I know I have been denying all my faithful readers the treat that is my great writing found right here on my very own blog. But do not fear the dance world has been keeping me very busy and I have a handful of road trip restaurants to fill you in on. Let’s go back in time a few weeks to my trip to Austin, Texas. The stretch of I-10 between New Orleans and Houston runs right through southern Louisiana, also known as Bayou Country. Sugar cane and rice fields along with commercial crawfish farms dominate the scenery. Above the fields are billboards advertising Cajun favorites such as Boudin, Jambalaya, Andouille, and many other foods, which are made form recipes passed down numerous generations. The cuisine that comes from this area is what spawned my passion for food and cooking. So I rarely make a trip through here without stopping to hurt myself from eating like a bear about to go into hibernation. Minus the nuts and berries.
We stopped for lunch in Lake Charles, Louisiana at…
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This past weekend Matt and I hit road heading for Youngstown, Ohio. On the second day of driving Louisville was in our path right around lunch time. I read that Louisville is the home of a little establishment known for the best burger in the country. It goes by the name of “The Ollie Burger” and can be picked up in a little makeshift trolley (really just a tiny building with a fancy paint job) located near Louisville University, home of the Cardinals. I came across more than one account of people who claim this is the best burger they have ever had and that the fries were just as memorable. We were driving in the city of Louisville and spotted the trolley one block over and my mouth started to water immediately.
We walked into the front door of the diner which is actually a little box that is about 3 feet by 8 feet and fitted with two small glass windows that lead to the kitchen. One window is for ordering and paying and the other is for picking up your food and drinks. When we…
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Actually it was freezing in Cincinnati, and everywhere else north of the Alabama-Tennessee state line. Even though I am not a fan of cold weather it does set the mood for a bowl of steaming hot chili. So after 12 hours of driving that was all my road trip buddy and I had on our minds. I knew I wanted to try some of this chili that Cincinnati is famous for but the question is where to go. This city is filled with chili restaurants and every one claims to be the best.
After a little internet research I picked a name that would stick out to any southerner, Dixie Chili. Turned out to be a winner too. The first thing that I noticed was the size of the menu. Cincinnati is known for 3-way, 5-way, or even 6-way chili, and that is what I came for. What I wasn’t ready for was all the other choices suddenly in front of me. I didn’t get too crazy though. An order of six way and some chili cheese waffle fries for me. My partner went with the chili cheese coney and an order of 4 way. In case you…
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I have given up my days as a sous chef, but for good reason. My wife has owned a dance competition business(VIP Dance) since before we were married, and ran it with her parents. This year, for the first time, she will be in total control. Now, more than ever she needs my help, and my job will be to drive across the country with a van full of music equipment and dance paraphernalia.
I chose to look at this not as an interruption to my culinary adventure through life but a window to new flavors that need to be discovered. I feel that the best food is not what you find at the most expensive restaurants around the country but in the recipes that are passed from on generation to the next. So that is what I am looking for as I go out on the road this winter and spring. I am looking for the best dishes at the best mom and pops restaurants in cities all over the U.S.
Now this will take some research, but what I am really counting on is some feedback from you guys, my readers out there. My…
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Wow! Seems as though I got lost for a while, and couldn’t find my way back to blogging. It has been a while so I will start back slowly with an easy recipe. This was something that I whipped up while some guests were over for a football game recently. Nothing goes better with sports than buffalo wings, but after the first batch of breaded wings dipped in Franks Red Hot wing sauce and ranch my creative juices got a little restless. At halftime I went digging in the fridge to see what might be fun to make. I always keep fresh garlic around, and there happened to be a block of parmesan cheese that couldn’t wait to be grated up. The perfect companion for this variation of bar food royalty is, of course, bleu cheese dressing. All of your guests will love these wings, from the big bellied heavy eaters like my cousin Michael, and friend John to the little girls with surprisingly big wing eating appetites like my little sister,
To cook my wings I used a cast iron pot filled with peanut oil…
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I recently noticed a small grocery store tucked into a strip mall near my house. The name is in Spanish so I have no idea what it means, but directly under the name on the sign it reads “Latin Grocery.” The first thing I think of is peppers, and the best thing to make with a bunch of different peppers is chili. So I went shopping for some goodies to throw into my pot. Other than some spicy peppers, the best thing I found to add to my chili was chorizo.
