And that’s saying something, since I was pretty damn happy when I left. You can tell how much fun a city is, and how wonderful the food is, by how much I post while I’m there. If you notice, there’s been nothing on the blog since Friday, and there are dozens of great reasons for that – busy eating plates of fried oysters like this one, from the Acme Oyster House, being just one. Anyway, I’ll be back in San Francisco tonight, after a great IFBC. Stay tuned for a brand new video recipe tomorrow!
Just a quick hello to let you know I’ll be in New Orleans this weekend for the 2011 International Food Bloggers Conference. For some background on this event, you should check out my recap of last year’s conference (which, by the way, I wrote high on cold medicine). Seen here is Barnaby Dorfman, CEO of Foodista, kicking off the festivities. These guys literally invented the food blogger conference, for which I’ll be forever grateful.
The food down here is ridiculously awesome; so don’t be surprised if you see some new Cajun and Creole inspired video recipes in the near future. I’ve already had some amazing fried chicken on bourbon-spiked sweet potatoes, and also tempted fate by eating raw oysters in August. My new friend, David Aman, from DocNO Productions, took me out for some oysters and beer at Pascal's Manale, and you can see the visual proof of my culinary courage below.
Apparently, it’s fine to eat oysters in the summer, and that old safety warning is leftover from the days before refrigeration, when there was a real danger. I’ve done no independent scientific research, but they tasted fine to me, and I feel great.
I’ll be back in San Francisco on Monday. In the meantime, enjoy!
On a scale of 0-to-Chris Cosentino, when it comes to cooking and enjoying offal, I come in at around a 5. I’ve never been big on kidneys, brain, and heart, but I do enjoy fried sweetbreads, grilled tongue, and this Roman-style tripe.
Let’s just get this out of the way now – tripe is the lining of a cow’s stomach. Not sure which one, as I remember from grade school that cows have a bunch of them. You could always Google for more info, but really, what else do you need to know?
This recipe is inspired by three different sources; Mario Batali, where I learned the trick of adding vanilla to the cooking liquid; my grandfather, who I believe made me the first tripe I ever ate; and a great neighborhood restaurant, Locanda, where I borrowed the idea of adding garbanzo beans.
I’m not sure how “tripe” ended up being used as an expression for “something poor, worthless, or offensive,” but culinarily-speaking, it’s none of those things. When prepared in this method, it’s has a pleasantly mild, but distinct flavor.
The spicy, garlicky tomato sauce is spiked with lots of fresh mint, which has a magical affinity for the tripe. When it comes to great sauces for dipping crusty Italian bread, it doesn’t get any better than this. If you like tripe, you’ll definitely love this version.
If you don’t like tripe, or have never tried it, I implore you to chef-up, and give it a try. Hey, no guts, no glory. Enjoy!
You may have read about the sudden and tragic loss my friend Jennifer Perillo recently suffered, and how the food blogger community was rallying around her via #apieforMikey.
In an inspired effort to turn that love and compassion into something even more tangible, Shauna Ahern from Gluten Free Girl, and Maggy Keet from Bloggers Without Borders, have created #AFundForJennie. Bloggers are auctioning off goods, services, and artwork to raise funds that go directly to help Jennifer and her two girls in this time of need.
To support the effort, I'll be auctioning off what I'm calling, "The Chef John Experience." The winning bidder will get to spend a full day with me planning, cooking, filming, and editing a video recipe that will air on Food Wishes. This will include three fabulous meals, and all the bad puns you can handle. Not to mention, the greatest re-gifted swag bag in the history of re-gifted swag bags.
I will take care of all related expenses (you will be seriously spoiled), but you do need to get to San Francisco to enjoy what I promise will be a very entertaining day. I will show you all my secret production methods, and share stories that will shock and amaze – several of which will be true.
If you would like to participate, simply leave you bid in this comments section. You can also send me your bid via email. I'll add a deadline to this auction eventually, but for now I just want to start the process and see where it goes.
If your not interested in this particular auction, but want to help anyway, click this link, or the BWOB DONATE button above, and contribute now! Thank you!!
I was looking over a list of the all-time most popular recipes posted on Allrecipes last week, and there it was at number one…”Good Old Fashioned Pancakes.” Since I’ve never done a classic American pancake recipe video, despite countless food wishes for just that, I decided it was an omen that could not be ignored.
This is from Dakota Kelly, who claims to have found it on a well-worn card in her Grandma's recipe book. Well, Grandma Kelly, if that is your real name, this recipe makes one fine stack of pancakes. Not too thick, not too thin, tender, light, buttery, and delicious.
