Sous and the Chef come slinking back, full of beer and rationalizations! But hey, at least Sous’s drinking beer now, so we’ve got that going for us.  What goes with beer, you may ask?

(Well, what doesn’t go with beer?)
 
Since we had to narrow it down, we went with some hearty autumnal fare: Polish sausage and acorn squash.  We wash the grub down with Kwak, a tasty Belgian ale, before gearing up for a bit of Brother Thelonious, an American-brewed Belgian-style Abbey ale.

Along the way, we say the word “porno.”  A lot.

Thanks for your patience – we’re hoping to be on a more regular schedule now!

Call us! 206-202-0931!
Email us! chowcast@yahoo.com

We're BACK!

Show notes soon!

Call us! 206-202-0931!

We missed you bunches!

XOXO,
Sous and The Chef
 

Chowcast eases on into the Dog Days of Summer with a dish we've been threatening to grill for you for a long time: Beer Can (or, in this case, Diet Coke Can) Chicken. 

This particular Dog Day of Summer was a banner day for the official Chowcast mascot, who not only got to swim in the delicious e. coli-infested waters of Montrose Dog Beach on a beach closing day, but also got nibbles of hopefully e. coli-free chicken.  

In the meantime, Chef keeps his distance by petting the dog with his elbow, we rail against ice that doesn't need breaking and lament bloodsucking NBC Olympics commentators.

Go USA!  Go Chickens!  Go Chowcast!
Morituri te salutant
(Or, with apologies to Johnny Cash, "Love is a burning thing/and it makes a fiery ring...")



The beach, a taste of chicken and a pig ear?! Oh boy oh boy oh boy!

Tell us about your Dog Days of Summer!

Call our NEW NUMBER: 206-202-0931
Email us at chowcast@yahoo.com

It's the perfect antidote to our last few boozy Chowcast episodes - the hangover breakfast!

No hangover breakfast would be complete without bacon in one form or another, so we indulge in some bacon, egg and cheddar sandwiches on fabulous soft pretzel bread.  Then, inspired by a recent bed and breakfast stay, Sous fires off a batch of white chocolate cherry scones (with a little bit of water-wing support from The Chef!)

Along the way, we extol the virtues of drive-in movies and Quaker Steak & Lube, welcome (?) a guest dog, explore the virtues and horrors of liverwurst and, after some discussion think better of a potential Chowcast spin-off.




You can't really go wrong with this combination...


Chef can't help but get his fingers in the dough...


Mmmm...sconetastic!

Links to things we talk about:

A recipe for scones that's pretty close to what we made can be found here.

Redneck Whisky Chicken Depilatory

Quaker Steak and Lube

49er Drive-In

The Port Drive-In

Shiba Inus

Do you have a question for Wiggy?
Call us! (206)333-0669
Email us! chowcast@yahoo.com

Oops.

This file should replace the previous release of Chowcast 30.  Sorry about the technical glitches!

Un Autre Hasard de Vacances translated to "Another Random Holiday", if Google is to be believed. 

Today's random holiday?  Bastille Day.  In honor of France's holiday, we throw down à la française with the help of our special guests, Munch and Joni.  They're here to help us with our French pronunciation as well as consume French wine and The Chef's steaks with beurre rouge (red wine butter).
Beurre rouge: before


Beurre rouge: after!


Tasty morels!


Slightly scary nobbly corn!


- Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook (the source of The Chef's beurre rouge recipe)
- Morel mushrooms - our pre-dinner snack, courtesy of Munch
- Composer and mushroom expert John Cage
- The M37 Meat Shack in Bitely, Michigan

We round out the show with a couple of voicemails from friends of the show.  Want to add your voice to the chorus?

