I love to cook and I used to do it professionally, but these days I really don't get much of a chance. Between work and all the restaurants I have to review, I don't really have an opportunity. (This might also have something to do with all the weight that i have gained.) Anyway, when I went home, I decided to do a lot of cooking for my family. My parents are retired and living in Florida so they like things simple and easy. The BBQ grill is the equipment of choice or a terracotta microwave bowl that you can roast a chicken in 25 minutes (For real, it exists and it works pretty well). I like to cook with what I have and there were lots of toys for me to play with in my parent's refrigerator. For example above is my ham-hock soup with lima beans. We had the ham bone leftover after eating our honey baked ham so I threw it in a pot with onions and carrots and stewed it until the marrow just oozed out. The soup was delicious for it had a hint of maple, smokiness from the ham....

Pasquale's Pizza in Florida Hi Mom! Oh, and for you the rest of you. I'm just putting these up to tease you and because I seriously want a hot, dripping, greasy slice of this awesome pizza from Florida. It was at Pasquale's and it was epic. For me, a good pizza is all about crust and here they have great crust and the pizza is crisp on the bottom. Awesome stuff. Oh, and they have Ms. Pacman in the restaurant. Double Awesome. Dan Pizza should be folded to eat properly See how toasty the pie is! nice!

The Gray Family in Florida, USA Well folks, my vacation to Florida is coming to an end. I am packed and ready to get on an airplane and head back to Seoul, Korea. I wanted to say thanks to my parents and my family for putting up with me for 2 whole weeks. Thank you so much. I also want to thank Brenda and Bob for their good humor and for taking good care of my parents. I spent a week eating, writing, and spending time with the family in sunny Florida. I think I'm going to have to come back sooner rather than later. Now during my trip, I did my best to exercise almost everyday. I got a Kindle, so I even went for walks while reading it. Unfortunately, it was all for naught-I gained 2 pounds. So after I return to Korea, I'm going to go on a diet (I'm sure many others are resolving to do this as well). I might even join a fitness class or something. Before we do that, here's some my found foodie memories in the USA. Mexican Food at Abuelos, Florida Bob and Bren...

Ridiculously Hot Wings, Fried Pickles and Very Little Salad at Hurricanes in Florida My sister is a wing connoisseur. She's one of those people that could be in the most exotic destination in the world famous for their local cuisine eating at the most authentic restaurant in the city and she would order wings. So...while in Florida we had to test out the best wings Florida had to offer. Apparently, the best place is called Hurricanes and they are famous for their 30 different sauces- especially their aptly named "Ridiculously Hot Hurricane Sauce." Oh, it's hot. It starts by burning off your tastebuds on your tongue and then spreads to your cheeks and forehead. After a few minutes your face feels like it is about to burn off and you are left in a beautiful state of euphoric pain. It's nice. I should have bought a bottle. They also had fried pickles there- they just added them to the menu. These were good, but I was told not as good as my first attempt at th...

Tofurky: Snapshots of a Supermarket in Florida I was in Publix Supermarket in Florida and I was impressed and shocked. Impressed because it is so big, shocked because the produce section is so small and most of the market is filled with dry foods, cooking equipment, sauces, and frozen foods. The other oddities were the vegetarian section with Tofurky. This thing claims to be tofu turkey with stuffing, and rich giblet gravy. Sorry, but I think people should simply eat Turkey or make a new tradition. Wouldn't that be great? I think vegetarians should come up with a new thanksgiving feast dinner. I could even imagine having something like a cornucopia of vegetables that are grilled and fresh with bean pancakes or something. I don't know something like that- if not, it's like a constant reminder of the food you are missing. The other odd thing I saw was dutch chocolate with red wine. I don't know what it tastes like, but it doesn't quite jell in my mind. I hope...