to enjoy some excellent Italian food tonight in Miami. I had the Branzino topped with sauteed tomatoes with garlic and basil. The fish was great, but I think the tomatoes may have been even better with the garlic. Best part was without a doubt the banana bread pudding. Covered in chocolate and accompanied by ice cream, additional description not really necessary. Only problem with this place is that you force yourself to eat way too much. Once I got back to the hotel I realized the button on my jeans literally broke into two pieces, and I'm pretty sure it doesn't have anything to do with my ab muscles.

Cuban for Lunch

Got a chance to stop by my favorite Cuban spot in Miami for lunch today, Little Havana. As usual I had to have the roast pork with rice and beans. Also had a cortadito which I'll miss as well when I have to leave Miami. I've tried before to describe the overwhelming deliciousness of the pork in previous posts, but I think it's best summed up with a comparison to the old Saturday night live skit with Harry Caray and the hot dog. So, in summary if you were a pig would you eat yourself? I know I would, I'd slather myself in whatever this Cuban juice is and eat every last shred and wash it down with a cortadito.

Tandoori chicken fried rice

Used my leftover tandoori chicken to make some fried rice for lunch. The tandoori spice pretty much turned the rice orange, and flavored the whole dish. Not much to it really, just fried the leftover rice with an egg and some onions and added the cut up chicken.

Tandoori Chicken

Had Tandoori chicken w/rice and a roti tonight. Used a Tandoori mix I got from my local Indian store and marinated the chicken in it all day. Didn't really follow directions, and since I think the pack was probably enough for about ten pieces of chicken as opposed to three, it came out pretty spicy. Roti was awesome as usual, but definitely should have made some sauce w/the tandoori to put on the rice instead of grilling the chicken.

WTF Lagunitas from California

Great balanced hoppy beer from California. Had this at Mellow Mushroom
with a jerk chicken sandwich that didn't last long enough to take a
picture of. It's nice to have a hoppy beer that's balanced and doesn't
make your tongue shrivel up into a raisen.

Braised sausage and lentils

Forgot how good lentils are, not sure why I don't eat these more often. I got the recipe from a French cookbook I have, but had to adapt as I had no pancetta and it was too hot to drive to the grocery store.

1/2 red onion

2 cloves garlic

fresh thyme

2 sausages

3 cups chicken stock

1 1/2 cups lentils

salt & pepper

add fresh spinach at the end

Spinach and arugula salad

Made this salad for a light lunch today. It has spinach and arugula with orange slices, blue cheese and toasted sunflower seeds. Not much to it other than it was good and a healthy change from all the crap I ate a MerleFest yesterday.

Strawberry icecream

What would make a hot NC day of bluegrass even better, a strawberry
icecream cone. This is the best flavor for hot weather without a doubt.

MerleFest fried rice

There is actually Thai food at MerleFest. At least that's what they
called it. You can judge by the amount of sriracha sauce required how
good it was. Now I can go buy some $3 water.

Vegetarian spaghetti

Quick late night vegetarian spaghetti w/a side of Mad Men. When rummaging through the pantry and fridge didn't produce anything, this came together from the various findings. I don't like using old dried spices, but a quick run through the mortar pestle will go a long way in freshening them up.

Wheat spaghetti

1/2 onion

2 cloves garlic

1/4 cup red wine

salt, pepper, oregano

1 zucchini

2 Roma tomatoes

1/2 can tomato sauce

dash cayenne pepper

Pecorino Romano

Communion Dinner

Seem to have lost my appetite for some reason today. So dinner is some
fantastic bread and butter at Print Works Bistro which was free. Also
had a Montepulciano d' Abruzzo which is a somewhat dry Italian red
wine. Wine wasn't free, but super cheap and pretty good.

Watercress soup

Had potato watercress soup with my leftover lamb ragu tonight. I really like watercress, and the idea of making a soup with it seemed enticing, not to mention it's super easy. I used a recipe out of this French cookbook I have and here are the basics:

Butter

1 onion

2 red potatoes

2 1/2 cups chicken stock

1 bunch watercress

1 cup milk

nutmeg, salt, pepper

Lamb Ragu

Decided on a lamb ragu with homemade spaghetti for dinner tonight after reading a very interesting article in the NY Times about Italian cooking today. Not really much to a ragu, just takes awhile to come together and for the lamb to get tender. For the pasta, I used an egg dough which was just two eggs and a cup of flour so pretty easy on that too. Easy does not mean it doesn't create a giant mess in the kitchen however, but not really something I care about anyhow. Actually, two cleanup nightmares were narrowly avoided or I probably would have cared. Didn't really use a recipe, but here are the basics:

1 onion

2 carrots

2 stalks celery

1/2 pound stew lamb

1/2 cup red wine

1tbs tomato paste

4 Roma tomatoes

1 can Roma tomatoes

3 cups beef stock

thyme

bay leave

salt

pepper

Spring Grilling

Love NC spring weather, makes for a perfect grilling and lounging outside background. Once again joined my friends Mark and Ashley for a lunch grill of Jalapenos and burgers. The jalapenos have cream cheese and a piece of pineapple inside. They were all tame, allowing us to avoid any fire breathing dragon episodes as is sometimes the case with these things. Grilled the pineapple to add on top of the burgers to make sure we had to disconnect our jaws like a python eating a rabbit to get them into our mouths.