206-333-0669
chowcast@yahoo.com

It's an historic Chowcast as we welcome our first-ever guests, Tom (The Brewmaster) and his lovely wife, Alix.  (Names may or may not have been changed to protect the innocent and/or guilty.)  While The Brewmaster takes us on a tour of his tour-de-force concoctions, we diverge on topics ranging from "gateway beers" to oatmeal focus groups; from the merits of cats versus dogs (DOGZ RULE!) to the surprising classification of the banana as a berry (at least, according to The Brewmaster. Also, a raspberry is not a berry but rather a conglomerate of podules...)

A few beers and some amazing English crisps go down real good on this fine, summer day. Clink and drink with us!


Mr. Beer - prepackaged beery goodness!


I'll take the potion on the left with a side of salty nuts, please!


Mmmmm...meat crisps!


More beefy goodness!  The Chef will try hard not to eat them bag and all.

Links to Stuff We Talk About:
Mr. Beer
Black Sheep Brewery
Seabrook Crisps
Rock Bottom Brewery
Rayman Raving Rabbids for the Nintendo Wii

P.S. The beer recipe The Brewmaster mentioned is forthcoming - watch this space!

Contact Us:
206-333-0669
chowcast@yahoo.com

Cheers!

Sous and The Chef drink, talk and drink some more to celebrate National Martini Day!  Join us to learn the secrets of "The Meal" and to hear us reminisce about some great old school bar service from Miller's Pub!


Sweet nectar of the gods!  Please send endorsement checks to chowcast@yahoo.com!


Mmmm...salty bar snackies...


Jump on in...the gin is fine!  Eat your heart out, Ansel Adams!

Have any fun martini experiences to share with us?
Call us! (206)333-0669
Write us! chowcast@yahoo.com

Aaaaand we're back, after an inexcusably long hiatus.  Just in time for a come-to-Jesus- style reckoning.  Our good friend PC in NJ takes us to task on a stockpile of issues from episodes past, prompting the Chef to bristle, atone and grow - not necessarily in that order.  We have so much air to clear that we don't even get to tonight's dinner until about 25 minutes into the show (it was turkey sausage, asparagus and pasta, by the way)!

Stuff we talk about includes:
- The AccuSharp knife sharpener
- The Red Lion cocktail from Gardenplate.com
- The Sex and the City Movie (as if that needs linking)
- Norwegian Elkhounds (?!!)

Don't fear another long absence from us, for National Martini Day is coming!  Mea culpa - the Chef's Google-fu is not so strong, so we got
the date wrong during the show.  Technically, it's celebrated on June 19th, but we'll be celebrating this Sunday, June 15th, with a show coming out that day (or very soon after)!

A photo or two, for you:

See, PC?  We have real limes!


Some dinner fixin's...

How will you be celebrating National Martini Day?  Let us know!
(206)333-0669
chowcast@yahoo.com

Well, not entirely raw...

In this outing, The Chef is feeling like he needs to spread his little wings and fly ever higher to great culinary heights.  While we ponder what this means, we do a little grazing on some (almost) raw snackies. 













First, we assemble some raw materials:

     

We take our white blood cells out for a little spin with The Chef's homemade vinaigrette with raw egg, which made for a tasty dipping sauce for some cold green beans.
   


We sample some fabulous aged raw milk cheddar from Brunkow Cheese of Wisconsin, procured at Chicago's Green City Market.



Finally, we break with the raw trend and add some sauteed mushrooms to the mix. Along the way, we sing the praises of a new (to us) beer garden at Moody's Pub, Sous expresses her befuddlement at businesses and bars that are closed at peak hours, while The Chef takes our fair city's mayor to task.

Want to chastise our mayor?  Have a bean-crisping tip for The Chef?  Or do you just want to rant at some folks who'll understand?  All of the above are available to you - no raw deals here!

Call us: 206-333-0669
Email us: chowcast@yahoo.com
Visit us (and vote!) at Podcast Alley!

We're back after a longer-than-expected hiatus to regale you with tales of quinoa dressed up with scallops and corn, drunken cupcakes, Sous's exotic accent and a very, very fluffy dog.


(post-apocalyptic corn...sacrificed for the sake of the quinoa)


(a little artificially colored sugar, anyone?)

