While much of our country is knee-deep in pumpkin spice, scarves, boots and crisp breezes, here in Miami we are stuck in the muck. It’s been hot, humid, muggy and raining, raining, raining every day. Usually it starts pouring in the afternoon, which is normal for Miami in July and August, not so much in September. The Fall weather cannot start soon enough for me.

University of Miami kicked off their season at the end of August and have had four home games in a row!already. We did mini-tailgates for the first two games, but I got tired of the humidity and rain (it rained at both games) so gave our tickets to my daughter A.J. for the third and we are out of town for the UF game. She took Wyatt and Grace, his cousin, to the game Saturday night. It was Family night and they had fun, even though there was a one and half hour rain delay. So far UM is undefeated and looking good. Go Canes!

It’s also still Miami Spice for a week. So far, I’ve gone to Daniel’s Steakhouse (former Fiola’s) for dinner and Los Fuego’s (in the Faena hotel) and Arcona (in the former Tur location) for lunch. We also tried the very popular Sunny’s Steakhouse in the Little River area. All were good, but Sunny’s isn’t on Miami Spice. They don’t need to be, as it was packed on a Wednesday night at 6:15! Their Parker House Rolls and grilled Hanger Steak were to die for; the vibe is fun and the service knowledgeable and upbeat.

My husband Zeke and I tried Arcano in Coral Gables Monday for Miami Spice. Arcano is the Spanish word for mystery and, according to their website, this vibrant Latin American restaurant seeks to explore dishes of different countries and cultures. My ceviche, with corvina and strawberry leche de Tigre, was delicious. My fried rice came with crispy mushrooms and was reminiscent of Peruvian food. Zeke had Grilled Corvina, as they were out of the recommended Lomo Saltado with beef. He is trying to go Pescatarian. They were also out of the Tres Leches, so Zeke got the Corn Flan, which was quite good with a slight texture of kernels and subtle flavor of sweet corn.

Arcano was voted as having the best cocktails in Coral Gables and their Happy Hour goes from 5 to 10 Monday through Thursday and from 5 to 11 Friday and Saturday. A Happy Hour that goes this late in Miami is unheard of!

My grandson Wyatt is signed up for Golf Lessons on Wednesdays. He picked this day because it is the same day as Burgers and Beer at Riviera. Unfortunately, the last two Wednesdays (his first two lessons) were rained out. Fortunately, we still went to Burgers and Beer. This last Wednesday was finally the charm and he had his first lesson.

I’ve been taking a class downtown at History Miami on the Boom Towns of Miami, taught by renowned historian Paul George. Both times at the end of class, it’s been pouring cats and dogs. You would’ve thought I learned my lesson after the first class and brought an umbrella so I could walk to my car, but no, I did not. The first time I used a newspaper to fight off the rain. This last time I tied a plastic garbage bag tied over my head I found in a storage closet. I caught sight of my image in a window I passed by. The white plastic bag had filled with air and formed a huge round shape behind my head, billowing in the wind. Not so much a cone head- as a pimple head- I was quite the sight but I did keep my freshly-blown hair intact.

I had a small dinner party with my sisters and their partners Friday night, where I prepared Santo Domingo food to celebrate our recent trip there. I tried my hand at frying tostones to make an appetizer of tostones with sour cream and caviar, one of my favorite appetizers that my friend Martha always serves at her dinner parties. The secret is to get really green plantains, slice them one inch thick and fry them twice. There are first fried in a 300 degree oil, then smashed and refried at 350 degrees until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and salt lightly. They turned out great and are infinitely better than Goya’s frozen ones (which my sister Kelley had recommended using). They were the hit of the party.

I went against my own Dinner Party Rules at this dinner. I try to never have anything that needs to be done at the last minute. This time, I had to fry the tostones at the last minute, marinate the ceviche an hour before guests arrived and Zeke had to grill the steaks after everyone got here. Kelley made the rice when she arrived in my Instant (which I’m hopeless at) and I was stirring, stirring, stirring the red beans constantly. They still weren’t quite cooked enough. Oh well! It was a very casual affair and with my sisters, no stress necessary.

I made fun rum drinks with Brugal rum (made in the Dominican Republic) and passionfruit juice and lime, with a tan rim. Scallop ceviche, with lime, tangerine juice and picked jalapeños, was the first course. Zeke Grilled Skirt Steaks I’d marinated in mojo and I made homemade Chimichurri. The steak accompanied white rice and Dominican Red Beans, to make up the national dish of Santa Domingo- the Bandera– for our entree. Red, white and blue??? Only if you like your steak blue.

Kelley brought a delicious Monfongo as a side dish and dessert was a Flan Elise brought from Pinecrest Bakery. I also made chocolate dipped coconut chips, similar to the Jaleo we had in Santa Domingo at a restaurant of the same name. It is a common dessert in Santa Domingo. Kelley also brought Mamajauna, the liquer known as an aphrodisiac. As the label said, “we cannot confirm no deny the rumors about Mamajuana.” Ha ha! I’m not sure if it worked or not, but they call it the “baby-maker” Luckily, we’re all past that phase and we had a nice time.

• Note to the above blog post. I wrote this a month ago, but have been so busy trying to put our house on the market (yes, we are finally going to sell) that summer has turned into Fall and the Hurricanes are number 2! And beat F.S.U. And I’ve been busy being President of the Villagers, with the calendar in full swing. We even managed a trip to Glenville, North Carolina to see friends Jim and Christian Armstrong in September. But it’s already October. Carpe Diem!

Up Next: Fall Flavors