Additional Pictures From Winter Park Food Truck Stop

Brick And Fire Mobile

Tastebuds

Cheese Pizza

Meat pizza

2 trucks I still need to try, Feast Beast and Twisted Cuban

SwedeDish menu

Silver Bistro

Captain D's has a truck, need to try

Part of SwedeDish sample plate

All of SwedeDish sampler

Cheese rolls from Tastebuds

Pressed Cheesesteak from Silver Bistro

Meatballs from SwedeDish and Fries from Silver Bistro

Crepe Company menu

S'mores crepe from The Crepe Company

1st musician packing up

Food Truck Adventures 10 - Winter Park Street Food Truck Stop

As I mentioned in my post about the Silver Bistro, every Thursday evening the Winter Park Street Food Truck Stop has an event where all the trucks renting spaces that month are required to be there.  There is also live music at this event, and because the location is right near Tom & Jerry's, there is also access to beer and liquor.
On Thursday 12/15/11 I took two food truck newbies and a companion who has been with me to food truck events before to see how we liked the weekly Winter Park event.
When we arrived, there was a musician performing and I have to say, he had a really good voice.  Later, a different musician performed.
We walked around a bit, seeing what different trucks were in attendance.  The first one we tried was one I had not eaten at yet, but had been wanting to.  That was Brick and Fire Mobile Pizza Express.  Recently I had been to the actual Brick and Fire restaurant in Casselberry, so I was excited to try the food truck version of their business.
Two of us got cheese pizza.  I am more of a plain cheese pizza kind of girl.  The two guys both got the meat pizza.  All four of us enjoyed the pizza and said we would gladly eat their again.  My only complaint was that it was priced a little too high at $3 a slice for plain cheese.  It was really neat however to see a truck with a wood burning oven built in!
From there, we all split off to try different things.  One companion went to the Tastebuds cart and ordered the sampler cheese rolls.  Another companion went to Silver Bistro and ordered the Pressed Cheesesteak (which I have previously tried and loved).  My last companion and myself went to SwedeDish because although I have been there before, they had a sample plate I wanted to try, and my last companion wanted to try their Swedish Meatballs. 
The variety of cheese rolls my one companion got came with both sweet and savory items.  I tried the sweet version, which had guava in it.  In addition to ordering the Pressed Cheesesteak, my other companion also got a large basket of fries.  The companion that went with me to SwedeDish loved the meatballs (as I do as well!).
My sample plate included a couple of meatballs, a miniature version of their hot dog wrap, a small potato cupcake, and a piece of their cheese and onion pastry.  All for only $7!!! That was by far the best deal of the night.  And was pretty tasty too!  The meatballs I already knew I loved, and they came the same way they did before, with mashed potatoes, ligonberries, and the cucumbers.  The hot dog wrap is a hot dog, with krab salad AND mashed potatoes, wrapped in a thin Swedish bread.  As weird as that may sound it was absolutely delicious and I would order it as a stand alone item on my next visit.  The cheese and onion pastry was good, but a little soggy.  The potato cupcake however was also delicious, and had and interesting texture.
Although we were completely stuffed at this point, I just HAD to order something from The Crepe Company because I had not tried them yet, and I thought a sweet crepe would end the evening perfectly.  I ordered the S'mores Crepe and holy richness it was good!  A fresh made crepe spread with nutella, mini marshmallows sprinked over that, with a dusting of graham cracker crumbs on top of that, finished with a drizzle of chocolate sauce.  All I can say is WOW.  A must share item!
We all had such a great time.  The weather was really nice, the music was good, it wasn't that crowded so we didn't wait long for anything, and the food was great.  Everybody that came with me said they really liked it and would come back again.  Which, as a food truck lover/advocate, warmed my heart because I always like when I bring someone new to eat at a food truck and they want to do it again.
Visit the Winter Park Food Truck Stop!  There are many trucks there every Thursday night from 5-9pm, and don't forget, there's always at least a couple of trucks open at the Stop during lunch hours.

Picture View - Stuffed Peppers

Stuffed Peppers - Home Cooked Recipe 24

In ending the year, I wanted to post an easy, comfort food type recipe.  I thought back to my childhood, and came up with my stuffed pepper recipe.
When I was a kid my mom would make stuffed peppers with white rice, tomato sauce, and ground beef.  In my twenties, a friend evolved them for me by adding cheese.  My adaptation uses yellow rice instead of white, and uses cheddar both in the filling and on top.  These are easiest when you use rice left over from a previous meal because then you can skip the cooking the rice that day.

Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients
4 bell peppers, tops cut off and seeds removed (any color works, I used green)
1/2 lb ground beef
1 medium onion, diced
1 cup yellow rice, cooked
3/4 cup tomato sauce (I use Hunts)
1 cup shredded cheddar (but you could use your favorite melting cheese)
Salt and pepper
dash of cayenne
dash of garlic powder
***There are also optional items you could add to the filling such as finely chopped bell pepper, mushrooms, shredded carrots - anything that suits your tastes!

Directions
Preheat oven to 350.  Brown ground beef and onion.  Drain.  Mix with spices, tomato sauce, rice, and 1/2 cup of cheese.  Stuff beef filling in to peppers.  Top with remaining cheddar.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Let cool slightly before serving.
***I serve mine with Crystal hot sauce and a side of sour cream
Enjoy!

Picture View - Hot And Sour Soup

Ingredients

Cooking chicken

Boiling stock

Adding veggies and chicken

Adding cornstarch/water mixture

Adding eggs

Finished soup

Hot And Sour Soup - Home Cooked Recipe 23

I mentioned in an earlier post I wrote about P.F. Changs that I was going to copy their Hot And Sour soup.  I found a recipe online that seemed to be close, so I altered it slightly, and that is our recipe for this week.
ALSO -
Congratulations to Priscilla in New Mexico for winning our contest for a free Duncan Hines product!

Hot And Sour Soup

Ingredients

• 6 ounces of chicken breast, thinly sliced
• 4 cups of chicken stock
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 1 tsp pepper
• 6 ounces bamboo shoots, julienned
• 6 ounces of mushrooms, julienned
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 eggs beaten
• 4 ounces rice vinegar
• *6 ounces tofu, optional (I did NOT include tofu)

Directions:
Cook chicken through and set aside.  Bring chicken stock to a boil, add soy sauce, pepper, bamboo, mushrooms, and chicken.  Let cook for 3 minutes. Combine water and cornstarch in sepearte bowl.  Add a little at a time to soup.  Stir soup until thick.  Add eggs and stir while cooking.  Turn off heat.  Add vinegar (you would also add tofu at this point if you were including it).  Spoon in to bowls.
Enjoy!

Picture View - Spicy Chicken Salad With Bacon

Ingredients

Mixing meats and veggies

Adding mayo and hot sauce

Completed mixture

Layering the sandwich

Plain chicken salad

Finished sandwich (without celery and cheese)

Spicy Chicken Salad With Bacon - Home Cooked Recipe 22

I never really ate chicken salad growing up.  Tuna salad?  Yes.  But as I've matured, and become more adventurous in my eating, I'm up to try new things.  I thought that if I made my own chicken salad, I'd be able to put my own spin on it.  So this week's recipe is a great use for leftover chicken, and a great spin on a traditional chicken salad sandwich.  This recipe is enough for two to four sandwiches, depending on how much of the chicken salad you want to pile on.  I got three sandwiches out of my batch.  The spin on this chicken salad is a touch of buffalo wing sauce, and bacon.

Spicy Chicken Salad with Bacon

Ingredients:

• 1 large COOKED boneless, skinless chicken breast (hint, season the chicken with your fav spices before cooking, I used Emeril's Essence blend)
• 8 slices bacon, cooked
• 1/2 bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 an onion, diced
• 1 cucumber, thinly sliced
• 1 tbs Crystal Wing Sauce (or 1 tsp of your favorite hot sauce)
• 1-2 tbs mayonnaise I prefer Helmann's but use your favorite)
  salt and pepper
• 4-8 slices of sandwich bread
• *optional - 1 rib of celery, diced
• *optional - slices of your favorite cheese

Directions:
First, dice your chicken breast into small pieces.  You can also pull your chicken if your prefer. 
Next, crumble 4 of your 8 slices of bacon.  Reserve the other 4 slices for topping your sandwich.
Mix together chicken, crumbled bacon, bell pepper. onion, wing sauce, and mayonnaise (also add the celery at this time if you've chosen to include it).  Season with salt and pepper. Stir until all ingredients are well combined.
Toast bread.  Spread a thin layer of mayo on each slice of bread.  Next add a layer of cucumbers to half the slices.  Top with chicken salad.  Add two strips of bacon on top of chicken salad. If you have chosen to add cheese, place it on top of the bacon.  Top with another slice of bread.  Slice sandwiches in half and serve. Great accompaniments include pickles slices, chips, or apple slices.
Enjoy!

