Passover, the major Jewish spring festival that commemorates the liberation of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery begins at sundown on Monday April 10 and lasts for eight days.  Chef Danny Serfer of Blue Collar and Mignonette is once again offering a complete Seder dinner basket for $35 pp., which includes salad, brisket, potatoes, choice of veggie, and dessert.

Each basket, priced at $35 pp., includes some of Blue Collar's signature dishes; Serfer’s tender braised brisket, roasted potatoes, latkes, applesauce, choice side, Marsha's salad tossed with cucumber, carrot, radish and grain mustard vinaigrette and choice of dessert. The restaurant will take orders via email – info@bcrmiami.com. Please allow at least 48 hours between order and pick-up. Blue Collar is located at 6730 Biscayne Boulevard. Telephone: (305) 756-0366; http://www.bluecollarmiami.com.

For those traditionalists, who want to prepare the meal at home, below is recipe for Chef Serfer’s Braised Brisket.  If you have ever had any of Blue Collar’s braised meat dishes…especially his signature braised oxtail, you know that is why MIAbites calls Chef Serfer, the “MasterBraiser”.  Recipe below:

One our favorite writers and cook extraordinaire, Allison Riley, known to her followers as Y'all Taste This , spent Saturday cooking up cranberry sauce “her way”. Add these ingredients to your shopping list and make it “your way”. 

While I know the turkey should be the star of the show on every Thanksgiving table, I've always held that a great plate of dressing, gravy, and cranberry sauce fulfills my every Thanksgiving desire. Because of that, I constantly find myself volunteering to bring those three dishes to every Thanksgiving pot luck. I just want to know that they are done properly. There is a "right way" to do them, and that way means more than following a recipe.

Every year, mine are slightly different, but always satisfying. When asked to contribute a recipe for MIAbites this year, I considered my changing ways, and instead, I'm providing both my "formula" for Cranberry Sauce and this year's final version.

National Mojito Day is Monday July 11th and deserves a proper celebration. Here a list of Miami area hot spots serving up cool Miami-inspired twists on this classic Cuban cocktail. We also have included some refreshing recipes, from KYU, Sugarcane, Ortanique, Zest and Novecento for you to try at home as well.

Gianni’s at The Villa, Casa Casuarina

Mojito de Alcazar- The classic mojito! Made with Bacardi Rum, fresh muddled mint leaves, house made simple syrup and fresh lime juice, finished with sparkling water. Gianni’s at The Villa 1116 Ocean Dr, Miami Beach, FL 33139

Delano Beach Club

Multi Flavored Mojitos- The mojitos at Delano Beach Club come in all the refreshing flavors of summer and are perfect while lounging poolside in the plush daybeds or private cabana with friends. Made with extra dry Brugal rum, flavors include strawberry, orange, pineapple, passion fruit, mango, or cantaloupe. Delano Beach Club 1685 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139

I discovered tailgating later in life than most. 

I grew up in the heart of SEC football where bumper stickers stating "I bleed orange!" or "I cheer for Tennessee and whoever's playin' Bama!" are commonplace, but packing up the car to spend a day hanging out in the parking lot and going to a game wasn't an option for us.  As long as I've been alive, my dad has always bought cattle at the market on Saturdays, and on "good" days when the cattle are cheap, he's likely hauling cattle until the wee hours of the next morning. I suppose that such a schedule never allowed for tailgating and football games.  

When I left home for college, I chose a school without a particularly strong football program, so tailgating was not a part of my college life. I moved to Birmingham, Alabama, after college, and while I was surrounded by Alabama and Auburn fans, I still never managed to go to a single football game there.

Somehow, against all odds, I discovered tailgating and college football here in Miami.
We'd lived in Miami for just over a year when my husband proposed that we buy season tickets to the University of Miami Hurricane football games with our friends Jef & Anthony. We were still acclimating to the city and despite my lack of enthusiasm for football, it occurred to me that this could be a great way to meet new people.  I agreed to the season tickets with an understanding that we would tailgate for some of the games, and that decision set us on a course for football Saturdays full of tailgating adventures.

I can't quite recall the details of us settling into a program of tailgates themed around the opposing teams, but somehow, that became our plan. Each week, one couple was responsible for food and the other for drinks and games. We agreed that the interpretation of the theme could be obvious or creative, and with that, we unlocked inspiration for some incredible dishes.  

We've had moonshine cocktails and pulled pork hash for North Carolina games, homemade buckeye candies for Ohio games, alligator ribs for last year's Florida game, and even Chicken Curry with basmati rice for a Florida State game.  Since embarking on this tailgating journey, we have discovered new ways to create meals over camp stoves, and we now know that most Publix stores sell dry ice, which means proper ice cubes for cocktails and homemade ice cream are options for any tailgate.