Gastro Hounds

New Year's Food Finds

2012-01-23T13:36:00.000-08:00

We’re well into the New Year, and off to a great start, gastronomically speaking. The holidays saw some fantastic food and beverage, as well as a few misses. Aperitifs are a usual starting point to let’s visit the subject of potent potables. At the top would have to be a limoncello that I participated in with Gastro Gal aka Debs. We used a pure grain alcohol, Everclear, along with the zest of Meyer lemons, homemade simple syrup and water. The result was a dangerously tasty quaff. So tasty in fact one has to remind themselves that it’s still booze. The batch of holiday hooch was crafted with the intent of distributing as gifts. The first reviews came in quickly and went something like “…holy @#%@#$ that is @#$%@$# good!” I think you get the idea. A miss on the beverage side would have to be the cocktail service at the Slanted Door at San Francisco’s Ferry Building. Now I’ve had decent service in the past but I’ve observed that it has always been spotty. I had the opportunity to stop in at The Slanted Door during a recent outing specifically targeting the farmer’s market that takes place on Saturday’s in and around the Ferry Building. The service was off-putting to the point of rudeness. Our party of 5 was gone within 5 minutes. A better bet is Market Place Wine Bar. We went with a couple of bottles of a nicely dry prosecco whichat $20 bottle was very reasonable. Be sure to check on their website as offerings are rotated monthly. On your way to score your beverage, be sure stop by Chris Cosentino’s Boccalone salumeria. Grab a few meat cones and then head a couple of doors down to the wine bar and tuck in.

The food over the holidays was of course great, as it simply has to be as people are putting their very best efforts forward. A personal revelation was my first try of truffle honey. Unbelievably good. Any attempt by me to describe it would be an injustice. It’s definitely a splurge but one of those curios that must be indulged in at least once in one’s life. Pair it with a soft farmer’s cheese. Locally, both Whole Foods and Oliver’s carry this decadent condiment. Something on the bizarre foods list of holiday experiences was an ice cream made with candy cap mushrooms. If you’ve never had candy caps, they feature a pungent aroma of maple. The flavor is more subdued and earthier. The ice cream itself mirrored these characteristics – sweet maple syrup with an earthy almost musty background that made it hard to wrap one’s brain around. Still, it was GOOD. A definite miss was a “meat in tube form” known as cotechino. An Italian dish traditionally served around the New Year, it signifies the prospect of good luck and fortune for the coming year. It is also easily double to triple the girth of most sausages. Its menacing appendage like appearance did not dissuade me from acquiring some at the local farmer’s market from Franco’s Sausages. All of their products to date have been top notch so I was very confident of my purchase. What I didn’t know ‘til later was that cotechino was developed during a prolonged siege somewhere in 16th century Italy. A pork product formed of secondary cuts, skin and fat, there is both a tactile and audible squeak as one bites into their medallion of mystery meat-a result of the rubbery bits of pig skin, no doubt. Again, it did actually taste good but the texture was a definite challenge. While I finished my porcine behemoth, others could not bring themselves to approach even a second bite, having been cowed into submission and defeat by the monstrous meat offering.

As I like to end on a positive note, I should also say there was bacon…my homemade bacon and I have to agree that it is pretty damn good, and will be the subject of an upcoming post.

Cheers!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T09:04:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas wishes from all the gang at Gastro Hounds.

'tis the Season

2011-12-14T15:11:00.000-08:00

We're smack dab in the middle of the holiday season, and the gatherings and various festivities that accompany it are well underway. Now is a good time for reminder on holiday party etiquette on the part of the guest - a discussion that dovetails nicely with a somewhat similar discussion held over at I Am Not a Chef blog.

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, a discussion emerged between Gastro Gal and myself regarding proper etiquette when a guest is bringing a dish - in this case an appetizer. My plan was to do Calibresi skewers of grapette tomatoes (the last from my garden), balled goat cheese to resemble buffalo mozzarella and pesto also made of basil from my garden and all finished with a drizzle of a balsamic reduction. I had planned to prepare the skewers and finish with the pesto and reduction at the hosts house. The point of contention being: should the appetizer be complete upon arrival? Is it appropriate to assume that some preparation done at the location of the gathering, however small, is OK? Gastro Gal was definitely on the side of "No, and hell no!", maintaining that the dish should be complete and ready to go so as not to place undo burden on the host. Now, this is a common sense approach, and truly all I would have required was a teaspoon, and 2 minutes to complete my plating. Still, the point was a solid one. The workaround was simple enough: I simply drizzled my reduction onto the plate, filled a ramekin with the pesto and placed in the middle of the platter and arranged the skewers around the ramekin. It was both functional and decorative at the same time and did not at all distract from my original design of the dish. Consider then, the guest who has agreed to make mashed potatoes and shows up with a pot and a sack of unpeeled spuds. It happens, and we all have accounts to look back upon.

So, a kind word in closing: if you are bringing a dish to any gathering, unless you have made specific arrangements with the host, the dish had best be completed and ready to serve as is. Period. In my case, I was indeed fortunate, as this was our host's first time at throwing a Thanksgiving feast, and the task did weigh heavy on her brow. Any intrusion into her timetable was one more fly in the ointment. I can say with relief and gratitude, I was not one of those flies.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-23T13:13:00.001-08:00

This year, as with every year, I am thankful for tasty, tasty animals. That, and not being relegated to "bread boy".

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T15:57:00.000-07:00

One thing that always reaffirms my believe in all that is good is to witness and take part in the passion and flat out fun that others bring to the table - both literally and metaphorically. Case in point - a Halloween gathering held on Sat. 10/29. GastroGrrrl aka Debs and I attended and while looking forward to the occasion with relish, we knew going in that we'd only know a handful of the folks attending. The names of those participating are being withheld to protect - well I'm not really sure but suffice to say a ghoulish time was had by all. The sangria was excellent, and the tequila shots delivered via syringes - inspiring.,, and naughty. Have I mentioned naughty? Everyone attending participated with gusto. One of my favorite bites of the evening was a jello mould in the form of a human brain. It's the consistency that knocks it out of the park, but the best of the night was watching Shaggy breast feed a zombie baby with the full approval of an adoring Scooby. You really, REALLY had to be there - but it did give a whole new meaning to "Scooby Snack".

The theme was Evil Carnival, as if there is any other kind, and GastroGrrrl aka Debs and I attended as Evil Carnival Fry Cook and Freakin' Scary Waitress. Word of caution, DO NOT order the Blue Plate Special - trust me.

I was prepared for the next morning knowing it would be a late night, and prepared a brunch consisting of a chorizo and egg scramble topped with salsa fresca featuring produce from my garden, paired with home "fried" potatoes. I don't actually fry them. I coarsely dice them with onion, toss with olive oil, season with sea salt, black pepper and paprika then bake at 425 degrees until golden, stirring occasionally. I find the potatoes cook much more evenly and with far less oil. The bonus is that additional stove top space is freed up should additional cooking be necessary.

The entire endeavor, including French press coffee and making the salsa took no more than 45 minutes - Iron Chef material! I believe I scored well. And no joke, the judge would have let me know if I had come up short in any regard.

The finished entry

Best Halloween Wishes from the entire Graveyard!

No abalone for you - how about some buffalo?

2011-09-17T10:03:00.000-07:00

Summer is over. OVER ...and it never really arrived. I've got a garden full of green tomatoes to prove the point. And the perfect punctuation to this atrocity? Abalone season abruptly cancelled for the of the year due to a deadly "red bloom" resulting in a massive die off of shell fish off the Sonoma and Mendocino Coasts. In a word, "craptastic".

However, the summer was not a total loss. Gastro Grrrl and I took several local road trips and found some excellent food and beverage to be had at some hidden gem eateries. Our travels featured 3 closeby valleys: Anderson Valley, Russian River Valley and Redwood Valley, and Gastro Grrrl documented our adventures in expert fashion.

