dcandohio

Duh. You are correct. I should proofread more carefully before I post after a couple of glasses of wine!

Seriously delicious food in Fort Lauderdale! Hot and Soul is in a very strange strip mall on the south west corner of Oakland and Commercial, not far from the Oakland Park beaches or the Lauderdale by the Sea beaches. Thank hair salons, odd boutiques, and real estate agents. The place doesn't even have much signage, but it is on the western side of the strip mall. It specializes in comfort food from across the world, but there's a strong Cajun influence. I had a fried red snapper on shrimp etouffee, and my friend had lamb tangine. Holy shit. Delicious, soulful food. The menu runs from Currys to mussels to Southern style barbecue. It's not a large menu, but every item sounds so amazing and enticing. After our dinner, we declared it perhaps the best food we have ever had in Fort Lauderdale. Service was sketchy. Who cares? http://m.hotandsoul.com/

Chicken "chili" with mild and hot Hatch peppers from the freezer, with beans, corn and tomatoes. Delivered to friends having a bad stretch.

A big plate of roasted vegetables: carrots, onion, celery, yellow pepper, zucchini, yellow squash. A wedge of Cabra al Vino cheese.

There is a location near where my parents live in suburban New Orleans. It's crazy popular. Good luck finding a parking lot or a seat any day at lunch, and all day on Saturday and Sunday. That place is a license to print money… And I don't understand it!

Grilled chicken brats and onions on pretzel buns. Bagged Asian salad, because it needed to be used.

Although, in my opinion, Dominos pizza has improved somewhat, but Papa John's has always been nasty.

I did finally make the split pea soup over the weekend with lots of diced yellow and red peppers. Thanks to this group for all of your suggestions. I flavored it with bacon ends I bought at Luckys, which have always been delicious as a seasoning. And the weather cooperated and turned quite cool. With a shaved fennel and apple salad and garlic bread, it was a satisfying Sunday supper.

Need some advice. Our weather in Florida is finally cool enough to be able to serve soup at night without turning down the AC! I am making split pea soup, to which I always add carrots. One of my friends does not eat carrots. What can I add that put some color and vegetable into the soup without greatly changing the flavor profile? I was thinking of maybe some chopped red chard. I'm sure I am overlooking something obvious and one of you will steer me in the right direction.

I happen to be in New Orleans this week, and the outrage of people is astounding. People also are very worried about Alon Shaya, who seems to have been a fall guy in some of this. Besh is attempting to disallow Shaya from using his own name on a restaurant. Apparently, Besh is not really a very nice person.

Salmon poached in coconut milk with Thai curry seasonings, served over cooked sweet potato cubes and cauliflower "rice."

As a former Columbus resident, I am so proud of Jeni and everything she has accomplished. I happened to be in the Columbus North Market one day when she stopped in to visit her outpost there. Her employees were so excited to see her, and the entire time she was there she was bestowing praise to her employees and saying positive things about the business. It's one thing to make a good product, but it's another thing to be a great leader!

Clean out the frig vegetable soup.

Another dispatch from my hurricane Irma evacuation to New Orleans: i'm met high school friends (we just had our 40th reunion!) at Café Reconcile in the central city, an area that would have been off-limits to most sensible people a decade ago. The entire area is experiencing a rebirth, and part of that is this café which is part of an extensive program to help young people break the cycle of poverty. Regardless of the mission, the place serves yummy, straightforward Southern food in a bright, comfortable space. Noise levels make for easy conversation, and the pleasant young people working create hope for the future. Portions are generous and prices are gentle. Everyone eating there seemed satisfied and happy. Good food for a great cause! https://www.cafereconcile.org/about/

