Miami Walk

This weekend did not have me creating in the kitchen. The absolutely gorgeous weather had me out and about. It was a perfect 72 degrees and sunny! CNN has something called iReport fun weekend assignments for the readers to participate in and upload their entries. Each weekend, from February 19th through April 9th they are issuing different challenges. I am afraid I missed the one that I really wanted to be a part of that was held during the weekend of March 5th. "Your Signature Dish". It was a wash out. I did not get a chance to film myself creating the Christmas dish that is always served.

This weekend was the "Walk in our shoes" challenge. You have to make a 1 minute film walking in your city. The rules are pretty simple, start with walking feet and end with walking feet and your video should only be about 1 minute long. You have the option to have narrative or remain silent. These are my 2 submissions. Don't miss them on CNN iReports and check out the others, there are entries from London, Rome, Johannesburg, and NYC they are fun and exciting cities and I must say I was intimidated. But the perfect So Flo weather, beautiful beaches, lots of people out and about and fun soundtrack made my little films a great watching experience. I got some nice comments. Please check them out and let me know if my little films are as fun and/or exciting as the other entries.

Miami Walk Part 1

Please enjoy the music, "Entre Dos Aguas" by Paco de Lucia.

And here is

Miami Walk Part 2

Miami Walk Part 2, the music is Perez Prado's "Patricia"

I hope to have some time next weekend to bake or cook. Saludos from So Flo!

Banana Nut Bread

Banana bread is one of those sweets that I can have at any time because it isn't cloyingly sweet. I can have a slice for breakfast or for a snack or stud this moist tea cake with dark chocolate chips for a luscious dessert. I must confess it has always been my baking albatross. I usually get a loaf that is hard as a rock on the outside and way too bready on the inside. This time I hit it perfectly. I also spruced it up with crushed pineapple and chopped macadamia nuts. I had a some nuts left over in the freezer and didn't know what to do with them since I rarely snack on nuts. I think I should call it a Hawaiian banana nut bread. The buttery macadamia nuts are a definite replacement to the earthier walnuts usually found in this loaf. The crushed pineapple provides a tangy sweetness that counteracts the buttery nuts and mellow bananas. It is a gorgeous day/night here in SoFlo and there isn't a lot of humidity so I didn't have to play with the flour too much. I didn't write down the ingredients but it shouldn't be too hard to recreate. I can't wait for breakfast! (maybe blueberry buttermilk pancakes instead??)

Molten Chocolate Cake

What a gorgeous day here in So Flo. It was windy and cool and the sun was bright and warm, heady combo! So that meant some baking was in order. I saw a recipe for molten chocolate cakes and they are delicious. Ate them while still warm and runny with a lovely cakey crust all I needed was some cool vanilla ice cream! They are just too easy to make Wow! :-0

Chocolate Festival

Today is the 2nd day of the Chocolate Festival at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. Local vendors were able to set up and let the community know about their businesses. It was great to be able to find out about all these great places.

These are some pics I took walking around the different kiosks that were set up at the festival. The chocolate is plentiful and varied. I found some French macarons in different flavors and truffles galore. The obligatory chocolate fountain with bananas, strawberries and marshmallows to cover. There are also some freshly fried mini doughnuts to dip! There is a wonderful kiosk filled with all kinds of fragrant and colorful spices and teas. I got some fenugreek, zatar and sumac. I can't find these anywhere and this is an extremely pleasant surprise. One place has these Hungarian "horns", these are very thin cinnamon rolls. These were very good and not overly sweet. There was a French bakery from West Palm with fantastic baked goods and the chef was nice enough to give me some tips and information about baking up good croissants! Can't wait to implement his tips! There are tables set up where you can learn how chocolate becomes the chocolate we know and love! There is the added bonus of the gorgeous gardens and the wonderful pictures you can take of the flowers.

Croissants and Viennoiserie

I have completed my first attempt at laminated dough and croissants. This attempt yielded a superb product. The croissants are flakey, light and buttery. The crispy exterior yields to a soft, buttery, yet light and feathery interior. The best moment was walking into the kitchen and smelling croissants. Weird as that sounds they actually smelled like croissants. My sister, M, walked into the kitchen and yelled, "Tania it smells like croissants in here." I walked into the kitchen and was floored by the delicate, buttery and uniquely pleasant aroma. It is a smell you don't forget. Interestingly the ingredients are quite plain and mundane, flour, sugar, salt, yeast and water or milk, after those are mixed and rolled out, you pound out 4 bars of butter and layer that on to the dough. Then just roll and fold at least, 4 times with a 1 hour rest and chilling period in between. Then they are shaped and proofed until puffed. Then just bake for approximately 16 mins. That is the part that freaks me out. All those hours of work (at least 8 but more than likely about 20, for just 16 mins, in the oven. Heavenly! I made about 5 plain, 3 filled with cherry preserves with either almond paste or cheese, 4 with extra-dark bittersweet chocolate, and 2 with cinnamon raisin and 1 with cinnamon raisin and cream cheese. I guess this is goodbye because I would need very cold, dry weather again. *sniff* *sniff* If I do make them again I better get them done by this weekend! hm? Some danishes, perhaps, the dough is VERY similar.

Enjoy the music of Yael Naim, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and Tom Waits.

Loaded Cookies

My sis M baked some loaded cookies! Choc chip, cranberry, coconut, oatmeal cookies. Very delicious! Some bacon wrapped dates also made it to the table but the only pic is when they were raw. Those are delicious because the smokey bacon flavor is very pronounced and then you get hit with a soft sweet center, some were filled with a mixture of goat, gorgonzola and cream cheese. I must say, the cheese sort of gets lost but the sweet, creamy center is a nice complement to the bacon-y exterior. My next entry is my foray into the world of laminated dough and it is a video. I am editing so I may not post till tomorrow. Stay tuned!

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So it's like this. I am attempting to begin my holiday cooking and I have had butter sitting on my counter for 36 hours and it feels just as hard as it was when I took it out of the fridge. What the hell? My house feels like a friggin' refrigerator. It is so damn humid here in South Florida and has been for the past 2 days. We need the rain, (as everyone always says) but for Christmas? I have no central heating because, well, it simply isn't necessary here but come on, this bloody humidity is really cramping my cooking schedule! I have great plans but I am worried...to be continued.