The king and I

My journey this week started I'm Memphis Tennessee to see the home of the late great King..... I gotta say Graceland was a very interesting place to say the least! I was never much of an Elvis fan. Yea I like all the classics but I don't even think I have any on my I-pod but it just seemed like a place I needed to go. Plus i wanted to see all the killer costumes he had.... And maybe some crazy Elvis fans. Once inside Graceland you get a real feel for how this place is not just a shrine to Elvis it was a home. It still after all these years had a feeling of home. It's comfortable (maybe a little over the top) and brings the King back down to earth.... He was a dad, a husband and a force that made so many people fall in love with him. He was a giver. He was always generous with his stuff and took good care of the people he loved. I admire that about him.
Elvis had issues like so many of us. His drug addiction took him out of this world and standing in front of ElvisEs grave I had a true moment of gratitude. How could a guy who had so much going on be taken down by drugs and how did I escape that very same fate. Was I a chosen on? I think the answer is yea..... I by the grace of god saw the light and people like Elvis remind me that what I got is a true gift and i need to cherish it.
I don't think a lot of people know about my battle with drugs.... It was a hard and very long road and because of that today my life is a true gift.
I remember sitting in my office at the hotel around my birthday last year and thinking..... Why am


i still here? Why am I sitting in this office not loving what I'm doing? And at that moment again I heard Oprah say..... "live your best life" and at that moment I knew it was time to move on. If god gave me a second chance and didn't give the king the same road ..... Who the hell was I to not make the best of it?
So here I am 30 drug free, alive and living my best life.



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Location:Grace land

Nola or nothing

First the smell of stale beer and cigaret butts hit you in the face like a fucking hammer.... The streets are littered with homeless kids who look like they came out of mad max ( but these kids got banjoes ) nuns dressed in old scHool gear and street entertainers..... A church rises up from behind the streets lined with old pubs and neon light advertising sex and booze. Slowly the sound of jazz comes into your ear and the smell of crawfish steaming in Oldbay.... You my friend are in New Orleans. The city of ..... Well it's the city of lots of things!

New Orleans is the city full of religion and Voodoo.... Saints and sinners.... Where on earth can you be in an old church one second and the next your stuffing dollars into some guys ( or girls) underrooz? Lol
I love new Orleans.... I love the food! It's the so different from NYC! In NY you go to the nice restaurants to get a good meal in NOLA the best food comes out of the hole in the wall kinda places... Iv been to some fine dining restaurants in NOLA and they are ok but if you want great food go to the shittiest pub and ask for the house special! Omg now thats food.
Growing up Italian in NYC I always believed that the NY zeppole was the best of all street food in all the world.... Well I was wrong! Dear Zeppole I'd like you to meet your much better and much cooler red neck cousin Beignet! Zeppole are lightly tossed in powdered sugar and the beignets are mounded in powered sugar.... It's like Pablo Escobar is the chef! Holly good god these things are fucking good! Im ashamed to have my heritage attached to the old school dough of hate that is the zeppole!
And as anyone know the place to cop a bag of dough pillows and the powder of love is Cafe Du Monde..... Good lord I love that place!

And don't get me stated on the other food !
Jambalaya! Omg I can eat this all day!
If you have yet to go to NOLA shut up and book ur trip NOW!




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Location:The big eazy!

This post is a little late

I remember being a little kid and my mom teaching me how to spell Mississippi
"M-I-crooked letter-crooked letter-I
Crooked letter-crooked letter-I
humpback-humpback-I." and I don't think at that age I realized what the hell Mississippi was! To me it was just some silly word that made one hell of a song!
So far Mississippi is turning out to be one cool place.
We spent the last few days in Sanable Island on the west coast of Fla.... Now that's paradise! I love the keys but the lack of beaches kinda makes me crazy.... So Sanable is a perfect spot for me. Great beaches, nice shops killer seafood and some not so bad looking people... Sanable is kinda like the Hamptions of florida. And I love it! So we
sLowly started heading up the coast and yesterday madE it to Mobile Alabama. Not much to do in Mobile lol. The town was like a ghost town so we headed to our hotel to get some sleep
The next morning he started for Biloxi....Biloxi was a blast.. Nice hotel, gambling but all I could see was what was coming.... New Orleans


