If you like Pho, it’s a place to go.  Not the best in the world, but a go-to for Miami.

Restaurant: Miss Saigon, Coral Gables

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Items Ordered:

• Bo La Lot – Beef wraps
• Pho Dac Biet (includes the thin beef, meatballs and  all the “nasty bits” like tripe, tendon and other delectables)

The Verdict:

• 3-4 stars
• FOOD: Flavorful, well-prepared
• SERVICE: average
• AMBIANCE:  Above average. Smaller-sized (15ish tables), but clean, with stereotypical Vietnamese decor.

Our “Mangia Memoir” (what we’ll remember)

• I took the trek to the Gables with Kelvin, my Vietnamese friend, who happens to crave Pho on a weekly basis.  He has been on the “hunt” for the best place to get Pho in Miami, which has been a bit of a challenge to say the least.  I have (not so hesitantly, I might add) agreed to be his wingman (er, woman) on this quest.  Honestly, there are not a ton of options, especially when you come from a more diverse city, like Chicago, as he does. It seems that every place Americanizes the deliciousness and you have to specifically ask the waiter/waitress to beg the chef to prepare it in the authentic Vietnamese style. Miss Saigon was no exception here.  I get it…restaurants have to cater to their audience, but I wish there was a way to get the masses to really enjoy food the way it was MEANT to be enjoyed, not a dumbed down version because of silly Americans.
• The waiter was our entertainment for the evening.  Kelvin ordered the appetizer and the waiter said, “do you know how that comes out? You do, oh ok, because you have to wrap them yourself, you know?”  As if my little Vietnamese amigo didn’t know that — Psha.  My favorite was when we ordered 2 bowls of Pho and he said “You know how big those are, right? You want 2?  You do?! Ok.” And when Kelvin asked for it “Vietnamese style”, the guy said “Yea, we can do it.  With all the fatty stuff, right?”  If I wasn’t a culinary adventure seeker, without an immediate care for my waistline, I probably would have passed on the “fatty stuff” because he really failed in making it sound even remotely appetizing.

Sometimes the pros DON’T know best.  Ya just gotta make a recipe your own–and that is half the fun!

The Meal:  Chick Pea Pizza alla David Rocco, Mediterranean salad with chopped cucumber, tomato, hearts of romaine & lemon.

The Details: chick pea pizza, aka “la cecina”,  is allegedly a very common dish in Italy.  It is made from chick pea flour, a naturally gluten-free flour, olive oil, salt & pepper.

What Went Wrong + TIPS:

Tony and I watch one of Cooking Channel’s programs called La Dolce Vita with David Rocco and have really enjoyed the journey David and his wife Nina take us on. They always end up filming exciting narratives in the exact places or scenarios Tony and I yearn for (i.e. a remote seaside picnic, a relative’s apartment in Florence, a lakehouse barbeque). Without a doubt, the narrative is the strong suit of the program (along with the frisky soundtrack). David Rocco tells a great story, but when it comes to recipes, stick to the other guys.  Sorry, David -  we love ya and definitely wanna be friends .  Come to our house and we’ll show YOU some “La Cecina”

1. FALSE ADVERTISING: The recipe he shared on the TV program didn’t match the details found in the actual recipe on the website. Not really a big deal, unless you weren’t planning to look up the recipe online….which we weren’t.  I mean, how hard could it be? What he showed us on the tele was a piece of cake (well, pie).  We were curious about the portion size, so ended up looking at the recipe and learned a key STEP that was missing from the TV program.  The chick pea batter has to sit for nearly an hour before placed into the oven. We definitely weren’t expecting that.
2. FLAVORLESS: The recipe could use a little SEASONING LOVE.  Be sure to the follow the recipe and then toss in your favorite seasonings like rosemary or thyme. Whatever you like.  And definitely, a little more salt.
3. COOL DOWN: if you try to take the pizza out of the pan immediately (like we did), you are going to end up with flaky broken mess.  Let is rest for about 15 minutes or so.  It will regain some of it’s form and elasticity, making it easier to slide out of the pain and cut into the shape you like.

Sometimes glorious meals come from the scrap you have in the ‘fridge.  And that is what happened here.

The Meal: Chicken Cutlet, aka “Cotoletto” topped with fresh arugula and shaved parmigiano reggiano.

The Details: thinly sliced (or butterflied) chicken breast, pounded out as thin as you can get it (while still being chicken and not mush), dipped in flour, then egg, then panko bread  crumbs (for the crunch) and pan fried.  Top with a handful of fresh arugula and squeeze with lemon.  Shave slices of parmigiano reggiano for intense flavor by the bite.

