Dangerously Beautiful

I’ve had the pleasure of having these this summer.  Refreshing and delicious.  So easy to make. You can practically use any fruit you want.  I love to experiment with different combinations.  Now that summer’s over and my mango tree is empty, I’m force to go back to strawberry and blueberry smoothies.  If you haven’t had one, you’re missing out.

Yesterday was my honey’s birthday.  It’s a bit of a tradition that we go to Texas de Brazil for special occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries, and New Year’s Day.  He’s a meat eater and if you are into meat, this is an awesome place to go.  And if you aren’t that much of a meat eater, like myself, they have a huge salad bar and delicious hot sides like lobster bisque (yum).

Well this year I wanted to do something a little different.  My honey and I love to cook (I know, lucky me).  So….. I booked us a cooking class at Texas de Brazil!  They started us all off with the national cocktail of Brazil, caipirinhas.  We don’t drink alcohol, so we had to have special ones made, but let me just say delicious!  It’s made from lime, fresh fruit puree (strawberry, pineapple, or kiwi), simple syrup (which is just sugar and water boiled together), and Cachaça (Brazil’s most common distilled alcoholic beverage). Simple, but good stuff!

While we drank our concoctions of yummy, the chef taught us how to make chimichuri, a Brazilian vinaigrette, and Palmito salad.  I don’t want to give away all the secrets, but if you can cut a tomato, you can make this stuff.  You just have to know what ingredients to mix in.  One thing that I liked about the chef, was that he didn’t measure anything.  That’s exactly how I like to cook!

As he demonstrated what to do, samples of Brazilian sausage and cheese bread came along.  Good stuff!

After that we finished the salads and vinaigrette, we went into the actual kitchen where everything is prepared! That’s when we started talking about the meat.  We got to see the various different cuts of meat and learned where they get their meat from.  Let’s just say ordering the meats is a job by itself.  My honey and I were interested in how to make the meat taste like it does there at our house.  For beef, you only need one magical ingredient.  SALT!  And tons of it!  It’s really the grade of the meat that makes it flavorful.

Again as we learned, we sampled filet mignon wrapped in bacon, lamb chops, and  Brazilian style picanha. Super yummy!

After learning some secrets and seeing everything prepared fresh and from scratch, we got to have more drinks and eat everything we made.  Everything was delicious and I got so stuffed.  My honey enjoyed himself and had no problem devouring all the meat he could eat. I was just about done eating when they announced that they would be serving desert.  Oh boy!  I’m a sucker for sweets, so there was no way I wasn’t going to have any.  We had the option of key lime pie and banana foster.  Both were equally delicious (yeah, I tried both)!  If you haven’t gone to Texas de Brazil, you’re definitely missing out!  Hope you had a Happy Birthday honey!

Now here’s something that I can eat everyday.  I love shrimp. I can’t even think of a way that I don’t like shrimp.  I recently had shrimp scampi pasta and it was so good that I had to go home and try to make it myself.  Super delicious!  I think the secret for me is to make sure there are more shrimp than pasta and use a little white wine with lemon in the sauce. Yummy!  What’s your favorite shrimp dish?

There’s nothing like fresh, hot french fries with just the right amount of salt.  Yummy!  It’s like each little one has its own personality.  Some are crunchy while others are soft and melt in your mouth. And most times ketchup is a must.  The sweet and salty combination is just perfect.  I’ve had great ones from all over, but my favorite ones are when I cut up potatoes and fry ‘em up in a little olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt.  Mmmm!  Are you guys nuts for french fries like I am?

Officially the fruit of summer.  I don’t just love watermelon, I’m obsessed with it.  Because it has been so muggy hot here in Miami, I haven’t really had an appetite to eat anything when the sun is out.  The heat just make me nauseous.  But put a piece of watermelon in front of me and I’ll be asking you for another. It’s just so refreshing and delicious. And now that they’re in season, I can just pick up two huge seedless watermelons for only $5 off the street.  I can eat an entire one, so bring your own!  Happy Summer!

It’s that time of year once again. Besides all of the regular memories of summer like the beach and heat (I really don’t think it’s hot anywhere else like Miami), I love driving down the street and buying lychees.  As I was leaving the store yesterday, to my surprise there is a guy standing on the corner selling them.  I freak out a bit because I never carry cash and these vendors don’t exactly offer options.  But I remember that I have some change in my pocket.  I ask the guy how much for a pound and he tells me $3.  Well I only had $2.50.  No worries, great thing about street vendors, every dollar counts, so negotiations are welcomed. He offers me a sample and as I popped that  delicious fruit in my mouth, I’m tempted to go to the ATM and get some more cash!  If you haven’t tried them, you really should.  You won’t be disappointed!

Talk about yummy.  This is my lunch. I love to eat tacos, but it seems like you have to eat too many of them to get full.  This is why I love the taco salad so much more.  Now a days you can bake your own shell like I did.  I put the lettuce at the bottom to catch all the stuff and they I fill it with my favorites.  Today I was in a mood for beef, sometimes I have chicken.  Fresh salsa is a must and I recently began eating guacamole (gotta keep those good fats up).  Super yum. Time to eat.

In Miami, there are a few things you can always count on.  Traffic, heat, and Cuban coffee!  I like Cuban coffee anyway it comes, but my favorite is a cortadito.  It’s similar to cafe con leche, but its smaller and it has more coffee than milk.  Like a tiny latte.  Since I have been drinking these practically my entire life, I have become a connoisseur.  I like mine with half regular milk, half evaporated milk.  The combination is so delightful.  Starbucks is great with all the bells and whistles, but at $5 a pop, it can become very expensive.  Cortaditos are about $1-$1.29 depending on location and they satisfy my caffeine crave.  Next time you are craving cafe and are in Miami, stop in La Roma Bakery on 8th street and 49th ave.  You won’t regret it.

I have been eating crepes for a while now, but I normally stick to the dessert crepes.  Just the right amount of sweet without being overwhelming.  Nutella, yummy.  Strawberries, yummy.  Ice Cream, extra yummy.  Who wouldn’t love the delicious invention!

Well this past weekend, I tried the savory crepes.  What have I been missing!  I had the fajita chicken and it was delicious. It had chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, gucamole, and onions. Yum!!  I love the fact that everything is so light and fresh. The way they make them is truly an art!  Now I can’t wait to go back and try them all!  What’s your favortie crepe?

Let me not spoil this for all the sushi lovers, but I just don’t like raw fish.  I have tried it, but I don’t like the consistency.  Therefore, I decided long ago that sushi wasn’t for me.  WRONG!  Why didn’t anyone ever tell me about the cooked rolls.  Absolutely delicious!  I’m a huge fan of the JB Tempura, and Volcano Rolls.  Can we say yummy!  Now I’m experimenting with the different sauces like spicy mayo and eel sauce.  Good stuff.  Ginger and wasabi are so good together, so now I am a huge fan of sushi!  It’s gotten so bad that I have eaten it 3 times in the last week.  Oh boy!  Don’t forget to get brown rice!  What are some of your favorite sushi rolls?  Any suggestions on what to try next?