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Location:Not new Orleans

Just chill grasshopper

Spending most of my adult life In a kitchen it's now wonder that trying to relax is no easy task for me. Im always running around working on some project or another and if I'm not then I'm running around in my head. Is trying to relax an art? Do I need to be some kind of zen master to just chill?? I have relaxed before.... Plenty of times but I was always had a stabile place in my work life. Well this time it's a whole new game,! I have no job..... No next pay check. So i think a little bit of worry is normal
I just need to stay in the moment. I can't project on what going to happen after this or where I'm going to be in a few months. Because all the worry in the world will not give me the answer or make the outcome any different. So i gotta chill.

The last few days have been a blast.... Monday we drove from NYC to Jacksonville Fla .by the time we got to Jacksonville we were out of our minds.... Hopped up on energy drinks and cigarettes.... we needed to crash..... Bad! So we found a little hotel and called it a night ( I think that was around 3 am) the next morning we woke and headed to Orlando to see some family. Then it was off to Delray beach to meet up with friends and check out this cool little town.
I was thinking what all of you are thinking..... That Delray is an old people town... Well you are kinda right. The grocery stores are lined with blue haired demons and the parking lots are like bumper car rings. The stink of moth balls fill the day time air and a 90 year old man almost flung himself and his scooter in the front of my truck. When the sun goes down on Delray beach it's a whole different game. The restaurants that line Atlantic ave are full of fun loving people looking to have a good time. The restaurants range from sushi to eclectic American. I have to say this was a bit of a stunner. Who new that old people land could be such a blast! And everyone drives better at night when all the blue hairs are asleep!
Then it was off to south beach to enjoy the crazy Miami vibe and soak up some sun. We spent the day chilling on the beach then had a killer steak dinner on Ocean Ave. Im not going to go into details about Miami because it is the city of sin and I don't wanna freak the kids out! Lol
The next stop Was key west to do some camping and get into the island mood. Yesterday we got to the camp site a little late because every time we saw the ocean we needed to stop and jump in. We set up camp and headed down town for the main event here in key west... The sun set. And as I watched the sun go down over the ocean I felt a real sense of relaxation as if the setting sun took some of my nerves and worries down with it.



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Location:Jolly Roger Dr,Lower Keys,United States

Music to LIVE BY/ or road music

You can hear me talk about my trip and the music i love to list to on the road next sunday 3/20/11 on Sirius radio (sirius 109/ xm 98) at 4:00 and then again at 11 with the FAB Larry Flick!!!!

As i get my self together for my drive across America im thinking about how important music is going to be on this trip! or at any part in my life... music always plays a big part of whatever i do!!

Cant you remember the first time you heard a song or the song that was playing when you had your first kiss... well i do

So here is a list of some great tunes that i will be chilling out to on this trip

Like a Rolling Stone - Bob Dylan

Freeway of Love - Aretha

Summer Highland Falls- Billy Joel

Cant keep it in - Cat Stevens

Road Tripping - Red Hot Chili Peppers

Days and Days- Concrete Blond

Round Here- Counting Crows

Strange Brew- Cream

People get ready - Curtis Mayfield (this have nothing to do with travel i just love it)

So far away - Dire straits

Down Town- Dolly Parton

Every time we say good bye- The fab Ella Fitzgerald

End Of The Road - Eddie Vedder (into the wild sound track)

Night Train - James brown (LOVE THIS SONG)

Your My Home- Billy Joel

Mexico- Jimmy Buffet or James Taylor ( i think JT is a little better)

California- Joni Mitchell

The Last Of the Famous International Playboys - Morrissey

Peace is a River - Paul Simon

Fat Bottom Girls- Queen

I Get a Kick Out of You _ Rosemary Clooney

A Change is Gonna Come- Sam cook

Hot Rod - Peaches

The Boys of Summer- Eagles

In The Great Wide Open - Tom Petty

I Wont Hold You Back - Toto

City Of New Orleans - Willie Nelson (BEST SONG EVER)

Oprah says so! And she's prime time!

