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Food Blog Chatterbox 2/8/08
2008-02-08 14:51:00
Every Friday, we skim the cyber soup to find the top food related blog posts for your reading pleasure!Howdy folks!  Now that we've all finally recovered from our Fat Tuesday "meditations", let's see what's been goin on in the world of food blogs!The dcfoodblog has some nice words to say about the Slow Cook Food Blog -- Slow Cook: A Blog Worth Reading -- which seem to me to be right on target--- the blog celebrates how food fits into the everyday lives of folks like you & me--not the cash registers of the corportations.  It's great to see a fellow food blogger throwing the spotlight on another vital food blog.  Great job!For those of you who suffer from diabetes, a good recipe source is the Taming The Diabeastie blog.  I found a recent recipe post -- Rice-less Jambalaya -- to be on the mark... i.e. retaining the spirit of the dish while compensating for special dietary needs.  Good stuff!Be sure to check out th...

HAPPY MARDI GRAS!!!!!!
2008-02-05 13:08:00
Hooooooooo  Hahhhhhhhhhhh!New Orleans Cammardigrasneworleans.com
More About: Happy , Mardi Gras

How To Throw Your Own Mardi Gras Party!
2008-02-04 13:02:00
Well, me buckos, tomorrow is Fat Tuesday!  Our house is festooned with drapery of purple, green and gold!  Rummaging through the closets for costume articles has begun with a fever that approaches the running of the bulls in Pamplona!  The beer is on ice!  The Pat O'Briens Hurricane Mix has been mixed to the max!  The cd player is loaded with the proper sounds of Carnival Time!  The gumbo and Jambalaya preparation is underway!  "Hand me dat Andouille already, will'ya!"  In 24 hours the madness will begin!  Hoo Hah!What about you?  Are you ready for this day of BIG FUN?  If you've decided at the last minute to throw a Mardi Gras Party , here's a round-up of the various posts we put up during the past month-long celebration of Mardi Gras along with some related posts from the past year which will help you plan your Mardi Gras Party!* PLANNING YOUR MENU *Choice of Appetizers:Crawfish RemouladeHow To Make Your Own ...
More About: Throw

Video Sunday 2/3/08
2008-02-03 11:21:00
It's Video Sunday !!!!(Psst!  Turn out the lights and pass me some popcorn!)

Food Blog Chatterbox 2/1/08
2008-02-01 11:59:00
Every Friday, we skim the cyber soup to find the top food related blog posts for your reading pleasure!If you're looking for a delightful new dessert recipe, give the Victoria Sandwich Cake post from the She Likes Her Food Blog .  I'm a big fan of buttercream, so this looks to be an excellent treat!  I'll be back for seconds...Ah, while I'm still dreaming about buttercream... (must be the pre-Valentine's Day sugar rush), the food mayhem blog posted a tasty recipe for Sour Cream Lemon Cup Cakes that provides a nice spin on the classic cup cake recipe.As stated previously in this here blog, I enjoy food history quite a bit.  The Needs More Garlic blog has an informative post called The History of Chinese Tea which is a good read.Mmmm...I seem to be on a dessert kick today.  How's about this post from the Pie In The Sky blog-- Sour Cream Blueberry Crumb Cake!  A nice cup of fresh coffee to go with this and you can call me...

John's Favorite Gumbo
2008-01-31 12:53:00
When a person practices the craft of cooking for as many years as I have, there comes a time when you discover you've created a handful of signature dishes that are as close to perfection (in culinary spirit) as you're gonna get.  In my case, I usually find that whenever I'm cooking at this level that it is completely by accident.  Oh yes indeed!  One dish that falls into this category of being indigenous to moi is something I call John's Favorite Gumbo .  For the past 20 years I've been making it every Tuesday before Fat Tuesday, otherwise known as Mardi Gras Day.  How it came to be is simple: The first Mardi Gras I was in the restaurant business I found one day that I had forgotten to make a stock for that day's gumbo.  What to do?  Well, the day before we had boiled off about 200 lbs of live crawfish and at the end of the night I had told my sous chef to save the liquid from the boil pot because we might find something fun to do w...

