On the road again🛣️

Howdy Florida Foodie friends,

My name is Thomas Mates, and I was born a rambling man.

That’s not true. I wasn’t born. I burst forth from the head of mighty Zeus, fully formed and wearing a suit of glorious armor.

[ADD YOUR BUSINESS TO THE FLORIDA FOODIE DIRECTORY]

Let’s set aside my convoluted origin story for the time being.

Today is the start of something big here at News 6. If you are an avid viewer, and why wouldn’t you be, you may have heard some mention of us hitting the road. Well, it is officially kicking off. We are starting in the 32825 ZIP code.

We will have a week of stories, including this week’s Florida Foodie, all centered around that community which will all culminate in a live broadcast from Rio Pinar Golf. By the way, you are invited to stop by and meet some of the members of the News 6 team. Even I will be there. So feel free to say hi and tell me how much you love Florida Foodie and can’t live without it in your life.

OK, let’s get into it.

Food & history🍴

Pine & Oak Tavern sits inside the newly renovated Rio Pinar Golf course, but despite its new look, the walls are covered in history. There are pictures of past champions and one of Arnold Palmer’s trophies also has a place of honor inside the restaurant.

However, despite being inside a golf club, the owners want people to know that the space is open to everyone. The menu also reflects that, with items geared toward golfers and those who would rather have a nice sit-down meal.

Candace Campos and Lisa Bell got the chance to speak with the owner, Greg Allowe, and the executive chef, Anthony Albino, on the latest episode of Florida Foodie.

>Check out the episode here<

Don’t forget you can also find every episode of Florida Foodie on YouTube.

Small bites🥨

What would you pay?🍔: Wendy’s made headlines this week when the CEO of the company said it would roll out dynamic pricing, meaning prices could change at the chain depending on how busy it is. Many believed this would mirror the surge pricing model Uber and Lyft use, meaning prices would go up when it’s busy; however, Wendy’s is now saying that is not the case. Read the full update here.

Whiskey business🥃: Who doesn’t love a good whiskey? How would you get through the holidays without it? Well, fans of the fine spirit can make their way to St. Cloud this weekend for the Whiskey In The Cloud Craft Spirits Festival. Here are all the details on the event.

Care for a bite🐊: If you have ever looked at an alligator and thought, ‘Man, that looks delicious,’ well you are not alone. There are lots of places here in Central Florida where you can snack on some alligator. Here’s a list of locations to get gator meat.

Something to try at home🍽️

I don’t know about all of you, but I love a good meatball. When I first started dating my wonderful wife, she was not a fan, but that is because she never had one that was made well.

Meatballs are one of those items that sound simple until you actually try to make one. I’m going to give you a basic recipe, and you can spice it up however you want to suit your tastes.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/2 yellow onion, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 cups of breadcrumbs
• 1 cup finely shredded parmesan
• 1/2 cup milk or heavy cream
• 1 egg
• salt and pepper

Step 1: To a bowl, add half your breadcrumbs along with all of your milk. If you want a richer meatball, you can use cream instead of milk but it is completely optional. Stir to combine and let your breadcrumbs completely absorb the milk or cream.

Step 2: Once all the liquid is absorbed, add your ground beef, onion, garlic, egg and parmesan. Mix everything thoroughly with your hands. I recommend using disposable gloves for this, but you can also just wet your hands to keep the meat from sticking. You want the mixture as close to homogenous as possible. The mixture should be pretty wet. Slowly add your remaining dry breadcrumbs until the mixture reaches the right consistency. You want it to easily hold its shape, but not feel dry. You may not use all of the breadcrumbs.

Step 3: Now, season your mixture generously with salt and pepper. If you’re not sure about the seasoning, you can make a small patty with the meat and microwave it for about a minute so that you can taste it. Once, the mixture is seasoned, give it one last mix with your hands.

Step 4: Roll your meat into evenly sized balls, about 1-2 ounces each. Arrange them on a baking sheet and set aside.

Step 5: Eat a high-sided frying pan over medium-high heat. You’ll know it is hot enough if you flick water into the pan and it beads on the surface. If the water just sizzles, give it another 30 seconds or so and test it again.

Step 6: Coat the bottom of the pan with oil, such as vegetable, canola or avocado — something with a high smoke point. Olive oil or butter will set off your smoke detectors.

Step 7: Start cooking your meatballs in batches. You don’t want to crowd the pan. You want to brown the meatballs on all sides, not necessarily cook them all the way through. Once the exterior is mostly brown, set them aside and move in your next batch until all of the meatballs are browned.

Step 8: Reduce the heat on your pan to low. Return all the meatballs to the pan and let them simmer with a lid on until they are cooked all the way through—about five to 10 minutes. You can also finish cooking them in the sauce of your preference at this point. If want to try making your own sauce, you can find my vodka sauce recipe here.

If you follow these steps, you will end up with a moist, savory meatball as opposed to those dry hockey pucks my mother would force me to eat as a child.

As I said, this is a basic recipe. You could try using a blend of meats — such as pork, lamb, and veal — for some extra flavor. A little red pepper flake is also good. The possibilities are nearly endless.

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