Hello there Florida Foodie friends,
It’s your buddy, your pal, your waking nightmare Thomas Mates, back again to put my thoughts in your inbox.
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I feel a bit like I have been in a food rut lately.
I haven’t really tried any new recipes lately. I’ve also had the ingredients to make another basque cheesecake for like two weeks, but just cannot seem to find the motivation to make it.
Even when it comes time to go out to eat, my wife and I just seem to struggle to identify something we are really craving.
Does this ever happen to you?
How have you broken out of it? Send me an email and let me know.
OK, short intro this week. Let’s dive in.
Fine dining 🥂
Norman Van Aken is synonymous with fine dining in Central Florida.
He has been recognized multiple times by the James Beard Foundation. He has authored several cookbooks and his restaurant, Norman’s, recently opened in a new location in Orlando.
However, Van Aken started out as a Midwestern kid in Illinois with no concept of pursuing a career in cuisine. His story is really quite fascinating and Van Aken himself is witty and down-to-earth.
You can hear his conversation with Lisa Bell and Candace Campos on the latest Florida Foodie.
> You can listen to the episode here <
And you can also find every episode of Florida Foodie on YouTube, as well.
Small bites🥦
Foodie fundraising💵: The scenes coming out of Maui have been devastating. People here in Central Florida are stepping up to help raise money for the people there, including Orlando’s foodie community. Here’s how you can get involved.
Not this year 😢: Sanford’s iconic restaurant Hollerbach’s is not going to be hosting its usual Oktoberfest activities. The business is going to be taking part in other Oktoberfest celebrations. You can learn all about it this year.
Get paid to eat😋: FinanceBuzz is looking for a lucky Buc-ee’s lover to taste-test food from the chain of gas stations -- and get paid in exchange. Here’s all the information.
The taste of honey🐝: Past Florida Foodie guests Joe and Ginger Lee had the grand opening of their Zymarium Meadery in Orlando’s Mills 50 neighborhood this past weekend. I got the chance to sample their mead and it was pretty great. You can learn more about the business here.
Something to try at home 🍽️
Today, I’ve got a twofer. I’m going to give you a recipe for scallion oil noodles. To do this, I also have to show you how to make scallion oil, which is delicious all on its own and can be used as a condiment for salads or soups or just about anything really.
This recipe comes from The Woks of Life.
Ingredients:
Scallion oil
- 1/3 a cup of vegetable oil
- 8 ounces of scallions, julienned lengthwise (cut into thin ribbons)
Noodles
- 3 tablespoons of dark soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons of light soy sauce
- 4 teaspoons of sugar
- 1 pound of Chinese white noodles (vermicelli also works)
Step 1: Place your oil in a deep frying pan over medium heat. Add your scallions, first the whites and then the green portion once the whites are wilted. Let them fry slowly until the scallions turn golden brown. Then remove the scallions from the oil and set aside.
Step 2: To the oil, add both kinds of soy sauce and the sugar. Now reduce your heat to low and let it get to a simmer.
Step 3: Cook your noodles as directed until al dente. Be sure that you do not salt your water. The sauce for this dish is plenty salty as is.
Step 4: Reserve a quarter cup of your pasta water and strain the rest off.
Step 5: Add your pasta to your sauce and toss the two together. Add your pasta water to the noodles and sauce and continue to toss. This will help the sauce to stick to the noodles and make it a little more silky.
Step 6: Plate your noodles and top them with a healthy dose of your crispy fried scallions.
This is a salty and savory dish. You can plus it up a bit by sauteeing some ground pork and adding it to the mix.
That’s it for today.
Please, send me your recipes so I can share them with everyone. My email is tmates@wkmg.com.
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