Summer daze☀️

Ice cream from Kelly's (Copyright 2024 by WKMG ClickOrlando - All rights reserved.)

Hey there Florida Foodie friends,

It is I — a man once described as “a burden to every person (I) meet” — Thomas Mates.

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Thanks Mom for that pithy nickname.

[ADD YOUR BUSINESS TO THE FLORIDA FOODIE DIRECTORY]

Hope everything is going well for all you lovely people.

It is officially summer, but who can really tell here in Florida?

Why am I stating the obvious? I’m getting to that. First, how good does that ice cream from Kelly’s look? That photo was posted to PinIt! by our very own Ginger Gadsden. Please, post your Foodie photos there as well!

Since it is summer, we’ve had a few vacations here at News 6, so it is making our podcast schedule a little irregular. That means, no new episode this week, but we’ll have more for you very soon.

Of course, summer always puts me in mind to grill or barbecue. I think that is my plan for this weekend.

I’ve got a pork butt ready to go on the Webber. My one problem with barbecuing is that I never give myself enough time and I end up having to cheat it a bit, usually by throwing it in an Instant Pot. Maybe I’ll try to do some pork butt burnt ends.

Anywho, let’s get into it, but first don’t forget you can also find every episode of Florida Foodie on YouTube.


Hard to say goodbye😢

Closed Sign Generic (Copyright 2024 by WKMG ClickOrlando - All rights reserved.)

It is always hard to be a small business owner, but rising food and rent costs are making it difficult for many restaurants to stay open.

We’ve seen several spots shuttering all across Central Florida,

Here is a list of 15 places that are calling it quits.

Small bites🍣

I scream, you scream🍨: Summer demands ice cream. There are many fine ice cream shops around Central Florida. Here’s a list of some of the best in Orlando, but you’ll need to be an Insider to check it out.

Extra seating, at a cost💰: Daytona Beach is offering restaurants the opportunity to expand their outdoor seating. However, they may also have to increase their insurance. Read the whole story here.

Something to wine about🍷: Quantum Leap winery recently announced that it has found a new location. The Orlando winery was forced to move in April, but has found a new home near College Park. Find all the details here.


Something to try at home 🍽️

Here’s a great recipe for white sandwich bread. It’s better than anything you can buy at the grocery store and it’s pretty easy to make.

This recipe comes from Josh Weissman.

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup (174g) water
  • 1/2 cup 125g) whole milk
  • 2 1/4 (9 grams) bread machine yeast
  • 3 cups (440g) bread flour
  • 1.5 teaspoons (8g) fine salt
  • 1 tablespoon (21g) granulated sugar
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter softened

Step 1: Mix your water and milk. Heat the mixture to about 95 degrees. Then add your yeast. I recommend bread machine yeast specifically because it has dough conditioners, which makes for a softer loaf, but you can also just use regular instant yeast.

Step 2: In the bowl of a stand mixer or the carafe of a food processor, combine your bread flour, salt and sugar and whisk together until homogenous.

Step 3: Affix the dough hook to your mixer or food processor, place your bowl under it and begin mixing on low. Gradually add your yeast mixture to the dry ingredients until combined.

Step 4: One tablespoon at a time, add your butter to the dough and allow it to fully incorporate into the dough and then let it mix for another five or so minutes to build up the gluten.

Step 5: Place the dough into a greased bowl, cover it in plastic wrap and let it proof at room temperature for about 90 minutes or until doubled in size.

Step 6: Punch down the dough and dump it out onto a lightly floured workspace. Flour a rolling pin and roll the dough out into a rectangle about as wide as your loaf pan. Then roll up the rectangle and fold the roll’s ends underneath, placing it into a greased loaf pan seam side down. Cover the loaf pan with a damp towel and let it proof for another 90 minutes. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Step 7: Place your uncovered loaf into the oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until it reaches a golden brown.

Step 8: Remove the loaf from the pan and let it cool completely on a wire rack.


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


About the Author

Thomas Mates is a digital storyteller for News 6 and ClickOrlando.com. He also produces the podcast Florida Foodie. Thomas is originally from Northeastern Pennsylvania and worked in Portland, Oregon before moving to Central Florida in August 2018. He graduated from Temple University with a degree in Journalism in 2010.

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