Southern Cuisine

Posted by Cyndi Allison

I watch Hell's Kitchen now and again, but I clicked in pretty regular this season. We had a local culinary artist competing - Louis Petrozza of Charlotte, NC.

Call me biased, but I was pulling for Petrozza. He'd done the time. He'd earned his stripes.

Gordon Ramsay rode Petrozza hard from the start. Ramsay had issues with Petrozza's laid back style - or that's what he opted to focus on. Ramsay made comments about the Southern guy's slovenly habits in the kitchen. It seemed that Petrozza's messy stations were the worst of his problems. It was hard to argue with the quality of his cooking. He'd have been gone fast if he hadn't been great.

I didn't really think Petrozza had a chance. In addition to being Southern and not a curser, he also checked in at 47 years of age. Three big strikes.

The final cook off looked close. The TV crews slant that - of course. They don't want anyone to know who will win and who will walk off. In the end, it appeared that Petrozza had a better handle on his menu and kitchen staff.

Christina, of course, won. She got bleeped numerous times on the last episode and when she won. I guess it was F-ing great. She was also 25 years old, and Ramsay said he was looking toward the future. It's easier to handle a groupie, and a young'un has more years to give. This is nothing new in the workplace.

Congratulations to Christina. She did do a great job. I wish she'd refused to go the potty mouth route. That may stand her well with Ramsay and in the city. Here, we'll just keep Petrozza and his good attitude and good food. We'll even overlook and even celebrate that he's got a few miles under his belt.

Posted by Cyndi Allison

Parents can enter stories written by their child or children based on prompts at the Subway website. An example prompt for "The Race to Red Onion Ranch" is - "Everyone is gathered in the center of town for the race except . . ."

Prizes include a grand prize of $5000 in athletic equipment for the school of the winning child. There are smaller prizes for the winning child and the runner up entrants.

This contest runs July 1, 2008 through August 31, 2008.

The Subway contest is pretty straightforward and is designed, in part, to promote fitness for school aged children.

Parents homeschooling have, however, complained that the contest is open only to children attending traditional schools and the prize will be donated to a school.

Subway has promised to sponsor another contest open to home-school children. They could, of course, forget contests. Subway is not required to host such events. They may wish they had stuck with the $5 sub deals which apparently don't offend anyone . . . so far.

Posted by Cyndi Allison

If the Democrats want to win friends and influence people at the Denver national democratic convention, then they might want to start with the menu. When the food of your "people" (and especially those of Southern hertitage) are held up as the standard of ridicule, then you're not going to make many brownie points - nor get to eat any brownies either.

Several online news sources including the Atlanta Journal Constitution are reporting that the menu at the convention will be healthy and include three of the following colors: red, yellow, green, white, purple/blue. In addition, no fried foods will be served - period.

In the South, we don't plan our meals by the colors. Nope. It's all about the flavors. We can give you red, yellow, green, white and blue/purple. That's fine. But, cooking is not color by numbers.

We also fry a lot of foods here in the sunny South. That's not all we do. We love our fresh garden vegetables and southern grown fruits. It's all about the seasons and the balance.

Government has gotten bigger and bigger but sure not better and better. There are issues much more complex and important than the menu at the convention.

However, banning the food of an area where Democrats struggle is not such a grand idea.

Perhaps Democrats could look on the sunny side. Request what you do want rather than listing a ban on our Southern fried chicken, chicken fried steak, and okra rolled in cornmeal and fried in butter.

Or, put the food out there and let folks decide.

The big brother attitude of the Democratic party has not been setting well in the South, and it's not likely to improve when they talk trash on our Mamma's cooking.

Posted by Cyndi Allison

There are loads of options if you're thinking about a 4th of July cookout.

If you're a beginner, consider hot dogs. They are inexpensive and super easy to grill.

Grilled hamburgers are always a good pick. Try hand patting the burgers. It does make a difference.

For a smaller group, steak is always great. You won't find many people who will turn down a perfectly grilled rib eye.

Some other ideas:

Beer Butt Chicken

Pork Pineapple Kabobs

Shrimp

Grilled Lobster

And, don't forget the barbecue side dishes:

Baked Beans with Hamburger

Grilled Corn on the Cob

Hash Browns on the Grill

Best Ever Potato Salad

Easy Summer Pasta Salad

Posted by Cyndi Allison

The UPS man just came by with my package of La Cense grass fed beef.

I've been concerned about reports of cows being mistreated and "downer cows" being butchered and sold. Then there are the pesticides and antibiotics. Whew. Makes me think twice when I get ready to cook.

I read up on La Cense and liked what I heard. They rotate the cows on pastureland with natural grass. The cows are not packed in feeding houses like most grocery bound cows. This approach, of course, takes longer and costs a little more, but I think we get in too big of a hurry these days.

La Cense meat is better for us. With natural feeding, the fat levels are lower. Grass fed means fat levels similar to chicken breasts. That's a good thing. And, the flavor is fabulous. I ate a lot of fresh beef from my Poppaw's small family farm. That was some great eating.

