March Madness Draws to a Close

Well March Madness wraps up with some pretty boring meals. Nothing on Friday Night. I worked late and knew that I'd be eating like a pig on Saturday when I judged the Snowshoe (a very well fed pig, more about that later) so I skipped dinner. Saturday's dinner was a single cheeseburger from Wendy's and Sunday dinner was a stop in at Wheeler's (No sushi) in the Bay. I had Buffalo wings and nachos. I know, very healthy.

So March Madness leaves the building. I thought that forcing myself to eat/cook a different entree every night would cause me to take a look at my cooking habits and recipes and discover something new. Unfortunately with the flu taking out so much of the month, it didn't happen. Maybe I'll try it again later in the year.

But now, it's April and time to start refocusing on barbecue (Thanks, Donna!)

After sleeping for an hour and a half, I was up and on the road Saturday morning heading up to the outskirts of Boston to judge at The Snow Shoe Challenge. The Taft's run a great event that really should be a lot bigger then it is. 18 teams compete each year in the traditional kick off to the NEBS barbecue season here in the Northeast.

The Snow Shoe Challenge was/is the model on which Matt and I based Grillin' On The Bay. Gary and Michelle run a great show that is enjoyed by both the teams and the judges. We hoped we could run a contest half as well as they run The Snow Shoe.

For those of you who are not familiar with The Snow Shoe, it's rules and food submissions are based on the guidelines of a bbq as governed by KCBS. That means four categories of food with six judges judging your food submission. For a cook, that means a lot of work. For a judge, that means sampling and possibly consuming over 2lbs of food.

I'll get into the judging experience later in the week, but let me tell you this; if you weren't there you missed one of the best contests in the Northeast. Congratulations to Dirty Dick and the Legless Wonders; the Grand Champions of 2008!

Thanks to the fine folks over at The New England BBQ Society for the fine collage of The Snow Shoe. There's some legendary cooks in that photo.

BaaaaaaaaaaaaR-Beeeeeee-Quuuuuuuuuuuueeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

A Moment in Time

It's very rare that a television show can make me tear up. Tonight that happened. I was watching HBO's outstanding series John Adams.

Tonight's episode ended with the inauguration of General George Washington as the first President of the United States. As the crowd strained to hear, General Washington recited the oath of office tentatively but strongly and obviously moved by the weight and responsibility of the position he was undertaking. There was no sense of entitlement or conquering as he recited those famous words...

"I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

To this, President Washington added...

"So help me God."

It was said as a prayer and not in the self congratulatory, almost cynical way every president since 1976 has said it.

As I watched this scene I thought of the current occupant of the office and of the 3 people currently seeking the presidency. All I could think of was so help me God.

So help us all.

March Madness: KCBS Hits The Road

Barbecue is becoming big money. The Kansas City Barbeque Society now has over 8,500 "professional" members and is hitting the road to promote barbecue. The tour will demonstrate the products that "go great in and with world-class BBQ, including TABASCO brand Chipotle Pepper Sauce, Weber Grill Creations, Royal Oak charcoal and Chinet tableware."

So if you get a chance stop by the Great American BBQ Tour display from KCBS, and you will not only learn tips from the pros, but you can sample BBQ from thier expert chefs and walk away with great recipes and tips to use at home.

Dates	Event	Location
Mar 28-29	Pork 'N Brew BBQ	Rio Rancho, NM
Apr 11-13	Poteet Strawberry Festival	Poteet, TX
Apr 24-27	Corpus Christi Buc Days	Corpus Christi, TX
May 3-4	Stagecoach Festival	Indio, CA
May 16-17	Bloomin' BBQ & Bluegrass	Sevierville, TN
May 23-26	St. Louis Rib America	St. Louis, MO
Jun 5-8	CMA Music Festival	Nashville, TN
Jun 13-14	Blue Ridge BBQ Festival	Tryon, NC
Jun 21-22	Washington BBQ Battle	Washington, DC
Jun 26-28	Milwaukee Summerfest	Milwaukee, WI
Jul 3-6	Naperville Ribfest	Naperville, IL
Jul 11-13	N. Jersey BBQ Champ.	N. Wildwood, NJ
Jul 18-20	Des Moines Rib America	Des Moines, IA
Jul 25-27	Columbus Jazz & Rib Fest	Columbus, OH
Aug 15-16	Wilson County Fair	Lebanon, TN
Aug 22-23	Rock & Ribs	Salt Lake City, UT
Aug 28-30	Best of the West	Reno, NV
Sep 12-13	Blues, Brews & BBQ	Charlotte, NC
Sep 19-20	Smoke on the Water	Hot Springs, AR
Sep 25-27	River City Roundup	Omaha, NE
Oct 2-4	American Royal	Kansas City, MO
Oct 17-18	Cherokee Pignic	Canton, GA
Oct 24-25	Jack Daniel's Invitational	Lynchburg, TN