Regale us with your tales!
chowcast@yahoo.com
(206)333-0669
Vote for us at Podcast Alley!

A slightly belated celebration of National Garlic Day (April 19th) has Sous and the Chef a little drunk on the stinking rose.  Garlic-stuffed olives adorn the Chef's martini, garlic infuses the hot sauce on our grilled shrimp, the mashed sweet potatoes are united with heavenly garlic bits, and the bone-in ribeye's marinade is not without a garlicky infusion. 

But will dessert send our heroes over the edge?  Quite possibly.  The horror.  The horror.  Don't be surprised if our next episode is an all-mint spectacular.

Check out the dessert recipe we used here.
**Disclaimer - this recipe may hurt you.  Be warned!

Wanna see? 



Check out the posh silicone brush.  The better to smother the shrimp in garlic and Frank's Red Hot, my dears...



This is not the last grill photo you'll see this spring and summer.  Or winter, dammit.



This ice cream may have hurt us.  We'll report back.  In the meantime, send mints.  Seriously.

Thanks to Mark of the 14850 Dining Podcast and to Dave from Eating Ithaca for calling the comment line.  Much Central New York Love to all y'all. 

Wanna chime in?
Call us: 206-333-0669
Email us: chowcast@yahoo.com
Vote for us at Podcast Alley!

We do Andouille in this (slightly belated) episode.  Pork Andouille sausage with mushrooms over a sweet potato.  Oh, and garlic. Lots and lots of garlic.

As for what's eating us, we run the gamut from underwhelming restaurant food to the vagaries and intricacies of Top Chef.  Our good friend PC in NJ calls in to share a Culinary Horror of the Week, and the Great Tag Line Controversy continues as we try out a listener suggestion.

The gory photographic evidence:

Someone please tell The Chef that this isn't as ugly as he thinks it is!


Behold, the awesome power of Andouille sausage!


Tremble in fear before The Chef's awesome, picture-perfect knife skills!

Have a Horror?  Have a tag line for us?
Call us: 206-333-0669
Email us: chowcast@yahoo.com
Vote for us at Podcast Alley

We get the home fires burning again, as the Chef grills up some tasty beef short ribs.  It's sort of a mellow show today...or it would be if Sous wasn't so annoyed about one of her favorite candies being sullied!  One of the Chef's past Culinary Horrors comes back to haunt him, and we try out a new way to end the show to round things out.








Bonus Photos!




Mmm....beefy goodness!

Call us! (206)333-0669
Email us! chowcast@yahoo.com
Vote for us at Podcast Alley!
(April's a new month, so if you already voted, it'll count again in April!)

Episode 21: Here’s Where You Can Stick It!

We’re back in Chicago!

We’re recording in the home studio (AKA our couch), and we’re ready to regale you with tales of potstickery.  The Chef has entered an Asian cooking phase, so get your chopsticks ready!

As described in the podcast, here’s the easy three-step method to creating potstickers that won’t fall apart in the pan!




Step One: A little dab’ll do ya!




Step Two: Wet the edges of your wrapper and seal the edges together to form a triangle!



Step Three: Take the corners of the triangle and fold them together!



Voila!






Along the way, we also talk about the kindness and good karma of strangers and help out a loyal listener with her Culinary Horror of the Week.

Do you have a C.H.O.W.? 
Do you have an idea for an un-Brownian tag line?  
Let us know!
(206)333-0669
chowcast@yahoo.com

Links:
Chicago Bites
Eating Ithaca
Podcast Alley Voting

Some people travel to warm climates for their spring break, but not Sous and the Chef!  The only thing hot about this podcast is the Truck!  We’re roadtripping, and along the way we discover artisanal New York State hard cider made with locally grown apples at Bellwether and make a pilgrimage to our old stomping grounds to revisit the wonder that is Hot Truck.

To round things out, the Chef provides his own Culinary Horror of the Week from his restaurant kitchen days, involving a disgruntled diner, an overtaxed Chef, flame and lax management oversight.  Break out the sunscreen and the surfboards as Sous and the Chef go wild – no beach required.

