Reviewed: Fat Burger

My mom didn't like Alex when we first started dating. The truth is, she was in love with my ex boyfriend and thought there was no way I'd do better than him. So when she found out about Alex she told me I was giving up filet mignon for a hamburger. For some reason she thought I was downgrading. Alex eventually won her over but to this day we joke about her filet mignon vs. hamburger comment. Now I will say that if I was asked to choose between filet mignon and a hamburger I would choose the hamburger. This has always and will always be the case. I love a good burger and would rather have that than a filet mignon any day.
Case in point, Fat Burger. It's a new burger place on Miracle Mile in Coral Gables and I was dying to check it out. We recently went to it and I indulged just a little. I ordered a 5 oz burger with cheddar cheese, bacon, and a fried egg. The burger was delicious! It was a little on the dry side but the bacon and egg really made up for that because of the flavors they added to the burger.
We order a side of onion rings to go with the burgers. The side was just enough to share. The batter wasn't too think and it was enough to add a nice crunch to the sweet onions.
Fat Burger is located at 232 Miracle Mile in Coral Gables. Prices are comparable to a place like Five Guys if you are getting a regular burger but they do get pricey once you start adding things (cheese is $.60 extra and bacon is $.99 extra). Still, they are a good alternative to Five Guys if you want a fried egg added to your burger.

Cookie Wednesday: Peanut Butter Cookies

One of the new things I want to do on the blog is to feature a cookie each week. I have always said that cookies are my favorite thing to bake and that should be reflected on the blog. Or maybe I'm using the blog as a way to justify my desire to bake cookies. Either way, I love to bake cookies because of how varied they can be, how quickly they come together, and how perfectly portioned they are. No cutting, slicing, or unwrapping necessary; you can just grab and go.
This week I decided to make a cookie I rarely make: the peanut butter cookie. Alex loves peanut butter cookies but I don't. The truth is I don't like peanut butter in desserts. I like peanut butter on its own and love it in a pb&j sandwich but I don't like the way it tastes when more sugar is added to it or when it's baked. Or so that's how I felt up until this cookie. This cookie is so addictive. It's soft and sweet and has just a hint of peanut butter flavor. Alex said the cookie was amazing and tasted like Jamba Juice's smoothie Peanut Butter Moo'd. I found the cookie to have just the right amount of peanut butter flavor. In other words, the peanut butter flavor did not overwhelm the senses. It was properly balanced out by the caramel sweetness of the brown sugar.

Peanut Butter Cookies
Source: Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook Special Edition

1/2 butter, softened
1/2 peanut butter
1/2 granulated sugar
1/2 packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 baking powder
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Granulated Sugar

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Combine the butter and peanut butter in a large bowl and beat on high speed for 30 seconds. Add the sugars, baking soda, and baking powder. Beat until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour. If necessary, cover and chill dough until easy to handle.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in additional granulated sugar to coat. Place two inches apart on prepared cookie sheets. Flatten by making crisscross marks with the tines of a fork. Bake for 7-9 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

Bake 7-9 minutes.

Enjoy!

I Bring You Flowers

We have been living in our house for close to 9 months and we still haven't completely unpacked. Our garage is full of boxes of things we have no idea what to do with or where to put. Although we will probably never use them again, I can't part with my many big winter coats. So in a box in the garage they remain. One of the things that appears to still be in a box is my ice cream maker. I don't know how that could have possibly happened but I have no clue where the thing is. I was excited about making this week's TWD selection of Burnt Sugar Ice Cream until I realized that the key appliance was missing. Oops! Sorry to our host Becky of Project Domestication and to TWD for missing out on what I'm sure was a great selection. Hopefully these purple roses will grant me forgiveness.
Also, I'm going to get more organized with the blog and start posting more often. I hate that the blog has been somewhat forgotten. Hopefully I'll be able to keep up with the goals I have set up for the blog.

Swim Model

The weather in Miami is becoming more and more perfect for the beach (or pool). I am working on getting myself back in bikini shape, but Cati is already in perfect shape for all her bathing suits. She's ready to show off all those delicious rolls. I'm waiting to get the go ahead from her doctor, but I am ready with her hats, sunscreen and tent. She has 3 bathing suits now and I have to stop myself from buying more. We are a big beach family and have been patiently waiting for her to be old enough so we can take her to the beaches we grew up on. Cati has two bikinis and one one-piece. Here are a few pictures of her in all her deliciousness...

This is her Gymboree one-piece. This bathing suit fits her the best. I love the booty ruffle!This is her Old Navy bathing suit. I love the big bow on the top and her yummy rolls. I don't think she knows how to feel about this one, but I think she looks adorable in a bikini.This is her Target bathing suit. This bathing suit is too big for her but I'm hoping she'll fit into by the end of the summer. The last picture captures her "I'm too tired for more pictures, mom!" face. I love having a daughter! Little girls are so much fun :)

TWD: Chockablock Cookies

Three weeks in a row! Now I am really starting to get impressed. I couldn't resist participating this week because we were making cookies and I love to bake cookies. Mary of Popsicles and Sandy Feet chose Dorie's Chockablock Cookies. These cookies are full of things like nuts, chocolate, dried fruit, coconut, oats, and molasses. I was both impressed and concerned over the amount of things in these cookies. Impressed because this cookie was loaded with ingredients I wouldn't have thought to put together. Concerned because I was going to take out a lot of the ingredients to create a cookie we would eat. I added more butter instead of using shortening and omitted the dried fruit and coconut. The result was a cookie that kind of tasted like a chocolate chip cookie. I say kind of because the molasses gave the cookie a very distinct mocha-like flavor.
I couldn't tell if I liked or disliked these cookies. I had to eat a few before I was able to form a strong opinion about them. I like the cookies but I don't love them. Because I omitted the fruits my cookies had a lot of dough which made them ultra chewy and soft.
Make sure to stop by Mary's blog for the recipe and the TWD site to check out what everyone else thought about this week's selection.

