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November 27, 2021November 27, 2021

Cooking Issues and Food Science with Dave Arnold

About Dave Arnold

On this episode, we’re joined by chef Dave Arnold. He’s the host of the Cooking Issues podcast, author of the cocktail book Liquid Intelligence, and creator of the Searzall and Spinzall. Dave is also the founder of the Museum of Food and Drink, and the man behind the NYC bars Booker & Dax and Existing Conditions, sadly , both of which are no longer in operation.

On This Week’s Podcast

As I kind of expected going into this show, I let Dave lead the way. I leaned into all those weird and intriguing food science topics. Like my episode with Daniel Gritzer, our discussion went long, so I broke it up into two episodes.

Part 1 of The Chefs Without Restaurants Podcast

We discuss MSG, hacking your home kitchen equipment, pressure cookers, and grain mills. We talk about whole wheat flour and its shelf life and degradation. And find out which popular candy just might be benefiting from a hint of rancidity.

Part 2 of The Chefs Without Restaurants Podcast

We discuss storing fresh tomatoes, using canned tomatoes, and pizza sauce. We talk about his upcoming book, working with Gellan, hot poker cocktails, and fermenting with koji. We also talk about potato doughnuts and Moravian Sugar Cake (and so much more).

This Week’s Sponsors

If you’re interested in grits, corn meal, and corn flour that are both delicious and nutritious, check out Professor Torbert’s Orange Corn. All of their products are non-GMO, gluten free and vegan. Their orange corn is helping fight micronutrient deficiencies in more than 10 African countries. So, when you choose Professor Torbert’s you aren’t just saying yes to better flavor. You’re also helping deliver better nutrition on a global scale. When ordering on their website, use discount code CHEFS10 to save 10%.

Looking to hire employees for your restaurant? This week’s sponsor is Savory Jobs, a job site only for restaurants. For just $50, get unlimited job postings for an entire year. Use discount code SAVORY10 to save 10%.

Relevant Links and Where to Learn About Dave Arnold and Cooking Issues

You can listen to the show on Podpage, Podlink, Buzzsprout, ITunes, Spotify, TuneIn, Stitcher, Amazon Music, Pandora, I Heart Radio, and everywhere podcasts are found.

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Dave Arnold

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Dave’s Twitter
Dave’s Instagram
The (new) Cooking Issues Podcast
Buy the book Liquid Intelligence
Dig through the Cooking Issues blog

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CHEFS WITHOUT RESTAURANTS

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SUPPORT US ON PATREON
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If you want to support the show, our Venmo name is ChefWoRestos and can be found at https://venmo.com/ChefWoRestos. If you enjoy the show it would be much appreciated.

September 11, 2021September 11, 2021

This Beef Jerky Flower Bouquet Might Be the Perfect Gift for Men

How many times have you received a boring gift? You smile and politely say “thanks”, wishing you received something better. Well, don’t be a bore when it comes to gifting. I guarantee that this is a present that (almost) anyone will love. What if I told you I’d found the most unique, and delicious, edible bouquet?

The Product

I recently received a Beef Jerky Flower Bouquet from Manly Man Co, and it was fantastic. I don’t know many men that get too excited about getting flowers, or even one of those edible fruit displays. But want about jerky?

The jerky bouquet comes pre-arranged in a sealed package that ensures freshness. The “stems” are made from a blend of beef, pork and spices, while the “petals” are made with 100% beef. For flavors, your options are original, teriyaki, hot or mixed. I went with the mixed so I could try all of them. As far as the vase goes, the bouquet comes in a pint glass.

The day it arrived at our house, we had company over. Let me tell you, it made quite an impression. I promptly took it out of the package, and set the arrangement on the counter. Everyone broke out their phones to snap a few pictures. Then, like locusts, the feeding began. It didn’t take long for our group to devour a good portion of the arrangement.

