Big Daddy’s House Season 2, Meh.

Today I finally watched an episode from season 2 of Big Daddy’s House with Aaron McCargo Jr.  I might have made a point of it before now but the first season was just so terrible that I was not eager to sit through 13 more episodes.

My opinion?  It’s better.  A lot better.  But still not good.  Aaron’s on screen persona is much better – he actually maintains eye-contact with the camera and he has toned down the uncomfortably forced enthusiasm that made the first six episodes so hard to watch.  The two biggest problems still persist – his communication and the recipes.

Aaron still mumbles.  He still lacks confidence at times although less often than last year.  Unfortunately he stills yells out of context with what is going on on screen.  And the recipes aren’t bad it’s just that they’ve all been done before.  It’s like they are doing a greatest hits of Food Network ‘93 – ‘98.

On the episode I viewed McCargo was doing variations of a burger and fries and he was joined on set by fellow NFNS alum Shane “Lil Biscuit” Lyons.  All of the burgers were inventive, so inventive in fact that they conjured images of Hot Off the Grill, East Meets West or Cooking Live.  Of the three flavors of fries McCargo prepared one was new, steak fries with dry porcini and sherry vinegar.

Lyons was one of three contestants who were consistantly better than McCargo during the competition yet were mysteriously ousted.  Shane brought a natural energy to the set and McCargo instantly relaxed making the show easier to watch.  Lyons, a former child star, is a natural in front of the camera and a gifted chef.  The seven minutes the two friends shared on screen confirmed what most thought eleven months ago, “How on earth did Shane lose?”

Recipe: The Treehugger from the Mars Hill Café Menu

One of the most popular things on our menu at Mars Hill Caféis a quesadilla we call the Treehugger, a fav of our many vegetarian customers.  For those of you not close enough to join us for lunch here’s how you make it.

Take a hand full of sliced mushrooms, diced red onion, diced bell pepper and a slice of tomato that has been quartered then sautée in canola oil and season to taste with a mixture of chipotle chili powder and garlic salt.  Vegetables should still have some firmness to them so only cook for about 3 minutes, tossing once.

Set a 12″ whole wheat tortilla on a flat work surface and place two slices of sharp cheddar cheese on one half.  Top the cheddar with the veggie mixture and top that with two slices of pepper jack cheese.  Fold over the other half of the tortilla to form a half-moon shape.  We cook our tortillas in a panini press but if you do not have one just cook it in a large skillet like you would a grilled cheese sandwich until the cheese has melted and the tortilla is crispy on each side.  Serve with sour cream, Mars Hill’s Southwest Ranch dressing and/or salsa and eat till your heart’s content.

Grilling Week on Food Network

Originally posted at Edible TV on May 28, 2009.

Memorial Day is the unofficial beginning of grilling season and to kick it off Food Network has scheduled at boat load of shows to help you get your grill on.  They began at noon on Monday with a Grill It! with Bobby Flay marathon.  This of course was planned to coincide with the premiere of the new season of Grill It! on Saturday May 30th at 10:30am (ET).

After the Flay-athon came the latest round of Dear Food Network: Grilling.  The first episode of the week featured Guy Fieri on location from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico where two of Guy’s biggest fans were treated to the California Wild Man’s expertise at the grill.  Subsequent episodes are hosted by Giada De Laurentiis, Aida Mollenkamp, and the Neeley’s.

Scattered amongst the two feature grilling events were the regular Monday night line-up that fit the theme.  Food Network Challenge was at the Memphis in May, the world’s most important BBQ contest.  A rerun Unwrapped entitled Outdoor Cooking preceded the brand new Unwrapped: Barbecue Bonanza.  The night also included a Triple “D” dedicated to BBQ and a Good Eats devoted to steak followed by another Unwrapped about BBQ.  And as mentioned before, this is just the beginning.

Pumpkin Curry Soup Recipe

The other day I mentioned at Twitter and Facebook that I was serving Pumpkin Curry as my Soup of the Day at Mars Hill Cafe and I have received a number of messages at each site about the recipe so here is a scaled down version for home use:

• 1 15 ounce can organic pumpkin
• 1 cup organic chicken stock
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon Curry powder (or to taste)
• 1 teaspoon fresh minced ginger (optional)
• two tablespoons raw local honey
• toasted pumkin seeds

With a whisk, combine all ingredients (except pumpkin seeds) in a large stock pot and bring to a simmer (takes about 15 minutes) then serve.  Garnish with pumpkin seeds.  Naan is also a nice addition.

