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Oh, Yeah: American Craft Beer Week in S. Florida

May 13, 2013 ·

Celebrate hundreds of different beers at bars all over South Florida during American Craft Beer Week from May 13-19!
Find specials all week at your favorite bars here. Participants include:

Broward

Laser Wolf, Fort Lauderdale

Riverside Market, Fort Lauderdale

Tap 42, Fort Lauderdale

Whole Foods Coral Springs

World of Beer Coconut Creek – Breckenridge Agave Wheat is on special all month.

Miami-Dade

Abraxas Lounge, Miami Beach, features American beer on tap all week.

Brewskis‘ week-long Tap Takeover features beers from all over the United States:
 
North – Ommegang
South – Shiner
West – Stone
East – Terrapin
NW – Rogue
NE – Dogfish
SW – Coronado
SE – Cigar City
 
The Lokal, Coconut Grove: Week-long competition of Florida beers vs. California beers.  

Wood Tavern, Wynwood, has specials on select American craft beers. 

World of Beer Kendall

Yardbird, South Beach

The Keys

World of Beer Key West features Meet the Brewmaster.

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For O, Miami: A Poem by Jeffrey Knapp

April 29, 2013 ·

We’re grateful to Dina Knapp for giving us permission to reprint this poem by her late husband, Jeffrey Knapp, a renowned poet, translator and professor.

18 March 1997
For Chef Allen and Chef Tim

I. Telecherry Peppercorn-Crusted Tenderloin Carpaccio with Shaved Fennel, Preserved Lemon, and Truffle Oil with Crisp Black-Olive Sourdough Crouton

White Castle in the Five Points of Union, N.J.: Hamburgers the size of checker squares — five holes in them so they’d cook faster, a pickle chip, diced onion, and ketchup — and a five-cent juke box on each table. Everly Brothers and Elvis. Waitresses, it was rumored, parolees from Kentucky or West Virginia. Ten for a dollar. “Buy ’em by the sackful.” Worth doing my homework for if my mother would take me there when my father worked late. A sackful, please, Ma’am. And a root beer with a straw.

II. Tuna Tartar with Cool Thai Coconut Crema; Seared Tuna on Crisp Boniato

The tuna was casserole: a can of Campbell’s Mushroom Soup and Muller’s Elbow Macaroni. I took the mushrooms out and left them on the table. Recipes from Good Housekeeping or Betty Crocker—who looked quite like my mother, at least her hairdo did. Mmm

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Throw a Kentucky Derby Party

April 18, 2013 ·

The race may only last a couple of minutes, but the buildup to the Kentucky Derby in Louisville, Kentucky, every year entails days of parties, brunches and festivities. If you can’t be in Louisville for the Derby (Sat., May 4, Post time: 6:24pm), do the next best thing: host a Derby party. We checked in with our Louisville friends to ask what’s on the menu for their Derby Day parties and – ever gracious – they gave us the skinny. 

“Since Derby is the unofficial beginning of spring for our fair city, and since it’s an outdoor event (barring rain or snow), a lot of Derby food falls into the ‘southern picnic food’ category,” says Craig Fairfield. “Fried chicken with green beans (be sure to throw in a glob of bacon fat), biscuits and slaw; buckets of Kentucky burgoo; Benedictine sandwiches; cold bean salads; that kind of stuff. There are also a lot of people who do brunch before the races start – so omelettes, bacon, grits (havarti cheese grits are the best), hash brown casserole, French toast. In African-American circles, the southern favorite of chicken and waffles is always popular too. We sometimes drink mint juleps to amuse the

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Miami Eats: Food science made fun

April 10, 2013 ·

Want to make your own nitrogen ice cream? Learn all about bees (and taste honey)? Find out about do-it-yourself hydroponics? And – best of all – taste all kinds of new dishes? Bring the family to the fun new food festival Miami Eats: The Art and Science of How Miami Grows, Cooks and Enjoys Food at the Miami Science Museum Sat., April 20 from 10am to 5pm.

Here are some of the fun events:

  • Cooking demos/tastings from Chopped winner Chef Giorgio Rapicavoli of Miami’s acclaimed Eating House (he’s featured in our upcoming Spring issue), student chefs of the Miami Culinary Institute and Whole Foods Market
  • Cooking classes sponsored by Common Threads and Chef Kat Duran
  • DIY hydroponics class hosted by Hydrofarm, which will also be raffling off a hydroponic kit to two lucky winners
  • Design your own “healthy” plate hosted by the Ceramic League of Miami
  • Oh Honey, Bee Hive presentation all about bees with a special honey tasting from Beekeeper Inese Bunch
  • Special airing of “Fish Meat” film about sustainable fisheries by Fish Navy Films
  • Fruit and Veggie Painting Lesson with Artist Donna Torres
  • Learn the history behind the Vizcaya Estate Farm Village. James Deering, owner of

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Proper Sausages Gets A Permanent Home

March 23, 2013 ·

A little over a year since they started selling artisan sausages at farmers markets and restaurants like Blue Collar, Freddy and Danielle Kaufmann have opened their brick-and-mortar specialty butcher shop Proper Sausages in Miami Shores. Familiar faces at the Pinecrest and Upper East Side farmers markets, Freddy and Danielle have come a long way since we featured them in our winter 2012 issue.

In addition to their popular sausages – the Proper, Dub, Fig & Blue Cheese,  Prune & Cognac,  Proper Chorizo and Lamb & Harissa – they’ve added such items as the Porcini Burger and Danielle’s Turkey Meatballs. Cuts of meat include Florida Wagyu ribeyes, New York strips, filets, and skirts from Jackman Ranch in Clewiston; and racks of lamb from Colorado; and maple bacon, made from Berkshire pork belly, cured with maple syrup and smoked with apple wood.