First up was our camping trip to Anderson Valley during the World Music Festival

Enjoying rose at Esterlina winery. Beautiful view and damn good rose made of Pinot Noir. I must say the quality of rose in California has greatly improved of late. 2 points deduction for the somewhat tired cheese puffs we were served.

Breakfast pizza at Anderson Valley Market. Tasty enough, but was lacking "umph". Some chorizo crumbled on top would have done the trick.

Lighting my beard on fire. I only ever used the stove for coffee, as we pretty much subsisted off guacamole and bloody marys. Gastro Grrrl makes a "sludge" which is the base for this most tasty of beverages. I know the secret but am sworn to secrecy. Sorry all!

Next we took a day trip to the Russian River valley hamlet of Duncan's Mills. We stopped off at the Blue Heron - a watering hole popular with the locals, and now with us as well. Here's why:

Cheese n Gravy fries. Echoing Montreal's "poutine", these fries were damn good. A perfect match with a cold beer.

Boyd's BBQ oysters. Boyd can be seen during the weekends, working his mollusk magic out back by the deck. He makes a mango infused sauce that is outstanding when paired with the smokey goodness of the oysters. Another perfect match for a cold beer.

Grillmaster Boyd

A most memorable trip was to Redwood Valley for a Buffalo BBQ. Tons of buffalo top round, marinated for weeks and grilled to smokey, rare perfection. What could be better? It was my birthday! Thanks to all who made it such a great time.

Slice it already!

Hound and Grrrl at Esterlina.

The smiles say it all. Good times, good food and great company. Rinse and repeat as necessary.

Chee Burger, Chee Burger, Chee Burger!!!

2011-08-01T21:33:00.000-07:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you: Gastro Burger!

I can't think of anything more iconic of Gastro Americana than the burger. The hot dog is a very close second but the burger rules supreme. Why? I believe it is because the burger IS the gastro embodiment of the American ethos: the freedom of the individual to make their mark. Note: not the false guarantee of success but only the freedom to succeed. As we shall see, come efforts are more worthy than others.

I grew up in a burger family - my grandpa owning and operating the best damn burger joint in our humble burg (more on that in another post). The thing is we all grew up learning how to construct our own burger. The Gastro Burger pictured above featured two patties with melted pepper jack cheese, apple wood smoked bacon, onion rings, sliced avocado, roasted red peppers, sliced jalapenos, pepperoncini, tomatoes, onions, lettuce, and yes mayo. Understand, I really, REALLY do not like mayo. But on a burger, it's a must and it must be spread on the lower bun. The magic that is the blending of burger juice and mayo is the stuff of legend. If you don't know, then you don't know.

Of course, that leaves the door open to many interpretations. A local and rather new burger joint is Brodie's. They source great, grass fed beef and generally do it justice. Except when it comes to their "Adventure" line of burgers. And 1st out of the gate in this series is the Cricket Burger.

A modest entry to be sure but also approachable to the novice foodie. What to do in this situation? Just eat the crickets!

However, there are always those folks who go straight to hell. Plumb the depths for no other reason other than to shock. It takes real talent to shock effectively and successfully - say a Howard Stern or Ferran Adria. Here's a not so successful entry: the Turd Burger.

So a Japanese scientist is going to solve world hunger by creating a burger from excrement. The problem with world hunger isn't the amount of food available, it's distribution. Therefore, the turd burger is a big, stinking pile of BS to start with. I'm personally offended. I feel like bankrolling a counterstrike featuring Perez Hilton pinching a deuce on some sticky rice and then serving it to some particular royalty and calling it "uni". I think you get the point. So what is left of this season we call summer (still waiting for it to start here in NorCal)? Make it your mission to regain your heritage from the grasp of the troglodyte invader. Get out there and grill up your very own masterpiece of a burger.

What is Good in Life? BBQ

2011-05-24T21:14:00.000-07:00

Not all nourishment is consumed. For better or for worse, we are more complex than yeast cells. Humans require that which nurtures the soul, though there are times when all one wants is to just consume sugar and fart CO2. The past 2 months have been like that. I would make and excellent yeast cell.
Attending to matters of hearth and home has consumed much of my time of late but I’ve kept busy. At the top of my list of was to take part in the Guys Can Cook Too competition. Last year’s disappointment of having to back out at the last moment still rankled. I needed to face that demon, slay it, and dance on its corpse singing “hallelujah!”.
This year’s plan was the same as last year’s: pulled pork that would be paired with my Char B Q sauce. Instead of the usual cole slaw accompaniment, I went with a balsamic onion marmalade. I liked the sweet/sour play of the marmalade but it also adhered better to the portion.
The competition was set for May 14th, which allowed for a dry run opportunity to allow me to dial in my sauce and the smoking of the meat. The dry run was a success and I set myself busy to being preparing for an event that would require a minimum of 400 1-2 oz servings. I would smoke just over 40 pounds of pork shoulder and produce about a gallon of Char B Q sauce for the event. I gave the pork shoulder the full competition treatment: a generous coating of my dry rub, a flavor injection consisting of a mixture of apple juice and dry rub, and while cooking, an occasional vinegar mop of apple juice, lemon juice and a touch of vinegar. Gastro Pup was to be my sous chef and our main goal was to have fun, enjoying some prime daddy/daughter time. That soon went out the window as the event picked up steam and we began to get a steady stream of positive feedback. After a couple of other guests came back and made a big deal about how they were voting for us, well then we were all in and got serious about our task. At our busiest, we dished out 375 servings in just over an hour, and never kept anyone waiting. The most difficult challenge would be plating. My research on the event showed that one should be prepared to serve up to 600 servings within a 3 hour window. My research would prove correct. We were plating servings (and getting votes) right up to the end, others ran out early - some painfully so. At the end of the day, we didn’t win, but the exposure and the incredible amount of positive feedback was fantastic. Couldn’t have wished for better. We accomplished what we set out to do. No small feat in that I was working on 2.5 hours sleep after having worried my smokers all night. Gastro Pup was quite tired too, her Friday evening having been a night of some energy expenditure.
And now a word on some of the food the professional s brought:
1. Charlie Palmer of Dry Creek Kitchen was there doing caviar on warm blini and crème fraiche.
2. John Ash & Co. turned out killer rabbit tourine – my fave the for the night.
3. Johnny Garlic’s was there doing pulled pork, wouldn’t ya know. We kicked their butts! They kept their roast pork hot in braising liquid which totally changed the character of the meat. Epic fail!
4. Oyster Girls shucking some tasty bivalves. Best thing: our table was 5 feet from theirs. Nice!
5. The many wineries pouring some very nice offerings.
6. The culinary crew of Santa Rosa Junior College how not only saw to it that we had everything we needed but also put out a very nice buffet for those taking part. They must have known, because I didn’t realize that I hadn’t eaten in 24 hours.

Another nice aspect was the involvement of kids in the competition. A special youth category was established and next to us was a boy who would go on to win the youth category with a very fresh and lively crevice. The entire event was so well organized and executed; I’m conflicted about whether I want to take part in next year’s competition or just buy my ticket and soak up the fun. It’s that good, so definitely put this on your calendar.

Prepping the venue

Ready for battle!

The Fog of War!

Gastrotainment Victory

2011-03-03T22:28:00.000-08:00

I'm currently watching a repeat of Monday's Bizarre Foods San Francisco. As it turns out, Mrs Gastro Hound and I escaped the cutting room floor and were in fact the most featured couple during the Off The Grid segment. It was a great day, spent enjoying great food amongst a crowd of fellow foodies and great chefs. Most of all, it was watching folks discover something about themselves, eating things they never thought they would and enjoying the shared camaraderie of doing something that's far outside the norm. A great day indeed.

And now, if you'll excuse me, we're about to be on TV... again.

That's Gastrotainment!