Also: today was kind of slow so to experiment with new flavors I made a wrap using chicken, onion, bell pepper, jalapeno, shredded sweet potatoes, sunflower seeds, carrots, honey, tomoato and semi-sweet chocolate.  All things the Natives of central America would have had prior to the arrival of the Spanish.  It was really good.

ICA: Morimoto vs. Mason

Iron Chef America
The heat rises in Kitchen Stadium as Iron Chef America continues with brand new episodes pitting the American Iron Chefs against fierce new competitors.

Premieres: Sunday, May 31st at 9pm
“Morimoto vs. Mason”
Chef Sam Mason from Tailor in New York takes on Iron Chef Morimoto in a heated battle. Will Chef Mason be able to wow the judges with his unique take on the ingredient, or will he fall flat next to Morimoto’s excellence?

June/July FN Magazine

Originally posted at Paper Palate on May 28, 2009.

This month Food Network is all about the grill and that theme transitions over to “the Magazine” as well. Inside its pages you will find The Neelys’ Father’s Day brunch menu, Bobby Flay’s favorite bruger recipes and the Summer Grilling Guide.

Of particular interest is the Ultimate Burger in Every State list.  We Americans love our lists and “best places for” lists are no exception.  They gives us ammo for debate motivation to do a better job.  After all nothing motivates like ego.  For most the true fun of a list is to see if their experiences are listed and how they rate with the rest of the country.

The Burger List is a prime example.  Of the 50 I am quite familiar with three and vaguely familiar with roughly a half dozen others.  Of the three I know the most remote is Creek Bank Restaurant in Wagarville, Alabama.  It is located about an hour outside of my home town of Mobile and has come to recent fame when Mobile Press Register Food Editor David Holloway made it the upset winner of his exhaustive three-year search for South Alabama’s best burger.

Rotier’s in Nashville is one of the great greasy spoon dive joints in the country.  They have the best blue cheese dressing in the nation.  So good, patrons gladly pay an extra .50 ¢ to get it.  Theirburgers are also the stuff of legend as they are served on a poppy seed French bread loaf.  At Rotier’s you’ll find a clientele that is diverse as record execs, country music stars, Vanderbilt and Belmont University students and long haired rockers all eventually enter the gritty family-owned eatery.

Other than a subtle joke in the movie Fletch I was unaware of California’s In-N-Out Burger.  That is until I struck up a friendship with Nashville musician and producer Jerry Navarro.  Chigg, as he is known to his friends, was raised in L.A..  According to Chigg a standard day began about 5AM with his mother making taquitos for himself and his friend Chris as they headed out to ride the waves before class.  They surfed a beach directly across from their college and would often head straight to class in their wet suits, shoeless and still dripping of Pacific brine.  After class they would grab an In-N-Out burger before climbing back on their boards.  To Navarro, and many other Californians, the secret menu is as much a part of the LA experience as Grauman’s Chinese Theatre or trans-gender prostitutes.

The Short Week

We have no special events this week.  Whew!  The last three have been maddeningly busy.  I spent the Memorial Day weekend detoxing.  I stayed at a friend’s for a few days who has a big house on the Delta.  I slept late, ate the wrong foods and took lots of naps.  By the time work rolled around Tuesday I was refreshed and ready to go at it again.  Good thing.

Apparently our regulars were Jonesing pretty bad for a little love, Mars Hill Cafe style as we were absolutely slammed Tuesday including a family reunion of about 15 dead in the middle of lunch.  Wow, that was quite the run-on sentence.  Now you have a feel for how our lunch shift went – on and on.

Today was much tamer, in fact it would have been straight out boring but our delivery truck was late because of the rain (the same rain keeping the customers away).  As a result I was on my own on the line while sous chef Jay threw the truck.  Then there was the planning meeting where I find out about all of the upcoming events.  Guess what?  Two of them are next week and one the week after.  Down time over.

