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I love the Columbia Restaurant. We are blessed with several in the state to visit. One in St Augustine, that  we frequent with my daughter and her family, one in Celebration, and of course the original in Ybor City. We enjoy their  1905 salad and warm Cuban bread. The bread is amazing. This is my interpretation of their bread. The key to this deliciousness is lard. I read an article on La Segunda bakery that has supplied their bread forever. I saw in the article that they used to use beef tallow in the early day but switched to lard soon after. This recipe uses both. This is not a make in an hour or two recipe, but one that takes 2 days to make. Day one is a prefermentation. Day two is making the bread. Ingredients:  Preferment 1/2 cup bread flour 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast 1/2 cup of warm (not hot) water Dough 2 1/2 cups bread flour 2 1/2 teaspoons sugar 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt 2 teaspoons instant yeast  2/3 cup of warm water 100 to 110 degrees ...

c  When I was growing up, my parents would sometimes take us to Grants 5 and dime. Their hot dogs were served on the most delicious buns. sliced on the top, with the sides toasted in butter, they were amazing. I could never find those buns since they closed.  It was later in life that I discovered, they were actually New England style buns. This is my version of what I remembered as a child. Ingredients: 3 cups bread flour 1 tablespoon potato flour 2 tablespoons sugar 1 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons instant yeast 1 teaspoon diastatic malt 2 large eggs 3/4 cup of evaporated milk 5 tablespoons room temperature   unsalted butter cubed ABegin by warming the milk in your microwave, shooting for a temperature of 105 degrees. Add the yeast and sugar, allowing the mixture to rest a few minutes. If its starts foaming, then your yeast is good, and you may continue.  Add the remaining ingredients, except the butter, and mix with a dough hook on low. Once completely mixed, allo...

We try and eat healthy around our house. We stay away from a lot of processed food. Sometimes, however, I get a craving for a roast beef sandwich. This is a great recipe that makes a delicious roast beef, perfect for sandwiches. Ingredients: 2 - 3 pound top or bottom roast 1/2 teaspoon garlic 1/4 teaspoon rosemary 1/2 teaspoon salt  Remove beef from package, rinse, and pat dry. Rub all sides with salt and spices. Place bag in a vacuum bag and seal. Set your sous vide cooker to 130 degrees and place beef in water bath for 3 hours. When time is up, preheat a cast iron pan over medium heat. Remove beef and place it in pan searing all sides for about 2 minutes each side. Allow to cool. Wrap beef tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours. When thoroughly cooled remove and slice thinly across the grain of the meat. I have a meat slicer, but I also have done it by hand. Enjoy.

It's grilling season, and that means burgers and hot dogs on the grill. This topping is great on hot dogs. A refreshing mix vegetables and spices, makes this great for sausages too! Ingredients: 1/2 cup diced grape tomaotes 1 green onion siced 1 clove garlic 2 tablespoons diced dill pickle 2 tablespoons diced celery leaves 1/4 teaspoon red wine vinegar 1 tablespoon roasted red pepper 1 teaspoon olive oil 1/4 teaspoon Kermits Keylime Datil Pepper seasoning Begin by dicing tomato, onion, and celery and placing in a mixing bowl. Add roasted red pepper and pickle. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours giving all the flavors a chance to meld. Fire up the grill, fill it with hot dogs, and have a great treat!

Sometimes nothing beats homemade bread. I was thinking of taking a sandwich to work tomorrow and just didn't want plain old white bread. This is a recipe I have been  thinking about for a few weeks and finally got around to making it. A few hours later and I had delicious bread for lunch.  Most of the time is waiting for the dough to rise, so don't be intimidated by the time. Ingredients: 1 1/4 teaspoons yeast 1 teaspoon sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 3-3 1/2 cups bread flour 1 cup water 2 tablespoons sun-dried tomato paste 1 tablespoon rosemary 2 tablespoons olive oil 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder Begin by combining the warm water, yeast and sugar. Allow yeast to activate for about 5 minutes. Combine all the ingredients in your stand mixer and mix until just combined. Allow dough to rest for 5 minutes. Knead until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and appears shiny.  Oil a large mixing bowl with olive oil.  Roll the dough ball to completel...

My wife loves salmon. This is a simple but delicious recipe. Ingredients: 8 ounce salmon filet 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 teaspoon cilantro  1 teaspoon keylime juice pinch salt pinch of pepper Begin by lightly sprinkling the salmon with salt and ground pepper. (I used Kermit's citrus salt). Add the filet to a vacuum sealer bag.   Heat your sous vide pot to 125 degrees. Add the salmon and cook for 45 minutes.  During the last 5 minutes heat a cast iron pan over a medium high heat. Add the butter, cilantro, and keylime juice. When the sous vide is finished, carefully add the filet skin side down to the hot skillet. Baste salmon with the extra butter mixture. Cook for 5 minutes, then carefully turn and grill the other side for 4 more minutes. Gently remove the filet and top with remaining butter mixture.  Enjoy.

Here is a very different recipe for a great treat. It has a dense texture like pumpkin bread, but light and refreshing flavor of keylime. We have the advantage of living about 20 miles from Kermit's key lime pie factory. I used their juice and oil for this recipe. They claim their juice is double strength so you might need to adjust the amount used if using a different brand. You can substitute lime zest if you don't have access to key lime oil. Ingredients: (makes 2 loaves) 2 sticks softened butter 1 can of sweetened condensed milk 1 cup of sugar 4 eggs 2 tablespoons Kermit's key lime juice (or 4 tablespoons regular key lime juice) 2 teaspoons Kermit's key lime oil 3 cups AP flour 1 tablespoon baking powder  1 teaspoon vanilla extract  1 teaspoon salt Begin by creaming the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and condensed milk, mixing well. Slowly add the flour, then the rest of the ingredients.  Mix well.  Divide mixture between two well...