It’s times like this when I absolutely love where I live. These 2 shots (just about natural above & lomo version below) almost capture the color of the sun and surrounding clouds on a recent evening. I had to look twice to assure myself the red thing on the horizon was the sun and not a big red sequin, so of course I had to run for the camera.

This past Sunday, my DH (Daring Husband) and I had the chance to meet up with a group of fellow foodies (South Florida Foodies @SFLFoodies) for an evening of local, sustainable fare from Chef Alex at Sustain restaurant + bar in Midtown. All produce for the evening was donated by Swank Farms and the caviar was provided courtesy of Caviar and Caviar.

My DH and I already knew we were in for a treat, having dined at Sustain previously. (see my review on Foodie In Miami)

Luckily, we thought to bring one of the cameras and my DH was able to get quite a few nice shots of the evening’s offerings.

Sustain restaurant + bar
@SFLFoodies Menu

cocktail and bites

‘old smuggler’ aperol/cocchi americano/martin millers gin/orange/blossom water

This cocktail presented an interesting mix of floral/citrus notes. I enjoyed the sweet orange fragrance; my DH not quite as much. He thought the drink was overly floral; I liked that it didn’t taste like straight alcohol or sugar and thought it was the perfect pre-dinner beverage for a warm spring-going-on-summer evening.

‘tanglewood farms’ crispy chicken skins

Ok, so maybe I now have to say I don’t entirely hate chicken skin (after all, I ate it in Vegas without even knowing and again somewhere else very recently with relish), maybe just 95%. This was great–lightly citrusy from a bit of lime zest; lightly spicy from a dusting of unidentifiable heat. Kind of like chicken pork rinds–deep fried and delicious. These were a big hit with the diners, too, and were devoured almost immediately upon being brought out.

fried chickpeas with herb oil

Not as big a hit–the taste was nice, but these were under-crispy (I prefer mine more like corn nuts), almost impossible to eat politely (no chip or spoons were provided for easy scooping) and were on the greasy side. Not the best of the bunch, by far.

‘swank farms’ padron peppers a la plancha

Awesome. I think most people were scared that these would be hot, and I was too at first, but they weren’t at all. Almost sweet, smoky and deeply ‘green’ tasting, this was my favorite appetizer. I could have happily polished off a bowl all by my lonesome.

first course

‘surf + turf’

‘cape cod’ petite oyster/ local lychee jelee/ ‘caviar + caviar’

‘hudson valley foie gras torchon/ challah toast/ local mango jelee

Holy crap, this was great.

Turf: I have had foie in things and on things, and now having had it prepared simply with the mango as a perfect foil for the creamy fattiness, I have to say I now get it. I understand what drives people so crazy about this particular ingredient. Foie is great on a burger or steak and all, but it’s even more amazing on toast. Geese be damned, this was frickin great.

Surf: The oyster was briny and perfect: the caviar was salty and delicate and the lychee gave a silky almost richness that tied the whole bite together perfectly.

I have the sneaking suspicion that the guys at Caviar and Caviar have created a mini-monster. This was the first time my DH had tried caviar as a stand-alone (he ate his separately from the oyster and lychee), and he now can’t stop thinking about it or wait to taste it again. This was also his first raw oyster, and I’m happy to say he enjoyed it quite a lot.

second course

’50 mile salad’ with local heirloom tomatoes/ ‘swank farms’ purslane/ ‘hani’s’ feta/balsamic drizzle

This is not the same 50 mile salad from the menu–this version was tomatoes, tomatoes, more tomatoes, purslane, feta and good quality balsamic. Did I mention tomatoes? I loved the dish–late spring in a bowl–my raw tomato-hating DH, not so much. He gamely ate a portion, but just couldn’t get through a bowl of straight tomatoes, no matter how heirloom in variety they were. I loved them immensly, though a few were a bit under-ripe.

third course

‘swank farms’ eggplant capponata/ sous vide short rib tartare and wasabi foam

This was fantastic. The color of the short rib juxtaposed against it being cooked sous vide was a great contrast. The meat was velvety and soft, looked raw, and tasted of pure heaven. The capponata was a nice touch too, bringing needed sweetness to the dish. The meat when eaten alone was a bit on the peppery side, but when combed with the wasabi (which I think my have been fresh–I got a nice hit of actual horseradish in the back of my mouth) had a great balance. A big hit with the table, too.

