Yardbird - Southern Table and Bar

On a visit to South Beach, Miami, Florida, my son and I tried a restaurant I saw written up in Southern Living for it's chicken and biscuits. I made reservations for lunch online. It lived up to the excellent review from Southern Living and more. The chicken and biscuit was moist, crunchy with a delicious biscuit. The Southern Revival drink was amazing and I hate bourbon! I, of course couldn't pass up the short rib sandwich, the tomato jam was out of this world, we ended up taking a half sandwich home it was so generous. Mac and Cheese well the picture really says it all but their cheese choices made for a robust cheesy flavor that you don't find in mac and cheese anymore. Cheddar waffle was too much given all the food we had but we ate it anyway, yes we did. Would make an awesome entree for a brunch with some peppered maple bacon perhaps ?!? Beans were a nod to needing something our bodies could recognize as good for you, they were al dente fresh and delicious. I wish I had a photo of their Red Velvet Cake but we were so full from lunch we boxed it to go then ate it before I could snap a pic but it was YUMMY. Below are pics of our lunch do yourself a favor and go. Locals say to get there early so they don't run out of your favorite! P.S. I want a roll of their napkin rings !!!

1600 Lenox Avenue, Miami Beach, Florida 33139

 (305) 538-5220           NO I'm not on the payroll !!!!!!!!!!!

Love this !

Southern Revival

Basil, Passionfruit, Buffalo Trace Bourbon,

Angostura Bitters, Lemon Juice, Simple Syrup

My personal favorite

Mama’s Chicken Biscuits 

Free-range fried chicken, pepper jelly, pickles,

housemade buttermilk biscuit

Big Ol’ Cheddar Waffle

Cheddar, green tomato chow chow

Bourbon Maple syrup

Sautéed Southern Beans

Big butter beans, little butter beans,

green beans, yellow beans & peas

Slow Braised Short Rib Sandwich

Thick sliced fresh tomato, gooey cheese,

housemade tomato jam, grilled country bread - tomato jam was to die for ! 

Macaroni and Cheese

Torchio pasta, 5 artisanal cheeses,

crispy herb crust

TOO TRUE !!!!

Dinner in 30 minutes

Most of you know I work long hours and for any of you that are in the same boat, motivation sometimes is difficult to come by when dinner rolls around. Last week I decided I was sick of the quick on the fly meals and planned ahead for making dinner. I had green veggies in the fridge and I really wanted beef. A great tip at the grocery store, if you want a nice filet but for less money, is to buy tenderloin tails. The long skinny end of the tenderloin. It is hard to sell because cut individually it is too small in diameter for a full steak but perfect if you can find a way to cook it not requiring a large single serving, but perhaps a few smaller pieces per serving. So the greens, some leftover cheese souffle and the filet sauteed quickly with mushrooms, roasted tomatoes, olive oil (California Olive Ranch), butter (Plugra) and some wine(La Vieille Ferme)/sherry(whatever kind you have on hand) made one delicious meal ! Try it quick/easy and you'll remember how much you love cooking. In about 35 minutes you'll have an amazing meal instead of that dinner in a bag ! 

Green beans, broccoli and asparagus

Veggies tossed with sea salt, pepper and California Olive Ranch olive oil (use good oil !) roasted in the over for about 35 minutes at 425 degrees

the tenderloin tail

tenderloin tail cut then rubbed with California Olive Ranch olive oil and seasoned with sea salt and pepper

My favorites Plugra and California Olive Ranch Olive oil, quick tip when sauteing meat use half oil and half butter for the flavor and the oil will keep the butter from burning at high heat !

all I had were regular white mushrooms but it would be delicious with mixed wild mushrooms, I had tomatoes in the fridge  from a friends garden which I had previously roasted with oil, salt, pepper and basil added at the end. (if you don't have this 2 or three diced canned plum tomatoes would work

Use whatever wine you have on hand La Vielle Ferme is a great drinkable white for everyday and the sherry works with just about any you have on hand, if you don't have sherry port might work as well but just a splash

 

after browning the meat with olive oil and butter remove and saute the mushrooms and a few of your tomatoes in the juices from the meat, adding a bit more butter

remove the veggies and quickly deglaze the pan with about 3/4 cup wine and 4 tablespoons sherry, let it simmer until reduced by half to one quarter of the original volume

finished, so yummy !

