If you’re looking to give a great gift to an important guy in your life, then consider what the best presents for men might actually be.

Every woman I know seems to have a closet or cabinet full of various bath products, lotions, and perfumes… Most of which are unused.

In a similar way, there are presents that men often receive that, while well-intentioned, will go unopened or unused.

The items below made my list of things people often buy for someone when they aren’t sure what a good gift would be. They are the “safe” options… You know.. The ones that line the aisles of big box stores this time of year.

Most of these aren’t what I consider to be “bad gifts”, and for the right guy, some of these might even be great! However, for most guys, these gifts end up leading an unfulfilled life in a closet, forgotten shortly after they are received.

The List

 1.  Grooming Kit
Lining the gift isles right now are little boxes of grooming supplies that guys are supposed to love. There are usually nail clippers, a razor, a file, tweezers, and some scissor-looking things that, honestly, I’m not really sure what they’re for. This isn’t really the kind of thing making men’s wish lists. And, we probably already have this area covered. We might like it, but the odds are that it will go unused.

2.   Gag Gift
As much as we appreciate the humor associated with receiving a Shake Weight or some nice handerpants, it also suggests that perhaps you don’t take the recipient seriously. After all, what’s supposed to happen after Christmas? Am I obligated to hang onto this unicorn meat forever, or can I just throw it away?

3.   Tie
For the right guy, ties might be great. However, these days few men wear a tie every day, and of those that do, have ties that coordinated with the rest of their wardrobes. That means a lot of men will have a surplus of ties, and yours has a good chance of hanging out in the closet, never seeing the light of day.

4.   Wallet
Men love having a nice wallet. The thing about nice wallets is they last a long time. Once we’ve found one that we like, it’s probably going to see daily action for years to come. This means, men often receive a lot more wallets than they will ever use, and often the one we end up using we found for ourselves, anyway.

5.   Random Tools or Gadgets
Sure, we tend to like things that require power and come with warning labels, but if the widget came from SkyMall or Sharper Image, you might be better off just going with a gift card. The nose hair trimmers, remote key finders, and motorized grill brushes aren’t for most of us.

6.   Hobby-related Novelty Gift
It’s easy to be pigeon-holed into one area. When your family notices that you have a particular hobby or, perhaps have a favorite sports team, they try to do well by giving you anything they can find that is somehow related. This can result in a tidal wave of random items that happen to have a sports logo stamped on them.

7.   Watch
As with most of the items on this list, a watch isn’t necessarily a bad choice for a gift… But, like wallets, most of us prefer to pick out our own watches. And recent studies have suggested that not as many people are wearing watches as in previous times. I suggest if the guy on your list does wear a watch, determine whether it’s for function or fashion, and choose appropriately.

~J.C.

The post 7 Gifts For Men You Thought Were Great (But Aren’t) appeared first on Metal Master Shop.

Thanksgiving is like the Super Bowl for food. All year, this is what you train for. Everything you have done up to this point is just practice for the big day. It’s the only holiday where it’s socially acceptable to refer to it by the meat you’ll be eating that day, i.e. “Turkey Day”.

Turkey Day will test not just the limits of the elastic in our sweatpants, but also our mastery of food preparation. That’s why, when the day arrives and I need to make a big play, I know exactly what to do with that turkey — wrap it in bacon.

Prepare Yourself for this Meat Tornado

The Recipe

Ingredients

1 turkey (12 – 14 pounds, thawed, giblets removed)
4 garlic cloves
½ pound butter
1 large handful mixed fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, parsley, sage)
1½ pound thick-cut bacon
3 carrots, chopped
3 leeks, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 onion, quartered
2 apples, sliced
Salt and pepper

Directions

Pre-Turkey Day Check:
A frozen turkey can take a little while to thaw. Depending on the size of your bird, it can take anywhere from 2-5 days to thaw it in the fridge, so be sure to follow the thawing guidelines to avoid a frozen turkey on the big day! Another thawing option is to let it rest in cold water for 24 hours.

Before the big day, it’s always a good idea to run through your ingredient list to make sure you have what you need. No one wants to make that last minute run to the grocery store! Also be sure you have a properly fitting pan for your turkey. We can’t afford any mistakes come Thursday.