Oprah says to live your best life! I'm not one to go around quoting the book of Oprah but this stuck with me and a few months ago I started asking my self if I was living my best life. I think sometimes we just need to step back and ask our self if this is what we want for our lives? We get so wrapped up in the every day that we never get time To smell the proverbial rose.
where do I wanna be in my life? Who do I wanna be? After some time and some long looking at where I was i knew that I was letting life pass me by. Now don't get me wrong I had a great job and made good money but does that make a good life? And the answer i got was no. Money is important we need it, we need it to pay the bills and put food on the table but it can't be the driving force in my life. Because as quick as the money comes..... It goes and as much BS I buy with it at the end of the day I am still with me ( just the same old me with nicer things...lol) I need to get out and see some things, I need to see places i'v never seen meet friends I'v yet to meet. Now I know this all may seem very hippy to a lot of you and as i write this I feel like it's a little 1960's too but in my heart I know there is more to life then just making a buck and going thru the motions.
with the support of my family ( mostly my brothers who I think wanna live vicariously thru me) and friends i'v decided( insert drum roll here) to leave my current position and head out on the road to see what I will find. I know this is crazy and I know a lot of you are saying WTF Michael but I know this is just the beginning of something great. I can feel it.
I have always heard that when one door closes another will open and sometimes we need to shut the door behind us to let the other open ( again I know this is all sounding kinda hippy) but I have faith in it.
Ok so let me get to the good part. I will soon be packing up my car and driving cross country to get a little taste of life out side my bubble. I will be stoping at some very cool culinary locations and cooking up some great food along the way. And i will be blogging about it and I hope you guys will be following. I will be working on my cookbook and just spending a little time finding out what I want and who I wanna be when I grow up.
Ok I gotta pack..... Ttyl
MVP

Location:My couch

The Chill of Fall is here

Please Leave your THANKSGIVING cooking and entertaining questions bellow in the comment box and i will address all of them here on my blog!!! because i'm nice like dat~~!!!

With fall here and the leaves changing colors and the air turning crisp and cold I have an urge to cook all my fall favorites. I started out this week by making boneless pork butt stuffed with green and black olives. Can you say yum!! I don’t know about you but nothing says fall like a roast meat dish. The olives add a tang and brine like flavor to the pork that only olives can bring to a dish. So lets discuss how to make the pork. I went to my local store and grabbed a boneless pork butt. I then made a mix of olives, garlic, lime juice, cilantro, cumin, salt, ground black pepper, crushed red pepper, ground coriander seed (I dried these out from the garden and they so yum)

15 pitted black olives

15 pitted green olives

8 cloves of garlic

½ cup of olive oil

¼ cup of fresh lime juice

½ teaspoon coriander

1`teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon salt (remember the olives have a lot of salt)

½ teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

½ bunch chopped cilantro

I first chop the garlic very fine, then the olives but I like the olives to be a bit bigger then the garlic I put them in a bowl and add the chopped cilantro and all the other ingredients. I then rub this mix all over my pork … I get in all the crevasses and then tie the butt back up into a compact little roll of pork love.

I put my oven on 360 and bake the roast covered for about 30 minutes per pound.

In the last 40 min I add a pork stock to the pan and let it reduce in the oven with the pork….. then I let my pork rest after it cooks and that my friend is how you make your butt happy!!!

The fall offers us so many other great dishes, dishes that taste so much better with the chill of fall right out side your window. Butternut squash, roast lamb, roast chicken (is it me or is roast chicken the best on a cold day?) and when your done with the chicken it’s great to use the leftovers and bones to make a killer soup! Stuffed cabbage, lasagna, any thing cooked in a tagine. These are just a few things that come to mind!!