Fudge Brownies

I love brownies. I have yet to meet a brownie I don't like. They are the perfect little dessert when you need (or want) that chocolate fix and you don't have any chocolate candy bars around. I had been wanting to make brownies for days and just when I was about to make them the baby would wake up and basically cry out, "No kitchen for you lady! I need you NOW!" This happened several times because I was overly hopeful when it came to her taking a long nap.
I finally baked some brownies and the recipe came from my newest cookbook, Deep Dark Chocolate. The brownies are called fudgy brownies and the name couldn't have been more perfect. After Alex's first bite he proclaimed these "very fudgy" brownies as good. For me, the brownies were rich but I find almost anything made with dark chocolate as rich. I topped my brownies with ice cream because, if you are going to indulge in something as rich as fudgy brownies, might as well go all the way and add some ice cream and chocolate sauce.

Good Ol' Fudgy Brownies
Source: Sara Perry's Deep Dark Chocolate

5 oz premium dark chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup premium unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease an 8x8-inch baking pan with cooking spray.

Place the chocolate and butter in a medium heat-proof bowl and set in a wide pan or skillet of hot water. Set aside for 5 minutes, stirring 4 or 5 times, and let the chocolate melt completely. Stir until smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in the cocoa powder, sugar, and salt. Whisk in the eggs, and then stir in the flour until just blended. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake until a tester inserted in the middle comes out with a few moist crumbs, clinging to it, about 35 minutes. Do not overbake. Transfer to a wire rack and let the brownies cool completely. Cut into squares.

Baby Gnome

I have gotten a lot more comfortable with going out with the baby. I've always taken her out but now I am starting to take her out for extended trips. She's fallen into a bit of a routine where she wakes up between 7am and 8am, eats close to 9am, then takes a 20-30 min nap, and is up and ready to party. After her nap she's in a great mood so I take advantage and head out of the house. We mostly run errands but we also do some fun things. Two of them being going to Miami Children's Museum and Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. Because Alex can't come with us (someone has to work, right?) I try to document the trip as best as possible. I take pictures of Cati in her stroller in front of things and this reminds me of people who take pictures of garden gnomes in random places around the world.

The Museum was so cool. I wish I was a kid again so I could go play there. My favorite part of the trip was seeing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Exhibit. I have been reading Cati the books, which are a great set of American fairytale literature. Cati with a cast in honor or her orthopedic papa :)

The Garden was stunning. It was so lush and beautiful and it had cool art exhibited throughout.
Don't the pictures remind you of the garden gnomes?! And because the photographer is always behind the camera, here is a rare picture of the two of us together:

Feeling Like a Rebel

Ok that was corny but I couldn't think of a better title for this post. My birthday present this year was a brand spanking new Canon Rebel. I have been lusting over this camera for what feels like an eternity and I am finally done lusting. No more running to the camera section of any given store and putting on my best puppy-eyes-oh-please-buy-me this-camera face. Thank goodness too because I was starting to feel ineffective in my powers of persuasion when it came to Alex. He was doing a mighty fine job at pretending not to notice my sappy face.
I had always said I wanted a nice camera by the time we had a baby because I wanted to be able to take beautiful shots of our little bundle. Now that we have that bundle, it was time to get the camera. Knowing how important picture taking and memory capturing was to me (I already have 2000 pictures of Cati and she's barely 2 months old), Alex and his family got together and gifted me with a Rebel. I'm still learning how to use the advanced settings but so far the camera has been good to me and I can see that the images are sharper, crisper, and more true to the subject than the images were with my old point and shoot. Here's a shot of my favorite subject:Now that I have a new camera I have a new excuse for going picture crazy :)

TWD: Sweet Cream Biscuits

I think I'm finally starting to hit my stride! Two weeks in a row! Go me! I was so excited about the biscuits chosen by Melissa of Love at First Bite for this week's TWD. I love breakfast items and I love making breakfast. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to indulge in making my favorite meal of the day because of the little missy. I can't wait for her to understand the importance of this meal!These biscuits were delicious and I loved how easy it was to put them together. The recipe calls for 5 ingredients, one bowl, and a little elbow grease. I thought the biscuits came out great and had just enough rise. I've tried Dorie's other biscuit recipe and those babies were crackers, not biscuits. We paired our biscuits with butter and strawberry jelly. Nothing too fancy seeing as one of us had to eat with a baby in his arms.

Rollin'

Having a child truly is a blessing. One of the perks is having an excuse to act like a child yourself (I can't wait to dress up and go trick-or-treating this year!). Another perk is having the opportunity to experience childhood all over again through a new set of eyes. Things take on a new meaning; you want to celebrate more, laugh more, and, in general, enjoy life more. You get to see growth and development like never before. When else do you get to have a front row seat to one of life's most beautiful miracles? This morning Cati did something I had been waiting for her to do. She had been teasing us for the past two weeks or so and today she finally did it: she turned! She's one step closer to being able to roll over flawlessly. My little girl really is growing up :)