We interrupt this weeks scheduled Food Network snark session due to head cold.  Seriously, I just can’t be all that sharp witted when I’m thinking in a fog, and whether I’m going to dish out praise or shame on a Food Network celebrity, I’m going to do it to the best of my ability.  This usually entails at least two days of research on the topic, and I have not had those two days this week.

A subject that I don’t have to research meticulously are my favorite food blogs and food bloggers.  I visit these sites each and every day.  I subscribe to their feeds and wait with baited breath for the next recipe, bit of insight, or personal tidbit that they are willing to share with the world.  I comment on their blogs, and they have taken the time to do so on mine.  A few of these people I call friends, the rest I wouldn’t mind getting to know better.

Without Further ado, I present to you…

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Popularity: 1% [?]

I have to admit it. Up until I made this, dirty rice was one of my guilty boxed pleasures. I’d never seen a recipe for it, and I have to admit that I really hadn’t looked. I’d just grab a pound of ground beef or sausage and cook it up, then mix in the packet, some stock, and presto! A hearty meal that took all of 35 minutes, start to finish.It’s not what I’d call health food coming out of a box, but it was just so good!

Then one day while the Food network droned on as background noise to cleaning the living room, I saw it. There on the screen before me, Paula Deen, the First lady of Buttah was doing a segment on low country cooking, and her second dish was that elusive, delectable dish that I’d come to love so much from a box.

And it was too simple for words.

Literally, it’s probably the simplest thing you could ever make. Just brown up some proteins, add some green stuff, fold in rice and as much heat as you want, and viola! Enough dirty rice to last my rice luvvin’ wife over a week of lunches. The flavor.. Something just this side of heaven, in our opinion.

Dirty Rice is now one of those things I would never dream of buying in a box. It is a comfort food that I’ll lovingly recreate time and again. I’ll make my own at least once per month and freeze it up in individual serving sizes for a quick bite or a glorious side to any meal that needs a bit of kick to go along with it.

I hope Y’All enjoy this recipe as much as we did.

EDIT: I had a few people suggest that they would prefer giblets over livers. I’m here to tell you NOT TO DO THIS! I tried the recipe with giblets last night and the resulting dish was summarily thrown out. It is not a good combination at all! Read more…

Popularity: 21% [?]

As a not so spicy compliment to my Asian Inspired wings, I offer up my wife’s lemon garlic chicken wings.  We came up with this recipe in the hopes that it would pick up on some of the flavors of Greek chicken, or at least Mediterranean cuisine, and I don’t think we were too far off. (There should have been honey in here somewhere, but it was close) 

To carry the Mediterranean feel a bit further, we paired it with some leftover tzatziki we had in the fridge from a few days earlier.  The result?  I can only call these wonderful and suggest you give them a try.  Really, I wish I had more to say on the subject, but honestly, I’m just wishing we had a few wings left right about now…

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Popularity: 3% [?]

It’s just about game time, and you’ve just got to have a few snacks hanging around, right? O.K. I have to admit that I won’t be watching the big game this year. I only know who’s playing because everyone is talking about it. That doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy a good hot wing every once-in-a-while though, and these wings are most definitely good.

To be honest, I wasn’t expecting these to be as hot as they were. I had originally made these for my wife and I, but she’s sensitive to capsicum, and these little bitty wings pack one heck of a punch in the spice department. I ended up eating all of them myself. Next time I’ll skip the garlic chili sauce so that she can enjoy them with me.

In any event, these really couldn’t be easier to put together, and the recipe can be doubled, tripled or quadrupled depending on the number of people you are serving and their appetites. I would suggest however, that you serve a milder version along side them for those guests who don’t have a love of blast-furnace heat.

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Popularity: 2% [?]

(For those of you who have not read one of my posts on Sandra Lee in the past, here’s a bit of a warning…

I do not like this person. I am ruthless and more than a bit cruel when discussing her. This is not going to be a read in praise of Aunt Sandy. You have been warned!

If you are a Sandra lee fan, please read the bottom of this post before commenting. ((You may skip the rest, you won’t like it))))

For me, Semi Home Made with Sandra lee is something akin to a train wreck, or a serious auto accident in progress. I don’t want to watch it. I have no interest in the carnage, and most likely what I see will scar me for life. But as with a train wreck, I simply can’t turn away, the sight is too ghastly for that. I simply stare in shock as something beyond my control goes terribly, horribly wrong.

Try as I might,if I fail to get to the remote before she starts talking, I’m stuck in the glow of her inanity like a deer in the headlights of a fast moving semi truck. Somewhere inside of myself I know that the end is near, but there is a part of me that just has to see what those shiny lights are, regardless of the danger.

For those of you who railed against me for having nothing at all positive to say about Miss Lee, let me say this. In the span between my first post on this person and today, I have seen some decent looking recipes on her show. Not many, mind you, but a few. For the most part I tally those up to “it’s such a simple dish that it has to be good.” In any case, there aren’t enough of those moments to keep me from finding new and improved ways to state my obvious distaste of her.

