How to prepare a rack of lamb: Canadian Living Test Kitchen

Rack of Lamb demonstration check this out foodies and learn something

THE CHICKEN SANDWICH

The chicken sandwich, what a concept. Go to any burger joint and you're bound to see it on the menu, a piece of lousy chicken meat, sandwiched in thawed out frozen buns that traveled a gazzilion miles to get to the restaurant. But those fast food giants, Mc Donalds, Burger King, Jack in The Box, etc. have decent chicken sandwiches if you're hungry. I've been guilty of nailing those $1 Mc Chickens myself. But I found that the best chicken sandwiches made in commerical establisments are those bar and grills, where you know the owners, and you know that the chef has the cooks seasoning their own chicken breasts, or thighs. You can really taste the difference. Well you say, all chicken is processed and frozen. Well, yes in some way it is. But take for example a fast food franchise, their chicken products are tasteless, and mass produced, the seasonings suck too. Okay KFC has a good flavor for a fast food giant, after all, Colonel Sander's recipe is still top secret, under lock and key in some vault. But the best chicken sandwiches are the ones you'd find in local sports bars, or local bar and grills like I mentioned.

Okay- if I ran a bar and grill, and offered chicken sandwiches, I'd use locally baked fresh buns, that's number one. Number two, I'd use good quality chicken breasts. Number three, I would use a simple seasoning. A mixture of salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder, simple!

Then dredge it in flour, and then in  some buttermilk, then in a mixture of flour and a little conrstarch. Deep fry it to perfection, and use fresh lettuce, and a mustard and mayonnaise mixture. I'd make the mayonnaise so it's fresh and tasty in house, and buy the mustard. I think people will pay for that extra hard work, in house mayonnaise is the best.

And for the fries, I'd serve steak fries, freshed peeled potatoes with skin on, and fried to a crisp on the outside. And have custom seasonings for the customer. Combination, salts and peppers; hot and spicy sprinkles, vinegar and salt shakers (I saw this one dude mix vinegar and salt in a liquid holder, you shake it and pour it over your fries).

So as far as the chicken sandwich, if you only have a few bucks in your wallet, it's okay to scarf down a couple of Mc Chickens.


In the picture is Mc Donald's Mc Chicken TM and is a copyrighted picture and product of the Mc Donald's Corporation. This article is not to do harm to franchises such as Mc Donald's, Burger King, and Jack in The Box.

Roasted Pork (Lechon) An Influence of The Philippines

Lechon is a simple roasted pork of the Philippines and is basically seasoned with soy sauce, salt, and pepper, and is stuffed with lemon grass, bananas, and taro. And a dipping sauce may be used, and is generally made up of vinegar, green onions, garlic, and pepper. Or of coures patis is used on many occasions in homes and backyard parties.

Since I am mostly a home cook, and like to do things on smaller scales, and not huge scales, I won't have you travel to your local hog farm to get a whole hog. Instead, let's get a nice pork tenderloin about 4 lbs. Trim all of the unwanted skin if it's not done so already. Leave nice amounts of the fat if you can, it adds flavor.

Place a couple of large banana leaves on the bottom of a roasting pan, if you can't get banana leaves, just use some foil. On the foil, place 2 bananas, sliced into pieces on to the foil, then place 1 large potato that is cut into cubes over the bananas, then chop 2 oz. of lemon grass and place it over the banans and potatoes.

Place the tenderoin on to a clean surface or large cutting boar. Rub a generous amount of dark soy sauce all over the meat, rub it in so that it is going into the grain of the meat, this produces that dark color when roasted.

Sprinkle salt and pepper over tenderloin, and rub it into the meat as well, the flavors will be stronger when massaging it into the meat.

Place the loin over the bananas, potatoes and lemon grass.

Preaheat oven to 375 deg. F.

Place the roasting pan, uncovered into the oven, roast it for about 1 1/2 hours, check for doneness at around this time, using an instant read thermometer, from the thickest part of the loin, it should read 160 deg. F. A good guage for pork roasting in terms of time, it is usually around 25 minutes per pound, so 4 multiplied by 25 is 100 minutes, or 1 hour and 40 minutes. But always remember that all ovens are different, and that this guideline is just a guideline, and that meat out of the hot oven continues to cook after you take it out. By letting the meat rest for 10 minutes, the temperature should get up to par with the guideline. Also dried out pork isn't too appealing either, if the meat is hot in the center by the thermometer's reading, that's all that matters, if the pork looks a tad pink, it's still okay. But the temperature must be at the 160 deg. F. mark for safety consumption.

Make a sauce by using 1 cup of vinegar, 1/8 cup of chopped green onions, 2 tbsp. of patis (fish sauce) and a few garlic cloves sliced. Be creative, add some lemons to the sauce, or toasted sesame seeds too.


A nice all natural pork tenderloin tied with twine to keep a nice log shape, season these up with the directions from above, and you got yourself a nice Lechon home style.

SALAD for Carrot Lovers

Carrots are filled with beta carotene, all that good nutrients for your eyes. There are carrot lovers, people that only love carrots. A friend of mine, Johnny, he juices carrots everyday, I swear he's part rabbit.

photo: http://www.albanyalive.com/

Here's a carrot salad recipe, the star of this dish of course is the carrot, so if you love orange looking foods, here it is, totally carrots.

2 medium carrots, sliced about 1/4 inch thick and boiled until softened, and then cooled
1 small carrot shredded
1 small onion sliced thin
1 small bell pepper sliced thin
1/2 cup of olives seeded and chopped

Place all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl, and toss it  around.

For the dressing:

1 cup balsamc vinegar
1/2 cup of mirin
1 tbsp. toasted sesame seeds
1 tbsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 dash of pasley flakes

Mix these up with a fork.

Divide the salad on to plates, and pour some dressing over it.

CABERNET SAUVIGNON A Red That Can't Go Wrong

I am not, I repeat not a wine afficionado, in fact I don't really like wine, unless someone is turning me on to it at a party, I'll get ripped on it. In fact the last time I had wine was at my partner and his girlfriend's house, Sascha and Christine's for Christmas, I tanked a whole bottle of Cab by myself, I felt pretty good, the wine was actually smooth and kind of sweet.

You don't need to be a wine expert to enjoy wine...okay I don't hate wine, but wine is okay for some occasions, and the pundits say, if you're eating a nice thick and juicy piece of beef, a red wine should be the choice, not a white wine which supposedly rhymes with fish, or lighter meats. So is an inexpensive bottle of red wine, a Cabernet Sauvignon good to go with beef? According to Chuck Furuya a sommelier inexpensive reds can go a long way, especially in these economic times. But what the hell do I know? I'll serve grape juice with a steak and be happy with that.

Just don't get intimidated by those fu fu foodies out there that think they know it all because they watch the Travel Channel, and they can speak French, you know what I do with those idiots? You got it man, I let the air out of their tires when they're inside talking about vineyards in Italy.


