YOUR TIME IS NIGH. Austin Bacon Takedown, Part Deux!!!  Last year was amazing. This year will be even more insaner!!!!  Austin bacon cooks-  raise your swords! We attack March 13 3PM at Emo’s !!!!

20 of the happiest local cooks will take bacon and transform it into the winningest of possible creations. Remember last year? We saw bacon tacos, cupcakes, caramels, Bloody Mary’s and other stuff too!  YOUR job is to show up, eat everything, and VOTE on the finest culinary invention.  Tickets are $10 and are available HERE!!!

There’s a judge’s catagory and a People’s Choice category! Hey you guys, guess who the judges are?  Only Hilah Johnson from award-winning HilahCooking.com !!!! Not only does she have her own cooking show, but she won last year’s Austin BTD!!!  And guess who else? Is judging? Austin food writer Claudia Alarcon!!! She blogs at cuisinexplorers.com, and writes for Austin Chronicle and Austin Woman!!!!  Yes!

Email Matt Timms to get on the WAIT LIST to compete!  Hormel Black Label Bacon will once again be sponsoring, and so I can give you 15lbs of the finest Hormel Black Label Bacon to work with!!! Brain up a sweet or savory dish of brilliance…  the prizes are doper than ever: Cookware from Analon, Wusthof, Microplane, Le Creuset, Edgeware, and Chicago Metallic!  AND a year’s supply of Hormel Black Label Bacon!!! Far out!!!

See you all super soon… I’m very pumped about another seriously serious food party!!!!

Sponsored:

Prizes sponsored by:

Say what you will about how Boston is awesome. The fact remains: it is also cool and excellent. So many cookies.  So many brilliant, brilliant cookies…

And thanks to Great Scott who, in their innocence, provided milk for the attendees to enjoy with the cookies.  Little did they know that most Bostonians would pervert their cow juice into White Russians and Irish Coffees!  DRINKZ!!!!

So much fun was had, and I promise, Boston, I’ll be back again and again! Sorry for the long absence, it won’t happen again!!! Now, here’s the winnerz!

People’s Choice:

1st #6 Kate Ramuda – Chocolate Chip Fluffernutter
2nd #4 Angela Park – Cimmamon Bun Butter Cookies

3rd #15 Zachary Waldstein -Chocolate Heathbar Walnut Espresso

Judges:

Expertise provided by Food and Culture expert Adam Ragusea (NPR) and Cookie expert Sarah Sholes (Canyoucookie.com)
1st #11  Jeff Sullivan  –   3-Nut Sensation

2nd #1 Ali Sherman and Dan Coes Rosemary Brown Butter Oatmeal W/ White Chocolate
3rd #7 Trevor Adams – Chocolate Cherry

Honorable Mentions:
Nuttiest: #3 Jenn D’Ascoli Pistachio Thumbprint
Most Shocking: #17 Steve Gisselbrecht and Tom Wethern- -Coconut Curry Chocolate Chunk

4th Place Honorable Mention: #8 Paul Keegan – CMD’s

And now AFTER THE JUMP – Here’s all the violently yummy Boston cookies for you to peruse!!!!

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Picture yourself in a horrible blizzard.  But instead of snow, the blizzard is… COOKIES.  Terrifying… Whelp, that is how you are about to feel at the BOSTON COOKIE TAKEDOWN…  Oh wait, did you not want to be blizzarded by ten billion trillion yummy cookies?  Fine, then. DON’T come down to:

Great Scott, February 27th at 2PM !!!! 1222 Commonwealth Avenue

Tickets are $10 to roll around in ALL the AMAZING cookies, and laugh and laugh!!!!!!

And YES! Great Scott’s WILL BE SELLING MILK to plunge your cookies in and ENHANCE THE YUMMINESS!!! VOTE FOR THE FINEST COOKIE!!!  BUY TICKETS HERE!!!

JUDGES:  Food and Culture expert Adam Ragusea (NPR) and Cookie expert Sarah Sholes (Canyoucookie.com)

THE COMPETITOR LIST IS NOW CLOSED! Email Matt Timms to get on my Boston mailing list so you never miss another local Takedown! The best batches (voted by the crowds, and a panel of judges) win amazing prizos from Wusthof, Anolon, Le Creuset and Microplane!!!

SPONSORS:

A portion of procedes goes to support:

I couldn’t sleep the night before this one, you guys.  I was all tossing and turning with crazy thoughts bonking around in my usually awesome brain.  “Can New Yorkers make good jerky?”  “Do New Yorkers even like jerky?” “What if no one comes and its just me, crying, alone in a huge room with 50 bajillion pounds of jerky”  Well dudes, let me tell you- I am going to take a SOLEMN VOW to NEVER THINK AGAIN!  It only leads to negativity, and what’s the point??? The Jerk Off was BIZONCULOUS!!!!

Check out the awesome coverage at LocalBozo! He called me a genius!!!!! And as always, AWESOME pictures on Metromix by Gabi Porter!!!

As usual, the Bell House came through as the best ever venue in all the land.  Thanks to all the cooks, the Jerky companies and sponsors who helped make this thing happen!

