Hey there Florida Foodie friends,
‘Tis I, the scourge of the seven seas, the dread pirate Thomas Mates.
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I’ll be honest with you. I’m not a pirate. I just need an excuse to explain why I have scurvy.
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I know you missed me last week. My schedule got shifted to cover for a coworker and it just did not permit me time to get a newsletter out to all you lovely people.
Well, we are back this week and then there won’t be a newsletter for the next two. This time, I’ll be on vacation.
I’m not going anywhere. I have friends coming into town, so we’ll be living it up around Central Florida.
I’ve got a few good restaurants in mind for them to try out, but I would love some suggestions. We’ll probably spend some time in the Daytona Beach area and maybe around Mount Dora if that helps.
Drop me your suggestions via email at tmates@wkmg.com.
OK, let’s get into it.
Feeding seniors👴
Chef Delaño Lambertclare has spent nearly two decades making sure seniors and children across Seminole County have food in their bellies.
Lambertclare left a job at Disney’s Swan and Dolphin to take over the kitchen at Meals on Wheels of Seminole County. He also runs the services catering arm, Top Hat Catering, which helps to fund the Meals on Wheels good works.
On the latest episode of Florida Foodie, Lambertclare shared how he works to provide thousands of meals daily. He also shows Lisa Bell how to make two signature appetizers.
>You can check out the whole episode here<
Don’t forget you can also find every episode of Florida Foodie on YouTube.
Small bites🍠
Taste of the world🌎: More international chains are expanding their footprint into the U.S. Here’s a list of the ones opening the most locations stateside. You’ll have to sign up to be an Insider to check it out.
Shake it off🥤: It is now a little easier to lay your hands on one of Friendly’s famous Fribble shakes. The New England chain just opened a new location in the Orlando area. Click here for all the details.
May the Fourth be with food🚀: May 4 is “Star Wars” Day and Disney is celebrating its lucrative pop culture property with a bevy of tasty treats. Check out all the ways the mouse is cashing in on your childhood here.
Something to try at home 🍽️
This week, I thought I would share 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
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 large head broccoli (about 1 pound), chopped into florets, stalk thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 4 ounces (about 1/2 cup) ricotta salata, grated (parmesan works too)
- 4 hoagie rolls
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup fried onions
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 for another 15 minutes. It may brown slightly and that is fine. You want a nice hard roast on it.
- While your broccoli roasts, 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.
- 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, smokey bacon.
Let me know what you think if you try it out.
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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