**The foam on this dish was not wasabi, it was watercress.**

fourth course

‘4 arrows’ porchetta

What can I say other than holy crap? This was amazing–a thick rind of crispy, crackly pork skin over possible light sausage and a succulent pork loin roast–porky goodness at its finest.

‘tanglewood farms’ fried chicken

Well prepared fried dark meat with honey on the side.

***Can you believe neither of us remembered to take a picture?! I can’t either!!***

‘wet fries’

These are the fries from the menu–fresh french fries slathered in bone marrow gravy– oh yeah, you heard me: bone. marrow. gravy. The gravy gave a nice shellack to the fries, and it was all that I could do not to stick my face into the dish.

‘swank farms’ creamed kale

Decent. I prefer my kale with a little bite to it; this was pretty indistinguishable from spinach. Spinach is great, but I like my kale a bit different from it.

dessert

‘banana split’
1 scoop cookies and cream/1 scoop vanilla/ local apple banana/ housemaid oatmeal & graham cracker crumble/ florida peach compote/ chocolate drizzle/ florida blueberry compote

This was a decent finish. Not my favorite, but I wouldn’t kick it out of bed, and I happily ate every bite. In a slight menu variation, the blueberry was replaced with strawberry and the peach was replaced with I think pineapple, but maybe it was just weird peach on second thought. This was all on some sort of shortbread cookie that looked kind of like a banana peel. Nice, but no foie, caviar, porchetta or wet fries.

All in all we were more than pleased with the meal and appreciated having the opportunity to taste something amazing from a great Chef. My DH and I also enjoyed getting to talk ‘food geek’ with some interesting people and look forward to many more ‘South Florida Foodies’ evenings of gastronomic debauchery to come.

Recently, I had the opportunity to cook another in our series of ‘foodies with cameras’ dinners for my DH and our good foodie and photographer friend, Kevin. Check out the awesome time-lapse Kevin did that evening on Vimeo.

On the menu this evening was a series of recipes from Chris’s and my favorite local chef’s first cookbook, Michael’s Genuine Food: Down-to-Earth Cooking for People Who Love To Eat.

What can I say about Chef Michael Schwartz and Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink- his monument to local, sustainable and simply good food- that I haven’t said already? Chef Schwartz’s passion; his driving force as a Chef, is to showcase seasonal ingredients and promote local farms. He works tirelessly to support small growers and city green space projects; sometimes serving as the only voice small urban gardens have against a city that is at best indifferent to, and at worst hostile regarding, their very existence. I admire Chef Schwartz’s ethos and his commitment to a healthy and balanced way of approaching food. If you buy ingredients that come from down the block and treat them without unnecessary fuss, your dishes will not only taste better, they will be better for your family and community at large.

Even when this James Beard Award winning Chef’s dishes are deceptively simple, like the egg dish below, it is clear that a lot of thought and planning have gone into their creation. It is obvious why Chef Schwartz is highly-awarded; he walks the walk. The book, I was happy to see, also talks the talk and serves as a handy primer for anyone that thinks about the food they eat and where that food comes from. Note: although this may sound preachy, it doesn’t come off as such in the book. Chef manages to give the information needed, food for thought as it were, without ramming a holier-than-thou attitude down one’s throat. He’s much too laid back for that. This is Miami, after all.

In the book, we were happy to see the familiar setup of small plates, large entrees and huge family-style dishes from the restaurant, as well as some of our much loved favorites from MGFD. If you’re familiar with the restaurant, you will recognize a fair amount of the offerings, with quite a few new dishes thrown in the mix for good measure. These are things that Chef likes to make–what he feeds his family with, and what he chooses to serve guests on his rare days off.

We were also overjoyed to see a dessert section featuring desserts from Chef’s Beard Award winning pastry chef, Hedy Goldsmith. Goldsmith is a master of her craft, elevating the simplest of concepts (like popcorn and chocolate peanuts or pop tarts) to high art. Rumor has it that Chef Goldsmith will be releasing her own cookbook this year, and I just might have to snap it up when she does–she’s just that good. She also has a way of making recipes that are easy enough for a baking novice to master, but good enough to wow the most discriminating palate. The dessert I made this evening was simple, classic, and an instant hit.

Aside from a great selection of complete dishes, the book features a truly great section of basics (like fresh bacon and mayonnaise) that can be borrowed and tweaked to elevate even your most simple and treasured recipes to something new.