Oh my god you guys, 2 people actually killed there own animals to make their jerky! Serious shout outs to Amy Stonionis for sitting in a blind all day somewhere in Pennsylvania, bagging a huge deer all to make you her family venison jerky recipe!!!  Also, there was famous Dermatologist Bobby Buka, who blammed a 500lb Boar with his trusty .30-06 last year!!!

I’ll talk more about all those dudes, but MOST IMPORTANTLY- Here’s the winnerz!!!!

Judges:
1 #11 Kevin Avanzato Drunk-n-Jerk presents Bourbon Ginger Lamb Jerky
2 #1 Gordon Lingley – The Jerky
3 #13 Cathy Erway – Jamaican Jerk Pork Jerky

Best Fiery – #5 Jimi Daly – Daliente Pepper Sauce Jerky
Best Self-Killed – #9 Bobby Buka – Boared to Death Wild Boar Jerky

People’s Choice
1#7 Fred Raphael – Professor Fred’s Salty Meat
2 #9 Bobby Buka – Boared to Death
TIE
2 #19 Martin Smith Dirty Jerky
3 # 8 Camilla Abder + Sean McDowell – Asian Rubdown, Blind Willy’s Apple Jack Jerky

The judges were EXPERTS!!!! So pumped I was able to gather a crack team of local jerky connoisseurs to judge this thing:  Bam Romero of Bam’s Beef Jerky, Rachel Graville of Gerald Jerky, Gretchen Skedsvold from Ragged Butte, and Liz Bullis from SlantShack!!!

Rub, the awesome NYC BBQ joint, was there! Big John’s Jerky was there!!!! Robert Fernandez was there, repping his upcoming Grillin’ On the Bay!!!

And now come join me AFTER THE JUMP to meet ALL THE BRILLIANT CONTESTANTS!!!

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Who among you is courageous!? Who among you is true!?  Who among you really really really loves jerky!!!???

Get ready you guys- The World’s Biggest Jerk Off – January 23, 4PM at The Bell House– The Takedown presents an entirely new series!!!  Jerky!!! Make any kind  of jerky you like- and jerky makers know, you can jerk a ton of different stuff!  There’ll be tons of brillo prizes from Wusthof, Anolon and Microplane! – and a chance to enjoy the camaraderie of your fellow jerkers!!!

EMAIL ME to enter!!!  Brooklyn shall judge the finest jerky in the land….

(Remember, cooks, you don’t necessarily need a dehydrator to make jerky- an oven set to low can yield the same awesome results!!! )

A woman’s coming to show us how to debone a venison haunch! Real!  Rub- the brilliant BBQ restaurant in Manhattan has promised to roll up their sleeves!  Several local jerky makers are likewise, out of competition, raring to jerk your heads RIGHT OFF with their own jerked meats for you to meet!

Oh and dudes, yes- we will have The Game on…

TICKETS AVAILABLE at The Bell House for a RIDICULOUSLY CHEAP $10!!!

JERKY FIGHT!

Oh and yes, for a mere $5, you can buy this poster at the Event!!! Get out your hammers and break them piggie banks! Now is the time for that!

Sponsors:

Like you, I’m not feeling especially fresh this morning. But that’s not the point. Last night, we emerged victorious from the rubble of a billion  cookies. I don’t want to even SEE another cookie ever again!!! Wait ha ha that’s not true, I filled up a mongo tupperware with extra cookies pilfered from the tables at the Cookie Takedown!!! Suckers!!! I’ll be eating cookies for DAZE!!!!!!!

I think this is a good harbinger of the amazing holidays we’re all going to have.  (BTW my birthday is December 29.)

Thank you, cooks! You are all so sweet and hard core, it is most vicious to serve with you on the front lines of doom.  Thank you Bell House, and all my rad sponsors!!!

Fascinating piece by the New York Daily News.  Scintillating VIDEO reportage by the New York Post !!!

And Gabi Porter took some AMAZING pics for MetroMix!!!! Seriously, this woman is the best photographer of people ever!

More pics are up at my Takedown Facebook Page! Add yourself to that!!!

Here’s the winners, in order of their dopeness:

Judges
(Our judges know a thing or two about cookies, because they are from Baked, in Red Hook! Renato Poliafito , Matt Lewis, and Eric Wolitzky! Eric was on TOP CHEF!!!)

1st Ben Lesnak and Allegra Angus – “P.B. I Love Thee”
2nd Greg Erskine – “Almond Toffee Coffee”
3rd Laura Wyatt – “Mint Chocolate Magic”

HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Michaela Hayes – “Not Your Mama’s Kitchen Sink Cookie”
Anne Garrett and Katie Feola – “Salty Bourbon Choco Choco Chip”
Mina Hochberg – “Chocolate Chip A La Mode with a Moment of Sea Salt”

People’s Choice
1st Mina Hochberg – “Chocolate Chip A La Mode with a Moment of Sea Salt”
2nd Greg Erskine – “Almond Toffee Coffee”
3rd Anne Garrett and Katie Feola – “Salty Bourbon Choco Choco Chip”

HONORABLE MENTIONS
Ben Lesnak and Allegra Angus – “P.B. I Love Thee”
Stephanie Venetsky – “French Toast in Bacon”
Denise Burrell-Stinson – “Pumpkin Chocolate Chip with Cream Cheese”

Every contestant is super pumped, not only to win  an Oxo spatula, but also a BOTTLE OF BULLEIT BOURBON! WOWZERS!!! XXX!!!

