Do you need a break from this miserable winter? I sure did. I thought I might go crazy if I woke up to another slushy snow storm in NYC. A girl can only take so much! When I realized I still hadn’t rescheduled an old cancelled flight to Miami, I jumped on the opportunity. It was perfect timing – the South Beach Wine and Food Festival was coming up! Now that I’m back to the cold, I want to commiserate with everyone who’s freezing their toes off up North. Let’s look back on my warm-weathered snapshots from SBWFF to mentally escape from it all!

IMG_0879

Michael and I with Scott Conant of Scarpetta!

The first SBWFF event I attended was Wine Spectator’s Best of the Best event – they showcased 50 of the nation’s best chefs. Man did we enjoy plenty of fabulous wine pairings! It was so much fun to mingle with such an incredibly talented bunch.

IMG_0890

My brother lives in Miami, so we got the whole extended family together for a delicious dinner at Prime 112. I bet you can guess who ordered the tomahawk steak….ME!

IMG_0896

Thank you Fried & True for this unbelievably delicious chicken and waffle!

In the morning, I went to a seminar on something I hold very near and dear to my heart – FRIED CHICKEN! Lee Schrager and Adeena Sussman hosted the event which featured recipes from their upcoming cookbook, “Fried & True.” Their book is a collection of fried chicken recipes from around the world. We sampled Korean Kung Pao Chicken by Dale Talde, Seeded Chicken Snitzel by Yotam Ottolenghi and my favorite – Keralan Fried Chicken with Cardamom Waffles and Spicy Maple. It was to-die-for! Fried & True is on sale in May so I suggest you get on the pre-order – I know I will!

Look who I ran into! Laurent Tourondel, Ramona, and myself enjoying a fun afternoon at Piaggia!

Look who I ran into! Chef Laurent Tourondel, Ramona, and myself enjoying a fun afternoon at La Piaggia!

 

IMG_0916

Michael loves seafood, so we went to Milos for dinner. Milos displays all their fresh seafood for you to select for your meal. It couldn’t get more fresh than that! I would have loved to try some of these ruby red suckers, but do you see that price tag? $95 a pound!! I enjoyed some Loup De Mer instead. Yum!

IMG_0919

Loup De Mer served with capers, herbs, and lemon. Perfection!

Somehow the trip flew by much too fast and here I am wishing I was there again. As always, the festival was inspiring and delicious. It left me with far too many new recipe ideas to try out! I hope March flies by quickly and Spring brings us a little sun soon. How are you holding up? Think you can make it a couple more months in this cold? Let’s hang in there!!! I hope you enjoyed this somewhat fluffy blog this week! I’ll hit you with something more exciting next time!