Its almost thanksgiving so feel free to post your cooking and entertaining questions here

yum green freak

Ohhh good lord….. I cant stop eating tomatillos! What a weird item to obsess about. I spent the last 2 hours roasting, boiling and grilling the little green suckers. Ok so maybe they are the weird relative of the tomato … but they are sooo frikin good! Making a great salsa with them is so easy! Cut in ½ roast with some whole garlic until soft, then put them in a blender with the garlic a little habanero, lime and cilantro! OMG soooo good. If you want something a little different just add some avocado to it!!! Yum
Check out this video of a kid eating a habanero!!! LMAO

check out my web page

Ok that’s all I have for today!!! Don’t judge!! Just love……. ME!!!
MVP

a foot or Sow

Having moved into the new place i am starting to feel more at home as each day passes (or more like each meal) there is something to be said about cooking in your own place and in a new place at that. Everything is set up just the way you like it. Sea salt in a jar on the table all the selfs filled with the spices you love and a feeling of feng shui about the placement of each utensil and pot.

Sitting home this Sunday the feeling came over me to cook and being a good Italian and it being sunday .... i went to my local store and picked up some peeled plum tomatoes and pigs feet. Ok so i know allot of you are thinking "pigs feet... YUCK" and i say to all of you!!! don't knock it until you've tried it!!! The pigs feet are full of soft bone, fat and some very flavorful skin all wrapped in a thin layer of pig skin!!! Can you go wrong?? I think not my little lovers!!

SO here is the recipe

2 small whit onions medium dice

12 cloved of garlic sliced

1/4 cup of evoo

4# of cleaned and split pigs feet

5 2# cans of peeled plum tomatoes

1 bunch of fresh parsley

1/2 bunch fresh basil

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

first scrub the pigs feet so they are nice and clean and you get out all the bone splinters

heat a medium sauce pan over a low flame and add your pigs feet skin down until they get golden brown and crisp then add the garlic and onion and cook until they are translucent.

Now add the red pepper flakes and cook for one more min

now add the tomatoes and i can full of water and bring to a boil.

Now lower to a simmer and cook for 2 hours or until the pig is soft. Stir the sauce every 20 min or so( you don't want it to burn)

at the end chop the parsley and basil and stir in to the sauce.

Now go cook some pasta and gnaw on some bones YUM

this makes a killer sauce!!! but nothing is better then the feet!!!!

so i wish you happy cooking in remember to stay a foot above the rest!!!

All new me

Hey folks sorry for the not blogging for soooo long.... but the last month has been crazy.

Well first off the restaurant is doing so well and as the Chef i spend allot of time there and the holidays also help make little Michael crazy. I also moved into my first new pad..... Ohhhh yes little Mike is all grown up and on his own. OK OK i'll be honest!!! i miss Betty (big time) but being in my own space is a lot of fun and i also started cooking at home allot more. Tonight i made a chicken breast stuffed with ham, provolone cheese, mozzarella cheese, basil and parsley. I then covered it in fresh pancetta (that i got at the new butcher shop in Chelsea market) then i baked it in the oven for 30 min at 375!!! ohhh honey it was yum. Also the cheese and the chicken made a great broth that i thickened up and poured on top of the chicken. (can u say YUMMMM!!!) then i mad a simple fried eggplant. First i salted the eggplant and let it sit in a strainer for 30 min the put it in cold water for another 20. This helps get the bitter taste out of the eggplant. I then floured, egged and then bread crumbs. I spiked the bread crumbs with garlic and some provolone cheese. I then fried it in 1/2 olive oil and vegetable oil until its nice and crisp.I had some leftover marinara sauce on top of the eggplant and thats it!!! That my friends is one hell of a meal.

I have a great kitchen here at the new "Casa De Homo" so i hope your looking forward to new blogg"s, new kitchen and a bunch of new videos!!!! so heres to a new beginning !!!!

XOXOXOXOX

Q&A X-Mas style

"Okay, so like I was saying on facebook, I have NO idea what to make for a Christmas Brunch, especially for my Puerto Rican family expecting rice and beans (I'm sooo not making rice and beans at 11am!). Any ideas? Love your stuff!!!"

Hey Thanks for the question.... and what's wrong with rice and beans at 11 am??? LOL ok maybe its a little early.