Step One: Prepare the Turkey
Move oven rack to the bottom of the oven. Set the oven to 450 degrees. You might have noticed your turkey still has some extra parts. Reach inside and remove the neck, gizzards, liver, and heart. You can just throw them away or use them for gravy. Rinse your bird our with cold water. Now, carefully slide your hands between the turkey and the skin to separate and lift. We’re going to stick some bacon butter in there.

Step Two: Bacon Butter
Finely mince your garlic cloves using a food processor. Add in other herbs, briefly pulsing to chop them up. Finally, add the softened butter and ½ pound of bacon. Use pulses to carefully chop up the bacon with the other ingredients.

Take half of your bacon butter and spread it underneath the turkey skin. Really get in there. Once you’ve gotten under its skin, massage the other half over the skin. Season with salt and pepper.

Step Three: Blanket of Bacon
Begin by wrapping the drumsticks with bacon. Cover each one with overlapping strips of bacon.

Just below the neck (hole), lay a horizontal strip of bacon across the breast. Then place a vertical strip on one side, going from top to bottom. Continue alternating horizontal and vertical strips to weave a grid-like blanket of bacon onto your turkey.

Step Four: Cooking
Place the carrots, leeks, celery, apples, and onions in the bottom of your roasting pan. You’ll then place the roasting rack on top of the vegetables, and then the turkey on top of that.

Cook the turkey at 450 degrees for 30 minutes.

At this time, cover the bacon with tin foil. You’ll then reduce the temperature to 375 degrees and continue cooking for up to 3 ½ hours. When it starts getting close, you’ll want to check the internal temperature of the turkey using a thermometer. Your turkey should reach 160 degrees.

Simple, Yet Effective
While there is a small amount of preparation and you need to keep your eye on things, this turkey recipe is pretty easy. There’s no brine or any stuffing of weird stuff inside the bird; it’s really all about the bacon. And I think that everything should always be about the bacon.

~J.C.

The post J.C.’s Incredible Bacon-Wrapped Turkey appeared first on Metal Master Shop.

There is a lot more to my identity than just being a metal roof provider. I am also a family member, part of our diverse Miami community, and a citizen of this great country.

When it comes to celebrating the Independence Day of our nation, folks in Miami aren’t limited to backyard barbecues, sparklers, and colorful smoke bombs. We have a wide range of exciting choices for big eats, big meals, and even bigger thrills.

The Top Events in Miami for July 4th, 2016

America’s Birthday Bash at Bayfront Park

If you want to see the Miami skyline explode in a thrilling fashion, without worrying about Armageddon, then break out your blankets and picnic baskets and head to Bayfront Park. This event is free and offers complimentary food, drinks, and children’s activities, too.

Miami Beach’s Fire on the Fourth Festival

If your Independence Day needs a little more soul, then join the sunburned throngs at Miami Beach for some funk. There will not only be fireworks exploding (as any proper celebration should include), but there will also be performances by The Family Stone and Grand Funk Railroad. The annual Fire on the Fourth Festival is a top-notch event.

Fourth of July Parade – Key Biscayne

If you’re looking to make a day of it with your family, you can hardly do better than the celebrations at Key Biscayne. The parade of patriotism is a favorite for families, including marching bands, stilt walkers, and bagpipes, as well as a lot of local flavor. See the parade and fireworks for free, and for a small price your family can enjoy the legendary, savory barbecue!

Old-Fashioned July Fourth

Is Independence Day just not traditional enough for you anymore? Take a step back in time with a period-inspired day at the Barnacle. This historic site will bring back that old-timey feel with scavenger hunts, kite making, and knot demonstrations, along with a host of other traditional activities before iPhones took over our lives. You can bring your own lunch or experience typical fare of the 18th century for this old-fashioned picnic.

Miami – It’s pretty great

We not only live in one of the best countries in the world, but arguably one of the best cities in that country. We should thank our stars and stripes that we’ll be eating burgers and drinking cold brews this weekend, instead of forcing down haggis, buttered eel, or marmite!

From many, one.
~J.C.

The post Celebrate Our Independence Day – Miami Style appeared first on Metal Master Shop.

What is the point of living in Miami if you don’t have a little fun every once in awhile? Our Miami, the new Millennium Miami, has earned a reputation as one of the most exciting places in the world. This Miami has become the gateway to America, a new-world city that is part culture, part resort, and part nightlife.