World Food News 1/30/08
2008-01-30 14:41:00
Our first news item of the week caught me by suprise.  It concerns the fact that a bout of food poisoning can cause related illness later in one's life.  From the indystar.com site:  "Food Poisoning's Ills Can Return Years Later!  It's a dirty little secret of food poisoning: E. coli and certain other foodborne illnesses sometimes can trigger serious health problems months or years after patients survived that initial bout.  Scentists only now are unraveling a legacy that has largely gone unnoticed.  What they've spotted so far is troubling. In interviews with The Associated Press, they described high blood pressure, kidney damage, even full kidney failure striking 10 to 20 years later in people who survived severe E. coli infection as children; arthritis after a bout of salmonella or shigella; and a mysterious paralysis that can attack people who just had mild symptoms of campylobacter."  READ MORE...From the yahoonews.com site comes...
More About: News , World

How To Make Your Own Crawfish Boil
2008-01-29 12:33:00
Awrighty then, let us now get our boil on!  There's a certain way to do a boil that I insist on.  First, get out some good Mardi Gras music and put it on the stereo good and loud.  Second, open up a bottle of your favorite libation, be it beer or something stronger; this is just to set the mood, y'understand.  You ready?  Ok, let's do it!Ingredients:
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E-Z Mardi Gras King Kake
2008-01-28 12:20:00
"Say, What the heck is a King Kake anyway?"King Kakes are traditionally served starting on January 6th, the Feast of the Epiphan (or Twelfth Night as it is called in some quarters).  This is the day that the Magi arrived in Bethlehem to present gifts to the Christ child.  King Kakes are baked in honor of the Magi.  They are oval in shape to depict the circular route that the wise men took to avoid King Herod, who wanted the Christ child killed.  Placed inside of each King Kake is a small plastic baby which represents the Christ child.  Legend has it that whoever is served the slice of cake containing the plastic baby is said to be the "King" and can look forward to a year of good luck!  In Louisiana, the person who receives the baby is also host to the next King Kake party to be held the following year.  In some cultures, a bean, pecan or other trinket is hidden inside of the cake.  King Kakes are topped with decorative sug...
More About: Mardi Gras

Video Sunday 1/27/08
2008-01-27 12:56:00
It's Video Sunday !!!!(Psst!  Turn out the lights and pass me some popcorn!)

Food Blog Chatterbox 1/25/08
2008-01-25 12:00:00
Every Friday, we skim the cyber soup to find the top food related blog posts for your reading pleasure!We start with an excerpt from a post titled DJs Do Dog Meat which comes to us from Weird Meat, one of the more offbeat food blogs I've encountered lately:  "I recently did a proper restaurant review of Lao Tan, which is a Guizhou minority food restaurant near Logo bar in Shanghai. While we don't come here specifically for the strange foods they have on the menu, there are a few worth a weird meat mention.  Allow me to quote myself, 'Some readers might pass on the Bamboo Worms (48rmb) or the Fried King Bees (60rmb), or even the delicious Grilled Dog Meat (45rmb)...' There's also Cow Hooves and Pig Intestines and Chicken Feet."  Hoo Hah!I thought I had seen all permutations of burgers until I happened across a killer recipe for...
More About: Food , Blog

The Music of the Mardi Gras!
2008-01-24 11:06:00
As our month long Mardi Gras celebration continues here at hellchef.com, I thought it might be a good idea to post a guide to the type of music you'll want to have on hand if you throw your own Mardi Gras Party!If you're into making your own mix cd's, here's a list of the best songs to have on hand:
More About: Music , The Music

World Food news 1/23/08
2008-01-23 12:38:00
Our first culinary news item concerns food on video!  A new site called foodtube.net has recently started up.  It looks to be a youtube inspired affair which is dedicated strictly to food videos so if you're into that kind of mulit-media mish mosh check it out today! From the seattlepi.com site comes a story about cooking oil:
More About: News , Food , World

Cayenne Pepper Toast
2007-12-12 11:15:00
I've served these bread rounds at many a cocktail party and wedding reception and they're always a big hit.  The toast is seasoned with cayenne pepper so don't be suprised if your guests begin to consume copious amounts of cold beer after eating these zippy little palate pleasers.  Hoo Hah!  Ingredients:2 loaves fresh French Bread1 cup Extra-Virgin Olive Oil2 tsp Cayenne Red Pepper 1 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt1 1/2 tsp White Sugar1/2 tsp Butcher Cracked Black Pepper1 tsp PaprikaCooking Procedure:Preheat your oven to 200 degreesSlice the bread into 1/4 inch roundsPlace the bread on an ungreased sheet pan & set asideTo make the topping for the toast:Combine all of the remaining ingredients in a mixing bowlWhisk the topping mixture wellTo prepare the toast:Using a pastry brush, brush the top of each bread round with some of the toppingPlace the bread in the ovenBake until the bread is crisp & golden brown, about 45 minutes to 1 hourRemove the bread from the ...
More About: Toast , Cayenne Pepper