How about doing a cool frittair? kinda like a quiche without the crust!!! and you can add some interesting things to it!!

ummm im thinking a cumin, tomato and cheddar frittair with a cold black bean and cilantro salad!!! yumm i know what i'm having for breakfast!!!! the bean salad can be as simple as lime, cilantro, beans, tomato and olive oil!!! and the frittair can be eggs, cream, cumin, red onions, cheddar, parsley and some garlic!!! now thats simple and easy!!! If your looking for some meat you can grill off some chorizo or other sausage and serve it on the side! also a nice green salad would go great!! get yourself some mimosas and bloody mary mix and your done!!! xoxoxoxox hope this helps

Tiz the SEASON for Q&A

Hello folks!!! with the holidays here and the smell of burning food in the air... i feel the need to lend a helping hand!!! SO if you have any holiday QUESTIONS (or some tips for me) please post them below in the comment box and i will reply to them here on MVPCHEF.COM
What too cook? how too cook it? little tips! any thing!! so let the fun begin!! please include ur first name and location!!!
OHHH this is going to be fun XOXOXOXO
MVP

Too close for comfort

So as the holidays quickly approach i find myself looking for some new and fun things to do this holiday but always keeping the old favorites in mind. The first thing that came to mind was my Christmas Tree.... i always like to keep it kinda simple and elegant and this year will be no different. I am going to do a vintage style free with all whit light lace garland and real babies breath. I am going to keep it kinda simple. I think the fresh babies breath adds a nice lights (almost snow like) feel to the tree. Im going to do just white light and deep red Christmas balls. Ok so the cool thing about this is that it great looking and very inexpensive. The babies breath is about 4 or 5 dollars a bunch and the ribbon is about 4 dollars a roll you can find very simple christmas balls at a local craft store for around 6-8 dollars for 10....!!!! so thats kinda nice. In this case.. less is more. I will also finish off the tree with white iridescent glitter (one can never have enough glitter) and the trick to hold it all together and keep the glitter in place is (insert drum roll here) aqua-net hair spray (omg i am from the bronx!!) yup!! the hair spray holds everything in place and keeps from all the glitter from falling off.

another idea i was thinking was to do fresh white Easter lilies (have the florist put water caps on the end of the stems) with red roses and iridescent christmas balls. hmmm maybe a little to gay for even me!!!

Ok so food!!! ummmm i'm still working on it!!! but i see lots of honey, pomegranates, got to have lots of roasted nuts (chestnuts are my fave) and eggnog!!!! ohhhhhhh i can give you guys the NOG recipe i just put together!!!!!! yum!!!

ok

u need

12 eggs separated

2 cups sugar

1 tablespoon real vanilla extract

1 whole nutmeg

2 cups milk

get your eggs to room temp

In a mixer beat egg yolks and one cup sugar until light yellow and very fluffy. now set that aside

Beat the whites with one cup of sugar until stiff peaks.

now fold in the egg whites to the yolks. Then mix in the milk, van extract and grate you nutmeg into this mix. Let this sit in your fridge for an hours or so.

This is a very light and foamy version of egg nog and omg is it good!! yea you can add rum if you like!!!!

check back for more holiday recipes!!!

you say potato...... i say boniato

We all know how good a piping hot bowl of mash potatoes can be on a cold winter day. Or the taste of a orange fleshed sweet potato right out of the over or drenched in marshmallows and maple syrup. I think allot of us are always searching for the middle ground. Sweet potatoes can be way to sweet, and str8 up mash can be just plain old dull. Yea i know we can dress them up with truffles, parmesan cheese. Well for you folks that need some thing new in way of a starch i introduce my friend the boniato (sometimes called cuban sweet potato or batata) This is not the sweet potato we know of here in the states.....ohhh no!!! this potato has more of a underlay of sweetness and does not have a punch of sugar like our American SP. Its the perfect balance of sweet and rich. When mashed it has a thick velvet texture that cannot be matched by the watery American SP. Ohhh no our latino potato holds its own.