While much of the country will be pretending to enjoy their winter wonderlands this month, some of them wise up and come here for December in Miami, during the peak of our tourist season. That’s because not only is the weather considerably better than most places right now, but there is some great stuff to do in Miami for the holidays.

Enjoy the Holidays, Miami-style

1. The Santa Crawl- December 12th – The Santa Crawl  is becoming a Miami tradition. It’s improved each year with better organization, attendance, and participation. If you want to fit in with this crowd, squeeze into your Christmas-themed attire and join a couple hundred other Santa’s, reindeer, and suspiciously human-looking elves, as you move from bar to bar. Participants are given wristbands and route cards and are led through one of multiple routes (so everyone is not hitting the same bar at the same time). What’s that? Why yes, I will have another!

2. Miami SantaCon – December 19th – Christmas comes but once a year, so come and drink some beer and be merry! There’s absolutely no rule saying you can’t partake in more than one Christmas-themed pub crawl; and really, isn’t that the point of a pub crawl?! This round is free to participate in, but make sure you’re appropriately garbed if you want to receive the advertised drink specials.

3. Santa’s Enchanted Forest -Through January 2nd – Looking for something the whole family can enjoy? Look no further than Santa’s Enchanted Forest. That’s right, we have our own Christmas theme park. One ticket grants you entrance to all of the rides, and you enter into a wonderland of holiday lights and decorations as you drown in mountains of chocolate-covered marshmallows.

4. The Orange Bowl- December 31st – If candy canes and elves aren’t really your thing, then perhaps I can offer you the best football game of all time? The Super Bowl doesn’t count, and the Rose Bowl can eat it. Every year around this time, two of the country’s best teams face off in Miami. The stadium has been updated this year and it will be our first playoff semifinal in the new CFP system. Tickets might be hard to come by, but that is why they make large-screen TV’s.

5. Bring in the New Year – Miami might be the party capital of the country, all year long, but that doesn’t mean we let it fizzle out toward the end. Nope, we go all out, at all levels. From luxury, million dollar velvet-rope events on a yacht that would never let me in, to party buses, and the famous orange drop! There is a lot to do.

Since Miami is the #1 party city in the country, I’ll just leave this little list here.

Seasonal Comfort Foods – Miami Style

On top of being a world-renowned vacation destination, Miami also offers some great seasonal comfort foods– albeit, with a little bit of Miami flair involved.

If you have a seasonal favorite, share it with us on our Facebook page!  

Here’s are just a few of our favorites:

Coquito – A Miami Spin on Eggnog

Image Credit: Alejandra Ramos

If you’ve never tasted coquito, you don’t know what you’re missing. Coquito is a popular Miami favorite during the holidays! You can make your own, here.

Flan – A Traditional Style Custard

Though, not technically a “holiday” dessert, Flan is another favorite we look forward to during the holidays. Flan is found in recipes as far back as ancient Rome, according to this site, and was originally a savory dish that was not too sweet, but rather, aromatic and pleasing to the palate.

If you’re feeling up for the challenge, you can follow this recipe and give it a try!

Work Hard, Play Harder

We have a lot to be thankful for, and a lot to celebrate this month. While these lists are short, I didn’t even talk about the Hip Hop Nutcracker or the Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge, but there just isn’t enough room to cover it all.

Just remember: before you go back to working hard, take a moment with those special in your life and enjoy all that Miami has to offer.

~J.C.

The post December in Miami – Your Guide To What’s Happening appeared first on Metal Master Shop.

Here at Metal Master Shop, we have a lot to be thankful for. It’s that time of year again. We’re grateful all year long, but with November comes the opportunity for extra thought and reflection about how blessed we truly are.

We’re thankful for Miami, and we’re thankful for our community. There’s nowhere else we’d rather work, play, and live.

We’re also thankful for you, the skilled roofers we work with every day. We know our metal roofing supplies are in great hands, and that you make local home and business owners’ lives better with every job you do.

Thank you for your business!

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we thought we’d share some favorite foods and traditions from a few of our team members, a couple of favorite recipes, and a couple of local Thanksgiving events that make the holidays just a little brighter.

Our Traditions

A few of our team members took some time away from their busy work lives to share their favorite foods and traditions with you. If you’d like to share your traditions with us, head on over to our Facebook page. We’d love to know how you spend Thanksgiving and what you’re thankful for.

Mike: I’m thankful for my friends and family and for their love and support. Each year I look forward to eating turkey, stuffing, lechon, and pumpkin pie. I love spending time with the family, and watching our family grow with kids (sisters, cousins, etc.)