No dinner tonight. It's late and I've got to leave the house by 5:00 AM tomorrow morning to get up to NEBS annual Snow Shoe Challenge. If you're looking for some outstanding "Q" and can help a good cause come on by to the Abington VFW in Abington, MA!

Today's random barbeque link: The Pickled Pig

Spring Cleanup: Weber Sale

How many of us have a Weber Kettle? Or a Weber Smokey Mountain? Or a Smokey Joe? Or all of the above? Well, Weber has sent me this information that I think many of you will find useful...

Spring is here and that means a lot of things… flowers start to bloom, baseball season begins, and the smell of backyard barbecues fills the air. Take a good look at your grill. Could it use a little sprucing up? Well, we’ve got you covered — just click here for some helpful tips to get your grill in shape. And if you find you need any replacement parts in the process, you’re in luck — we are offering, for a limited time*, a 15% discount on select charcoal grates, cooking grates, Flavorizer® bars, igniter kits, and burner tubes for your charcoal and gas grills. Just enter promotion code SPRING08 upon checkout. So, don’t waste any more time—the sooner you order your replacement parts, the sooner you can start cooking those fabulous meals on your grill.

The offer expires on 4/25/08, is only open to US residents and can only be used once, so shop smart. I usually buy replacement cooking grates for all my grills each spring and I'm missing a grate for my Weber Smokey Mountain, so you know I'll be taking advantage of this offer.

March Madness is winding down. Tonight's dinner was macaroni and cheese made from scratch and a bacon, lettuce and tomato salad. I would love to have another scallop dinner, but that's for special occasions. The picture above was from Father's Day last year.

Tonight's random barbeque link... The County Line. I've got to get back there soon. Good stuff.

March Madness: Grill Power

Yes, that is a grill. A gas grill apparently. It's called the Motor Head and available for $399 from FABGrills.

According to their website....
• Unique Patented V-8 Engine Design
• High Temp Powder Coated Paint
• Chrome Plated Air Breather, Valve Covers,
Oil Pan & Control Panel
• Cast Iron 2-piece Enameled Coated
Grilling Surface
• Powder Coated Exhaust Headers
• Removable Oil Pan for Quick and
Easy Cleaning
• 55,000 BTU’s of cooking heat
Approx. 440 sq. Inches of grilling
space (20”w x 22”d)
• Chromed Air Cleaner Serves as the
Exhaust
• Dual Use Tool Box GasTank Cover
• Locking Front Wheels
• Built to Withstand Years of Service
• Multi-tier Warranty and Guarantee
• Custom Colors Available
• Griddle Cooking

It's cool to look at, but I wonder if it can cook. Lots of times these novelty grills are just that - novelties. If the folks over at FABGrills want to send me one, I'll put it through its paces and let you know.

March Madness continued tonight with a penne with mushroom and ricotta sauce. Good stuff.

And today's random barbecue link: The Galax Smokehouse.

March Madnes: Bad Time In The Old Town

Hey folks. Dinner tonight was some really awful Chicken with Black Bean Sauce from No.1 Chinese Restaurant on Avenue U here in Brooklyn. Trust me. This was God awful. It did have chicken and black beans, but it didn't resemble or taste like any version I've had before. Maybe they hired the chef's from Top Chef. Maybe I really got Chicken Picatta!


Lunch today also brought some bad news, my favorite Buffalo wing joint in Manhattan, Pluck U has closed its Ninth Avenue location. I can't say I didn't see it coming. The prices were rising, the portions getting smaller and the place getting dirtier and emptier each time I infrequently visited this year.

