Dining Guide

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Just saying thanks

Following the nightmare that was Hurricane Irma, as usual the people in this area responded fast and well. As a way to thank all the people who did their part, including the amazing first responders and city off icials, a Community Appreciation Celebration was held at Mote-Morris House and hosted by the Leesburg Area Chamber of Commerce and the Leesburg Partnership. Good times and great food from a grateful community.

PHOTOS: THERESA CAMPBELL

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Karen Stokes, Maria Stefanovic and Pam Jones Madelyn and Al Minner

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Around the Table

Three Lake County residents share their secret family recipes for the holidays.

SEE STORY on PG 102

NEW

THE VILLAGES

‘Coming Soon!’ fi nally came

Hungry for details during months of speculation about a new Guy Fieri restaurant, Villagers now are satisfying their curiosity and appetites at the TV chef’s American Kitchen + Bar. “I always try diff erent restaurants to see if I like it,” Villager Tim Andrews says. “Not just because he’s on TV, but I’ll definitely try it. You can’t have too many restaurants.”

Or maybe you can. Guy’s new spot replaces Honest John’s Whiskey and Provisions, 1045 Old Camp Road at Lake Sumter Landing. Tim says that’s a “tough area” for competition, including Cody’s Roadhouse, R.J. Gator’s, redsauce, and City Fire.

Guy’s menu features moderately priced American cuisine like burgers, wings, ribs, steaks, sandwiches, and a full list of cocktails. The Villages’ location adds to his roster of American Kitchen + Bar restaurants in New York City, Baltimore, Las Vegas, Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania, and Cancún, Mexico.

Villager Denise Mrozek says she and her husband, Fred, will try the new restaurant because Fieri’s name is attached. But there’s a more important bottom line, Fred says: “I always look at the price and happy hour.”

LEESBURG

Distruta de un taco! (Enjoy a taco!)

Taco House Express is the fairly new restaurant at 1322 N. 14th St., the former home of Angel’s BBQ. Hugo Cruz and Dwayne Jean-Pierre are managers of the new establishment and have given it a delightful face-lift. The menu includes appetizers like Papitas Prepardas, a variety of tacos, Hamburguesa Mexicana, burritos, quesadillas, and Big Texas Loaded Potatoes, along with great sides and refreshing drinks. Call 352.435.7126.

Whip up some eggnog!

December calls for eggnog, and here’s a safe homemade recipe with a cooked egg base to enjoy.

Ingredients:

2 cups milk (preferably low fat, 1 percent)

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 6 egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups cream or half and half 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pinch of ground nutmeg

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, combine milk and cinnamon and heat on low for a few minutes to warm slightly. Beat egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl until sugar is mixed in; pour egg mixture into the saucepan with the warmed milk.

Cook over medium-low heat for 5-10 minutes until thick, stirring constantly. (If you have a cooking thermometer, make sure it reaches 160 degrees F. Do not boil.)

Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Add cream, vanilla extract, nutmeg, and whisk to combine. Refrigerate for at least a couple of hours or overnight until chilled. Serve cold.

—Recipe adapted from AllRecipes

The

King passes his crown

King’s Bar-B-Que is a hometown favorite in Eustis, but now there’s a new king wearing the crown. Mike Kennedy, who also owns Mike’s Tasty BBQ, is the new owner. Known for his fresh collard greens and macaroni and cheese, Mike is pleased to continue the hometown feel and taste at King’s Bar-B-Que, which was made famous when astronaut Dave Walker took the restaurant’s sauce he enjoyed so much into outer space. Visit Mike at Mike’s Tasty BBQ, 20010 U.S. Highway 441 in Mount Dora or his familiar new place at 503 Palmetto St., Eustis. 352.589.0404.