James: I’m thankful for the gathering of family and the people in my life. I look forward to mushroom casserole every year.

Daylin: I don’t like to cook, so I like to concentrate on the eating part. We celebrate more of a Cuban kind of Thanksgiving. We have the traditional turkey, but pretty much everything else is different. We keep the main focus of bringing everyone together and giving thanks, but we’ve customized the holiday to fit our own culture. Every year, I look forward to seeing my relatives and friends, and I especially look forward to the Cuban Flan my Aunt makes.

Favorite Recipes

Like Daylin said, many members of our team incorporate our own culture into the very American holiday of Thanksgiving. We thought we’d supply you with a couple of those recipes, just in case you want to try something a little bit different this year.

Chorizo and Cornbread Stuffing

1lb Fresh Mexican Chorizo 1 medium white onion, chopped

1 carrot, chopped 1 celery stalk, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped 2 cups crumbled cornbread

¼ cup chopped cilantro ½ cup chicken stock

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Cook the chorizo until it begins to brown. Then, add onion, garlic, celery, and carrot to the mixture and cook an additional 10 minutes. Add the crumbled cornbread and cilantro, then slowly pour in enough chicken stock so stuffing is neither too dry or too wet. Butter a baking or casserole dish, and add the stuffing in an even layer. Bake at 350 degrees until it’s heated all the way and lightly browned on top.

There are many ways to make this recipe, but this take from Aarón Sánchez is the closest we’ve found to the best. You can find a more in-depth explanation, as well as optional ingredients, over at the Food Network.

Perfect Turkey Brine

We tried this recipe last year at a dear friend’s house, and it was so good we had him write it out for us. It will make your Thanksgiving turkey even better. Obviously, you need a turkey somewhere in the 12-14lb range.

1 cup salt (substitute less salt for more spices) 1 lemon, wedged

1 orange, wedged 1 medium onion, wedged

3 garlic cloves, chopped 4 bay leaves

1 tbsp dried thyme 1 tbsp ground black pepper

1 ½ gallon cold water

Rub an appropriate amount of salt on the turkey. Then, place all ingredients and remaining salt (or spices) into a large pot. Add the turkey, and then add the water. Refrigerate overnight. Once Thanksgiving day comes, throw out the brine and put your turkey in the oven as usual. The turkey will be extra tender and flavorful.

We couldn’t believe our tastebuds last year. It really is that good.

Thanksgiving Events

While we love spending time with our friends and families on Thanksgiving, Miami has plenty of events to offer that range from helping the less fortunate to food truck rallies.

Here are a few we’re looking forward to.

6th Annual Space Coast Thanksgiving Basket Brigade – On November 22nd, volunteers gather to put together Thanksgiving baskets for the less fortunate. These baskets include a full Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings, along with snacks, toiletries, and canned food. Volunteers then hand-deliver these Thanksgiving baskets to each family. You can donate or register to volunteer here.

Santa’s Enchanted Forest – This annual attraction starts in October and ends in January. This amusement park and carnival features three million lights and a Christmas tree measuring over 92’ feet tall. If you love Christmas and lights, make your way to Tropical Park before January 3rd, and if you’ve never been before, this is your year. More info here.

Christmas Tree Lighting and Food Truck Invasion – This free event features a 50 foot tree covered in lights, holiday music, and plenty of local food trucks. It’s the perfect way to unwind on November 27th. For parking details, click here.

From our team to you, thanks for everything you do. We have plenty to be thankful for, and you’re at the top of the list.

~J.C.

The post As Miami’s Preferred Metal Roofing Supplier, We’re Thankful For… appeared first on Metal Master Shop.

We Love Christmas

Here in Miami we only see snow on television, but Christmas comes no matter the weather! And we are thrilled to spend the holidays in the warmth of family and friends.

We also want to take a moment to wish each of you a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year. And we hope that 2015 is your healthiest and most prosperous year yet!

Aren’t new beginnings refreshing? We think so!

Cheers to 2015!

As we move into 2015, we have so many big projects in the works—our Metal Roofing Conference, for example—and we hope that you will stay tuned! If there is anything you might need, feel free to give us a call. We’d be glad to help you find a solution for your roofing needs!

~J.C.

The post Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! appeared first on Metal Master Shop.