Univ. of Miami School of Law to host expert wrongful convictions panel

Jeff McInnis brings southern hospitality to South Beach with Yardbird

Yardbird Southern Table & Bar officially opened today (Monday October 3rd), bringing traditional southern fare with an elevated elegant twist to South Beach.

McInnis, formerly chef at DiLido and Gigi, rose to celebrichef status as a contestant on Top Chef in 2008. His new adventure with John Kunkel (of 50 Eggs and Lime) is said to be a "down-to-earth joint that preaches the gospel of good food and good company." And, that it is. My grandparents would absolutely love McInnis' fried chicken; which takes 27 hours to make and is a 150 year-old recipe.

The menu has a made-from-scratch ethic that uses humanely treated meats and seasonal ingredients that helps support southern farmers such as Paradise Farms, The Green Railroad Organic Workshop, Worden Farm, Lake Meadow Naturals and White Oak Pastures — all suppliers of the restaurant. Everything is made in-house, even the alligator sausage.

Yardbird boasts a vast selection of over 50 different bourbons, including some hard to find brands like Pappy Van Winkle and Black Maple Hill. They also have a nice selection of bourbon cocktails. The beer selection includes many Southern breweries, including Tampa's award winning Cigar City Brewery.

Lucky Miamians were treated to a preview party on October 1st, which proved to be a teaser to whet our appetites. It will be exciting to see what McInnis delivers when the restaurant opens on Monday. McInnis was ever the gentleman, hand delivering dishes to our table throughout the evening. He and his manager Greg proved to be a formidable team, juggling dozens of cooks, servers, and bartenders while taking the time to stop and charm us ladies at intervals throughout the evening. guests were treated to goodie bags that included pickled goods and various bourbons; y-u-m.

My favorite bite of the evening was the fried green tomato BLT. It was to die for, a perfect combination of salty, spicy, and bacony. Perfectly cooked. Or, maybe my favorite was the meatloaf. Or, the fried cheese on watermelon. Oh wait, it was the fried chicken on a buttery biscuit. Heck y'all, it was all fantastic. I also managed to try every one of the six bourbon cocktails. The Southern Peach tasted of sweet tea and included a thyme garnish. My grandparents do not serve tea like this at their house. What a shame.

Some more pictures from the preview party are below. My pictures are of sample bites, not actual size. In fact, many of the entrees at Yardbird are family-sized; meant for sharing. Just like at my grandparents' house.

Yardbird is now serving dinner and will begin lunch service the week of October 10. Sunday gospel brunch will begin November 6. Hours of operation are as follows: 11AM — Midnight, Sunday — Wednesday and 11AM — 2AM, Thursday — Saturday. Yardbird is located at 1600 Lenox Avenue, one block from Lincoln Road. For more information, visit www.RunChickenRun.com.

• Fois gras with pickled watermelon

• Deviled egg

• Meatloaf

• Grilled peach wrapped in ham

• Watermelon with grilled farm cheese

• Brined chicken on the bone

• Chocolate chip cookie

• S'more and a sour orange merengue

• Apple pie

• Southern Peach

Miami Law Students Gather Signatures to Save a Life

Miami Law students dressed in blue on Thursday to express their support for Troy Davis, a man who was convicted in 1991 for shooting an off-duty officer in 1989. Both the Miami Innocence Project and the Capital Defense Project at Miami Law helped Amnesty International and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to gather signatures in opposition of Davis' death sentence.

Today is the last day to petition the clemency board to commute Davis' sentence to life. As of Thursday, The Florida Times-Union reported that more than 600,000 petitions have been signed.

"In the wake of presidential candidate Rick Perry's execution of an innocent man, and subsequent attempts to cover it up, we fear that Georgia may be about to make the same mistake," said Gretchen Cothron, co-student director at Miami's Wrongful Conviction Project. The Georgia clemency board meets on Monday to decide on Davis' execution, which is set for Sept. 21 at 7 p.m.

Wrongful Conviction Project members argue that several witnesses who originally testified against Davis have all recanted their statements, except for Sylvester Coles. "Eyewitness misidentification is the single greatest cause of wrongful convictions nationwide, playing a role in more than 75 percent of convictions overturned through DNA testing," stated a report by the national Innocence Project organization.

"This guy's life has been destroyed and now they want to take it away completely," said Nicole Devinette, who is also co-student director at Miami's Wrongful Conviction Project. She points out that Davis has already been incarcerated for more than 20 years. "It just sounds bogus."

The Troy Davis Project is one of many cases the Miami Innocence Project and The Capital Defense Project have taken on this fall. Last week, The Capital Defense Project worked to save the life of Manuel Valle, a 61-years old who was convicted of killing a Coral Gables police officer during a traffic stop 33 years ago.