For our ‘foodies with cameras’ dinner, I chose a selection of four dishes: one each from the Small Plates; Pizza, Pasta and Sandwiches;  Large Plates; and Desserts sections. Each recipe I made featured uncomplicated cooking methods that gave an amazing clarity of flavor to simple ingredients cooked to the best of their ability.

Roasted “Double Yolk” Eggs with Tomato and Asiago

We all know by now that I am a sucker for anything with an egg in it And this dish is certainly no exception. I think it was universally the favorite of the evening, even though I managed to slightly-to-really overcook the egg yolks. Good quality tomato sauce with rich egg yolk and salty cheese combines perfectly with stout crusty bread in a dish with the perfect balance of richness, bright taste and satisfying crunch.

Fregola Risotto with Shrimp, Roasted Corn and Melted Leeks

I’m glad I took the time to find Fregola for this recipe. Fregola is a deeply nutty cous cous-like little hand-rubbed pasta–kind of like Israeli cous, but much nuttier and with more of a toothsome quality. Chef Schwartz talks in the book about how great and underutilized an ingredient it is, and although a bit more expensive than Israeli cous, I’m glad I sprung for it. The dish was rich, nutty, creamy, complex and would be wholly satisfying on it’s own. As part of the dinner, it was a satisfying and hearty cornerstone.

Whole Roasted Chicken with Plumped Raisins, Toasted Pine Nuts and Arugula

I have a confession to make. This is the first time in my life I have made a whole roast chicken, and I liked it. Maybe liked isn’t the right word. Let’s go with loved it. This chicken was simply put, amazing. Not quite the heaven-on-a-plate that Chef Schwartz’s is at the restaurant, but damn close. The chicken was juicy, with perfectly crisp skin, and was accompanied by an amazing pan sauce, peppery arugula, toasted pine nuts and sweet raisins. Even though touching the chicken ribs from the inside freaked me right out, I think I’ve been converted.

Meyer Lemon Pudding Cake with Chantilly Cream and Fresh Blueberries

Everyone keeps talking about Meyer lemons, and I’m jealous. For some reason, even though I live in the same town as Chef Schwartz, I can never find them. Probably because I shop at a local market and not the wealth of farmer’s markets he does. Even though I did not have the famed lemons, this recipe (made with a blend of fresh regular lemon and orange juices instead of Meyer lemons) made a light-as-air cake with delicate pudding and silky, sexy cream. A huge hit, to say the very least. Even for bellies stretched with chicken and risotto.

A series of HDRs my DH took while at Red Rock Canyon outside of Las Vegas.

These images are actually made up of 3-7 separate images taken in rapid succession of the same thing with different exposures. The images are then combined in Photoshop and then tweaked to make sure the colors come out right.

Ok, so these are from Day 2….

The Vegas sign.

Now on to Days 3 & 4

Since the brother hadn’t been sleeping that well and was at his limit of tiredness at this point, he opted for a relaxing hotel day and we headed for the desert.

After a massive breakfast, that is.

Andy’s Sage Fried Chicken & Bacon Waffle Tower: 2 breasts of the best fried chicken I’ve ever tasted with 4 impossibly fluffy bacon-studded waffles, a hot maple reduction syrup, the tiniest amount of diced red peppers ever and fried leeks.

Oh yeah, you heard me right. S’mores Cappuccino. As big as my frickin head.

These monstrosities were had at Hash House A Go-Go south of the main strip at the M hotel & casino. This dish was featured on Man vs. Food, and I’ve been thinking about it ever since I saw it on the show. It didn’t disappoint. I abhor chicken skin. I take a bite, and my entire body convulses to eject the offending skin and fat from my mouth without fail, every time. Every time but this one. I actually had an argument with my DH that evening about whether or not the chicken actually had skin–it was so good and cooked so properly that I didn’t even notice it. Even though a little nubbin of bone was left in the handle part of the leg which I picked around without thinking. That’s some powerful fried chicken.

After the feast and 2 days of schlepping our tired East Coast butts all over the strip, we weren’t feeling up for hiking, so we decided to take the 13 mile scenic route at Red Rock Canyon.

We were both in awe of just how amazing the rocky desert landscape looked and just how different it is from home. No palm trees and tropical flowers here. We have much more desert pictures to come. My DH took a ton of HDR setups and I’m willing to be more than not are going to turn out really, really well.

