Khong River House, Miami

My apologies. I have become one of those bloggers who is posting photos that have already been posted on Instagram. However, I have to share the details of this amazing new restaurant in Miami with you, twice. If you don't know what Instragram is, the saying goes it is Twitter for people who don't like to read. Insta-photo-gratification is what I think it should be called. I had the privilege of working a conference with Elizabeth Duncan Events in Miami last week at the Grove Isle Resort and Spa and had many opportunities to show off on Instagram, another key feature to the social media tool.  Our first and only dinner away from the resort was suggested by the rooms manager Ben. We ordered the Thai pork balls to start. It was, after all, a very cool Thai restaurant focusing on the flavors found in the Mekong Delta region of Thailand. Don't try to order Pad Thai. It's not on their menu. They are focusing on being as authentically Thai as possible without the watered down, Americanized Pad Thai craze.

The restaurateur, John Kunkel, also owns the James Beard Award winning Yardbird as well as Khong. The Executive Chef for both is non-other than Top Chef hottie Jeff McInnis from Season 5. Correction, Chef Piyarat Potha Arreeratn aka Chef Bee is at Khong and Jeff McInnis is at Yardbird. (Thanks to the restaurants PR team for shooting me the correction note.)  So who did we spy at the bar? Non-other than Top Chef judge, Tom Colicchio. When we mentioned it to our waitress, she said, "Who is that?" Ha! I let the poor man enjoy his drink without photo bombing him, but I have to say it took everything in my power not to say hello. Instead I tagged the hell out of him on my Instagram feed!

The space is industrial but doesn't feel cold. It features corrugated steel lined ceilings, exposed bricks and a confessional wall for sinners, dreamers and truth tellers giving everyone something to gawk at on the way to the restrooms.

This is a Thai tradition that works as a living art piece in the space. The confessions are brutally honest and I imagine each board is burned in some awesome kitchen ritual every three months or so with a Monk flown in from the east for absolution and prayer. This has not been confirmed but please lie to me if it isn't true. Restaurants and religious ritual! I can totally get into that. As my father taught me, why let facts get in the way of a good story. My husband lived in Thailand and caught dengue fever while working there. I still have this image in my head that Monks took care of him and nursed him back to health. Thank heaven for those wonderful Monks! Who cares if it isn't true, right? The point is, he made it back alive, well and much refreshed from that scary experience.

Back in Miami this bar at Khong summons up ideas of toothless fisherman weaving baskets in the food markets. It is beautifully lit and covers one full wall of the restaurant. The unique lighting was made with fish traps, I imagine they were bought from said toothless maritime waterman in some wicked cool village thousand of miles away. I did call the restaurant to confirm, but no one answered. We made our reservation on Open Table and got a seat that evening.

The wood tables add a warmth to balance the space. We enjoyed the Gimlets featuring Thai basil. Notice the gold purse party in the background? When in Miami Rome, one must wear gold. Who am I kidding? I wear gold any chance I get in Charm City.

We split the Crispy Duck, ordered jasmine rice and stir fried broccoli as a side. All the items are meant to share.

I just adored the look of these pepper berries and the glazed plates are gorgeous. Every detail was thought of without a hint of white tablecloth stuffiness.

Tom Colicchio sat here. The place was pretty empty due to the Alabama v. Notre Dame game that was taking place at the exact moment.

The open kitchen is small and somewhat tucked away behind the bar wall. Their is no view of the kitchen from the dining areas, but again, it is something to behold before heading to the confession wall and restrooms.

The baskets looked like another art installation.

We decided that it should be a rule in the Gastronaut bi-laws that you can't pass up any coconut dessert when offered on a menu.  This photo is making my mouth water with memories of it's all-things-coconut on the plate. I've written about my love of coconut on this blog many times and so if any of you dear readers remember you know I was in dessert heaven. 

Instagram

Thank you Elizabeth for such a wonderful outing and for trusting me with the restaurant choice. Ben! You couldn't have picked a better spot for us. Thank you again.

Valentine's Day African Ground Nut Stew

This is how much I love my Charlie. I researched lots of African Ground Nut Soups and came up with a recipe that would be perfect for us on Valentine's Day. I was inspired by Carla Hall's win at the US Open Top Chef "match". I skipped her bay leaves, parsley, lime and bean things but think a little lime at the end would be awesome too.

