18-21 February - Miami

Our Miami culinary experiences were a mix of traditional and trendy. We started to tick off our list of US must-haves by ordering "pastrami on rye" in a deli (Jerry's Famous Deli) - how much meat can you fit between two slices of bread?!

We had lunch at the 11th Street Diner - Caesar salad, potato skins and the best banana milkshakes.

We tried out a bit of Cuban fusion cuisine at YUCA (Young Urban Cuban American); a cool spot with great food. I had pork shanks with mojo sauce and arroz congri (rice with black beans) - really delicious. Then we had a seafood blow-out at Grillfish; fried calamari to start then a huge dish of shrimp scampi (huge prawns) with linguine in a fantastic creamy tomato and garlic sauce. There was a great crabcake salad with sweet potato fries at Serendipity 3 for lunch. And we finished off with sushi at the supercool BondSt Lounge - part of the Townhouse Hotel where we were staying. I'm still not really a convert to sushi, but I did really like the tuna tarts; slivers of raw tuna served on a kind of thin crispy cracker and drizzled with truffle oil.

18 May - fantastic crab cakes

I always like the idea of homemade crab cakes, but previous attempts have tended to come out rather wet and collapsed into mush in the frying pan. So I was in two minds about whether to try out a Nigel Slater recipe from last weekend's Observer Food Monthly magazine. I was feeling quite enthusiastic when I bought the ingredients in the morning, but less so when I got to the end of a busy day and couldn't really be arsed with the hassle! I'm really glad I made the effort though because they turned out to be a real triumph - perfect consistency and really tasty, with just the right balance of crabbiness and zing. The pea puree was great too and worth the extra bit of time (and washing up!) it took to whizz up.

So for the crab cakes, I mixed together:

• 100g white crab meat
• 1 stalk lemongrass - chopped soft centre only
• 1/2 chopped red chilli
• small knob of grated fresh ginger
• zest and juice 1/2 a lime
• handful chopped coriander
• 1 finely chopped spring onion
• 4-5 tbsp fresh white breadcrumbs
• 1/2 a beaten egg
• 1 tbsp flour

Then I shaped the mixture into four little cakes and put them in the fridge for half an hour, as per the recipe.

When they came out, they were still a bit crumbly looking, so fearing another frying pan collapse, I redipped them in the rest of the beaten egg and then some flour in an attempt to keep them together. It was an inspired decision as it gave them a lovely crispy outside coating. So then they were fried gently - about 8-10 mins altogether. For the pea puree I just boiled a big pile of fresh peas with some sprigs of mint, drained them and whizzed both to a puree with a splash of olive oil and a hand blender. Served with a few saute potatoes, the result was really as good as anything you'd get in a restaurant ... even if I do say so myself!