Happy Birthday Julia

Well today would have been Julia Child's 100th birthday. WOW. Many things come to mind when I think of Julia Child. Of course Meryl Streep played her beautifully in the movie Julie and Julia , the movie gave many of us a glimpse into her personal life, her love affair with Paul Child, her years struggling for acceptance in the male dominated french cooking world, and finally her triumph in the publishing world. May of us too remember with fondness the skits on Saturday Night Live where Dan Ackroyd played a lushed up version of Julia and severed at least one finger while trying to prepare his comedic meal ! Then of course the classic tv Julia with her dear friend Jacques Pepin preparing wonderful meals while sipping wine and even older footage of Julia wielding a cleaver to butcher a chicken. Fond memories. Will my children have such memories of me in the kitchen. Who knows, I hope so. In tribute to Julia I made myself a meal this evening including her classic cheese souffle. As I imagined it turned out just right due to her exacting directions. Sometime this week remember Julia and get in the kitchen to create memories of your own !

Finished product, I was out of foil so I chose a larger souffle dish for no run over.

Buttered Souffle dish

Gruyere Cheese, I also added parmesan and cheddar, save the rind for making soup !

buttered baking dish sprinkled with parmesan so souffle doesn't stick to sides of dish

Making the roux, butter, flour, salt, pepper, paprika

Roux just turning tan

roux with hot milk, egg yolks and cheese added off the flame

getting ready to add the egg whites, add 1/4 and stir in then fold the remaining whites into mixture

folding the remaining whites into  cheese mixture

Ready for the oven

finished

diggin in !

The recipe can be found in Julia Child's Way to Cook, published by Knopf, recipe appears on pages 72 -73 my only addition was more cheese. enjoy !

Cooking with a good friend

Tomato harvest for caprese salad

You know the kind of day. The kind of lazy day in summer when the heat has been unbearable and you've been working really hard and suddenly you get a day off when even with the heat there is a breeze worth napping to on your back porch. Yesterday I had the chance to spend some way overdue quality time with my friend Laurie. She lives in a beautifully restored home on several acres with an amazing pool among other delights. You know the kind of friend where even if it's been 6 months you can pick up like you never left off. A real keeper. Anyway we planned an afternoon to cook, swim and chat at her homey, homey home ! The early evening was perfect, warm with a gentle breeze, the pool amazing, just the right temp. and of course the company the best. Such a wonderful friend, her family so easy to be with on a gorgeous sunny afternoon. Her garden gloriously overgrown with ripe fruits bursting from all the vines. Tomatoes, peppers, beans, cucumbers, melons, sunflowers and the most precious of all FIGS ! Fresh picked we set to work on dinner succulent veal saltimbocca, roasted green veggies, caprese salad and for dessert feather light homemade meringues with fresh figs and a balsamic glaze. YUMMMMMMMM. Alas I forget the camera I usually have at the ready but Lauire's cel phone captured some amazing shots. Please enjoy. And do yourself a favor, call a friend and cook together ! Thanks Laurie, Kevin, Emma, Caroline and Brendan for a wonderful evening ! 

gorgeous basil from the garden

Caprese salad - tomato, mozzarella, fresh basil, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper

Veal saltimbocca - tender pounded veal with proscuitto and fresh sage leaves lightly dipped in flour and sauteed in butter served with a sauce of pan drippings, reduced white wine, butter and fresh lemon juice.

Homemade Meringue - 7 egg whites/2 cups confectioners sugar to stiff peaks

Meringues ready for baking with fresh figs

halfway through baking -mmmmm...

