Valentine’s Day is sneaking up on us – how is it already mid-February?! Whether you’re single or attached, there’s lots of sweet deals out there making this coming Tuesday something to look forward to. While I’m a firm believer in having chocolate every day, there’s something a little extra special about Valentine’s Day.
Here’s where I think you should get your fix on this sweet day full of love:
Read MoreMy favorite food holiday of the year (I’m sure I say that about a few of them #sorrynotsorry) – World Nutella Day is, Sunday February 5th. While most people will be focused on the fact that it’s Super Bowl Sunday, I’ll be happily eating all the Nutella I can. In honor of this delicious “chocolatey“ hazelnut holiday, here are some spots you can celebrate along with me.
Sweetness Bakeshop, Mini Chocolate Nutella Mousse Cake
Sugarcane Raw Bar Grill, Nutella Sundae
Pubbelly Sushi, Nutella Brownie
Big Easy, Nutella Bread Pudding
Boca’s House, Nutella Milkshake
The Salty Donut, Nutella Donut
Bertoni Café Brickell, Nutella Pancakes
Bakehouse Brasserie, Nutella Croissant
Read MoreIf you don’t live on Miami Beach, there’s a chance you have never been to Epicure Gourmet Market on 17th and Alton, and that my friends, is definitely a big miss.
Epicure Gourmet Market opened in 1945 as a Prime meat butcher shop. It was owned by the Thal Brothers and grew into one of the finest gourmet markets in South Florida with a second location in Sunny Isles. Epicure has an on-site bakery, award winning cheeses, a wine cellar, specialty grocery items, and an executive chef creating hot foods in a deli case every day.
Of course this is Saturday Sweets, so today’s feature highlights that on-site bakery. Less than a year ago, the bakery was taken over by Pastry Chef Christopher Jennings after the previous chef of 15 or so years retired. Chef Jennings, or CJ as he prefers to be called, decided it was time to revamp the bakery and give the desserts some more modern life. I stopped by to see if his treats were really worth the hype I’ve been hearing.
Spoiler alert: They are.
Read MoreDid you know there’s a farm in the Redlands called Patch of Heaven Gardens, that’s single handedly foresting and producing cacao? Cacao is the purest form of chocolate you can consume, and refers to the beanlike seeds from which cocoa, cocoa butter, and chocolate are made.
Cacao doesn’t typically grow in our backyards here in Florida, but the ambitious people at POHG have paired up with our friends at Cao Chocolates to make it happen anyway. Last weekend I was invited on a tour of the property complete with a five course dinner and wine pairing – the best part – each dish was made with cacao!
We arrived at the farm mid-afternoon right after a crazy Florida rainstorm blew through, and blew through it did, as a tree fell and knocked the power out on the entire 20 acre property. In a hurry to be able to use what daylight we had left, we rushed to the fields for a quick lesson on how to pick the cacao and then over to the Chocolate Bar Tasting area for dinner. Let it be known that I will definitely be back to check out the rest of the property, I hear there’s an amazing barn that’s almost complete.
Read MorePhoto Credit: Instagram images from Antonio Bachour and Soraya Kilgore
Saturday Sweets is back for 2017! New Year, Same Me, More Desserts! Along with a new year, new trends always seem to come along. Last year was very clearly the year of the donut as we all saw with the takeover by the many donut spots all over the city, including The Salty Donut, Honeybee Doughnuts, the second location of Mojo Donuts, Donut Fest being held in Wynwood Yard, etc. I’m excited to see what 2017 will bring to the decadent world of desserts.
I asked a few of my favorite pastry masters around the city what they think will be the next big thing in this sweet world we are living in and here’s what they are predicting:
Read MoreAs 2016 comes to an end, I am taking time to reflect on an amazing year filled with even more amazing sweets. It’s safe to say this was my sweetest year yet! I’ve made my way through kitchens all over Miami and gained wonderful new friends along the way. Here are my top five favorite desserts of 2016 - in no particular order because having to pick only five was hard enough!
