The best part of waking up..........

Nope its not Folgers in your cup- well not just Folgers!

This morning I wanted to treat the family and in particular my SEA Survivor Ishmael with a meal that was consistent with his tremendous effort yesterday.

So this meal consisted of Buttermilk Pancakes with Honey Cinnamon Butter, Crispy Bacon, Parsley Scrambled Eggs and Sirloin/Tenderloin steaks with Sauteed Vegetables.

Mmmmmmmmm!

Return of the Pseudo King?

Damn its been a long time!

My dearest apologies for being away once again for this length of time. Believe me each week I continue to prepare similar meals but between examination preps, my AWOL camera and work, it is quite difficult to dedicate the time necessary to produce and plate a meal similar to the one featured in this post.

The aforementioned was not an attempt at an elaborate excuse but a reminder to me to juggle priorities as cooking should always take its rightful place!

Here's to my Outback Steakhouse inspired Pan Grilled T-Bone Steak with Roasted Potatoes, Garlic Vegetables and Batter Fried Shark.

Miami Meals - Chili's Finale

Well we are right back where I started ...at Chili's! We ended the trip with lunch at MIA. For the first time I tried the chilli at Chili's and it was damn good. Very spicy for a nexium needing stomach like mine but I still indulged.

I also tried a spicy Honey Chipotle dip with Batter Fried Chicken Fingers and they were like WOW. Based on this I created my own honey Chipotle BBQ sauce recipe at home and that received great reviews from those lucky to sample.

My oh My Miami was marvellous and magnificent. Each day was filled with laughter and learning. Somehow I misplaced the pictures of the meal I had at the Cheesecake Factory which was flatiron steaks, another brilliant plate and the dessert was like no other I have ever had and they are well deserving of their moniker.

Well that's it for Miami 2010. Who knows where I will have the opportunity to fly next. Be certain though that once I do, those plates will be immortalized in photos and the experiences and tastes shared with you as best as I can.

The Pseudo Chef

Marriott Marquis Miami- Breakfast

At the seminar breakfast was served at 7:30am. But I could never make that and slept until it was time to go downstairs. So I missed out on the Marquis free breakfast.

Well my team had this beautiful table set for them one morning. I never thought of pairing cherry tomatoes with scrambled eggs. This is definitely one of those recipes that I will duplicate and add to my personal favorites.

Marriott Marquis Miami- Dinner

Let me start off this post by declaring I dont have the vocabulary required to describe the pictures in this post.

I am humbled and extremely honoured and feel an extreme sense of pride and privellege to have stayed at the spanking new Marriott Marquis Miami less than one month since their doors were opened in October 2010.

The hotel breathes a level of luxury that I have not ever experienced at the Hiltons and Hyatts that I have stayed.

The very first night we opted to order in rather than dine at one of the restaurants downstairs.

Dios Mio, the Filet Mignon was ordered medium well done. Let me declare again I have never had any steak anywhere that was better prepared. The meal was like nothing I have ever experienced, from the plating the white glove service, the flatwear, the taste and consistency of the meats- second to nothing.

With this single meal I learnt three important things. Firstly always to be mindful to appreciate the importance of not overpowering food with seasonings. Secondly one should not compromise taste and quality when purchasing or preparing steaks. Thirdly if prepared correctly the natural flavor of the meat is what makes the dish perfect and not the slathering of condiments. Fourthly a well executed pan sauce is all the condiment you will ever need with a good steak.

The assortment of breads were interesting and I have never seen Cheesecake presented in that manner- Iron Chef America style.

Allow me to adapt from Smokey Robinson as only his lyrics can help me convey the thoughts sealed in these photos. ...''Let the pictures take your mind...... just release all you have known before and you will find''.

Miami Meals - IHOP

Well after that late night shopping and eating it was hard to make the 10am buffet breakfast at the Hotel. I didnt mention that we started off the vacation at a La Quinta Hotel. For under $80 bucks a night for a king sized bed, with refrigerator, microwave, coffee maker, free breakfast and wireless internet as well as all the usual hotel amenities YOU CANNOT GO WRONG.

Breakfast was always awesome and featured cereals, oats, bagels,waffles,toast, hard boiled eggs, various jams, cream cheese, fresh fruit, fruit cocktail, yogurt, juices, coffee, tea, hot chocolate... Its all complimentary, you can eat till you drop and as we did...you can cop a couple extra yogurt and apples to snack on during the day or between meals. The service was great.

Anyways we missed breakfast and in our moment 0f despair decided on going to the nearest IHOP. We had already programmed the location in the GPS and were at the restaurant in less then 20 minutes.

My God...Come Hungry and leave totally loaded and Euphoric. As indicated in the pics only after digging in they were taken. It is that good! Exactly as seen on TV. We never made it back for dinner at IHOP but based on their menu offerings it would have been great. I have been inspired to make blueberry pancakes since my return and have been able to reproduce with great accuracy some of the taste and presentations which I will feature some time this year.

Another fantastic inspiring experience.

Miami Meals - Fast Foods

Having a car when on vacation gives you the opportunity to accomplish so much and gives you the convenience of not having to depend on public transportation or a spending upwards of $10US one way!

The Taurus and the Garmin GPS gave us the confidence to roam anywhere at anytime as home was just a click and a couple turn by turn signal away.

We bought dozens of Krispy Kreme donuts and for anyone who has not had this taste experience I can declare you dont know donuts until you tries these bad boys. The first time I had them were a couple years ago when a good friend's aunt brought her a couple and she shared two with me. My God! 10-15 secs in the microwave and you are in Pastry Heaven. Forget what you have ever ate this is the Best Donut you will ever have! Its is my understanding that only thing that beats this is the experience of a Krispy Kreme donut directly from one of there bakeries. Until then .......

I am tired of being blitzed by KFC cable ads for Grilled Chicken as its not offered in Trinidad. Man! its like Original recipe on steroids!. It is high addictive and can be regarded as the methamphetamine of fried chicken. Wow that is some good smokey seasoned stuff. The Colonel should be promoted to commander and chief after creating this taste. Unlike Buckleys it tastes fantastic and its good for you or at least better than fried chicken.

If I did a questionaire to determine what people do at 2:30am, the # 1 response would be sleep except for Nymphos and teenagers with volcanic hormones eruptions. Well this guy was in Mc Donalds at a local Super Walmart picking up a Mc Rib sandwich (think I'm lying check the time on the watch next to the Taurus keys). To start I though this was going to be real ribs and not a patty. Can I say I was disappointed...yep a little but all in all the sandwich was okay at best. It was my least favorite experience but being able to cop one that hour of the morning with nuggets fries and APPLE PIES was AWESOMMMMEEE!

Did I mention how much I love Apple Anything?