Miami Nice

"Party in the city where the heat is on
All night on the beach till the break of dawn
Welcome to Miami
Buenvenidos a Miami"
(Will Smith--"Miami")

I know--2 posts in a month! Hold your collectives selves back!

Spent the last week in the sauna known as Miami...seriously, we bitch about the heat here in the South, but Miami takes it to a whole new level. On Friday morning, at 5:45 a.m., as we leave for the airport, it was like walking into a sauna. I fully expected some fat balding dudes in gold chains and towels to be sitting in the parking lot of the Coconut Grove Hampton Inn, ladling water on rocks to create more steam and humidity.

I was all psyched to see beautiful people and the CSI Miami crime lab...which we know is not really in Miami, but one can always hope...there's way too much parking for it to be in Miami. According to Wikipedia, it's actually the Federal Aviation Administration Federal Credit Union headquarters in Long Beach, CA. I practiced my "Horatio Caine Stare of Justice (tm)" and standing around with my hands on my hips, looking pensive.

Of course, I was there for work, so no hanging out on SoBe, but we did a drive-by of the area and looked at the cool Art Deco historic district. Walked on the beach for a few minutes, and then hopped back in the car as fast as we could, because it was too darn hot!

Y'all know that I usually try to avoid chain restaurants if at all possible, but sometimes, the first night you are in a place, you just go for the familiar. We had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, they of the 1,000-page menu, and did opt for dessert, because they had Red Velvet Cheesecake. And, since there is a donation to the national foodbank network for each slice sold, I felt that I had to do my part. And, I thought it was pretty awesome...how could it not be? Layers of red velvet cake alternating with layers of cheesecake and covered with cream cheese frosting? (No lectures on the obesity of America, please! I'm not eating it every day...although, I am glad that there's not a CF anywhere in my vicinity. Temptation, thy name is Velvet, Red Velvet!)

And, when thou art in Miami, thou must partake of Cuban food. Sometimes, when I travel with other co-workers, I'm not sure if s/he will want to be adventurous...so far, I haven't had anyone keel over from eating in a strange place, but I guess there is always the first time. But, I think Cuban is a safe bet--it's rice, beans, pork...all familiar foods, and sooooo delicioso!

We ate lunch at a place in downtown Miami, El Cacique Lunch Restaurant Cafe. It was like a diner/coffee shop, with some daily specials and a regular menu of sandwiches, salads, and entrees. We ate there twice, because it was convenient and most tasty. I had a wonderful roast pork with moros y cristianos (black beans and rice mixed together) and a couple of large hunks of yucca. Normally, I shy away from yucca, because it tastes like library paste to me...not that I really know what library paste tastes like, but it's how I imagine it to be...never understood that paste eating thing. Why would you eat that stuff? There was a kid in my kindergarten that could not get enough of that stuff, and he had to be watched every time we used it for arts and crafts time.

This time, I add a liberal sprinkling of salt and pepper, and it was really like eating a boiled potato. The next day for lunch, one of the specials was stewed oxtails with rice, black beans, and maduros, which are caramelize sweet plantains. (Tostones are the savory version of plantains; use greener plantains, slice, smash, and pan fry, then sprinkle with a little salt.)

Moros y cristianos is a popular dish in many Latin American cuisines...it refers to the black Muslims (black beans) and white (rice) Christians who lived in Spain, side-by-side on the Iberian Pennisula...probably before Columbus discovered America...before the Inquisition...according to the Internets. There's other versions with rice and pink or red beans, or pigeon peas, usually called congri, which may have its roots in Haiti.

Most of the Cuban places that I saw were like El Cacique, and they had walk-up windows for coffee and sandwiches. There were usually several folks hanging around the window area, chatting, smoking cigarettes, and drinking cafe con leche (coffee with milk). I was getting rather fond of my afternoon cafe con leche with evaporated milk by the time we left.

A business trip to Miami is not the way to spend time there, especially not in August. I would dearly love to go back in say, February, when it's kind of cold and rainy, and explore more of the area. We did drive down Calle Ocho (8th Street), which is the heart of Little Havana, but we didn't have time to do any real exploration.

