BurgerTime🍔

Howdy Florida Foodie friends,

It’s me, serial masochist, Thomas Mates. I’m back again to put my thoughts out into the endless void of the internet, hoping someone will care.

If I did this on a street corner, people would think I’m crazy, but this is totally socially acceptable.

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We do not have a new episode of Florida Foodie this week, but that’s not my fault. We were supposed to have an episode recorded last week for today, but our guest was experiencing a power outage and we had to reschedule.

This week, we’re knocking out two episodes, the rescheduled one and a special episode that we shot in the 32825 ZIP code. We recorded that episode yesterday and it went well. I hope you all will enjoy it.

That being said, we still have some Florida Foodie news for you this week. Don’t forget you can also find every episode of Florida Foodie on YouTube.

OK, let’s get into it.

This is a tasty burger🍔

I first told you all in 2022 that West Coast burger chain Fatburger was coming to Central Florida. You called me insane, mad even. Well, who is mad now? STILL ME, THAT’S WHO!

Anywho, Fatburger is coming to our area. In fact, the first one is opening tomorrow and the company hopes to open 10 locations around Orlando.

Click here for all the details.

Small bites🥓

Could we see more stars?⭐: Five more Orlando-area restaurants are now featured in the Michelin Guide. We’ll have to wait and see if any of them will be awarded a coveted star from the French tire manufacturer. Find out which restaurants made the cut here.

Student-run restaurant🍽️: Reservations are now available at the recently reopened Cub Paradise, a student-run restaurant at Bethune-Cookman University. There are only more events happening this semester. Find all the details here.

Celebrate ‘Her Story’ with food👩: Walt Disney World is highlighting women trailblazers with a Women’s History Month menu. See all the tasty bites here.

Something to try at home🍽️

This week, my lovely wife was kind enough to offer up another recipe for me to share.

It is a potato soup recipe, that is very tasty, based on The Ultimate Potato Soup Recipe at SugarSpunRun.com

Ingredients:

• 4 strips (uncooked) bacon
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 3 large garlic cloves minced
• ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
• 2 ½ lbs russet potatoes peeled and diced into pieces no larger than 1″ (about 6 or 7 potatoes)
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups milk
• ⅔ cup heavy cream
• 1 ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground pepper
• ¼ - ½ teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• ⅔ cup sour cream
• (Optional, for toppings) Shredded cheddar cheese, chives, additional sour cream and bacon, oyster crackers, diced ham

Step 1: Place bacon strips in a large Dutch Oven or soup pot over medium heat and cook until bacon is crisp and browned. Let bacon cool on a paper towel and set aside. (Optional: Cook extra bacon if you plan on adding any as a topping.)

Step 2: Add butter and chopped onion to the bacon fat in the pot and cook over medium heat until onions are tender (3-5 minutes).

Step 3: Add garlic and cook until fragrant (about 30 seconds).

Step 4: Sprinkle the flour over the ingredients in the pot and stir or whisk until smooth.

Step 5: Add diced potatoes to the pot along with chicken broth, milk, heavy cream, salt, pepper, chili powder, and paprika. Stir to combine.

Step 6: Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork (about 10 minutes).

Step 7: Reduce heat to simmer. If you want a chunkier soup, use a potato masher in the pot to break up the potatoes. If you want a creamier soup, use an immersion blender to puree the soup.

Step 8: Crumble the reserved bacon strips and add to the pot along with the sour cream. Stir well.

Step 9: Let the soup simmer for 15 minutes before serving.

Step 10: Top soup with leftover crumbled bacon, sour cream, cheddar cheese, chives, oyster crackers, and/or diced ham.

That’s it for today.

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

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.

- Thomas