This past Saturday, my DH (Daring Husband) and I had the chance to meet up with a group of fellow foodies (South Florida Foodies@SFLFoodies) for an afternoon of fabulous food, drinks and mingling in one of Midtown 4’s beautiful penthouses.
The view from the penthouse was stunning, and graciously provided by our host Jason (whose company has just launched Digest Miami, a really cool food-related augmented reality iPhone app and soon-to-be one-stop resource for the best Miami’s culinary scene has to offer. Check it out in the App Store). Unfortunately I was on overdrive mode from cooking non-stop since 6 that morning, and didn’t do the view justice.
Really? All that gorgeous view, and this was the best I could come up with?
This is the lone shot I took of the sweeping views from the Bay to Downtown to the west side we were treated to.
Check out many more shots of the view, as well as the attendants and their dishes, in this video complied by Maude Eaton, South Florida Foodie curator, Foodie Diva and coordinator extraordinaire.
The potluck theme was “avant garde”, and boy did some people hit the creative mother load. Most notably in my mind (after having two days to think) were Gretchen & David… who not only made appetizers (pb&j with spicy peanut satay and mango agar jelly and little caprese tomato bites with balsamic pearls), a main (mashed potato sushi bites with little crabs and steak strips) and dessert (a coffee agar jelly coconut concoction), but two drinks (a light pear candied kumquat cocktail and really good bubble tea) as well. I also heard a rumor about spam and a bloody mary… A creativity knockout.
And I can’t forget Gail’s bacon-wrapped Peeps. Quite the interesting combo–If I ever run into a surplus of Peeps anywhere, this is how I will dispatch of them 🙂
Everything I tasted was fabulous, though I must admit to being completely stuffed after the appetizers! So much so I didn’t get the chance to taste about half of the mains and hardly any desserts. I can say that what I did have was very, very good. Pork belly nachos with some sort of fabulous bourbon chaser?! Yes, please! Scandinavian beef spread? Oh yeah!
The DH and I loved attending and getting to meet so many passionate people. Thank you to all who liked my dish–I absolutely adore cooking for people, especially new people, and the support was very appreciated. I freaked out over this dish for over a week, hoping it would work, and hoping it would fit the ‘avant garde’ bill, and I’m glad to say it was a success! Hopefully we will have another potluck soon–I have a bunch of things kicking around in my head I’d love to try out for a crowd 🙂
Below is a quick pictorial of the dishes we saw (and tasted) at the potluck. A more in-depth piece on my dish, Ramen with Kickass Broth and “Scallop” Mousseline is coming soon.
Everything's better with bacon, right? Strawberry, Basil & Lime LibationHard Boiled EggsSome sort of seafood dipSalmon with masagoThis was really great--a Scandinavian beef broth terrine with curry I spent a fair amount of time out of the way, under the stairs, hanging out with this strangely short sprinkler head. The under-stairs floor is safe, at the very least. 🙂This was really great. PB&J spicy peanut satay with mango agar gelCaprese salad with balsamic pearlsThis was a great dish - fresh corn soup with shrimp from the Diva herselfI'm still bummed I didn't get to try one of these little crabs. The beef version of this dish was really good, though--beef strip on a bed of crab mashed potato with wasabi cream on nori.Really tasty pork from Wok Star Eleanor HohMmmm... I really outdid myself with this one.So nice, I had to picture it twice--Ramen with Kickass Broth, House Bacon and "Scallop" MousselineSome sort of beef dishGreat Pad Thai with green mango noodlesNorthern Greece macaroni & cheeseBeautifulI didn't even see these! Good thing my DH had the camera 🙂 They look greatIt's the simple things in life. I so love sticky rice.Cheese plateI'm not sure what this ended up as... limes were addedMore awesome PB&J - peanut butter mousse with jelly in a pound cake sandwichBacon! Brownies!Really neat Japanese drinkCoconut soup with almond and coffee agar gelsTee hee heeKiller babaganoush Pretty and festive cevicheWhere's the pork?Some sort of potato dish
Had a wonderful afternoon at the South Florida Foodies potluck event in Midtown. Met a lot of passionate & talented fellow food lovers and got the chance to try out a new recipe–ramen in Momofuku broth from Lucky Peach Vol. 1 with scallop and crab mousseline “scallops”. More to come on the potluck later (including a pictorial). Just had to snap a pic of this newfangled propaganda poster for my POTD. 🙂
This was our second batch of ice cream made with the Kitchenaid mixer ice cream maker attachment, and like the first attempt, it wasn’t half bad. Where the first attempt was eggy and a little on the brittle side, this version had zero eggs and a a nice creamy mouth feel. It was too sweet by far, but the texture was pretty decent. Not quite like Ben & Jerry’s and I’m not 100% sold on the cornstarch slurry, but not bad.