However, we did get a little up close and personal Miami Vice action when we were walking to lunch on the 3rd day of the visit...went to an Italian place that was very good. There were 6 of us standing on the corner, waiting for the light to change so we could cross the street. A guy on a bike, with a girl walking beside him, rides up to the corner and starts to cross the street. This was a one-way street, and a car just slides over the curb in front of us, another pulls up crossway in the crosswalk and sort of blocks the guy, and several powerful looking guys in T-shirts with "Gang Unit" across the back hop out of the cars and "assist" the bicycle guy across the street, patting him down as the moved him. It was very slick and quick, with a minimum of fuss. We were all in a bit of shock about what just happened, but that's how they roll in Miami...when pedestrians are not walking out in front of your car at random places on the street...but that's a whole 'nother story.

While I was living it up in Miami, The Man took the Fat Dog to the vet for a dental cleaning. While the vet was prepping him for the procedure, because you have to knock them out to do this, he found a mass in the Fat Dog's mouth. It was "about the size of a cocktail meatball," according to The Man, which means I will never be able to eat another cocktail meatball, and the doctor thinks that he got it all. He sent it off to a pathologist, and we should know more about it this coming week. X-rays and bloodwork were performed to see if anything was unusual and possibly spread into other poodle nooks and crannies, and those tests all came back okay. Pound for pound, the Fat Dog has now become the Most Expensive Poodle on the Planet...or at least in my neighborhood.

Oh, and in smoker news, I am continuing my experimentation. (For the record, The Man's experimentation was last weekend, while I was at brunch with some former co-workers. He had read something somewhere about smoking hotdogs and had been itching to try it. He put some brats and some hot dogs on while I was gone. The brats were okay, but the hotdogs had the consistency of Slim Jims...dried out old Reagan-era Slim Jims...I believe they were on a little too long.) (Oh, and that link to the Slim Jim website has music and some whack-a-doo graphics...really strange stuff. And, please do not try to figure out what exactly goes into a Slim Jim. If you ate them in your larval youth stage, before you knew better than to eat stuff like that, you may not ever want to eat again...just my .02)

This weekend, I smoked some pork ribs and some chicken pieces. Used the hickory chips again, and for the liquid, I used a 2-liter of Publix black cherry soda and some water. (The smoker recipe booklet mentioned using orange soda, so why not black cherry?) I rubbed the chicken pieces with the Israeli Spice Rub that I mentioned in my last post, because I really like that on chicken. I rubbed the ribs with this rub, which was on a sticky note on my fridge and I more than likely got it from the Internet, but I can't find the source, so please forgive me, anonymous Dave out there.

Dave's Rub

2 Tbs chili powder
1 Tbs dried oregano
1 Tbs sweet paprika
2 tsp garlic powder
4-5 pinches of salt
15 grinds of black pepper

I oiled up the chicken pieces and put the Israeli rub on, and then just rubbed the Dave's Rub on the ribs. The chicken turned out really well--moist and delicious, with a hint of cherry. The ribs were a little dry, so I think I may have to experiment with marinating pork. The chicken pieces were bone-in and skin-on, so that helped keep them moist and tasty. I think the ribs just needed a little something extra--be it marinade or a wet glaze on them before smoking. The Man mentioned brining the pork to see how that would work, and that sounds intriguing. Maybe, I could use apple juice in the water pan to bring out the apple left from brining in cider vinegar. Hmm...this bears a little more forensic investigation...let me get my sunglasses!


UPDATE: This morning (8/31), we heard back from the veterinarian about the pathology report. The tumor from the Fat Dog's mouth is a malignant melanoma. Not exactly what you want to hear early in the morning, or at any time for that matter. The vet thinks that he got it all, but laid out the facts that it could re-occur, and that it could spread to other parts of the body. He did do the X-rays to check for spread, and those came back negative at the moment. I guess the "good" news is that it could reform in the same place, so we might have a fighting chance to see it and remove it. We talked other options of chemo and radiation, but given the Fat Dog's guestimated age ( which could be anywhere from 10 to 15) and how devastating the possible cure can be on a system, we're going to opt for the "wait and see if it comes back" approach. Cross your paws that we got it all this time...

Craaaazzy about Tortellini

And, that's not all that's crazy 'round here. More on that later.

So, being the semi-trained culinary professional that I am (please, no comparisions to other "semi" types...you know who you are, Sandra Lee, you Semi-Ho, you!), I sometimes just want to throw something together that's quicky, easy, and of course, cheesy!

