Intrigue on the beach!
We (people with cameras) were barred (physically) from taking pictures of cupcakes because the Food Network’s Cupcake Wars episode that presented the winning cupcakes had not aired. Did the producers who confronted everyone with a camera think a picture of a cupcake would get tweeted to someone’s friend with the caption ‘OMG look at all the calories!!! Wish U were here’. Believe me, the cupcakes were not that hot.
But the SOBEWFF (The South Beach Wine and Food Festival) was a smash. (See picture of chef smashing his burger creation into his face)
Here’s the recipe.
Get a huge bowl (South Beach on the sand) and mix in 2 parts of the country’s most eager publicity hound chefs, 1 part huge egos, (Rachael Ray, you could have left at least a couple of body guards home) 1 part your basic humanity and add some really loud music. Take your credit card and squeeze until it squeals as loudly as the porkers that died for the privilege of providing you sustenance for the weekend’s first big bash, the BubbleQ. Throw together and add a smattering of celebs, wannabes and a phalanx of photographers and you’ve got SOBEWFF.
Champagne and pork was not the ideal combination for this eater, but there were a few that piqued our culinary curiosities.
A paring for the ages was Chef Duskie Estes’ salted chicharrone peanut butter cups. Yes, she stuffed a nugget of pork into a peanut butter cup. (As it was distributed to the masses, the vegies were ‘warned’ that there was pork in the chocolate) It was strange for the chocolate aficionados and the pork lovers were similarly stupefied. There hasn’t been a more startling find since ‘Rosemary’s Baby’.
The one that had them talking was the ‘side’ of chocolate covered crisp bacon with crumpled pistachios. The verdict was “wonderful” to “awful” to WTF? The initial taste was a creamy chocolaty bite with something hard underneath. When you find out its bacon, your taste buds go on a journey of discovery. Hopefully they’ll discover land.
Bacon has historically been high on the list of great tastes and has moved to the fore to become a centerpiece of culinary experimentation. Please just let it stay nestled between the lettuce and tomato on some toasted bread.
Chef Myron Mixon, here from his small town home a hundred miles north of the Florida line in Georgia, opened “Pride & Joy BBQ” in Wynwood just a few months ago.
He served up a thick slab of juicy pork belly on a slider bun and paired it with his creamy macaroni and cheese. This one’s a winner and he’s a local now.
A favorite at next night’s ‘Burger Bash’ was The Forge’s Executive Chef Dewey LoSasso with his phenomenal creation of a truffle burger. His team produced 2,000 luscious creations for the event. That’s about 7 million dollars spent on truffles alone. In our opinion he should have won.
We won’t be eating for a few days until the rush of rich, tasty and plentiful food subsides. The best part was watching short girls in 6 inch heels negotiate the sandy festivities. It was like a walking contest during an earthquake.