On Oct. 28, the law school will host a Wrongful Convictions panel to discuss the causal factors of erroneous convictions, police corruption in Miami, false eyewitness testimony and confessions.

For more information and to sign the petition, go to Amnesty International.

Original article written by Rochelle Oliver.

Kitchen Bar 3 at BT

This week marked the third time former Sidebern's chef Jeannie Pierola has opened a pop-up restaurant in a location that normal contains a different Tampa restaurant. Pierola's first pop-up restaurants took over Pinky's and Chefs on the Loose in South Tampa. This incarnation takes place at Restaurant BT, usual home of BT Nguyen-Batley's namesake restaurant.

BT Nguyen-Batley takes the slow month of August off each summer, which provided the perfect opportunity for Pierola's pop-up concept.

KB3 offers two different menus options: a regular menu featuring small, medium, and large plates, as well as a five course tasting menu that will change each week. This week's tasting menu was focused on figs, aptly titled "Gettin' Figgy With It..."; future weeks will have tasting menus based on mangos, tomatoes, and corn.

The beer and wine menu offers a variety of reasonably priced selections, and the restaurant allows guests to bring in their own wine; the first bottle has no corkage fee, additional bottles incur a $10 corkage fee. The beer and wine menu boasts beautiful selections from Germany and France; however, the closest it gets to local beers are a few selections from California and Oregon.

The KB3@BT menu is fun and eclectic. The flavor combinations were fun and interesting; I wish I had saved room for the bleu cheese ice cream. David and I opted to try different dishes as opposed to the tasting menu.

We began with the Tuna Confit Nicoise Crostini: big eye tuna confit/haricots verts/nicoise olive/chopped egg/caper berries/espelette chile. It was a playful take on the popular salad, perched on top of a crostini. The crostini proved to be inedible, but the salad was fun and light. The olives added an interesting flavor.

We also began with the Watermelon and Persian Lime Salad: greek yogurt/celery branch/curry vinaigrette. The cool explosion of the watermelon in your mouth was fresh and fun, and the added acidity of the lime made this salad a perfect mouth cleansing dish to prepare us for our next courses.

We next moved on to a 'medium' sized plate. We debated back and forth as to which medium dish to share, as the selections were all tempting. We compromised on the Prosciutto di Parma Zeppole: rosemary doughnuts/compressed melon/parmesan snow. Rosemary doughnuts? Yes, please! This dish was, like all the dishes, a fun and playful take on an everyday food item. The funnelcake-like doughnut was both sweet and savory. This dish allowed us to create different flavors in every bite by combining the ingredients in different ways.

Our next dish was also from the medium section of the menu. I can hardly ever pass up a carpaccio dish or a deviled egg, so that is exactly what we had. Tenderloin Carpaccio: haricots verts/deviled organic egg/violet mustard sauce/hand-cut fries. This dish was wonderful. The carpaccio was light and meaty and drizzled with delicious olive oil. The eggs were creamy and delightful. The beans were fresh and bright, and the fries dipped in mustard added another dimension to the plate.

Our final dish had the most unusual flavor combinations, and proved to be one of our favorites. Coconut gnocchi? It was superb. Vadauvan Key West Shrimp: coconut gnocchi/shaved sugar snap peas/shiitake mushrooms/crushed cashews/mango tamarind brown butter. I was blown away by the gnocchi. It was a completely unexpected flavor and texture. The gnocchi were not soft and delicate as usual, they were crispy on the outside and warm and delicate inside. The shrimp were giant and grilled to perfection. The accoutrements blended nicely, nothing overpowering another flavor.

Last night was fun and adventurous. Not only for David and I, but for Jeannie, her partner Melissa Judge, and the BT staff. The pop-up restaurant endeavor appears to be a winning idea for everyone involved, and I look forward to future incarnations. As for now, David and I must decide which plates to order next time we dine at KB3@BT.

South Florida foodies pot luck extravaganza

What happens when you gather forty South Florida foodie fanatics for a pot luck afternoon? An amazing afternoon of delicious food and homemade cocktails, of course!

Last Saturday, I was honored to join the South Florida Foodies for a pot luck party that did not only consist of fabulous food and drinks; I also enjoyed meeting and chatting with a diverse crowd of food lovers. While the SFLF group began as a small group of food writers, bloggers, and tweeters, recent press has caused our membership to swell to over 300. I met many people I had not seen at previous gatherings, and thoroughly enjoyed the camaraderie that we mutually built over our love of food. As our head diva Maude so eloquently noted, "we come here knowing nothing about each other, and we bond and create friendships over food."

