Best Recipe In The West Casting Amateur Cooks!

Do you have a family recipe that has people begging for more? Is there a recipe that your family has passed down from generation to generation?

Perhaps it's something regional like Burgoo from Kentucky or Fish Taco from Baja. Is your recipe worthy of the title “America’s Best Recipe?”

PARADE Magazine along with a major network are shooting a Pilot episode to find "America's Best Recipe". They are casting for the Pacific Regional Pilot and you can be part of it by simply emailing them.

All the information is available is at the Parade magazine website.

Food Was Hard To Get At The Great American Food & Music Festival

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, either way it was certainly interesting! The Great American Food and Music Festival was no doubt one of the most screwy events I have ever attended.

We arrived at around 3:00pm with the intention of grabbing a bite to eat and enjoying the big band beat of Big Bad Voodoo Daddy.

The wait to get parking at Shoreline was pretty reasonable; no worse than any other event or concert. Once we parked and exited the vehicle it started getting a bit weird. As we made our way to the pedestrian crossing we encountered hoards of festival goers only they were moving in the wrong direction and yelling; “Rip Off!” and “Don’t waste your money, there’s no food here!” This went on for about 10 minutes; all the way to the entrance! There was even a line that was several hundred people deep waiting for refunds!?! Could the food festival actually be out of food? I really didn’t want to stand in that Disneyland E-ticket length line to get a refund and then go find something else to eat in Mountain View. Besides, I still need to see BBVD.

Taking matters in my own hands I decided to speak with the gate security and find out what all the hullabaloo was really all about? It turns out that there had been several logistic breakdowns throughout the day; not only were the vendors unable keep up with the demand for food, the credit card system they had in place was no longer working and had to be taken offline resulting in a cash or ticket only situation. This apparently wreaked havoc amongst the masses. The kind security person assured me there was plenty o food to be had and if we were not happy with the situation once we entered we could always leave and request a refund. We decided to take our chances.

Wow! There are a lot of people at this event; we passed booth after booth of food purveyors with most incredible lines I have seen. The thing about these lines is that they were not moving. It has become a game of “Is is worth it?” The game goes like this; Pinks Hot Dogs? Not worth the line, LA is close and we’ve been there before. Burgermiester? They are in San Francisco; we could go there tomorrow, not worth the wait in that huge line! We finally ended up in the Katz’s Deli/Anchor Bar & Grill Line, it might be worth the wait, how long will the wait be? Let’s give it a shot, and wait we did, for two hours to be exact!

Do you think a pastrami sandwich from Katz’s Deli and twenty wings from Anchor are worth a two hour wait? Well neither did we, but once you have invested over an hour it’s hard to leave, especially when you are literally three feet from success. Unfortunately success never came. We got to the window to order and they informed us that the pastrami people have gone on some kind of extended smoke break but we could have 20 wings to share amongst the 4 of us. You see they were now rationing the wings at five per person! WTF!?! If we want pastrami they recommend coming back in an hour… Uh, right?

Wings in hand we are now on a mission to scrounge up something else to eat and make it to the Big Bad Voodoo Daddy concert. I can’t believe we are starving at a food festival! Look! There is no line at Barney Greengrass; the Sturgeon King. We run up and grab two bagels with cream cheese and Nova Lox, well at least two of us will eat well, Muahaahaa! Maybe three if the young one is hungry enough. Off we go to the amphitheatre to catch the end of the Bobby Flay’s burger throwdown and BBVD, Woohoo!

Now we are in a happy place, we are chowing wings, and lox and bagels, and grooving to the beat of the swing band on the stage. For the moment life is good, until the food ran out. My oldest son decided this would be a good time to grab a burger; hunger seems to have made him a bit less picky and the swing band is not quite the hiphop/hard rock stuff he likes, so off he goes to get us a burger. I have to admit Burgermiester make a really good burger. I felt like the Nova Lox were very fresh, but the bagels were wrapped and lost their outer crunch. After a two hour wait Katz’s lack of pastrami was a total disappointment, and the wings from Anchor were OK, but honestly Hooters original wings are just as good with only a fifteen minute wait and they aren’t a buck a wing! So far Burgermeister has my vote.

