Your Evening Sift

A little late this evening with the Sift but the SoFla blogosphere was buzzing with activity today. Here's your jam-packed evening Sift...

A- A Mom, a Blog, and the Life In-Between has a winner in her Christmas tradition contest!

B- Babalu's Mike Pancier posts a powerful tribute to his late pianist mother that features a slideshow in which she plays a composition by Rene Touzet.

C- I Shot The Chef cooks up a delicious-looking yule that will make your mouth water.

I chose to make my yule log with a passion fruit mousse, as I had recently made white chocolate passion fruit truffles (which I plan to blog soon) and had leftover passion fruit puree in the freezer. I did NOT like the mousse preparation. How the hell can you heat 1/3 c cream and then temper egg yolks and cornstarch into it? I immediately had a brick of scrambled eggs the second I poured the tempered egg yolks back into the pot. So I had to do it again, but let it cool slightly before adding the tempered eggs.

D- MiamiNights interviews Jose El Rey and Otto Von Schirach.

B – Are you in fact Cuban?

J – In fact?

B – I was lead to believe that you were, but still not sure about it.

J – yeah, but I don’t know that I ever said [on the record] that I was.

B – but now it is on the record that you are actual Cuban?

J - No I am in fact, American, I was born here. That’s what my grandfather tells me to say if anybody asks.

B – Cool.

E- Jeff Eats likes La Sandwicherie on Miami Beach.

La Sandwicherie makes some great sandwiches and salads...throw in a juice-bar and gourmet coffees and you got everything that “clubbers” and the rest of us need…as the joint is open 7 days a week 10am-5am.

F- Some Cranky Guy has a whole slew of photos from Fort Lauderdale airport to peruse through at your leisure.

G- Jaded in Paradise becomes the Cranky Barista.

“What are you having…?”

“Ok…I’ll have a small decaf coffee,” she smiles.

“A what?”

“A decaf.”

“Wait, you skipped the line for a decaf coffee? You cut in front of all these nice people for a decaf?” barista ponders to herself and then looks at the clock, it reads:

7:16 a.m.

H- Miami Bike Scene posts the second of three videos covering the latest Critical Mass ride in Miami.

I- Miami Beach 411 reviews Marley and Me, a movie about South Florida without sex, drug, and violence.

So all in all “Marley and Me” is a nice enough family comedy that does a good job of capturing what life in South Florida is like. Many of us who were here over the summer remember its filming, and the perpetual Jennifer Aniston-Owen Wilson sightings around South Beach, so it’s always fun to see the fruits of the summer movie celebrity season. But even though it is entertaining, you can wait for this one to come out on DVD. It’s a little long for what it is, and being able to stop and come back would be a nice option. For dog lovers and family lovers, this is a great one for you and the kids, because you don’t have the usual brands of sex and violence that mark most movies set in South Florida. Just a man, his wife, his kids and his dog. Apparently, the worst dog in the world.

J- Reidblog discusses the latest bit o' racism from the GOP.

K- Both Vicequeenmaria and Coconut Grove Grapevine take a look at this past weekend's King Mango Strut. From the former...

This parade made me ashamed. Ashamed that I have lived here forever and never attended it! It was so weird, eclectic and far-out, yet quirky, cozy and grassroots. Kinda sounds like me, huh? Imagine how I felt when I learned that my high school french teacher was in the parade, but I did not recognize her because she was wearing a big old wig!

Anyway, for as long as I live and am in the Miami area the last Sunday before New Year's, I will attend this parade.

L- Daily Cocaine considers North One10 or Casa Toscana for New Year's Eve dinner.

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