The Company

Manly Man Co seems to know who their target audience is. Besides their jerky bouquet, they also offer gifts like stemless maple candied bacon roses dipped in dark chocolate, Bloody Mary kits, and bacon scented gift wrapping paper. They even have fun kits like Beer, Bacon, and Whiskey MANcakes.

Of course, men aren’t the only ones who like these types of gifts. That’s why they recently launched Awesome Gifts Co. You can find many of the same gifts, but with the Awesome Gifts Co branding, as opposed to Manly Man Co.

Final Thoughts

I thought this was a really unique gift. I’ve loved jerky for a long time, and have never seen anything like this. The actual meat was a high-quality product. Plus, long after the jerky’s gone, you’ll still have the pint glass.

I enjoyed all the flavors, with hot being my favorite. Don’t worry, it’s not that hot (my 9-year old was fine). Currently, the Beef Jerky Bouquet is available for $59 on the Manly Man Co website. If you’d like more gift ideas, you can find some recommendations on our podcast Chefs Without Restaurants.

July 13, 2021July 13, 2021

Comedian and Actor Dan Ahdoot on Restaurants, Persian Cooking, His Food Podcast and Cobra Kai

About Dan Ahdoot

For Episode 100 of the podcast, my guest is Dan Ahdoot. He’s a standup comic, actor, writer, producer, and podcast host. He’s a national headliner who’s a frequent guest on The Tonight Show, and is currently acting on Netflix’s Cobra Kai. He’s garnered fans as a character actor on the shows Bajillion Dollar Propertie$, Shameless, Workaholics, and Disney Channel’s Kickin’ It.

On his podcast Green Eggs and Dan, he takes a new look at “you are what you eat,” and brings listeners in on conversations about food, life, and more, with some of his most entertaining friends. Not your typical food show, Green Eggs and Dan is the type of food podcast you’d make with your friends around the table, roasting more than just food.

Dan’s show has hit #1 on the podcast charts, and his guests have included Jacques Pepin, Ruth Reichl, Padma Lakshmi, Henry Winkler, Paul F Tompkins, and Iliza Schlesinger. Starting in August, you can see him in a brand new Food Network cooking competition show called Raid the Fridge, and he’ll have a food memoir coming out soon called Lost Sole.

On This Week’s Podcast

On the show, we talk about Persian food and cooking, luxury food ingredients, and the dining scene in general. You’ll hear how he went from pre-med to stand-up and acting, and now podcasting. And as a fan of Cobra Kai, I had to know if he was Team Daniel or Team Johnny.

This Week’s Sponsor

Relevant Links and Where to Learn About Dan Ahdoot

You can listen to the show on Podpage, Podlink, Buzzsprout, ITunes, Spotify, TuneIn, Stitcher, Amazon Music, Pandora, I Heart Radio, and everywhere podcasts are found.

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Dan Ahdoot

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Dan’s Instagram
Dan’s Twitter
Dan’s Website
Listen to Green Eggs and Dan

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CONNECT WITH US

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Get the Chefs Without Restaurants Newsletter

Visit Our Amazon Store (we get paid when you buy stuff)

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Like our Facebook page

Join the private Facebook group

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Check our Instagram pics

Founder Chris Spear’s personal chef business Perfect Little Bites https://perfectlittlebites.com/

Watch on YouTube

If you want to support the show, our Venmo name is ChefWoRestos and can be found at https://venmo.com/ChefWoRestos. If you enjoy the show, have every received a job through one of our referrals, have been a guest, , or simply want to help, it would be much appreciated. Feel free to let us know if you have any questions.

July 12, 2021July 12, 2021

Recipe for Watermelon Gazpacho

About Watermelon Gazpacho

This recipe for Watermelon Gazpacho comes from podcast guest Jonathan Bardzik, and is featured in Jonathan’s new cookbook Simple Summer: a recipe for joy and connection

From Jonathan: “10 years ago watermelon gazpacho became popular and nearly ubiquitous on summer restaurant menus here in the Mid-Atlantic. I often find them disappointing with the watermelon used as savory. Watermelon is a delicious fruit, but a pretty mediocre vegetable. This recipe lets the tomatoes shine with a pinch of salt, while the watermelon stars as a sweet, summer fruit brought out by honey and juiced to add liquid to the soup.”