I wound up getting a burger at Lucky's Famous Burger on West 52nd Street. (No website that I can find, but here's the Menupages listing.) Lucky's bills itself as "the best hamburger in NYC," or some equally grandiose claim. Let me tell you they ain't even close. They're exactly the same as all the other places serving Sysco's "hand formed" burgers and fries. Hell, they're not even grilled!



I will give them this, the food portions are large and relatively cheap for Manhattan. Nine dollars bought me a 7 oz cheese burger topped with ketchup, mustard (Where the hell are we? Southern Jersey?) pickles, lettuce, tomato and Swiss Cheese, a very large portion of crinkle cut fries and a 20 oz fountain soda with free refill. It was presented beautifully with the burger half wrapped in foil. The counter staff was very congenial if slow.

Would I go back? Maybe, but probably not. It's OK, nothing to write home about and there's too many other good burger places in the neighborhood.


And as long as I'm on my soapbox, what the hell happened to Trump Tower?

I had a chance to stop into it's atrium today. My God, how it's fallen. I remember the heady days of the 1980's when it first opened; 6 floors of some of the most exclusive shopping in New York City. It was the place to be seen.

Now, it's a shoe store, a Starbucks, a souvenir shop, a bar and a grill. It's really an embarrassment to "The Donald." If I was "The Donald," I'd make the resurrection of Trump Tower's atrium the next season of The Apprentice. (Don, if you use that idea, I won't charge you. Consider it my gift to the people of NYC.)

Enough of this negativity, let me leave you with a random barbecue link. After all this site is about BBQ, right? Check out the Naked Pig BBQ Company.

March Madness: Restaurant Week

Hey there boys and girls, guess what? It's Restaurant Week here in WhiteTrash BBQ world, which just happens to be in the City of Brooklyn.

Restaurant Week is a great chance to sample a lot of the more pricey restaurants for at a price most working stiffs can afford. Oh sure, some restaurants play games like marking up the price of drinks or water, but most view this as an opportunity to drum up new business.

This year's deal is 3 courses for $23. Damn, that's a great deal! You can hit up some of Brooklyn's finest, fanciest and pricey-est places on the cheap and never let your date know.

One of the places I'm going, cause I go there anyway is The Waterfront Ale House over on Atlantic Avenue. I reviewed this place back in 2005, but have been back many many times. I need to update the reviews! I haven't written about them since.

So, my WhiteTrash lovin' folks, jump at this chance to check out The Waterfront Ale House. Remember, 3 courses for $23. With this wonderful Bush economy, I don't think you'll be getting this chance again.

Over on the March Madness front, dinner tonight was a bowl of chicken soup. I still haven't shed this damn cold/flu.

March Madness: Weekend Options

This came into my inbox this morning from South West Texas Live. It's a plug for a Texas Hill Country BBQ joint that I've never heard of called Garven Store. Why do I post it here? It's for a purely selfish reason, I want to remember to try it on my next visit to the Texas Hill Country.

Before giving you the article here is a quick updates on March Madness: Dinner Thursday night was fussilli with a home made olognese sauce. Dinner Friday: Shrimp Scampi with Angel hair pasta. Tonight I may be breaking out the old Weber Kettle and grilling some chicken thighs or going skating at the new Lola Staar Roller Rink in the historic Child's Restaurant building in Coney Island. We'll see.


ROAD TRIP to THE TEXAS HILL COUNTRY (Garven Store)
By Border Smiley - Posted on March 21st, 2008

MUST SEE....Garven Store at intersection Hwy 41 & Hwy 83, Mountain Home Texas. For those of you who haven't heard about Garven Store, here's a few things you ought to know..

Garven Store is one of the oldest remaining conveniences stores in Texas and has been a family business there since 1932-- it's over 70 years old!

You must check out the BBQ brisket and sausage have become known as the "Best BBQ in Texas". Not only is their BBQ out of this world, but their jerky, dried sausage, and cheddar cheese is JUST as popular.

Garven Store has prepared new RESTROOM for extra convenience while traveling toward and in the Texas Hill Country.

If you're in need of meat, a treat, or a place to rest your feet, you can be sure everyone's welcome at Garven Store!

