Posts Tagged ‘Cooking’
Paula Deen Counter Point From My Dear Wife
January 18, 2012 – Little did I know that my lovely wife would be the first to comment on my recent Paula Deen blog. Lindsay is a fan of Paula Deen as was her dear grandmother. I’ve decided that it wasn’t enough to just leave her words sitting in the comments section, because she has such a way with words that I have placed them here for you to enjoy as a post.
So … in Paula Deen’s defense, here is my beautiful wife Lindsay reading me the riot act as only she can do in her own charming way -
Baby, baby, baby…. You are going to catch hell, and rightly so! Are you seriously going to pick on Paula again? First of all, let’s talk about the picture you have decided to embellish your blog with. OF COURSE you had to choose a picture of the Queen of Southern Cooking stuffing her face. Her pretty smile just wouldn’t have done this blog justice, now would it?
As for Bourdain, he’s freakin’ awesome. But let’s face it… He’s a damn Yankee (from New York City!) that doesn’t know a damn thing about the South, soul food, and sweet tea.
Now, on to the real issue. Do you honestly believe that Paula Deen had the obligation of sharing her medical problems with her audience, fans, and patrons? That’s nonsense! Paula may have known about her diabetes and continued to prepare her “unhealthy” meals for herself and others, but her medical problems shouldn’t be anyone else’s concern! It isn’t up to her or any other TV personality to educate people on the “dangers” of eating high fat, high calorie, and sugary foods. We have an unhealthy, over weight Surgeon General to provide us with that information! Those who are making Paula’s best dishes at home and are visiting her restaurant are CHOOSING to eat her famous greasy fried chicken and gooey butter cakes. And why? For the same reason you eat them. THEY’RE DAMN GOOD!!! Paula is not a hypocrite for having type 2 diabetes and continuing to cook her “lard laden-ed goodies.” She has never once argued to be the epitome of health! (Lord knows she wouldn’t have a fried chicken leg to stand on there!) and I’m pretty sure she’s never claimed her dishes to be good for you… Not in a health sense anyway.
If I know you as well as I think I do… You don’t really believe what you wrote. At least not all of it. If you did then you would agree with all of those who blame McDonald’s for ramming Big Macs down their throats and super sizing their fries and ultimately making them fat. (Which of course is why they had to sue the restaurant for not having booths large enough to accommodate their fat asses.) I believe I just won my argument….Mr. Roycroft.
I hope you read this before eating your midnight snack of cornbread and milk. Ooops! too late!— Your Loving Wife
It’s That Time Again: Steaming Hot Chili Recipe
November 19, 2011 - Nothing better than a steaming hot bowl of chili on a cold night. This recipe is very similar to the recipe that won me first place in the Pig Fest Chili Cook Off back in 2001.
This chili recipe was inspired by my fathers great chili and has continued to be a family favorite for the fall and winter months.
My chili recipe is pretty basic and very easy to prepare. Nothing fancy, just good comfort food. Even if you don’t consider yourself a good cook, my recipe will make your friends think different. This recipe will make about five or six hearty servings.
Ingredients :
- 3 Lbs Ground Chuck
- 2 Medium Yellow Onions – Coarse Chopped
- 6 Scallions – Coarse Chopped
- 2 Fresh Jalapeno Peppers – Chopped (You can also substitute with pickled Jalapenos)
- 2 15.5 Oz Cans Dark Red Kidney Beans – Drained
- 1 28 Oz Can Whole Tomatoes – Crush them before adding to the pot
- 2.5 Oz Bottle Gourmet Chili Powder – Use about 3/4 of the bottle
- 6 Cloves Fresh Garlic – Chopped (You can also Substitute with 3 Tbs Garlic Powder)
- 1 Tbsp Ground Cumin
- 1/4 Cup Chopped Cilantro (Optional)
- 1 Tbsp Sugar
- Salt & Pepper To Taste
Preparation : DO NOT ADD WATER as the chili will become too soupy. My recipe is meant to be a thick and hearty chili which will need no additional water. Once the chili cooks you will discover that it will create its own juices, and adding water will only weaken the flavor.
Brown your ground beef in a large stew pot. Once the ground beef has browned, add the remaining ingredients being sure to mix thoroughly.
Cover and let simmer on medium low heat for about an hour – stirring occasionally.
