I’ll be in the paper, the news with Ernie Anastos, They’ll even print my recipe for pasta with pesto, now here’s another special of the day, you see I’ve got more spice than the frugal gourmet.

This recipe comes strait from the source, MCA himself! He wasn’t bluffing when he said his recipe for pesto would be printed. I’m not positive, but I think this recipe is from the short lived Grand Royal Magazine, put out by their own record company. It is a straightforward pesto recipe, but the ratios are perfect and I love the carefully described technique. So I’m gonna shut up now and let today’s guest blogger talk a bit!

Well I’m as cool as a cucumber in a bowl of hot sauce,
You’ve got the rhyme and reason but got no cause

I’ve been a huge Beastie Boy fan for almost my whole life. They are one of the few musical groups I liked growing up that I can still get behind being the jaded snobby hipster indie music nerd that I am today. They come out with albums about once ever 100 years, so you can imagine that it is an exciting time to be a Beastie Boy fan right now! Since their CD comes out next Tuesday, I decided to dedicate a week to cooking recipes inspired by them. They are food nerds after all! Cooking today’s recipe, I quickly realized that cucumbers DON’T stay cool in a bowl of hot sauce! This recipe was spicy!

This post is the behind the scenes DVD commentary for my Tablespoon post yesterday on red velvet chicken tenders.

Awhile back, a friend emailed me a link to an article talking about red velvet fried chicken on a menu at a restaurant in San Fran. The link was accompanied only by the text “I want”. This idea was in the back of my head for awhile, but the recipe seemed clunky to me, Fried chicken needs to fry for a long time, wouldn’t the red velvet burn? Soak the chicken in the batter, then dredge with cooked red velvet crumbs? There had to be a better way.

So when Tablespoon was looking for unique “batters” for the start of the baseball season, I decided to go for it (you know how much I love cheesy puns, baseball, and fried things) and try out my take on the recipe. I thought chicken tenders to make the fry time quick, and also decided I would make onion rings so Tablespoon wouldn’t get all the fun, and I could post some pics here on TFIMB too.

The plan was to have the friend over who initially suggested the idea and finally make these crazy things, but unfortunately time got away from me and at the last minute I had to just make them on my own. This was a good thing because my first attempt was a complete disaster and I am glad no one was around to witness it!

What makes a tart a tart? Is it the pan? Or is it the crust? If it’s the pan, then this is most definitely a tart. If it’s the crust, then this isn’t a tart at all! This tart uses rice as the crust, instead of the shortcrust pastry most tarts are known for. To get the rice to form a thin solid crust, I prepared it the way I make sushi rice, added a few spices, then spread it out on the bottom of the tart pan. After it cooked, the edges were crispy, and the middle was gummy, but in a good way, like an Asian rice dumpling. The final dish exceeded my expectations. It was fun and different, economical yet elegant. (But anything cooked in a tart pan seems elegant)

Even though some people would probably disagree, I don’t consider myself a know-it-all. I like to think that I keep an open mind and am constantly learning, particularly when it comes to food. There are a few topics however, that I feel like I know inside and out. That I have “mastered” if you will. When you have made 14 versions of mac and cheese, you get a pretty good feel for it! That’s why I was so shocked last Wednesday night at 10:30 pm, when a friend casually said to me “they have a mac and cheese that is topped with chocolate at Rattlesnake” I mean, I’m no stranger to topping pasta with chocolate, but I just couldn’t see how it would work with mac and cheese. “No they don’t” was my first reply. “How late is the kitchen open?” was my second. We had a table by 11:15.

Upon first bite, I was shocked by the interplay between the bacon and dark Taza Chocolate. We have all seen the recent trend of chocolate covered bacon, but this is the first time I have witnessed a practical application of that infamous flavor combination. The other thing I was pleasantly surprised by was the fact that this was a stovetop mac and cheese, a dish that is commonly baked at restaurants. Smoked chiles and Mexican cheeses brought everything together perfectly. You know I had to share this with you guys as soon as possible!

Have you guys been watching Americas Next Great Restaurant on NBC? I don’t particularly like most of the contestants, or anyones restaurant concept, but something about it keeps me watching. For one, I think it is pretty cool that the winning restaurant will open it’s doors the day after the finale airs. Basically the whole show is a commercial for the restaurant! The other reason I watch is that I am fascinated with Chipotle and since the founder/owner is one of the judges, there are a lot of cool stories about it’s creation and philosophies. The problem though, is that pretty much the whole time I watch I just think about how my restaurant idea would crush all competitors on the show.

I was particularly sour about it yesterday because I had just cooked a potential new menu item for my Indian – Southern US BBQ fusion joint. This burger is a take on the “smokehouse” style burger found at many restaurants that is topped with BBQ sauce and onion rings. I made an indian spiced bbq sauce, and pakoras, an Indian veggie fritter, and served the whole thing on freshly made naan bread. The only problem with my plans(Besides lack of money and experience?) is I can’t seem to name the place! After brainstorming with friends, “Indique” (Pronounced indy-Q) is the best we could come up with, but no one really likes it… Anyone have any good ideas?

You might have noticed a recent trend on this blog. I have always cooked spicy, but lately I have been going a bit over the top. That’s all due to my roommate, Sal. I thought I liked spicy food until I moved in with him! Now each time I try to make it hotter and hotter, and after eating he just looks at me, shrugs his shoulders, and says “meh, it was kinda spicy.” That is not the reaction I want! Even at Hell Night this kid ate his meal stone faced. This week I decided enough is enough. I vowed to serve the hottest wings we have ever eaten, or give up the spice game forever…

Yep. 9.6. Those familiar with the scale may know that I have yet to achieve over a 7.2, and that everything over 9 is inedible to 90% of the population! These wings burned. My whole face is tingling right now despite finishing eating over 3 hours ago and having taken a shower since! The funny thing was that we both ate our first wing, looked at each other, and gave kind of an “I don’t know…” look. I thought my spice days were finished. 2 wings later, I had literal tears dripping from my face. I ran to get milk and realized my critical error not purchasing some at the grocery store. Blue cheese and carrots were my only salvation. Sal and I pushed on, finishing about 13 wings each, and he finally showed signs of pain and fatigue. Success! This didn’t stop him from scooping up remaining wing sauce with pieces of celery! Did I forget to mention that these wings were just as delicious as they were hot?