You may have heard or even eaten this sausage before, but probably not like this. Years ago, I worked with a girl who was from Mexico and she always said that she could not understand why we called the sausage used for our “black bean and chorizo” soup chorizo. She swore that chorizo in Mexico was something totally different, and one day she brought some to the restaurant for me to try. It was spicy ground pork in something like a chili marinade and all rolled into a wax paper casing. She popped open the casing and cooked the filling…
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It has become a family tradition of mine to take a week long beach vacation in Florida once a year. And it has become a tradition within a tradition to eat out at a new restaurant one night of the week. Over the years we have found that the Destin area has a handful of really great restaurants, and this year we found one that ranks high among my favorites. Cuvee Beach is located on the main highway through Destin and is easy to find. I enjoy restaurants that have an uptempo, vibrant type of atmosphere like Cuvee. The first thing I noticed is the beautiful wine bar located at entrance in the front of the restaurant, and as we made our way to our table, the decor in the rest of the establishment did not disappoint. Because we had a party of twelve, we were given the option of a private dining room or a table in the middle of the main dining room, of which we chose the latter, when we made our reservation . We fit comfortably at our table in the middle of the commotion of dinner hour… (Read the rest of this article at the following article source link for the full story)
I am one of those guys who just can’t help himself when he lights up the grill. Even if it is just my wife and I, I always find the need to throw a few links of sausage on in addition to the meal that is planned for dinner. The only problem with that is figuring out what to do with the left over sausage. Once sausage is grilled and refrigerated, it loses so much moisture that it is just not as appetizing as when fresh off the grill. With all the grilling holidays that have recently passed (Father’s Day, the 4th of July, etc), maybe some of you have yourselves in a similar predicament.
I tossed about a pound of day-old jalapeno sausage into the food processor and turned it into ground meat. I also had some leftover tomato sauce in the fridge, and a craving for lasagna. After a little snooping around online I came across a recipe by Giada which I changed around a little to suit my situation. These little personal lasagnas can be stuffed with anything you might have in your fridge or…
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The reason I became a chef is that I have a great passion for food and an urge to share it with others. The best way to do that is by entertaining guests, which is what I did last weekend. My dad invited some of his cousins over for a five course dinner complete with wine pairings. The number of diners was set at 25. I have done plenty of parties this size in the past, but never out of a residential kitchen. Thanks to Hurricane Katrina, my dad got the opportunity to remodel his kitchen and now he has a pretty nice setup, so no worries.
In New Orleans many go by the motto “We don’t eat to live, we live to eat.” That being said, our menu will probably sound too heavy to most. I thought it was a bit much myself, but I was just the “hired” help this time so I went along with my dad’s plans. The first course was smoked turkey and andouille gumbo which was made the day before to lighten the load. Besides, soups usually benefit from a day of refrigeration anyway. The second course was…
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This is the first installment of my new project. I will be teaching my wife how to cook, and if she can learn, so can anyone else that follows along. I always learn better by being hands on or at least having a visual aid, so we decided to video our antics for your benefit. My goal is to have a little something for everyone. Amateur cooks can pick up some tips while watching, while all cooks get some great recipes to add to their portfolio.
This recipe is perfect for football season which is right around the corner, or just to have some leftovers around the house during summertime when the kids are out of school. A five pound bone-in pork shoulder or butt is called for in this recipe. But if you use a larger piece of meat, allow for an extra hour of cook time per pound of pork. For larger gatherings use multiple five pound cuts of meat so you are not cooking for two days. My favorite way to dress this sandwich is with some simple savory cole slaw made of chopped cabbage, mayonnaise,…
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