With the burger split four ways and the concert over we headed out to see if we could get another decent nosh, maybe some ice cream from Grater’s …Uhmm, nope sold out! There were some fantastic chocolate bouchons from Bouchon in Napa. They were crisp on the outside and fudgy and rich in the middle. They were reminiscent of a brownie, but so much more. I felt that they were worth the two bucks, but I really wanted the ice cream.

We decided to see if anyone incited a riot at the pastrami booth. While it seemed there were no casualties, we were informed that people have waited at least an hour and a half and they were next to be served. I hope they don’t run out again, for their sake, I’m not waiting.

So we finally find ourselves at the Tony Luke’s booth. The line is manageable and actually moving. This booth has security at the front of every line, I wonder what happened here. I heard Philly can get rough but sheesh! In any event the line is hopping and we get a Philly and an Italian Pork sandwich. Both of these are awesome! The meat on the Philly is shaved paper thin. I have never seen anything like this in California! There is a bit of cream cheese on the roll and that’s it, but that’s all it needs! This is juicy and flavorful and delicious. If you know of a Philly like this outside of Philly you need to write me and let me know where I can get it! The Italian pork was equally fantastic; sliced paper thin and perfectly seasoned, and topped with braised greens. Tony Luke’s was the new star of the food segment of this festival, for me anyways.

All in all it was a great day out with my family. Aside from the Deli Debacle perpetrated by Katz’s whose pastrami we waited for and never tasted, we had a great time. Nice weather, good food, great music! Would I do it again next year? I’m inclined to say no, but Big Bad Voodoo Daddy could convince me otherwise.

The Gourmet Cookie With A Conscience.

Our friends at the Khaya Cookie Company have just announce the following in their latest press release:

New York, New York, May 11, 2009 The Khaya Cookie Company™ is a socially-conscious company that treats its customers to premium, all-natural, preservative-free cookies, while helping South African communities grow and thrive. As Khaya treats you to the unique flavors of South Africa, it is also providing jobs, education, and life-skills to the women and men whose hard work and dedication make Khaya Cookies so irresistibly great.

Made of all-natural ingredients indigenous to South Africa like rooibos and grapeseed powder, the Khaya Cookie Co.™ uses fresh dates, apricots, rolled oats, sunflower seeds and flaxseeds in its all-natural recipes. Khaya blends health, great-taste, and a feeling of home into a unique bite size cookie.

Khaya Cookies, shortbreads, and granolas may be small enough to eat with one bite but it is their cause that is as rich as their taste.

The more boxes of Khaya Cookies sold, the greater number of jobs created in their South African production facility as well as their distribution center in Philadelphia, PA. Khaya means “home” in Xhosa - one of the official languages of South Africa. For founder Alicia Polak, a former NYC investment banker turned social entrepreneur, South Africa is where she found her home.

A Dream Turns to Reality

Alicia was a NYC investment banker, and working on Wall Street who had aspirations of aiding those in need. Choosing to live out her dream of helping others, she changed the course of her life. She began consulting for the Freeplay Foundation, a non-profit organization in South Africa that produced and distributed wind-up radios that provided on-air education and helped those in times of disaster. She fell in love with South Africa, where she first visited years ago and found herself wanting to do more.

Taken aback by the country’s beauty and culture, Alicia began her quest to make her new home and community flourish.

The Quest for Cape Town

The Khaya Cookie Company™ believes in connecting good intentions with real-life action. And it is little surprise that the more cookies we sell, the more jobs we can create. We want you to be a part of our journey to Cape Town and embark on Khaya’s quest to contributing to a more socially conscious world.

With a minimum purchase of three boxes of Khaya Cookies, you will automatically be entered into a drawing to win an all expenses paid trip for two to Cape Town in March 2010. Beginning May 15, 2009, we’re offering discounts on every box of Khaya Cookies. You can have your choice of our delectable shortbreads or granolas purchased over a 60-day period.

So, you get to enjoy delicious Khaya Cookies, granolas, and shortbreads, help create jobs, and feel accomplished in following-through on that good deed you’ve been “meaning to do.” Something so small can go towards something so big.