Additional Pictures From Silver Bistro

Food Truck Adventures 9 - Silver Bistro

It's been awhile since I wrote about my food truck adventures.  That's because I hadn't visited any food trucks since my adventure to the Apopka Food Truck Round Up.  But I had been meaning to visit the new food truck stop that had opened up in Winter Park, called the Winter Park Street Food Truck Stop.  Starting on November 1, 2011, Dane Bellows opened up 2 acres for up to 15 food trucks.  The lot is just north of Lee Road on 17-92 in Winter Park.  The food trucks sign leases on a month-to-month basis, and are able to be at that spot whenever they want, 24 hours a day.  There are customer restrooms and seating in this spot.  It is right near Tom & Jerry's, a local bar, who even provides liquor during the weekly International Food Truck Rally that takes place every Thursday night from 5-10pm in this permanent food truck zone.

I thought this was a phenomenal idea!  I cannot think of another place where you're almost guaranteed to have food trucks at any given time.  This also gives the food trucks the ability to serve customers whenever it is convenient for them, and they don't have to worry about zoning issues or attending other events to reach their customers.
While I still want to attend one of the weekly evening rallys, I stopped by the Winter Park Street Food Truck Stop during lunch on Tuesday November 22, 2011.  I had seen on Twitter that a couple of food trucks would be there, and thought I would see if there were any new trucks there that I hadn't tried yet.  I got there about 1:30pm, and right away saw the Silver Bistro, a truck I had never eaten at before.  I checked out their menu, and decided to give them a shot.

I'm glad I did!!!  Their menu appealed to me, especially the Pressed Cheesesteak, which is what I ordered.  The sandwich was thin strips of rib-eye beef with provolone, onions, and peppers on a specialty roll, served with a side of au jus and 2 pepperoncinis.  It was $8, and I also ordered a soda for $1.
The sandwich was delicious!!!  Seriously, the beef was so moist and tender that it didn't necessarily need the au jus (although I found it a tasty dipping sauce).  The onions and peppers were cooked just right, and the roll (because it was pressed) was toasty, crunchy, and had a great bread flavor.  There was a great ratio of meat to bread to onions and peppers.  I loved the touch of them adding the pepperoncinis on the side, because I happen to love these mildly spicy, vinegary peppers.  The only thing I would have liked more of was the cheese.  I love provolone, and I don't think more cheese can hurt anything.
A bonus to this adventure was that I got to meet Layton, who manages the food truck.  He was the one who took my order and was a SUPER friendly, super cool dude.  We got the chance to chat about food truck life, and I got to tell him about my food blog while I waited (not long!) for my sandwich.  He was telling me they had just attended their first dailycity.com Food Truck Bazaar the past Sunday (11/20/11), and I recommended they try to apply to be a part of the Apopka Food Truck Round Up.  I found out from Layton that Silver Bistro should be at the WPSFTS for lunch most days. 
I also met, briefly, Jay Brabbs, one of the owners of the truck.  He was the one who made my sandwich, and did a great job at that.
They also had some other great menu items, that I didn't get to try, but hope to sample soon.  On the regular menu they have a dish called Miami Seoul that is mojo seasoned pork, ham, gruyere, and kichi on a cuban roll with key lime aioli, also $8.  The Ukulele, a roast chicken and ham sanwich topped with caramelized pineapple, crispy onions, and polynesian sauce for $7 is also on their menu.  Sold out that day was a dish they call Kickin' Chicken Curry, which is roast chicken, cranberries, nuts, and curry served on cabbage.
They also had a Specials menu that had a Meatball Hoagie w/Provolone for $5, an All-Beef Hot Dog for $2, Beef Sliders which were 2 for $5, or you could get 1/2 a Miami (or 1/2 Cheesesteak) with chips and a soda for $6.  That was a nicely priced special.  They also have tater tots and chips which you can order as a side to your meal,   Plus drinks like soda, water, or juice.
My experience at the Silver Bistro was fantastic.  I got great quality food, cooked quickly and well, at a decent price, made and served by friendly guys.  You can't beat that for a weekday lunch.
They're slogan is Bistro Food, Truck Attitude... Too cute!  If you want more info about the Silver Bistro, check out their website at silverbistro.com.  You can find them on Facebook under Silver Bistro, and on Twitter @SilverBistro.  I highly recommend you check them out.  They will be at the Oviedo Food Truck Bazaar on 12/11/11 and you can probably still find them at the Winter Park Street Food Truck Stop. 
I have to say, I'm excited to go back both to the WPSFTS and just to visit Silver Bistro wherever they may be.

If you want more info about the Winter Park Street Food Truck Stop, check out the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Winter-Park-Food-Truck-Stop/109472005830628?sk=info.  They have the list of trucks that will be there and contact information in case you want to find out more from an actual human. 