For your first romp with the Boniato i suggest you take it easy!! just boil it and mash it with some cream and a touch of butter... i promise once you go boniato you will never go potato!!

Boniatos can be found in most latino markets and look for ones that are firm and not soft. They have deep red skin and can range in size from a american potato to a small melon.

A tree burn in Brooklyn and smoke the lands at home

So as many of you may know i have this new obsession with bbq, not just bbq but smoked foods. So i have set out to find some good old BBQ right here in NY. I have been to alot of bbq joints but most of them smother there ribs in a sweat BBQ sauce and lack any real smoke flavor. I did some research and heard of a place in Brooklyn... not just Brooklyn but in the heart of hipster land Williamsburg. Well needless to say i was very skeptical of any kind of "real deal bbq" coming out of this place. So i hopped in the truck and took the ride over to BK (i picked up a friend along the way) we soon arrived at Fette Sau (fat Pig in German). So i was expecting a full service restaurant but soon noticed we had to wait on line to get our grub then find a seat at a picnic table. Ok i can handle this. So my friend grabbed a seat an i waited on line. When i arrived at the counter i orders a bit of everything.... Burkshire pork belly, Ribs, Brisket, sausage and some beans.
The food was placed on butcher paper and on a metal tray... (this better be good, the metal tray thing kinda freaked me out and i was in the mood to be served) so i made my way through the sea of hungry hipsters to my pal sitting at a table. We started in on the ribs. They had a thick and rich smoke flavor and NO bbq sauce!!! this was "real deal BBQ" the ribs just melted in your mouth OMG heaven. The brisket and sausage where just as good. The pork belly was good but just a little too fatty.. (i know i know.. its pork belly.. I still ate it!!!!) So here in the heart of a land where on would think BBq was old news and not "hip" lives a place where the swine is fine.
I woke up this morning with the smell of smoke still in my nose and headed off to work. I need more smoke!! and driving to BK at 11:00 on a Wednesday was out of the question. So like any junkie i found a way to cop some more. I found a deep hotel pan and place it on top of 2 burners then put some wood chunks we use for our pizza oven in the bottom of the pan and put the burners on medium. I then searched my inventory and found some fresh chicken that came in for a party later today. I cut the chicken in 1/2 and patted then dry. I made a rub of smoked paprika, cumin, chili powder and black pepper. I rubbed the birds down with the magic rub. So i then placed a shallow hotel pan with holes in it (we use it for steaming things) ontop of the now lightly smoking wood. I arranged my chickens and covered the top with tin foil and another hotel pan to hold in all that fab smoke flavor. (Don't be too impressed i have done this before!!!) I let the birds smoke on low for about 1 and 1/2 hours. I then took them off and placed them on my gas grill just to get a little char and color. The end results where killer!!! well maybe not as good as i had in Sayville LI but they where hell-au good. So whats the point... IDk i guess its... yea i don't know!!!! i'm off to Vermont on Sunday and look forward to what they have to offer me on my search of culinary treasures.
MVP

The Under belly of BBQ

The names of all the people involved have been changed to protect there identity.

I was invited to be a judge at the Sayville Fall Festival in LI NY. I was contacted but Jim who said he was a member of an organization called the bbq-brethren . (wait maybe i don't need to change there names!!! the guys name was Eric) So Jim (or Eric) told me i would be a judge for part of a BBQ compation. So being the nice guy that i am (also a bit of a publicity whore) i was happy to help out. Little did i know this would lead me to the under belly of a secret world... the dark, smokey depths of the world of competitive BBQ!!!!

On the morning of October 25th at 10 am i got into my truck and started my hour and ten minute trek to a little water front community named Sayville. I have been in this town before. Well maybe not in the town but i have cruised through it on my way to Fire Island. The ferry to FI is located on the coast of Sayville. So with the vision of gay sandy beaches in my mind i arrived at my destination. There was a smell in the air that i have never smelled before and this was nothing like my gay oasis across the bay. So with hesitation i went in search of Jim (or Eric). I found him in a corner of this very large field that was coved in tents and overhead lay a large cloud of very aromatic smoke. So we discussed the days events and he informed me that i was in the realm of Competitive BBQ. When i look more closely at the tent i realized they where more of a community of tents each one labeled with its own logo and insignia.

