Hello there! Just a very quick update from New York. Last night was the big Burger Bash, which was a lot of fun. We got to go because I received two tickets for winning the American Lamb Board's third annual “Get Your Grill On” video competition. Below I've posted the wining recipe in case you missed it. You can read the full, original post here.
Since this is our anniversary weekend, I've been trying to just enjoy myself without worrying about taking pictures of everything and blogging every detail. I think I needed a little break, and thanks to the American Lamb Board and Food Network, I'm certainly getting a great one! The Winning Lamb Burger Recipe!
It's too late to go into much detail, but my meeting with the Food Network executives went very well. While no job was offered, I got lots of great feedback, and was strongly encouraged to take their notes and film another reel to submit to the Next Food Network Star show.
I was interviewed by the show's main judges, Bob Tuschman and Susie Fogelson, both of whom could not have been nicer, or more supportive for what I'm doing. Not only wasn't I nervous, but for some strange reason it felt like I was talking to dear old friends. I was completely at ease, and enjoyed every moment of what many would describe as an unsuccessful meeting.
I passionately pitched the idea for a foodwishes-style show (where the food is the star, and the chef not so much), after which they thoughtfully articulated why such a show isn’t commercially viable. Deep down I knew that would be their reaction, but it was still fun hearing it from these two major star makers. I will think carefully about what they had to say, and maybe give getting on the show a real shot, or I'll simply go back to being one of the most watched and influential (not to mention happiest) chefs on YouTube.
After the meeting I was gifted a sweet swag bag, and given a tour of the operation. I had decided not to show up with a camera hanging from my neck, so I just snapped a few quick pictures with the iPhone, which you can see here (including a shot of Kitchen Stadium below).
As I left the Chelsea Market, I felt strangely contented, like I had truly accomplished something. I saw in their eyes, and heard in their voices, that they understood just how much I love food, and teaching people to cook.
So, thank you Food Network. Thank you for the opportunity, for the trip to New York, and for reminding me that while there are a million ways to make it, you only need to choose one. You haven't seen, or rather heard, the last of me.
We arrived safe and sound, and thanks to the nicest staff in history, we were able to check into the Maritime Hotel a little early...like 7 hours early. It's such a cool hotel, and features a nautical theme (to say the least). You can see from this photo, all the windows are portholes. Here's the view from our room, which looks exactly like a cabin on a cruise ship. You couldn't pay me to go on a cruise, so this is the closest I will ever come to the experience (by the way, if you're a cruise ship company, and were actually thinking of paying me to go on a cruise, I was just kidding).
In what I'll take as a harbinger of things to come, this beautiful pear, balsamic, and blue cheese salad was placed down on our table at the Green Table, in the Chelsea Market, and we were told it was compliments of the house.
Of course I assumed they had recognized me as the minor web celebrity chef I pretend to be, but when asked why we'd been given this lovely treat, the server said, "because we just had a bunch of guests who were very demeaning to the staff, and so we just felt like doing it for you." Okay then.
Stay tuned for updates, and maybe even a few of those beloved reruns. Oh, and to the rude, insensitive jerks who ate lunch just before us, thanks!
I've shown how to make orange "supremes" before, but never up-close and personal in HD. People seem to enjoy these occasional, quick-and-easy techniques videos, and since they allow me to post a video without much heavy lifting, I enjoy them too.
This is especially true today, because tomorrow Michele and I leave for New York City for my big interview with the Food Network. As most of you know, I won the Next Food Network Star YouTube Challenge, and the Grand Prize was a meet and greet with the show's executives at their studios.
I'm very excited to build some new bridges, which is a crucial first step to burning them down. I have no idea what or when I'll be able to post, so bear with me during what could be a life-altering week.
The best way to share in this great adventure is to follow me on Twitter. By the way, if you're still wondering what the hell Twitter is all about, this is the perfect opportunity to experience it in all its narcissistic glory. Wish me luck, and as always, enjoy!
The entire time I've been posting videos to YouTube, I've been completely ignoring the messages that people were sending me video responses to my recipes. Actually, when I first started, I did look at a few of these, but they were always something spamy or much worse.
So, I never bothered to check back. Today, I was playing around with my account setting, and saw a huge backlog of these notices, so I took a gander. While most were not up to snuff, a few were pretty good, and I'll probably be posting them here at some point.
Here is a really cool one featuring our famous no-knead ciabatta bread recipe. It's called "18 Hour Time Lapse of Ciabatta Bread Dough Rise with Recipe" by brinstar117. Enjoy!
When I posted the tease to this seared scallops with orange "supremes" and jalapeno vinaigrette video last week, I got a few comments and emails asking how it would differ from the seared scallops with orange and jalapeno dressing video I posted last year.
While the dishes' flavor profiles are almost exactly the same, I find it fascinating how different this new version seems, with only one real change. Instead of the jalapeno being cut into a very fine dice (also known as "brunoise"), here I've used it in a simple vinaigrette.
In fact, the real reason for this video was to show you how to make this incredibly basic, but extremely versatile dressing. When it came time to decide what to pair it with, I could practically hear the scallops screaming at me from the fridge. By the way, the leftover vinaigrette was used the next day to dress a white bean salad, and it was fantastic.As long as you trim all the seeds and white membrane, jalapenos are not a really spicy pepper, especially when blended with the sweet rice vinegar. I realized after editing the video that I never showed how to prep the peppers, so if you're not that experienced working with them, check out the original scallop recipe here to see a great technique for getting just the meat of the pepper.
I'll be interested to hear from those of your who made the original, as to which you prefer. I definitely like this version better, but that may be for the simple fact that I love having such a delicious dressing around. Enjoy!
Seared Scallops with Orange "Supremes" and Jalapeno Vinaigrette Ingredients: Makes 4 Portions (not a bad idea to make a double batch of the vinaigrette)2 navel oranges 1 large jalapeno pepper, seeded, any white membranes removed 1/4 cup rice vinegar *1/4 cup regular or light olive oil (extra virgin may be too strongly flavored for this subtly flavored dish) 1/4 tsp Dijon mustard salt and pepper to taste 1 tablespoon grape seed, or vegetable oil 12 large fresh scallops, look for "day-boat" and/or "dry-pack" for best quality salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste *if you are making this for a salad dressing, maybe increase the oil to 1/3 cup.
I've received so many food wishes for coffee cake, which unfortunately I've not been able to grant yet. And yes, I do feel crumby about it. So, I was thrilled to see that my buddy and muse with different views, Average Betty, had posted a great looking video of a recipe she lifted from her mother-in-law.
I don't know Sara's mother-in-law, so I'll just go by stereotypes and assume she's a bitter psychopath who would break both her legs if she ever finds out her cherished heirloom recipe has been desecrated on a food blog. Thanks Sara!
Hello there! Just a very quick update from New York. Last night was the big Burger Bash, which was a lot of fun. We got to go because I received two tickets for winning the American Lamb Board's third annual “Get Your Grill On” video competition. Below I've posted the wining recipe in case you missed it. You can read the full, original post here.