I am in New Orleans unexpectedly as a Hurricane Irma evacuee. My sister and I went on a tour sponsored by the Beauregard-Keyes House and lead by Loyola Professor Justin Nystrom of the "Sicilian French Quarter." The Sicilians established themselves in New Orleans starting in the 1800's with the lemon trade, which expanded to include bananas, and eventually most imported produce. Nystrom posits that the Italians, who brought their native foods (spaghetti, cheese) and who created the wealth that funded the establishment of many food related businesses, are largely responsible for making New Orleans a restaurant city. I was born here, and much of this information was new to me. Fascinating. Great stories of places like Brocatos and Turci's, and insights into issues such as the true origins of the iconic mufaletta (NOT the invention of Central Grocery). Nystrom has a book coming out in February on the Sicilian Influences on New Orleans food culture. I can't wait to read it. http://www.bkhouse.org/ http://cas.loyno.edu/history/bios/justin-nystrom

Because we may take a direct hit from Irma and lose power, I am cooking out of the freezer tonight for my friends. Italian sausage roasted with peppers and onions, corn cooked on the cob, and then the kernels cut off and tossed with basil and garlic butter, salad.

I am back to cooking after a vacation during which I ate like a teenager. Last night I made a fish curry which I served over cauliflower "rice." The salad was a raita inspired cucumber and cantaloupe mix with a yogurt dressing. Very refreshing against the spicy curry.

I lived in Columbus for years, close to the original Jeni's retail location, and I can say, though it is expensive, it is ethereal ice cream. Every flavor I ever tried was delicious.

For a supposedly "healthy option," Panera's food contains awful lot of sodium.

Chicken wings (steamed, then refrigerated, then tossed in sauce, then grilled) Fingerling potatoes cooked in a foil packet on the grill Bagged Asian salad

If you decide to have your Fort Lauderdale area vacation in Hollywood, you should definitely check out the yellow Green farmers market. http://www.ygfarmersmarket.com/ It is long aisles of produce, jewelry, imported clothing, incense, soaps, and all kinds of food. There's almost every kind of food stall imaginable, from Belgian waffles to Ethiopian, from Thai to vegan ice cream. You can buy handmade mozzarella, locally made smoked fish dip, all kinds of exotic fruits and vegetables, fresh fish, in season vegetables, spices, teas...all while drinking alcohol, because you may buy and consume while you are perusing this market. On a day like today, the market is hot. I wanted Ethiopian food, which was delicious, but a hard thing to really enjoy on a very hot day. It's such a riot of color, and smell, and flavor that I encourage anyone who is close by to deal with the insanity of the parking and have this experience. It's not far from the intersection of I 95 and Sheridan. And just to tempt you, the plums I bought today were absolutely the best ones I've ever eaten in my entire life!

Last night I put some delicious Italian sausage (from a tiny little grocery store in New Orleans, carried frozen in my luggage) on the grill. The grills at my condo are used by many people, some of whom are not experienced and they are often nonfunctional… But last night everything was perfect. I got some sear on the casing of the sausage, but the inside was still juicy. I made a pasta salad with penne, and lots of chopped zucchini, red pepper, tomatoes, roasted corn, and spinach. I tossed it in a vinaigrette made with tons of basil. I also served store-bought bread sticks with marinara from a jar that I doctored up with a bit of wine, herbs, and diced pepperoni.

Last night I made a Thai chicken curry using prepared curry paste and light coconut milk. I served it over riced cauliflower, which I had stir fried in a bit of olive oil, sesame oil, and soy sauce.

Thanks. I did re-boil it, and I ate a bowl… And it tasted fine, and smelled fine and I am feeling no l effects. I've learned my lesson, and I packaged and froze the rest.

Advice. I heated a pot of soup to boiling at about 8:30 last night. It contained chicken and beef, vegetables, and chicken stock (all of which had been previously heated and refrigerated overnight). I set it to cool, and forgot to put it back in the refrigerator. When I saw the pot this morning, I immediately put it in the refrigerator… Because of the air conditioning vents, my kitchen is the coolest room in the condo, and so the pot sat in a fairly cool room overnight. Do you think I can reheat it and eat it, or is it a total loss? Smells OK.