Thank you BELL HOUSE! You are so awesome- and still the best venue in Brooklyn and the sickest staff, who are my actual friends!!!  And thanks to all my brillo sponsors- Anolon, Microplane, Le Creuset, Bulleit, Wusthof and Oxo!!!

After the jump, CHECK OUT ALL THE CONTESTANTS AND THEIR AMAZING COOKIES!!! Continue reading →

Oh phew! The Cookie Takedown is finally here to defend the holidays from Giant Spiders!!!  December 19th 6PM at The Bell House,  so watch out ! The Takedown is always so awesome,you guys!   30 different cookies, all with seriously bad attitudes! If you think you need to dance now, go for it, dance!!! I understand!  This is the happiest takedown that was EVER.

THERE ARE NO COMPETITOR SLOTS LEFT! But email me to get on my mailing list, so you never get shut out again!

For $15, try all the cookies and vote on your most favorite! And oo, I hope you like eggnog, because for the first hour, Bulleit Bourbon is spiking the FREE NOG FOR ALL!!!   Also, I will be giving away a 5-piece Anolon Bakeware set to one super lucky attendee in a free raffle!

TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE!  Buy now, before they sell out!  Eeek!!!

Sponsored by:

A portion of proceeds goes to benefit Women’s Education Project!

(as if by magic, awesome poster created by Matt Langland!!! ! I hope you art lovers are appreciating the ambiguity in this particular action picture; is the Warrior Princess stealing the cookies, or liberating them?  Is the Spider Queen evil?  Or is she just surprised? Who is the real victim here!!!???  So many questions that remain unanswered in this deeply layered masterwork…)

After 8 years doing this, these contestant dudes never cease to amaze me.  Now the world knows that Brooklyn, NY is clearly the only place on earth to eat chili. True.  Thanks to the Bell House for hosting the baddddest Chili Takedown EVER…

But I was remiss! I FORGOT to mention Women’s Education Project on the stage!!!! A portion of the proceeds from the BCTD goes to support this AMAZING organization based in South India!!! Please check out the website and SUPPORT!!!

Now, let’s talk chili resultz.  Pictures available at my Facebook Takedown page!!!!! (which you should join anyway!!!)

And check out the Wall Street Journal article!!!!

Judges (Megagenius Cathy Erway and Mindmelter Scott Gold represented!!!!)

3rd Place: #26 Minnesota Midest Beef and Cheese Bread
2nd Place – #3 2 Handsome Guys Chili w Lamb, Smoked Pablano and Parsnip
1st Place – #7 Johnny Utah’s New Mexico Via Con Dios Chili

People’s Choice!

3rd Place #5 Becky MacGregor – Pho-bulous chili
2nd Place #6 Ilan Kutok – “Hell’s Knocked Up Chili
1st Place #19 Stephen Cash! – Turchiche Duck Chili

AFTER THE JUMP – MEET ALL THE PERPETRATORS!!! Continue reading →

The Originator. The Destructinator. The Mind Taker. The Brooklyn Chili Takedown has landed.  November 21, 4PM at The Bell House!  You’re going to eat as many as 30 different chilis- and the gas you create will punch  a hole through the sun! Now is your time to shine in the glory of this dishiest dish….

Vote on your favorite! Judges in the “Judged Catagory” are Cathy Erway and Scott Gold!!!

COMPETITOR LIST IS CAPPED! But email me to get on the wait list!!! People always drop out!

You’re going to see veggie chili next to beefy chili next to dinosaur chili and you won’t stop smiling because this is as good as it gets!!!!!

P.S. A happy couple celebrated their latest anniversary at the last Bacon Takedown!  Plan YOUR next make-out session at the Brooklyn Chili Takedown! You won’t possibly regret it!

P.P.S. YES this poster IS another Matt Langland original!!!!

Tickets available HERE!

Prizes sponsored by:

A portion of proceeds goes to benefit Women’s Education Project!

Were you there? Did you see?!!!?  We DID IT.  Thanks to all the ass-kickers who came and cooked up magic at the Bacon Takedown. And thanks to all the dragons that got slew.  300 lbs of bacon product were consumed – all wrapped up in a variety of different guises – I’m talking bread pudding, toffees, ice creams, stuffed figs…

Here’s some pics on Metromix!!! CHECK IT OUT!!! They’re taken by my favorite NYC photog Gabi Porter!!! She is so cool and nice!  Love her!

THANK YOU HUGELY to the Bell House (best venue in town), Hormel Black Label Bacon (best sponsor ever), and all the geniuses who cooked up a storm at the 2nd ever Brooklyn Bacon Takedown!!!! THANK YOU THE MOST!!! Phew!  Here are the glorious results…

AFTER THE JUMP, check out all the resultz.

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