Each foodie in attendance was assigned the following: create one dish and one drink. The theme was 'avant garde'. As David and our friend Omar were joining me, we needed to compose at least three dishes and three cocktails.

• Joan Nova
• Foodies

I decided to go for the avant garde with gusto. I took a course on molecular gastronomy with Asbel Reyes and Allison Beasmen (both of Sidebern's) several years ago, and relished the chance to finally use some of the techniques that they taught me. Namely, balsamic beads and powdered peanut butter.

I had one major problem in my quest. The chemicals. I searched high and low online for a store in Miami that sold them, but failed. I did find online stores that would ship the chemicals from China. But, this would take too long. So, I conceded the powdered peanut butter and decided to focus on agar agar, a vegan gelatin substitute derived from seaweed. I had seen agar agar at Wholefoods in the Asian section, so I decided to find an Asian market to peruse. Also, Asbel's original recipe called for grapeseed oil, but I had to switch that out for olive oil. Olive oil freezes at a higher temperature than grapeseed oil, so I had to adjust the cooling time for the oil.

I Googled markets and discovered PK Oriental in South Miami. A quick call to confirm they had agar agar, and I was on my way. Much to my delight, I ended up in idea heaven. PK had multiple flavors of agar agar, as well as aisle upon aisle of fun items to drive my imagination wild.

• Gretchen Cothron
• Fun foodie ingredients

My initial idea for the balsamic beads was to create a one-bite salad and use the beads in it. I found unflavored agar and grabbed it. I had our salad course--a cherry tomato with a drizzle of olive oil, a fresh piece of basil and a few beads of 'balsamic caviar'.

I then had to recreate our sandwich course. I refused to entirely scrape the PB&J idea, so I needed to improvise. I found a package of mango flavored agar. Score. I then came across Thai peanut satay sauce and decided the spicy sauce and sweet mango would make a wonderful sandwich.

For our soup/dessert, I opted for coconut cream, coffee flavored agar, and almond flavored agar. It would be part soup, part coffee dessert.

While I was in Miami shopping, David was in Manhattan for work and managed a quick pop into Chinatown for some additional ingredients that would become the most unexpected hit of the party: his Taiwanese whole sesame crabs.

Omar, also in NY, was in charge of cocktail ideas. His 'Jonestown Surprise' was an early hit at the party. However, the longer it sat, the more intense the pulverized Thai chilies became, burning tongues by the end of the event. Surprise!

• Gretchen Cothron
• David and Omar

David, Omar, and I gathered Saturday morning to create our dishes, having not tested if they would actually work. Much to our delight (and somewhat surprise), everything except one cocktail worked. To save time, I made the agar jellies Friday night, so they could sit and congeal slowly overnight. Herve This warns that allowing jellies to congeal too quickly (i.e. the fridge or freezer as opposed to coming to room temperature first) will cause a molecular breakdown that will ruin your jelly.

Here are our creations. Thank you to Maude Eaton and Jason Inasi for creating and hosting this wonderful gathering of foodies. And thank you to Asbel and Allison for the inspiration.

Cocktails:

Jonestown Surprise
Bakon vodka
Tomato juice (plain)
Wasabi Peas
Thai chilies
Spam

Combine vodka and tomato juice (1/3 vodka to 2/3 juice). Pulverize the wasabi peas and Thai chilies in a processor or bullet. Add to vodka/juice mixture. Add a few ice cubes and mix well. Serve in a shot glass with a garnish of Spam on a toothpick.

Summer Sunshine

Prosecco
Pear juice
Dried Japanese kumquats

Combine one bottle of prosecco with a quart of pear juice. Add ice and stir. Serve in small glasses with a kumquat as garnish. If you allow the kumquat to soak in the bottom of the glass, it slowly re-hydrates and turns into a nice finish to your cocktail.

Bubble Tea (non-alcoholic)

• Joan Nova
• Bubble tea

Green Tea
Tapioca pearls
Milk
Honey
Coconut cream

Cook tapioca pearls as directed on package. Steep tea; I used two tea bags to make it strong. Combine tea and milk, adding coconut cream and honey to taste. Add tapioca peals. This is best served in a pitcher with a ladle, so guests can ladle the pearls into their cups.