Photo: pfiwestern.com
http://www.pfiwestern.com/

ALOHA DELI Revisited

Aloha Deli in Maalaea has some reallly good hot dogs, try them out if you're going whale watching, or just on the way to Lahaina or going to Kihei or Kahului, they're right in the Maui Ocean Center complex. Say hi to Steve and Howard Canastra the owners.

Me, Steve, Howard, and Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa
ALOHA DELI
808-249-2708

DIFFERENT TYPES OF BEANS ALL GOOD SOURCES OF PROTEIN

Protein from eating mother earth's beans is one healthy notion, and they are great for all types of cooking methods, try them in salads, puree them into spreads, the Garbanzo or Chickpea is famous in Hummus, a vegan spread for crackers or sandwiches. Let's visit our friend the Pinto bean shall we?


Photo from manataka.org
Pink Pinto Beans (Spanish : frijol pinto "painted bean"), dried in bulk, soak it over night, and boil them in water to soften them, place them in a food processor with olive oil, garlic, and your favorite herbs and create a protein rich spread. Add the cooked beans to soups or salads, Pintos are filled with awesome nutrients such as folate, magnesium, alpha-linolenic acid, calcium, potassium, Vitamin B6, 8 oz. of pintos can get you lots of protein, this is why vegans and vegetarians eat lots of beans instead of meats. Despite beans causing gas, it's still a major source for protein, and zero saturated fats.

Here is a simple soup recipe without any  meats.

3 cups of cooked Pintos
1/8 cup of canola oil
1 tsp. of minced garlic
10 oz. of firm tofu diced
32 fl. oz. of veggie stock
1 small can of tomato sauce
1 bunch of kale, chopped
1 small can of corn
10 oz. of thawed frozen peas
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper to taste

1. In a pot, heat up the oil, and sautee the garlic for a few seconds, add in the beans and sautee for a couple of minutes over medium high, add in the veggie stock and bring to a boil, add in the tomato sauce, and bring down heat to a simmer.
2. Add in the tofu, kale, corn, peas, bay leaf, and stir occasionally, cook for about 10-12 minutes, add in salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with basmati rice

TAKING CARE OF A LOVED ONE THROUGH FOOD

Not too many people realize the importance of meals when taking care of a loved one, taking care meaning many different things for different people. It may be caring for a child that just lost their parents, or a sibling that can no longer eat regular meals, but is on a soft diet. The list is long, and at times can be difficult to prepare. A long time friend of mine is now taking care of his mother who is aging as the years fly by, her diet has to be low fats, low sodium, and low sugar. It's easy to think, "Well I just won't add any of those ingredients, what's so hard about that?" No matter what you may think, it is very complicated. You want your loved ones to be happy in what they eat, at the same time they can't eat like they used to.

There are lots of cookbooks out on the market on how to cook for a certain person with a unique health condition, there are many articles and videos on the internet. There's a lot of books on Diabetes that are endorsed by the ADA, a lot of books endorsed by the American Heart Association, and many books endorsed by the American Cancer Society.

What's the best solution for feeding your loved one? I would suggest that you seek professional advice, get ideas from nutritionists, and chefs that work in specific situations like hospitals, and care homes to feed them the right way. Once you learn some of their techniques, or methods, you can adapt them to your own style, and what the person you are feeding is used to eating. Substitutions are common in the food service industry. Lean pork instead of fatty pork, lean chicken breast instead of chicken thighs, lean broiled meats instead of fatty fried meats. The list goes on and on.

Get familiar with the person you need to feed's condition, read up folks, read up. It's a hard life we got at times, it can be demanding, it can drain you physically, mentally, it can make you emotional, it can really twist you. But don't despair, there's others in your situation for certain. Just make connections, and with networking tools like facebook, twitter, you have a lot of connections that can share stories with you, because it is so healing to have stories to share, isn't that what life is about? Sharing right?

Information is here folks, it's around us 24/7, and it will never go away, this is 2011, not 1950. We have informational tools at our fingertips, within seconds, we can get a recipe by googling, we can find info by going on bing, man it's nuts, we have no excuses anymore. Handheld devices like iPhones, Blackberries, Nooks, man we can't make excuses anymore. We can get ideas to cook a meal for someone, by just clicking on an icon on our computer. No excuses anymore my friends.

So what should you prepare for your aunt that is a Diabetic? Look it up. What do you cook for your dad who has Hypertension? Look it up. I mean I can give you recipes, and there's some on my blog site already but this article is a test for you, to search, to seek and you shall find. The answers are out there, find it, and it will be the right one.

MAKING SOUR DOUGH BREAD

What's the deal on making sourdough bread? Well, let's all learn together as foodies shall we? First off, you'll need to make a starter, the batch that will give your loaf a sourdough aroma and flavor. This starter recipe is from a friend, who got it from somewhere, so I take no responsibility if this is ripped off altogether. Here is the starter batch.

2 potatoes that's peeled, and cubed really small
2 - 2 1/4 cups of luke warm water + one packet of active yeast
2- 2 1/4 cups of all purpose flour
1 tsp. of salt

1. Add about 4 cups of water to a pot, bring to a boil, add in the cubed potatoes, and cook it until it is really soft, about 20-25 minutes. Remove the potatoes with a slotted spoon, let the water cool down to luke warm and reserve 2 to 2 1/4 cups of it.
2. Place the flour in a mixing bowl w/ salt
3. Add a packet of yeast to the warm water, and mix it with a spoon, add water to flour and mix it, don't worry about any lumps.
4. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, let sit at room temperature for about 3 days. Make sure that each day, you give it a good stir with clean hands, form a ball, cover again and let it sit. Do this each day that it rests until ready to make the loaf.


For the Sourdough Loaf.

Approximately 4 3/4 cups of bread flour
2 tbsp. of sugar
3 tsp. sea salt
1 packet active dry yeast
1 cup of warm whole milk
2 tbsp. virgin olive oil
1 3/4 cups of sourdough starter

Egg wash
1 egg
2 tbsp. of water
Mix water and egg well.

1. In a mixing bowl, add in 1 cup of bread flour, sugar, salt, dry active yeast and mix it well. Add in the milk, and olive oil, starter, and mix well. Slowly adding in the rest of the flour, form a ball.
2. Add some flour on a clean surface, place ball onto it, and punch down on the center with a fist, and knead the dough for about 7 to 9 minutes.
3. Grease a bowl, place ball in bowl, and cover with plastic wrap for one hour, let it rise, it should double in size.
4. Take out dough from bowl, and punch down on the center again, let it rest for 15 minutes or so. Form loaves, place in loaf pans that are greased, brush the tops with the eggs and water and bake the loaves for 30 minutes in a 375 deg. F. oven. The tops should develop a nice crust.