PARK it here, and spend some time on making history! on your next trip...Biker's you Must ride the 3 Sisters and pick up the FREE MAP at Garven's Store.

Thanks to GARVEN's STORE for this information...OPEN Mon- Sat 8 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Sunday's 9:30 - 6 :p.m.

Photograph of the Garven Store courtesy of The Garven Store

Meatloaf

Dinner last night... Smoked Meatloaf. Great time on Sirius/Maxim Radio with Stretch. Anyone hear it?

WhiteTrash in the Media - Maxim Radio

Spring is in the air and the media is getting interested in BBQ again! Tomorrow I'll be on Maxim Radio talking with Stretch. According to the Maxim website...

Stretch is a “guy-culture” connoisseur. His garage is his temple and he can be found there worshiping –- err, hiding from – his wife, most every day. He’s obsessed with football, video games, women, and food, not necessarily in that order. (In fact, given his considerable size, 6’5’’, 200-something, food should probably come first on that list!) Stretch is the type of guy who can roll up to a bar and make friends with half the room before his first drink is finished. Nobody does guy talk like Stretch. Hear him live from Los Angeles, weekdays 10am-2pm Eastern, 7-11am Pacific, on Maxim Radio Sirius 108.

He sounds like my type of guy. And being on Maxim gives me an excuse to post a picture of a beautiful babe. In this case it's Sofie Vergara.

My apperance last year on the Bower Show for Maxim Radio was a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to being on the radio again. If you haven't done live radio or TV, I can tell you it's both exciting and nerve wracking at the same time.

March Madness continues. Last night's dinner was grilled pork chops dusted with Harley's Texas Style Bar-B-Que and All Purpose Seasoning. Good stuff. Speaking of good stuff, I owe you guys a review of Rod's Rubs. Coming soon. Watch this space.

March Madness: Half Done

Well, we've passed the half way point on March Madness. 15 days without a repeat of an entree for dinner. I realize that not all of the meals have been gourmet, exotic or fancy, but considering I've been sidelined by the flu for about 10 days, I think we've done pretty well.

March Madness continues with Penne with Vodka Sauce on Friday (swim night) and Sesame Encrusted Pan Fried Sole on Saturday. Tonight's gonna be Corned Beef and Cabbage in honor of St. Patrick's Day.

In the BBQ world, don't forget that the New England BBQ Society is hosting the Annual Snowshoe Challenge on March 29th and the folks up in New Paltz are holding a judging class the same day.

If you're in the warmer parts of the country on that same weekend you could attend the Kick Off Cook Off in Hazelwood, Mo or the New Mexico Pork and Brew State Championship in Rio Rancho, NM or even the Smokin' Blues and BBQ Championship in Hammond, LA.

I got to get me a que-in.

March Madness: Rachael Ray

Dinner tonight was inspired by Rachael Ray. I'm really tired of her as she seems to be everywhere, but her Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine is pretty good. I really like the way it's laid out with recipes and shopping lists to get you through the week. I should be so organized.

The February issue of Everyday with Rachael Ray had a recipe for Nacho Spuds that looked interesting. Basically it was taking nacho toppings and putting them on roasted potato slices. That looked good, but I decided to take the same ingredients and turn it into Tex-Mex inspired Shepherd's Pie.

I took 2 1/2 lbs of potatoes, peeled them and boiled them in salted water with 2 cloves of minced garlic until soft. I mashed the potatoes with butter, a little milk and added some shredded cheddar cheese.

As the potatoes were cooking I browned one pound of ground beef, drained it and added a pack of taco seasoning, some additional cumin, pepper and "Mexican" seasoning, a drained can of diced tomatoes, a drained can of black beans and about a cup of water. I let that boil then simmer to the consistency I wanted as the potatoes cooked.

Once the potatoes were all mashed up, I put the meat into the bottom of a casserole, topped it with the potatoes and more shredded cheese and baked it at 350 degrees until the cheese was melted and golden brown.

Damn. No leftovers. The photograph above really is Rachael and I think it originally appeared in FHM, but I got it from The Hollywood Gossip.

March Madness: Late Night Lunacy

Dinner last night: Potato salad and Macaroni Salad. Last night of the flu. Talk to you later.

Tuesday Two

Well, it didn't work. My head says I'm fine, but my body has other ideas.