“We’re proud to extend what we’ve done with pork to other animals,” Freddy said. He says they make it a point to choose quality products from animals that are humanely and sustainably raised – “the best they can be. When you do eat meat, we believe you should appreciate the product.”

Proper Sausages will also carries craft beer from Florida

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Spring Events, Special Places

March 20, 2013 ·

Spring may be the most beautiful time in South Florida: so many flowering trees are in bloom, humidity levels are ideal, evenings are cool and the days are getting longer. No wonder it’s prime time for so many great outdoor events. These are held at some of our most enchanting venues:

 

 

 

Tropical Brunch in the Garden

Sun., April 14, 11am-2pm

The Miami Beach Botanical Garden may not be big, but  this 2.6 urban greenspace next to the Miami Beach Convention Center is a welcome oasis in South Beach, showcasing native plants, bromeliads, palms, cycads and orchids. It’s an idyllic setting for the 5th annual brunch hosted by Les Dames d’Escoffier. Culinary participants include Bianca at Delano, The Oceanaire Seafood Room, Smith & Wollensky, Miami Culinary Institute and Sweet Art by Lucila. Guests can bid on auction items to help raise funds for Les Dames d’Escoffier Miami, which sponsors agricultural programs in the classroom and schoolyard, awards scholarship monies to local college-bound Culinary/Ag female students and provides kitchen equipment and counseling services to area women and children in need. Cost is $50 in advance for adults or $55 at the door. Tickets for children 5-12 are

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Quest for Quinoa

March 16, 2013 ·

Quinoa is more than just another trendy menu item. High in protein and calcium, the crop has been grown by the Andean people for more than 2,000 years. When the Spanish conquistadores arrived, the cultivation of quinoa was actively suppressed for several centuries until its recent rediscovery as “the organic food of the future.” The United Nations has declared 2013 to be ‘The Year of Quinoa.’

To celebrate the powers of quinoa and the rich Bolivian culture that it represents, world renowned Bolivian artist Gaston Ugalde has created a traveling exhibit now at Coral Gables Museum through March 20. It then moves to Hollywood, Caifornia. The selection of the Coral Gables Museum for such a prestigious exhibition is a reflection of the Museum’s growing reputation for supporting ecological sustainability and cultural diversity.
Find out more at the Coral Gables Museum site.

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SW Community Farmers Market to Move to Tropical Park Mar. 23

March 15, 2013 ·

The all-local Southwest Community Farmers Market, which ran into zoning issues with its South Miami location, will move to Tropical Park next Mar. 23, with tentative hours of 9-2PM, announced Art Friedrich, facilitator of the South Florida Food Policy Council and vice president of Urban Oasis Project. “The County Parks Department has worked with Urban Oasis Project before and is welcoming us to relocate there,” he said. 

The market on the grounds of the Unitarian Universalist Church will stay open as planned Sat., March 16, where vendors will give away their produce for free, accepting donations to support the market vendors. More updates on the new market will be available.

The market had run into difficulties in getting a certificate of use because of the residential zoning of the church, Friedrich said.

Follow Southwest Community Farmers Market on Facebook for updates https://www.facebook.com/SouthwestCommunityFarmersMarket

 

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And the winner of this year’s Tomato Wars is…

March 8, 2013 ·

Kelly Korman, whose double ‘Big Rainbow’ variety weighed in at nearly 1.75 pounds.

If you read our story “Tomato Wars” in our Fall 2012 issue, you’re familiar with the heated annual rivalry of Miami Springs backyard gardeners Korman and Jamie Schmidt in their quest to grow the biggest and tastiest tomatoes. Each grew multiple varieties of heirloom tomatoes.

“It was the oddest year every because of the weather,” says Schmidt. “The early planting at the end of October did well, but the second planting didn’t. The warm winter and record heat really hurt the garden.”

The best varieties this year included:

  • Cuban Black
  • Black Pineapple
  • Aunt Ruby
  • Big Zak
  • Chocolate Cherry
  • Lemon Boy
  • Berkeley Tie-Die
  • Pink Boar
  • Purple Russian
  • Black Zebra
  • Siberian Honey Pink
  • Russian Black

Other successful plants this season included Swiss chard, Cubanelle peppers (“actually, it’s a great year for peppers,” Schmidt says) and lettuce. Not so good: his broccoli, which rotted from the middle.

As the season winds to a close, the pair are looking ahead to next year’s competition. While Schmidt conceded to Kelly, he has raised concerns about the validity of the size of Kelly’s winning huge double tomato. “I’m sure if you

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What to Do with Cranberry Beans

March 4, 2013 ·

Cranberry beans – speckled pink and cream-colored pods housing similarly colored beans –are one of the many examples of local produce you’ll find right now in South Florida farmers markets. You can find them in baskets ready to shell, or already shelled. Either way, what’s the best way to use these colorful beans?

One excellent way is to make a dish called Assunta’s Beans in Marcella Cucina from Italian cooking doyenne (and Florida resident) Marcella Hazan. Known as borlotti, these beans take on a rich, meaty goodness with the addition of a few simple ingredients and long, slow cooking. Her recipe calls for a pound of unshelled beans, shelled and placed in a heavy pot with extra-virgin olive oil, smashed garlic, fresh sage, salt, pepper and a little water. The goal is not to boil the beans, but concentrate their flavor using just enough liquid to keep them from drying out. Here’s what it looks like:

Cover pot with a damp dishtowel and the lid, and bring the towel up away from the heat source. Set pot over very, very low heat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cook for one hour and 45 minutes, adding a

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