I’ve always used those exact same seven ingredients, as do 90% of all pancake makers, but like many “pros,” I simply throw everything in a bowl, and stir in enough milk, until the batter feels “right.” I never bothered to write down the formula.
So, as much as I hate to admit it, it was actually kind of fun to use an exact set of measurements, knowing I’ll now be able to repeat these results again and again. I know that boxed mix is convenient, but every once in a while you need to make this kind of recipe from scratch. I hope you give them a try soon. Enjoy!
When my friends at Hungry Nation asked if they could come by and film a segment they were doing called the "Fresh Five," I said, "Hells yeah!" Which is kind of weird, since I never use that expression.
Anyway, "Fresh Five" features foodies from Hungry Nation doing a top five list of favorites; things like recipes, kitchen equipment, or in my case, secret ingredients. And, yes, before you do the joke, I'll do it for you…No, I'm not clear on the concept of a secret ingredient. Anyway, the smoked paprika-rubbed cat is out of the bag now, so sit back and enjoy!
I always smile when I hear chefs say you should never cover-up or overpower the natural flavors of the main ingredient. Yes, sometimes you should, and this Merguez sausage and goat cheese stuffed summer squash recipe is a perfect example.
Show me a person that would honestly claim that these lovely summer squash would have been better had we not stuffed them with spicy lamb sausage and cheese, and I’ll show you a vegan.
This is one of those recipe videos where I want you to pay attention to the concept and the simple procedure, and not necessarily the ingredients I used. There are so many varieties of squash that would work here, and ten times that in sausage/cheese combos.
These stuffed squash will be especially useful if you’re living next door to the “why the hell do they plant such a huge garden?” neighbors. You know the ones; sweet, older couple, eight kids all moved out, and yet they still plant like two acres of zucchini and crookneck squash.
The next time they leave that 20-lb basket on your doorstep, give this amazing recipe a try. Enjoy!
I didn’t call this ham and shrimp gravy recipe “shrimp and grits” for two reasons: One, because I’ve already done a video called “shrimp and grits;” and two, I don’t like this served over grits. So, why did I serve it over grits then? Well, you’ll have to watch the video to get that answer, as I divulge that in a little chestnut at the end of the clip
I much prefer this over rice or mashed potatoes. Even pasta would make for a deliciously effective delivery system. I just don’t like how the gravy dissolves the grits, which then kind of runs through the tines of my fork. Having said that, it’s not like I’d ever turn down a plate of this because of such textural concerns.
If you only remember one thing from this video, besides the priceless advice regarding the secret to a happy marriage, it’s my “don’t buy cooked shrimp” advice. If you look at the shrimp section at the grocery store, it’s usually dominated by bags of already cooked shrimp. It may seem a lot easier, but it’s not.
You can now get raw, peeled and deveined shrimp (ideally from the Gulf Coast), which takes almost the same time to cook, as the precooked shrimp does to heat through. When you used cooked shrimp, all those sweet juices that should be running into your gravy have been lost in some processing plant months ago.
In case you can’t find frozen, raw, peeled and deveined shrimp, I believe I shown how to prep those in previous videos. I just can’t remember which ones! Maybe it’s time for a new video tutorial. Anyway, I hope you give this a whirl soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients: 4 tbsp butter
6 ounces smoked ham
4 green onions, chopped (the light parts)
1/2 cup small diced celery
1 red bell pepper, small dice
1 large jalepeno, small dice
2 cloves minced garlic, optional
2 tsp Cajun seasoning, or to taste
3 tbsp flour 3 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce (I forgot to add, but you should with the broth)
1 pound small, frozen, raw, peeled and deveined shrimp
Even though it will be business as usual here on the blog and Foodwishes’ YouTube channel, one advantage of the new partnership with Allrecipes will be working with my friend, Michael Ketchum, the host and brains behind Allrecipes.tv.
A few years ago, I thought it would be a cool idea to travel around the country for a few months, filming favorite recipes in some of our viewers’ homes. I didn’t have any travel funds for such a trip, so when my sponsorship pitch to Amtrak was politely declined, the idea was shelved. Well, that concept is basically what Michael’s “What’s Cooking?” is all about.
In each webisode, an Allrecipes' home cook shares the tips, tricks, and stories behind their favorite dishes. Anyway, I wanted to introduce you to Michael and Allrecipes.tv, and hope you’ll head over to take a look at their collection of video recipes. Here, Michael joins Kerri in Hutto, Texas, to capture her making a batch of tender pork spare ribs. You can subscribe to the Allrecipes' YouTube channel here.
By the way, I’ll have a brand new video recipe up tomorrow for shrimp and ham gravy (see photo below). Enjoy!