Photo recipetips.com

BEEF BROCCOLI

For some reason, Beef Broccoli seems to be the American's favorite stir fry when visiting a Chinese Restaurant, and if you're a Chinese Food afficionado, well, you've eaten your fair share of Beef Broccoli. But, Beef Broccoli is made by different ethnic groups, and they utilize different flavors. The Italian Beef Broccoli, has marinara and parmesean on it. Of course there's beef and broccoli, but I'm just trying to make a point. The point is this, I personally don't think that beef broccoli is a Chinese thing altogether.

Okay, let's take a standard Beef Broccoli recipe in a Cantonese Chinese dig.

10 oz. of thinly sliced flank steak, cut across the grain.
A handful of broccoli florettes.
maybe some sliced onions
Minced garlic and ginger
Oil for stir frying
And a mixture of soy sauce, sesame oil, oyster sauce, and in some cases fermented black beans that is incorporated with the liquids just mentioned, added to the stir fry, and thickend with a water and cornstarch mixture.

Some houses blanch the broccoli first before hitting the wok, and the flank steak slices are sometimes marinated in soy sauce and sesame oil, and pounded with cornstarch so when the chef fries it, it developes a nice crust, you can tell because some Chinese digs don't do this move, while others... well... they pay attention to detail. You always, always should marinate your meats before stir frying it.

My old friend who died years ago, Lenny, he wasn't a chef, but when we ate out at Chinese places, he'd be the first to critique the chef. He'd say, "Sh..t, they didn't marinate the f... meat!" Or he'd say, "Yeah, they marinated the meat and coated it too." You see my friends, foodies do know their shit, I'm a foodie, you're a foodie, if we eat, we are foodies. A little kid will know if his pancakes suck or not. Your gramma will know if that steak is good or not, you can't fool a foodie I know for sure.

So as far as beef broccoli is concerned there's many types. I saw a guy make beef broccoli and this is how he did it, he roasted a tenderloin of beef, sliced it, sauteed some broccoli in garlic butter and sherry and tossed it on the slices of tenderloin.

I seen a Filipino chef put patis in his, a fish sauce, so that's his version of beef broccoli.

I seen an Indian chef make beef broccoli, well, without beef because beef was against his religion, he called it mock beef and broccoli, made with seasoned tofu slices. Go figure that one out.

So as far as beef broccoli is concerned, it's an international dish really, but made famous by Amercians eating in Americanized Chinese restaurants.

Photo from chopstickhouose.com
Beef Broccoli

ENERGY FOR ATHLETES

Athletes burn a lot of calories from training, and a lot during game time, unless the player is a third string catcher on a baseball team, it's safe to say he can just go to sleep in the dugout. But what's a good food for athletes who burn off a lot of calories? Well it depends, is he or she a cyclist doing the Tour de France? Or is he (more than likely it's a he) a 300 pound offensive lineman, that plays on every down?

Let's take the cyclist, what would he or she should eat? Well, it depends on them personally, but like marathon runners the day before they should be filled with lots of heavy duty carbs, because they'll need that to fuel them. Breads, pasta, meat protein, fibers from greens, lots of water, that kind of foods should be eaten. The offensive lineman, he'll need lots of carbs as well, have you ever seen an offensive lineman go to work? He earns his pay every Sunday, pushing around other 300 pound plus defensive players.

For the weekend athlete, or the amateur league sportsman, he or she will need lots of energy, even if you're just surfing, snowboarding, or hiking, your body is burning a lot of calories, and you need sufficient fuel to burn. Here is what I'd make for a weekend warrior, mind you he or she isn't making millions just to hike, or go surfing.

Breakfast: (if they are going out in the morning)

Scrambled eggs, a piece of lean meat 4 oz., some whole wheat bread, some fresh squeezed juice.
If the person is a vegan, I'll sub the eggs for tofu.

How to make scrambled eggs?

Take 2 large grade AA eggs, place them in a mixing bowl, add about 1 tbsp. of hot sauce for some spice, a dash of black pepper, a dash of salt, and scramble them with a fork or whisk. AA grade eggs are the high standard grade, the yolks are firmer than grades A or B eggs.

Heat up some canola oil in a small nonstick pan over medium high heat, and place the eggs inside, as it cooks, using a rubber spatula, scramble the eggs and cook it, it should be fluffy when done.

For the bread, I'd get an organic whole wheat or all grain bread, toast it and put a light spread over it, if using real butter, use no salted butter, and just a small dab of it.

Using a professional grade juicer, I'd juice apples, oranges, carrots, strawberries, all filled with vitamins, fiber, and minerals, and some form of carbohydrates.

If the warriors are heading out afternoon, and they don't want to eat breakfast foods, here's what I'd make them.

I'd boil some pasta noodles, any kind.
Make a very lean sauce, using canned tomato sauce, and caned diced tomatoes, fresh basil, and garlic, and ground turkey, this should be good for them. If turkey isn't good becauce they're vegans, again I'd sub the turkey for tofu. Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste, maybe add some olive oil to the pot as it cooks, but something similar to that. And serve them some garllic bread for more carbs.

How to make a pretty killer pasta sauce.

15 fl. oz. Hunts Natural tomato sauce

14.5 oz. of diced tomatoes
1/2 cup of olive oil
6 cloves of garlic smashed
1/2 cup of chopped onions
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. coriander
salt and pepper to taste

Heat up the oil in a pot, sautee the garlic for a few seconds, then add in the onions and cook until translucent, add in the diced tomatoes, and cook for about 5 minutes, then add in the tomato sauce and simmer for about 20 minutes, season with basil, oregano, parsley, coriander, and salt and pepper to taste.

In another pan, heat up 1 pound of ground turkey, cook it until it is no longer pink, season with salt and pepper, then add to the sauce, stir well. Pour over pasta noodles.

Like I said any kind of pasta will do, penne, angel hair, in this pic below, penne pasta out of a box and ready to be boiled to just right.

Braised Pork Shoulder Korean Style

Pork shoulders are perfect for braising, a little dry heat method, and then some liquid to create some steam, and depending on the liquid, you can have an awesome flavored, fork tender pork shoulder. Braising is perfect for families, in fact you can braise any firm meat a couple days before serving, so if it's a Tuesday evening, you can start it early, and finish it before you go to bed, chill it and wait a day or two before eating it. The last thing families need is lots of difficulty, so keep it simple, get a few pounds of pork shoulder and you can feed your family. I did some braises before, but this is a different take on it, with some hints of Korean cooking, we'll make ourselves a Korean influenced braised pork.

6-8 pounds of pork shoulder bone in, or several cuts of pork shoulder equaling this weight.
Season the pork with lots of garlic cloves, using a small knife, make small incisions into the meat, and stick cloves of garlic in the slits. Use your imagination, I'd use a whole garlic. Then sprinkle some fresh ginger powder over the meat, rub it in.

Place a roasting pan with about 1/2 cup of canola oil inside, then place pan over 2 burners over the stove top, and over medium high heat, sear the outside of the pork shoulder, browning it considerably, developing a nice crust.

