Turns out, Austin Texas is the epicenter of all things fun. Not just because SXSW was destroying the convention center next door, but because the locals are maybe probably definitely the most funnest people. 22 Austiners showed their true colors that day: pink and red. Thank you to all the beautiful contestants for their hard work and wicked yummers bacon dishes!!!!!
The good people at Hormel gave each contestant 15lbs of Black Label Bacon to play with, and a chance to win a year’s supply of this fine-ass candy meat. And then guess what else? This dude in the audience named Doug won the raffle- for a whole year’s supply of bacon!!! GO DOUG!!! And Le Creuset was awesome enough to donate 5 griddles to give as insano prizes at this brilliant thang!
After the jump, check out all the contestants recipes, the winners, and our illustrious judges… Continue reading →
Boston was hit with a lambstorm at Middle East this past Sunday… the gods were much pleased with the arrival of 18 Lamb dishes- each entirely different from each other. Seemed cruel to award prizes, since every single dish was insanely good at the Boston Lamb Takedown, but whatevs.
We saw Meatballs, Shepherd’s Pie, and a brilliant perversion of the classic Rubin sandwich. Lamb was beered, braised, slow-cooked, and grilled. To call these cooks “amateur” would be a misstatement, so I won’t be doing that. These people are geniuseses, and I thank all 18 of them for working their booties off to feed the happy crowds!!!! CONTESTANTS! THANK YOU BIG TIME !!! WOAHZERS!!!
The judges were smart and cool. There was Adam Regusea, a producer from WBUR (NPR affiliate) in Boston! There was Charles Mokriski, the restaurant reviewer at Improper Bostonian! And Edie Clark, food writer for Yankee Magazine! Boston food heavyweights, all!!!
People’s Choice
1st – Aleks Strub: Lamb Bolognese with Rosemary Gnocchi
2nd – Justin Manjourides: 5-Spice Pulled Lamb with Pickled Fennel and Carrots
3rd – Matt O’Shea : Hammered Shanks- Cajun Spiced Lamb Shanks braised in Abita Turbodog with jambalaya.
Judge’s Selections
1st – Justin Manjourides: 5-Spice Pulled Lamb with Pickled Fennel and Carrots
2nd – Aleks Strub: Lammb Bolognese with Rosemary Gnocchi
3rd – Jamie Saltsman: Smoked Leg with hand-picked fruit compote
Judge’s Honorable Mentions:
Aaron Foster: Lamb Ruben
Alex Rosenzweig: Georgian Style Barbecue
And here below are all the awesome contestants, along with their brilliant creations- I’m filling in, as quick as I can, all the recipes: Continue reading →
SOME SPOTS STILL OPEN! HURRY TO GET ON THE LIST OF COMPETITORS!
The Bacon Takedown streaks across the Texas Sky, landing first at Emo’s in Austin, March 14th, 4PM! Last year’s Bacon Takedown was a blast – and we intend to show the rest of the world just what that means… The smartest and finest bacon ideas: Bacon ice cream? Bacon Bread Pudding? Bacon empinadas? No recipe too awesome…
Gladiators: Enter to compete!!! Consider any bacon-based recipe- we’ll give you the bacon to do it! Hormel sponsors, and they’ve got 15lbs of Hormel Black Label Bacon for each of you to make anything you create take center stage!!! We’ve got limited spots, so sign up now!!! $100 People’s Choice! $50 Judges! And some more bacony prizes from Hormel!!!
Attendees: For $10, anyone can come on down and fill their stomachs- just so long as they try every recipe and vote on the best Texas exemplar of bacon brilliance!!! Your judging guidelines: innovation, craftsmanship, yumminess. Now eat! Eat! Eat!
COMPETITOR LIST IS CLOSED! But come on down and try all the brilliant lamb recipes! Email me me get on my Boston mailing list! …and let’s do this over at The Middle East, February 28th!!!
My awesomest girl pal wrote a book. For real. The girl is Cathy Erway. The book is The Art of Eating In. As you all probably already know, Cathy is not down with eating out. She wants y’all to cook. And for her book launch party at the Bell House– she’s throwing a Crostini Cook-off!!!
Here’s what you need to know…
Thursday, Feburary 18, 7-11 pm,The Bell House, 149 7th Street between 2nd & 3rd Aves, Brooklyn, close to Smith/9th Street and 4th/9th on the F and G trains.
Advance tickets recommended, on sale now!$10 admission includes tastes from crostini cook-off entries, appetizers from Hapa Kitchen and A Razor A Shiny Knife, beer specials, music all night. All guests must present ID to gain entry.
COOK OFF DETAILS:
Your crostini entry can be anything (really, anything) topping a toasted slice of bread (a.k.a. crostini). Please bring it ready to assemble and serve on location, as there won’t be cooking facilities, and anyplatters or utensils you may need to use (napkins will be provided). Winners will be determined by judges, and the audience vote. Prizes donated by the Brooklyn Kitchen, and more!
To be part of the Crostini Cook-Off, email your entry with subject heading “crostini cook-off,” and plan to make about 100 crostini! Prizes will be plentiful, judges will include chef/author Louisa Shafia, Just Food staff, and Cathy’s mom.
COMPETITOR LIST IS CLOSED!!! EMAIL ME TO GET ON THE MAILING LIST, and NEVER MISS ANOTHER CALL FOR COMPETITORS!!!