My special this week is one Jay came up with, the Steakhouse Panini: thin sliced steak sprinkled with Montreal Steak Seasoning, sauteed mushrooms, and A1 Steak Sauce then smothered between 4 ounces of Swiss cheese.  Next week is the Muffin Burger – a 5.33 ounce all beef patty topped with cheddar and Swiss cheese and served on a toasted English Muffin.  How Continental.

Mobile’s Best Sandwiches

Originally posted at Azalea City Food Blog on May 25, 2009.

In 2007 I did an article for ‘Zalea Magazine entitled An Ode to Sandwiches. It was a tour of some of my favorite sandwiches in the Mobile area. Due to restraints on the page a few of my favorites were yanked by the editor so I thought I would drop them off here with a few of my new favorites.

I’ll start with the Mellow Mushroom at the corner of Old Shell and University. Yeah, I know it’s a chain and as a rule I don’t eat at them but the ‘Shroom has an impressive list of hoagies with the Tempeh being the most interesting offering: Tempeh is unfermented, marinated tofu and it is offered on your choice of French or whole wheat bread with mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, Teriyaki, Balsamic vinaigrette, feta, grilled onions, green peppers, mushrooms, and sprouts. The flavors are strong and pungent.

The Roast Duck Panini at the Royal Scam is amazingly decidant while still holding true to the comfort aspect of a sandwich. Along with the duck breast you will find spinach, applewood smoked bacon, Gorgonzola, herb/garlic cheese and balsalmic vinaigrette. Oddly enough, it is not the best sandwich I have had at Dave Rasp’s swanky tapas bar. At one time they offered a vegetarian panini with goat cheese that was hands down the best sandwich I have ever had.

Regency Shopping Center (Airport and University and now Schillenger’s Road) offers two of the best sandwiches starting at Orleans ‘Po Boys which has been kicking out Mobile’s favorite sandwiches for 10 years now. They have award winning traditional ‘Po Boys, but their most popular is not exactly traditional. The Joe Don includes roast beef, ham, Swiss cheese, gravy and LTO. The bread they use is absolutely perfect with a light, crunchy crust and a soft, airy middle.

Fifty yards or so away is La Cucina home of the Tortas Tampiquena which is tailor made for carnivores. This huge sandwich is stuffed with Chorizo (a Spanish sausage), chicken, and a grilled hot dog. They also pile on the cheese, mayonnaise, and LTO.

Looking for an excuse to visit the small Baldwin County community of Crossroads? Stop by the Hurricane Drive-In and try one of the best BBQ pork sandwiches you will ever eat. Thick, tender cubes of slow smoked pork tossed in a sauce that is neither too sweet not too tangy on a large fresh bun. Try it with the world’s best onion rings and a chocolate malt.

The Spot of Tea on Cathedral Square also boasts a healthy list of sandwiches with its two crown jewels being Jeromeo’s Hot Pastramio (pastrami topped with pepper jack, sliced pepperoncini, and Dijon mustard on New York rye) and the best Monte Cristo you will likely ever try.

At the risk of sounding biased, I have to admit that the TuscanWrap at my place, Mars Hill Café, is really tasty. Inside the 12″ whole wheat tortilla you will find homemade pesto mayo, sundried tomatoes, feta cheese, grilled chicken and wilted spinach. It is packed with flavor and healthy to boot. It also pairs well with the pesto pasta salad.

Grill It! with Bobby Flay Premieres Saturday, May 30th at 10:30am

SEASON PREMIERE

Grill It! with Bobby Flay
Premieres: Saturday, May 30th at 10:30am – SEASON PREMIERE!
“Burgers with Bobby”
Bobby may be an Iron Chef, but when it comes to our favorite grilled foods, he loves a burger. Bobby and his guest, Giselle Raymond, a cook for TV and film crews, go beyond the same old burger and bun with her outrageous Onion 3-Way Burger and Bobby’s juicy Cheyenne Burger drenched in tangy BBQ sauce. On the side, the burger’s favorite accomplices: onion rings and fries.