Enter the humble refrigerated cheese tortellini...because who the hell has time to make tortellini these days? Certainly not me! (Whine, whine, whine)

There's an amazing amount of stuff you can do to that little package of pasta that makes a great meal. Although, I must confess that my favorite way to eat the little hummers is with a lot of butter and shredded Parmesan cheese. That's all. Yeah, not too healthy, but really comforting.

We first hit the tortellini jackpot when I discovered a Weight Watchers Shortcut cookbook with this recipe:

Cheese Ravioli in Pesto-Tomato Broth

28 oz fat-free, less sodium chicken broth

1 9-oz package refrigerated reduced fat cheese tortellini

1 14.5-oz can no-salt-added diced tomatoes

1/4 cup commercial pesto

2 cups yellow squash, cubed (or a mix of yellow and zucchini)

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Procedure:

1. Bring broth to a boil in a large sauce pan.

2. Add ravioli and remaining ingredients; reduce heat and simmer for 8 minutes.

Yields 4 servings, 1.5 cups each.

Points = 6 (Which ain't bad for a pasta dish)

Good luck on finding those low-fat cheese ravioli. I could never find them, so I'm sure the point count goes up by 2-3. And, then I would substitute Italian-style diced tomatoes instead of the plain no-salt ones, because that was what was in the cupboard. (And, then I jacked it all to Point hell and back by dumping a handful of shredded Parmesan into my bowl. I just can't quit the cheese!)

So, this version is in fairly standard rotation in the Poodlevania household for the winter months, because we're all about soup, and we're all about the quick soup!

Then, I was perusing a notebook of WW recipes that Linna put together for me when I announced a couple of years ago that I was doing WW (for the first time--I know, I know). Linna was very successful with her weight loss and is my hero!, and I really appreciated this little notebook, which I have used many times.

The Man announced a few weeks ago that he wanted to try eating better again and requested that I throw some WW recipes back in the dinner rotation. So, I got out the trusty notebook and started poring over my options.

Hey--look! A different tortellini soup! More stuff in it! Let's try it!

Tortellini Soup Florentine ('cause it's got spinach in it!)

3 cups fresh or frozen cheese tortellini

1 quart chicken broth (I recommend the Pacific Rim Organic at Costco--6 for $10)

1 cup water

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp dried sage or rosemary leaves, crumbled

2 cups coarsely chopped cleaned spinach or other greens (kale, chard)

16-oz can small white or navy beans, rinsed and drained

4-6 sun-dried tomatoes, minced

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Procedure:

1. Cook tortellini according to package instructions, until just tender.

2. In a large sauce pan, bring chicken broth, garlic, herbs, and 1 cup water to boil.

3. Stir in spinach, beans, and tomatoes. Reduce heat and simmer until spinach and tomatoes are tender, about 5 minutes.

4. Stir in tortellini and simmer 1 minute longer. Serve sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.

Yield: 4 servings/6 points each

Hey--more stuff, same Points. Not a bad deal. I also just put the tortellini in the broth without cooking it separately. I let it boil for about 5-6 minutes, then throw in the beans, spinach, and tomatoes and cook for another 4-5 minutes, until beans are heated through and spinach is wilted. Notice this recipe has no salt...I have to add some salt...usually in the form of a small can of sliced black olives. And, for tonight's version, I threw in a can of Italian-style diced tomatoes. I was out of fresh spinach, so I used some frozen, which I defrosted in the nukerator and drained. See, the possibilities are endless!

Besides, I'm going to need all the easy stuff I can get for awhile. I'm have a wee bit o' surgery on Thursday, and will be down for the count for at least 3 weeks...and doomed to The Man's cooking for the most part. (Not that I won't be grateful, honey, but...)

I've laid in some supplies and plan to make some Moldy Jell-o, because I know I won't want a lot to eat when I get home from the surgery. I did find something that looks rather yummy in the dairy case though. Remember this little gem: Ready-to-Eat Cheesecake Filling? Now it comes in CHOCOLATE!! I swear, Kraft/Philadelphia Brand are in league with some sort of demons, and I don't care! I plopped the tub of that into the cart, and later, when The Man was staring into the fridge and asking about it, I very succinctly told him to back the hell away from my cheesecake filling. It's Mine! Mine! Mine! I neeeeeeeed it for my recovery period. I will be sans a womanly part or two, and I am going to need much comforting during this time.