Foods

• Carolyn Cochran
• Tomato salad with balsamic caviar

Salad

Cherry tomatoes
Fresh basil
Olive oil (a very large bottle, you want it to be tall. I used a quart sized bottle)
Balsamic vinegar
agar agar
water

Begin by preparing your mise en place: core tomatoes (if you have a melon-baller use it; I had to use a paring knife), place a little drizzle of olive oil and a small piece of a basil leaf in each tomato. Set aside in fridge.
Balsamic caviar:

• Gretchen Cothron
• Creating balsamic caviar

Place the container of olive oil in the freezer for at least a half an hour, but not more than one hour. On the stove heat equal parts water and balsamic vinegar (I used 3.5oz of each). In a small mixing bowl, combine agar with water very slowly. You want to create a paste. You want to use 1% agar to your vinegar and water mixture; I used just over 3gms of agar to create my paste. Combine the agar paste into the vinegar mixture and stir until dissolved. Allow to slightly cool before placing in a kitchen syringe or other bottle-type instrument that will allow you to create small droplets. Pull the olive oil container from the freezer and place into a large bowl or pot. Create an ice bath around the bottle of oil. Carefully drop little droplets of the balsamic/water/agar mixture into the bottle of olive oil. As the droplets fall to the bottom of the oil container, they will congeal into 'caviar'. Once you have created enough caviar, pour the oil through a strainer to remove the balsamic caviar. You can reserve the oil for use at another time. Place a few pieces of balsamic caviar into each tomato.

• Gretchen Cothron
• PB&J

Not your Grandma's PB&J

White bread
Thai peanut satay sauce
Mango flavored agar agar dessert

Make you mango agar dessert ahead of time. I made mine the night before. You can allow the dessert to congeal in fun molds; I used heart shaped silicone molds for mine. Trim the crust from your bread, then cut each slice into four smaller pieces. Smear peanut satay on each slice. Place a mango dessert jelly on each piece.

• Carolyn Cochran
• Coconut soup

Coconut and Coffee Soup

Dehydrated coconut cream
Coffee agar dessert
Almond agar dessert

Make the coffee and almond agar jellies ahead of time. I allowed mine to conceal in ice cube trays, for the shape. Follow directions on package for cooking the coconut cream. Allow cream to cool and add in coffee and almond agar desserts. Can be served in bowls or shot glasses.

• Gretchen Cothron
• Wasabi surf and turf

David's wasabi surf and turf

Potatoes
Lump crab meat
Cream
Butter
Wasabi spiked nori pieces
Wasabi powder (or pre-made paste)
Salt and pepper
Braised beef sliced thin on the bias
Taiwanese sesame crabs, whole

Boil potatoes until tender. Mash with cream and butter to taste, added salt and pepper as desired. Gently fold in lump crab meat to taste. Mix your wasabi powder with water, or add water to your wasabi paste to create a sauce. Lay small squares of the nori on your serving tray. Place a spoonful of the crab mashed potatoes on each nori. Drizzle wasabi sauce over potatoes. Place either a whole Taiwanese crab or a slice of beef on top.

Easy homemade dressings

Store bought dressings tend to ruin your salads and dishes. Not by tasting bad, but by overloading your food with unnecessary calories and fat. According to the book Eat This Not That: Supermarket Survival Guide, Hidden Valley Ranch Original has 140 calories and 14 grams of fat. You may have guessed that ranch is high in fat and calories, but what about store bought vinaigrette? The same book states that Newman's Own Balsamic has 90 calories and 9 grams of fat. The book does list one low calorie and fat dressing, Ken's Lite Accent Italian Vinaigrette, but then warns that it "contains a chemist's list of ingredients."

Why should you sacrifice your health or weight on store bought dressings, when it is simple to make your own at home? Simple and fast. You can make a dressing as easily as adding oil and vinegar to a bottle and shaking; you can mix oil with an acidic liquid and herbs and whisk; or you can infuse herbs and spices by gently heating them in a saucepan on you stove. Here, I did all three techniques in creating four different vinaigrettes.

The first vinaigrette is the simplest. I just added dried chilli peppers into a bottle of white vinegar and allowed the peppers to rehydrate in the vinegar. This dressing is similar to the store bought peppers in vinegar that we all love to put on our collard greens down here in the South. It's also great to drizzle over broccoli or squash.
Ingredients
white vinegar
dried adobo chili peppers

The second dressing I made was inspired by the marinated mozzarella balls at Whole Foods. I loved the chilli flakes that they added and so I created this spin off. I put the olive oil in a sauce pan on the lowest setting on my stove. I added red chilli flakes and a dash of salt and pepper. I then crushed a garlic clove and added that in. Do not bring the mixture to a boil; you only want to heat it enough for the spices to infuse the oil. Add white (or your choice of) vinegar and remove from heat. Allow it to cool and put the mixture into a bottle. You can remove the spices from oil and vinegar mixture prior to adding it to the bottle; however, I like the look of the spices, and enjoy getting bursts of chili flakes in my salads.
Ingredients
extra virgin olive oil
white or red wine vinegar
dried red chili flakes
garlic (crushed)
salt
pepper

