Welcome to another edition of Forky Friday!
For a change of scenery, this post is being produced in the dark confines of our hotel room in Orlando, Florida. With amber goggles shielding our bleary eyes, Henry and I are silently tapping away on our laptops while the Double-Os sleep in the neighboring bed. Every time I hear one of them stirring, I (quietly) slam my laptop shut and hold my breath. Who said being a blogger wasn’t glamorous?
I’m here at Disney World to attend the Food Blog Forum all day Saturday, but I hope to squeeze in some family time at the parks during my non-conference moments. These past few weeks have been a nonstop flurry of activity, so I’m looking forward to decompressing with my boys – and there’s nothing more relaxing than being flung around like a rag doll on a bunch of thrill rides. Whee!
Enough about me – let’s get to the links. The gems I’ve curated this week include a restaurant’s “wild” menu that has some people seeing red, a spot-on rant by one of my favorite food writers, some cool giveaways, a bunch of tempting recipes, and a video that’ll inspire you to book a gastrotour of Spain.
Let’s dig in!
- Because I had little or no time to plan our meals for our Orlando trip, I’m going to just go everywhere Russ Crandall recommended in his awesome post about gluten-free dining at Disney World. If you’re planning on making a trip to see Mickey this summer, you need to read this.
- I’m actually a tad disappointed that Orlando is so far away from Tampa because I want to check out the Safari Tacos at Taco Fusion. Recently, there was a huge uproar about certain “exotic” fillings on their taco menu – specifically, lion meat. In response, the owners defended their decision to keep lion on the menu in a thought-provoking post on the company blog. What’s your take on lion tacos?
- You know who probably won’t share a platter of lion tacos with me? James Beard Award winning blogger/hunter/angler/gardener/cook/writer Hank Shaw. Last year he wrote a great post about where he draws the line when it comes to choosing which species he’ll eat.
- Speaking of drawing the line, Michael Ruhlman wrote another fantastic rant about how America has a serious THINKING disorder when it comes to food. I definitely agree with his stance that everyone should just focus on eating real, home-cooked meals. One day me write pretty like him.
Now onto the less controversial stuff…
- Take care of your knives, people. The Kitchn describes three ways you might be inadvertently ruining your knives in this helpful post.
- Over at Serious Eats, J. Kenji López-Alt shows you why Minetta Tavern’s Black Label Burger costs $26. Henry and I went halfsies on a Black Label Burger last summer and we’d gladly pony up the bucks again – especially seeing how there really is no way to recreate it at home.
- Don’t get hate me for saying this, but my favorite ways to prepare pork belly don’t have anything to do with makin’ bacon. Here’s a fantastic example of what else you can do with it: Spiced Pork Belly recipe paired with a Fennel and Tomato Salad. (Hat tip to Food Republic!)
- Wanna win some cool stuff? George Bryant a.k.a. The Civilized Caveman is having an epic giveaway for a nifty KitchenAid mixer right here. If smoky meats are more your thing, Paleo Nick is giving away a kickass Smoke Vault smoker right here. If you haven’t visited both of these gentlemen’s sites before, you’re missing out on some crazy good recipes.
- Who misses cereal around here? Luckily for you, Simone Shifnadel has perfected a recipe for a grain-free Sweet Cinnamon Cereal.
(Image courtesy of zenbelly)
- This video from The Perennial Plate makes me want to eat my way through Spain so badly it hurts.
- Last, but not least, I wanted to thank all my Facebook pals for being such a lively and helpful community. You ROCK. Whenever I need answers to any dining/cooking dilemmas, you guys always deliver. Just the other day, in response to a question I posted on behalf of a reader, I received over 100 wonderful tips about how to plan a Paleo camping trip. If any of you have questions for this incredibly knowledgeable and generous community of Nom Nom Paleo readers, leave ‘em on my Facebook page!
Toodles!