And there’s more to be earned as well. For every additional (3) boxes you buy, you’ll increase your chances of winning this rare, once-in-a lifetime trip. We should also mention that additional gifts like the Amazon Kindle™ (fully loaded with South African literature, culinary books and wine magazines), 5 quart Kitchen Aid Mixer ®, a Handpresso® (this is really cool!) and complimentary boxes of Khaya Cookies will also be up for grabs!

Anytime you share a friend or anyone that you think is a generally pretty cool person’s email address with us– we’ll give you another entry into the contest (of course, only valid emails count).

Enter beginning May 15th at www.questforcapetown.com, get your “Quest” code and start sharing about The Quest for Cape Town – on Facebook©, Twitter©, your roommate’s girlfriend’s blog – all a step closer to a South African dream.

Buy some cookies and have a chance to experience the sights, smells, and sensations of South Africa. You’ll be saving the world a little too.

Khaya Cookies: Great Taste, an Even Greater Cause

Things Are Heating Up For California Caterer.

Do you remember that Top Chef Quaker Oats Challenge I asked you all to vote on a while back? Well here's the skinny:

Our fellow Foodie friend Maurice "Ben" Larimer made it to the finals and then he won the cook-off event with his Oatmeal Crusted Chile Relleno. He used a combination of Poblano/Pasilla peppers to keep things lively! The Chiles are stuffed with an Oatmeal Goat Cheese, Mango, and Grilled Chipotle Shrimp Stuffing, and are topped with a Green Chile Ranchero Sauce. Even the description is enough to get your mouth watering! “Top Chef Winner Hosea loved the dish”, says Larimer, “and so did Annie from Quaker Oats and Nikki”

The grueling day began at 7am with a walkthrough of the small outdoor kitchen. At 9am the dinner bell sounded and it was off to the races; only 45 minutes to complete the entire dish. Ben tells us that his best time so far was 47 minutes during his home trials. It seems as though Ben had found his groove and managed to complete and plate the dish with 2 minutes left to spare. I can’t imaging cooking Chile Rellenos start to finish is such a short time. Incidentally, Chef Larimer was the only male contestant out of the ten semi-finalists.

This cook-off is scheduled to air on bravotv.com on Monday, April 6th in its entirety. So be sure to check that out!

When Maurice “Ben” Larimer is not whipping up prize winning dishes in record time he puts his 21 years of culinary experience to good use at CocoMoe’s Catering in Red Bluff California.

With his passion for food and perfection Ben has acquired a reputation for amazing food, and an incredible sense of what foods fit best for your event. His experience dates back to 1986 when his first job was a dishwasher/prep cook in a small restaurant in Oklahoma. From there he has apprenticed under 2 separate chefs 1 Spanish, 1 Italian for a total of 4 years. After working in the industry for a number of years, Ben decided to give catering a try.

CocoMoe’s has catered for many celebrities including the likes of, Brooks & Dunn, Reba McEntire, Trace Adkins, Colin Raye, The Beach Boys, Jesse Colin Young and The Youngbloods, George Thorogood and The Destroyers. Also businesses and groups such as the Redding Rodeo Association, Shasta Regional Hospital, Wal-Mart Redding , and their most important accomplishment to date, over 11,000 Marines at 29 Palms Marine Base. As well as many residents of the Northstate here in California.

To learn more about Larimer and his catering business, you can log on to www.cocomoes.net

Exclusive Hell's Kitchen Interview: Chef Matt Sigel.

Here is a treat for all you Hell’s Kitchen fans! We recently had the opportunity to speak with Chef Matt Sigel of season four. While Chef Matt may have not won the prize of the executive chef position at London West, he did provide fans with a whole lot of entertainment.

The Last Bite wanted to know more about Chef Matt, what got him interested in cooking, and where his passion for the culinary arts comes from. Of course we threw in a few questions about Hell’s Kitchen and Chef Gordon Ramsey:

TLB: At what age did you know you were going to be a chef and why?

Chef Matt: I did not go to culinary school until Feb 2000 at Institute of Culinary Education (formerly known as Peter Kumps) I always loved cooking and was offered the opportunity to go to CIA. I turned it down to go work on Wall Street. I starting meeting celebrity chefs in my late 20’s and realized there is no shame of being a chef.

TLB: Where did you attend your training and did you find it easy or difficult?