After the chili has cooked for about an hour you will want to taste it to see if you need to add more seasoning.
Cook the chili for at least one more hour, total of two hours minimum cooking time. The longer it cooks the better.
Now bowl up some chili and dress it with cheese or however you like. I hope you enjoy it!
Coming Soon: Lindsay’s Homemade Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookie Recipe, To Freakin Die For!
Emma loves her mommy’s chocolate chip cookies
As some of you may or may not know, my wife is a great chef and prepares some of the best tasting home meals you could imagine. From her creamy Chicken and Basil Tortellini, to her homemade Potato Soup, my wife creates heaven on a plate – And her deserts … well … that’s another department in food heaven!
After many discussions on trying to get her to do a food blog, she still resists. Mainly because she is very busy being a wonderful stay at home mom.
Our little Emma begins her very first day of school next week which means Lindsay will finally have some extra time for herself and she has agreed to share some of her recipes with you. She won’t be doing her own food blog, but she will be posting her recipes here for all my readers to enjoy.
In addition to sharing some of her wonderful recipes, you will also get to see her photographic talents because she will be photographing her own foods.
So stay tuned for some heavenly recipes coming very soon here, from Lindsay’s kitchen.
Paula Deen vs Anthony Bourdain: Cook vs Master Chef
Anyone who loves Paula Deen, and/or Anthony Bourdain, have no doubt heard about the remarks spewed between the two.
First let me tell you this…I am a great fan of Anthony Bourdain. I’ve been watching him since day one, before “No Reservations” ever aired. I think Paula Deen is delightful and has a good story of struggle and success to tell. On the down side, to me she comes across as a caricature of a person from the south. Being from Georgia it kinda bothers me when she opens her mouth and every other word that comes out is “y’all.” Can you say, dumb southerner? Her exaggerated southern drawl gets old real fast.
Paula Deen is no doubt quite the success story. She worked hard to get where she is, but she is not a trained chef. She is just a really good cook that wouldn’t let anything stop her from moving forward. Anyone’s grandmother can match anything Paula Deen can cook. On the other hand, Anthony Bourdain is a master chef who graduated from the CIA in 1978. His resume speaks for itself. The two cannot be compared in any way. Ok, so now that I have pissed off the Paula Deen fan club…
In an interview with TV Guide, Bourdain called Paula Deen “the worst, most dangerous person to America.” He went on to say, “She revels in unholy connections with evil corporations and she’s proud of the fact that her food is f—ing bad for you. If I were on at seven at night and loved by millions of people at every age, I would think twice before telling an already obese nation that it’s OK to eat food that is killing us. Plus, her food sucks.” he told the magazine. He later clarified on Twitter that Paula Deen is “hardly the worst person in America, just the most destructive influence on Food Network.”
Bourdain tweeted :”Next time I’m asked (for the millionth time) who the worst cooks on Food Network are, I’ll just shut up,”Who cares?”
Paula Deen had this response, “It’s not all about cooking, but what I can contribute by using my influence to help people across the country. In the last two years, my partners and I have fed more than 10 million hungry people, bringing the meat to food banks . I do not know what Anthony did to contribute in addition to being annoying. ”
I commend Paula Deen for all she does for charity, but apparently Paula Deen doesn’t watch Bourdain’s show, “No Reservations,” because if she did she would realize that he has a much bigger impact on bringing attention to those who suffer most in our world than she ever could.
How’s this for influence – Bourdain’s food/travel show, “No Reservations”, has focused on the millions of people who are struggling for survival, both at home and abroad. Bourdain has brought to viewers the human side of conflict in Beirut, where he found himself in the middle of the terrors of war. He has also shown us the terrible poverty in Brazil, the disaster in Japan, and the awful scars left from the genocide in Cambodia.
His episode on the Haiti earthquake was eye opening and gave the best journalistic human view of any news agency out there. Bourdain has also devoted shows to post-Hurricane Katrina which devastated New Orleans.
Yes, Anthony Bourdain speaks his mind and I commend him for being honest. He is a no nonsense kinda of guy that will sometimes say things that some might find offensive. So do I… so what? At least he doesn’t subscribe to the politically correct bs that most other liberals do.
Anthony Bourdain gets my vote any day for what he does to promote awareness of the plight in other cultures, other countries, and people of the world. Money isn’t always the answer to every problem. Bringing attention to it is a good start. Aside from being a great chef, it’s one of the things Bourdain does best.
