Miami's Front Porch Café on Ocean Drive

Front Porch Café on Ocean Drive has a competitive menu to say the least and it may take you up to 20 minutes to decide your order because there are so many items and they are so appealing.
Since my breakfast consisted of an ice cream bar, I was able to focus in on some items of interest quickly.The Green Chilies and Corn Mac N Chesse, Green Eggs with Jack Cheese and Pesto, Corn Beef Hash with Green Chillies and the Turkey Meatloaf with Tomato Basil Sauce all  sounds amazing; but I'm looking to sample a few  things without committing to a big meal.
Being the creative type, I chose Tuna Salad on Raisin Pumpernickel, black Bean Soup and Pasta Salad; to drink, Passion Fruit Ice Tea. A Pear & Almond Tart with Apricot Glaze sounds in season for dessert.
Tuna Salad was delicious and tightly constructed on the wonderful Raisin Pumpernickel bread. Black Bean Soup was amazing as it was presented without sour cream and cheese while the pasta salad was disappointing and typical.Passion Fruit Tea was refreshing and complimenting to the meal. I'll have to return for dessert later, not able to take another bite. The atmosphere on The Front Porch supports the fresh and delicious menu.

Cantina Bell Chicken Bowl at Taco Bell

Taco Bell has been on my mind a lot lately, especially since they developed some new menu items and have been running repeated commercials about the new Cantina Bell Bowls. Honestly, they had me at cilantro, an herb that I'm in love with because of its distinct flavor and ability to work year-round. Taco Bell your ads are working!

The Cantina Bell Bowls are available in Vegetarian, Chicken and Steak and the size is pretty generous. While the bowls are $4.79 (for chicken), you do have the option of adding chips and extra guacamole for an additional $1.50 and the store will add a medium drink for fifty cents more to make the total cost of chips, guacamole and drink $2.00. The entire cost of the meal was $7.20 and could not wait for them to call order number 275.

Once I received the Cantina Bell Chicken Bowl, I popped the top off and dug into the dish. The dish is really fresh and tasty with the grilled chicken, fresh lettuce and tomatoes, black beans, guacamole, corn and the cilantro infused rice. Its not mixed all together but its layered nicely.  The grilled chicken was moist and tender. The ad notes that the corn is roasted but mine didn't have the appearance or taste of being roasted. The tomato salsa was good and the lettuce was not wilted although it was layered onto warm chicken. The guacamole was very good but smooth, I personally enjoy some texture to my guacamole and if you buy the extra side of guacamole, you get about a tablespoon full.

Normally, when I'm in the mood for Mexican cuisine, I head to one of Taco Bell's competitors, but not now, not since they introduced the Cantina Bell Bowls.

Biscotti Party

Its been awhile since I made Biscotti so I made Chocolate, Orange, Walnut Biscotti and it has no sugar or butter, good! http://t.co/V1SFaZaO -- Donatime (@Donatime)

Rye With Love On Valentines'

On Valentine's Day, its important that dessert deliverys in a profound fashion and Rye On Market didn't disappoint when they delivered the Vietnamese Coffee Cake. It was not the traditional coffee cake that might come to mind but one that was silky smooth with what appeared to be a mousse like cream between the layers. The ganache on top was guarded by two types of sauces that peaked my interest, but the lemon sauce stood tallest to me. Dessert was absolutely delicious!
But that's not all, a Valentine's Day menu sampling had been developed by Chef Tyler Morris and the development was nothing short of spectacular. On the menu: Mussels, Spicy Tomato, Cilantro, Romesco along with a Beet Carpaccio, Mustard Greens and Fried Goat Cheese. Next, Chicken Posole, New Mexican style, a Crispy Pork Belly, Masa, Mole, a Roasted Squash with Hazelnuts and Feta and Braised Escarole Gratin. Wow, Chef Morris, I can't wait to come back to RYE!