Rachael’s Summer Entertainment All-stars

This morning on the Rachael Ray Show, RaRay was joined by a “veritable pantheon” of grilling gurus. Ray was kicking off the summer grilling season with a one hour show dedicated to flesh-meets-flame. The guest panel consisted of Rocco DiSpirito (Boiling Pot, The Restaurant), Sunny Anderson (Cooking For Real), Bobby Flay (Boy Meets Grill, Iron Chef: America), and Adam Perry Lang (owner of award winning Daisy Mae’s BBQ in New York City).

Rachael’s “summer entertainment all-stars” fielded questions from the audience, shared recipes, gave tips for successful summer entertaining and divulged their essential summer items. The responses on that last topic were pretty diverse; see for yourself.

The recipes, too, were varied with Flay churning out chimichurri, an Argentinean sauce commonly used on grilled meats; he then grilled some meat. Adam Perry Lang gave a quick class on his Universal Italian Dressing Marinade which he uses on everything. Anderson and DiSpirito took aim at leftovers by providing uses for extra burgers. Sunny used the burgers and some grilled corn to make her Second-Chance Taco Salad and Rocco crumbled his dead cow to make Sloppy Joe’s. Seriously, the Sloppy Joe’s thing is brilliant. You can get the recipe for them and the others recipe from this episode by clicking HERE.

Fresh Fish: Pumpkinseed

The past few weeks I have taken to hiking the woods behind the house. About a half-mile deep I have found a creek roughly 15 feet across and 3 to 4 feet deep.  I have made it my halfway point.

Today I packed a light weight collapsible rod-n-reel called an ultralight into my backpack and on it was a small lure. When I got to the creek I first checked the trees for moccasins (they like to hang on limbs and drop onto their prey) and then I pulled out the ultralight. To my surprise I had several aggressive hits. The largest looked to be a descent size bream according to the brief flash I got as it shook my hook. As sometimes happens when fishing I hung the lure leaving me no choice but to cut the line.

I had no other artificial lures so I tied on a small hook, shot weight and a cork. Next to the creek was a leaf pile that had been building with each successive autumn creating a natural compost. I raked the leaves until I got to the rich soil beneath. I used my hunting knife to dig up the dirt and sure enough I spotted of few small wigglers (earthworms).  Before long one was impaled on the brass hook and the cork was drifting with the current.

It didn’t take long for the cork to submerge and start heading opposite the current.  I was treated to 10 to 15 seconds of fight before pulling my prey from the stream.

The Pumpkinseed was about three and a half inches in length with a fat belly, not quite big enough to eat, but close. As I removed the hook it pissed on me. Who could blame it, right? The memories of how I had learned to manipulate nature into food came rushing back only after the skills had done their job. Hopefully, I won’t ever need to use these talents but is nice to know I can still put food on the table should civilization ever take a powder.

Thanks, dad.

I’m Stuart Donald And This Is The Longest Month Of My Life

So after two long weeks that consisted of two birthday/graduation parties and a huge wedding reception on top of my regular schedule I entered Mars Hill Café with one desire, a slow week.  I know it sounds counter to the goal of making money but geesh I’m tired, whooped, tuckered.  We have one more special event this week and then we get a three-day weekend.  So of course my selfish desire to have an easy week was rewarded by Karma dropping a very busy Monday at my doorstep.  Now I know how Jack Bauer must feel.

Where did all of these people come from?  Oh, well, we took care of them and did so quickly and with a smile (although rather labored after two rough weeks).  After the rush I took some leftovers from Saturday’s reception and made lunch for the crew.  Focaccia was bifurcated and the bottoms brushed with canola oil before being tossed on the flat grill.  I was looking to create an almost deep fried texture before schmearing the top with sausage ragu, sliced mushrooms and mozzarella.  20 minutes in a 350 oven and lunch was ready.  Mushroom and sausage pizza, mmm.

After lunch I spoke with Chef Michael Roberts of the Bay Area Food Bank (a non-profit that feeds those who are hungry as a result of personal crisis or disaster).  I have been invited in to compete in the 2009 Chef Challenge in September.  As you would expect this is a tremendous honor as this year’s Challenge pits five of the area’s top chefs to create 5 courses of delicious authentic Italian cuisine.

