All photos by Laine Doss

Matt Kuscher and his Childhood Dream.

Today is National Doughnut Day and there's no better way to celebrate than with a delicious burger and a cold craft beer.

But it can't be just any burger. You have to have Lokal Burgers & Beer's My Childhood Dream, the doughnut burger that owner Matthew Kuscher has literally been thinking about since he was a kid.

"My dad owned a Dunkin' Donuts just outside Washington D.C. when I was a kid. Back then everything was baked fresh. Remember those commercials -- time to make the doughnuts? That was my dad," Kuscher told Short Order.

Matt confesses there was one problem with this seemingly perfect childhood. "Back then, the store just sold doughnuts and coffee. Maybe a bagel. And I hated doughnuts."

Read also:
- Miami's Ten Best Burgers

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Make gourmet grilled cheese with a little help from a James Beard winner.

National grilled cheese month continues along its cheesy path tonight with a free cooking class tonight at Whole Foods Market in Coral Gables.

Oh, and the class is taught by a James Beard winner. So, who's this top chef and what's he doing making a humble grilled cheese sandwich, anyway?

See also:
- Five Best Grilled Cheese Sandwiches for National You-Know-What Month
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Yardbird Southern Table & Bar

Jeff McInnis fries chicken at the Bon Appetit test kitchen.

You'd expect to be served some great fried chicken at Yardbird Southern Table & Bar. After all, the restaurant's slogan is "run, chicken, run" as in some guy with a very sharp knife is coming for you, little one.

But making fried chicken in the Bon Appetit test kitchen? That's quite an honor for Yardbird's chef/owner Jeff McInnis, who was invited to display his "Southern Jedi" mastery of the bird.

Read also:
- Miami's Best Fried Chicken: A Top Ten List
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Yardbird Southern Table & Bar

We've asked Miami's hottest chefs and bartenders for tips and recipes to make your turkey day the most delicious ever. And we are sharing a few recipes or tips, along with some thoughts from each chef on what the holiday means to them.

Read also:
- Thanksgiving Recipe: Gouda Tater Tots From Meat Market's Sean Brasel
- Thanksgiving Cocktail Recipe: Chad Philips' Hip To Be Square

A holiday table in the south isn't complete without a heaping dish of macaroni and cheese. This universally loved side pleases the pickiest eaters with its bubbling cheesy goodness.

Yardbird's Jeff McInnis shares a mac and cheese from his family to yours:

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Fifty Shades of Chicken

Be careful of those dripping thighs.

Fifty Shades of Grey, the erotic novel by E.L. James, became a breakout sensation, selling over 40 million copies and making the New York Times bestseller list. It's also been "roasted" by every comedian, literary critics, and Saturday Night Live for its bondage fantasy subject matter and less-than-Hemingway writing style.

So, it's only natural that someone would take this turkey of a book and make it all about chicken. Fifty Shades of Chicken, to be exact. This extremely hilarious cookbook offers 50 different erotic chicken recipes like dripping thighs, mustard spanked chicken, and chicken with a lardon.

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All photos by Laine Doss

Latin Burger's Shawn Henry wins the 2012 Fill the Grill competition.

Read Also: Fill the Grill: Alfredo Montero Wins Round Two
Jim Heins Takes Round One

A packed house was in attendance for the 2012  Fill the Grill Competition finals at Whole Foods Market Coral Gables last evening, with many attendees having watched the previous two elimination rounds. As people took their seats with their complimentary wine and beer, the evening's host, chef Michael Jacobs, introduced the two finalists.

Alfredo Montero of Mr. Good Stuff and Shawn Henry of Latin Burger & Taco were about to face off for the championship. Each contestant received $20 and 20 minutes in which to shop for groceries to cook a meal for each of the three judges.

After the shopping round was complete, the chefs had 20 minutes to cook and plate their items. The final score was to be based on presentation, taste, and originality of each dish.
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For Miami Spice, some of Miami's top chefs are putting on cooking demonstrations around town durning the two-month program. Even better, the demos are free and open to the public.

Chefs from at least a dozen of Miami's best restaurants -- including Michael Aguilar of Wynwood Kitchen & Bar, Jordan Hoffman of Bianca, and Fabrizio Carro of Quattro Gastronomia Italiana -- will be on hand at four locations, showing off their skills and their restaurants' menus.

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All photos courtesy of Jamie DeRosa

Show mom how peachy she is with this breakfast.

The tradition of treating mom to breakfast in bed has long been abused by movies and television shows, which feature an adorable child (or clumsy husband) serving mom burnt toast and Cheerios. Burnt toast? Come on! This meal has to be worthy of a special lady.

We love the idea of surprising mom with a tasty treat to start her Mother's Day so we asked Tudor House executive chef Jamie DeRosa to show us how to make his Peaches and Cream dish using fragrant peaches, sorbet and creamy feta cheese. Pair it with a peach Bellini and you've got yourself one happy mom!

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All photos courtesy of Jamie DeRosa

When we heard Tudor House was making its own Peeps for Easter brunch, we were intrigued. We didn't think Peeps could actually be created by hand. We thought those adorable little marshmallow chicks were just hatched from giant candy chickens housed somewhere in a large farm in the Nevada desert.

So when we asked executive chef Jamie DeRosa to explain the process, he gladly gave us a step-by-step tutorial in the art of Peep-making. Who would have thought Peeps were made and not born?

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​Chipotle Mexican Grill founder, Chef and co-CEO Steve Ells (WSJ Magazine "Innovator of the Year" award winner), along with chef Nate Appleman (James Beard Foundation Rising Star Chef), gave an intense, 45-minute demonstration of some of the Chipotle's famous dishes this weekend.

Guests enjoyed samples of the Chipotle braised pork tacos smothered with a spicy tomato salsa, guacamole, covered with shredded cheese and topped with a dollop of sour cream that was eagerly washed down with Chipotle's premium margaritas and Paloma cocktails.

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