REPOST: whipped lightening

um... This says its all.  Alcoholic whipped cream.  I'm gonna get some of this all up in my coffee!  Fantastic idea. 

Find it here: http://www.whippedlightning.com/index.jsp

REVIEW: Palace Bar & Grill, Miami Beach

If you're in Southbeach and want to eat on Ocean Drive but don't want to get ripped off in every sense, just go to Palace.  Basically every other restaurant has ridiculously over-sized cocktails for $12-18 bones, dinner specials that aren't always quite what they seem,  and frankly the food isn't all that.  You're paying for the atmosphere and that's it. Palace is veeery different though, its a regular Bar and Grill-  No bells or whistles, no huge cocktail glasses.  A sandwich and a vodka-soda at Palace is going to cost you what a sandwich and vodka-soda will cost you in DC or San Francisco.  Only thing is you have the view of "blue skies, sunshine, white sand by the mile." I got a slammin fajita wrap which came with a small salad, guac, sour cream and salsa. GREAT way to start your weekend away. Palace Bar and Grill 12th and Ocean, Miami Beach

REVIEW: David's Cafe, Miami Beach

So if you're a regular on South Beach you've probably at least heard of David's Cafe.  Its been there for forever, the food is fantastic and what hit me the most was just this last time when I was walking in, and there was a huge hand-written sign on the door that said something [almost exactly] like this, "To all our loyal customers and visitors, due to these harsh economic times we have lowered the price of everything on our menu.  Best of luck."  I saw that and was like, "Are you kidding me?"  I'd never seen that before.. EVER... well, I grabbed a special that night which was for twenty bucks it was soup or salad, I chose pumpkin soup (which was fantastic- it was brothy, not thick), and then my entree was a fillet of snapper that was itself filleted, had a layer of guava jelly in between then battered with dried coconut and flash fried.  OMG. so good, then came with rice, beans, and a glass of sangria.  Ugh, I can't wait to go back! David's Cafe  1058 Collins Ave. Miami Beach  and 1654 Meridian Ave, Miami beach

REVIEW: 8oz Burger Bar, Miami Beach

Holy Toledo, this is the place to go for a burger in Miami.  I know there are a bunch of offensively large artery-clogging burger places in Miami Beach but check this out.  I went with my friends Addy and Shawn is I can honestly say it was the best burger in a long time. This is from their website "Our signature burgers are "The 8oz" and "The Melrose", and are made with the highest quality humanely raised, hormone-free Black Angus sirloin, blended with short rib, chuck, and tri tip. We grill our burgers over live Texas oak, giving them an unmistakable taste that is all our own. Our natural grass-fed beef, free-range turkey and bison, and homemade veggie/vegan burgers can be customized endlessly with the long list of seasonal, house-made extras, sauces, and sides."  They've designed a bunch of different burgers (they're not all as unhealthy as ones we got- pictured above) but you can even build your own. 8oz Burger Bar, 1080 Alton Rd, Miami Beach, Florida 33139(305) 397-8246

palm heart ceviche

Delicious recipe that anyone will love- but even better if you have vegans or or people with gluten issues coming over and you want to please everyone.  Get two cans of palm hearts*-  the ones labeled as tips and ends are fine (they're cheaper too) since you'll be chopping them into bite-sized pieces anyway.  Put them in a container with the juice of 4-6 limes (depending how juicy), one lemon cut in thin slices, two jalapeños, half a red onion very thinly sliced, and salt and pepper to taste.  Let this marinate in the fridge for at least an hour but you can do this well in advance.  Serve the palm heart/onion/jalapeño mixture chilled with only a bit of the marinade (don't let everything be swimming in juice), chopped fresh cilantro, a few wedges of avocado, and if you like with a 1/4 ear of boiled corn.  Any left over juices can get sopped-up with bread, added to a meat or fish marinade or used in a salad dressing.

*Costa Rica has great sustainable palm heart production so aim for that when shopping.

fresh and healthy meat chili

In a large pot, coat the bottom with olive oil and sautee some chopped onions, carrots, celery, and jalapeños  till they begin to soften.  Throw in a package of ground beef* with a 2 tablespoons or Worcestershire sauce and slowly cook till the meat is no longer pink.  Get a bag of frozen bell pepper strips and trow them in a blender with olive oil, juice from 3-4 limes, garlic and some salt.  Add the blended peppers to the pot with 2 cups of frozen corn.  Let everything get to a light boil and reduce the heat to simmer.  Add a can of drained and rinsed black beans, a can of white beans and a can garbanzo beans to the pot.  Simmer for another 5 minutes and serve warm with cracked black pepper and a lemon wedge.  Fresh herbs always make a nice touch too. 

*I only ever you beef that's been ground in the store.  That way you know its one or two or three pieces of clean meat that get fed by and into a grinder and with no filler.  Prepackaged beef or "hamburger meat" often has filler and is processed in industrial facilities where attention is not always given to cleanliness of the food or equipment.

pasta with squid ink

OMG this was sooo good.  My gift from Shannon from Barcelona, it was an already prepared seafood and squid ink sauce.  The pasta got cooked with it and man, my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

I'm looking everywhere to try and find it in the US.

REWARD for anyone that can find me some!

greek bruschetta

Its pronounced broo-ske-ta, just so you know.  But when I was in reading, PA, of all places, I saw this and its a great idea.  Get a bag or mini pitas and throw them on a cookie sheet, put a slice of tomato on top and toss it all in the broiler for only a minute- don't leave it too long or it'll burn- just to toast it a little.  Then drop some cubbed feta cheese on top with some parsley and black pepper and drizzle some olive oil.  Retoast if you want the cheese to melt a little more and serve warm. Yum yum

quinoa

So a couple people have asked me recently where to find and how to cook quinoa.  Well, long story short, this is an awesome grain and hot in any restaurant pretending to be healthy.  Find it in bulk at Whole Foods and in boxes in the healthy food section of most grocery stores these days.  It comes in red and white.  The red has a heartier taste but rumor has it that they both carry the same nutritional value.  To cook you do 2 cups of water for every cup of quinoa.  Bring to a boil and let simmer, cover it and cook till all the water's absorbed in about 15 minutes.  Use this as a substitute for rice or couscous- its really pretty good.

DRINK: blackberry rum

So a month or 2 ago I went with Lita, Vic and a couple friends to Homestead Farms in Virginia to go peach and berry picking.  Tons of fun.  Great relaxing day, you get to picnic, get a hotdog if that's how you roll and just chill in the sun.  Well, we got so many blackberries I wasn't sure what to do with them since pie isn't really my thing.  I ate a bunch, smoothied even more, froze a huge tupperware, and with the rest I divided them into mason jars pack with a washed lemon rind and half a cup of sugar.  Once they're all packed in fill the remaining space with white rum.  Close tightly and refrigerate for at least 2-3 weeks occasionally  turning the jar upside down and right sight up again to help dissolve the sugar. This soon becomes an amazing treat as the blackberries swell with alcohol and the rum turns dark purple.  Try couple spoons of this over vanilla ice cream.  mmmmMMMM