2011-01-15T08:24:00.000-08:00

Well our little Burg of Santa Rosa has another celebrity chef in its midst: Andrea Mikiami Ballus, owner/operator of Sift Cupcakes and Desert Bar. This week on Cupcake Wars, she kicked some major butt and took the Grand Prize - and it wasn't really close. Andrea repeatedly drew on her wine country roots and wowed the judges, especially wedding designer Amy Weiss. The final challenge was to create a wedding display employing 2000 cupcakes. Andrea's creation destroyed the competition. Not. Even. Close. So bartender - a round of frosting shots for all my frieeeeeeeeeeeeeends.

The good news just keeps coming. It was officially announced this week that Spike TV has purchased all 52 episodes of Three Sheets. The series will begin airing on Feb. 8th at 10:30 pm EST, and will continue every Tuesday at that slot. Kudos to the fans who truly saved this show and also to Spike for recognizing a real gem of an opportunity. It's a good show.

The new season of Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre Foods is set to launch on Tuesday, Feb 18th, so Tuesdays are looking like Gastrotainment Central. We've still no idea on whether our spots ended up in the final cut of the San Francisco episode. It's a must watch either way as that episode is something of a departure from his usual shtick.

Sonoma County's Bette Noir, Guy Fieri, is hosting a sneak peak of a new episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives at a local theater. The event is a fundraiser for a local operation, Worth Our Weight, which he features in the episode. Worth Our Weight offers culinary apprenticeships to kids and young adults who are struggling with significant challenges such as legal troubles, foster care, family disruption and even homelessness. It functions as a school and catering service. It's a great program and they also just happen to pump out some great food. They also operate a cafe on Sundays, and a booth at the local Farmer's Market which I'll be heading to shortly.

Happy viewing chow hounds.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T16:22:00.001-08:00

I love the holidays. Home chefs bust out the skills to plate some serious chow. This year was no different as Christmas dinner was staged at my brother's house. Sis' in law did a pork tenderloin with a dry rub featuring cinnamon. She then finished with a sauce that incorporated caramelized onions and fresh ginger. Damn that was good! And best of all, the porky goodness of the tenderloin was still evident. Most tasty. Sad note, I was demoted to Salad Boy. I still managed a citrus vinagarette and home made croutons.

And that really is what the holidays is about - comfort food. Everyone has their own idea of what comfort food is. Where I live, the Latino community has beef head. Seriously, each Christmas season one can purchase an entire beef head for about $35. You know you're at an authentic Mexican eatery when cabeza (head meat) and buche(beef neck)are offered. Both are quite tasty. But how does one even begin to prepare such a cut? Well, here ya go: courtesy of a poster at Chowhounds:

Barbacoa de cabeza is a delicacy, traditionally eaten for Sunday brunch. Here's the recipe, such as it is.
Ingredients:
1 cow's head, tongue removed and reserved. If desired, remove and discard the eyes, ears, and (if the head is split) brain.
2 or 3 gallon jugs of vinegar (white or cider)
Beer. Lots and lots of beer.
Special equipment:
Burlap bags
5-gallon bucket
Shovels
Lawn chairs
Directions:
On Saturday around lunchtime, grab some friends, a couple of shovels, lawn chairs for everybody, and a cooler full of beer. Find a likely spot and start digging a hole wide enough to easily hold the head. Only one or two people at a time should be digging; the others sit around, drink beer, and critique the diggers' technique. After a few minutes, switch places. Repeat as necessary until the hole is hip-deep.
Put the burlap bags in the 5-gallon bucket and cover with vinegar. Let soak.
Build a good-sized fire in the bottom of the hole and sit around drinking beer and telling lies until it has burned down to embers.
Liberally season the cow's head with salt, pepper, and chile flakes, then wrap in multiple layers of vinegar-soaked burlap. Include a couple of onions and a head or two of garlic if you want. Put the wrapped cabeza on top of the coals, then shovel the dirt back into the hole. Go eat dinner. (Remember that tongue? How 'bout tacos de lengua?) When the beer runs out, go to bed.
The next morning, go dig up brunch. Not too early; it should have cooked for at least 12 hours. More is better. And besides, you're probably going to want to be sleeping in (if you know what I mean).
Unwrap the head (carefully, now; the meat will be falling off the bone). Put it in the middle of a picnic table. Serve with big stacks of tortillas and bowls of chopped onion, cilantro, and various salsas. No plates or utensils are involved; the diners use tortillas to grab chunks of meat off the head, then garnish as desired.
Seriously good food.

Sounds tasty, but I'm sure many readers will be appalled. Good, as this is a perfect launch for a series of posts I'll be calling Food that Scares Me. Trust me, the cow's head will be a happy memory in comparison to what's coming, LOL. Here's a little sampler, me eating a slice of pizza at a local dive.

This slice had been on the warmer for at least 8 hours. Note how the styro plate has been warped by the long exposure. Note too the congealed grease. Nothing sez New Year's Eve eve like cardboard pizza. It was so old I offered the bartender 50 cents for it. We settled on a buck and I tucked in. To quote Bourdain "... the texture was somewhere between fried sneaker and oven dried trojan". The flavor was similar. And yes, if you look closely at the pic, you can pick out my can of PBR. Serious slumming!

Andrew Zimmern and Gastrohounds go Off The Grid

2010-12-05T13:07:00.000-08:00

I've been sitting on this way too long, such is the amount of material I've got backlogged.

It's Friday, Oct. 15th. I'm puttering at the computer during lunch break and catch blurb at BiteClub blog that Andrew Zimmern is bringing the Bizarre Foods crew to SF for a shoot the very next day. They would take over the setting of Off The Grid - a a roaming, mobile food service that features a revolving schedule of food trucks that park in various locations and offer up their wares to a dedicated band followers. And what's not to love - the food is cheap and killer-good. Oh, and it got better. Zimmern was to team up with Chris Cosentino of Incanto as they hijack one of the wheeled kitchens known affectionately as the "Gastrobus" (heh), and transform it into Le Gut Truc. A quick call to Mrs. Gastrohound and we're set to head out early the next morning for what would turn out to be a fantastic day made even more memorable by a surprise visit of Aaron Sanchez.

We arrived early, got parking right across the street (no small miracle) and quickly made our way to what was at the time, a very small gathering of folk curious to see what was going to happen. It wasn't long before Mrs. Gastrohound and I found ourselves being interviewed on camera. The producer was seemingly impressed that we'd drive all the way from Santa Rosa to take part and spent a good amount of time with us throughout the day - even getting a shot of the Mrs chomping down on some gut grub. Speaking of which, let's get to what was being offered up by the Zimmern team. First up, a veal tongue slider with tuna-caper sauce. Next, a chitlin taco with the usual salsa, and what would be the star of the menu - something called Hoof and Mouth. A creation of Cosentino's, it consisted of crispy fried pig's head and pig trotter meat balls, all loving encased with a loving dollop of something called "brainaise". Yep, it's exactly what you think it is. It also hap pend to be fantastic.

The crowd eventually grew to about 150. The die hard foodies busied themselves with snappping pics of the various dishes and getting words in with the celeb chefs while the "I'm a big fan but frightened of brains" set girded their loins in hopes of measuring up to the challenge that was before them. Total strangers compared their experiences and offered up encouragement to those that were queued up for their first try of offal. There was a palpable sense of camaraderie in the shared moment of discovery made even more special by Zimmern, Cosentino and Sanchez as they worked the crowd. We especially enjoyed taking time with Cosentino and Sanchez who are the real deal. Humble and truly happy to be part of the scene. I also spent extended time with Hugh Schick, the owner and Chef de Cuisine of the Gastrobus, which goes be the official name of Le Truc. He was quite a character, and very gracious. Zimmern, as this was his gig was mostly all business, not surprisingly. At one point though, he emerged from the back of the bus to share a rare treat: a fresh abalone caught just that morning and treated only with an hour long soak in lime juice. Abalone ceviche, which I love. I was able to confirm for one the local denizens that it was indeed raw just as he was putting it down. "Raw - you said raw?. Oh damn, man that thing was raw!" Welcome to my 'hood, homie... LOL.