Chef Matt: I attended ICE. I found it to be ok. I really did not like the majority of my classmates. So it made it difficult. Most of them went out after class while I went to work after class and worked till 1am and had to be in school by 8. They felt bad for each other being tired.

TLB: Knowing what you know now, would you do it again?

Chef Matt: I would have gone at 18 and traveled to Europe.

TLB: What is best advice you would give a home cook that wants to go pro?

Chef Matt: You better learn to eat crow and be passionate. Having an ego will kill you. Always need to learn you can even learn from a dishwasher. Be patient not many make it in this business and don’t name drop.

TLB: If you had only one tip for the home cooking enthusiast what would that be?

Chef Matt: Know your ingredient and appreciate where it comes from and how it gets to your marketplace.

TLB: If you could only have your knives and one gadget, what would that be and why?

Chef Matt: My hand blender. I use that baby for a lot of things. Everyone should own one.

TLB: What is your favorite ingredient, and your favorite way to utilize that ingredient?

Chef Matt: LMAO! Asking a chef what his favorite ingredient is. I do love lobster. Nothing like fresh lobster off the coast of Maine waters. I had this experience in Bar Harbor Maine. I think people are so used to eating it baked or broiled. I have fun with lobster doing ceviche pairing it up with foie gras. Shocking people tempured style with a vanilla bean sauce.

TLB: What is your least favorite ingredient and why?

Chef Matt: I’d say tripe. Look I hate the stuff but I always try it. As a chef or a so called foodie you should taste everything out there. I hate beets. But I love them roasted. I would never ever known that if I just stuck with "I hate that."

TLB: Describe your funniest kitchen incident.

Chef Matt: There is so much funny stuff that goes on in a kitchen. It is high stress so the littlest things are funny. I think hells kitchen when I did you want to see crazy routine. People thought I was going nuts it was me being silly.

TLB: At home who does most of the cooking, and what do you like to eat?

Chef Matt: My wife does not cook. We go out a lot. She’s in retail we don’t have normal hours. But I am simple. We go out to eat a lot so its basic stuff. When we go out to dine which is occasionally we go to the popular places. I love Popeye’s fried chicken, white castle and pig out at taco bell. I do hate McD’s. Im just as human as the next person.

TLB: What is your favorite cookbook?

Chef Matt: I own a lot of cookbooks. But I do love Daniel Boulud’s Letters to a Young Chef. I know it’s not a cookbook. If you’re looking for food artistry Jean-George and Alfred Portale are two of my faves.

TLB: Hell’s Kitchen; what is your favorite story from your season?

Chef Matt: Chef Ramsey saying that was the best risotto to leave hells kitchen he only said that to me. I was the first one he said it to and everyone else he says it’s good.

TLB: Describe how you felt about Chef Ramsey during your time on the show. Do you feel the same way now?

Chef Matt: I love Chef Ramsey. He is a great chef. He reinvented me. Also people forget about Chef Scott and Chef Gloria on the show. Look Chefs yell; Ramsey wants passion and wants people to succeed.

TLB: Do you feel that you learned anything from the show that influenced your cooking?

Chef Matt: Yeah keep it simple. You can use flavors but keep it simple.

TLB: Would you participate in other cooking related productions?

Chef Matt: Yeah my own. Anyone want to produce a show?

TLB: What is Chef Matt’s dream job situation?

Chef Matt: I have a concept and concepts for restaurants that will put casual dinning over the edge. I need deep wallets to back me.

TLB: What do you want our reader to know about Chef Matt Sigel?

Chef Matt: I’m fun loving. I care about the customer. Personally besides cooking I love to read. Love politics. Have over 600 DVDs. And collect chef things (figurines, decorative stuff, have the Swedish Chef play set)

The Last Bite thanks Chef Matt for taking the time to answer our questions. If you would like to contact Chef Matt in regards to media, employment, or similar opportunities, contact The Last Bite or leave a comment here.

Hell's Kitchen Season Five Begins

Tonight was the opening night of Hell’s Kitchen season 5; the show where renowned celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey berates a ragtag team of wannabe cooks. These 16 cooks are vying for Ramsey’s attention in hopes that they will win the prize of a quarter million dollars and a position at the Borgata Hotel Casino in Atlantic City.