March Madness continues. Dinner tonight: grilled London broil, corn and pasta for the swimmer.

Be sure to check out this month's Food and Wine magazine. This month features a great article on Passover dinner with a modern twist as presented by my buddy Adam Perry Lang of Daisy May's Barbecue. The article also drops some great news; Adam's releasing a cookbook called Daisy May's Barbecue. Personally, I can't wait.

Picture of Adam Perry Lang's Short Ribs courtesy of Food and Wine Magazine.

March Madness: Monday Madness

Monday. This is the last day that I will be sick. I'm tired of the flu. Tommorrow I return to a regular routine. Even if it kills me. Dinner tonight, sausage and peppers with Nathan's frozen potato pancakes. While real homemade potato pancakes rule, the Nathan's version ain't too bad.

Here's a clip of the great T-Bone Walker performing Stormy Monday Blues. Enjoy.

Ruby's Barbeque

This review of Ruby's BBQ on Guadalupe came into my mailbox today. Look at all that smoky goodness. That plate is pretty typical of what the barbeque places in Texas serve. Meat, bread, beans and pickles on a piece of butcher paper. No cheese? These guys must be on a diet.

I'm sure that plate has been cleaned up and staged a bit for the photograph, but no matter how much the "Texas style" places in NYC try, they can't compete with the originals. I can taste that food just by looking at it. Better yet, I can smell it. I'm ready to head back to Austin right now.

Damn. I must be feeling better, that photograph is making me hungry!

Photo Credit: Jim Merithew/Wired

Coming Up Short

Sorry for the lack of posts, but I think this cold has morphed into the flu, but I'm keeping March madness alive. I'm keeping them unique, but I don't have the energy to do anything that requires any sort of attention span. Friday's night dinner was English Muffin Pizzas. Saturday was grilled cheese and tonight was a bowl of tomato soup.

I'll be back to barbecue soon.

March Madness: El Pollo de Loco

Dinner tonight: Southern Fried Chicken, semi-homemade cornbread, green beans and Robitussin.

Bed now.

March Madness: Cop Out - Media Saturation

It's 12:37 AM according to the clock on my computer and I just finished dinner. Kinda late, I know. But I had to put in some overtime with the clients today since I was out sick for two days. I'm still coughing my head off and my throat is sore, but my voice almost sounds normal.

Tonight's dinner? Ready? A Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich on potato bread. Woo Hoo! A real winner. Tasty though. Skippy and Smuckers - is there a better pairing in the world?

But back to BBQ, a couple of interesting things have popped up in my email today.

1. Bobby Flay is starting a new grilling show on Food Network and he's looking for partners. You can either create a 3 minute video tape and submit it by March 15 - OR - you can go to the open casting call on in NYC on Friday. I'd do the casting call, but a three minute shot of me coughing doesn't qualify as good TV in my opinion. If you're interested contact Jessica from Embassy Row Productions at 646-747-472. Tell her you want to be on GRILL IT! WITH BOBBY FLAY ON THE FOOD NETWORK! and tell her I sent you.
   
2. Marie Lena Tupot over at scenarioDNA inc is looking for any extreme barbecuers in the Houston/Texas area. She's looking to interview about three of them on video for about one hour, and we can give them each $100 for their time. Timing would ideally be next week. They need to be between the ages of 21 to 27. She can accept guys up to 30 though. The interviews will ask about their social networking and their beer drinking experiences. Sounds like BBQrs Gone Wild (Thanks Todd!). But if you're interesting in making a quick Benjamin (See us old coots are hip!) call Marie at 917-364-9742

So come on you media stars - the world is waiting!

March Madness: The First Tuesday

On Tuesday's we have a high carb dinner. Why? Because it's my daughter's swim night. She's on two different swim teams and she needs the carbohydrates for the meets.

Tonight's dinner was good; Stop and Shop's square spinach and cheese ravioli with a traditional Italian red tomato sauce and a mixed salad. Nothing special, but still a great meal.

My cold still has me sidelined so I really don't have much to say. However, I want to talk to the anonymous posters out there who send me comments. When I post a review of a restaurant, event or a product I try very hard to be fair but honest. I look for the good and the bad and I realize that much of what I say is subjective. But it is my opinion and I'm sticking to it.