We took a ton of pics, and what follows is a brief offering. I'm putting up a slide show of the full event on the sidebar, so do check it out. And if you are ever in SF, definitely seek out Off The Grid, it is definitely worth the effort. Cheap eats at its best.

Piatto di Giorno

Mrs. Gastrohound and Andrew Zimmern

Eat brains... 2 billion zombies can't be wrong!

Veal tongue slider. Zimmern scores big with this. The tongue had an uncious quality to it, tender and juicy. The tuna-caper sauce was the perfect condiment offering.

On hand to check out the scene in a blue hoodie is Food Network exec Bob Tuschman, host and judge of Next Food Network Star.

Me and Chris Cosentino: Los dos Malos!

Don't forget to check out the slide show for all the pics from Off The Grid. The frame size is small, so if you see a pic you like, click on it to enlarte. Use your browser's "back" button to return to Gastrohounds. Projected air time for the next season of Bizarre Foods is April 2011. We'll keep you posted.

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T13:27:00.000-08:00

This pic was from Thanksgiving '93. I'm plucking 2 turkeys that I had just shot 3 days prior. There to help is the Gastropup - all of 6 months old and chompin' down on a savory binky. Savory too was the bird. The flavor was much more akin to pheasant - much more of a game bird quality to it. The birds themselves had been gorging on over ripe sauvignon blanc grapes. An incredible meal made possible by a century old cookbook that belonged to MamaRoux's grandmother. It took me step by step from field dressing, hanging the birds for 2 days, plucking and then prepping for roasting. Best. Bird. Ever.

Hope yours is too.

Own it!

2010-11-21T16:32:00.000-08:00

...and when it comes to the BBQ Sauce competition at the Sonoma County Harvest Festival - I do. For the 2nd year in a row, my Char-B-Q Sauce took 1st prize. After winning last year, I had something of a disappointing showing during the summer after having tinkered with t he recipe slightly. I was still placing, but 4th Place just doesn't cut it. After some soul searching and a few swift kicks to the rear from Mrs. Gastrohound, I went back to the original recipe but I still wanted to shake things up. As contestants are allowed a maximum of 2 entries, I decided to put up another entry and go with something very different. I recalled some writings by Chris Lilly talking about the popularity of peaches and pork in Alabama. I quickly came up with a recipe for a bourbon-peach BBQ Sauce. A couple of test runs were quite successful with many tasters enjoying the fact it was not as spicy as the Char-B-Q Sauce. The results speak for themselves, with my Char-B-Q Sauce taking the overall honors, and my Peach-Bourbon BBQ Sauce taking 3rd! Not a bad showing at all. A great way to close out the BBQ competition season.

Harvest time is well passed, officially coming to an end a couple weeks back as our wine making group picked over the mouldering remains of 2nd crop pinot noir at Devaux and Truchard vineyards in the Southern Corneros region. It was grim work, and we are somewhat dubious about the eventual product. On a good note, I received my allotment of our 2008 Obsidian Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon. Aged for 21 months in a Hungarian Kadar barrel, it is an 88%/12% blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. Made entirely from Lake County grapes, it clocks in with an alcohol content of 15.5 percent. We also updated our label and used a taller than usual Bordeaux bottle making for a very impressive package. No doubt this will be featured at many local tables during the holidays season.

It has been about 5 weeks since my last post, but I've not been shirking my duties. In fact, I've been quite busy and have amassed a metric crapload of material that I shall begin offload in quick order, so stay tuned in. What's in store? Brains, intestines, celebrity chef cavorting, more meat butchery, possible TV appearances, and 2010 may still hold some surprises.

Gastrohounds would like to throw out some savory birthday wishes to Lucullus, the Delicacy Ape. Call it an informed hunch, but something tells me that Lucullus does not dine alone tonight.

When you live where I do, it's good to be hungry.

Animalgeddon

2010-10-11T20:33:00.000-07:00

It can be tough in the city for a pig, goat or occasional PETA member. There was a harmonic convergence of sorts during the weekend of 9/26 & 9/27. First off, Protein University rolled into Napa for their continuing series: Primal! A celebration of the magic that occurs when animal flesh meets fire. This event is open to the public and yours truly would have loved to attend, but as you'll soon see I was already booked. As the named suggests, Primal celebrates that primitive urge to consume charred flesh. Behold, from 2009 (watch for Chris Cosentino)

I WILL be in attendance next year. Check out my link to Protein University at the sidebar under "For Every Animal You Don't Eat, I'll Eat Three". You'll thank me.

So as mentioned, I was previously booked. Occurring that same weekend was the Handcar Regatta at the old Railroad Square in Santa Rosa. A very cool event with a "steam punk" theme which is best described as Sweeney Todd meets Mad Max. What made this a food event is that local foodblog Bite Club sponsored a demonstration booth that would feature such gems as how to make such tasty bits as paneer and watermelon kimchee. But the star attraction was Chef Roger of La Gare, who was booked to deconstruct a 60 lb pig. FYI, Chef Roger is probably the only Cordon Bleu trained chef in Sonoma County. Accompanying Chef Roger was his son, who obviously had done this sort of thing more than once and relished the limelight. Mrs. Gastrohound was on hand to document the event while I engaged Chef Roger with witty banter and well thought out queries. Our enthusiasm would be well rewarded. But 1st, Mrs. Gastrohound's photo blandishments:

The guest of honor.

The proud chef and his son.

Rib attack!

I must also mention it was easily in the high 90s that day, so it was not easy work. Yet, somehow me n the Mrs. managed to capture the attention of Chef Roger, particularly Mrs Gastrohound who easily snapped off about 40 pics, all the while embellishing her craft by uttering various "yummy sounds". It seemed at times that chef Roger was actually talking directly to us during the demo. Perhaps he was, for at the end, he neatly wrapped a a full rack of ribs in a towel and handed them to Mrs. Gastrohound. Naturally, we both assumed it was meant for someone behind us, but on turning around - no one was there. We were definitely in in awe and Chef Roger confirmed with a nod and a broad smile that the ribs were indeed meant for us and quickly called out for a container and ice so as to protect the meat from the hot afternoon.

Nice rack! Seriously, though it was Mrs. Gastrohound and her prodigious camera work that brought home the bacon this day... huzzah!

And wouldn't ya know, I just happened to have some of my Char-B-Q Rib Sauce on hand. This was possibly a very good omen a good omen as I had just turned in my entries in to the 2010 Sonoma Country Harvest Fair BBQ Sauce competition. By the following weekend, I'd know the results and hopefully have a winner in which to douse our pig. (Results coming up in my next post!)

Full disclosure: At the time of the event, Chef Roger was unaware that I host a food blog, so no favors were expected on our part. This was just one of those great days in a great place for those who love great food.

Harvest Hits and Misses

2010-09-12T15:57:00.000-07:00

No doubt, this has not been a banner harvest. Indeed, for the first time in my 12 years involvement, our wine making group may go without any opportunity to pick grapes. Tomato and pepper plants offer meager rewards if at all. Another huge miss for me was a second year of missing out on the annual late summer sea hunt where a dedicated band miscreants gather to reap the bounty of the sea: abalone, cod... all kinds of sea critters - anything that lives off the coast is fair game. Wolf Eal? No problem - unagi. One person actually had 2 cans of Japanese plum sauce used for grilling the eal. A hardier band of foodies I've rarely come across. Apologies to Lisa and Mike for my no-show.

Yet still, there is bounty to be had and now is the time to take advantage. A recent blast of summer heat has brought what will assuredly be a brief glimpse of what we have taken for granted for sometime. With a prediction of a moderately hot day, Mrs. Gastro Hound and I set out to the Farmer's Market to secure the ingredients for a late afternoon repast. Our treasures in hand, we set off for home to relax and escape the summer heat in the shade of our yard - a bit of Provence on a local level. The result was a pleasing plate of tasty bites highlighting the best of what is especially good this time of year. But nothing speaks to the moment of harvest like the squash blossoms. At best, they are only at market for about 6 weeks. So delicate, they must be picked, sold and consumed all on the same day. The reward for such attention to detail is a truly unique bite. Stuffed with a combination of cheeses including chevre, battered and deep fried, nothing else comes close - except maybe for the rest of what's on our plate.

