NO COVER on New Year's Eve

Friday 7 pm Devin Leigh Where else can you go on News Years Eve for NO COVER!!

Is OpenTable worth it?

A study of OpenTable and its effect on customers & restaurants alike - From Incanto owner Mark Pastore

Just in Time for the Holidays!

Ron de Jeremy is exceptionally smooth 7-year old rum from Panama. It is created by another legend, a 72-year old Cuban Master Blender Francisco "Don Pancho" Fernandez. Ron de Jeremy tastes perfect naked with nothing added and works equally great as a mixer. It is the adult rum.

For the Holidays: Carving a Ham

HuffPo How-To: Carving a Ham

Texas Man Strives for Pepper Record

By Bob Grotenhuis - Producer

Thursday, December 16, 2010 - 6:10am

FORT WORTH, TX - A Texas man grows the world's hottest chili pepper.

Now he wants to grow what pepper aficionados believe will be the next record holder.

"I don't want to burn anybody up."

But he does!

"I like it hot and I have to be very careful when I cook."

Ronnie Walley wraps hot peppers in bacon and adds chili powder to many of his dishes.

"I could mix and match and make my own chili powder that would give you a burn from the front of the mouth all the way down the throat but a burn that wouldn't kill you."

Ronnie grows and sells peppers from his backyard garden in Fort Worth. The plants are going dormant with the cold weather, but the peppers are very much alive, especially the Bhut Jolodia - the world's hottest pepper.

"It has a delayed burn. You may take a bite and wait a few seconds and take another bite, and then it's too late but ice cream should be able to neutralize that burn."

Like Ronnie said, it's not too bad at first.

"Wow! I'm starting to tear up."

It took a few minutes and a cup of ice cream to get over the harsh burn down my throat. Ronnie also grows what he believes will be the next world record holder - the Trinidad Scorpion. He says it has a sting.

Ronnie Walley wants to get the seeds for another pepper that could become the world's hottest. It is a hybrid of three peppers grown by a man in Australia.

Outlaw Chef on The Food Network

Set Your TIVO:

Dec 19, 2010 4:00 PM ET/PT

Tom Pizzica travels to an hour west of Fort Worth, Texas to help the "outlaw chef" feed a bunch of working cowboys the old-fashioned way, off a chuck wagon with parts of the cow most folks won’t eat.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/outrageous-food/the-2-foot-pancake/index.html

Jamie Oliver Slaps the Bookstands

Jamie’s 30-minute Meals was released just over two months ago and has already sold 735,000 copies - an average of 10,500 a day.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/food/article-1337022/Jamie-Olivers-30-Minute-Meals-fastest-selling-nonfiction-book-ever.html#ixzz17p8kQFzY

HuffPo Primer: Olive Oil

HuffPo Primer: Olive Oil

NYTimes Op-Ed: FDA Rules

The bill would, for the first time, give the F.D.A., which oversees 80 percent of the nation’s food, the authority to test widely for dangerous pathogens and to recall contaminated food. The agency would finally have the resources and authority to prevent food safety problems, rather than respond only after people have become ill. The bill would also require more frequent inspections of large-scale, high-risk food-production plants.

A Stale Food Fight

By MICHAEL POLLAN and ERIC SCHLOSSER

Published: November 28, 2010

Shucking Speed

I shucked oysters for a year back in the 80's and have the scars to prove it. This cat does quite a job, gloveless noless!

An Insightful Article from the Atlantic Monthly:

How Ultra-Processed Foods Are Killing Us

Their high energy density, hyper-palatability, their marketing in large and super-sizes, and aggressive and sophisticated advertising, all undermine the normal processes of appetite control, cause over-consumption, and therefore cause obesity, and diseases associated with obesity.

CookingforGeeks.com - Hacking Your Slow Cooker: D.I.Y. Sous Vide Setup

CookingforGeeks.com - Hacking Your Slow Cooker: D.I.Y. Sous Vide Setup

Wurstfest, New Braunfels: Destination Of The Weekend

Ah, Texas. It can get a bad rap, but really it's a fascinating place.

Take, for example, New Braunfels, a small town of roughly 50,000 about 30 miles from San Antonio (46 from Austin). The town is home to some of the best water sports in all of Texas thanks to its two rivers, lake, and a huge water park called Schlitterbahn. But its the annual Wurstfest, a 10-day celebration of the sausage that really puts this town on the map.

The festival, which begins on Friday, features endless taste tests of German/Texas (whatever that means) food like potato pancakes, strudel and pretzels, dancing (think the Polka) and basic merriment. Designed to honor the town's heritage--it was founded in 1845 by a German prince--this year marks the 50th anniversary of this event.

