Hey there Florida Foodie friends,
It is the man a judge once called a “menace to decency,” Thomas Mates.
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I’ll tell you exactly what I told him. I don’t know how that horse got into the hospital or who fed it all those laxatives. What was I supposed to do, not post the video online?
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Anyway, I was finally able to do some baking recently. Not everything I wanted to do, but I made a pretty solid loaf of bread and some really fantastic brownies, I’ll be sharing the recipes for those a little later.
I also got the chance to fire up my grill over the weekend, which I should take the time to do more often. It’s a charcoal grill, so it takes a little longer to get fired up, which is why I don’t use it as often as I like, but I really should make the time, especially since we have near-perfect grilling weather year-round.
I have a classic Webber Kettle grill. I am totally open to any suggestions on good grill recipes. I have dabbled with smoking on it as well, so feel free to share those ideas with me as well. Maybe I’ll finally attempt a brisket this year.
OK, that’s enough out of me. Let’s get into it.
Dutch-style fries in Florida🍟
Wilson Santos has been thinking about French fries for a long time, decades even.
He made a trip to Amsterdam when he was in college and he fell in love with the fries there, which are a common Dutch street food. Now, he’s brought the fry obsession to the Orlando area with his new restaurant, The Fry Shoppe. It just recently opened in Winter Park.
On the latest episode of Florida Foodie, Santos talks all about his journey to opening the business and walks Candace Campos through all of the sauces customers can enjoy.
>You can check out the whole episode here<
Don’t forget you can also find every episode of Florida Foodie on YouTube.
Small bites🍠
New spots to shop🥔: Publix is ubiquitous here in Central Florida and two new locations are getting ready to open up. Click here to find out where they will be.
Winery on the move🍷: Quantum Leap Winery has been in the same location in Orlando for the past 12 years, but that is going to change soon. You find the reason for the move here.
Asking for help 🥫: Matthew’s Hope is experiencing a lot of empty shelves at its food pantry. The charity says the demand remains high since the pandemic and it has not been able to keep up. Find out how you can help here.
Something to try at home 🍽️
As promised, I have a brownie recipe this week.
This recipe comes from Alton Brown.
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 2 cups natural cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 large eggs
- 2 sticks (16 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- (optional) a bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Grease an 8-inch baking pan and put a piece of parchment paper into the bottom of the pan with about two inches hanging over the edges on each side. This will make it easier to remove the brownies later.
- Sift together all of your dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside. In a separate bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat your eggs until they are frothy and yellow with no streaks.
- Slowly mix together your dry ingredients into your eggs. If you are using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment and have it set to a low speed. Once all of the dry ingredients are incorporated, add the rest of your wet ingredients and mix until homogenous. You can also add your chocolate chips now if you are using them.
- Pour the mixture into your prepared pan and bake it for 15 minutes. Then pull it out and rest it for 15 minutes. Now, place it back in the oven to bake for another 30 minutes.
- Remove the brownies from the oven and allow them to cool completely before serving.
When you go to serve them, I recommend putting them in the microwave for 30 seconds and then putting a scoop of vanilla ice cream over the top of it. Alternatively, you can have them at room temperature with a smear of peanut butter over the top.
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.
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