We're grilling out tomorrow night, and I'm excited. The La Cense beef looks really super. I have the steak and kabob chunks thawing in the refrigerator.

If you're looking for beef from a humane farm and 100% grass fed, then check out La Cense. For some good recipes and tips, you can visit Yes You Can Grill and get lots of ideas.

Posted by Cyndi Allison

The FDA issued a warning today (June, 7 2008) in reference to certain tomatoes grown in certain areas of the country. Individuals in several states have been infected with salmonella including Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.

Tomatoes identified include red plum, red Roma, and red round tomatoes. Other tomatoes and those grown in home gardens should be fine. There's also a list of states where no problems have been noted with the tomato crops.

According to the warning, it is possible that the tainted tomatoes may be linked to a single grower. The FDA is working to identify the problem and get and keep bad tomatoes off the shelves as we move into the big tomato season.

Posted by Cyndi Allison

Dunkin' Donut executives decided they would take commercials featuring Rachael Ray in a black and white scarf off the air after complaints came in saying that her scarf looked like a keffiyeh.

Ray's scarf which can be viewed at Boston.com and does not look much like the headscarf (keffiyeh) worn by Yasser Arafat. It does however reflect more closely the younger generation and those showing political support for Palestine by wearing the traditional Arab scarfs around the shoulders as covered in Village Voice. In short, the complaints suggested that Ray supported terrorism with her choice of wearing the black and white scarf while representatives for Ray say it was meant only as a fashion accessory.

The ladies on The View felt that Dunkin' Donuts should have stood their ground and supported Ray. Joy Behar even donned a scarf for a brief period of time; however, she tossed it back over her shoulder after a couple of jokes about the situation. A search of the website for The View for Rachael Ray does not pull up the comments or footage this afternoon. In fact, the ABC Search includes a host of sponsored ads for Rachael Ray products.

This is not the first bump in the road with the Ray/Dunkin' Donut partnership. Rumors online back in January suggested that Ray doesn't like DD coffee. Ray, of course, denied the rumors.

Posted by Cyndi Allison

It took some time, but the big daddy of the fast food chains, McDonald's, is now serving foods sans trans fats with the exception of the pies and cookies which should be trans fat free by the end of the year.

McDonald's lagged behind many other restaurants, since the organization is so large and because company officials wanted to maintain the signature flavor of the French fries. In addition, healthier oils cost more and have a shorter shelf or cooking life.

After New York basically banned trans fats and with the public pushing for healthier cooking preparations, McDonald's along with many other chains including Krispy Kreme doughnuts made the shift. Vegetable oils like canola, for example, do less damage to arteries while trans fats are associated with artery clogging. McDonald's is using a combination of canola, corn, and soybean oils for frying.

This does not mean that your Big Mac and fries are healthy. And, neither are the doughnuts at Krispy Kreme. You're still getting fat and lots of empty calories. But, you're not getting the trans fats at least.

As far as the food flavors, there's not a huge difference. If you have a good palate, you'll detect a slight difference. The French fries are still kickin' at McDonald's, but they aren't clogging arties as much - so that's a good thing.

Posted by Cyndi Allison

The first time I made Beer Butt Chicken, I did not get the chicken down over the can as well as I should have. I managed to knock my chicken off the grill and roll it down the sidewalk. It rolls really neat - kind of like a football. This, of course, also amused my boys. They are easily amused.

I got another can of beer and washed off that chicken, and we had a feast though it was not a lovely feast after rolling around and being scrubbed. The flavor was excellent even with a mishap.

After that first time, Beer Butt Chicken has been a breeze to make. If you want the recipe with tips, then see my Beer Butt Chicken recipe along with a photo of what the chicken looks like when it is not rolled down the sidewalk.

If you are not a beer drinker, then you really can't taste any beer flavor in the Beer Can Chicken. If you have excellent taste buds, you may detect just a tiny hint. It's fine to use soda pop if you don't like the idea of using beer. 7-Up or Sprite with some seasonings work well.

Happy Memorial Day! Crank up the grill and try something different. Anything on the grill just has that extra something!

Posted by Cyndi Allison

MSNBC reports that a new food show may heat up the reality TV landscape in the summer of 2008. "Cooking with the All Pros" is the working title of the program, and the idea would be to pair fans and Dallas Cowboy football players for face off cooking competitions.

Unlike most realtiy competition shows, the contestants would not play for cash prizes or for chef contracts. In fact, football fans would bid for the chance to cook next to a Cowboy. The money would then be donated to charity.

Show planners are also talking about having a drawing for some show slots. That seems like a good idea. Otherwise, only wealthy fans would have a shot at cooking with the Dallas Cowboys.

This idea obvisouly plays off the current popularity of reality TV shows and particularly those in the cooking realm. "Cooking with the Pros" may bring in broad demongraphics by appealing to football fans as well as those who enjoy cooking. On the other hand, it may not work for either group. The sports crowd may not be interested in seeing cooking shows and vice versa.

There's nothing set in stone yet. The game plan is to start taping in June and to have some shows in the can and perhaps a network deal by August before the football season kicks off.