Decision 2012: Florida’s Pizza Primary [Every Slice Of Newsroom Pie Tells A Story]

Posted Feb 1, 2012 by Jeff Houck

Updated Feb 1, 2012 at 05:52 PM

Hidden behind the news facade of last night’s coverage of the Florida GOP primary was the important feeding of the reporters covering the election.

Newsroom tradition holds that food is brought in to feed those reporters, editors, copy editors, page designers and photographers who are working late.

This is pretty standard stuff on big stories that push past the daytime deadline.

For example, when the barrage of Hurricane CharleyFrancesJeanIvan (they all blended together) came ashore in Florida in 2004, many of us worked through the storm - nay, even slept under our desks - to bring you the news.

That required food, of course.

Stop. Coldcut sandwich time.

You might scoff at sandwiches, but I’ve seen worse. And better. Trays of arroz con pollo, Cuban bread and salad once made it to the newsroom. That was a beautiful day. Wouldn’t have minded if that became my ever-repeating Groundhog Day, actually.

So, with the mudslinging GOP primary race coming to to the polling booth yesterday, thoughts turned to feeding the news troops. And those thoughts turned to pizza. Domino’s, to be exact.

That’s reporter Howard Altman in front of our carbohydrate buffet last night. That’s the conference table where Big Fat Important News Decisions get made every day to bring readers the Tampa Tribune they love.

Last night, important decisions got made as to which pizza was most popular. The results:

Pepperoni and pineapple, the Hawaiian as it were, did not fare well. As you can see, it was the Herman Cain of pizza, seemingly popular but flawed in the execution. Which is ironic, since former GOP presidential candidate Cain was chairman and CEO of Godfather’s Pizza.

Faring nearly as poorly was this amalgamation of peppers, both sweet and hot. Perhaps this was the Michelle Bachman representative pie.

This Meat Lovers Pizza, which was mostly loved, but left cold and alone in the box, had the look of a third-place finisher. Think of it like Rick Santorum. Or the 2011 Boston Red Sox. A good showing, but not enough to get to the playoffs, as it were.

To quote Liz Lemon:  “Lovers.. oh, that word bums me out, unless it’s between meat and pizza.”

These two veggie pies were like third-party candidates that split the vote, the Ross Perot or Ron Paul of pies to put it kindly. I liked how the handler labeled them “Veggie,” as if people needed to be warned of impending disappointment.

So which was the Mitt Romney of pizzas last night?

BACON IN A LANDSLIDE! As if anyone had a doubt.

A greasy, cardboard-staining landslide, it would appear. If Domino’s had any mercy, they’d serve that caloric beast with a defibrillator and a diaper.

What lessons could we divine from this experiment? Mostly that bacon is the feel-good topping that pleases just about everyone. Maybe Newt should change his strategy of promising bases on the moon and run on a pro-bacon platform.

Talk about your pork-barrel politics.

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Merlot Jelly, Korean Fried Chicken and Grand Marnier Souffle [This Week’s Weekend Eats]

Posted Jan 30, 2012 by Jeff Houck

Updated Jan 30, 2012 at 04:41 PM

Did you have a good weekend? Hope so.

I know several people who used their time off to fill their collective belly with tasty foodstuffs.

Like my friends over at the Tasty Chomps food site in Orlando.

They spied the hanging roast ducks and barbecue pork you see in the photo above at the 1st Oriental Supermarket on Colonial Drive and Pine Hills in Orlando ! At the city’s largest Asian market, you can get a whole roast duck for $16.

By the look of the supermarket’s menu, they have lots of delicacies from which to choose.

Sauteed pork tongue, anyone?

For their droolworthy contribution, they win this week’s prize: A copy of the new book “Simple Asian Meals” by Nina Simonds. I can’t promise it will teach you how to make $16 Peking Duck, but it will fill your belly with more delicious Far East foodstuffs like Easy Asian Seafood Paella and Teryaki Halibut.

Other food enjoyed last weekend included: 

@geokaren - mmm we had rabbit filled ravioli w/pancetta & pinenut sauce!

@TastyChomps - Fresh steamed tilapia in scallions and soy sauce and roast duck from 1st oriental market in Orlando.

@HeatherHAL - Duck Soup! Slow simmered duck broth with white wine, winter vegetables and barley.

@fsutoby - Since we were in Boynton Bch, I took advantage of the only Sonic down here - chocolate banana milkshake!

@beanjuice - I had Fusili gigante al forno. It was magnifico!

@terrysimpson - pork loin dry rub off a rotisserie with mustard chutney and green beans with Ariz. pine nuts.

Not a bad haul, eh?