So don your dirndl or lederhosen and head on down to New Braunfels to send off the month of October in style.

Tavern on the Green morphs into a food court

LA Times:

No more pricey shrimp cocktails and prime rib in Central Park. Now it's trucks serving Turkish tacos and artisan ice cream.

Times Are Tough - The $7 Pizza Oven

Times Are Tough - The $7 Pizza Oven

Scott's Pizza

INGREDIENTS

-1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
-1 lb fresh mozzarella
-1 large bunch Basil
-Olive oil
-Parmesan cheese
-salt and pepper to taste

Dough (adapted from www.pizzaschool.com):

-21 oz all purpose flour
-14.3 oz water
-0.5 oz salt
-0.25 oz yeast

**This makes dough for two 12 inch pies, but you'll have enough tomatoes, cheese and Basil left over to make at least 4 pizzas, so feel free to double it!)

***You need 14 unglazed ceramic tiles for this recipe

PROCEDURE

night before:

-Mix dough ingredients and let rest for 30 minutes. Knead the dough for 4-5 minutes, then place it in a large bowl. Cover the bowl with a wash-cloth and let the dough rise for 1-2 hours. When done rising, split dough into two even pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and set in airtight container in refrigerator overnight. Remove 2 hours before baking.

day of:

-Rinse and dry tiles.

-Set top oven rack on top oven rung. Set bottom rack about 6 inches below. Place 6 tiles upside-down in the middle of the top rack - it'll form a big rectangle. Set 4 tiles on bottom rack so they form a square. On either side of the oven, place 2 tiles so they're at a diagonal facing inward. You've now made your pizza stone!

-Turn oven to 500 degrees and give it about an hour to get hot.

-Fill a bowl with tepid water and lightly wash Basil leaves. Blot them on a paper towel.

-Slice about 10 slices of Mozzarella very thin and blot them with a paper towel to get rid of moisture.

-Flour your cutting board and roll out the dough.

-Place cheese on dough then add a few spoonfuls of tomato. Grate a little Parmesan cheese on top.

-To move the pizza to the oven: flour the back of a plate or cookie sheet and slide it under the pizza. Once you've gotten a hold of it, slide the pizza into the oven on top of the 4 tiles on the bottom rack. Back pizza about 15 minutes or until it's golden and bubbly.

-Garnish pizza with ripped up basil, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Full spread of retail Outlaw Chef products on shelves by Turkey Day!

Full spread of retail Outlaw Chef products on shelves by Turkey Day!

Chefs' Top 20 2010 Overall Food Trends

From the Huff Post:

Chefs' Top 20 2010 Overall Food Trends

OK - I Confess - I Bartended at TGIFriday's

OK - I Confess - I Bartended at TGIFriday's in the early 80s, when flair (please view Waiting for an adequate portrayal) was only superseded by the vast knowledge of the 269 cocktails we were constantly tested upon. There wasn't a Sunday brunch when the incessant whirrr of the Hamilton Beach blender wasn't underscoring the proceedings. Karl Kozel gives a nod to those cocktails in this HuffPost article.

FWPL: The Cadillac Bar in Nuevo Laredo

I love the surprises that the Fort Worth Public Library affords me on a daily basis. Case in point, the last cookbook I picked up (I always judge books by their covers) completely blew me away with an entire chapter about Frozen Margaritas and the Cadillac Bar in Nuevo Laredo. In days of yore when border towns were the perfect weekend getaway for Texicans wishing to augment their purchasing power, The Cadillac Bar provided a perfect place where your body would give out long before your wallet. The back bar mirror claimed that the Sazerac and the Ramos Gin Fizz were invented there yet the menu's heavy reliance upon New Orleans fare (shrimp creole, frog's legs, and crab Newburg) belied original owner Mayo Bessan's time served as a New Orleans waiter. It has been a few years since I have visited Nuevo Laredo ( I don't own any Kevlar) but it certainly did stir the memories and awaken my longing for some shots of plata.