One of the great things about blogging is the responses I get from you the readers. I love reading what all of you have to say. But it you're going to trash a restaurant, an event, a product or even me, you don't get to do that anonymously. Your comments will never see the light of day. Grow a set and post who you are.

March Madness: Day Three

Day three of March Madness has found me with a worsening cold, fever, chills and a very nasty cough. What fun.

Back when I decided to accept the madness and laid out my plans for the first week, I had put today aside as a day to que. I didn't have anything scheduled with my clients and the weather promised to be in the mid 50's.

I had purchased a rack of pork a little while back so that was going to hit the smoker today. As every barbecuer will tell you, it doesn't make sense to fire up the cooker for only one piece of meat. You fill that sucker up! But you know what they say about the best laid plans.

Ever since I got interested in bbq, I've been intrigued by two items; Brunswick Stew and Kentucky Burgoo. Looking over a couple of recipes I found in the incredible Smoke and Spice by Cheryl and Bill Jamison, I found that I'd need some leftover pork; check - that would come from the rack of pork, chicken, lamb shanks, beef shanks and bacon. I purchased all the required meats and Brunswick Stew and Kentucky Burgoo were both slotted into the menu for this week. All that meat was going to be be barbecued today.

So what's happened? This damn cold has sapped all my strength. I just didn't have the energy to babysit a cooker all day.

But the Madness called and like a drunk looking for a drink I responded. Dinner tonight was an herb/nut encrusted rack of pork with oven roasted root vegetables and mushrooms. I took 6 cloves of garlic, a bunch of parsley, almonds and sun dried tomatoes. I minced them all fine and mixed them with some of the oil in which the tomatoes were packed, kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper and a little more olive oil and mashed it into a thick paste.

I scattered some carrots, potatoes and mushrooms in the bottom of the roaster pan and tossed them with olive oil. I placed the rack of pork on top and spread the herb/nut paste all over the meat. I roasted the meat for about 3 1/2 hours at 300 degrees.

When the meat was done, I removed it to a cutting board and tented it with tinfoil. I let it rest as I made a gravy out of the pan drippings adding marsala wine and mustard as it thickened. Now that was tasty. I've never used mustard in gravy before but it added a very interesting dimension to the sauce.

I'm sorry I didn't get any pictures, but damn this was a great meal. I've never had such tender and flavorful pork. I'm definitely making this again.

The picture of the rack of pork comes to us from The Daily Pork.

March Madness: Day Two

Well day two has arrived and the madness has overtaken me but it brought along a nasty friend; a cold. I had planned on cooking Smothered Chicken for dinner tonight using a recipe from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook but I didn't feel up to it. Way too much chopping and roux creating.

Instead I spatchcocked the bird and oven roasted it. The chicken was served with Spanish rice and steamed green beans. From what I hear it was a tasty meal, not that I could tell. Damn.

The picture you see above is of a spatchcocked chicken. A spatchcocked chicken is created when you remove the back bone and the keel and flatten the bird. The picture comes to us from The Naked Whiz, who has a photographic tour of how to spatchcock and cook the bird. Enjoy.

March Madness

Good evening boys and girls. Welcome to March Madness here at WhiteTrash BBQ.

What's March Madness in the world of WhiteTrash? Does it involve basketball? Men dressed in shorts or other unforms? Cheerleaders in short skirts and low cut tops?

No. Sorry to disappoint.

Here in the land of WhiteTrash barbecue March Madness is an attempt to jump start my culinary education. For the entire month of March, I will be cooking a different dinner every night. I will not be repeating any dish. It's time for me to cook again.

The rules are pretty simple. Every dinner must have a unique main dish. No repeats. It doesn't have to be gourmet or even the slightest bit fancy. The meal doesn't even have to be balanced. It doesn't even have to be barbecue or grilled. It just has to be something I haven't cooked during the month.

Tonight's dinner was hamburgers, fries, baked beans and a salad. I didn't take any pictures because frankly, there's nothing interesting to see. However, I will be documenting future meals when they turn out to be something worth seeing.

Let the madness take me.

If you like the image on this blog entry, be sure to check out Matt Sesow. He's an independent American artist living in Washington, D.C. who's work I enjoy.