The Lamb Takedown thunderbolted Manhattan in ’09. Now… we take Boston. The sweetest amateur cook-off is BACK in town! Don’t miss out!!! Get your tickets now! Or stop by the Middle East box office!!!
Cooks! You are holding aces!!! Allow me to explain your awesome situation: the first 20 amateurs to sign up will each be given 15 lbs of lamb to cook with!!! Choose between shoulder, shank, leg, or ground! Now, think- what the crap are you going to do with all that beautiful meat? For inspiration, consider previous takedowns, and check out some media photo essays, or go out on your own limb. No recipe is too yummy! Tons of great prizes from Le Creuset and the American Lamb Board! Sign up now, sign up fast…
Lamb fans! For a mere $15, come on down to the Middle East, February 28 at 4PM and stuff yourself on each and every recipe. If you think you might love lamb, you’ll know after this day is through- lamb is hands down the noblest meat in all the land- and the cutest! Expect tons of lamb swag – just for showing up!!! As an honored guest of the Takedown, you’ve only one responsibility: to vote on the dopest lamb dish!!! Heavy lies the crown on the head of the Boston Lamb Takedown King, so choose wisely… TICKETS WILL BE AVAILABLE HERE and at TICKETMASTER- STAY TUNED!
And did you know that this is “Lamb Lovers Month“? If, right now, you aren’t already pushing as much lamb as possible through your faces, you are wasting time.
Le Creuset is donating generously, and the prizes are incredible!!! The top three recipes in the Judges and People’s Choice categories will receive Le Creuset pots, pans, and stoneware casseroles! That’s $1000 worth of Le Creuset cooking gear!!! I know!!! Seriously!!!!
Introducing the official game show of the Takedown … the MIND KITCHEN!!! When we were little, my brother and sister invented this game. I was invited by Heritage Radio Network to steal it from them in order to sell out and make millions! This food-centric radio station broadcasts out of Roberta’s Pizza in Brooklyn!
Here’s the rules: contestants are given 5 ingredients and a vast imaginary kitchen with which to create a 3-course meal, using only the ingredients and a few basics- salt, sugar, butter, oil… using only paper and pencil, they get to work in the kitchen… in their minds.
Adam Aleksander (director of unprecedentedevents.com), Rachel Wharton (Editor of Edible Brookyln, Edible Manhattan Magazines) and George Motz (director of The New York Food Film Festival) were my first guests. They blew the show out of the water and onto the beach, where it festered in the hot sun! While they considered how best to use coconut, lima beans, hot dogs, sweet potatoes and peanut butter, I played heavy music (Slo Burn, Melvins, and Weedeater) in the breaks and bantered! Hope you enjoy this first attempt! And if you don’t, we can call the next episode “controversial” …
All the cooks were winners this time. I know, because late night (2AM), I actually got sit back and try all the varsity yummy cookies myself. These people are experts, and they deserve the utmost thanks for being so dope!!!
1st place Judges – Nicholetta Canaras – Choca-ho-lick’s cookie
2nd Place Judges – R. Tianna Lawrence – Death By Chocolate Chipp’d Cookies
3rd Place Judges – Melissa Denchak – oatmeal-apple-cranberry crumb cookies
People’s Choice :
TIE for FIRST:
Rachel Anderson (Lee Frank and Dan Piccoli representing) – Nacho cookies (!)
and
Emily Hanhan (who posted her recipe on her blog!) Not Your Mama’s Chocolate Chip Cookies (w Sea Salt)
2nd Place Aimee Bariteau – “Oreo” cookies!
All these contestants blew away our hearts and minds last night, for two hours of hard core superfun, They deserve a spontanious round of applause, whether you’re reading this in your cubicle, or you called in sick and are still in bed, like me:
Katie Adams
Hanhan Emily
Melissa Denchak
laura wyatt
Jen Wanous
Shon Morris
Lisa Lee
Meg Westfox
Phoebe Lapin
R. LAWRENCE
Noah B
Juliana Vail
jane.hansen
grace.g.yang
jaret Stezelberger
Erika Loseman and Jaret
Claire Frisbie
alexis stephens
Beth Greenberg
Yoko Nitta
Aimee Bariteau
Leni Santoro
Lee Frank
nicholetta canaras
Moujan Zolfaghari
Michelle Rabinowitz
Hilary Preston
Susan Dobkowski
Denise Burrell-Stinson
Hey cookie scenesters! Happy holidays! Destroy the night always!
Another takedown awaits us! As does the oft unappreciated but appreciated soundtracks to each takedown – hevvy and brootal as usual! Bulleit Bourbon and Zacapa Rum will be poured into the free egg nog, so don’t be scared to drink heavily from the cup of fun on Sunday!
Sample 30 different cookies, and think with your smartest brain, what baked good deserves the Takedown mantle of glory?
Also, there’s a Hot Chocolate Crawl that will end at the Bell House – for those of you in a righteous holiday mood – and want it to last all day!!! Check it out!!!
And its not all sweet stuff – for those multi-dimensional foodsters amongst you, I have a new hot sauce for sale that should make your head pop off. Pick up a bottle of Facemelter up on the way out the door- save the holidays from unspiced normalcy…
As you all probably already know, Cathy is not down with eating out. She wants y’all to cook. And for her book launch party at the 
Hey cookie scenesters! Happy holidays! Destroy the night always!