EDIT:–  For those of you who just have to tell me she trained at the Cordon Bleu:
No, She did Not!  She dropped out of a Cordon Bleu Satellite Class after one week, stating she could get the same results out of a package! (What a nauseating thought!)

So let’s dive in shall we? Let the carnage begin!

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Popularity: 9% [?]

I had my first taste of tzatziki about 400 feet from the main gate of The Great Lakes Naval Training Center in the city of North Chicago, Illinois just about 20 years ago at a local Gyro stand. I’ve been in love ever since. It probably helped that there is a huge Greek population in that part of the U.S. Had there not been, I may have been greeted with one of the sad and rather pathetic attempts at this condiment that I’ve had since. Had that been the case I never would have tried it again. If tzatziki is made incorrectly it is, quite simply, rather foul.

It was the first time I’d eaten a gyro. I still remember the joy I felt at the incredible melding of flavors from the gyro meat (A combination of lamb and beef, with some extras added…), the lettuce, tomatoes, and this wonderful cucumber scented sauce. It was such a sublimely beautiful experience that I ate there at least twice a week for the rest of my time in Illinois. (much to the delight of the owners, I might add. I personally made them a few thousand dollars while stationed there.)

I’ve attempted to make my own tzatziki several times since then, but always with questionable results. When I saw that my friend and fellow foodbuzz featured publisher Peter over at Souvlaki for the Soul had just made a batch of his own tzatziki, I decided to give it another go. I’m very glad that I did.

I didn’t use Peter’s recipe, but rather adapted one I found on the Food Network Website. The result was everything I’ve been longing to make for years, and will be the basis for my next several attempts, hopefully with some Greek Style yogurt on the next round. (I couldn’t find any here, which is not surprising in a section of Texas populated with mostly German immigrant families. Ask me for fresh Bratwurst and I can do that for you!)

Tzatziki is most commonly associated with gyros and is sometimes mistakenly referred to as gyro sauce here in the states. While it is most certainly wonderful on a gyro, limiting this wonderful condiment to just that purpose would be a complete shame. It goes wonderfully as a substitute for mayo on a sandwich, as a dip for my wife’s Greek style chicken wings. (Those get posted tomorrow, folks), as a dip for pita chips (or white corn tortilla chips), the uses are really only limited to your imagination. Since making this batch of tzatziki, I’ve used it in three different ways, two of which I’ll be featuring here over the next week or so.

So what are you waiting for? Grab the recipe and bring a little bit of Greece into your day!

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Popularity: 5% [?]

Texans in general are a laid back bunch of folks. We’re generally not in a big hurry to get from place to place, and rather than seeing people power walk through a parking lot to get back to their car, you are far more likely to see a person “mosey” while yapping happily with the grocery store bagger. We take our time at registers, we smile a lot and we tend to be soft spoken and to the point. There are however, two sure fire ways to start a discussion that will become loud, heated and passionate, no matter where you happen to be.

The first of these subjects is football. football really is a religion in Texas. Disagreements on favorite teams or favorite players almost instantly become boisterous, and have been known to end up in brawls. Mention that you’re a Cowboys fan and I guarantee that a Texans fan will pipe up from somewhere in the room. You’re an Aggies fan? That’s going to get you yelled at by a Longhorns fan in a hurry. The discussions on who has the better team, better players, better stadium… The list goes on. (Do not mention football at all if your favorite team is from outside the Lone Star State, this may cause a riot! You are taking your safety into your own hands at this point.)

The second sure fire method to start an argument in Texas is to talk about chili. The official food of The Great State of Texas is chili. This particular variety of chili is probably different from what you are used to finding if you live anywhere else in the country. This chili is known quite simply as Texas Red. It is unanimous that Texas Red shall be composed of only meat and sauce. There are no beans, no rice, no noodles, nor any other fillers in this dish. This meat will be beef! Not pork, chicken, rabbit or any other non bovine ingredient shall now, or ever be used in Texas Red. It is also unanimously held that this chili must be hot. Very hot. Hot enough to make a seasoned cowhand sweat in February, or make small children cry at the very mention of the dish. Wimpy chili’s need not apply here.

Knowing all this, you may wonder where any discussion comes in. If everyone agrees on those points, why would anyone argue at all? Well, I’ll tell you. It’s because nobody can agree on the actual recipe for Texas Red Chili!

Chili is such a passion in Texas that we hold annual competitions. These competitions have hundreds if not thousands of entrants, and each and every one of those entrants has a different recipe for the perfect pot of Texas Red. These recipe differences are not limited to competitions. Every home chili cook has their own twist on the amounts and types of ingredients used. Some like Lisa, the Homesick Texan, will tell you that you should never, ever use ground beef. others will say that her additions of Mexican chocolate and lime juice are complete blasphemy, deserving of exile from Texas itself. There are disagreements on fresh vs. powdered ingredients, whether or not tomatoes or tomato sauce is allowed, cheese or no cheese in the chili itself, the amount of spices to use, how hot is too hot… The list goes on and on.