Cake Bites and Duncan Hines

In the last 10 months or so, I became aware of a delightful dessert known as cake balls (also sometimes turned in to cake pops).  I first had them back in March at a party, loved them, and the girl who made them told me how easy they were to make.  Plus, once I became interested in the food truck scene here in Orlando, I discovered a great food truck that makes cake pops.  I had been meaning to try to make my own, however, I hadn't gotten around to it yet.
But behold!  As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received coupons for free Duncan Hines products, including Comstock who makes delightful fruit and other pie fillings.  This provided me with the oppurtunity to make my very own cake balls, which I am calling Cake Bites. 
As you aware, the title of this blog is No Room For Dessert.  As I've mentioned in previous posts, this does not mean I'll never have dessert recipes.  So today, we've made room for dessert!
Below I am going to list out the recipe, as well as the tools you will need to make these cake balls.  The Duncan Hines cake mix (I used the Dark Chocolate Fudge variety) was so delicious and moist, a great product to work with.  The Comstock filling I used had great quality cherries and made a nice surprise within the Cake Bites.  The filling did not take over the flavor of the cake, rather it gave the Cake Bites a wonderful surprise cherry in each.  And I used the Duncan Hines Whipped Cream Cheese frosting to make the cake into balls.  I love cream cheese frosting, and I thought it would compliment the fudge cake and cherry filling (and it did!)
Duncan Hines was also kind enough to provide me with more free coupons that I was able to give away to my friends, family, and blog readers.  I gave a few of the coupons away to some family and friends at Thanksgiving, and I saved a coupon to give to one of my readers!  All you have to do is email me at nodessertpodcast@gmail.com, and you will be entered to win the coupon for a free Duncan Hines product!  Put Coupon Contest as the subject and put your name in the body of the email.  I will do a drawing on December 15th and will email the winner, as well as announce them in a post on this site that day.  Make sure you enter!!!
Now for the recipe!

Fudgey Cherry Surprise Cake Bites


Ingredients:

• 1 box of cake mix (18.25oz), preferably Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Fudge
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/3 cups water
• cooking spray (to grease baking dish)
• 10 oz of cherry fruit filling, preferably Comstock More Fruit Cherry (comes in a 21 oz can, I used half)
• 8 oz - 12oz of frosting, preferably Duncan Hines Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting (1/2 - 3/4 a can)
• Chocolate almond bark (24 oz package) (or other candy coating - you can also use chocolate chips melted with a tablespoon or two of vegetable shortening)
• Red sugar crystals (for decoration)

Tools:

• 13 x 9 baking dish (I used a glass pan)
• large mixing bowl
• hand mixer
• measuring cups
• glass bowl
• large saucepan
• baking sheet lined with wax or parchment paper

Ingredients

Making the Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Fudge cake batter

Mixing the cake batter

Adding the Comstock cherry filling

Cake batter in the greased baking dish

Finished cake, cooling

Crumbled cake

Adding the frosting in to cake crumbles

Finished cake bite mixture

Cake bites after they're formed

Melted chocolate for dipping

Cake bites after dipping and decoration

Cake bites after chocolate dipping has set

Inside of cake bites

Directions:

Preheat your oven (according to temperature on cake mix box).
The first step is to prepare the cake batter according to the directions on the box.  This involves mixing together the eggs, water, oil, and cake mix.  Then add 1/2 the can of cherry pie filling and fold in to cake batter.  Pour batter in to your greased 13 x 9 baking dish and bake as directed. 
Take cake out to cool (I put mine on a cooling rack).  You can start making the balls while the cake is still warm, but NOT hot. 
Crumble the cake into a large mixing bowl.  Use a fork and your hands to crumble up the cake.  Mix in 1/2 the can of the cream cheese frosting, adding more if necessary (I did not need to use more than 1/2 the can).
Refrigerate the mixture for 15 minutes. 
Take cake mixture out and begin rolling into balls, slightly smaller than golf balls.  Continue until all the cake mix is formed into balls. 
Melt your almond bark according to package directions.  I used the double boiler method, where you simmer water in a sauce pan, then put the chocolate in the glass bowl on top of the saucepan, making sure the water does not touch the bowl.  The steam will melt the chocolate. 
Dip each ball in to the chocolate, completely coating the ball.  Place on the baking sheet, and immediately sprinkle with sugar crystals.  Repeat with every ball.
Let coating set in refrigerator for at least an hour.
This recipe makes between 40 and 50 cake bites. 

Enjoy!!!! And don't forget to email us so that you can be entered to win a free Duncan Hines product!!!