My sous chef Jay allegesthat I do the best Italian he has ever eaten but have to remind him that what I do is Americanized Italian.  Authentic Italian is something entirely different.  I look forward to the challenge.  I am thinking that since we are located on Mobile Bay I will look for recipes from the Amalfi Coast or Sicily.

Oh, because of a surplus of salad mix and fruit from the wedding I have conjured the Sunshine Salad for my weekly special – spinach and lettuce tossed in a citrus vinaigrette made with orange, lemon and key lime juices, honey, ginger, canola oil and salt & pepper.  To finish I add smoked turkey, cantaloupe, honeydew, red onions, tomatoes, almonds and cheddar/Jack cheese.  Stop by and try it.  Or don’t, it’s been a grueling few weeks.  LOL!

Mars Hill Wedding – Post Game

SPOILER ALERT: If you haven’t read the last Mars Hill Update you may want to do that first.

Years spent in the entertainment industry have prepared me for when plans don’t go according to, well, plan.  I can still hear my old college drama teacher’s voice, “I am flexible; I can adjust.”  Hours spent watching the likes of Michael Symon and Robert Irvine on Dinner: Impossible have taught me that when life gives you lemons you make lemon-basil-mint granitas because any idiot can make lemonade.

The first hiccup in the wedding reception came on Thursday when the produce order arrived.  The mushrooms for the stuffed mushrooms were way too small to try and stuff.  That’s a problem as stuffed mushrooms were one of the requested hors devours.  The solution was to make bite-sized pizza crusts with flatbread that we then topped with cheese, the tiny mushrooms and then sausage ragu.  The taste was amazing and we called them sausage and mushroom pizzettes.  Problem solved.

On Tuesday our source for shrimp called to make sure we still wanted 50 pounds for the giant shrimp cocktail.  He said he’d call us right back.  The GM said he sounded drunk.  He didn’t call back.  Wednesday we called him – voice mail, no call back.  Thursday the same thing.  Friday morning still no word.  So, we bought shrimp from a local seafood distributor and ended up saving .75 cents a pound for top quality shrimp.  Score!

Side note: I would tell a customer no before I served frozen, farm-raised shrimp from anywhere, especially from another country.  I cannot in good conscience serve anything but fresh, wild caught, local shrimp.  If you are truly curious as to why click HERE otherwise, read on.

As I mentioned in the last Mars Hill Update, I completely forgot to order stuff for dipping in the chocolate fountain.  Thanks to a good friend’s clever suggestions we procured giant marshmallows, big pretzel sticks, maraschino cherries and angel food cake.  Crisis averted.

The party was scheduled to start at 6:30, then 7:00, then 6:45 and ultimately people started showing up around 7:10.  The two servers mingled while offering hors devours of tomatoes with salmon mouse, BLT canapés, the pizzettes and chicken salad canapés.  All were big hits; in total Jay and I knocked out about 450 bite-sized morsels.  We had also planned on doing cucumber sandwiches and Southwestern turkey mini-panini but we just didn’t need them.

The buffet featured a small salad bar, ham and cheddar on white, artisan bread loafs, fruit bowls of three melons and grapes, cheese trays with pepper jack, cheddar, Swiss and Colby-jack, dinner rolls of wheat, country white and Italian peppercorn (the bride’s request), pulled pork, pigs-in-the-blanket (also the bride’s request), salads on a stick (a spinach leaf, cube of Colby/Jack and a cube of turkey on a skewer and spritzed with raspberry vinaigrette), boiled Gulf shrimp and homemade cocktail sauce, turkey and mozzerella on wheatberry, and a trifle of angel food cake, banana pudding and mixed berries.  Missing were the two gallons of cole slaw that were insisted upon but instead sat forgotten in the walk-in.  Oddly enough no one said, “You know what this party is missing?  Cole slaw.”

‘Hell’s Kitchen’ Finale Recap

Danny Veltri is the winner by Vicki Hyman The Star-Ledger
Thursday May 14, 2009, 12:29 PM

FOX
Danny Veltri takes home the tocque in the finale of the fifth season of ‘Hell’s Kitchen,’ with Gordon Ramsay.