Paella

Enjoyed some paella with friends last night. Never been to a big paella over an open flame, but this version was great. My friend Mark was the creator. Included are arborio rice, muscles, shrimp, bay scallops, tilapia, sausage and veggies. Had it with a bottle of Whitehaven Pinot Noir from New Zealand which is quickly becoming one of my favorites.

Timo - perfection on a plate

Had the chance to go to my favorite Miami restaurant this week with work. Timo is a true restaurant gem that tops my Miami list by a margin wider than what would be given to Mike Tyson in a bout with a second grade school girl. The restaurant is dark so pictures were not much of a sight, but I'll do my best explaining the culinary delight that took place. To start the night (after wine of course) were two wood fired pizzas. The first had ricotta, mozzarella, provolone, and black truffles with the second having sausage and broccoli rape.

While trying not to act like a savage college freshmen over the pizzas, a true bottle of wine was ordered which was a Cocito Barbaresco Baluchin from Italy. Deciding which single entree to order was dilemma, but ended up with the lobster bolognaise with pappardelle. Zero complaints on the lobster papperdelle which is a first for me and something I'll be trying to replicate at some level. Luckily everyone was in a sharing mood so here is what else I got to try, keeping in mind each was perfection and reason to go back again every time I'm in Miami. Skirt steak, scallops with crab risotto, most tender duck I've ever had, black truffle risotto, homemade gnocci, broccoli rape, and lentils.

May not believe it, but after all this my "desert stomach" was still starving. Thank god for the separate desert compartment in our stomachs that is never effected by loads of appetizers and massive main courses. It's only fitting that my favorite Miami restaurant has my favorite desert, Macadamia Brittle and Gelato with Caramelized Bananas, Pineapple and Toasted Coconut. Not my words, but this desert is "to die for", and I wouldn't even let anyone have a single bite it's that good. Just another example of perfection on a plate. Thank you Timo for a great culinary night.

Tap Tap Haitian Food

Ended up at this Haitian place twice this week, it's that good. Had roast pork the first time, and grouper the second. Both were excellent, but the grouper probably wins out if they were competing which they weren't. Not pictured was the conch seviche which was spicy and tasty as well. Better yet were the drinks to accompany. Had a beer from Kenya, Tusker beer which was malty, but overall pretty balanced. Highlight drink wise was the Rum punch which included several different passion fruit juices and lots of rum. Like lots and lots.

Morbier Cheese

Not everything I eat is good. This is one thing that was with out a doubt terrible. I had two bites to confirm, and the second was just as bad as the first. Morbier cheese is a French cheese in this case made with unpasteurized cows milk. The smell is of dirty feet, and the taste is of rancid meat. Got it to go with a French wine I was having, but would probably pair better with a dog shit milk shake.

La Provence in Miami Beach

Had a tomato, basil, fresh mozzarella, and prosciutto on a baguette at my local French bakery for breakfast. This place has some great pastry scenery and a pretty good sandwich too. The bread was tough and crisp. Best part about this place is probably drooling over the French pastries a few of which I've sampled are good beyond my food adjective vocabulary.

Curly Fries

A well trained eye will know where these fries come from. Food completely sucks, but you don't go here for the food anyway.

Key West Snapper

Here is a macadamia encrusted snapper I had in Key West last weekend
at Kelly's Carribbean restaurant. Best part was probably the banana
rum butter on top. Also came with a coconut curry rice that was
perfect with the butter too. That said, banana rum butter is pretty
good on everything.

Coconut Grove

Lunch at a French Bistro in Coconut Grove. Of course you have to get
some wine to accompany. Croque Madame was really good. Love super runny egg yolks, there really is no substitute for this. You can't just use egg substitute, or dried egg powder the real thing is the only thing.

Porterhouse time

Seared mammel flesh and smoke.

Always Keep some cheese around

No reason not to keep a few decent cheeses on hand. Just pare off the mold, and you're ready to go. I like buying these at CostCo b/c it's way cheep and you get a nice giant block that lasts a while. These are aged Gouda, Monchego, and something I bought too long ago to remember. You never know when you'll need something to go with the wine you need to drink that night so buy some decent quantity blocks, and have them ready to go. Had a good Mountain View Vintners Pinot Noir with a thin coat of pollen to accompany.