Change is coming🍂

Hey there, Florida Foodie friends,

It’s your favorite modern-day Caligula, Thomas Mates.

I feel like I start all of these recently talking about how busy I am, and this newsletter is no exception.

I am very busy.

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I’m not complaining though. I am working on a lot of really neat stuff for all of you lovely people. I hope it makes you very happy, but more importantly, I hope it makes my bosses very happy.

One of the things I am working on is bringing you new episodes of Florida Foodie every single week. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we show an episode of Florida Foodie on the News 6+ Takeover every single Wednesday. So, releasing a new episode bi-weekly was starting to put a strain on the old content pipeline.

So, that means you will now start getting a new episode of Florida Foodie every Tuesday with episodes airing on TV every Wednesday. That also means you are going to start getting the Florida Foodie newsletter every week as well.

I know — I’m excited too.

I look forward to invading your inbox every week. Everywhere you look, I’ll be there. I will not be ignored.

What fun!?

OK, let’s get into the meat of this week’s newsletter.

Cookie Phactory🍪

Ashley D’Acunto and her husband Israel Erazo have been busy over the past three years, building up their business — Phat Ash Bakes.

The pair opened their brick-and-mortar business last year. Now, they have expanded their business through some savvy partnerships with other restaurants all around Central Florida.

You can hear the pair talk all about their journey on the latest Florida Foodie with Candace Campos and Lisa Bell.

> You can listen to the episode here <

And you can also find every episode of Florida Foodie on YouTube, as well.

Small bites 🧅

Hard to say goodbye🐔: A personal favorite brunch spot of mine, The Coop in Winter Park, is getting ready to close its doors for good. The owner, John Rivers, said the closure is due to rising rent costs. Click here to find out how much longer the restaurant will be open.

Eating around the world🌎: Every year, Disney shows off cuisine from all around the world with its International Food & Wine Festival. The menus for the event are out now. Click here to find out what international treats you can nosh on.

Magical Dining✨: More than 100 restaurants are taking part in this year’s Magical Dining Month. The menus for the event have been released. You can check them all out here.

Coming soon🍣: Sus Hi Eatstation has been serving the Orlando area for more than 10 years. The company is getting ready to roll out another restaurant. You can find all the details right here.

Something to try at home 🍽️

This week, I thought I would dip into the archives for a classic recipe I have shared with you all in the past. We have new people signing up for our newsletters all the time and I’m sure you all have not read every single one I’ve sent you.

So, here is the recipe for one of my favorite vegetarian dishes. I do want to stress that this is vegetarian and not vegan, though it can easily be modified to fit any dietary requirements.

This recipe comes from the incomparable Alton Brown. It is a broccoli sandwich that is a little sweet, a little spicy and surprisingly rich for a vegetarian sandwich.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sliced bread and butter pickles
• 1/2 cup pickle brine, from the bread and butter pickles
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger
• 2 tablespoons chili sauce, such as sriracha
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 large head broccoli (about 1 pound), chopped into florets, stalk thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 4 ounces (about 1/2 cup) ricotta salata, grated (parmesan works too)
• 4 hoagie rolls
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 cup fried onions

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. While it warms, slice your broccoli and spread it onto a backing sheet. Lightly toss it in oil and season with salt and pepper.

Step 2: Mince the garlic and ginger and then place it in a bowl. Combine that with the pickles, brine, chili sauce and sesame oil. Give a stir and then let those pickles marinate.

Step 3: Your oven should be ready for your broccoli now. Throw it in the oven and let it roast for 15 minutes. Turn the broccoli and then roast it another 15 minutes. It may brown slightly and that is fine. You want a nice hard roast on it.

Step 4: While your broccoli roast, you can grate your cheese and split your hoagie rolls. Once the broccoli is out of the oven. Cut the heat and stick your rolls in there to gently toast for a couple of minutes.

Step 5: Time to assemble. Spread mayo on both sides of the roll. Add a layer of pickles, then broccoli and top it all off with fried onions (the kind from the can work fine) and the grated cheese.

This is a very quick and easy recipe. If you want to make it vegan, just drop the mayo and the cheese (or replace them with the vegan equivalent). Want some meat on there? I recommend some nice, smoky bacon.

That’s it for today.

Please, send me your recipes so I can share them with everyone. My email is tmates@wkmg.com.

Don’t forget to send in your foodie pictures as well through our PinIt! program.

Also, please take the time to rate and review the Florida Foodie podcast.

- Thomas