Franco's Sausages - always good. The Merguez is killer, but today we found a new favorite: Hawaiian-Portuguese Linguica. Pineapple replaces sherry to supply acidity and tropical sugar.

Crescent Moon Farms produces some tasty, hard to find chilis. Bright yellow Ajis and my personal favorite: Padrons - a tiny Spanish frying pepper. A classic tapa offering.

The quality of the produce can't be matched. These squash blossoms were destined for my fry-o-later.

Did I mention I love peppers?

The finished plate: stuffed squash blossoms, fried Padron peppers dusted with sea salt, grilled Hawaiian-Portuguese Linquica, and cherry tomatoes (courtesy of Sean's garden. Thanks Sean!). I don't know how you roll, but this is how we roll on a hot summer afternoon.

A big shout out to MamaRoux for her hand made kitchen towels featured in the photo of our tapas plate. Also check out her summer salad recipe here. This has been a favorite of mine for sometime. She offers up her recipe and some great photos as a showcase. A must. And of course, a big thanks to the Gastro Pup for the bacon n cheese crickets. A tasty n crunchy treat.

I give it a score of 3 out of 5. Great crunch and savory cheese flavor... the bacon flavor was lacking.

Much more to come soon: new BBQ Sauce recipes, and competitions as well as the best damn canned tuna I've ever had.

This n That And Char-B-Q Too

2010-08-21T16:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome back foodies. While it might have appeared that things were quiet here, i've actually been hard at work. So let's get right to it.

Most recently, over the weekend of Aug 14th-15th, I had the chance to get out to South Lake Tahoe to catch a performance of Michael Bartle's "Images of Elvis" show. Outstanding. And of course, there was food and beverage. The 14th saw us in Virginia City, Nevada. Best place for an ice cold beer? Bucket of Blood Saloon. Don't miss the view overlooking Boot Hill.

Now back to Tahoe. My impression is that it's not exactly Food Mecca, but there are glimmers of hope. Prior to our show, our entourage had dinner at the Edgewood, located at the golf course of the same name. The views are a main attraction as every single table as a westward view in order to catch the dramatic sunset. This photo was actually taken directly from our table.

The food is quite good. It does not try to over achieve, yet there isn't a "comfort zone" feel as well. Fresh, top grade ingredients are allowed to be their own star. Mrs Gastrohound had a light yet deceptively flavorful pasta dish incorporating lobster and diver scallops. I went with the the pheasant breast, wrapped in pancetta with forest mushrooms:

The sauce was simple yet flavorful: pan drippings deglazed with sherry and stock. Note too, that the "vegetable side" is really just a garnish. I love this. @#$% the veggies, and let the pheasant shine. While perfectly cooked, they were really just a garnish to balance out the plating of the roasted cippolini onions which were much more interesting. What's harder to note in the photo, is that the breast was removed from the bone, yet the wing portion was retained (sans wing tip). Little touches often make or break the dish. If you bill a dish with a main ingredient, you better feature it and know how to handle it. On this night, Edgewood delivered.

Next morning, we had some free time and caught an "Artist's Fair" in the parking lot of the Mont Bleu. Of course, I immediately noticed a BBQ stall setting up. This wasn't some slipshod operation, as I spied an upright water smoker much like mine - just more robust. I had the opportunity to talk up the crew and learned that there is a "Best On The Mountain" rib cook off, held in July on that very spot. This provider won this year. The resulting demand for their sauce was so great they've had to go to a commercial facility to keep up with demand. The sauce was good, but leaned more toward an all purpose sauce - which brings me to the next bit: My BBQ Sauce.

Following my victory in last year's 2009 Harvest fair, I entered my Char-B-Q Sauce in this year's 2010 Sonoma County Fair. Based on what I saw at entry time, I felt the competition would be even tougher. It was. My goal was to finish in the top 3. I placed 4th, which did not disappoint, except for the hot pink ribbon that was awarded. I did note that the sauce I beat out last year took 3rd this go-round. It was close, and tough all around. I've got one more competition scheduled for my Char-B-Q Sauce coming up next month. I'm thrilled with how my sauce has performed over this past year and the response it has generated. I'm already at work on my next sauce recipe. Stay tuned!

Also - I've got yet another update to my last post regarding Three Sheets. As it turns out, Travel Channel did in fact drop it despite the very positive response. They just didn't know what to do with it. Zane was more than diplomatic over the whole affair and presented Travel Channel's position fairly. The good news, he's just wrapped 24 episodes of a new show - "Drinking Made Easy" which will air this fall on HDNet. Unfortunately, HDNet is only currently available in certain metro areas (Boston, Denver, Houston, Central PA, Indiana, Minneapolis). Comcast hopes to add HDNet to our burg late this year. Will it be in time? DOUBTFULL! In the meantime, Zane also says that Three Sheets is not dead either. He appears to be in contractual negotiation as he could not reveal the source of his renewed enthusiasm. Cross yer digits folks, and reorient your statolith. Things are indeed looking up. To reflect this update, I'm linking to zanelamprey.com at the side bar so those who are interested can follow all the goings on, which just happens to include: Zanetoberfest 2010, taking place September 2010 in Chicago. Check it out for yourselves. Put it this way, I wish to hell I could go.

A special thanks to our dear friends Mimi and Wayne who ensured our Tahoe excursion was a memorable one, and to Barbara for the private touring of the Elvis Suite at the Horizon. Elvis DNA anyone?

Cheers!

Man does not live by food alone...

2010-07-15T21:51:00.000-07:00

... occasionally, there must be beverage. And if you're Zane Lamprey, beverage is your job.

A few months back, quite by accident, I caught a show on Travel Channel called "Three Sheets". It was a slow period for Travel Channel as new seasons for their most acclaimed series were due to start in June. In the lead up, Travel Channel padded their schedule with some unlikely choices, including some early Rachel Ray work. However, one show was Three Sheets. With a name like that I had to tune in. I did. The first episode did not impress, worse, it disappointed. I don't remember where the episode took place... it was that bad. The following episode took place in Hawaii, so it was worth a shot. And, as it turned out, was THE episode that sparked my keen interest. Everything that missing in the first episode was present in Hawaii... in spades. I actually learned STUFF, while thoroughly enjoying myself. Over the next 4 episodes, I would have the same experience. Zane's stop in Vancouver was especially good. Unfortunately, the 6 episodes were over all too quickly and I gave up hope of ever seeing any again. But today, hope is rekindled. Due to a positive response, Travel Channel has agreed to show all 52 previous episodes beginning June 30th. If the ratings are strong, they are open to funding additional episodes. I've followed the Wild Boyz and No Reservations long enough to know that every culture has their beverage of choice, and a drink offered in friendship is never refused - even if that beverage consists of previously masticated fruit pulp that has been fermenting in the ground for 3 weeks. To do otherwise would be rude.

Three sheets has had a tough history, starting out on the now defunct Mojo TV network. It was then picked up for an additional season on the Fine Living Network, but nothing seems to have come of that. I won't bore you with additional details. You can catch the show on Thursday nights on Travel Channel. Just watch the show and if you like, continue to do so. If not, don't bother. For me, I will continue. The show is quirky, low brow, with understandably low production values. Yet, there is a depth to the show and Zane takes his new gig seriously. For complete info on Three Sheets, there is a Wiki page with all the info you need. And for some immediate gratification, check my Food Porn sidebar for some quick clips of Three Sheets.

Cheers!

Update 7/26/10
Heads up!
Next week, beginning Aug 4th and 5th, Three Sheets will feature 2 episodes each night. Plan accordingly and don't forget to review the Three Sheets drinking rules (especially as it's a week night).

Prost!