Contact  Us – (or the Chef will take his top off!)
206-333-0669
chowcast@yahoo.com

Click here to vote for us at Podcast Alley!
Check out our (other) favorite food podcast: Eating Ithaca!

(Answer: One.)

Comfort food is the name of the game tonight.  While Sous slaved away at work ALL DAY, The Chef went out to play, courtesy of Casimir Pulaski Day.  To make up for his transgressions, The Chef whipped up a simple but tasty shrimp po' boy sandwich, served on cheesy garlic bread with a hint of tobasco.  Along the way, we discuss our Culinary Horror of the Week, answer listener questions, and generally run our mouths, just as good ole Pulaski would have wanted.  

Vote for us on Podcast Alley - Click HERE!
Call Us: (206) 333-0669
Email Us: chowcast@yahoo.com

Chowcast Episode 18: Because Fire is Still Hot!

Sorry for the lag time - technical issues (which are too mundane to get into) delayed this episode posting.  Still, like a phoenix from still-hot flames, we managed ro resurrect this Winter Grilling Extravaganza.  Physicists everywhere are shuddering, but The Chef contends that even in the Chicago's bleak late-winter cold, Fire is Still Hot.  Join us as he proves it, and get ready to participate in our new segment: C.H.O.W. - aka, the Culinary Horror of the Week!

Call us!  (206) 333-0669
Email us! chowcast@yahoo.com

Sometimes, when life hands you chickens (or, in Chef’s case, turkeys), you have to make donuts.  Truth is stranger than fiction on this episode of Chowcast.  The Chef is ranting at us from afar this week, but we’ll be back to our twisted little version of normal soon.

In the meantime, give us a holler:
chowcast@yahoo.com
(206)333-0669

Episode 16: Requiem for a Bread Machine

In this episode, we are thwarted by the machinations – or lack thereof – of our bread machine, and the resultant disaster of dough mocks the Chef throughout the episode.  We eat rebound pasta while digressing on the joys of British beer and crisps, transcendent Chicago bar burgers and new glimmer of hope regarding a long-lost love.

Linkage for stuff we talked about:

Tyrell’s

Walker’s

Kuma's Korner

Black Sheep Brewery

Bonus Black Sheep Photos:


Contact us! Email: chowcast@yahoo.com
Phone: (206)333-0669

We’re back in our first Chowcast of 2008 – sorry to keep you in suspense! If it’s any consolation, we kept ourselves in suspense because tonight’s beef stew took a bit longer than expected.  Still, Chef regales us with the details of the impending meal – which, by the way, was worth the wait.  Along the way, mediocre Australian wine is consumed, as are perennial favorites, Funyuns and Cheetos.  Hey, don’t judge y’all – we had to feed the machine while we waited!

Tangents include Chef’s fantasy Weather Channel coverage of Chicago’s cold snap, frustrating DVR failures, the state of the American game show, and a shocking discovery regarding our usual sign-off phrase.

godammit!

Want to weigh in on the sign-off phrase controversy?  Is it raining iced locusts in your neck of the woods?  Do you know how Pink Brooklyn Guy did on 1 vs. 100?  Let us know!

Email us! chowcast@yahoo.com
Call us! 206-333-0669

Cue the violins - Sous plays the chef today in an episode worthy of the soft-focus lens of a Lifetime Movie.   Join us as we retell the epic struggles that ultimately yielded Spaghetti Carbonara.  It was tasty, and it sure beat the hell out of Sous's pesto - a tale that must be heard to be believed.

As promised, here's the recipe (Thanks, Andrea!)

