Macy’s “Summer Getaway”

by Olee Fowler

Pork Pub Sausage

For this month’s edition of the summertime Third Thursday cooking series at Macy’s Aventura Home Store hosted by Chat Chow TV, the audience experienced the flavors of an island vacation courtesy of Mister Collins Restaurant.

Kicking off the “Summer Getaway” themed demonstration was an authentic Hawaiian luau performance to get everyone in the tropical mood. Guests of the event then got to learn how to make two of Mister Collins most popular dishes, including the Guacamole with Yucca Chips and the Blackened Scallops with Tropical Sticky Rice, from the restaurant’s sous chef Barbra Hoefs.

First up was the guacamole, prepared with fresh Haas avocados, diced tomatoes, red onion, cilantro, and jalapeno. Hoefs put all the ingredients into a NutriBullet and combined until 30 percent was smooth while the other 70 percent was still a rough consistency then finished the dish with lime juice. She then sliced up the yucca into 1/8” strips and deep-fried them until golden brown to serve for dipping.

For the seared scallops, she lightly seasoned them with a house-made blackening spice then cooked them on a very hot pan for about 3 minutes. Next up was the tropical sticky rice made by just simply cooking white rice with ¾ parts water and ¼ part lime juice. Once the rice was cooled, Hoefs added in diced mango, papaya, cilantro along with the dish’s secret ingredient – Coco Lopez, a sweet coconut milk drink that is typically found in piña coladas, which helped give the rice a hint of sweetness.

Throughout the demonstration, guests got to interact not only with Hoefs but the restaurant’s Food and Beverage Director Adam Postal, who answered questions about the Mister Collins menu, what some of his favorite dishes were and even awarded one lucky guest a $100 gift certificate to the restaurant. However, the other members of the audience didn’t go home empty handed as all of them received a voucher for a complimentary appetizer so they could experience the restaurant themselves.

We’ve got something sweet in store for you for the next Third Thursday Cooking Series event when Misha from Misha’s Cupcakes demonstrates how to make her incredibly popular desserts on August 18 – so make sure to book your spot! The events are free and open to the public when you RSVP on Macy’s Events page. See you then!

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