Not bad. Not bad at all.
Almond Milk & Cream Cheese Ice Cream with Oreos
This recipe is based on Dana Treat’s Cherry Crisp Ice Cream, which was in turn adapted from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home
2 c. almond milk
1 1/4 c. heavy cream
1.5 oz. cream cheese, softened (we used reduced fat Neufchâtel)
1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. corn starch
1/8 tsp. fine sea salt
a slack 2/3 c. white table sugar
2 Tbsp. agave nectar
2 caps vanilla extract
1 1/2 c. crushed Oreos (we used reduced fat)
Place the bowl of your Kitchenaid mixer ice cream maker in the freezer 24 hours prior to your desired ice cream having.
Make the component parts:
Cornstarch slurry: mix 2 tsp. almond milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to form a smooth slurry.
Cream cheese: mix cream cheese and salt together in a medium bowl until smooth and well combined.
Cookies: crush Oreos. Resist the temptation to visit the bowl of cookie bits between steps.
Chilling Station: place a large bowl in the sink, fill with ice and water.
Make the ice cream base:
In a medium pot over medium-high heat, combine remaining almond milk, cream, sugar, agave nectar and vanilla. Bring up to a boil and keep it there for 4 minutes. Watch your pot like a hawk, or it is going to boil over. If your pot continues to boil over like mine tried to, pull it halfway off the heat if you can, and if not, knock the heat back a little until the boil is less enthusiastic.
Remove from the heat and whisk in your slurry.
Return to the heat and cook, stirring, about 1 minute or until slightly thickened. Remove from the heat for good this time.
Slowly pour the milk mixture into the cream cheese mixture, whisking until smooth. Pour into a 1 gallon freezer bag and submerge as best you can in the freezing water. Let stand until cold, about 30 minutes.
Ice cream it:
Assemble your frozen ice cream maker attachment right before the 30 minutes is up. You want this sucker to still be near-freezing when you add the ice cream base.
Carefully pour your ice cream base into the frozen ice cream maker bowl and let spin on mix until thick and creamy, about 25 minutes. Add the cookies and let go another 5 minutes.
Spoon out into your container of choice and freeze until your desired serving consistency is reached; for us this was about an hour.
We visited Michy’s during another stop on our continuing ‘foodies with cameras’ dinner/impromptu photo shoot quest with our good friend Kevin. Our mission: to find great food that not only delights, but looks beautiful as well.
This is not the first Bernstein restaurant we have visited on our trek. Check out my review of Sra. Martinez and related pictorial.
Michy's Menu provided by Kevin Huggins. Follow him on Twitter @fuji27
We ordered the large chef’s tasting menu this evening, and it was worth it. Expensive, but a great way to experience the menu. While I don’t think we will be tackling the tasting menu every time we have one of these dinners, for a restaurant like this, where we already know and love the chef’s food, it was a good way to go.
Yummy, Yummy Table Bread
Appetizer Course(s)
Peruvian Ceviche provided by Kevin Huggins. Follow him on Twitter @fuji27
Peruvian Style Ceviche – Seafood of the Day (scallops, a white fish and shrimp) with ginger, lime, chilies, sweet potatoes and crisped corn. This was some of the best ceviche I have ever had–nice and light, not too acidic, perfectly cooked and tender.
Tuna Tartar provided by Kevin Huggins. Follow him on Twitter @fuji27
Tuna Tartar – Diced tuna with a soy, ginger, scallion and chili oil dressing and house potato chips. While not a standout dish, it was fresh and delicate.
Greek Watermelon Salad provided by Kevin Huggins. Follow him on Twitter @fuji27
Greek Style Watermelon Salad – Watermelon with upland cress, bacon molasses vinaigrette, feta, black olives and pecans. A well-balanced salad, though a touch of sour would have been a nice addition–maybe something in a pomegranate molasses?