Read MoreIt’s not often that I find myself in Doral, but when I heard about the insane milkshakes being served at Boca’s House, I knew I needed to check it out. Boca's House is a Peruvian-Venezuelan fusion spot boosting huge Tomahawk steaks and lots of ceviche options.
While I did stuff myself with dinner instead of diving straight into dessert, I made sure I had plenty of room to try a few of their shakes. We tried the three most popular flavors and could instantly see why their Instagram account has grown to over 171k followers in such a short period of time, with most tagged photos being of the famed milkshakes.
First up: The Tres Leches Milkshake
Read MoreIt’s safe to say everyone in Miami who loves food knows Brad Kilgore; James Beard Semifinalist, New Best Chef in America by Best Chefs America, one of Food & Wines Best New Chefs etc. But as the saying goes – behind every great man is an even greater woman. Enter: Soraya Kilgore, Brad’s incredibly talented right hand in life and pastry chef extraordinaire.
She may not be in the news as often, (or on the cover of Food & Wine Magazine, yet) but she’s got some serious talent.
As we move into Art Basel and Miami Art Week, it seemed appropriate for this week's Saturday Sweets to feature a talented artist, creating delicious and beautiful artwork every night at Alter and Brava by Brad Kilgore.
Soraya has loved pastry and baking for as long as she could remember. When she was a teenager, her parents decided to buy a bakery on a whim, and as she was off to culinary school they told her she could come back and run it. But of course, as many children do just to be rebellious, Soraya decided not to focus on pastry in school. It took her a few years, but she finally came back to her senses and returned to her first love – pastry and hasn’t looked back since.
Read MoreMiami is about to get its first Artisanal Cookie Shop thanks to Cindy Kruse and her cookie concept, Cindy Lou’s Cookies. In her words, “veggies might nourish the body, but cookies nourish the soul.” I couldn’t agree more! These cookies weigh a crazy five ounces each and are fresh baked daily. Cindy has been renting kitchen space on South Beach but is finally moving into her own space in Little River by the end of this year.
Not only will she be able to have her own space to crank out cookies that she’s hand delivering all over Miami by herself, but she’s hoping to one day open it to the public so everyone can have their cookie craving satisfied in an instant.
In the meantime you can enjoy her cookies at spots like Panther Coffee, Jimmy’z Kitchen, Vice City Bean, and Rail 71 Café. It wasn’t always about cookies though – Cindy has made her mark in famous kitchens all over the country while working under Wolfgang Puck, Emeril Lagasse, Charlie Trotter, Charlie Palmer and Jean Georges Vongerichten. She’s even made desserts for the Emmy Awards in Los Angeles.
Upon her arrival in Miami she was the Executive Pastry Chef at the Fontainebleau on Miami Beach until they closed for renovations where she then oversaw dessert production at Barton G. for two years. As much as she loved all those experiences, she says making her cookies has always been her dream.
Read MoreYou may remember back in March when I excitedly stalked my way into Bachour Bakery & Bistro days before they were actually open. Well, this time there was much less stalking but even more excitement when I was invited in to get a peek of Pastry Chef Extraordinaire, Antonio Bachour’s new fall and winter dessert menus – being paired with a tea line that he’s partnered with out of India.
For those of you who haven’t heard of Antonio Bachour, he’s a pastry chef who takes #DessertPorn to an entirely new level, as seen in his perfectly executed Instagram account: @Bachour1234, where he has garnered almost 350,000 followers. His gorgeous cakes and desserts are so amazing they make even the biggest dessert fiend (ME) almost afraid to eat them. Having him in house to explain the new menu was quite a treat since he is constantly traveling teaching courses with recipes from his three cookbooks (there’s a 4th on the way - woohoo!).
Brunch is big, in fact – it seems to be the trendiest meal of 2016, and I’m not complaining! My brunch adventures tend to be #SundayFunday experiences, since I usually spend my Saturday mornings baking and running errands.