So yummy - finished meringues with figs and balsamic vinegar glaze

Cuckoo Momofuku

Recently I read a recipe for something called the Cornflake-Chocolate Chip Marshmallow Cookie inspired by  a cookie from the Momofuku Milk Bar. The idea of a crunchy yet chewy cookie was enticing ! I followed the recipe, with slight alteration, but probably should have read the WHOLE recipe first as they take a bit of time to make. May I say it is worth the time and the nasty cut from the plastic wrap teeth to make the cookies. Know ahead you need to refrigerate for at least an hour before baking and only 4 will fit on a cookie sheet. I baked one pan the first night due to my early recipe inattention. The rest of the cookies were baked today and given to family who agreed the cookies are really good. The dough can be refrigerated up to a week if well sealed in plastic wrap.

Here is the recipe and some pics !

Cornflake Crunch
3 cups cornflakes ( I used special K, you know cause I'm dieting)
1/4 cup malted milk (I used Ovaltine)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
6 tbsp melted butter

Batter


2 sticks room temperature butter
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
cornflake crunch (from above) (If you are truly lazy you might be able to substitute cocoa krispies and not make the cornflake crunch, I have not tried that though)
2/3 cups mini chocolate chips
1 1/4 cups mini marshmallows (do yourself a favor buy the minis I cut whole ones since I had some in
the house what a pain)

Mix all ingredients of the Cornflake crunch spread on a baking sheet and cook at 275 degrees for 15 minutes stirring once. Remove from oven and let cool.

Cream together butter and sugars for 2-3 minutes, then add egg and vanilla and beat for 7-8 minutes (really let the mixer work this long!)
Reduce speed to low and add flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda, mix until dough barely comes together. With  mixer still on low add chips, marshmallows and cereal mix, mixer will try to really work. Stop the mixer as soon as just incorporated and fold.
Line a baking sheet with parchment and make 1/3 cup measure size cookies flattening as you go (4 to a sheet max). Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour. While in fridge preheat oven to 375 degrees. After one hour remove from fridge and bake 18 minutes. Let cool on sheet. Enjoy with a big glass of milk !

Cornflake crunch out of the oven and cooled

chips and tragic large marshmallows

Kitchenaid working like a champ

Only 4 per cookie sheet !

Plastic wrap injury 

Look at the size of these cookies

Finished product !

Grapefruit and Honey Cake

This particular recipe is one we tried from Mario Batali, you have to like a more savory cake. It would be great with tea or as a dessert after a particularly heavy meal. The cake itself is dense and beautiful. The grapefruit rind lends a bitter taste to the final product but served with some freshly whipped cream and a drizzle of honey... it's just divine. It also keeps well and probably freezes nicely too. Easy to make and on second thought maybe a nice hostess gift as it would be great for a brunch or breakfast cake. (Tip - do yourself a favor and grind your own breadcrumbs it really makes a nice difference) .

 1/4 cup and 3 tablespoons freshly ground breadcrumbs
2 medium grapefruits
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 large eggs at room temperature
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Oil a 9" round cake pan with tall sides and dust it with the 3 tablespoons breadcrumbs. Zest both grapefruits ( for a less bitter taste you can cut back on the zest and when grating make sure to only get the skin not the white pith, it's way more bitter). Juice 3/4 cup juice from one of the fruits. Combine zest, juice and olive oil in a bowl.
In a large bowl beat the eggs and salt with an electric mixer until frothy and light, slowly beat in the sugar and then the honey, continue mixing until pale and thick (about 2 more minutes).
Sift into the egg mixture the baking powder, additional breadcrumbs and flour, when combined fold in the grapefruit juice mixture until just incorporated.
Pour batter into pan and bake for 50 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes then remove from pan and let cool completely on rack. Serve with fresh whipped cream and a drizzle of honey or if you are really ready to knock 'em dead section some grapefruits for the top as well.

Always great to get your ingredients out first so nothing is missing !

Pan oiled and dusted with breadcrumbs

finished cake out of the oven on cooling rack

first slice (we couldn't wait 'til after dinner)

Presentation fun for the holidays !