The Tex-Mex grill and backyard barbacoa cookbook /by Walsh, Robb, 1952-




Beginning Tex-Mex cooks will enjoy the introduction to grills, tools you'll need, fuels, starting a fire, how to tell when it's done, and grill seasoning. In addition to lists like "Five Cool Mariachi Requests," "Top 10 Texas Microbrewery Beers," and "Houston's Top 5 Taco Trucks," Walsh (The Tex-Mex Cookbook) shares a large selection of salsas, rubs, margaritas, fajitas, tacos, burgers, and guacamole. Adventurous tailgaters are sure to enjoy Atomic Deer Turds, with jalapeno peppers, cheese, and venison sausage. With a chili glossary and online resources. Copyright 2010 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal Review

Chili-heads and grill jockeys are likely already familiar with Texas food writer and James Beard Award-winner Walsh, author of volumes (like Legends of Texas Barbecue) that have become textbooks of outdoor cooking. His latest, a kind of sequel to 2004's Tex-Mex Cookbook, is no exception. As in previous volumes, Walsh begins each chapter with a compulsively readable narrative overview of a particular style, region or dish (margaritas, tailgating, taco trucks, fajitas, etc.), followed by a number of recipes illustrating the possibilities of each. Walsh keeps the formula fresh by rolling up his sleeves and digging deep for the secrets of fajita steak (including trips to the butcher and the meat fabricator), the origins of the taco truck phenomenon, and the delicacy that is Texas-style barbacoa-at its purest, barbecued cattle head-with infectious curiosity and enthusiasm. Walsh's prose is balanced with smoky, classic Tex-Mex recipes begging for a turn: the classic bacon-wrapped Sonoran hot dog; the Tortaburger, a hybrid of the traditional Mexican sandwich that serves a beef patty on Telera bread with fried eggs and refried beans on top; and the must-try Beef Short Ribs in Ancho-Molasses Sauce. Those looking for variety will find it in Ancho-Root Beer Hot Wings and Grapefruit Chicken Fajitas, Chile Grilled Pineapple, and condiments like Grilled Tomato Hot Sauce and Texas Red Grapefruit Salsa. (May) Copyright 2010 Reed Business Information.
Publisher Weekly

Review

Naegelin’s in American Profile

Texas' Oldest Bakery featured in American Profile


Krause’s grandparents and great-grandparents also savored pastries and breads from Naegelin’s—Texas’ oldest bakery—which has a history as rich and deep as the chunky apple filling in its famous 2-foot-long strudels. German immigrant Edouard Naegelin, a Civil War veteran, opened the bakery with a sack of flour and less than a dollar to his name in 1868, and the aroma of fresh-baked goodies has lured customers to the same downtown corner in New Braunfels since 1870.

I Love Me Some BOURDAIN at the FORT WORTH PUBLIC LIBRARY

Medium raw : a bloody valentine to the world of food and the people who cook /
by Bourdain, Anthony
	New York : Ecco Press, 2010. Edition: 1st ed. Description: xviii, 281 p. ; 24 cm. Summary: Tracking his own strange and unexpected voyage from journeyman cook to globe-traveling professional eater and drinker, and even to fatherhood, Bourdain takes no prisoners as he dissects what he's seen, pausing along the way for a series of confessions, rants, investigations, and interrogations of some of the most controversial figures in food.

True Texan? Name that beer....

From the Huff Post:

Top 10 New Foods at the 2010 State Fairs

Announcing Outlaw Chef Brands

Announcing Outlaw Chef Brands

The Outlaw Chef, Terry Chandler, features his recent Central Market Cooking class - the

HATCH CHILE QUICKFIRE CHALLENGE

on his Facebook Outlaw Chef Brands page. Log In to Facebook to view:

Celebrate 15 years of Hatchmania with Central Market this year as a local favorite, Terry Chandler, goes up against a seasoned Hatch expert, Denise Shavandy. Each chef has been encouraged to bring his/her own style to the dishes while using minimal ingredients and quick preparation. Dishes will feature:

* Hatch Chiles & Chicken Thighs
* Hatch Chiles & Shrimp
* Hatch Chiles & Watermelon

Pick up lots of tips, enjoy lighthearted repartee and sample 6 dishes that feature everyone’s favorite chile.

Sunday brunch on the PATIO

Sun Sept 12:
COUNTRY SUNDAY
6pm: Amos Moses
3pm: Matt Wayne
Noon: Dog Dander

Fiesty Fried at The Texas State Fair

The DMN news reports that their informal poll calls it for DEEP FRIED FRITO PIE at this year's State Fair.



Pic: Fernie's Fried Club Salad

Things Are Big in Texas, but EATALY?!?