Chef Shaboo Predicts The Future
2007-12-11 11:06:00
Hello my little friends!  I am Chef Shaboo, a wise seer from the Kitchen in the Great Beyond!  Here are my predictions for the future!In the year 2008... The Travel Network will debut a new talk show featuring Anthony Bourdain, Rosie O'Donnell and Iggy Pop which will be called Cooking With The New Three Stooges!  Each week, viewers will thrill to the sight of Iggy smearing chunky peanut butter on his chest, Rosie wrestling audience members to the ground and Tony drinking an entire case of Carling Black Label beer!  Sadly, the show will be cancelled after 6 episodes when...
More About: Future , The Future

Tipsy Stewed Tomatoes
2007-12-10 11:20:00
Stewed tomatoes were first marketed in the the late 1940's, but prior to that folks put up their own stewed tomatoes in preserve jars in order to have the availability of tomatoes during the winter months when they couldn't grow them for consumption.  This recipe was given to me a few years back by a bartender in Montauk which is out on the East End of Long Island.  His name?  It remains lost in a fog of time and vodka.  I do remember this-- his version called for a bit more whiskey than what I use here!Ingredients:
More About: Tomatoes , Tipsy

Video Sunday 12/09/07
2007-12-09 12:59:00
It's Video Sunday !!!!(Psst!  Turn out the lights and pass me some popcorn!)

Cincinnati Chili Spaghetti
2007-12-08 11:41:00
Take a lot at it.  There it is.  A big fat plate of Cincinnati Chili Spaghetti !  Ah, the very sight of this culinary apparition brings to life my old college days in Dayton, Ohio.  Prior to walking into a local Frisch's Big Boy restaurant during my freshman year, I had always eaten chili in a bowl.  Never over spaghetti!  But in ye olde Midwest that is one of the most popular ways to enjoy this type of nosh.The historical backround on this dish is as follows: According to most sources, a Macedonian imigrant named Tom Kiradjieff, the owner of a small Greek restaurant called The Empress, invented Cincinnati style Chili in 1922 when he started cooking chili seasoned with Middle Eastern spices and served the stuff up over a mound of spaghetti!  His original version of the dish included two hot dogs atop the mound of cheddar topped chili.  In the wake of Kiradjieff's success, a slew of chili parlors opened up around town ...

Food Blog Chatterbox 12/07/07
2007-12-07 11:44:00
Every Friday, we skim the cyber soup to find the top food related blog posts for your reading pleasure!I'm a big fan of Sloppy Joe sandwiches (the more sloppy they are, the better they taste...heh heh!) so I was delighted to see a great version of this sangwich appear in a post on the Pinch My Salt blog.  This is a great version of this classic nosh with lots of in-depth photos.  Be sure you check out Jason's Ultimate Manwich!From the mental floss blog comes The 10 Greatest Birthplaces On The American Food Trail.  This fun post details the origins of such delights as the hamburger, the fried twinkie, the root beer float and the immortal corn dog!  Hoo Hah!The Hot Potato blog posted a great recipe for a dish called Nooch Cavatappi which is a comfort food lover's dream.  The dish uses an ingredient I've never used before-- nutritional yeast otherwise known as "nooch"!  Lots of great flavors at work here!The Wild Schwein blog posted...
More About: Blog

Milwaukee Beer Soup
2007-12-06 12:16:00
Milwaukee, Wisconsin once known far and wide as the beer captital of the USA, inspired the naming of this here soup that contains a fair amount of beer.  The soup has a nice side bite of mustard flavor and makes a great dinner on a cold winter's evening.Ingredients:1 medium sized Spanish Onion, chopped small2 TBS Olive Oil12 cups beer (room temperature)6 cups water1/2 cup Dark Brown Mustard12 large Egg Yolks6 TBS White Flour6 cups Whole Milk6 slices smoked bacon (cooked until crisp)3 slices White Bread (toasted & diced fine)Dry Spice Mix:1 tsp Basil1 tsp Kosher Salt1 TBS Dry Mustard3 tsp Cracked Black Pepper1/4 tsp Ground NutmegCooking Procedure:Combine all of the dry spice ingredients in a small bowlMix Well & set asideIn a large pot, heat the olive oil for 2 minutes over high heatAdd the onionCook the onion until it has softenedAdd the Dry Spice MixStir well & cook for 2 minutes moreAdd the beer, water & Brown MustardStir well & let this come up...
More About: Beer , Soup , Milwaukee

