miami burger

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Miami is famous for a lot of things. South Beach. Art Deco. TV shows. And it is a different kind of melting pot for banana republics like Jamaica, the Bahamas, Puerto Rico and Cuba. One thing all these nationalities share is a distinct pride of place and definitely of food. There are some renowned dives in central and south Florida serving up these plated acts of love.
For those joining the game late, we are just past midway through cooking through Bobby Flay’s Burgers, Fries and Shakes. I am endeavouring to cook all the burgers in the book and making pretty good work of it.
Tonight we made the miami burger which is a riff on the cuban (cubano) sandwich. It is a pressed burger that is piled with roasted garlic dijon mayo, swiss cheese, sliced dill pickles and a slice of smoked ham with a turkey burger replacing the roast pork. Put the whole thing together, wrap it in foil and press under a heavy skillet while you melt the cheese into an oozing mass. Pretty good eating for a Wednesday night.

buy only big, big bargains

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We are taking a course at church called Financial Peace University. For the uninitiated, that is a 13 week class (call it Budget 101) taught by Dave Ramsey. Overall it has been pretty interesting and eye opening and carried some good lessons about getting out and staying out of debt, investing money and other useful information. One class is labelled Buy only big, big bargains. This particular class wasn’t the ne plus ultra of how to get a deal but it is an interesting way to look at things. Dave’s mantra is, live like no one else so that you can live like no one else. It’s also a basic Patience 101.
I also took at morning long class on couponing and saving at the grocery store. This was the real eye-opener. I have never been a big bargain shopper and might have cut a coupon here or there thinking, ‘what a great deal…’ but this class takes it to another level. An example of this is as follows: I need to buy some coffee. It’s 5.49 a bag. So, I watch the paper and the web, (hotcouponworld.com). Oh, it’s buy one, get one free, you say?. Oh, I have $1.00 coupon for each bag. You can actually use a coupon even on the free item. So, I buy two bags of coffee for $3.49. And I buy 4 so that they will last until the next wave of coffee comes up but I still save about 70% overall. Who knew?
I shrugged it off for a long time thinking, I don’t want to be tied to a brand (or untied from one) and I don’t have the space in my little apartment to store those three extra bags of coffee, 4 cans of tomato sauce or boxes of pasta. But now I can’t deny it. It is fun to have the lady in line behind me at the grocery store ask in awe as the clerk announces my savings, ‘How much did you save?’

bistro burger

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Longest week ever and I decide to come home and make a blog worthy burger. Tired and with less than a will to cook I pull out the book. Tonight’s burger is the bistro. A french tour de force that recalls steak au poivre with it’s pepper crust and french sidewalk bistro fare with it’s dijon vinaigrette dressing buttery greens. Topped with melting swiss and crisped bacon on a toasted buttery bakery style bun. A tall glass of pamplemousse rose perrier completes the francophilia. bon appetit.