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

In a mixing bowl add these ingredients:

2 cups of soy sauce
1 cup of water
1/4 cup of sesame oil
1/4 cup of oyster sauce
1/4 cup of minced green onions
1 tbsp. of crushed garlic
1 tbsp. of minced ginger
2 tbsp. of red pepper flakes
3/4 cup of brown sugar

Mix this well with a whisk, then pour it over the pork shoulder, let the mixture hit the bottom of the roasting pan.

Place foil over the meat and tightly cover over roasting pan, place the pan in the center of the oven. A rule of thumb, it takes approximately 25 minutes per pound to roast pork. So let's imagine that piece of pork is 8 pounds, it should take about 3 1/2 hours, but since we have a foil over it, and liquid, we need not worry about burning it or worried that it will dry out, braises in this manner can be cooked a little longer, without burning. The steam will soften the meat, and also keep it moist.

Check the center of the pork shoulder and see if the meat is cooked by inserting an instant read thermometer, if it reads 165 in the center, it should be good to go, that's a safe temperature for pork. Make sure you understand that the meat will continue to cook after it comes out of the oven, as it rests outside the oven, it will continue to cook.

Let the meat rest.

Return the roasting pan to the stove top, over medium high heat, bring the juices and sauce from the roast to a slight boil, then mix in a bowl, about 1/3 cup of water, and 1/3 cup of cornstarch, add this mixture to the roasting pan, the sauce will thicken, use this as a dressing.

As far as the roast, you can shred it or try and slice it, this should leave a family of 4 plenty of leftovers. Serve with white rice, and sauteed veggies.

Tip: Add potatoes to the pan, carrots, and other root veggies to roast with meat.


Pork Shoulder looks like this.

BALUT (ABORTED DUCK EGGS) EAT IT? OR VOMIT IT?

How long has the egg been around? Who da F... knows! Who ate the first egg? What kind of a dumb ass question is dat?! Are chicken eggs consumed in every country? F... if I know, I got my own problems junior! Okay? Good! Shut up, I'll tell you a story of egg, or eggz. Whatever man!

Humans consume shit loads of eggs yearly or annually, besides chicken eggs, we consume ostrich eggs, or even duck eggs. The Filipinos eat Balut (Ba Loot) which is basically speaking an aborted duck egg or chicken egg, it's pretty sick man, but it is a delicacy, for who? Not me really but I respect peoples love for well... aborted eggs. I mean if you like sucking eggs or embryos. Not what I call egg eating, I like mine in an omelet style with some ham and cheese maybe. Go to youtube and type in How To Eat a Balut Egg, then see for yourself.

What's the story behind Balut? Well, like I was saying the Filipinos love eating Balut, and friends of mine that are into exotic fare love it as well, I got some white friends that love it, and I'm a Filipino, and can't eat that. It's like being Japanese and not eat sashimi, or drink sake. Or being from Philly and not eat a cheese steak sandwich.

The story behind balut is this, I guess that it was picked up in poor villages right? I mean if they had money, they'd go and buy some rib eye or something, maybe some t-bone steak, but you got to be poor to eat stuff like this. What was it, some guy was hungry and decided to kill some ducks in the egg? "Hey I want to eat, I am hungry, I'll kill these eggs and suck it out, mmm." I can't eat Balut, maybe I'm not Filipino, maybe I'm some other person in a Filipino body.

But  balut isn't for me man, sorry my fellow countrymen, balut is out of the equation, get me a Personal Pan Pizza from PH, or a cutlet from Applebees. Balut? Man can't handle that one. I have an easier time eating opihi off of the rocks in Hawaii at the beach in the ocean, so why can't I eat balut? Just can't. That's all I can say. But if you want to try it, go and be my guest. If I get invited to a Filipino home and they serve balut? I make like someone is calling me on my cell phone, and excuse myself, "Ah my house is on fire, gotta go."

Below Balut (Ba Loot) Aborted duck or chicken eggs

COOKING CHALLENGES AT PARTIES

Iron Chef? Chopped? Hells Kitchen? Nope, how about cooking challenges that are done in peoples homes? This one dude I talked to several weeks ago says he is building his version of kitchen stadium on his property up in Kula, Maui. This is what he said, "I'm building an outdoor kitchen where friends can come and do cooking demonstrations, and cooking challenges. I'll have state of the art kitchen appliances,  everything, top notch." I conversed even further, because he'd seen me on Akaku TV doing my cooking show, he said that he'd keep me in mind because he wanted to set up cameras in this kitchen arena he was constructing. Well seems to me he knows his shit, because he was telling me where the video cameras was going to be placed, and where the big screen was going to be placed so that people could see what the cooks were doing. He even wants the seats to be like bleachers so that the performers could be seen at every angle, with every action being performed, everyone would have a bird's eye view. Wow! I wish I had that kind of cash to just get a house, forget building a freeking kitchen stadium.

Another associate manages a local sports bar, she told me that cooks from rival restaurants get invited to her home, and they have a major throw down, who can cook the best dishes, well, that kind of talk can get dangerous I thought, a bunch of sweaty cooks that work for a living, letting their anger out in creative culinary jousting. I wonder if there would be fist fights if the judges decided Jorge's stew is better than Angelina's stew, and so forth and so on.

But foodies are foodies,  you'll get invited to food challenges, wine tastings, cheese eating, won ton making, cake baking, oyster shooter contests, martini mixing, you see foodies are like car enthusiasts, they love food, and it's a hobbie for most of them. My friend Shirley Fong Torres in San Francisco is not only an accomplished chef in Chinese cuisine, but she takes people on tours around San Francisco, on food! Food! Man she's got a great gig man. Check out http://www.wokwiz.com/ where she can be seen. Or if you're in the Bay area look her up. She's on facebook, and all of her posts are pics of food. What a life.

Foodies are out here folks, and it'll never end, never. As long as we have cheap oil, gasoline, cars, shipping, farming, food purveyors, money, hey... you'll get some foodie inviting you to their home for some food event. I was even invited to a freeking coffee making contest at someone's home, I should have gone and brought my video cam, but I opted out of it. Maybe if there were chicks in hot outfits doing the event I'd show up. But it sounded rather boring, but maybe next time someone invites me to some foodie event that's home based, I think I will show up, because quite frankly, the best entertainment is done by regular folks, they're funnier, and they're more real than watered down television any day. So here in conclusion, I'd say go out and visit a foodie friend when invited to some food thing, just go and have fun, you may even learn something, and for sure there might be some free grub, free drink, and if you are searching, maybe someone for yourself, if you're single that is, for God's sake don't hook up with someone married... that's a sin, or well, that ain't cool. An angry spouse may kill you. No you don't want that do you? A foodie event is about food, so keep it about food, you wanna hook up with someone go to the nearest bar will you?

READY MADE BBQ SAUCES Nothin Wrong with Dat!