The Verdict:

• 5 stars
• Don’t you feel like crap when somebody asks “What’s for Dinner?” and the immediate response in your mind is “Well, hell if I know!”.  I feel like that a lot. Tonight was one of the nights I looked in the fridge and thought….”Ok, what do I have in here that I can piece together?  And what ingredients do I NEED to use before they go bad?”.
• The chicken breasts I had bought for a meal that never happened were about to expire and the arugula looked like it had about 1-2 days of life left in it.  Soooo, chicken and arugula it was.  I also realized that I had just enough panko left for 2 cutlets.  I would make the sacrifice (though reluctantly) to have a cutlet dipped in regular breadcrumbs EEE—OR  Weber and Tony–that right there is L-O-V-E.
• Because we had nothing else in the house besides some rouge boxed “Pasta Sides” that have been in there for 2 years (they are shelf stable, right?), I decided I’d pound out the chicken extra extra thin, so it took up the full circumference of the plate and seemed like a huge portion.  We eat with our eyes, right?
• Weber and Tony didn’t even realize or complain that their wasn’t a starch with dinner and both were stuff, satisfied and happy gents.
• Would You Eat It Again?: Yes, in a heartbeat.  How about tomorrow?
• What Would You Change? Really try to have  a spare box of panko, because I’m tell you that stuff really takes it to a whole new level.  Also, having 3 frying pans that can fit a full cutlet would be awesome.  That way, in my house of three, each would be finished at the same time, instead of intermittently.

Ever eat something at a restaurant that was so damn good, you had to try to make it yourself the next day? I have.

The Meal: Buttermilk Chicken Tenders & Truluck’s Hot House Tomato Salad

The Details: chicken tenders marinated in seasoned buttermilk, breaded in panko bread crumbs and pan fried to crispy perfection.  Whole tomato (sliced in half) covered in buttermilk dill dressing, topped with thick-cut bacon and thinly sliced onion.

The Verdict:

• 5 stars
• All parties agree, it was delicious.  The copycat Truluck’s salad wasn’t exact, but damn close! We have a lifetime to perfect it. Because the chicken was thinly sliced tenders and dipped in panko, rather than regular breadcrumbs, they crisped up reeeaaal nice.
• Would You Eat It Again?:  Unanimous, hell yes.
• What Would You Change?:  When making chicken tenders, always make more.  For some reason, people chow down on them a lot faster, and in way bigger quantities.

I thank the man/woman who discovered the incredible, edible egg.  It has brought so much joy to our lives! The most versatile food, hands down!

A compilation of all our meals featuring eggs!

[Show as slideshow]

priligy lietuvoje

What’s better than keeping TRADITION alive and  prepping food for 3 days to share with 25 of your closest friends?  Nuttin’

Major Mangia! Memoir: 2011 Italian Easter Celebration with 25+ friends at our apartment in Miami.

Over the years, I think Easter has really started to make it’s way to the top of my list of favorite holidays. The preparation leading up to Easter (in the Catholic church) is filled with a lot of drama, sacrifice and I think the stories are some of my favorite. I also think that Easter is the start of something new for a lot of people–a rebirth, the start of spring and nice weather, and of course, Easter bonnets!

For me, I think it was all of those things! I wanted to gather all of our “transplant” Miami friends/co-workers to celebrate together, Italian-style!

Miami Crew - minus Vince(taking photo) & Iggy

Just like last year, Weber and I stayed in Miami for Easter.  We’ve had a LOT of traveling already this year between the wedding and family stuff.  Hopefully next year, we can get the family to come down here for Easter?!

“Family” is such an interesting word because it connotes different things fordifferent people.  For me, “family” is something pretty indescribable. It’s more of a feeling than anything else–a mixture of love, loyalty, laughter and a billion memories all combined into this one big FEELING.  Our families are what make us who we are and they can never ever be replaced, but sometimes (and not very often), you meet someone or you have an experience or moment when you just breathe in and say “man, it almost feels like….family”.

Making ravioli

As we toasted with Prosecco at the beginning of the party, I looked around at all of these friends, co-workers, neighbors (most of which do not have any family here in Miami) and felt happy.  Happy to be together—Happy to have created a feeling of “family”, even when ours were thousands of miles away.

The great thing about technology is that even though our families are in fact thousands of miles away, phone calls, Skype and even iPhone FaceTime can let us celebrate together.

To all who came to the fiesta, thank you. To Weber & Tony, thank you for all the help making ravioli, rolling meatballs and everything else you did. Vince, thanks for taking all the photos!  And to my Pitocco crew back home–thanks for the all the help answering food questions and supporting me as I tried to pull off feeding 25 people! :)  Weber thought we’d never use all of those plates we got for the wedding!  I guess I had to prove that wrong early on!

What was on the menu, you ask? Buon Appetito!

The Menu:

• Prosecco toast in celebration of Easter
• Homemade Limoncello alla Tony & Alisa
• Homemade Ricotta Cheese Ravioli in homemade marinara sauce (Pitocco family secret recipes). Half-moon shaped ravioli.
• Homemade Spinach and 4 cheese ravioli in gorgonzola cream sauce.  Square shaped ravioli.
• Baked Rotini with seasoned ground beef, ricotta and mozzarella.  Half with egg.
• Homemade Pesto Farfalle (pesto made with spinach, arugula and walnut)
• Homemade meatballs
• Mild Italian sausage
• Hot Italian sausage
• Rosemary Chicken
• Charred Broccoli
• Cucumber Tomato Salad with fresh mozzarella
• Mixed greens salad with homemade vinaigrette
• Gavazoon (Pitocco family recipe)