World Food News 12/05/07
2007-12-05 11:41:00
Our first news item covers the difficulty food banks have been having around the country.  From the New York Times site:  "Food Banks In A Squeeze, Tighten Belts -- Food banks around the country are reporting critical shortages that have forced them to ration supplies, distribute staples usually reserved for disaster relief and in some instances close.  'It’s one of the most demanding years I’ve seen in my 30 years in the field', said Catherine D’Amato, president and chief executive of the Greater Boston Food Bank, comparing the situation to the recession of the late 1970s.  Experts attributed the shortages to an unusual combination of factors, including rising demand, a sharp drop in federal supplies of excess farm products, and tighter inventory controls that are leaving supermarkets and other retailers with less food to donate."  Read More...  Please express your thanks for having so much by helping those who have so lit...
More About: News , World

My Secret Life as an Alien Gourmand
2007-12-04 11:50:00
Dear Diary:It has been 6 earth years since I have been marooned on this strange planet called Earth.  Although, my ship and communication devices have been disabled for some time, I have made a determined effort to assimilate into the human population and gather information for those who will follow me.While I have mastered most aspects of how these earthlings live, such as patterns of speech, methods of dress and the strata of entertainment these creatures indulge in, I have found the most disturbing facet of this feeble civilization to be the food it eats.  Oh the horror!Early on in my stay here, I discovered some of the bizarre foodstuffs that these creatures enjoy.  One item, which is called a Hot Dog, reminds me of the sort of material we use to insulate our dwellings on my home planet, Omega 9X-11.  How would I describe this "hot dog"?  Let's see-- it's a long tubular object with a tough hide which is apparentl...
More About: Life , Secret , Alien

Cooking Jewish
2007-12-03 12:01:00
Howdy Folks! For today's post, I want to tell you all about a new cookbook I just finished reading yesterday.To me, cooking will always be a celebration of family traditions that come to life each time we prepare food.  A good example of what I'm talking about can be found in Judy Bart Kancigor's Cookin g Jewish :  532 Great Recipes from the Rabinowitz Family (Workman Publishing, 2007).

Video Sunday 12/02/07
2007-12-02 13:10:00
It's Video Sunday !!!!(Psst!  Turn out the lights and pass me some popcorn!)******************************** ***************************************** **Don't forget to vote in our Weekly Poll!To check out my latest rock & roll article, go to Perfect Sound Forever!

Creole Belle Pasta
2007-12-01 12:05:00
Today's post is a recipe I contributed to The Everything Pasta Cookbook (Adams Media Corporation, 1997).  Holy smokes!  That was 10 years ago!  It seems like another lifetime to me now.  It's funny how people get older but the recipes never do, eh?Ingredients:12 oz freshly grated Romano Cheese1 TBS unsalted Butter1 tsp Olive Oil1 bunch Scallions, beards removed & chopped medium coarse1/4 lb Tasso Ham, chopped fineNote:  If tasso is unavailable, substitute Cure 81 Ham1 New Mexican Chili Pepper, seeded & stem removed, chopped coarse1 TBS dry White Wine1/4 lb Crawfish Tails, diced1/4 cup diced Eggplant1/4 cup fresh Basil leaf, diced1 TBS fresh Cilantro, diced1 cup Heavy Cream1 lb Tomato Fettucine, cooked al dente & kept warmDry Spice Mix:1 tsp freshly ground Black Pepper1/2 tsp Old Bay Seasoning1/2 tsp Kosher Salt1/2 tsp Cayenne Red Pepper1/4 tsp Thyme1/4 tsp Tarragon1/4 tsp Ground White Pepper1/4 tsp Crushed Red PepperCooking Procedure:In a small...
More About: Belle

Food Blog Chatterbox 11/30/07
2007-11-30 11:40:00
Every Friday, we skim the cyber soup to find the top food related blog posts for your reading pleasure!The Well Fed Network has announced its 2007 Food Blog Awards.  Nominations will begin next week.  If you publish a food blog or are an avid reader of food blogs, you may want to get involved in the nomination process.  Read More...Recently I started visiting the redacted recipes blog which descibes itself thusly:  "An Anglo  American narrative about food, wine and items of interest as they arise"  It's a fun blog with a lot of different content.  I especially liked the recent post on Thanksgiving Leftovers:  Turkey Soup --- we've all been there, haven't we?Another blog I stumbled across was Unique Culinary Adventures.  There's some great recipes to be found here-- most recently I found the recipe for Cream of Kohlrabi Soup to be of some interest as I've never worked with kohlrabi before and after checking th...

