I was very touched when Steven, 10-year old son of a family friend, decided to write about me in his school assignment which was to describe someone who had inspired him. He drew a picture of me which his Mom said that he was too shy to share. Steven eventually give me that picture so I told him I’d show him how to cook our www.SlapYoDaddyBBQ.com award winning BBQ chicken. Here’s a short video our great time together. . .
I was privileged to be part of a five-member team of volunteers who prepared 72 turn-in boxes for a KCBS judging class in Orange County, California.
36 Certified BBQ Judges (CBJs) were minted on March 21, 2009. These CBJs will be judging the 2009 Wishland Que’n for kids BBQ Contest on May 9, 2009 in beautiful Costa Mesa, California.
The Wishland, now named Kristie’s Foundation, helps critically ill children and their families including raising money to build Kristie’s Place, the first children’s end-of-life care facility in Southern California. The mission of the California BBQ Association (CBBQA) is to teach, enjoy, preserve, and promote barbecue as a true American food and to help various children’s charities by conducting BBQ events throughout California.
I finally got around to editing the March 6, 2009, video my son Brian shot of me making the Prawns in Jack Daniels Beurre Blanc Sauce with Marinated Artichokes and Sun-Dried Tomatoes over Black Calamari Ink Pasta at the Tempe BBQ Festival in Arizona (see prior Blog). Many of you have asked me what happens in my tent Friday nights so now here’s your chance to see it yourself! Enjoy!
At the Hesperia Golden State Championship on April 3, my potluck dishes will be:
Dish 1 – CBBQA Finger Eggrolls with Shrimp, Ground Pork, Scallions, and Water Chestnuts served with Tangy Chili-Soy Dipping Sauce
Dish 2 – Make-Your-Italian-Grandma-Cry Tennis-Sized Meatballs with Spicy Marinara Coulis over Hand-Made Durum Pasta Noodles.
See past Potluck Dishes here. Bobby Flay, eat your heart out!
Feb 28, 2009 – My BBQ buddy Gary Notley partnered with me to do a Hollywood catering gig for Matt Dubin’s 40th birthday and a hundred guests including Keanu Reeves, star in my favorite movie series the Matrix trilogy. It was a picture perfect sunny California day and we set up a BBQ buffet line on the top floor parking structure of a old Warner Brothers studio called The Lot. We had a great view of the Hollywood sign on one side and downtown LA on the other.
Gary handled all the BBQ meats like ribs, pork, and brisket, and I made six sides including my special BBQ spaghetti with Smoked Tri-Tip and Andouille Sausage and scratch-made cornbread (see menu). During the menu planning stage, I suggested to Gary that we do a vegeterian items since we were serving a Hollywood crowd. That turned out to be a great idea as the BBQ Organic Tofu Salad was a big hit. Chris Rocke, one of our BBQ brothers on the competition circuit also came along with his very cool looking smoker to lend an authentic BBQ “show and smell” to the show. Che and Mike rounded out the 5-person catering team and come along to help out.
There was a steady stream of guests from about 1 pm through the day and everyone loved the BBQ feast and sides. They would come by the buffet line to eat, relax and play ping pong and sandbag toss, and then return for more food. Gary had won two back-to-back Brisket Championships last year and his brisket amazed the crowd so much that even the vegeterians were eating his brisket! I received rave reviews for the BBQ Organic Tofu salad with mixed greens and a special smoked Tomato Onion Dressing which I invented after toying around with various ingredients in the weeks leading up to this anticipated event.
Every one was super nice and there were grandparents and many kids at this event. There were Hollywood celebrities in the mix and several came up to take our pictures which we were happy to oblige. Many told us that this was the best food they had had and considering the kind of upscale Hollywood events they typically go to, this was great to hear. Keanu, who’s a good friend of Matt, the birthday boy, came by to tell us how excited he was to finally be able to try Gary’s ribs and brisket since he had heard so many great stories about it. He’s a really nice guy and talked to us about BBQ and cooking, and took pictures with the BBQ crew!
Brian and Harry in front of BBQ Island, sponsor store, in Tempe, AZ
We had a terrific time at our first contest in Arizona. I can’t thank Mike of AZ Barbeque and Tom of Whiskey Ranch BBQ enough for hosting such a superb event. It was well run and well organized. Thanks to BBQ Island for sponsoring as well as all the other sponsors. Thanks to Kelly and Kathleen for keeping the IBCA rules and scores moving smoothly along for the 33 teams who participated.
Mike (AZ BBQ), Brian, Harry, John (Chubby Hubby BBQ)
It was great to meet all the new Q-ers and to be part of the contingent of half dozen teams from California. We all tried our best and Slap Yo’ Daddy BBQ came in 5th (1st Pork, 4th Brisket, 9th Ribs) but the top honors go to Rhythm n Que from Arizona and Sweet Peppers New Mexico for Grand Champion and Reserve Champion respectively. It was great to meet the Sweet Peppers as I thought we were the only minivan team on the West Coast! Hey, Jim we should start a minivan competition group!
Congrats to all the teams who walked and for the first-timers, it won’t be long before you’re hooked! <Results>
<Click for Harry’s Picture Slide Show>
Mike, we can’t wait to be invited back! Glad everyone liked the Prawns in Jack Daniels Beurre Blanc Sauce with Marinated Artichokes and Sun-Dried Tomatoes over Black Calamari Ink Pasta.
Prawns in Jack Daniels Beurre Blanc Sauce with Marinated Artichokes and Sun-Dried Tomatoes over Black Calamari Ink Pasta
I was impressed by the creativity of the entries in the Backyard Category including Kebabs, Chicken, and Chili. Next time, I’m going to enter the more “creative” backyard contest. Here are some pics:
My son Brian was my helper and assistant cook as my regular assistant Mark is on a newly-wed haitus and will be joining me for about half the contests this year. Good thing Brian got a good night’s sleep so he drove the 400 miles home while I dozed fitfully so no problems with long-travel comps in the future!
Unfortunately my January 2009 Bobby Flay Grill It audition video did not make the final 13 chosen for the 2009 season. I prepared two knockout dishes: Grilled Lobster and Seafood Paella with Chorizo and Saffron, and Seared Ahi Tuna with Maui Onion Dressing.
I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for supporting me by voting, commenting on my video, and sending it to all your friends. Maybe better luck next year!
Here is the Dear John email I received:
Thanks everyone for applying to be on Season 2 of Grill It! with Bobby Flay! Because of all the fantastic video submissions, narrowing it down to 13 final Grill Guests was extremely difficult. Thanks for all the memorable moments, laughs, unique recipes, skilled editing techniques and pet cameos! Joking aside, many of you seem to be talented cooks! We do appreciate all of your enthusiasm for the Food Network and Bobby Flay and hope that you’re able to tune in to watch our upcoming season this May.
If you’re interested in hearing about upcoming Food Network casting opportunities please look for Embassy Row (our production company) on Facebook using the email foodnetworkseries@gmail.com
Keep on cooking!
The Grilling Casting Team -
Lisa, Zandra, Alice & Portia
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