Heading back on the road🛣️

Hey there Florida Foodie friends,

It’s the man of 1,001 voices, Thomas Mates. I don’t mean that I am good impressions. I mean there is a constant din in my mind, like a small city’s population is screaming simultaneously. The pills are supposed to stop the screaming, but they don’t work.

Anyway, I hope you all doing well.

[ADD YOUR BUSINESS TO THE FLORIDA FOODIE DIRECTORY]

You may have guessed by the title, but we are getting ready for another edition of WKMG Hits The Road. This time, we are heading to the 32771 ZIP code.

We just shot an episode of Florida Foodie at Hollerbach’s German Restaurant. You can see some of the food from their bakery in the image above. I can tell you it is pretty awesome. That episode will be coming out next Tuesday.

Hollerbach’s is also the location for our live Hits The Road broadcast on April 10. Please, come out and join us from 4 to 7 p.m.

Unfortunately, we do not have a new episode of Florida Foodie this week. We’re still getting into the swing of things with scheduling, but I promise we will back to our weekly schedule sooner rather than later.

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

OK, let’s get into it.

Closing up shop🌿

A call for community support was not enough to save one Casselberry restaurant.

I told you last week that V’s Vegan Diner had been struggling and was asking for people to come out and help keep them afloat.

Well, people came out in force, but it was ultimately not enough to save the business. The diner announced it will be closing its doors.

You can read all about it here.

Small bites🥓

Food showcase👨‍🍳👩‍🍳: Graduates of Valencia College’s culinary program recently showed off their skills with a grand buffet. It’s a twice-yearly tradition at the Walt Disney World Center of Culinary Arts and Hospitality on Valencia College’s Downtown Campus. Read all about it here.

Fry-yay🍟: A Dutch-style fry shop is opening up near the campus of UCF. Each order can be customized as there are two options for fries (skin-on or crispy) and more than 10 different sauces and toppings. Check out all the details here.

Bringing Jersey to Florida🥪: A New Jersey native now living in Florida has opened a new food truck in Kissimmee serving up some of the flavors of his youth. Check out what it has to offer here.

Something to try at home 🍽️

I’m dipping back into the archives for this week’s recipe, but it is a fun one for you.

It is sure to be a crowd-pleaser and it is highly customizable. Feel free to make any changes to the recipe you want, but this will give you a good base to jump off of. Fried chicken tacos.

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts, cut into strips
• 2 cups of buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons of cayenne, divided
• 2 tablespoons of garlic powder, divided
• 2 tablespoons of white pepper, divided
• 2 tablespoons of paprika, divided
• 2 cups of flour
• Salt & pepper
• Canola oil (for frying)
• 1 can of chipotle peppers in adobo
• 1/2 cup of mayonnaise
• 2 limes
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 5-6 leaves of kale
• A small handful of cilantro
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1/2 red onion
• Tortilla (I recommend flour tortillas for this one, but corn work fine too)

Step 1: Divide your seasonings into two large mixing bowls. Add your buttermilk to one bowl and your flour to the other and whisk both mixtures together until homogenous. Generously season your chicken with salt. Then, add your chicken to the buttermilk mixture, cover and let it marinate while you prepare the rest of the taco fixings.

Step 2: In a food processor, combine your mayo, garlic cloves and half of the can of chipotle peppers in adobo (you can refrigerate the rest of the peppers for later, they should last for a couple of weeks). Then add the juice and zest of one lime. Puree the mixture until it is smooth and then add salt and pepper to taste. Optionally, you can add a glug or two of some good olive oil for some extra richness, but this isn’t necessary.

Step 3: With the sauce done, now we make the slaw. Finely slice your kale into thin shreds and place it in a bowl. Then, take your half an onion and cut off both ends, slice it thin, and add it to the bowl. Similarly. slice your bell pepper into thin strips. Finely chop your cilantro, stems and all, and add it to your bowl. Then, toss the slaw with the juice from your second lime and add salt and pepper to taste.

Step 4: Now, fill a deep skillet or a wok about 2/3 full with your oil. Place it over medium heat and let it get up to about 350 degrees. While that is heating, bread your chicken. First, add about 2 tablespoons of the buttermilk marinade to your flour. This will help create some extra crispy bits on the breading. Then, in batches, dredge your chicken in the flour mixture. Make sure it is completely coated and then set it to the side.

Step 5: Fry your chicken in batches of three or four strips at a time, so as not to drop the temperature of the oil. Fry each strip until it is a golden brown (about 3 to 5 minutes apiece), then remove the chicken to a wire rack set in a baking sheet.

Step 6: Now, I recommend lightly toasting your tortillas in a lightly greased frying pan. This is optional. You can also cover your tortillas in a damp paper towel and microwave them for 25 seconds if you just want to warm them up, but, again, optional. Now, assemble your tacos. I like to go with tortillas, chicken, sauce, and slaw, but that’s me.

This recipe should net you about six to eight tacos, depending on the size of your chicken breasts. It’s crunchy and salty with some heat and sweetness from the sauce. If you like your fried chicken recipe better, use that. You could also make a more traditional coleslaw to go over the top and I’m sure it would taste great.

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