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How to Make the Perfect Mojito: Dada Bartender Manny Alayeto Shows You How With Papa's Pilar Rum

By Nicole Danna Tue., Apr. 16 2013 at 8:30 AM
Categories: Ask an Expert

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A ginger mojito made with Papa's Pilar rum at Dada in Delray Beach.
Move over, Sailor Jerry -- there's a new rum in town. Made right here in Florida, it's a new super-premium spirit inspired by Ernest Hemingway and developed in conjunction with his estate in Key West. The rum, which was released last month in South Florida markets, is currently available only in the Sunshine State.

To put it to the test, Clean Plate Charlie took Papa's Pilar to Dada in Delray Beach, where bartender Manny Alayeto is known for making some damn good mojitos.

See also:
-m South Florida's Best Mojito


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How To

How To Bake Cupcakes Inside Your Easter Eggs

By Nicole Danna Thu., Mar. 28 2013 at 9:00 AM
Categories: Ask an Expert, Holidays, How To

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Come Sunday morning, what's the first thing you'll be guaranteed to stuff your face with after an exhausting Easter basket hunt? Will it be fruit-flavored jelly beans, a block of rabbit-shaped chocolate or an entire box of florescent pink Peeps?

Guess again. Before you reach for that basket of sugar the Easter Bunny left you, chances are you'll probably be cracking open a semi-cold, dye-stained hard boiled egg. Stinky and unappealing as it may seem, we all know it's coming. But it doesn't have to be this way -- especially not if your eggs are filled with something a little more appetizing.

Say, something like vanilla cake? Stefani Pollack -- editor, photographer and official taste-tester for her blog dubbed the Cupcake Project -- shares with us her method and recipe for baking cupcakes inside egg shells for an extra-special holiday treat.

"You can bake any cupcake recipe in cleaned-out egg shells, and when you are ready to eat the cake, you just crack the egg and dig in," Pollack explains. "Ah-mazing!"

See also:
- South Florida Easter Brunch and Dinner Guide


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Cocktail Culture

Brett Collins, Mixologist at Hullabaloo, Creates "Kitchen Cocktails"

By Nicole Danna Mon., Feb. 25 2013 at 6:43 AM
Categories: Ask an Expert, Cocktail Culture
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Hullabaloo mixologist Brett Collins uses topnotch ingredients to make his own "skinny" cocktails.
If you're in the mood for a well-handcrafted cocktail this evening, head to Hullabaloo in West Palm Beach. Unlike most bars, here you won't find a single bottle of simple syrup -- and we think that says something. At this new Italian-themed gastropub, it's all about doing things from scratch -- and that includes the bar's "kitchen cocktail" menu lineup.

These days, everyone has latched onto the handcrafted cocktail bandwagon, but the ingredients used will be what sets one fancy menu apart from another. Rather than default to the standard ingredients found behind most bars -- the same used for making well drinks at two-for-one happy hours -- Hullabaloo mixologist Brett Collins has assembled an arsenal of high-end spirits and liqueurs to make flavorful, intense drinks with no artificial ingredients.

"All mixologists are being creative, coming up with their own infusions and creating some pretty amazing stuff lately," said Collins. "But there's one thing most of them still have in common. They're sill using simple syrup."

See also:
- First Look: Hullabaloo Opens on Clematis Street in West Palm Beach

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How to Preserve Food: Jamming, Canning, Pickling, and "Fermentation Fun" -- Classes With Ms. Jessica

By Sara Ventiera Mon., Feb. 18 2013 at 8:28 AM
Categories: Ask an Expert
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Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Programs are great. Community and home gardens are even better. The feelings of accomplishment for limiting your carbon footprint through supporting local farms or growing your own crops are amazing. The only drawback: sometimes it's just way too much food.

That's where food preservation comes in. If you're looking to learn to can and preserve food--without contracting botulism--Master Preserver Jessica McLeary wants to help. She's teaching a series of classes at the Miramar Cultural Center.

See also:
- When Canning Goes Wrong
- Growing Green Communities
- The Urban Farmer in Pompano: Local Food in Broward County
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Look What I Found

Spice Galore in Miami: Specialty Sugars, Rare Salts, and Custom Herbs

By Nicole Danna Mon., Jan. 21 2013 at 7:47 AM
Categories: Ask an Expert, Gastronomic Gatherings, Look What I Found
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All photos by Nicole Danna
Spice Galore owners Aimee Ortega and Vitoria Nodarse.
It's another quiet afternoon at Spice Galore -- until a new customer bursts through the back door nearly sprinting to a row of glass jars containing various spice blends. Her first words as she hurries across the small space: "I'm SO excited! I've been feeling like a crack head ever since I ran out."

A self-described addict, the fix she's craving isn't something you snort or smoke. The mystery substance this zealous customer is looking for isn't any sort of illegal drug -- but it can be hard to find if you don't know where to look. 

It's a rare blend of Middle Eastern herbs known as za'atar, a combination of dried sumac, sesame and thyme. The woman said her friend first discovered it at a specialty spice shop in Montreal, Quebec. When he brought some back and began cooking with it, she was instantly hooked. Naturally, both were delighted when they found a simliar shop in Miami that carried, among other things, za'atar.