Update 8/7/10
Travel Channel giveth, and Travel Channel taketh away. I don't know what is up with this, but Three Sheets is no longer on their schedule. Even though 2 episodes were scheduled for Thursday 8/5, they did not air. A quick check of the coming week revealed no episodes scheduled. At this point it's anyone's guess as to what is going on. Maybe they had to make room for more Rachel Ray:::shudders:::. The grassroots effort to keep Three Sheets alive continues. In the meantime I've got 10 episodes on DVR and will treat them with the reverence they deserve.

Father's Day

2010-06-19T20:13:00.000-07:00

Where to begin. How about some great memories, and some of the best come from a series of family outings to the California Sierras, for fishing and all sorts of fun at the Sardine Lakes. Each year in late summer, 3 generations of Finleys would head for a cabin and and adjacent campground that nestled up to the aforementioned lakes. As a dad, my greatest memory was of my daughter, all of 8 yrs old, catching her 1st trout all by herself. She baited the hook, cast out, hooked the fish and reeled it in. She was all smiles as was I. Needless to say, we were bringing in a good a haul of fish.

The thing is, trout is best consumed fresh, the day you caught it. After that it loses something. Maybe we were just spoiled and that may be, but if we couldn't do that day there was only one thing to do: smoke it. This was my introduction to smoking. My cousin Bill had invested in a fish smoker and one year I decided I would do the smoking. I soon learned what it was to smoke something low and slow. The investment of time and attention to detail, I was not prepared for. But after a couple of years, I had it down. The one ingredient I could not account for was the brine. When smoking fish, a brine isn't always essential, but for trout, I do believe it is. By the time your back at home and ready to smoke, the flesh has lost a it's delicate fresh flavor. The brine replaces the natural moisture of the flesh with liquid packing more flavor. My dad had experimented with several brines, and the following is the one he felt worked best. I have to agree, this is one flavorful brine - having worked with it over a period of years. This recipe comes straight from my dad. I only have it, courtesy of hand written notation on a scrap of paper that I keep tucked inside my What's Cooking in Kentucky cookbook (Irene Hayes). This brine works very well for salmon as well, but keep in my mind, this is a brine and not a marinade. You will want a fair amount of liquid to fish to ensure a proper brine. Increase the recipe as needed for your fish. The following brine recipe is exactly how I have it on my scrap of paper:

2 qt water
1 cup salt (uniodized)
2 cups brown sugar
2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder

Fish are brined, clean and whole. For trout, brine for 3.5 hours and for salmon brine for 18 hours. When done, rinse thoroughly and pat dry. From my experience, another couple of hours of air drying helps as well.

As for the smoking process - that's up to you.

I hope you have the opportunity to enjoy this recipe. It's always done well by me. Thanks dad!

Food Porn #2

2010-06-07T12:10:00.000-07:00

Birthday Dinner 1st Course:
Chorizo Stuffed Potato Chip with Red Pepper Flan

This comes to GastroHounds from a birthday dinner thrown for a longtime friend at a favorite local winery. Chorizo stuffed potato chip? I can only assume the potato was sliced gossamer thin and stuffed with Mexican chorizo. Suddenly, my truffle salt potato chips seem pedestrian.

Side note: I've finally updated the Food Porn Video Bar, this time featuring Chris Cosentino. I've met the chef on a couple of occasions as part of my old work commute. The salumi at Boccalone in the Ferry Building is incredible, and the "spreadable salami" is an intense mouthfull - more like pepperoni than salami but I loved it none the less.

FUBAR'd

2010-05-24T15:40:00.000-07:00

A sad story gentle readers. Apparently my Foodie Karma Account is seriously in the negative. I was forced to withdraw from Guys Can Cook Too competition that took place over the weekend due to my paycheck NOT being delivered on schedule, leaving me unable to purchase the necessary product to prepare 600 servings of my pulled pork appetizer. Sucktastic doesn't begin to describe it. My final dry run held the over the weekend of the 15th and 16th produced fantastic results - the best pulled pork I've ever had, no doubt about it. The combination of applewood and hickory produced a rich, smoky flavor that permeated the meat but did overpower it. My dry rub caramelized into a succulent bark. I had moved well beyond any concern about embarrassing failures and was suddenly enthusiastic about my chances in capturing the appetizer division. NOT. TO. BE.

Once my rage had subsided, I was able to give myself over to some quiet reflection/beer consumption and concluded that the real goal wasn't the competition but the pork itself.. of acquiring the hard won knowledge of what it takes to produce truly good BBQ. In that regards, I kicked @$$ and intend to so again very soon. Memorial Day is right around the corner, and I've got several pints of my competition BBQ sauce on deck and ready to go. I can assure you, there will be no taking of prisoners.

Food Porn #1

2010-05-15T08:09:00.000-07:00

Birthday Dinner:

Salmon Chop with shallot-sherry cream
Roasted baby red potatoes with crispy salmon "bacon" bits
Sonoma greens in a Meyer lemon vinaigrette

Yes, it's low rent but the food was pretty damn good. The salmon "chop" is actually a noisette. If that makes me the Ron Jeremy of food porn then so be it. There's more on the way so just get used to it.

Pig-a-palooza

2010-05-10T09:47:00.000-07:00

Yes, the pig is such a noble beast it deserves to star in an event all it's own. Pig-palooza was conceived as a chance to fine tune the cooking regimen I'll be employing during the 12th Annual Guys Can Cook Too competition. I'm entered in the appetizer division, and I'll be serving Savory Pulled Pork Bites: slow smoked pork shoulder served on a buttermilk bread round and topped with my Char-B-Q Sauce and pinch of coleslaw. I had just acquired a vertical water smoker and needed to dial that in and become familiar with maintaining my fire. Pig-a-palooza was a chance to experiment on family and friends to determine how the smoker would perform but most importantly what I'll be facing in terms of portions and service. To that end, Pig-a-palooza was big success even if small in scale. The biggest lesson learned was that I need to start with my pork shoulder cold and build my fire up slowly up from 200 to 225. Apparently, if the pork heats too quickly you won't achieve proper smoke penetration along with the possibility of overdoing some of the outer portions of the shoulder - which is what happened. So to recap: room temperature meat is for grilling, cold meat is for smoking. D-oh!

As you'll see, this was a very relaxed gig with people dropping by whenever they wanted and staying as long as they wanted in order to simulate the crowd traffic at the event and issues with keeping the pork warm over a four hour period.

The serious chef, tough but fair.

The service table, mirroring the workspace I'll have at the competition.

Anonymous comments from guests provided valuable feedback, as well as some comedic fodder.

The crowd starts to get unruly.

Some serious pig talk went down.

If you missed Pig-a-palooza do not despair. I'll be doing this again no doubt!

MasterChef Open Casting Call

2010-04-04T10:17:00.000-07:00

Flashback to Jan 20. I'm busy compiling a list of culinary contests in which to enter my BBQ Sauce when I ran across a posting for an open casting call for Gordon Ramsay's MasterChef, set to debut on Fox later this year. Gastro Hounds had to make an appearance. The format was this: contestants would have five minutes to plate a dish, and were to be graded by a culinary judge and casting director. In a addition, a lenthy application and photo of the finished dish were required upon arrival at the event. The competition was set for Jan 24th, so I had very little time to prepare. To make matters worse, my vehicle was suffering from an as yet undiagnosed problem. I would therefor need to make a 2 1/2 hour bus ride in order to participate. After a lengthy search, I settled on a soup and salad theme: gazpacho paired with a salpicon of braised beef, potato, onion and chipotle combined with sherry vinegar and olive oil served on Belgian Endive. Both dishes would be dressed with a lime/cilantro vinegretta. These dishes are intended to served slightly chilled which alleviated the problem of keeping something warm over an extended period of time. Working on 3 hours sleep, I set out at 5 a.m. on the 24th in order to reach my destination in plenty of time, hopefully towards the front of what I expected to be a long line.