Look, you want to barbeque, but you're feeling a bit uneasy on Sunday, you got the BBQ grilling duties, you're the host. But the last BBQ session was at Bob's place, and for God's sake, we can't keep up with Bob, the ultimate Foodie! he makes all his sauces from scratch! Wow, woopdy freeking doo guys. Don't be intimidated with using ready made sauces of anykind, the fact is, you want easy right? And there's a lot of healthy ready mades out there. No prob. I know how to make sauces, believe me, I can out sauce an exec. chef at any freekin fine dine, but guess what? Im freekin Lazeeee. That's right my foodies, and you are probably not a chef, but you know how to grill them ribs and steaks, chicken or whatnot, it's just you ain't gots dee timez to go mixin your own BBQ sauce, so? Go out and buy some, and when Bob's fat ass is there, make it a point to kill the goat ASAP,  announce it on your intercom. "Look guys, I am not Bob, I don't make sauces from scratch, but the ribs are from a reputable butcher. If you don't like the ready made barbeque sauce I got, you can get da fuck outta here okay? Okay, just had to make this perfectly fuckin clear coz, if I hear any fucker complaining? Get lost! More ribs for me!" Sorry for the swear words but hey it's pertinent once in a while.

Cabela's Open Season BBQ Sauces

KC Master Piece BBQ Sauces

And to the left Krafts BBQ Sauces

SAIMIN BROTH ON THE HEALTHY SIDE

For those of you with high blood pressure and diabetes that love saimin, here is a simple broth you can try, it's really not totally from scratch, but an elderly friend of mine does this and it's awesome, you can control the salt or sodium chloride.

Here is what you do, go to the chill/Asian section and purchase some fresh not dried out noodles, it could be Udon, or Chow Fun. Usually it's in a 10 oz. bag, and a 10 oz. bag is good for one person or 2, if he or she is hungry a 10 oz. is for one serving. Get it?

To make a good healthy low sodium broth.

Get a nonstick pot. Heat up about 1/4 cup of vegetable oil over medium high heat.
Add in a tsp. of minced ginger and sautee.

Then add in 1/2 cup of chopped shrimp, cleaned and deveined, cook until pink.

Add in 1/4 pound of fish bones (you can ask the fish guy at the market to sell you tuna bones), sautee these up.

Add in 3 tablespoon of dashi get the (hoshi shitake) dried mushrooms, there's different kinds of dashi that is a addative to make soups or stocks.

Add in 32 fl. oz. of organic, low sodium vegetagble broth, bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer for about 12 minutes.

add in seaweed for more flavors, such as Wakame seaweed common in Japanese soup making it is a dark green color and string like, just simply add them into the broth.

Add in some chopped cabbage

Add in any left over meats or chicken

Add in your noodles and cook until heated through.

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

There's nothing like fresh baked chocolate chip cookies, nice light brown cookies that is chewy, sweet, and with lots of delicious chocolate chips. Okay my friends that smoke weed, I'm not talking Marijuana Chocolate Chip Cookies okay? I'm talking good, clean, no mind altering drugs in the cookie mix, just good, down home cookies that the whole family can enjoy. Is it easy to make and bake? Sure is, I can help you get started. First of all you'll need some cookie ingredients, and I'll get to that in a second. I just want to talk about my personal history with chocolate chips.

My sister Joyce would bake chocolate chip cookies for me when I was a little kid, she was already in high school, so she was old enough to play with the stove, a gas stove that is, thank God she didn't blow up, or else she'd never make those awesome chewy cookies. Actually she ripped off the recipe in the back of the Nestle's bag, like everyone else, she did tweak it I think, if not that frickin recipe kills man, still does. But me and that cookie mix were a marriage made in heaven, she'd whack my fingers when I stuck them in the mixing bowl to nail a few spoonfuls, raw cookies are great, that's why ice cream makers put that shit into their ice cream.

So man, here is my tweaked out Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix Recipe.

2  1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 sticks unsalted butter softened
2 cups raw brown sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/2 cup mashed bananas
1/4 cup safflower oil
2 cups of organic chocolate chips
(Now this is actually the Nestle's recipe, TWEEEEEEAKED BY ME)

First preheat that dang oven to 375 deg. F.
Lightly grease a cookie sheet with Pam or any nonstick, or parchment paper greased
1. In a mixing bowl, mix all of the ingredients in order,
2. Using a tablespoon, spoon it and form a ball of the mixture and place them in rows on the cookie sheet, allowing about 4 inches between rows.
3. Bake the cookies for about 9 minutes, maybe 10, remove and let cool on a cookie rack.

The safflower oil, and bananas helps make these gewy. Geweeeeee. Gooo Weeee. Gooo WEEe
get it? Good luck on your freeking cookie endeavors!


Ooooo look at dat Foodies :)))))

WON TON CHIPS FROM HILO HAWAII

Won Ton Chips were a huge part of growing up here in Hawaii, those plastic bags, sealed tight, with the picture of the strongman power lifting a whole ton over his head! And his red colored trunks. The chips are just won ton chips, cut into small cubes, it had a very distinct flavor, crunchy, your hands would get a little oily, but that was alright, it tasted great, and still does. This bag goes for under 5 dollars at a local pitstop in Lahaina, eat some of these and drink a nice can of cold Coca Cola, you're doing okay man. Maebo Noodle Factory in Hilo, Hawaii makes these awesome snacks, a part of the culture, I remember getting these at the Hap Wo Store in Lahaina when mom and dad did the laundry, the laundromat was right behind Hap Wo's and we'd go over there to get Cokes, peanuts from the machine, and of course Maebo Won Ton Chips, can't beat it growing up, I used to put handfuls in my mouth and my sister Esther would scold me for pigging out, before they knew it, I'd eat the whole bag ha ha ha ha ha! But you can't just eat one of these squares, you eat one, I swear you'd eat the whole bag, many a local kid was guilty of eating this whole bag by themselves, it was just easy to do, no wonder after many generations, kids are still eating this stuff like it's going outta style man. Maebo is the best snack, it's getting expensive, I remember buying a medium sized bag for about .99 cents when I was a kid, now this bag you see in this picture is like about 4.60 plus tax, but it's still a hot freeking item.
Go check out http://www.one-ton.com/ and find out more about them.

PRODUCTS (VEGETARIAN)

Here is a vegetarian frozen food that is really good to use if you are attempting to lose weight, lower blood cholestrol, lower your diabetes, and hypertension. Since saturated fats are bad for your arteries, vegetarian alternatives are perfect. For a morning breakfast instead of cooking or eating pork sausages, try Morning Star Brand Original Sausage Patties, http://www.morningstarfarms.com/  this 8 oz. box is delicious and healthy, put a little oil in a nonstick skillet and cook these little dudes up, just as a pork sausage patty, if you love eggs, maybe keep the egg yolks out of the picture and just cook the whites. Or use this eggs substitutes.

Egg Beaters http://www.eggbeaters.com/ are made from real eggs, it is liquid, low in cholestrol and fats, perfect for a healthy heart. Check out the website to see the other cool products, lots of institutional kitchens use these products.