Now they can't get enough of it, and the only place guaranteed to have it fresh is Spice Galore, Miami's first eco-friendly, semi-organic local purveyor of high-end salts, spices, sugars, loose leaf teas and various other rare or hard-to-find ingredients.
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Wine and Cheese Pairing Classes at Cheese Culture: "Like Sex in Your Mouth"

By Sara Ventiera Mon., Dec. 31 2012 at 2:42 PM
Categories: Ask an Expert
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Would you like some cheese with that wine?

It's difficult to find people who do not like wine. (Why would you want to?) And even harder to find someone who doesn't love cheese. (Well, besides vegans, of course.)

As much as the vast majority of the population enjoys eating cheese and drinking wine, most people have no idea how to really enjoy the flavors together. Never mind conduct a proper cheese and wine tasting. 

Well, Susan and Mitchell Phipps of Cheese Culture are here to help. Throughout the year, the shop holds multiple course on cheese and wine pairings. Clean Plate Charlie sat in on one of the courses.
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Cheese Culture, wine tastings
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The Best Apple Pie Recipe Ever: Pick 'Em Like Maine Pomologist John Bunker

By Nicole Danna Mon., Nov. 12 2012 at 8:16 AM
Categories: Ask an Expert
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Nicole Danna
A fresh-picked New York Macintosh apple.
Nutting Bumpuses. Northern Spy. Newt Grindles. These are just a few of the unique names given to a variety of rare, heirloom apples found on John Bunker's Super Chilly Farm in Palermo, Maine.

Bunker, a self-appointed Maine preservation pomologist, has without a doubt the most knowledge of apples in North America. After all, he's spent the past 40 years studying the unique varieties of apple that grow on his 100-acre farm, about 200 heirloom types. They are apples you have (probably) never heard of, and the apples you (most likely) have never tasted. They grow in odd shapes and unusual sizes. And, sadly, they are apples that will never grow here in South Florida. Still, that doesn't mean you can't have a taste for yourself.

For tips on where to buy the best New England apples, and how to bake the best apple pie you've ever had, keep reading:


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apples, desserts, fall flavors, pie, Thanksgiving dinner
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A Professional Tailgater? Jeff Dockeray On Best Tailgaiting Products and How Florida Can Up Its Game

By Dori Zinn Fri., Nov. 2 2012 at 9:53 AM
Categories: Ask an Expert
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The last time Jeff Dockeray was in South Florida, he watched his prized New Orleans Saints win the Super Bowl in 2009. While Doc, as he likes to be called, basks in the glory of his team winning the most important football game ever, he also remembers the tailgaters.

"There isn't a lot of space down there," Doc says, referring to Sun Life Stadium. "It's tough with the traffic and it's kind of cramped. You need more room."

Doc is a professional tailgater. That's right -- your Sunday hobby is his full time job. It started out as fun for 20 years until he decided to make a career out of it for the last 10.

I always thought being a professional tailgater would be like playing on Facebook: you do it a lot, but no one would ever pay you for it... would they?

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Boat Show Starts Today: Five Secrets of a Yacht Chef

By Sara Ventiera Thu., Oct. 25 2012 at 8:25 AM
Categories: Ask an Expert
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Photo Courtesy Fort Lauderdale International Facebook Page
Just Another Boat in Fort Lauderdale

They're inescapable in South Florida: big, white-hulled yachts docked up and down the Intracoastal Waterway. This time of year it's even worse. For four days, starting today, the waters of Fort Lauderdale will be overtaken with yachts during the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show.

Everyone sees these magnificent vessels from afar, but only those who work onboard really understand what happens inside. We chatted with a few of the paid hands to find out five secrets of a yacht chef. Here are their top five tricks for doing the job.

See Also:
- It's Boat Show Time! Ten Places to Dock and Dine in South Florida
- Top Five Places to Pick Up Hot Foreigners During Boat Show
- Cooking on a Yacht: An Insider's Guide
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Fort Lauderdale Boat Show
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Q&A with Ted Breaux, Founder and Distiller of Lucid Absinthe

By Nicole Danna Tue., Oct. 23 2012 at 8:34 AM
Categories: Ask an Expert
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Lucid Master Distiller Ted Breaux.
Ted Breaux didn't set out to become the master distiller of Lucid absinthe -- the first genuine absinthe to be sold stateside in close to 100 years.

The New Orleans native had pursued a career as a research scientist after studying microbiology and chemistry, graduating from Harvard, Louisiana University and Louisiana State University.

Before creating Lucid, Breaux didn't even know much about absinthe -- not until a colleague made a passing comment about the wormwood-infused spirit that's often mistakenly thought to cause psychedelic effects. The friend questioned Breaux: "You know, that green liquor that made people crazy?"

The regular questions -- and multiple misconceptions -- surrounding absinthe are what eventually compelled Breaux to separate fact from fiction. He began research with the initial goal to learn as much as he could, and in doing so began the process of distilling his own artisinal absinthe according to traditional production methods.

What started as a research project became a passion, and Lucid was born.

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Lucid Absinthe, Ted Breaux
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