The weather was angry that morning, like an old man returning his fetid clam chowder at the Early Bird Special. I quickly secured some coffee at Celtic Coffee Company and hoofed it to Sur La Table on Maiden Lane which was hosting the event. I made it in good time, eventually securing spot #44. Not bad. The line grew quickly, and the weather continued to deteriorate. To make matters worse, no bathrooms were available. The rain, wind and caffeine soon made for an uncomfortably full bladder, the assembled crowd began to get unruly. By the time groups of 12 were being ushered in to start the call, many of us didn't care. We just wanted to finish the ordeal and find the nearest facilities. The first groups were already filing out, the look of defeat etched on their faces. My group was finally let in and ushered downstairs to the test kitchens. 4 tables, set up to accomodate 3 contestants each, were directly in front of us. We received instructions that when our number was called, we should proceed to the nearest open space at one of the tables and our 5 minutes would commence immediately. I noticed that culinary judges were grilling contestants as they were trying to plate. A brutal, Iron Chef type environment. My number was called and quickly made my way to my spot on set about plating my dish. I started with the gazpacho as it was the most time consuming given the garnishing and visual presentation. A culinary judge was right there and began my interrogation. The questions involved choices of recipes, inspiration as well as actual culinary knowledge. My judge hammered me on what actually constituted a salpicon and why I had chosen that as a component. I acquitted myself well while finishing plating my gazpacho. I was ahead of schedule as the culinary judged moved off to other victims. I was coasting at this point as I started to plate the salpicon. I pulled out the head of endive and choked. The endive had been kept too cold and had turned translucent. It was unusable. My plating ruined, what little chance I had of actually advancing was shattered. I plated the salpicon directly onto the serving dish - pathetic. The casting director came over and began my second interview. I was phoning it in at this point, only wanting to pack up and make a quick escape to the nearest bathroom which is exactly what I did.

I replenished my energies with the help of a delicious dirty water hotdog from one of the many hotdog carts that dot Union Square, but was still feeling down. I made my way to Westfield Mall food court to purchase a comfort puff at Beard Papa's. If you've never had a cream puff from Beard Papa's you're missing out. These things are massive, and the filling literally explodes on your first bite. With my comfort puff securely stored in my backpack, and the dirty water dog still providing sufficient energy, I made my way back to the bus stop, nearing the coffee house where I had stopped upon exiting the bus that morning. There was a commotion out front and upon getting closer noticed that a clown was angrily accosting someone in a parked car. This was one PO'd clown, the screaming growing louder as I approached. Suddenly, the clown lunged for the car and slipped on something, landing with an audible thud...then "cut!". The crowd that had gathered to watch the altercation was actually a film crew. The director was not pleased with the proceedings, and wanted a reshoot. Shady prop guys began reshaping something on the sidewalk - a prop dog poop which is what the clown had slipped on. Great, an angry clown slipping on dog crap. It was the perfect punctuation to the end of my day. Bizarre, but all true.

I'll post the pics from my cell phone once I extract them. Also, for more info on Beard Papa's monster comfort puffs, I've posted a link on the side bar.

Laissez les Bon Temps Rouler!

2010-02-16T16:57:00.000-08:00

Happy Mardi Gras y'all. What's cookin' in the GastroHounds household for tonight? Jambalaya and Bananas Foster. Gotta have that desert. So dang good and so easy. Heck, I make that when I'm camping.

Recap: What did I make for Valentine's Day? Something I call Pork Tenderloin Von Blucher. A free jar of Char-B-Q Sauce to the first person to correctly divine the inspiration to the name of the dish: basically a pork tenderloin wrapped inside puff pastry with carmelized onions and apples, served with a sherry-cream sauce. Yes, it was scarf-o-licious. Recipe to anyone who asks.

What's next? I'll be posting on my participation in the open casting call competition for Gordon Ramsey's Chef Master's set to debut later this year on Fox. Why do you care? I'll throw this out there:

Butthead Mushroom Guy
Exploding bladders
Wilted greenery
Protein tube
Comfort puff
Angry clown
Dog turd.

...all played a vital role during my day. Come for the comedy, stay for the the discomfort.

Ape Island Quesadilla!

2010-01-31T11:41:00.000-08:00

We have a great local Farmer's Market, and I try to make it there each Saturday morning as there always seems to be something new. The last couple of weeks were no exception with the arrival of Vini aka "Vini Volcano" - the hot sauce guy. I'm always up for adding a new hotsauce to my collection so I had to check it out. He had 2 sauces available: Volcano Sauce and Fire Monkey. Over conversation, I learned that another sauce of his: Voodoo Sauce, was recently voted best overall in a Food Network competition. So why no Voodoo? Vini related that as he makes his sauce in small batches of 6 bottles, it's very hard to keep up with demand. Well, someday I hope to share in his misery.

Unfortunately, Vini wasn't sampling that day. I would have to take my purchases home and begin my explorations there. The Volcano Sauce appears to be the base recipe and Vini keeps it simple: Serrano peppers, cask vinegar, a unique local garlic variety called "Purple Haze" (never heard of it) and the usual assorted spices. I love Serrano peppers for their elevated heat level and flavor. Given the simple list of ingredients, Volcano delivers exactly what you'd expect - Serrano heat/flavor, a hint of garlic and good acidity. An approachable, well balanced sauce. Then there's Fire Monkey, which Vini explains came about when he ran out of ingredients for a batch of sauce and grabbed some banana. Good thing, for this was the most interesting of the two. It also uses Serrano peppers but is milder in heat than the Volcano Sauce, but it's the layers of flavor that result from the banana that make this sauce unique. The banana is up front, but the sauce finishes with good acidity. However, the banana does present something of a challenge when coming up with a recipe to pair this sauce with but something came to mind almost immediately: the Ape Island Quesadilla!

While attending last year's over the top Bacchanalia of Passport Weekend in Dry Creek Valley, our party ran across a killer snack - a quesadilla with crushed pineapple and carmelized onions. We couldn't get enough. This recipe is my take on that same dish.

Ingredients:
4 tbsp olive oil
2 medium to large yellow onions
2 8oz can of crushed pineapple
1 lb pepperjack Cheese, grated
6 tbsp Fire Monkey hotsauce
Flour tortillas

Preparation:
Cut the onion into sections about 1/4 inch thick - separate individual rings. Carmelize onion in the olive oil in pan set to low/med heat until golden brown and very soft - about 1 hour
Combine the crushed pineapple and Fire Monkey sauce
To assemble:
On one tortilla, spread 1/4 of the pineapple/Fire Monkey sauce mixture evenly
Layer on 1/4 of carmelized onions and 1/4 of grated pepperjack cheese
Top with 2nd flour tortilla
Grill on lightly oiled skillet set to medium heat for about 1 minute on each side or until the tortillas have browned slightly and the cheese is melted.
Cut into 6 slices and consume in mass quantities.
Makes 4 quesadillas.

You can check out Vini's full line of sauces at http://www.piratesauce.com

Anthony Bourdain Comes to Town

2010-01-19T09:34:00.000-08:00

Bourdain's No Reservations speaking tour came to our humble burg of Santa Rosa. No way was I going to miss this. The day before the show I caught an interview he gave to our local paper. I new the subject of our local Bette Noir of the foody world, Guy Fieri, would come up and I was curious as to what his reponse would be. Anthony admitted to a "grudging respect" for a family man working hard, doing what he wants to do (paraphrasing). It was possible Tony was softening around the edges - family man that he is now.

Soft, no. Bipolar perhaps but not soft. About 3 minutes into his presentation, it was clear that he still has his demons and the current source for his tortures is Sandra Lee - The Queen of Kitsch, Miss Smarm 2009. I find her unwatchable, though I have on occasion. I know others enjoy her show. Anthony was incapable of saying her name without attaching a few M-F bombs. His disgust was palpable: clenched teeth, the veins in his neck bulging, he was becoming Mr. Furious right there on stage. And in case any of us in attendance were in doubt regarding Sandra being the nexus of all things evil, Anthony dared us to google Kwanzaa Cake when we got home that evening. To save you the trouble, I've embedded the video for your viewing pleasure/horror.