He may or may not donate $millions to charities, but he most certainly brings attention to the of millions of people in our world who are hurting, struggling and dying. So Paula, how much is that worth y’all? – John Roycroft
Related articles
- Anthony Bourdain vs. Paula Deen: Who ‘peed in his cereal’? [Poll] (latimesblogs.latimes.com)
- Paula Deen and Anthony Bourdain are at war (popwatch.ew.com)
- Paula Deen Vs. Anthony Bourdain (buzzfeed.com)
Chili Cook Off Season Is Right Around The Corner
Downtown Grantville
Yes I know, it’s over 100 degrees in many parts of the country and chili is probably the last thing on your mind right now, but I am getting ready for the big chili cook off coming up in October.
It’s been a few years since I won my last contest so I want to make sure my chili is up to competition standards well before the day arrives. I’ll be trying out a tweaked up version of my prize recipe for the October cook off and I am pretty sure it’s going rank up there with some of the top contenders. This year will be different because it’s going to be held in the tiny little town of Grantville, Georgia. You may have seen this town in a movie filmed there back in 2006 called, “Broken Bridges,” which starred Toby Keith and Burt Reynolds. Grantville is compared by some to being a lot like “Mayberry.”
I’m not sure how many competitors will be at this years event and really don’t know what to expect. I am still waiting on my information packet and entry form to arrive. When I called to get details on the event, the sweet lady on the phone told me everything about her little town, and by the time I had hung up, I knew the names of all her family members and all about her families heritage in Grantville. I can hardly wait to get there and mingle with these good small town American folks. Even if I don’t win, just being there will be a wonderful experience. – John Roycroft
Roycroft Chili
I’ll share with you one of my basic chili recipes. This is the base to the chili that won me first place in the 2002 Pig Fest chili cook off. It’s not the exact recipe, but then I’m not giving out all my secrets either.
Chili Ingredients :
2 – Lbs Ground Chuck
2 – Medium Yellow Onions – Course Chopped
6 – Scallions – Course Chopped
2 – Fresh Jalapeno Peppers – Chopped
3 – 15.5 Oz Cans Dark Red Kidney Beans – Drained
1 - 28 Oz Can Whole Tomatoes – Crush them with your fingers before adding to the pot
1 - 2.5 Oz Bottle Gourmet Chili Powder
6 - Cloves Fresh Garlic – Chopped ( You can also Substitute with (4 Tbs Garlic Powder)
1 – Tbsp Ground Cumin
1 – 1/4 Cup Fresh Chopped Cilantro
1 – Tbsp Sugar
Salt & Pepper To Taste
Preparation : DO NOT ADD WATER as the chili will become too soupy. My recipe is meant to be a thick and hearty chili which will need no additional water. Once the chili cooks you will discover that it will create its own juices, and adding water will only weaken the flavor.
Brown your ground chuck in a large stew pot. Once the ground chuck has browned, add the remaining ingredients being sure to mix thoroughly.
Cover and let simmer on medium low heat for two hours. Stirring occasionally.
After the chili has cooked for about an hour you will want to taste it to see if you need to add more seasoning.
Cook the chili for at least one more hour, total of two hours minimum cooking time. The longer it cooks the better.
I hope you enjoy it!
Valentine Surprise. Homemade Coconut Macaroons Drizzled With Chocolate
Lindsay’s Homemade Coconut Macaroons
February 14, 2011 – Over the weekend, I took my beautiful wife out for dinner, and then to the Punchline Comedy Club to see Tommy Blaze (relationship humor) for our Valentine’s night out. We had a baby sitter for the first time in several months. My wife, being pregnant, was deserving of a good evening without worrying about our little two-year old Emma for a change. It was one of the best nights ever. After we left the Punchline we went for desert at a local spot in Atlanta for ice cream. It could not have been a better evening for the two of us.
Today, I brought home red roses and a new Coach diaper bag for my sweetheart, and chocolates for little Emma. To my complete surprise, Lindsay had been up to her sneaky ideas for my Valentine. I was greeted with home-made coconut macaroons drizzled with chocolate. Oh my gawd! This was a first for me. I like macaroons, but these were hot home-made macaroons. I have never had them fresh home-made before. Needless to say, this was the best Valentine a guy could possibly get from his wife!