You will need:

Hardware:
- Pasta pot, the bigger the better
- Pan for frying bacon
- Large bowl for mixing
- Tongs
- Optional: kitchen scissors
- Optional: fine (small holes) cheese grater if your cheese isn’t already grated

Software:
- Spaghetti (roughly a third of a new box).
- 6-8 pieces of bacon
- 2 eggs (a good time to splurge on organic)
- 1 crushed clove of garlic
- Olive oil
-  Copious amounts of parmesan (I highly recommend a splurge on a wedge of Parmigiano-Reggiano, to grate yourself)
- Salt and pepper

1) Put your water on to boil.

2) Take your eggs out of the fridge and let them come up closer to room temperature. You should not use ice-cold eggs.

3) If you have kitchen scissors, use them to cut your bacon pieces width-wise into little strips. If you don’t have scissors, cook the bacon whole, then crumble it into smaller pieces after it’s cooled.

4) Heat a tablespoon or two of olive oil in your bacon pan over medium high heat.

5) When you can feel that there’s heat coming off the pan (don’t let the oil start smoking!), add the crushed clove of garlic.

6) Add in your bacon, already cut into pieces or in strips. If it’s in pieces, keep an eye on it, stirring around pretty frequently. In strips, you’ll have to flip them over after they’re looking less raw. Watch for splattering and adjust your temperature if necessary—you’ll need to start out pretty hot, then lower the temp to prevent burning or oil flying around as it gets crispy.

7) Once the bacon is NEARLY as crisp as you think you’d like, take it off the heat. The pan will stay hot enough to cook it a little ways longer, so take it off when you still think it could get a little crisper.

8) Let the bacon cool off for a few minutes, then you’ll want to tilt the pan and spoon out most of the liquid—not all, but most. Spoon it into a dish or ramekin and set it aside—the Chef might use it for something else! Remove the clove of garlic as well.

9) Hopefully by now or soon after your water will be boiling. Salt it generously and stir to dissolve.

10) Add in your spaghetti and set a timer per package instructions (10-11 minutes). Stir occasionally in the first couple of minutes to prevent sticking—after 4-5 minutes, you won’t need to stir anymore.

11) Break your two eggs into a large bowl. Beat together with a fork.

12) Add as much pepper as you desire, and a pinch of salt (the cheese is salty, so not much is necessary). Beat in with your fork.

13) Now, time for cheese!  You’re going for more or less equal amounts of egg and cheese. Start small, beat it in with the fork, then keep adding. The mixture should kind of look like Italian vinegarette salad dressing. Mix it in well with your fork.

14) When your spaghetti timer goes off, drain it in a colander for about 15 seconds. This is important—the pasta should be not too wet, but not too dry.

15) Add the hot spaghetti to the egg mixture and start tossing it together with your tongs immediately. The goal is to get the strands really coated, without the eggs getting curdled.

16) Once the pasta and sauce are well combined, add the bacon (crumbled if you cooked it in whole pieces) and remaining oil from that pan. Toss again to combine.

17) Pile on plates and add as much additional grated cheese as you desire!

Mmm...umami!

Are you from the Oxygen Network,hoping to option the film rights to this triumphant episode?
Call us! 206-333-0669
Email us! chowcast@yahoo.com

In Episode Lucky 13, we prolong the joy of a roast chicken by making panini sandwiches on our George Foreman grill.  Along the way, we discuss dubious gravies, the difference between a couple of CIAs, the molecular cooking genius of Harold McGee and whether or not one can lick one's own elbow.

Can you lick your elbow?  Let us know!
Call us like Darrin did: 206-333-0669
Email us: Chowcast@yahoo.com

The Chowcast Flag flies at half-staff today, dear listeners, as we lament the loss of the official beverage of Chowcast: Aronia Juice.  (Chowcast Nation, you are charged with helping us track down an alternate supply!)



On a happier note, we follow (sort of) Uncle Mark's instructions and roast ourselves a tasty chicken, served with garlic mashed potatoes and green beans.  Digressions on slow cookers and puritanical liquor laws round things out in Episode 12 - an episode that has been seasoned with our bitter, bitter tears.  Aronia! Aroooooooooooooooonia!!

Call us: (206)333-0669
Email us: chowcast@yahoo.com