Mami's Dulce De Leche Cortada (Sweet Cheese Curds) Recipe

As years fade into one another, I see my mom in a different light. She's no longer this super human who cures all boo-boos, can wipe my tears and calm my fears in one swift hug and has stunning aim with her chancleta, no matter the distance. She's a woman who's aging, who's body is starting to fail her, but still has exquisite aim with her chancleta. The realization that my time with her won't last forever becomes clearer to me with each passing day. With that sad realization comes the fact that I want to desperately, somehow, hold on to the things that made me cherish my childhood. One of those things is my mom's cooking, but like many Hispanic mom's there's no set recipe. It's a little of this, un poco de esto, bastante de aquello. There's no science to my mother's delicious culinary madness. However, little by little I am getting the recipes or as close as I can get to a set recipe. I'll be posting them here, but to be perfectly honest, I am posting them here more for me than for you.

Dulce De Leche Cortada

Win A Trip On The Magical Miami Brew Bus!

A while back I was invited to check out the second run of Miami Brew Bus, a new venture by the folks behind Lokal offering people a safe and boozy way to check out the blossoming South Florida craft beer scene. For $60 you get your ass on an air conditioned bus and check out 3 local breweries that are molding the face of South Florida craft beer. As with all other food trends, Florida is running on Cuban time when it comes to craft beer. However, we're quickly making up for lost time and some amazing breweries are rapidly popping up through out the state.

Cheesy Butternut Squash and Roasted Garlic Galette Recipe

As you may have noticed, I'm a fan of galettes. All the prettiness of a pie without all the fuss... what's not to like?! Well, I decided to give this whole "Meatless Monday," business a try and make myself a vegetarian dish for dinner. I googled and I pinned my little heart out until I found this recipe on Food52 for a Butternut Squash and Roasted Garlic Galette. I took their recipe and tweaked it here and there. So as a result I'm sharing my take on it here for those that asked about it on social media.

Burger Brawl Ticket Giveaway!

As some of you may already know, Burger Beast, is hosting a pretty epic burger event on May 9, 2014 called The Burger Brawl. Twenty local restaurants will be competing for the title of Best Burger in South Florida and attendants will get to sample all 20 burgers. Yep, you read that right. In addition to twenty burger joints, there will also be Sakaya Kitchen setting up a tater tot bar, Cuban Fritas from El Rey De Las Fritas, dessert from HipPOPs Handcrafted Gelato Bars, Azucar Ice Cream Company, Marlie’s Delights, and Sugar Yummy Mama. Need something to wash all of that food down? BB has you covered with beer from Samuel Adams, Jupiña, Materva and wine from Cerdà, Llanos y Cià.

Bocce Bar In Midtown Makes Me Happy

Bocce Bar is the sister restaurant (and neighbor) to Sugarcane Raw Bar Grill. I fell in love with Sugarcane soon after it opened, so it was absolutely necessary that I check out Bocce Bar. The restaurant is rustic yet modern and all around suuuper cute. I've been there a total of three times for lunch thus far and every time I am left happy and full. There's a lot of food to cover on this post, so I'll let the pictures do the majority of the talking.

Pero like, how cute are these place settings?!

I Spend My Friday Nights Making Salted Caramel Sauce (Recipe)

Being single has its pros and its cons. Spending my Friday night at home, drinking wine not needing to shave and making salted caramel sauce is a pro, in my book. Especially, the not needing to shave part (ladies, can I get an AMEN on that one?!) but I digress. A friend recently made an amazing salted caramel frosting and I obsessed over making my own salted caramel for over a week. After I looked up the ingredients and realized how god-damn easy it is, I knew I had to make it for myself. I looked up tons of recipes on salted caramel sauce made about 3 different ones, then I did my own thang and came up with my own recipe that I liked best.