African Ground Nut Soup

• 2 Tablespoons peanut oil
• 1 large yellow onion
• 3 large fingers of Ginger, about two inches each, peeled and minced
• 8 cloves of garlic, sliced
• 3 pounds of sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into one inch chunks
• 1 1/2 15 ounce can of crushed tomatoes
• 1 quart vegetable stock
• 1 cup fresh peanut butter, no sugar (I got ours from Whole Foods)
• 1 Tablespoon coriander
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Kosher salt and black pepper 
• fresh cilantro, garnish
• roasted peanuts, garnish

I truly think the ingredients made all the difference in this soup. Start with roasting raw peanuts. I got these in the bulk section of Whole Foods. This is about two cups. I used the whole nut as a garnish. The homemade peanut butter sans sugar at Whole Foods is also perfect for this dish.

The peanuts will burn in a second if you aren't careful. I took a silicone spatula and pressed down on the cooked nuts to remove the skins. Set aside to cool.

We love a ton of ginger here at Stone Hill. It simply is the star of this recipe. Use a teaspoon to peel ginger. It is easier than the peeler and you don't loose the nibs and knuckles of this delightful root.

I love a good mise en place and always try to get my non-crying items chopped before I dive into the onion and garlic chopping.

Saute the onion and garlic in the peanut oil. Add the ginger once the onion is translucent. Use your Valentine's Day spatula to stir. See the little hearts? I've had this baby so long and I can't remember if it was McCall or Kristen who gave it to me when I was a singleton. They probably both gave it to me. Kristen gave me the best heart shaped cupcake pan one year. And these California divas even gave me lingerie another year! God bless the best friends who love you enough to give you lingerie when you are alone and single. Thank you sweet girls. 

Add the chopped and peeled sweet potatoes and the vegetable stock. One box of the Kitchen Basics green box worked perfectly.

Use one full can of diced or crushed tomatoes. I used a half can extra and stored my remaining tomatoes in this awesome Ball Jar with fridge lid. These lids are so useful for leftovers. I have to give credit for the find to Darby over at Fly Through Our Window. We gave our family left over gravy in these babies at Thanksgiving.

Add a cup of peanut butter. This was thick as all get out. Mix it well.

Add your spices.

Simmer for 60 minutes on the stove covered. 

Empty your dishwasher during your hour and think of Darby who made this beautiful dish mat for the counter. It's for the wet stuff that never dries all the way. I seriously felt like I won the lottery buying this at o'dark thirty on New Year's Eve after a glass of wine and E. fast asleep on the sofa. I love how joyful it is and wish I had a fabric store in Baltimore with way cool patterns. Baltimore friends, can you help me find an awesome fabric store up in these parts? The one on Falls is no bueno.

Check the soup after suggested cooking time and make sure the sweet potatoes are tender. I contemplated pureeing the soup. I think either way it would be good but I think the texture was better unpureed. 

E. said it was the best meal I've ever made him. That was worth ever bit of chopping for this excellent, spicy, romantic, adventurous soup. Maybe next year I'll add a few beets to make it bright red. 

I hopped over to Hampden to find a treat for my sweet man earlier that evening. Ma Petite Shoe was packed on Valentine's Day with men, women and children all sporting pink and red. It was a scene to behold in this tiny little shop on The Avenue. I even ran into a Stone Hiller.

Charlie got my favorite Mouth Party Salted Caramels.

He also got the deepest, darkest chocolate bars with sea salt and coffee, cayenne pepper and almonds.

He devoured the Salazon bar with sea salt and crushed coffee nibs.

He even shared his caramels with me. Such a sweet man!

To all my vegan pals out there, cheers! Please tell me how you like the recipe and if you would do anything differently. E. Lover, I'm sorry you've been so slammed sideways to Saturday at work. One of these days we'll get to enjoy that firewood and snuggle soon. I love you more than Sea Salted Caramels.

Top Chef in Vegas

I was hunting down my event location when I ran into Richard Blais in the lobby of The Cosmopolitan Hotel preparing samples of his take on a grilled cheese. He was there promoting his show Blais Off on the Science Channel.

He started with grilled sourdough bread.

Pimento Cheese

Mustard Caviar

And a Lardo shrink wrap that he torched to melt all over the dish! Lardo is cured pork belly and he sliced it thinly with a deli slicer.

He finished it off with a red wine reduction sauce and micro greens.

My bite was delicious with a perfect balance of crunch, sweet from the wine and salt from the pimento cheese. Watch the video as his team torched the Lardo to melt all over this little bite of Food Heaven!

There was a crowd around his station as I ate my lunch at China Pablano. You can see the Chandelier Bar in the background. This hotel is amazing but more on that soon.

Thanks Chef Blais! It was so nice to meet you and see you so engaging with the crowd of folks that couldn't get enough photos or time with you. Nice to meet someone so genuine and passionate for food. Hope you win Top Chef All Stars!!! Thanks for the recommendation for my lunch at China Poblano. It was fantastic.