Then we hit up Fremont Street to check out the huge LED canopy and vintage Vegas signs.

To see what the screen is really capable of, check out our whole blastoff sequence on Flickr.

After the desert and Fremont Street, we weren’t up for much more than a little blackjack at Excalibur and then off to a somewhat early bedtime.

Day 4

Our last afternoon in Vegas was spent jamming in last-minute sight seeing, including a trip to the top of the Stratosphere.

And then it was back to the airport for the flight home. Back to life. Back to reality (or as much reality as one can experience while living in Miami).

More pics

Vegas Day 2 started off waaaayyy too early. For some reason, my body thought it would be a great idea to wake up at 5:00 a.m. raring to go.

This is what just before dawn looked like from our hotel room:

Since it was ridiculously early, we decided not to bother the brother. We went on a little picture taking exploration walk instead.

City Center is a pretty cool high-end mall, with spectacular versions of pretty much every luxury store you could want.

With its sparkle and hot pink decor scheme, Planet Hollywood was definitely the sexiest hotel/casino/shopping complex we visited. It’s a pretty nice venue as well, with a connected Miracle Mile high-end mall.

Paris had an interesting feel. Not for us, but worth the visit.

The Bellagio was not our favorite. Kinda boring inside, but with pretty skylight adornments. Also, not our favorite smell–kind of like old men.

The Cosmopolitan was our favorite hotel/casino on the strip and where we definitely want to stay during our next visit. Not only is it freakin gorgeous inside, the floor security was super friendly and helped point out different vantage points for picture taking.

After coming back to the hotel and taking a little nap, it was time for our vow renewal at A Little White Chapel. We opted for the drive-through ceremony, no Elvis (we just couldn’t go that tacky) and on-site picture taking. The woman that married us this time was great. (our first wedding was fraught with drama and the officiant read the wrong wedding ceremony–our first ceremony was spent talking to each other quietly and calming me down). This ceremony was relaxing and perfect.

The photographer wasn’t half bad, either. My DH has creepy eyes in most of the pics, but that’s not the photographer’s fault entirely. That’s just what happens when Chris is forced to smile.

After the ceremony, it was back to the Cosmopolitan for lunch at Holsteins, a totally kick-ass burger & boozy shake joint.

Tenderloin Rossini: Tiny little perfectly-cooked and super tender beef medallions with foie gras, wild mushroom duxelle, baby arugula and truffle mayo on adorable little buns. This was my DH’s favorite dish of the entire trip. And it has mushrooms. I see a glimmer of hope in my future! Not only did he like the pear on the Fleur burger, he liked the mushrooms on this one. So, what have we learned about vacation, class? That it’s the perfect time to spring foods my DH doesn’t think he likes on him in the guise of gourmet. Bwa-ha-ha.

Bratwurst: Baby braised brats with bacon and potato on pillowy little rolls.

I didn’t get a picture of the Black Cow Bam-Boozled Shake my DH had, but it was awesome and if I could eat that much ice cream without expiring, I would have had 2. Black Cow: Coca-Cola, vanilla ice cream, chocolate-covered Pop Rocks and Three Olives cherry vodka.

After lunch, it was just about time to make our way to Caesar’s Palace for dinner reservations at MESA.

Getting semi-lost in the massive Caesar’s Palace Forum Shops complex. Luckily, I was able to pull up a map on my phone.

What we had:

I hate to admit it, but MESA was underwhelming. Maybe it’s because we are fans of Bobby Flay and love watching him battle it out on Iron Chef, but the meal just wasn’t that great. This should serve as a good object lesson, just like Paula Deen’s restaurant: just because they’re on TV and you like their recipes at home doesn’t mean their restaurants are going to be any good. Go by accolades, not air time. Chef Keller’s place was amazing, and he doesn’t spend near as much time in front of the camera (at least not on big budget networks).

What a pair!

And then, the time I’d been waiting for. The show. Both the boys were excited about the show we were going to, and I’m happy to say Circ didn’t disappoint. The show was pretty awesome. Unfortunately (or not), no pictures at all whatsoever were allowed. You’ll just have to go check it out for yourself ;p

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped to watch the Bellagio fountain show, which was every bit as amazing in person as it is on TV.

Upon returning to the casino, I crashed and the boys played a little blackjack.

More Vegas vacay pics