South Beach, Miami, Florida

So, last week I spent a week in South Beach at a conference.  I’d never really spent any time in Miami, so it was an interesting experience.

Frankly, I’m not sure what the appeal of South Beach is.  It’s pleasant, don’t get me wrong, but it isn’t that special.  Basically, South Beach is just another tourist beach area.  The restaurants are overpriced and not terrible innovative.  The hotels, even the ones not facing the beach, are pricey.  But the beach is beautiful.

I guess the key to South Beach must be the clubs…but, since I was attending a conference that I had to be up for early, I wasn’t out hitting the clubs all night.   So, if you’re not into the night life…there are probably nice beaches with more reasonably priced hotels elsewhere.

Deco hotel on Ocean Blvd, So. Beach, FL

So many places….so little 2009!

Well, the big priority for 2009:  Where will I go??

I got an email from a sister-in-law who wants to meet in Yellowstone in mid-June to do a little camping.  Since her kids are the most adorable on the planet.

Katie & Ben

Mid-May & June will be college and high school graduations…

I’m hoping to take my niece, who is graduating from high school, somewhere (she’s suggested South America).  And my brother and his family is talking about Greece in July and have encouraged us to join them (which sounds like fun).

And, then there’s my husband.  He gets so testy if we don’t go somewhere interesting.  And that’s where the dilemma is.  Where to go and when to go?

The good news is that between us we have tons of frequent flier miles.  The bad news is…well, too many choices.  Here’s what’s currently on my (unedited) ‘where to go’ list:

india
great britain  (embarrassingly, we’ve never been out of Heathrow)
greece
leningrad
japan
trip on horseback
NW rafting trip
hudson bay
hong kong, china
provence france
morrocco
rio & brazil
rio grande or colorado river rafting
poconos
fiji
new zealand
western australia and tasmania

Our last few trips have been:

2008: Vietnam, Thailand, Mexico

2007: Turkey

2006:  Peru

So, add a comment.  Tell me where (off the list, darlings…I know what you’re thinking) the next trip should be.

Easing into New Year’s Entertaining

So, maybe you’ve got a little bit of the morning after on New Year’s Day. You can handle the bowl games, but only if you keep the sound down a little. (Can’t those crowds roar a little softer?)

And now you have guests coming for dinner? (Who does that? Oh, yea: in-laws.) Here’s something quick and elegant tasting that you can whip up in less than an hour.

Chateaubriand

Yeah, I know:  “Chateaubriand?  Are you kidding?  I don’t even know what that is!?!”  Well, it’s just a cut of beef tenderloin which is a really nice, tender cut of beef.  And it sounds really classy, so its perfect for entertaining.

“What’s this?”

“Oh, just a little Chateaubriand I whipped up.”

“Wow!”

The recipe is all right as is, but if you don’t have demi-glace for the sauce (or forgot it, as I did) add 1/4 cup of port and simmer for a minute. Add some mushrooms and a tablespoon of flour and continue to simmer until the liquid is thickened.

While the meat rests (see recipe) for 10 minutes, grab a bag of Trader Joe’s Roasted Root Vegetables (actually any veg will do, but these have a rich taste that works nicely with the meat) and toss in a pan while you’re making instant mashed potatoes (or if you’re a stickler, not that hung over and planned ahead mash the potatoes you started boiling when you started the meat).

Pour a nice bottle of red, serve the food and impress your guests.

The big advantage of the recipe is that you can brown the meat before your guests arrive then start the 40-45 minutes of braising while you serve drinks & chat. You only have to tear yourself away for 10 minutes while you wrap up the cooking.

The perfect entertainment meal with minimum fuss! But, boy does it set the bar high when it’s the first dinner of the new year!