Self-described Florida redneck Danny Veltri walked onstage at the Borgata’s Music Box just minutes after chef Gordon Ramsay announced on the “Hell’s Kitchen” finale that he beat out more experienced cook Paula DaSilva and would helm a new restaurant at the Atlantic City resort.

Trading in his signature camouflage backwards baseball cap for a white backwards baseball cap, Danny also donned a white chef’s jacket and told the crowd, his voice breakaing, “It’s the best thing that has ever happened to me.”

Save a first disastrous dish, Danny had been high up on the list of contenders this season — usually calm and efficient in the kitchen, comfortable at the different stations, and impressing Ramsay in the team and individual challenges. The finale episode pitted Danny and Paula against each other during one final dinner service, each side of the kitchen dishing up their own creations, and each kitchen staffed by ousted contestants, some of whom (LACEY) continued to be annoying and useless to the point of — dare we say it? — sabotage.

Danny’s kitchen also seemed to move more smoothly, though Ramsay said that quality, not speed, counted. Ramsay also said it was the best kitchen service on both sides of any finale, and indeed the cussing, spitting and name-calling were pretty much kept to a minimum. In the end, he awarded the grand prize to Danny, who will work under chef Stephen Kalt at the soon-to-be-opened regional Italian eatery, Fornelletti. Welcome to New Jersey!

A Mars Hill Wedding

So a quick review for those not in the know. Last July I took the executive chef position at a little place in West Mobile (AL) called Mars Hill Café. Mars Hill is unique in that we like to give away all of the money we make. Feeding the needy with the revenue we generate providing a fast, nutritious lunch, yeah, that’s just our game.

Well, things are much better at the café now than last summer. Sales we did in a week then we do in a day now. We’ve actually been in the black since New Year’s and have been active in the community feeding those truly in need. Along the way we have been very creative with how we raise money – bluegrass concerts, church functions, et al. A special, reservations-only, four-course Valentine’s menu guaranteed that February would be profitable. It also gave me a chance to flex my culinary muscle with a little haute cuisine instead of the sandwich/wrap/Panini fare on our daily menu.

This week is our biggest challenge so far, a wedding reception for 200 this Saturday night at 6:30. The bride and groom are two great kids who didn’t really want to be a bother. How cute, the anti-Bridezilla. She is content as long as we have plenty of dinner rolls. She loves bread. Really, really loves bread. The mother-in-law has made a few requests (as is her right, she’s the one dropping $3K for snacks) among them being the obligatory fruit and cheese trays as well as finger sandwiches.

Our GM, Joe Langley, is always referencing Walt Disney and how he liked to do what he called “plus-ing” the guests at the Magic Kingdom. We here on the Third Coast call it lagniappe – a little something extra. Some of the “plus” items for the reception include pulled pork (the groom loves BBQ), watermelon boats to hold the fresh fruit and several loaves of artisan bread from a local French bakery, none of which the guests of honor know are coming. He he. They are also big fans of the sitcom Friends so above our espresso machine we are mounting a giant sign that reads “Central Perk” and I am making a traditional English trifle (sans the meat, peas and carrots).

Here is the menu:
• Finger sandwiches including BLT canapés, chicken salad canapés, cucumber sandwiches, turkey and cheddar, ham and Swiss and Southwestern smoked turkey with Colby/Jack and chipotle-lime rub.
• Mini-salad bar, bread of all sorts, BBQ pork, cheese tray (Swiss, Colby/Jack, Pepper Jack and cheddar), watermelon boats filed with cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon and white and red grapes.
• Hors devours are pig in the blankets (seriously), mushrooms stuffed with sausage ragu, salads on a stick (a spinach leaf, cube of Cheddar/Jack and a cube of turkey on a skewer and spritzed with raspberry vinaigrette) plus the aforementioned canapés.
• Drinks include Alabama table wine (iced tea), fountain drinks, smoothies and caramel macchiatos.
• For dessert there is the fruit, the trifle and a chocolate fountain (which reminds me I don’t have anything to stick under the chocolate. Yikes! I’d better head to Walmart).

None of us have ever done anything like this before.  Can we pull it off?  Hell, I don’t know; I just said none of us have ever done this before.  You can check the Mars Hill Wedding - Post Game to see.