So as any fat kid with the smell of bbq in this nose would do, i went to inspect the tent town for some grub. I first came across a tent labeled bbq-brethren with all the curiosity of a young child i peered in. Little did i know this would be the beginning of a very interesting day that may change the course of my life forever (or the way i look at BBQ) In this tent was a weird looking bald dude who said hello then took a double take... He then approached me and said something along the lines of "hey your the guy who shit the bed on that food network show" ummmmm "yea thats me" lets see what he has to say about what's going on here. He went on to explain that this was a competition bbq event and he was one of the very proud members of the BBQ Brethren.

Lets discuss this BBQ Brethren for a moment. Its this group of people who label them selves BBQ enthusiasts and spread the word and teachings of REAL DEAL BBQ... This is not the bull shit BBQ you see in your back yard as a kid. This is a whole new game, a world of slow smoking and custom grills. A world where pork is king and propane is not heard of. This my friends is the under belly of americas favorite pastime (no not base ball ass hole) BBQ. Well bbq may be a favorite of most people but we the common man no nothing of the secret art that is being preserved by the Brethren!!! check out this link for a little more about them

Ok back to the bald freak!!! this guy chewed off my ear about BBQ for a good 20 min.... and i hung on his every word. He was truly a wealth of information (and of weirdness) and for the first time i realized i am missing out on a subculture i was made for. This is the tailgaters of tailgating. These people spend weeks preparing recipes and trying them out so they can join there fellow bbq enthusiasts here in the middle of a fucking corn field to see who is the true master of the grill. WOW at this point i'm totally blown away!! so weird bald guy finally lets me go and check out what's going down in BBQ land. He let me go after we took a picture together

So i wander around the tents peaking in to see what's going on. The first thing that catches my eye is the variety of grilles. Wow you got huge grilles custom made and pulled in by trucks, you got webber smokers, you got home-made smokers and grills, you got Kamados this is just to name a few. I then meet some guys who invite me into there weird tent world to try there ribs and pulled pork... so like any gay fat dude would do... i followed them into this dark tent hut. This guy then went into a corner and pulled out the most flavorful tend succulent pulled pork to ever grace my lips!!! OMG this shit was good and like nothing i have ever tasted. I realized all my life has been a lie!! i have never had true BBQ.. NEVER!!!!

i then felt like i needed more of this... my brain filled up with questions... what makes it so good, is there a rub on the meat, why have i never had this before, are you married?? so i set off to the next tent to try to get answers.

I passed a tend named "smoking Aces" and not only where the aces smoking but so where the boys so like any guy ... i stopped to say hi!! and it then became clear that not only was this a weird bald guys game but it was any man's game.. young and old, fat and thin this was a world open to any person with the love of smoked meat in there heart!!! this was a world i needed to be part of!!! so Smoking Aces gave me some of there tender ribs and agin i was in heaven.

I sit here remembering that day like it was yesterday, a day that will change my life forever. I wish that i could give you some more information but at this time i cannot. I need to keep my identify and my next move into this world as hush hush as i can. I will be purchasing a smoker/grill in the near future and will spend this winter honing my BBQ skill and learning the secrets that make this bbq-brethren true leaders in a world so unfamiliar to so may of us mere mortals.

MVP

Octopiggy !!!! Land sea and some Farfalle!!!!

You're probably thinking, “this is one weird recipe”. No - calamari and sausage go great together. This recipe is actually one of the most requested dishes at my restaurant, especially in winter. It is very filling and tends to be a whole meal. Me, you, this pasta, some crusty bread ….. Hello! Can you say heaven??

Bring 1 gallon of water to a boil and cook 1 pound farfalle. Drain from water and run under cold water to stop cooking. Hold the pasta on the side.