If you want more, check out this gallery of submitted photos. Click on the individual photos to get a description:

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Homemade Potsticker, Pulled Pork With Fried Egg, And Unstuffed Pork Chops [This Week’s Weekend Eats]

Posted Jan 23, 2012 by Jeff Houck

Updated Jan 23, 2012 at 03:47 PM

It’s hard to beat a good lobster roll. All that creamy, rich, seafoody goodness on a fresh-baked roll… makes me drool just thinking about it.

Which, as you might know is the criteria for winning the best photo prize during each week’s edition of Weekend Eats. It must, and I repeat, MUST be droolworthy.

The one above was enjoyed by Annette Baesel, who on Twitter goes by the handle @abaesel2. She enjoyed this particular roll with hush puppies & coleslaw at Monstah Lobstah in Tampa.

For ex-pat New Englanders who miss their Bay State eats - and for anyone who just loves good food - Monstah is a great place to get their chowdah on. And Anette’s photo made me wish I was there.

Other contributions this week include:

@karenmcallister - Great Chicken Pesto Pizza at Sally O’Neal’s w/fab view of #Gasparilla fireworks Saturday nite.

@Nel_Bringsjord - Big fluffy, creamy French toast made w/Challah from Sweet Caroline’s on Tampa Rd, made only on Fridays.

@RobinRipley - Fresh spinach, lettuce, arugula and parsley salad from my garden coldframe covered with ice and snow.

For Annette’s efforts, she takes this week’s top prize (and, truthfully, only prize):

...“Extraordinary; How To make Meals Your Friends Will Never Forget,” by Stefan Gates. Think bone marrow on toast and apple caviar. Extraordinary indeed.

Here’s a gallery of the week’s other great contributions. It’s enough to make your belt buckle explode:

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13 Hilarious, Childish, Rude And Sometimes Irrational Reactions To Paula Deen’s Diabetes [Play Nice]

Posted Jan 17, 2012 by Jeff Houck

Updated Jan 17, 2012 at 02:50 PM

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And Now The Least-Shocking News In The History Of Non-Shocking News [Paula Deen Has Type 2 Diabetes]

Posted Jan 17, 2012 by Jeff Houck

Updated Jan 17, 2012 at 01:56 PM

Minutes after butter-lover Paula Deen confessed her belated diabetes-related sins Tuesday morning to the Today show’s Al Roker, the judgment online came swift and merciless.

“Paula Deen has known about her Type II Diabetes since 2008, yet kept pushing her poisonous recipes,” tweeted comedian Peter-john Byrnes. “She’s the Joe Paterno of chefs.”

“Paula Deen didn’t keep diabetes a secret for three years,” comic Dan Telfer wrote. “Like everything she’s created, the diagnosis just took her three years to digest.”

BuzzFeed, which acts as a pop-culture clearinghouse, posted its list of the “25 Reasons We’re Not Surprised,” using Deen’s most cholesterol-choked recipes as Exhibit A. The top 5: 1. The Krispy Kreme Burger; 2. Three Meat Pasta; 3. Southern Fried Chicken; 4. Cheeseburger Meatloaf and Sauce; 5. Deep-Fried Lasagana. Finishing the list at No. 25 was “Paula’s Fried Butter Balls.”

Others swiped at Deen for agreeing to work as a paid spokesperson for the drug company Novo Nordisk, which manufactures an injectable, non-insulin drug used to treat type 2 diabetes.

In her interview with Roker, when he mentioned the endorsement, Deen replied, “Absolutely, I have been compensated just as you are for your work,” Deen said.

Twitter personality Ruth Bourdain – a fictional merging of food writers Ruth Reichl and Anthony Bourdain—snarked, “Paula Deen’s diabetes can be a powerful teachable moment about how to turn a diagnosis into a multimillion dollar drug endorsement deal.”

And though Deen told Roker she always has encouraged moderation, actor John Fugelsang quipped, “Paula Deen is like a heroin dealer who gets you so addicted she decides to do the right thing & sell you methadone.”

From @WarrenHolstein: “Paula Deen will start promoting a Novo Nordisk diabetes drug. And with her personally recommending it, it’s gotta be healthy, right?”

The I-told-you-so glee among food bloggers also showed in their repeating of the real-life Bourdain’s quote about the diagnosis and how Deen continued to showcase dishes on her Food Network show that were of an artery-clogging nature.

Bourdain and Deen got into a media food fight last year after he declared her “the worst, most dangerous person to America,” saying her food contributed to the country’s obesity problems.

“When your signature dish is hamburger in between a doughnut, and you’ve been cheerfully selling this stuff knowing all along that you’ve got type 2 diabetes,” Bourdain was quoted saying Tuesday. “… it is in bad taste if nothing else”

Still, others mixed defiance with their sarcasm.

On Tumblr, user ryanlintelman posted a link to a competing food personality’s recipe for Slow-Cooker Bacon Jam, writing, “In light of Paula Deen’s diabetes confession, I turn to you, Martha Stewart, to help me continue on my journey toward obesity.”

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