Valentine's Fudgy Chocolate Brownie

There are many different types of brownies and when I say different, I simply mean that the textures and taste can vary. This fudgy chocolate brownie is one that we use to bake at the Dessert Gallery. My customers' loved it and I was never able to take it off the menu. The recipe belongs to Martha Stewart and what makes it fudgy is the addition and combination of the chocolate, butter and eggs. Here is the recipe; grocery list:

• Unsalted Butter (1 stick), Sugar (1 1/2 C), Eggs (4 Large), Vanilla Extract (1 tsp), Flour (all-purpose, 3/4 C), Salt (1/2 tsp) and Bittersweet Chocolate, coarsely chopped (8 oz).

Preheat oven to 350 F and butter 8-inch square baking pan. Butter and Chocolate should be melted together, set aside to cool (10 minutes). Stir sugar into cooled Chocolate and combine, now whisk in one egg at a time until smooth after each addition. Whisk in Vanilla and fold in flour and salt. Pour into pan, smooth with an offset spatula and bake 40-45 minutes. Place pan on wire rack to cool completely, then serve and enjoy!

Valentine's Hershey's Dark Chocolate Mousse

Dark Chocolate Mousse is one of three Chocolate recipes I will talk about in preparation for Valentine's Day! The Chocolate Mousse recipe is courtesy of the folks at The Hershey Company and can be found on the container of the Special Dark Hershey's Cocoa; the Special Dark Hershey's Cocoa is not sold at all grocer's. This mousse is dark, chocolate, smooth, can be used in a variety of ways and easy to make. You can drizzle melted Semi-Sweet Chocolate and garnish with fresh fruit for special occasions! Here is the recipe: grocery list.

• Gelatin (unflavored), Sugar (1 C), Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa (2/3 C), Cold Whipping Cream (2 C), Vanilla Extract (2 tsp.) and Water (1/4 C cold and 1/3 C boiling).

Sprinkle gelatin in small bowl that contains 1/4 cold water and let stand 2-3 minutes, next add 1/3 C boiling water and stir until dissolved. While mixture cools, combine cocoa and sugar in large bowl; add cold whipping cream and vanilla and mix on medium speed. Be sure to stop mixer and scape down sides of bowl and mix again until stiff. Pour in gelatin and mix until blended, now spoon into dessert dishes and chill in frig for at least 30 minutes. Recipes makes about 8-4oz servings, cut in half if you want to make less.

Three Beans Coffee

On the weekend prior to Valentine's Day, you're probably wondering why I'm talking about coffee, long story short, I purchased it for cheap, cheap, cheap and now I want to talk about it's worth. If you're an avid coffee drinker and you realize that the pricing is continually going up and your looking for some good coffee at a reasonable price, you may be interested.

I was in the coffee aisle of a local grocer when I looked up and saw (what was news to me) Three Beans Coffee that touted 100% Arabica Beans, rich, bold and dark roast; but most importantly, it cost $4.99.
Decision made, I decided to take it home for that cost and try it out, besides, how bad could it be.

Shortly after dinner, I decided to make me a cup of this new Three Beans Coffee to drink with one of the chocolate brownies I prepared yesterday. Admittedly, I did not follow the directions because I make coffee everyday and I fell like I know how to make a cup of coffee. By the way, I love, love, love the smell of coffee and Three Beans Coffee smells rich and vibrant. After placing a new filter in the coffee-maker, I put in 2 Tbs. of coffee to about 10 oz. of water and waited for it to brew.

Brewing complete, I put in a little creamer and some Splenda, stirred, smelled the richness and sipped. Wow, that taste like water, I thought. Then I said to myself, "take another sip just to see if its me", no, that's kinda watery tasting. Then I thought, I'll ask my flip-side what he thinks, he's a coffee drinker and it could be the brownie I'm having with it that may be interfering with the taste. My flip-side tasted it and said, "that's weak." so I poured out the rest and decided to give it another try in the morning.

When I woke up this morning and went downstairs to make coffee, I decided to read the directions before trying again. The directions say to start with fresh filtered water, O.K., use 2 TBS ground coffee to 6 oz. water, O.K., I can do that, I thought. So, I prepared the coffee just as suggested on the packaging, put in my creamer and Splenda, stirred, smelled and sipped. No, still not the taste I'm looking for, there's not a match between the smell and the taste of the coffee. The smell is robust, rich and bold and the taste is meek, weak and watery. The question is can I drink it, I can but I won't. Well, lesson learned, you get what you pay for!