SLOPPY "Vegetarian" JOE

Okay here we go peeps, it's time for a little healthy foods, and no absolutely no, saturated fats that comes from animals, do I make my self clear? Do I? I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!!!!

Okay let's get your nonstick pot out, not too big, maybe a 3 quart one to 4 quart.

You are gonna need 10 oz. of organic extra firm tofu
3 cloves garlic minced
1/4 cup minced onions
1/8 cup of canola oil
1 medium Roma tomato diced seed too
10 oz. organic low sodium tomato sauce
6 oz. organic tomato paste
1/2 cup filtered water
4 tbspn of chili powder
1 tbsp. of corriander
1 tbsp. of turmeric
1 tbsp. of red chili flakes
Salt and pepper to taste

Parsley sprigs to garnish

1. Heat up oil in pot, over medium high heat
2. Sautee the garlic, and onions, and diced Romas
3. Add in the tofu, using a rubber or wooden spatula, break the tofu apart to a grounded texture, don't over cook it. That's the nice thing about a vegetarian Sloppy Joe, it won't take long for it to cook, like beef.
4. Add in tomato sauce, tomato paste, and filtered water, stir and cover and simmer for about 15 minutes.
5. Add in the remaining ingredients except the parsley garnish, cook for about 5 minutes stirring constantly, it may be a little runny or watery, cook a little longer to evaporate all moister, no worry. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve and garnish with parsley.

Put it on some of your favorite bread and eat.

Fine-dining trend isn't dead, just evolving - Dining / Taste - ReviewJournal.com

Fine-dining trend isn't dead, just evolving - Dining / Taste - ReviewJournal.com

Las Vegas unemployment rate climbs to record 14.9 percent - News - ReviewJournal.com

Las Vegas unemployment rate climbs to record 14.9 percent - News - ReviewJournal.com

PINK SNAPPER DINNER FOR YOUR CHICK

This is a simple easy dinner for you dudes that wanna impress your chick, of course you can't be livin at home, for God's sake, have a rented frickin apartment.

How you dress, and how you pick up your chick is up to you, I'm just here to guide you through the dining part. First off, make sure your bathroom is clean, and smells sweet, all your stinkin socks are off the floor, and your kitchen is spotless! Got that man? Okay, for the dinner, let's do fish, hopefully your lass loves fish.

Go to your market and get 2 fillets of Pink Snapper, about 6-8 oz. each, never skimp, she sees you feedin her, she'll feed you later if you get me drift mate!

Take that home, and sprinkle some white pepper all over it, and just a little salt. Then stick it in the chiller for a bit.

For your starch, make a simple mashed potatoes.

4 medium sized russets, peeled, cubed and boiled in hot water until soft about 20 minutes, drain and cool for a few minutes.

In a mixing bowl, add in the cooked potatoes, and 1/2 cup of heavy cream, and using a hand held mixer, mix it until smooth, season with salt and pepper, and a pinch of chopped parsley and stir.

For your salad:

Buy one small head of lettuce, remove the outer leaves, unfold the head, and take the nice inside leaves, and give it a rough chop. Buy a small onion, and slice them thin. Buy some cherry tomatoes, and cut them in half.

For the dressing:

Take 1/2 cup of olive oil, 1/2 cup of frozen raspberries, 3 tbsp. of raw sugar, 1 tsp. of salt, 1 tsp. of pepper, 4 garlic cloves, 2 tbsp. of vinegar and blend it in your blender until it all comes together, then chill it.

For the dessert:

Go to your local gourmet bakery, and purchase a nice small chocolate cake, and some vanilla ice cream from your market, and some good quality chocolate syrup.

To cook the fish: (take fish out of refrigerator, and set out at room temperature for about 30 minutes)

Use a 12 inch skillet (nonstick) or fry pan (nonstick), heat up 2 tbsp. of canola oil until hot, then turn heat down to medium high, make sure that the pan is hot. Place the fillets into the pan, place fillet face down on the side where the skin was not connected, cook it for about 2 minutes, then turn it over and cook for about 4 minutes. Do not over cook fish, if she wants it cooked more, then cook it more.

Remove from pan and plate. Return the pan to the stove over medium high heat, add in 3/4 cup of white wine, and reduce it to half, remove from pan, add in 1 tbsp. of cold butter and swirl it around. Pour over filets, and sprinkle some chopped parsley over it with some salt and white pepper.

Serve with mashed potatoes. Oh yeah eat your salad first, then cook the fish, or whatever floats your boat or twirls your beany.

Then serve the cake with chocolate syrup and ice cream. Man she'll love your ass man! And for the beverage, I forgot, a good white wine like a chilled Chardonnay will do, in fact, to really impress her do not use the same wine you used for making that sauce for the fish.



Pink Snappers, tender flaky meat, no need to cook very long

RAW PEACH PIES TOTALLY VEGAN

I can roll anyway, towards being a meat eater, fish eater, or veggie only eater. I eat what's around me, and to be brutally honest, if there were lots of great vegan or vegetarian digs around my proximity, I'd go for that only, the benefits towards eating plant based foods outweighs meats. Well if you have a well balanced diet that helps out.

Here is a raw Peach Pie recipe for those of you wanting to eat raw and all natural.

1- 9 inch pie pan.

For the crust, 2 cups of almonds (raw), 1 cup of raisins, 2 tbsp. of canola oil. Place all ingredients in a food pocessor and pulse until it is all together. Gently press the mixture into the pie pan, bottom center towards the edges.

For the filling,

About 3 lbs. of ripe peaches, peeled, seeds removed.
1 cup of coconut oil
1/2 cup of Agave syrup (low glycemic)
2 tbsp. of raw sugar
1 tsp. of nutmeg
1 tsp. of cinnamon
1 tsp of salt

Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse till smooth.

Pour ingredients into pie pan, and chill for several hours covered. The coconut oil offers some flavor and binds the filling together when chilled.

Organic peaches

Nature's Way Coconut Oil Extra Virgin not processed and organic $7.00 retail.

Raw almonds organic.

What kind of nutrients are you getting when you eat this pie?

Sources of vitamin A, B complex, C and E
Protein
No saturated fats
No cholestrol
High in fiber
Zero processed food stuffs.
Important minerals
Potassium (good if you are on diuretics for hypertension)

:)

Sam Choy with Bev Gannon Part 1

Ford Motor Credit closing Henderson office; 200 will lose jobs - Business - ReviewJournal.com

Ford Motor Credit closing Henderson office; 200 will lose jobs - Business - ReviewJournal.com

THE SIDE EFFECTS OF HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE MEDS

This is an article that needs to be written, and despite myself, cooking a lot of food that may seem unhealthy to people with high blood pressure, you need to, if you do have hypertension, to minimize your sodium intake, that's number one, and number two, lower your saturated fat intake, and number three excersise.