Croquettas That fig marmalade was so great, I had to include Kevin's shot too. Follow him on Twitter @fuji27
Jamon Serrano & Blue Cheese Croquetas with Fig Marmalade – We were excited to see Bernstein’s fig marmalade, having absolutely loved it at Sra. Martinez. These croquetas did not disappoint–the bleu cheese was a great addition and the marmalade was fantastic as always.
Bellies of Pork with Ham Jus. Ham Jus. Mmmmmmm......
Pork Belly with Tortellini – Crisped portions of pork belly with a sweetish glaze, pork cheek tortellini and rich ham jus. The tortellini and jus would have been a great dish alone; the addition of pork belly made for one rich (and tasty) appetizer.
That's Some Tasty Thymus!
Sweetbreads “Milanesa” – Lightly breaded and perfectly fried sweetbreads with Cippolini onions, apple slivers, black eyed peas, bacon and cider gastrique. This was the first time any of us had had sweetbreads, and we were all dying to try them. Yum. Creamy and light, we see what all the hubbub is about, especially when paired with the freshness of apple. The beans were also great–al dente and wholly satisfying.
Entree Course
Beefy Goodness - Shortribs
Short Ribs Falling off the Bone – Short ribs (boneless as advertised) with a sun choke mousseline, natural jus and roasted vegetables (favas, tomatoes & English peas). There’s a reason this is Michy’s most popular menu item. These short ribs are great, giving up their beefy goodness with almost no resistance. The vegetables were a perfect accompaniment, although I must admit to being a sucker for sun chokes. I could have dealt well with much more of that puree.
Delicate and Fragrant Snapper Curry
Whole Yellowtail Snapper – Pan-seared Yellowtail Snapper with Malaysian curry, green and ripe mangoes, jasmine rice and hearts of palm salad. Our portion was most of a snapper, and I’m so happy it wasn’t more. This dish was great–it smelled amazing, and the curry was nice and light, but at this point we were getting pretty stuffed.
Carbonara - It's not the same as mom's, but was the near-universal favorite entree of the night
Fettuccine Carbonara – Fresh fettuccine with smoked bacon, crispy Jamón Serrano, prosciutto, melting St. Andre cheese and English peas. This was fantastic, and not just because I love fresh pasta and bacon. This dish was not near as heavy as I anticipated, and provided a luxurious bacon-y foil for the fish.
Classed-up Grits
Creamy Polenta – Creamy white grits with truffle, poached egg and bacon bits and shaved Parmesan. What’s not to love about cream, cheese, egg, truffle & bacon? This was a great side.
Dessert Course
I'm Ready For My Closeup, Mr. DemilleTasty little beehive of goodness provided by Kevin Huggins. Follow him on Twitter @fuji27
Baked Alaska – Pistachio cake with dulce de leche ice cream wrapped in toasted Italian meringue and sauced with passion fruit salsa. I’ve been dreaming about this dessert off and on since our last visit, and I am happy to say for good reason. The pistachio cake is awesome–not too sweet and not too heavy. I also appreciate any time my food has been on or near fire 🙂
Apple Pie provided by Kevin Huggins. Follow him on Twitter @fuji27
Deep Fried Apple Pie A La Mode – Some sort of deep fried apple pie with apple cider caramel and vanilla toffee ice cream. This was also wonderful, but I was so preoccupied with the Baked Alaska, I only had a small taste.
Snickers for Grownups provided by Kevin Huggins. Follow him on Twitter @fuji27
Chocolate and Peanut “Candy Bar” – A soft, delicate chocolate cake & other things candy bar with fresh peanut gelato. It was no popcorn ice cream, but it was certainly tasty.
My Picks
Best Appetizer: Sweetbreads Milanesa, but the ceviche was a close second (possibly because it’s 999.99 degrees outside and ceviche is all I want to eat all summer).
Best Entree: It’s a really close race between the carbonara and short ribs. I do love my fresh pasta, but the beef was so.. beefy.
Best Dessert: Baked Alaska! I’ve been dreaming of the pistachio cake 🙂
My DH’s Picks
Best Appetizer: After deliberation, the Pork Belly with Tortellini–the tortellinis and jus was what put this dish over the top.
Best Entree: Hands down, the carbonara.
Best Dessert: No contest: the Chocolate and Peanut “Candy Bar”.
Gastography 