Farfalle, Sausage and Calamari

Cooked farfalle – 1 pound

Sweet Italian sausage – 6 links

Calamari cleaned and cut

into ½ inch rings – 1 pound

Extra virgin olive oil – 1 ½ cup

Garlic cloves – 20

Crushed red pepper flakes – ½ teaspoon

Parmigiano cheese – 1 cup

Heavy cream – 1 cup

Cut the garlic into thin slices. Remove the sausage meat from its casing. Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the olive oil then the garlic. Sauté for 1 minute then add the sausage. With a wooden spoon, break up the sausage while you cook it. When the sausage is cooked turn the heat up to high. Add the calamari and quickly sauté until cooked. Toss in the pasta. Sauté for one minute, then add the heavy cream and cook for 2 more minutes. Season with the red pepper flakes. Serve with warm Italian bread, your favorite wine and love.

Simple things for simple people

There is nothing better then some home style cooking. One of my favorite dishes (and the food i crave most) is a simple roast chicken. There is one requirements to being a great roast bird... first.. the skin has got to be crispy!!!!! this is so very important. The way to get a good crisp skin is to first wash your bird then dry it off very well (ohh i cut my bird in 1/2.. it cuts the cooking time down) I then let the bird sit in the fridge for an hour or 2 uncovered to dry a little more. I then make a mixture of olive oil and herbs. I mix about 1/2 a cup of olive oil, garlic, parsley, sage, rosemary, salt and pepper together and rub the bird down with it. OK heres the best part. I then cut up potatoes, carrots, parsnips, sweet potato and onions and whole cloves of garlic. Now i season the vegetables then lay the vegetables on the bottom of the pan and place my 1/2 chicken (skin side up) on top of them. The fat and flavor from the chicken helps to flavor and marinade the vegetables. OMG just thinking about this makes me hungry... There is nothing on this earth that says Fall better then the smell of roasted chicken. Well i hope i have inspired you to do some cooking TTY

MVP

:)

Snow White's Poison Apple

Hey just wanted to put up some pictures of the carmel apples made. I came up with some fun packaging for them!!! I put them in plastic party bags and label them"snow White's poison apple" i also burn the card to give it a vintage look.... hope u like them its easy and it a great party idea!!

I also made some other cool little thing... I mad a jar of "DIRT" its ground oreo cookies that i grind in a foodroses and mix with gummy worms... i then put it in a jar and top it off with coconut that i color with green food coloring... IT LOOKS LIKE THE REAL THING!!! and the kids (big and small... love it) i attache a pic of that too. Well i hope i gave you some fun Halloween ideas ......XOXOX

M V P

Carmel Apples

So i spend my evening making carmel apples and i cant believe how easy it is. Well at first it took me some time to find a recipe that gave a recipe for carmel... most of the recipes out there tell you to buy carmel squares and melt them (lame) So after i located the recipe i set off to make these sinful delights. I grew up on carmel apples (with nuts.... HELLO!!!!) i have made them before but always out of a package never from scratch...

This is the recipe i found and LOVE!!!!!! here is the link....

I did change it around a little bit!!!!!! I added almond extract and only added 2/3 cup butter

i make 3 batches one had pepper and cinnamon added to the recipe (they where so good) the second had kosher salt on the outside of the carmel (just a sprinkle... yum sweet and salty) and the third was plain.

This is not my recipe but i will post a new one (i think this recipe could use a tweak or two)

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter (no substitutes)
• 2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 cup light corn syrup

• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 8-10 wooden sticks
• 8-10 medium tart apples

Directions

1. 1

   Insert 1 wooden stick into each apple.

2. 2

   In a heavy saucepan, combine the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and milk; bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

3. 3

   Cook and stir until a candy thermometer reads 248 degrees (firm ball stage) about 30-40 minutes and for a softer caramel cook just to a few less degrees.

4. 4

   Remove from heat; stir in vanilla.

5. 5

   Dip each apple into hot caramel mixture; turn to coat.

6. 6

   Holding by the stick, sprinkle with nuts or whatever you desire while the caramel is still warm.

7. 7

   Set on generously buttered wax paper to cool (make certain to generously butter the paper).

8. 8

   Note: if making a double recipe make two recipes in two separate pots.