The reason why I don't like taking high blood pressure medicines is because it makes me feel sick, and I know that it does make most of you sick as well. And being honest, I do eat bad sometimes, I'll pour salt over French fries, and slather real mayonnaise over my burgers, I do eat well most of the time, and my pressure does fluctuate because of my not so perfect eating habbits.

But this article will not touch on a recipe, for most of us already know what we should cut out, and that is sodium chloride (salt) from our diets plain and simple. But here are some proven and stated side effects from these medicines prescribed to patients with hypertension, the names and generic names of these meds are also printed here but I want the readers to know the seriousness of its side effects.

Diuretics- or "water pills" help a patient expell water through urination. Water pills helps the kidneys to excrete sodium chloride. Diuretics are the oldest medication to treat high blood pressure. The most common side effects is frequent urination.

Diuretics on the market:
Hydrochlorothiazide (Hydro Diuril)
Furosemide (Lasix)
Indapemide (Lozol)
Metolazone (Zoroxolyn)
Spirnolactone (Aldactone)
Torsemide (Demadex)
Triamterene (Direnium)

There are combination medicines being developed, such as a diuretic with other antihypertensive agents, usually these types of meds have side effects that not only causes one to urinate excessively, but also removes potassium from the body, when this happens, patients are instructed to eat foods with high potassium, such as bananas, and other foods, vegetables and fruits.

Side effects for Lasix (Furosemide)

M2 is Furosemide (Lasix) it is round and white

* dry mouth, thirst, nausea, vomiting
* feeling dowsy, light headed
* fast or uneven heartbeat
* muscle pain, maybe weakness
* urinating less than usual or not at all
* easy bruising, bleeding and weakness
* a red blistering, peeling skin rash
* hearing loss
* stomach pain, low fever, loss of appetite, dark urine, clay-colored stools, jaundice (yellowing of skin or eyes)

Less serious side effects:

* diarrhea
* headache
* numbness, burning pain, or tingly feeling
* dizziness or blurred vision.

I don't care, these possible side effects are wicked, and to control your hypertension, control what you eat. So if I eat bad, I'll have to take these pups to lower my pressure, and I don't want to take these things. One time I took a physical to get my PUC drivers license, the doctor failed me because my pressure was higher than the standard good level which is 120/70, mine was like 200/100 or something ridiculous like that. The doctor gave me some lasix to lower my pressure over a one day period, I went back the next day and got my PUC license. But watching your pressure is important, anytime that first number cracks 120 like 130 you're in trouble, and if that second number goes past 70, watch out man, you're headed for the grave!

So let's all watch what we eat, lower the salt, do good, do good and try to be around a little longer. Coronary diseases are what hyperentsion can cause, so do good with the foods we eat.

SWEET ROASTED CHICKEN

Sweet roasted chicken, nice and crispy on the outside, juicy and tender on the inside, what better way to roast a whole chicken, than to use natural sweeteners that will give it a nice glaze look. Here is a recipe for a Sweet Roasted Chicken, and the ingredients are easy to get, you probably have it in your cupboards already.

There are many recipes, and I'm still delving in different ideas from cookbooks, and chef friends and other foodies, but this recipe I ripped off from a t.v. food chef a while ago, but of course I did tweak it a lot, but the ingredients for sure I ripped off, we all rip off recipes and make them our own somehow, so here we go.

First preheat your oven to 375 deg. F.
Get out a roasting pan that is at least 2 inches deep, and large enough to put the whole chicken inside.

1 whole roasting chicken 3-4 pounds should serve 4-6 people.

1 cup of brown sugar
3/4 cup of soy sauce
1 cup of water
1/4 cup of honey
1 tsp. ground ginger

In a saucepan, heat up the mixture until syrupy, and set aside.

Make sure the chicken is cleaned out, all of the innards removed and patted dry, and sitting at room temperature for at least 30 to 40 minutes to insure a nice roasted skin, you see, if it's right out of the chiller, it won't roast well because of the cold in the meat and skin. Any time you cook with meats of any kind, it's a good idea to make it come to room temperature.

Now get a basting brush and brush this syrup concotion all over the chicken, spread it evenly all over.

1 stick of butter unsalted, melted in a sauce pan.

Brush the melted butter all over the chicken, this will help it develop a nice crust, a crispy crust.

Place the chicken inside the oven, un-covered, and let it cook for about 1 1/2 hours, it takes poultry about 25-30 minutes to roast per pound. And remember that when taking out the chicken from the oven, it wil continue to cook for a few minutes and the temperature can rise even out of the oven.
To be sure, check it every 30 minutes to see how it is coming along. Use an instant read thermometer and stick it into the deepest part of the chicken to see the temperature, if it reads 165, it should be good to go, stick the thermometer into the thigh area, it is the thickest part.

Remember that a chicken doesn't need to look totally dried to be cooked, as long as the heat penetrates, and you can see the juices oozing out, it really is an indicator that yes, the roasted bird is done.

Here is some other ingredients you can add to the roasting pan, quarter onions, yams, any root veggie, tomatoes, beans, and season them with salt and pepper with some olive oil, place them around the chicken, when the chicken roasts, the juices will make contact with the veggies also, so there you have it a simple Sweet Roasted Chicken.

Serve it with mashed poatoes or rice.

Photo from superstock.com

UDON AHI SASHIMI SALAD W/ CREAMY SOY DRESSING

Japanese foods are really clean, and by clean I mean it's usually lean, with hardly any fats running all over the plate, Japanese foods are colorful, with green vegetables, white vegetables, reds, orange from carrots, the useage of adzuki beans for desserts and in the skillet. Japanese food is good food, just got to love the simple tempuras, katsus, and the simpleness of their cuisine, so simple it's genious.

Some of my favorite dishes is the Udon Noodle dish, it can be put cold into a nice green salad with cubes of Ahi poke, or a nice hot Miso Soup with shredded ginger and shredded Daikon Radish. Here is something to try, this is a salad, it is simple, very very simple, and I'll use some cooked Udon Noodles. But first let's get to know a little bit of the Udon noodle shall we? Okay students, take that chewing gum out of your mouths.

Udon Noodles are- a thick wheat flour noodle... here's a picture of it.
From importfoods.com this is udon noodles in a broth.

Okay thanks to importfoods.com for having this lovely picture, here is my recipe for a salad utilizing Udon noodles.

First, get a package of Udon noodles, it will be dry in a package, boil some hot water, and then cook it like pasta noodles, when it's just about done, off the heat and drain it, and then run it under cold water because it's going to be a cold delicious salad we are about to embark on.

Okay now I want you to make these things below.

1/2 pound of Yellow Fin tuna, sashimi grade, and slice them really thin.

Marinade
3 tbsp. of soy sauce
1 tbsp. of mirin
1 tbsp. of rice vinegar
1 tsp. of bonito flakes, (tuna shavings)
1 tsp. of shichimi. (7 flavor chili pepper).. Shichimi is a blend of ground red chili pepper, ground sansho (Sichuan pepper), roasted orange peel, black sesame seed, white sesame seed, hemp seed, ground ginger, and anori or green seaweed.
Finely minced scallions (green onions) to garnish

1 small bok choy cabbage thinly sliced so you can eat it with a pair of chopsticks
1 carrot grated
1 small red onion sliced thin like the cabbage.