At first impression the teams that were chosen for this season seemed to be of higher caliber than the prior season with more executive and sous chefs in the line. Once the tasting of their opening dishes commenced it was clear that some of the contestants were clearly not destined for greatness. Ben seemed to do well with his version of Peking duck in contrast to Colleen’s “Diaper” of enchiladas. As it turns out Colleen the cooking instructor actually has no formal cooks training. There seemed to be a few stand out dishes but for the most part Chef Ramsey spent a lot of time spitting out food.

As usual most patrons in the Hell’s Kitchen dining room don’t get fed until the 5th or 6th episode. Having so many trained cooks on the line; one would think they could get out a single service for dinner, but that would not really make great TV would it.

The red team (girls) had a few issue right from the start with buffet cook Lacey quitting during prep. It seemed that the ice cream machine had gotten the better of her. Once the work was done she miraculously pulled herself together to join the rest for dinner service announcing to her team that she had never worked on a line before and would need to be helped. That’s when Coi called her out in front of Chef Ramsey and threatened to take care of her if she got her kicked off the show.

The blue team (boys) were not without their problems when Wil with one L, seemed to lose all semblance of what a cook does, and Seth; who has already alienated himself from the entire team, could not seems to put out a lamb chop to save his life. Ramsey has taken to calling Seth Forrest, as in Gump and need not worry about what to call Wil as he’s already been eliminated. It truly does suck the worst to be first.

Sunday Night Dinner: Braciole

Every Sunday night we try to make a special dinner and spend the last quiet time of the week together as a family, enjoying good food and good company.

Last weeks recipe for Braciole comes from FoodTV's Alton Brown. It was great as written but feel free to put your own spin on things and let us know how it came out!

Ingredients

* 3 cups tomato sauce
* 1 1/4 cups flavored croutons
* 1/3 cup grated Parmesan
* 2 eggs
* 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
* 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
* 1 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary
* 1 teaspoon finely chopped thyme
* 1 clove garlic
* 1 pound flank steak, pounded to 1/4-inch thick
* Olive oil, for brushing
* Salt and pepper
* Vegetable oil, for searing

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the tomato sauce in a 9 by 13-inch baking dish and place in the oven to heat.

In a the bowl of a food processor mix the croutons, cheese, eggs, herbs and garlic until it forms a paste.

Brush the pounded flank steak with the olive oil and season generously with the salt and pepper. Spread the filling evenly over the meat. Roll tightly and tie with butcher's twine.

In a large saute pan heat 1 to 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and sear all sides of the rolled meat. Remove from the pan.

Add to the hot tomato sauce, cover with a tin foil tent so that the foil is not touching the meat. Braise for 35 minutes or, up to 3 hours.

Food Network "Impossible" Chef; Sacked

If you could combine James Bond with MacGyver, you would get Robert Irvine, a real life chef extraordinaire and the host of Dinner: Impossible.

The hard edged British chef who stars in Food Networks "Dinner: Impossible" has found that embellishing his resume was not a sweet as the wedding cake he supposedly helped design for Prince Charles and Princess Diana.

Chef Irvine issued this statement:

"I was wrong to exaggerate in statements related to my experiences regarding the Royal Family. I am proud of my work while serving in the Royal Navy and on board the Royal Yacht Britannia , also as part of the Guest Chef program in the White House with the United States Navy, in addition to my culinary accomplishments. I should have stood on those accomplishments alone, without embellishment. I remain committed and enthusiastic about my work with Food Network and other future endeavors. I am truly sorry for the errors in my judgment. To all my family, friends and loyal fans, I will work tirelessly to regain your trust and continue to use my show and life to benefit the less fortunate."

The Food Network has released the following statement:

“We looked into the situation and found that, as Robert as already admitted, there were some embellishments and inaccuracies in his resume. The few and minor incidents of the inclusion of these embellishments into ‘Dinner Impossible’ have been removed. The show is, and has always been, completely accurate in the depiction of the cooking challenges faced by Robert. We will continue airing both old shows and the new season of programs currently in production. We have not renewed Robert's contract for future seasons but will fulfill our contractual obligations. We rely on the trust that our viewers have in the accuracy of the information we present, and Robert challenged that trust. We appreciate Robert's remorse about his actions, and we can revisit this decision at the end of the production cycle, but for now we will be looking for a replacement host. "