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Miami: Christmas in Miami (only 2 weeks late…)

Trying to get caught up on all my pictures… here is the Christmas spread from Miami (Bobby and I spent it with his family and family friends in Miami). On Christmas afternoon (around 1?) we headed over to their family friends’ house – it’s a gorgeous house in Coconut Grove. I think that if I could have any house in the world it would be that one!

This guy decided to watch us out the door (I still think lizards are cool – I did not grow up with them everywhere):

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Bobby’s mom (she’s an amazing cook) made a “chirashi”. Chirashi literally means “scattering” or “leaflets”. It’s a Japanese dish consisting of a bowl of sushi rice with various toppings scattered on top. I think Mom uses a slightly sweet rice (I could be wrong!) with some vinegar and sugar (maybe? sorry for the ambiguity!).

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In the US we usually think of chirashi as rice with raw fish on top, but there are actually many more types. The raw fish type is scattered with Edomae chirashizushi (the raw topping). Toppings are always left up to the chef. This time Mom put shrimp and some veggies on top (lotus root, scallions, carrots, seaweed, and sliced fried egg).

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She also made handmade mochi filled with red bean paste. These are made with sweet rice flour… I didn’t get a chance to help out but I definitely want to learn how to make these. These were wrapped individually with saran wrap.

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Once we got to the beautiful house, we helped set the table with all the goodies…

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There were mashed potatoes, green beans, turkey, Caesar salad (I think Mom brought this too), stuffing with chestnuts, cranberry sauce, wrapped up olives (always forget what these are called), gravy, and probably a bunch of other things that I’m forgetting!

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This was my first plate. I honestly don’t remember how many more I had… I definitely ate too much 🙂 It had Caesar salad, mashed potatoes, Brussels sprouts (these were AWESOME – I will definitely try to recreate), beans, turkey, and gravy.

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There was also a table of snacks (crackers, cookies, grapes, cheese, etc…) that I forgot to snap a picture of. And then there was dessert…

Handmade marshmallows (!). Topped with powdered sugar.

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Cupcakes!

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Panettone straight from Italy. A family member lives in Italy for work, and they were here for Christmas.

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It reminded me of our trip to Italy (back in 2008 – exactly 2 years ago now).

Back to now… it was a really wonderful day, and I’m so glad that Bobby and I were able to spend it with his family and the very accommodating and kind family friends.

One of my resolutions this year was to travel more – and I definitely want to fulfill it.

Where do you want to travel this year?

P.S. Coming up – IntenSati (Sati Life) review, eating out in New York yums, and more!

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Miami: Pilot House (Key Largo) and Japanese Buffet (YUM)

I just realized that I never posted about our trip to Miami. I was only there for about 4 days, so I wanted to spend as much time as I could being social and getting away from the computer.

On Christmas Eve (Thursday the 24th of December) we drove down to Key Largo to do some sightseeing. Mid-afternoon we stopped at a restaurant called Pilot House for lunch. Key Largo is nice – it has a very relaxed feel and I could definitely see myself enjoying life down in the keys. It’s a great place for relaxing.

I ordered a salad (honey mustard dressing on the side) as well as large peel & eat shrimp (1/2 pound just for me!).

salad honey mustard large florida shrimp

I adore shrimp. These had old bay seasoning sprinkled on them and I ate them with lots of cocktail sauce. Oh, cocktail sauce – everything is better with horseradish and ketchup.

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We sat out on the deck next to the water and imagined what it would be like to live on a boat – pretty awesome, I think.

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I could get used to this weather! I can’t wait to go back…

That night we went out to a great Japanese buffet in Miami called Kyojin Japanese Seafood Buffet. Oh. My. Gosh. Sushi buffet?? Unlimited amazing Japanese food?? Unlimited salads??

japanese buffet kyojin

I am dangerous at buffets. I get a lot but I do go for tons of veggies and expensive or complicated dishes that I wouldn’t make at home.

The plate above was #1 of 3… and then I got the fruit for dessert. I really do have a lot of fun at buffets. Not only can I eat as many veggies as I want, but I don’t ever feel guilty about not finishing something that I don’t like! Some things that I remember having were…

  • eel sushi (unagi)
  • roe shot (the red/green/yellow stripe thing – eggs on rice in a cup)
  • green beans
  • seafood salad (octopus, squid, veggies, etc…)
  • noodley dish (lo mein-ish)
  • various seaweed salads
  • seared tuna
  • mussels! shrimps!
  • mushroom thing
  • pineapple! melons!

I want to go back.

I’m feeling a little better (I mentioned I was sick in my last post), but still haven’t worked out since Tuesday. I guess I can count the 1-2 miles I walk each day as my workout though – living in New York definitely has its (walking) perks.

My new thing is drinking lots of water – go get a glass! It’ll keep you hydrated and healthy in the cold winter months (and if you’re somewhere warm, drink up anyway! I’m jealous of you).

Off to hang out with Bobby (well, watch him play video games). Tomorrow I think we’re going to NJ for a party and on Sunday I have a kickoff for an exciting challenge that I haven’t mentioned yet. I got accepted into the Sati Life Warrior Challenge, and I’ll give details soon.

What are you doing this weekend?