EATALY OPENS: Batali, Bastianich & Co.'s Mega-Temple Of Italian Food, Revealed (PHOTOS)

Eataly's options for the hungry and/or curious visitor, many of which are pictured in the slideshow above, include:

• A bakery helmed by Nancy Silverton, of La Brea Bakery, using a wood-fired oven -- visible to the public -- that was brought in from Italy and will run most hours of the day. Bread and focaccia will be baked continuously both both for purchase and for Eataly's various restaurants.
• A Salumi e Formaggi counter


• A fresh pasta counter offering a huge variety of handmade pastas for home cooks
Story continues below
• Pizzeria Rossopomodoro, helmed by six pizza makers who arrived in New York from Naples just last week, using wood-fired ovens hauled in from Italy.
• Il Laboratoria De La Mozzarella, where fresh mozzarella will be made daily
• Uber-local produce, direct from the Brooklyn Grange, a rooftop farm in Queens.
• La Verdura, a vegetable bar and restaurant that will feature a highly-publicized vegetable "butcher" that can prep any vegetables you purchase for ease of cooking at home (think artichokes and the like).
• A paninoteca
• A rosticceria
• A macelleria (butcher) that will showcase two exquisite beefs: a grass-fed Italian Piedmontese variety ideal for raw preparations, and "a grain-fed superbeef that will be engineered...by beef guru Adam Perry Lang."
• Il Manzo, the only restaurant in Eataly that will take reservations, headed up by Michael Toscano, formerly of Batali's Babbo.
• A fresh fish counter
• A crudo bar and seafood restaurant Il Pesce, run by David Pasternack, the chef of Batali/Bastianich-owned seafood restaurant Esca
• A pasticceria run by Italian pastry chef Luca Montersino
• A gelateria that also includes a variety of pure-fruit "ice creams" made entirely of single fruits like bananas, figs, etc.
• An espresso counter featuring Lavazza coffees
• La Scuola, a cooking headed up by Lidia Bastianich that will offer courses on Italian food, wine & beer, with guest chefs galore including Bastianich and Batali
• Imported, packaged Italian goods galore: dried pastas, grains, anchovies, olive oils, vinegars, jams, honey, canned tomatoes and sauces, and pretty much everything else good from Italy
• And, for good measure, a working Italian Bank's ATM

New Fried Craziness at The Texas State Fair

Fried Beer at The Texas State Fair

From SlashFood.com:

Ever since the inauguration five years ago of the Big Tex Choice Awards at the Texas State Fair, food vendors have been deep-frying the impossible in their pursuit of the Most Creative and Best Taste awards.

Nothing in the rules says the food has to be fried, but this is an event, after all, that carries the semi-official slogan: "Fried Food Capital of Texas."

Big Tex has given us the Deep Fried Latte, Texas Fried Cookie Dough, Fried Coke, and last year's Most Creative winner: Deep Fried Butter. That would seem to qualify the fair as the Fried Food Capital of the World.

This year's contestants have batter-dipped their way into whole new territory with two new concoctions: Fried Beer and the Deep Fried Frozen Margarita.
As the Dallas Morning News reports, the Fried Beer was the result of a painful process of trial and error for creator Mark Zamble. His initial efforts kept exploding once they hit the fryer, and he kept getting burned. Zamble has already applied for a patent and trademark for Fried Beer, which appears to be a pocket of pretzel dough filled with its signature beverage.

The Deep Fried Frozen Margarita is the brainchild of Jake Levy, who won the Most Creative award in 2007 for the Deep Fried Latte. As the Morning News describes it, the margarita "includes a funnel cake batter mixed with either tequila or tequila-flavored wine, dusted with margarita mix and served in a salt-rimmed plastic glass."

Judges will decide the winners over Labor Day weekend, and the winning creations will debut at the fair's opening on September 24.

Now we're just waiting for someone to tackle the ultimate deep-fried koan: Deep Fried Fryer Grease.

Read more: http://www.slashfood.com/2010/08/26/fried-beer-comes-to-the-texas-state-fair/#ixzz0xoXnwIaX

Thursday, August 26th at Central Market

Terry Chandler, The Outlaw Chef & Denise Shavandy, CM Executive Chef, Ft. Worth

Celebrate 15 years of Hatchmania with Central Market this year as a local favorite, Terry Chandler, goes
up against a seasoned Hatch expert, Denise Shavandy. Each chef has been encouraged to bring his/her own style to the dishes while using minimal ingredients and quick preparation. Dishes will feature:

• Hatch Chiles & Chicken Thighs
• Hatch Chiles & Shrimp
• Hatch Chiles & Watermelon

Pick up lots of tips, enjoy lighthearted repartee and sample 6 dishes that feature everyone’s favorite chile.

CLASS TIME 6:30 - 9:00 PM

Patio Weekend!

TGIF !!! Kurt South LIVE AT FRED'S tonight, Friday Aug 20.