For those who follow No Reservations routinely, Anthony's presentation delivered what one would expect. He's angry at the things he dislikes and passionate about the things he does. Vegans are still an object of derision and I don't see him backing off his recent comparison of Alice Waters to "Pol Pot in a muumuu". He's convinced Americans are eating better, that is to say enjoying the things that are truly good. He still sees the need for Americans to travel better. He described his horror at seeing a Mom accompanying her daughter into the Blue Mosque in Instanbul, during Ramadan, with the daughter looking like she had just come back from turning tricks. Perhaps that's why Anthony came to Santa Rosa. He didn't just want to play to the choir, he was hoping to impart some sorely needed wisdom upon the 1,600 folks in attendance. Following his presentation, Anthony devoted about an hour to a Q & A session which in no way felt obligatory, but there were just enough questions that made me groan. Anthony's work is not quite done.

Gastro Hounds Update

2010-01-12T13:32:00.000-08:00

It's been quiet here at the site, but things have been boiling below the surface. I've been busy building material for future posts. Lots of good stuff to come. Case in point - tomorrow night I'm attending Anthony Bourdain's 'No Reservations' speaking tour engagement tomorrow night which is being held right here in Santa Rosa, CA at the Wells Fargo/Ruth Finley Theater(heh!). I'll be following up with a post detailing any and all juicy tidbits so check back soon.

Next, I want to send a highest of fives to I Am Not a Chef for sending Gastro Hounds a very big shout out! You can check it out here. Be sure to take a good look around as IANAC has been around for some time and provides a great perspective on the current food scene.

Also, in the need for some laughs? Check out the 'Delicacy Ape' link under my Vegans Beware sidebar slot. Warning: put down all beverages if you care for your monitor. A big hat tip to he who sent me the email alerting me to said delectable simian.

'tis The Season of Giving

2009-12-26T15:09:00.000-08:00

... and when you care to give the very best, give the taste of victory - and that's exactly what I did. I gave my very own BITE ME Beastro Char-B-Q Sauce & Rib Slather.

So let's talk BBQ sauce. For starters, 98% of what is on the shelves at your local grocery store is utter crap. Since when did corn syrup and liquid smoke equal BBQ? My epiphany was meeting up with the Crazy Cajun (aka Charley Addison) at the local fair. I'd seen his product in the better groceries, but here he was in person sampling his product - for free. "Free you say? Why yes, I shall try your savory wares." His sauce was a revelation - BBQ sauce didn't have to be a corn syrup based napalm. It could actually add flavor - dare I say, enhance the meat. He was effusive in explaining that the base for his sauce, and hence it's success, was that it's base ingredient was coffee (cue angel trumpets and devil trombones).

Armed with this info, I began experimenting early in the year on my own recipe. After many a tasty trial, I found what I felt to be a properly balanced sauce. To better judge my success, I wanted to enter it into a local contest. To do that, I would have to learn the art of canning. Luckily, my family has a long history of just such work, so I was in good hands. After some quick lessons and hand written notes (thanks mom), I completed my sauce and entered it into the 2009 Sonoma County Harvest Fair - amateur division. A separate judging is held for the professionals who operate restaurants and catering services. As my introduction suggests, I did indeed take first place - quite a thrill for my first ever entry. No less a thrill was having the knowledge that my first attempt at canning did not result in gut wrenching nausea and frantic rushes to the ER.

Here's why I like my sauce, and why I think the judges liked it too: I want to create multiple layers of flavor that build upon one another while not masking the flavor of what I assume to be a great cut of meat. The main base to my sauce is vinegar, so the most upfront flavor component is a nice acidic tang, followed by sweet, then smoke and then finishing with heat. Not to worry gentle readers, I do not use liquid smoke. Instead, I use chipotle peppers to provide the smoke and heat elements. The results speak for themselves.

I'm looking forward to entering more contests in 2010, and will continue to refine the recipe. In the meantime, here's a very easy recipe - the first one I used to test my sauce.

Char-B-Q'd Beast Ribs

Ingredients:
Beef ribs
Bite Me Beastro Char-B-Q Sauce & Rib Slather (or sauce of your choice)

Preparation:
Remove as much of the membrane from the back of the rib as you can.
Bring a stock pot of water to a boil, add ribs and reduce to a simmer.
Simmer for 45 to 60 minutes depending on ratio of ribs to water. This will actually cook the ribs through. Ribs are done when tender, and the meat has pulled back from the end of the rib bone about half an inch.
Just after starting ribs to simmer, start your fire if using charcaol.
Remove from water, and cover lightly with foil and allow to set for about 10 to 15 minutes.
Paint with sauce, and place on grill.
Turn every 3-4 minutes, grilling all sides of the ribs, and basting with Char-B-Sauce as you go.
Ribs will be heated through in about 15 minutes and a nice char will be on the rib.
Finish with one last basting of Char-B-Q Sauce and you're all set to go full Flinstone on those bad boys.

Obviously, if you weren't on my Christmas list, you don't have my sauce - but don't despair. Leave a comment on how your life will forever more be an endless, swirling pit of misery and pain without my Char-B-Q sauce and I'll see what I can do to get you a jar. In it's place, I definitely recommend Crazy Cajun sauce, or any sauce that shies away from having tomato as its base and a large degree of corn syrup.Instead, look for a sauce which has a high vinegar content. This kind of sauce allows for additional basting which keeps the meat moist and resists burning.

Have a favorite BBQ sauce? By all means share.

And for an appreciative nod to Crazy Charley, I've linked to his site under "Blogs/Sites I like". Definitely check it out. I've also had the West Indies hot sauce featured there. I killed that bottle off in about 2 weeks - great stuff.

Let's Dive Right In

2009-12-10T10:44:00.000-08:00

Holiday season in Northern California means dungenous crab season. I live just a half hour drive from the coast, so it’s almost unavoidable to come across fresh-caught live crab. Still, even though current prices are outstanding, it’s still something of an extravagance. So, when I was recently gifted a freshly cooked crab, I was determined to make the most of it.
In my opinion, dungenous crab is by far the best domestic crab, if not the world. I’ve had Alaskan King, blue, and even Maryland soft shell just flown in and still crawling around in the shipping crate. Perhaps coconut crab has a chance to beat it given its ultra high fat content. Anyone know where I can get my hands on some coconut crab?
My goal was a 3 course meal for two from this one crab. I cleaned and cracked the crab, keeping the body meat separate from the leg and claw meat. I was also able to extract about 2 tablespoons of the “butter”, which is located in the upper shell, close to front. I knew I’d be serving the leg and claw meat very simply so as to not mask the flavor. The crab butter I’d incorporate into a light sauce to toss with pasta. I quickly came up with a recipe to use for the body meat (3.5 oz total), something that would be hot, bubbly and rich and provide something warming against the weather which had just turned bitter cold. As it turned out, all the dishes were very good (which means I didn’t kill the crab) but the gratins proved to be a surprise hit so that’s the recipe I’m putting up as my first contribution. I think this is also the most versatile as it would work very well with canned crab. As of this posting, I’ve made this recipe twice, both times it was very well received.

Crab Gratins
Ingredients:
3.5oz crab meat - more or less
2oz cream cheese
2tbsp mayonnaise
2tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 medium sized jalapeno, ribs and seeds removed, then diced
1 tsp milk
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
2 dashes Tabasco sauce
pinch of salt and pepper
bread crumbs to top
olive oil for drizzling

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, gently stirring in the crab meat until all ingredients are combined. In this case, I filled two single serving ramekins (about 1/3 cup each) or a single casserole dish of appropriate size will do. Chill for one hour. When ready to bake, top with bread crumbs and drizzle with olive oil or melted butter and bake at 350 for about 25 minutes or until hot and bubbly and bread crumbs have browned. Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes, so the gratin comes together and then serve with French bread or crackers.

For anyone who has questions on the crabbutter pasta, let me know and I'll post how I put that together. It's not so much a recipe as it is working with what you have.