Creamy Soy Dressing.

4 large eggs
1 1/2 cup of canola oil
1/4 cup of soy sauce
2 tbsp. of lemon juice
1 tsp. minced ginger
1 tsp. of salt or more to taste

1. Mix the marinade for the Ahi sashimi, then place the sashimi in the marinade let it soak for a few minutes.
2. Divide all of the thinly sliced vegetables on plates to be used.
3. Divide the Udon noodles over the vegetables.
4. Place some of the sashimi over the noodles nicely
5. Make the dressing by putting the eggs in a blender, on high speed, slowly add the canola oil in a steady stream to make a mayonnaise, then slowy add in the lemon juice, soy sauce, and ginger, you may need more oil, just add it in, and salt. If you can spoon the dressing in a squeeze bottle, and squeeze the dressing all over the salad in each plate. Sprinkle scallions for garnish

(Below) Udon noodles in package, though I said noodles are sold dried, it is also sold cooked and sealed in a plastic bag, all you need to do is heat them up real fast in hot boiling water, strain them quickly under cold water so it does not over cook and get mushy.

Ahi fresh and ready to eat!

LAS VEGAS AND EATING

Las Vegas is still a destination where people are going to spend their money on wagering, betting I meant to say, and putting that cash on sports books, slots, table games, and shows, and well, the all oh so very popular buffets, where a person can spend just a tad, and eat all he or she wants without killing themselves. Here is a list of buffets in Las Vegas.

ALIANTE STATION: Feast Buffet Breakfast 8-11am M-SAT $7.99; Lunch 11-4pm M-Thrs, F & Sat (till 3pm) $10.99; Dinner 4-9pm daily Sun-Thrs $13.99; Seafood dinner F $20.99; Steak & shrimp night Sat 18.99; Brunch Sun 8a-4p $15.99 A club card member discount is available. http://www.aliantecasinohotel.com/ 702-692-7777

AQUARIUS (LAUGHLIN): Buffet Champagne brunch 7a-3p daily $9.99; dinner 4p-10p daily Sun-Thrs. $14.99; seafood Fri 20.99; prime rib and crab legs Sat $17.99
http://www.aquariuscasinoresort.com/ 

ARIA: The Buffet breakfast 7a-11a M-F $14.99; lunch M-F 11a-4p $19.95; dinner 4p-10p daily Sun-Thrs $27.95; gourmet dinner Fri-Sat $36.95; brunch 7a-4p Sat & Sun $23.95 w/ champagne $30.95
http://www.arialasvegas.com/ 702-590-7757

ARIZONA CHARLIE'S BOULDER: Wild West buffet breakfast 7a-1030a $4.29/$5.29 lunch 11a-3p $5.75/$6.75; dinner 4-9p Fri & Sat till 10p $7.75/$8.75 Tues. steak & shrimp $10.99/$11.99 Thrs. Prime rib & potato bar $10.00/$11.99; Sun. Champagne brunch 7a-3p $6.99/$7.99
http://www.arizonacharliesboulder.com/ 702-951-5800

ARIZONA CHARLIE'S DECATUR: Frisco Market buffet breakfast 8a-1030a $4.99/$5.99; lunch 11a-330p $5.99/$6.99; dinner 4p-9p $7.99/$8.99; Sunday champagne brunch 8a-330p $8.99/$9.99; Wed Hawaiian Night luau $11.99/$12.99; Sunday Prime rib & potato bar $11.99/$12.99
http://www.arizonacharliesdecatur.com/ 702-258-5200

This concludes the A section

POTATO CHIPS AT HOME

Potato chips have been around since potatoes were grown, and cooking oil and a pot was invented I figure that's a long time, seriously long! Nothing like a fresh cooked batch of potato chips, seasoned just right, sea salt, some black pepper, some onion powder, and you've go a home batch of potato chips. Cooking on your own is fun, and foodies are taking to the kitchen in record numbers, foodies are holding cooking contests in their homes, condos, apartments, and from what I hear it is huge. Think of games in the past that brought adults together, ping pong in the garage, darts, pool, poker, well, how about chess, backgammon, and many other fun stuff people may have dreamed up. But foodies, or food enthusiasts are getting into it, roasting contests, stir frying contests, baking contests, drink making contests, it is happening foodie, as you read this, there is an underground bunch of people, paying money to buy high quality cooking gear for their home kitchens, and inviting friends or nemisses over to a cooking battle, or to just have a pow wow on foods, like where did Cythia go for her vay cay and what did she eat? Sorry guys, but I gotta talk like these foodies, vay cay is vacation for you who couldn't catch on.

Foodies are a serious and egotistical bunch, especially foodies with money, as opposed to foodies without money. For instance, a foodie with money will dine at fancy places as well as local digs, where as the foodie with less money will maybe hit all the local digs, but go to a fancy place once a year if he or she is lucky. Nontheless, foodies are food lovers, they want to know the history of the food they are eating, how it is originally prepared, so forth and so on. Foodies are generating millions of dollars for cookbook publishers, and high ratings for food shows. For every t.v. chef, he or she has a possibility of acquiring millions of followers. Yes foodies are a new exciting bunch, cook them something cool, up to date, and they'll tell all of their foodie friends, and the next thing you know, you're a hit, you become that popular jock that you weren't in high school.

Wine foodies, these people make it a point to travel around the world in search of good wine and food, and to tell the world about their experience on their own website or social networks. Foodies who do the wine trips are interesting, because they start sounding like a cut rate sommelier. "The reds are nutty, with a hint of unleaded gas." Or, "That Chard is so crisp, like apples right at summertime." Yeah whatever, just drink it and shut up alirght?

Foodies are spending millions of dollars on anything food related, cookbooks, food books, reference books for nutrition, travel mags, you name it, foodies are spending millions each year on food stuff, they are, it is a big huge business food is. Big. Did I say big? I meant huge!

Okay the Potato Chips Recipe:

12 large Russet potatoes scrubbed, and sliced fairly thin

1 large pot with 32 oz. of Canola oil

1. Heat up the oil to hot, wait to have that oil produce bubbles, and you can see the energy move that oil, toss in a small piece of bread, and see how quickly it gets to be brown, if it gets brown as soon as it hits the oil, you are good to go to get those slices of potatoes, or chips fried.

2. Once your chips are all fried to nice golden crisp, let it cool in a colander so excess oil will drip away from it.

3. In small batches, salt them, and you can also season them with whatever, vinegar, cayenne pepper, paprika, curry powder, barbeque sauce, mayonnaise, you name you can get creative with seasoning your batch of chips.

The nex foodie challange at your home, in your kitchen is to have a chips making contests.