The third dressing is my take on the classic balsamic vinaigrette. I heat the oil in a sauce pan on the lowest stove setting as above. I then add crushed garlic and a dash of salt and pepper, and then add the balsamic. Allow to cool and pour it into a bottle.
Ingredients
extra virgin olive oil
balsamic vinegar
garlic (crushed)
salt
pepper

Finally, the fourth dressing is one that I whisk up fresh for salads, and I have also used it as a marinade/sauce on fish and chicken. It contains fresh lemon juice, so I do not store it for days on my counter as I do with more basic vinaigrettes. I mix fresh squeezed lemon juice and white wine vinegar and add various combinations of fresh and dried herbs depending on my dish. Typically, the herbs include basil, thyme, rosemary, and oregano; whether I use fresh or dried herbs is controlled by my garden.
Ingredients
extra virgin olive oil
fresh lemon juice
basil and thyme (or) rosemary and thyme (or) basil and oregano
salt
pepper

Making dressing at home is quick and simple. Since I made my first basic oil and vinegar combination, I have begun to adventure out and create new versions. Not only is the experimenting with vinaigrettes fun, I have not purchased a store bought vinaigrette for over a year, saving countless dollars. Have some fun, create some dressings, and make your salads healthier.

Zucchini "pasta" salad

I began using a peeler to create fun and light strips of vegetables a few months ago. It began with carrot strings in salads and has elevated to this beautiful dish. By using a peeler on vegetables, you can create light and visually attractive dishes instead of the typical chunky vegetables seen in dishes. This Zucchini "pasta" salad is light and healthy. It makes a fantastic side dish, and is great for summer picnics. I usually serve this with a light fish dish, but it is so tasty that I have even eaten it as a light meal.

The word zucchini comes from the Italian zucchino, meaning a small squash. The term squash comes from the Indian skutasquash meaning "green thing eaten green." Zucchini, Cucurbita pepo, is a member of the cucumber and melon family. Inhabitants of Central and South America have been eating zucchini for several thousand years, but the zucchini we know today is a variety of summer squash developed in Italy.

Zucchini had a reputation in the past as not being very nutritional. However, according to Ruth Litchfield, a nutrition expert at Iowa State University, one cup of cooked zucchini with its skin on provides 13 percent of the potassium recommended in the daily diet, as well as up to 19 percent of the vitamin C and up to 9 percent of the fiber. Zucchini is also high in carotenoids, which have been proven to ward off chronic diseases like cancer and heart disease. Even zucchini flowers provide some vitamin A, calcium and fiber.

Zucchini also had a reputation as being bland. However, by choosing smaller sized, organic zucchini, you can enjoy a tasty and less watery vegetable.

Zucchini "pasta" salad

Ingredients
(Note: Everything to taste)

Zucchini squash
Extra virgin olive oil
White vinegar
Dried red chili flakes
Tarragon
Garlic
Lemon juice
Salt and white pepper

Directions:

Use a vegetable peeler to create "pasta" strips from the zucchini. Mix all other ingredients to taste, and whisk to combine. Toss zucchini in the vinaigrette and allow to sit for at least ten minutes prior to serving.

Simply delish: Ham, Swiss and kale quiche

This ham, Swiss and kale quiche is a nice and simple meal that can be made ahead and refrigerated for several days. The addition of kale, instead of the typical spinach, adds texture and depth to the dish. The allspice and chili flakes go very well with the greens and eggs, nicely complementing the quiche overall.

I enjoy serving this dish with a tasty salad that I top with a simple olive oil and lemon dressing. A light salad and dressing combine well with the rich egg and cheese of the dish.

Ham and Veggie Quiche with Kale

Makes: one quiche

5 eggs

1/2 cup of 2% milk

Small block of Swiss cheese (about 4 oz.), diced

2 slices of deli ham, diced

1/2 bunch of kale, diced

3 large cherry tomatoes

1 clove of garlic

1 small shallot

1 pie crust (I used a whole wheat one.)

1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, as needed

Dash of salt and pepper

Dash of allspice

Dash of red chili flakes

Dash of Hungarian paprika

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Saute kale, garlic, and shallot in the olive oil, seasoning kale with a little salt and pepper.

2. Add kale mixture to pie crust. (I prefer Wholefoods' store brand whole wheat crust.) Top kale mixture with diced ham and diced cheese.

3. In a mixing bowl whisk egg, milk, all spice, paprika, and chili flakes, add a little pepper. Pour the egg mixture over other ingredients in pie crust and top with slices of cherry tomatoes.

4. Bake for 20 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350 degrees and let bake for another 15 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool before cutting.

