Coca Cola Ribs in the Slow Cooker
I find it fascinating to learn about a person’s go-to recipe. Their secret weapon. A tried-and-true recipe that they’ve kept close to their heart not only for its versatility, but also for its crowd-pleasing ability. These are the recipes that define a person. Astrological signs? Pfft. Ask them what they cook for the people they love.
I have an uncle who brings out the big guns every Christmas Eve – a huge, creamy caramel flan. Every year we experience the same routine – cr…Continue Reading
Vegan Beet Burger (Or: The Magic of Vegan Cooking)
As a meat-eater and recent deserter of a world of picky-eating, I experience complete and utter culinary freedom. So when Carlos’ vegan Aunt Anna came to stay with us last weekend and wanted to experience our talents in the kitchen, the list of restrictions made us cower in fear. “Maybe we’ll just buy her some fruit. Or we’ll take her to Oolite. They’ve got some vegan-friendly stuff, right?”
By our second night together, we continued to take the cowardly, easy route and sug…Continue Reading
In Defense of the $30 Pizza
Strolling through the trendy South Beach neighborhood of Sunset Harbor, I came across Lucali, a sit-down pizza joint famous for their long lines at their original Brooklyn location, and more notably, their pricey $30 pies.
“$30?” I auto-calculated as I scanned the menu, trying to fight my fondness toward globs of hot cheese and the urgency to throw money at my hunger problem. But something didn’t sit quite right about going somewhere nice, having a glass of wine and racking…Continue Reading
Mom and Dad Go to Finka Table and Tap
Taking my parents out to dinner is a game of chance. Age, experience, and generally strong opinions typically lead us to dine at “safe choices,” places like their favorite local Cuban restaurant, or a major chain – usually Ruby Tuesday or Macaroni Grill.
They’re very well aware that these are subpar places, but the point is – they’re expectedly subpar. No surprises here, folks. The Fettuccini Alfredo is bland, the server is disinterested, and even though the dessert menu ne…Continue Reading
Slow Cooker Lasagna (Or: Things You Shouldn’t Slow-Cook)
Using the slow cooker to make your dinner is kind of like making your bed in the morning. You’re doing a really nice favor to a future, more tired version of yourself. The few times I ever accomplish this feat in premeditation, I get home to a hot meal and a crisply made bed. “I should’ve just married myself,” I usually decide.
In searching for a new slow cooker recipe, I came across the concept of slow cooked lasagna. Lasagna has always been the epitome of convenience in m…Continue Reading
Bourbon Steak
On rare occasions, I enjoy very adult, very American dining experiences. It’s a nice break from eating at restaurants that try to create bizarre, unfamiliar experiences – places where ordering the silliest sounding dish satisfies my desperate attempts in feeling some semblance of emotion.
I wanted to eat rib eye. I wanted a big, fat, buttery lobster. But I still wanted to feel things. This is why Bourbon Steak was my first choice in the Miami Spice circuit this yea…Continue Reading
Japanese Kit Kat + Giveaway!
On my trip to Japan, I made it a point to collect every flavor of Kit Kat I found along the way. I went on an epic vacation scavenger hunt for these things, walking into supermarkets, convenience stores and souvenir shops stuffing my purse with chocolates that ended up melting into green tea and cheesecake-flavored goop.
There have been over 200 absurd-sounding flavors of Kit Kat chocolates in Japan since 2007, each version representing the local flavors and palate of the …Continue Reading
Anatomy of Ramen: Soy Sauce Eggs (Shoyu Tamago)
After returning home from a pretty bankrupting trip to Japan, it was difficult to fathom not going back. It felt like someone I loved had gone away forever. It was the kind of vacation experience you talk to people about in an overly emotional way while their eyes glaze over in boredom. No one ever understands, but that’s okay.
In an insane effort to retain my memories from Japan, I scurried around Miami shopping at every Asian and Japanese market I could find to purchase t…Continue Reading
A Salmon Recipe for People Who Don’t Like Salmon
I grew up in a relatively salmon-less household. It was a pink, dangerous-looking piece of meat. The fish aisle at the supermarket always seemed out-of-bounds and untouchable. My family always considered salmon to be a fishy fish and instead opted for the agreeably bland tilapia, which we inevitably deep-fried and ate as tilapia nuggets. We were lying to ourselves, eating tasteless fish masked in oily, delicious batter just to say we were eating fish.
There had to be mo…Continue Reading
How to Make a French 75
This is a French 75. It looks wimpy and inappropriate for most drunken occasions. I have often found myself in the middle of a sports bar delicately sipping on a champagne glass adorned with a lemon peel while a bunch of sweaty bros elbow me in the face during a celebratory cheer.
They don’t know the secret.
Everything about the French 75 is deceiving. The fragile glass. The bubbly champagne. The stupid, curly lemon peel. It’s secret weapon is a healthy dose of gin h…Continue Reading