By the time Sunday comes around I’m ready to have an abnormally long meal with bottomless beverages and of course always something sweet. That’s where French Toast comes in – it’s the perfect brunch entrée, as it’s basically eating dessert for breakfast. I’ve taken it upon myself to discover the best this city has to offer! So with fanfare I bring your this weeks MIAbites Saturday Sweets!
Izzy’s Fish & Oyster – Key Lime Stuffed French Toast
Read MoreI love chocolate in all of its forms and varieties. When I am browsing any dessert menu I instinctively look for the chocolatiest option possible.
As basic and predictable as it seems a good molten lava cake gets me every time. Since yesterday was National Chocolate Day, this week's Saturday Sweets is bringing you the top five desserts found in Brickell for anyone who is as obsessed with chocolate as I am.
Read MoreThere are certain recipes that are necessary to have up your sleeve. I’m a big believer that an insanely good chocolate chip cookie recipe can take you far in life. I grew up being taught that you never show up to someone’s house empty handed. While a bottle of wine is almost always welcome in those cases, being the baker and dessert lover that I am, I always show up with dessert.
Chocolate chip cookies have been my go to for many years. The ingredients are so simple and basic, you can usually count on having them on hand in most homes. This particular recipe is one I came up with after I got a last minute invite to a friend’s BBQ and needed something to bring, but – GASP – I was out of BUTTER! After a few moments of panic, and truly not having it in me to actually put on clothes to leave the house (aka pants) until I absolutely had to – I decided to do a coconut oil experiment.
Coconut oil is considered a “superfood”, which is kind of cool since it’s so dynamic and can be used in many different ways. I use it a lot in my kitchen, especially once I realized how easily it can replace butter (however, my love for butter will never die), but the best part is how well it holds flavors and can make recipes work. Apparently there are a lot of people out there who aren’t fans of the taste of coconut, something I’ll never understand, but good news – these cookies taste nothing like coconut! In fact, when I tell people there’s no butter in them they are convinced I’m lying!
It’s officially fall and even though it doesn’t feel like it (although, those two 75 degree days we had this week were heavenly) my mind is filled with all things pumpkin. I’m a big fan of pumpkin treats, so made it my duty to set out to find some of the best spiced fall flavored deliciousness in Miami.
Here’s where you can get the best pumpkin desserts around town:
6. The Elegant One
Pumpkin Cheesecake, The Forge
Read MoreIt’s not often that I venture up to Broward, but on occasion I’ll make the trek just to see what’s out there. This week I was invited to a Dessert Showcase at the Ritz Carlton in Fort Lauderdale, and decided it was time for a trip up north. Traffic was terrible, but upon arrival I was immediately greeted with champagne and a gorgeous display of cakes. The traffic was quickly forgotten.
The Dessert Showcase’s purpose was to let local wedding and event planners and others in the industry get a chance to know about the in-house cake and pastry offerings Executive Pastry Chef Ryan Cross and his team of 8 pastry artists are making on site.
The ocean views were a perfect backdrop for the large intricate cakes on display. Even the tasting portions were decorated beautifully making it an all-around classy affair, as one would expect when on a Ritz Carlton property.
Read MoreI honestly didn’t think it was possible, but my intense love for The Salty Donut has grown once again. This time it’s because last week they paired up with another fabulous local spot, Uvaggio Wine Bar on Miracle Mile, to host a donut and wine pairing dinner. Yes, you read that correctly DONUTS AND WINE. Cue The Sound Of Music and Julie Andrews – My Favorite Things lyrics, please.
The dinner included four amazing donuts from our friend and recent Cooking Channel Sugar Showdown winner, Max Santiago that were perfectly paired with wines by my favorite wine experts, Craig DeWald and Heath Porter. Tickets to the event were limited, as Uvaggio’s intimate setting only allows for a 25 person occupancy. I’m glad I bought my $40 ticket immediately because it sold out within an hour of being announced. Donuts for dinner sounded like the best idea ever for this sweet lover, even though I’ll admit I had no idea what I was getting myself into.
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