Double Chocolate Chip Pancake Recipe for National Pancake Day

I woke up inspired and hungry this morning. For some reason I woke up craving pancakes and then it dawned on me that it was National Pancake Day, so naturally I made myself some pancakes. I wasn't going to just make any ol' pancakes, that would just be ridiculous. I turned it up a notch and made myself some fluffy, double chocolate chip pancakes and threw on a giant dollop of homemade whipped cream por si las moscas. So here's my recipe for you to enjoy.

Double Chocolate Chip Pancakes with Homemade Whipped Cream

Sprung Beer Festival VIP Giveaway!

The Sprung Beer Festival is making its way back to Coconut Grove's Peacock Park on March 8, 2014 and you can not miss it. Put on by the same group that makes Grovetoberfest possible every year, this beer event will not and does not disappoint. With well over 150 beers ranging from local brews to national big name beers there will be something for just about every palate. There will also be tons of food from local restaurants as well as tons of games.

Sundays Were Made For Baking: Blackberry Galette With Homemade Whipped Cream Recipe

On Sundays I like to bake, when I'm anxious I like to bake and when I am stressed out I like to bake. Kind of like Izzie Stevens from Grey's Anatomy. For whatever reason, it's very cathartic and relaxing for me. So what does one do with 3 dozen cookies or a couple dozen muffins? I give them away to my friends, of course. Recently, I was going to a potluck recently and I wanted to make a pie, but wasn't in the mood for all the work. So I decided to make a galette AKA the lazy man's pie. It's a free form pie/tart and it is fabulous. It looks rustic and pretty, so you get points for a beautifully baked pie without all the work. It's a win-win if you ask me.

SOBEWFF Merch Giveaway!

The 2014 South Beach Wine & Food Festival (SOBEWFF) is less than a week away and this gluttonous, weekend-long festival never disappoints. With about 75 different events ranging from trade seminars, intimate dinners by celebrity chefs and balls-to-the-wall food extravaganzas, there is something here for just about everyone.

 

Shameless Self Promotion

First and foremost, Happy Valentine's Day! I found a little card for you, I hope you enjoy it.

A little offal humor from Grumpy Cat

OTC Giveaway!

One year ago I wrote about OTC, a fast casual joint that had come to Brickell offering New American fare and craft beer. The place has gone through some internal changes and they're offering a completely different menu, but still have lots of great beer. So I'm giving you, yea YOU, a chance to check out their new menu on me.

Cheesesteak Sliders from OTC's new menu - Photo courtesy of OTC

Kouzina Greek Bistro: I Really Want To Love You, But Like IDK

Recently, I talked about La Latina and just three doors down from this restaurant is a Greek bistro that you may have had no idea even existed. Hiding in broad daylight, Kouzina Greek Bistro is completely covered by a thick wall of ficus hedge on one of Midtown's busiest intersections. I've visited this restaurant about 4-5 times now and I still can't make up my mind on whether or not I like it. The reason for this is the food is mostly really good with only a couple of misses, but excruciatingly slow and dismissive service is what puts me on the fence.

Hip Pops Gelato - Handcrafted Gelato Bars, Handcrafted Awesomeness.

Hip Pops Gelato popped onto the scene in mid 2012. This family owned and operated kosher truck serves handcrafted gelato and sorbet pops that can be dipped in your choice of chocolate then topped with a variety of toppings. With lots of eager anticipation, this food truck stood out from the very beginning. With high quality ingredients and top notch customer service, there is no wonder why this truck was an instant fan favorite.

With hundreds of possible combinations, no two hip-pops are ever quite the same. To read the rest of this post, please click here.

It's Peanut Buttah Jelly TIme! Peanut Butter and Jelly Blondie Recipe

I may be a grown adult, but my love for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches knows no bounds. While tinkering in my kitchen the other day, I decided to make a peanut butter and jelly blondie. The result was a childhood treat revisited and modified. I played with the recipe a couple of times until I found a consistency I was happy with, this meant ingesting about a couple dozen blondies. Real sacrifices going on over here for this recipe, let me tell ya. So I've decided to share the recipe with my fellow pb&j fans.