Chicken soup from leftovers

Yesterday I dug through the fridge wondering what I could make that would be warming, delicious, and would not require a trip to the market. I decided on chicken noodle soup. It's an amazingly easy dish to make, and you can have fun with the ingredients and spices, as there is not only one way to make it. I opted for the crock pot, as I had some errands to run, and the crock pot would allow me to throw in a bunch of scraps from the fridge, set it to low, and run my errands while dinner cooked.
The soup turned out delicious, and really warming both in temperature and spiciness. It just goes to show that you can use you holiday leftovers without opting for sandwiches. The below recipe is what I happened to have on-hand. Play with it and create your own fun and delicious version.

Chicken soup recipe:

2 chicken breasts

2/3 white onion

4 whole scallions

2 celery stalks

3 carrots

1/2 zucchini

pint of baby portabella mushrooms

4 cloves garlic

1 can of diced "jalapeno and chili" tomatoes

1 hand full of spinach

8 cups of homemade beef stock

1 tbsp parsley

1 tsp dried chili flakes

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp rosemary

(all vegetables were diced in about even sizes)

Place all items in crock pot. Turn to low and allow to cook for five (5) hours.

Epicurean adventure: 24 hours in Manhattan

What would you do if you had just twenty-four hours in Manhattan? I was faced with this difficult question s few months ago when, on a whim, I flew to Manhattan to meet up with my boyfriend David. When an email offer of a super cheap plane ticket fell into my inbox, and with knowledge that I would not have to pay for a hotel, I quickly made dog-sitting arrangements and off I flew, no plan in hand. I knew two things going out: I wanted to eat a hotdog on the street, and I wanted to explore Eataly.

I jumped on a flight so early that I was the first person in line for security, TSA wasn’t even open yet. Tip for travelers: TSA screeners are pretty friendly at 5am. I landed just in time for brunch at L’Express. Some deliciously strong lattes and Eggs Benedict later, and we were ready for a short nap before exploring. Yes, a nap—you try getting up at 3am for a flight.

After our nap, we headed down to the Museum of Art & Design for the Dead or Alive exhibition. The exhibition was a fascinating exploration of art using death. There were sculptures made of bones, skulls made from spices by Helen Altman (at right), and a motorcycle made from the skeleton of a steer. All this made me suddenly get hungry. Luckily reentry was not an issue at the museum, so we left and found the requisite food cart in Columbus Circle. I had a New York style hotdog: cooked onions and spicy mustard; David had a chicken skewer sandwich. We sat and watched the bicycle tour guides trying to reel in anyone who passed them. We watched the traffic around the square, and the crazy pedestrians jolting out in front of cars. Ahhh, this is a New York lunch. We returned to the museum and viewed the rest of the exhibition. I think my favorite piece was a led light, bronze and dandelion installation by Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta that was beautiful and delicate. Each dandelion seed was hand placed into the piece.

Next, it was time to discover Eataly. Eataly was not that far removed from a museum. We walked in and our jaws dropped in awe at the beauty around us. It is the creation of Mario Batali, Joe Bastianich, Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and Farinetti. And in fact, as we perused the aisles,

we passed Lidia, who seemed to be keeping a mother's watchful eye over everyone. The 50,000 sq. ft. space is a wondrous adventure through Italian food delights. I nearly melted in the cheese aisle. And, then there were vegetables of colors and varieties I had never seen before. Fresh pastas and pizzas made while you watch. A cafe, a restaurant, and even a gadget shop. It was amazing, adventurous, and a little overwhelming.

After our adventure at Eataly, it was time to return to our friend's place, get dressed up and prepare to head out for the evening adventures. Our first stop of the evening was for drinks at a well-hidden magical mixology room, Raine's Law Room. The bar is one of the quintessential Manhattan spots, no signage, a stairwell that leads below the sidewalk ... you knock on the door, and a man menacingly peers out the door and simply asks what you want. With the mention of the right name, we were permitted into a dark room that was reminiscent of long-ago speakeasy. Groups relaxed in booths and whispered gently while sipping extravagant mixed cocktails. In the back room, we watched the bartenders expertly muddling, mixing, and shaking. And, if you venture past that room, there is a quiet outside area. One of those little few and far between delights of Manhattan, a spot to stare at the stars, and hide from the noise of the streets. Our favorite cocktails for the evening were the South Side Rickey, a combination of Beefeater gin, lime juice, simple syrup, fresh mint, and club soda, shaken and served down; and, the McHenry, which combined Plymouth gin, Dolin dry vermouth, and Marie Brizard apry, stirred and served up.