On Saturday, Drew Kennedy at 7pm, Greg Reichel at 3pm & Scott Copeland at noon.

On Sunday (COUNTRY FUNDAY SUNDAY), Greg Schroeder at 6pm, Justin Ross at 3pm and Kurt South at noon.

NO COVER EVER at Fred's Texas.

HATCH QUICK FIRE CHALLENGE: TERRY CHANDLER & DENISE SHAVANDY

Terry Chandler, The Outlaw Chef & Denise Shavandy, CM Executive Chef, Ft. Worth

Celebrate 15 years of Hatchmania with Central Market this year as a local favorite, Terry Chandler, goes
up against a seasoned Hatch expert, Denise Shavandy. Each chef has been encouraged to bring his/her own style to the dishes while using minimal ingredients and quick preparation. Dishes will feature:

• Hatch Chiles & Chicken Thighs
• Hatch Chiles & Shrimp
• Hatch Chiles & Watermelon

Pick up lots of tips, enjoy lighthearted repartee and sample 6 dishes that feature everyone’s favorite chile.

CLASS TIME 6:30 - 9:00 PM

DFW.com: Fred's revs up the office lunch

Let’s say your office group has had it with dull deli box lunches. You can get through those boring lunch meetings around the conference table better now that Fred’s Texas Café comes to the rescue with Fred’s Express, a new catering/to-go option.

Fred’s, everybody’s favorite burger-and-beer place near West 7th, just opened this outfit that operates from a commercial kitchen two blocks from the legendary joint.

You can order quail seared on a grill and simmered in a salsa for $20 per person, green chili pork chops for $16 per person, a BBQ platter for $10 per person or a taco bar with three kinds of tacos (shredded chicken, chipotle pork, tomatillo beef) for $14 per person.

There’s a 10-person minimum per order and orders need to be placed 24 hours ahead. Fred’s will deliver the food to you and there’s a $25 delivery fee. Call ‘em up at 817-870-8866.

Outlaw Chef Brands is on Facebook

Outlaw Chef Brands is on Facebook

Live Music at FRED's - NO COVER

Sat Aug 7:
7pm: Will Hobbs
3pm: Nick Verzosa
Noon - Miles Penhall

Sun Aug 8:
COUNTRY SUNDAY
6pm: Mike Ryan
3pm: Justin Ross
Noon: Kurt South

Fred's Express

http://www.FredsExpress.com/

Busy? Hungry? We’ll bring fresh delicious food to your meeting or event, ready to serve and enjoy. From Ranch House Chicken to the Super Foods Salad Bar, Fred’s Express delivers the exceptional taste you demand, on time and fully setup, complete with all serving accutrements.

Call 817.870.8866 or visit www www.FredsExpress.com to place your order.

The HuffPost's FOOD SECTION keeps turning out well written primers for food noobs - such as "I can cook better steaks on a $30 hibachi than I do on my $2,500 pellet grill."

How to Grill Great Steakhouse Steaks

World's most expensive desserts

$1.4 million strawberries, other sweets that will hurt your pocketbook

by Jessie Knadler

Oyster Poesy

"Song To Oysters"

I like to eat an uncooked oyster.
Nothing's slicker, nothing's moister.
Nothing's easier on your gorge
Or, when the time comes, to disgorge.
But not to let it too long rest
Within your mouth is always best.
For if your mind dwells on an oyster...
Nothing's slicker. Nothing's moister.

I prefer my oyster fried.
Then I'm sure my oyster's died.

Roy Blount, Jr.

Beauty Weather = Beauty Patio

Fri July 23 - Fish Fry Bingo

Sat July 24:
7pm: 3 Rivers Alice
Noon: Scott Copeland

Sun July 25:
COUNTRY SUNDAY
6pm: Mike Ryan
Noon: Kurt South

A Little Hint....

Don't mention people's PETS in your BBQ Ad........

The Future: E Books AMPLIFIED

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos says, "The Kindle format has now overtaken the hardcover format."


From the L A Times:

Internet retailer Amazon.com Inc. says it is now selling 80% more downloaded books than hardbacks. Amazon's download format is for its Kindle electronic reader as well as other devices.

"Astonishing when considering that we've been selling hardcover books for 15 years and Kindle books for 33 months."

Multimedia edition of Ken Follett epic unveiled

'Amplified' version of novel designed for Apple iPad

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2010/07/20/follett-pillars-amplified-novel.html#ixzz0uEPZK1uF

The latest in the new, electronic world of book publishing: The Amplified Edition.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2010/07/20/follett-pillars-amplified-novel.html#ixzz0uEPRFcef