Recipe for Watermelon Gazpacho

Watermelon gazpacho

Serves 6-8

Of all the recipes in this book, this is the one I am proudest of. I have served it at least 100 times since developing it and every time it garners raves. Salt brings out the tomato, and honey makes the watermelon pop. Leave out the watermelon juice, add some cumin and serve this as a salsa over fried fish tacos!

Ingredients:

4 cups finely diced watermelon plus 2 cups cut in 2” chunks

2 large tomatoes, finely diced, about 2 cups

1/2 red onion, diced

1/2 tsp lime zest

2 tbs lime juice

1/2 jalapeño, seeded and minced

2 tbs finely chopped basil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 tbs honey

Directions:

Mix together the 4 cups of finely diced watermelon with the tomato, onion lime zest, juice, jalapeño and basil. Stir together.

Press remaining 2 cups of large chunks of watermelon through a food mill or purée in a food processor and strain through a fine sieve to remove solids.

Add watermelon juice, vinegar and honey to soup. Season to taste with salt, pepper and additional honey, if needed.

If you make this soup ahead of time, check the seasoning again before serving. The watermelon and tomatoes will release more moisture and dilute the salt, vinegar and honey.

Relevant Links and Where to Learn About Jonathan Bardzik

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Jonathan Bardzik

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Jonathan’s Instagram https://www.instagram.com/jonathanbardzik/

Watch Seasons to Taste https://watch.revry.tv/details/35368

Jonathan’s Website https://www.jonathanbardzik.com/
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CONNECT WITH US

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Like our Facebook page

Join the private Facebook group

Join the conversation on Twitter

Check our Instagram pics

Founder Chris Spear’s personal chef business Perfect Little Bites https://perfectlittlebites.com/

Watch on YouTube

March 30, 2021March 30, 2021

Learn How Laurie Boucher Started Pasta Making Classes

Laurie Bocher of Instagram's @baltimorehomecook on pasta making and pasta classes

You can listen to the show on Buzzsprout, ITunes, Spotify, TuneIn, Stitcher, Amazon Music, Pandora and I Heart Radio.

SUPPORT US ON PATREON

On this week’s podcast, I speak with Laurie Boucher. Laurie is a self-described attorney turned pasta-preneur, and is the woman behind the Instagram account @BaltimoreHomeCook. We discuss how she got into pasta-making, and her pasta-related activities which include selling pasta boards and hard to find Sardinian pasta cutters, as well as the pasta-shaped jewelry and ornaments that she makes. She also does pasta-making classes. We talk about her culinary school experience, some of her favorite culinary resources, and the new Arcobaleno pasta extruder that she recently picked up.

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Laurie Boucher
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Baltimore Home Cook Instagram

Boula Boards and Luni Boards

Sardinian Brass Cutters

Pasta Jewelry

Arcobaleno Pasta Extruders

For more pasta talk, check out our podcasts with chefs Hari Cameron and Tony DiGiulian

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CONNECT WITH US

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Subscribe to The Chefs Without Restaurants Newsletter

Visit Our Amazon Shop (I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.)

Check out our other website https://chefswithoutrestaurants.org

Like our Facebook page

Join the private Facebook group

Join the conversation on Twitter

Check our Insta pics

Find us on TikTok

Watch on YouTube

Chefs Without Restaurants Founder Chris Spear of Perfect Little Bites

If you want to support the show, our Venmo name is ChefWoRestos and can be found at https://venmo.com/ChefWoRestos. If you enjoy the show, have every received a job through one of our referrals, have been a guest, been given complimentary Chefs Without Restaurants swag, or simply want to help, it would be much appreciated. Feel free to let us know if you have any questions.