Our final adventure in Manhattan turned out to be quite a surprise. ABC Kitchen, by Jean-Georges Vongerichten was named Restaurant of the Year by Esquire magazine shortly after our visit. We knew that we were in for a treat, but we had no idea how wonderful our timing was, as it would soon be nearly impossible to obtain a reservation at the restaurant. ABC specializes in serving local and organic foods, and has a rooftop garden that supplies its greens and herbs. The food is prepared in such a seemingly simplistic way, that you immediately know there is a genius at work. The Peekytoe crab toast was light and citrusy. Radishes with butter: does it get any simpler or light? The fluke sashimi was irresistible. I could have eaten it all night. It was ever so delicately prepared with a dash of olive oil, tarragon, sea salt, pepper, and garnished with little grapes. Sauteed corn with manchego, jalapenos, and lime was delightfully spicy and covered in cheese. The sauteed arctic char swam in a bowl of summer beans, lime, and spicy corn broth. The roasted squash was comforting, and yet had a hint of spice. And, of course I could not pass up the pomme frittes with truffle and parmesan.

We departed ABC sometime after midnight, and there were still guests arriving to eat dinner. New York truly doesn't sleep. But, one thing they do well is eat. Whew, what a whirlwind of fun.

When I returned to Miami, one of the first things I did was try to recreate the squash dish. I actually stopped by the market on the way home from the airport and sought out beautiful squash. Following is the recipe I created in trying to copy Jean-George.

Roasted Summer Squash

yellow crookneck squash

zucchini squash

olive oil

salt

fresh ground black pepper

red chili flakes

cayenne

parmesan

lemon

Cut squash into even size pieces. Place in a mixing bowl and drizzle with olive oil, a dash of salt, pepper, cayenne, and red chili flakes. Mix gently to cover squash. Place in a baking dish and bake uncovered at 350 until edges start to brown (about 20-30 minutes). Remove from oven and grate parmesan over it. Return to oven for about ten minutes, or until cheese is browning. Remove, plate, and sprinkle with lemon juice.

BLT & poached egg salad

I'm calling this my contracts power brunch.
I finished my civil procedure exam yesterday, and am now preparing for my contracts exam scheduled for Monday. Contracts is the course that I am most worried about. I think I am too mathematical in my contracts reasoning. It must be the science background. After the practice midterm, I was told that I need to be more creative and not miss the forest for the trees. So, I am nervous for this upcoming exam. To help quell my nerves, I made a delicious salad incorporating some of my favorite ingredients (bacon & eggs) with chamomile flowers, which are allegedly nerve calming and soothing. The recipe is below; I have to get back to my friends Epstein and Emanuel, Enjoy!
Note: there is no butter in this salad. Gasp! Boo! Hiss! Buttered toast is a nice addition.

Salad:
handful of mixed greens
six cherry tomatoes, halved
small bunch of sprouts
tsp or so of feta
1 piece of bacon, cut into half or smaller pieces
two eggs
2 tsp chamomile flowers (if you don't have them loose, you can use a bag of chamomile "tea")
Dash of hot sauce (I used Gator Hammock)
salt & pepper to taste

Add chamomile flowers to your pot of poaching water, and bring it to the point where it is just about to boil, but not to a boil. Fry your bacon and poach your eggs. If you don't know how to poach eggs, go to my prior blog post here. Layer your salad ingredients and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Then top with bacon and eggs. Put a dash of hot sauce on the eggs. The runny egg yolk will mix with the hot sauce and create your dressing; no need for additional salad dressing.

Tilapia with lemon-thyme-butter sauce and sauteed spinach

I'm writing this two days before my first 1L exam. Civil Procedure. Gasp! Yes, students who are currently freaking out, I took fifteen minutes out of reviewing to do this. I came to the realization yesterday, while watching some fellow students walk around campus in a crazed-paranoid panic, that at this point in the semester either you've got it, or you don't. So, I reviewed the majority of my day, but I also ran a mile, took a fifteen minute nap, and blogged after making dinner. Two days before finals is not the time to panic, the panic will only bleed into your exam (a little forensic humor). Now is the time to review, be healthy, eat healthy, and enjoy having accomplished a semester of 60 hour a week studying. Eat well, my friends ... I have to get back to reviewing Civ Pro...

I made this recipe for one, just me. I'm stingy that way. You can share it by doubling or tripling. I don't typically measure ingredients, so use your discretion, as I am estimating what I used. If you have discretion.
For the goodness of flavor, don't over salt everything. Yes, you grandpa, I'm calling you out. Simple, delicate flavors are best.