These differences are compounded by the sheer size of the state. Texas is huge. With a land mass of 267,338 square miles , Texas is large enough that even the most basic of regional dishes changes within her borders. In Southern Texas, which is closer to Mexico, things are going to be spicier than they will be in Northern Texas, which borders Oklahoma. In East Texas, the flavors of Louisiana and Arkansas creep in to the daily diet, while in West Texas the influences of New Mexico are frequently present. Central Texas is a huge mish-mash of all of these flavors, so it’s pretty easy to see where we might disagree on some things, isn’t it?

In the end, I present to you my version of Texas Red. I’m sure that others out there will say that it isn’t the correct recipe, or that I’ve done something wrong. But then that is generally said of anyone who makes Texas Red, so if it is the case, I’ll take the heat!

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Popularity: 6% [?]

[EDIT: If you are looking for information on Chef Robert falsifying his resume, please see this post instead!]

There are a lot of shows that I dislike on Food Network, there’s no secret there. Of the few I do truly enjoy watching, at least two are reality shows rather than actual cooking segments. One of these is Dinner: Impossible. That show begins its new season tonight, and next week the show taped last September right here at Sheppard Air Force Base, Wichita Falls TX is airing for the very first time. In honor of that, This Thirteen is on Chef Robert.

I know that I usually ramble on a bit in these introductions, but that is generally because I truly have more than thirteen snippy things to say about the bobblehead in question. In honor of the fact that this guy is like, my HERO, I’m just going to dive right in.

So without further hesitation or ado, I present to you with great satisfaction and a habit of yammering too much:

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Popularity: 2% [?]

You’ve probably noticed the abundance of foodbuzz banners that are dotted in prominent places around this blog. Food buzz is a pretty cool digg-type resource for food lovers that offers restaurant reviews, recipes, food related videos and other really cool food-type stuff gathered by other foodies from all over the globe. To quote their about page:

We love food!

In fact, we’re passionate about our adventures in all things edible. Be it dining out, cooking at home, discovering a new flavor, drooling over a food blog, or swapping recipes with friends, count us in. And we know we’re not alone. There are so many like-minded gourmands out there, opening great restaurants, dishing out new blog posts, cookbooks, videos, recipes, menus and reviews, that our attempt to stay current on the tastiest bits of information, begging to be digested, was becoming a serious challenge.

So we created Foodbuzz: the first-ever community site devoted exclusively to food and dining content-an unparalleled resource for searching, surfing and sharing with fellow foodies everywhere.

From the professional chef to the casual diner and everyone in between, our online community is a one-stop shop for food lovers to find exactly what they are searching for without having to navigate around multiple sites or mull through irrelevant results from general search engine queries. Search results are community-driven and contextually relevant, providing users with the unique opportunity to surf original and user-generated content based on their search criteria. As a community, Foodbuzz enables you to share your thoughts with the rest of us. We’ve created a space where you can not only submit recipes, videos, news, photos, restaurant reviews, blog posts, new restaurants, favorites and forums, but also comment and vote on content submitted by others. Think of it as an exchange of appetites.

Catch the buzz!

I am privileged to be among their featured publishers along side several of my friends and fellow bloggers such as kellypea of Sass and Veracity, Susan of The Well Seasoned Cook, and my mate Peter from Souvlaki for the Soul. (Just to name the few I could get to quickly.) Users of the site have the ability to vote for their favorite recipes and foodies, to rate restaurants, to see what others are saying about their favorite eateries, etc.

If you like what I’m doing here, please take a half second to hit the main page of this blog and click on the “vote me up” button in the center of the page. It seems there’s a lot of competition to be the most popular, and while I’m not a glory hound by any stretch, it just feels nice to get a little buzz now and then.

If you’re a food blogger, take a minute to find out if they’ve already set you up a page. (This isn’t content theft, as they simply link back to you from your feed titles. In the industry we call these “seed” entries, they’re a new company, so it’s normal.) I know for a fact that my fellow Texans FoodieBride and My Kitchen in Half Cups have already got them, all they need to do is claim them! (It’s an honor folks, they picked you as some of the best out there and included you, it’s pretty cool, really. They did the same for Elise and Emeril.)

so take a few minutes, sign up, vote for your favorite foodie, tell everyone what your favorite place to eat is and most of all Have Fun!  It’s addictive, really.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Deviled eggs have come a long way since my mother used to make them. Top chefs all over the world have revisited this rather classic dish and added new twists along the way, and so have I. In the past, I’ve added tappenade, pepperocini, artichoke and cayenne to mine, all with great results. This experiment was to see if the classic breakfast combo worked as well. it did, in fact it worked better than I expected.

Originally I thought that bacon would be the dominant flavor in these eggs and it was in a way, but not in the way that I expected. The first flavors that you pick up on are the tang from the mustard and lemon juice, then from the salad dressing. Next there is a hint of onion and egg, which is wonderful. Only after all of these things grace your palate does the bacon flavor come into the mix, starting of as a subtle backdrop to the other flavors, and in the end standing on its own. The bacon becomes the crescendo in a wonderful finale of flavors and textures that I will happily serve again and again.

These eggs could easily be made the day before and kept in the fridge for a quick breakfast, or served at any brunch, so feel free to use them as you see fit.

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Popularity: 5% [?]