So, not that I've been good about keeping up the blog lately, I'm probably going to either be better about it (boring details of my recovery) or really, really bad about keeping up with it. Bear with me, and I promise I'll be more proactive about posting!

p.s. I soaked Harvey this weekend, because it was time for a soak...sort of past time for a soak, and whaddya know?! He's sprouted at least 6-7 little nubs, which is exciting, since I didn't even shock him to put him in this state. Pretty cool, huh?

One More Day...

Today was probably the most low-key day we've had in the last 3 quarters. We had no projects of our own, no practicals, just one little test on cheese and some prep work for Chef Pantry and Chef Banquet.

I diced up 2 22-quart containers full of peeled potatoes; they were destined for some sort of mashed potato dish. We trimmed green beans, bagged up bulk pasta, and made some hors-d'oeuvres (last time!!) for a wine seminar/tasting. See, low key.

Chef gave us back our egg projects, and he liked my little 50 ways song. I know he thinks I'm weird, but whatever!

We actually got out of class early today (I know, I was shocked, too), so I had time to go shopping for this volunteer gig that I'm catering on Friday. I'm not actually doing a lot in the way of making things; it's more of a "Costco catering" gig. I'm kind of torn about that, because I have been in culinary school for the last 1o+ months, so I should be able to do something exciting along the catering lines, but I just don't have the time or the energy. I'm just drained lately, and it's hard to muster up the enthusiasm and energy to construct tiny little yummy things, especially since I have no time. While I'm not doing it for money--that "volunteer" word is the big clue--I'm not going to do total crap, either...I have a plan.

It's all in the presentation, baby! And, there's nothing wrong with using quality pre-made products ("quality" being the operative word here), according to Chef Pantry, to supplement your offerings. It goes back to labor costs, both time and money, and ingredients. Yeah, I could make the black olive tapenade that you get at Costco, but it would probably cost me way more in ingredients, not to mention the time it would take to round up olives, etc. and process them, than the $6.95 for the large tub. And, have you tasted that olive tapenade stuff you can get at Costco? It's really good...just ask my ankles when I overindulge in it and make them swell. (It really is hell getting old.)

I'm going to blanch some young whole green beans for the vegetable tray to make it a little different, and make a nice dip for it (bah to the bland and boring ranch dressing!) and other dips for fruit, etc., so it's not like everything will be out of a plastic bag or container. (Do you like this defensive pose I am striking??)

My basic menu for the evening is a veggie tray with dip, assorted cheese platter with crackers and grapes, mini quiches (spinach and Lorraine), spinach dip with pita chips, strawberries and pineapple with Coco-Lopez dip, olive tapenade with crackers, and assorted sweets...the rest of my volunteer group are responsible for bringing some sort of bite-size dessert offering.

I think I have all the basic cocktail requirements covered: sweet, salty, vegetarian...

From the "Now They've Really Taken the Safety Off" Department, I bring you this:



Yes, boys and girls, it really is Ready-to-Eat Cheesecake Filling!

It stopped me dead in my tracks at the Publix last night as I was browsing the cream cheese selection. I had visions of rescue personnel breaking down doors to find people stuck on their couches, empty tubs of cheesecake filling littering the floor, with sobbing family members on the lawn, staging an intervention, and the prying of the spoon from my fat little fingers...which probably wouldn't be so little any more. This might replace tubes of frozen cookie dough as the new pink or whatever you call cookie dough--comfort food? Comfort gooey substance is more like it.

The ad copy reads: "One Step to Dessert Heaven" (wonder if that's via cardiac arrest?). The directions tell you spread it into a 9-inch graham cracker crust, slice, and serve. It also exhorts you to "personalize" your cheesecake by "stirring in mix-ins like Baker's chocolate, Oreo cookie crumbles, and fresh fruit" (look--healthy stuff!) directly into the tub before spreading in the crust. (Ha! who needs a crust? We don't need no stinkin' crust!)

Unfortunately for you, gentle readers, I resisted the siren's call and walked away from it. I don't know if it's the best thing since sex or not, but I just couldn't bring myself to buy it. (Remember the vision of rescue personnel?) But, the lure is still there...it's probably just a matter of time.

Time...yeah, I need time, lots of time...time to really savor a tub of cheesecake filling.

Cheesecake....mmm...


(Yes, I know this is a famous and beautiful painting by John William Waterhouse, and I probably shouldn't have co-opted such a lovely piece of art, but it's all about illustrating the concept! And cheesecake!)