Tiliapia:
1/2 of your typical big tilapia fillet
4 tbsp seasoned flour for fish frying
pinch of thyme
smaller pinches of salt and fresh ground pepper
3 tsp butter
1/8 cup wine
juice of 1/2 lemon

Heat a frying pan to med-high. Combine seasoned flour, thyme, salt, and pepper in a plastic bag. Add wet fish, seal and toss to coat. Add one tsp butter to pan, add fish and cook for approximately 2-3 minutes per side depending on thickness, adding one more tsp of butter when you turn the fish. Remove fish and allow to rest. Add wine, last tsp of butter, and lemon juice to pan and heat. Add a dash of the leftover seasoned flour and whisk. Pour sauce over fish.

Meanwhile...

Sauteed spinach with tomatoes
I made this while the fish cooked. Actually, I heated up this pan at the same time as the fish pan. As soon as I added the fish to its respective pan, I began throwing the ingredients for this dish into its pan.

2 small shallots, minced
2 small cloves of fresh garlic, minced
juice of 1/2 a lemon
6-8 cherry tomatoes, halved
several handfuls of fresh spinach
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp bacon grease (or butter, or oil)

Add grease to pan and heat to medium. Add shallots and saute until clear. Throw in garlic and tomatoes. Cook for just about a minute-don't burn your garlic. Toss in spinach, season with salt & pepper. Squeeze lemon over the spinach. Toss gently to combine the flavors. Cover and remove from heat.

I served this with white rice. You know how to make rice. Make it, or don't.

Culinary adventure: Miami foodie meetup at Sugarcane Raw Bar and Grill

Everything is changing around here. And, I am not just talking about CL Tampa's new look, either. For those who do not know, I moved to South Florida a few months ago to attend law school at University of Miami, and entered into a sometimes scary, sometimes exciting, all the time interesting, new world of culture, cuisine, exotic fruits and food lovers.

I can now say that I have been initiated into the South Florida foodie scene.

In preparation to moving to Miami, I began following fellow food bloggers and adventurers on Twitter. After some follow-backs and back and forth tweet banter, I found myself receiving an invitation by the grand diva of Miami foodies herself, Maude Eaton, a South Florida food lover and writer. I was invited to a tweetup of the South Florida Foodies, a private facebook group of food lovers and tweeters. The secret tweetup would be a $35 prix fix menu brunch at Sugarcane Raw Bar and Grill in Midtown Miami. And, it just happened to take place the weekend after my move south.


I could not have had a more welcome diversion from a week spent getting lost and running into language barriers in a town where I had not one friend, and everyone drives crazy. Not crazy like Tampa, crazy like, well, let's just say that I have never seen driving like this outside of San Juan or Manhattan. It's really an unexplainable mix of North Easterners and foreigners. A word of caution: When you come down to Miami, pause before advancing when the light turns green; it's almost guaranteed that someone will run the red light. It was a bit of a traumatic first week for me. I had only explored a five mile radius around my condo and was already overwhelmed and feeling alone.

I didn't expect very much from the tweetup aside from finally meeting some people while snacking on hors d' oeuvres. I was even at one point contemplating canceling due to the drive I'd have to make. US 1 and I-95? Oh geez! But things were about to look up.

I was in for a surprise. Our brunch turned out to be a full sit down tasting, with free flowing specialty cocktails. We trekked the menu starting with a luscious and light lobster bisque served with mini beignets on the side.


We moved on to bacalao, which I had never had before; comprised of dried salt cod, a unique flavor that I'll have again some day. Following that were salads featuring beets and crispy poached eggs. I was amazed at how they managed to bread and fry an egg while maintaining a runny yolk.

We were then surprised by a course not on our tasting menu: duck fried in confit, with whole wheat waffles and maple syrup, served with a pickled watermelon salad; incredibly rich and interesting. A whole roasted chicken was next, served family style with corn and truffled fingerling potatoes -- I could have eaten this all day.

The meal ended with a delightful almond milk blanc-manger with drunken cherries. As we sat excitedly discussing the meal we just enjoyed, we were surprised by a visit from both the restaurant's chef, Timon Balloo, and manager, Joshua Rubenstein, who were just as excited to treat food tweeters and bloggers, as we were to eat their food. Those two are smart social marketers.

I left Sugarcane feeling welcome into my new city. I met fellow foodies who are destined to become friends and fellow culinary travelers. There was Olee, a sweetheart who helped me with the parking station before we even discovered that we'd be sharing a table; Jason, an advertising executive, and long distance runner; Jean Marc, a world traveler on his way to Cape Cod; and, of course, Maude, who was a darling diva and host, sprightly introducing everyone, and dashing around like the fairy godmother of Miami's foodie kingdom. They not only made some of my jitters disburse, they made me eager to begin my next excursion into the culinary canvas of Miami.

To leave you with a taste of Miami, SugarCane Raw Bar was kind enough to send me the recipe for my new favorite cocktail, the Spice of Love.