Alligator Sauce Piquante
2007-11-29 12:50:00
Brrrr!  Here in New York, the weather has turned cold.  My craving for warmth usually leads me back to some of my hot cajun dishes such as today's recipe-- Alligator Sauce Piquante.  "Alligator?!  What the.."  Well, many folks have asked me exactly what alligator meat tastes like and I usually tell them, "Why it tastes just like crocodile!"  Actually, I would compare the taste of alligator to pork (not chicken).  The meat can be prepared a variety of ways with a lot of different sauces.  The main thing to be aware of when working with the gator meat is that it needs to be tenderized and cooked slowly, otherwise it will be tough and chewy with a texture akin to that of the gator's hide!  Concerning today's recipe-- I made a couple of changes to the traditional cajun piquante by adding some brown sugar and habanero peppers.  The sweetness hooks right up with the heat of the hot peppers in a way that lea...
More About: Gato

Southern Hamburger Soup
2007-11-28 11:25:00
    When I was a kid I lived in New Orleans for several years and one of our next door neighbors, Mrs. Pettibone, used to make this soup all the time.  Around lunchtime, she'd walk out into the backyard where we were playing, clang her soup ladle against the lid of a pot and cry, "Children! Come and get some hamburger soup now! Y'hear what I say?"  Delicious memories!  The recipe is very basic and lends itself to adding your own eccentric touches.  Heh heh....Ingredients:1 TBS unsalted Butter2 lb Ground Beef2 cloves fresh Garlic, diced fine1 large Spanish Onion, chopped medium coarse2 large Carrots, peeled & chopped medium coarse2 stalks Celery, leaves removed & chopped medium coarse2 Red Potatoes, peeled & cut into small cubes10 cups Beef StockNote:  For my stock recipe, go to Homestyle Beef Stock1 can Crushed Tomatoes (16 oz)Dry Spice Mix:1 tsp Kosher Salt1/2 tsp dried...
More About: Soup , Southern , Hern , Urge

Jockomo Black Bean Cakes
2007-11-27 12:17:00
I'm posting today's recipe for those of you who may be looking for a new appetizer to serve at their holiday parties.  These little black bean cakes are pretty versatile; you can add a variety of elements to them to enhance whatever type of menu you're preparing.  This version of the recipe is my favorite.  A little zing from the jalapeno pepper dancing lightly with the sweetness of the banana.  Mmmm....Ingredients:3 1/2 cups cooked Black Bean sNote: if using canned beans, rinse them well with cold water2 large ripe Bananas, chopped coarse2 large Eggs, whisked to a froth4 Scallions, root ends removed & diced fine1/4 cup plain Bread Crumbs1 small Jalapeno Pepper, stem removed & diced fineWhite FlourPeanut oil for fryingSour CreamDry Spice Mix:1/4 tsp ground Cumin1/4 tsp Chili Powder1/4 tsp Kosher Salt1/4 tsp ground Black Pepper1/4 tsp ground White Pepper1/2 tsp Thyme1/2 tsp BasilCooking Procedure:  Preheat your oven to 200 degree...
More About: Cakes , Jock

World Food News 11/26/07
2007-11-26 12:54:00
 Howdy folks!  Our first news item comes to us from the RTE News site:  "Norway Cracks Down On Erotic Food Labels!   Norway's largest erotic chain store was forced to change the labeling on its 'food' products to comply with Norwegian food regulations.  Items such as penis pasta, candy panties and chocolate body painting violated the Scandanavian country's labeling laws.  The Norwegian food safety authority conducted a surprise inspection at one of the chain's stores and found that several products were not marked with a Norwegian label, nor did they list all ingredients, both requirements under the regulations.  'We were a bit surprised to have the food safety authority on inspection. Food is not really our core product,' remarked Kjersti Antonsen, a sexual adviser in the store."  Read More... If over-eating at Thanksgiving didn't give you indigestion, then this next newws item will!  From ...
More About: World