MOUNT DORA

Not home for the holidays

If dining out sounds like a whole lot more fun than sweating over the stove during the holidays, Pisces Rising has you covered. The restaurant at 239 W. Fourth Ave., Mount Dora, will be open from noon10pm Christmas Eve, and noon-midnight New Year’s Eve. Listen to live music and choose from a menu that includes—just as a sampler to whet your appetite— shrimp empanadas, Cubana mix spring rolls, and salads for starters; burgers, fi sh, and tacos at the bar; Atlantic salmon and Cuban snapper from the seafood section; “Fresh from the Farm” steaks, pork, chicken, and elk; and, fresh from the pastry chef, s’mores cheesecake and lemon tarts, among other items. Call 352.385.2669 or make reservations online at piscesrisingdining.com.

Love chicken nuggets?

The late Robert C. Baker, born Dec. 29, 1921, is credited with inventing chicken nuggets—a beloved food favorite of millions of kids and adults alike. Developing a way to keep the breading on the nuggets was the key to success for the Cornell University poultry and food science professor. He was inducted into the American Poultry Hall of Fame in 2004.

Healthy options for the whole family

Everybody loves to snack. That’s just a fact, Jack. But there is way to get your family to snack to healthy foods that taste great. Stoneridge Orchards off ers the Royal Ridge Fruits Family. You’re bound to find something in this great selection of fruits that will please even the pickiest eater.

The choices in their dried fruit selections are delicious and include Montmorency cherries, blueberries, cranberries, strawberries, sliced peaches, berry mix, and chili lime cherries. These are certified organic dried fruits, which means they’re clean wholesome, and organic and Kosher certified. Though dried fruits tend to have more sugar quantity than fresh fruits, Stoneridge Orchards never adds artificial ingredients, hydrogenated oils, corn syrup, or sulfites. They also come in chocolate-covered and Green yogurt-covered flavors. Check them out at stoneridgeorchards.com and pick your favorite fruit today!

Candy cane trivia

The candy cane originally was a straight white stick.

Candy canes with red stripes first appeared in the mid1900s in Sweden.

The candy’s curvy shape is credited to a choirmaster who worked at the Cologne Cathedral in Germany. It is believed he bent the peppermint sticks to look like the canes used by shepherds.

Other sources credit the bending to a candy maker in Indiana. It is speculated he also decided to add three red stripes to the candy cane to represent the Holy Trinity.

Some people believe the reason the peppermint sticks were bent was so they would look like a “J,” for Jesus.

Source: foodimentary.com

Holiday meal traditions

From whipping up favorite dishes to planning fun get-togethers, these families celebrate Christmas in their own special way.

STORY: THERESA CAMPBELL

Puerto Rico native Magdalena Zapata, who works as Lake County’s creative services supervisor, enjoys making favorite dishes of her homeland for the holidays, including pavochón, which is turkey cooked and seasoned like a pork roast.

“For La Navidad, or Christmas, we eat lechón a la varita, which is cooking a pig on a spit. We really eat this all year long, but that’s especially true during the holidays,” she says. “If we’re cooking for a smaller crowd, we would make a pernil, which is the pork shoulder, and make it in the oven.”

She also loves drinking coquito, a coconut rum punch, which can be made traditionally or infused with other fl avors, including chocolate or almonds.

“The states have eggnog, but we have coquito,” Magdalena says.

From Magdalena Zapata Coquito

Ingredients

2 egg yolks, beaten

1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk

1 (14 ounce) can cream of coconut

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk 1/2 cup white rum

1/2 cup water

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

In the top of a double boiler, combine egg yolks and evaporated milk. Stirring constantly, cook over lightly simmering water until mixture reaches a temperature of 160 degrees F. The mixture should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Transfer mixture to a blender, and add cream of coconut, sweetened condensed milk, rum, water, cloves, cinnamon, and vanilla. Blend for about 30 seconds. Pour into glass bottles and chill overnight.

Tammey Rogers, community services director for the city of Tavares, relishes her family’s out-of-the-ordinary Christmas meals, and she loves that the gatherings generate laughs and memorable moments.

“On Christmas Eve, everyone comes to our home in their pajamas,” she says of the tradition that has been part of Christmas for more than 18 years. “Even if you’re not a family member, but a family friend, you have to wear your jammies, and this is when we eat breakfast for dinner, exchange gifts, and watch ‘National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.’ We giggle like hyenas as though we have never seen the movie before!”