Chef Big Dog's BIG FOOD

HELL YEH - what a great weekend at the Mystic Food Truck Rally 

It was the launch of my new culinary concept - CBD's BIG FOOD!! The Inspiration is from my 6 months as a food truck vendor alongside PeaceLoveV.  And as a large type man - in mass and mind - it fits right into my wheelhouse.  

But 'BIG FOOD' isn't just about size.  This Memorial Weekend, Chef Big Dog will be at Clinton Crossing Outlets and the theme is 'Big Heroes' and my food will be an homage to the warriors who have risked life and limb for freedom.  I'll post the menu on Thursday.  

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CBD's RedNeck Rolls

Were a huge success this weekend and all chest pounding aside, I think I made my ancestors proud.  Version 1.0 was the ULTIMATE FAIR FOOD - a foot long corn dog wrapped in a 12" tortilla in Nacho Cheese  wrapped in Pulled Pork with a spicy BBQ honey mustard mayo slaw - pan fried and topped with more sauce and Funyons!  

Yes'm I sold out of these beauties in just a few hours.  The #RedNeckRolls embody the spirit of CBD's Big Food - Big Ideas, Big Flavors, Big Big Big...

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WHERE CBD AT?

Memorial Wknd - Clinton Crossing Outlets

June 17-19th New England Food Truck Affair 

Update soon with additional locations & festivals throughout the 2016 season!

Holiday 2015 Menu

As launch date nears I've put the final touches on my menu.  It's a big departure from my usual fare - innovative, elegant, finessed tapas.  

Nope, it's gonna be damnably cold out there and my guess is folks will want warm, comforting familiar food - holiday flavors to put a fine point on it.  

The menu is comprised of hot sammiches, papas, and soups.  

The weekly staples of Sammiches:  

(1) The Love Loaf - my juicy succulent pepper filled meatloaf with a chipotle BBQ sauce with a slop of garlicky mashed potatoes on buttery Texas Toast.  

(2) The King Ranch - marinated chicken breasts braised in bacon fat and peppers served with pepper cheese, bacon, in my "O" sauce which is a smokey roasted pepper Ranch sauce.

(3) The Crack Mac Burger - just 3 simple ingredients makes this hot mamma! My Tex-Mex roasted peppers and tomatoes queso, CBD spiced burger on Texas toast.  

(4) Roasted Pimento Grilled Cheese - for the veggies amongst us this grilled Panini is stuffed with 3 cheeses and a roasted garlic and pepper cream cheese.  One of Chef Big Dog's most oft requested.

Papas (That's taters fer you gringos):  

(1) The Veggie Poo -  CBD's own vegetarian styled poutine with Spiced Tater Tots topped with my queso dip and the absolute best pico de gallo you'll ever have!

(2) Queso Con Chili - quite simply chili and cheese. Dayamn if this doesn't sound like warm lovey goodness I don't know what does.

Soups

CBD's Texas Chili - quite simply a chili recipe I've worked on for years.  I also call this my traitor chili since I add beans to it (no self respecting Texan does) along with dozens of ingredients and spices developed over hours on the stovetop.  

Specials

We plan on adding weekly soup and papas specials going forward but for now, we'll have a weekly sammich special and for Thanksgiving week, that'll be:

The Kentucky Hot Brown (pictured nearby) - absolutely one of most ingenious ways to use leftover turkey which is placed on egg battered bread with a roasted tomato and a nutmeg cheese sauce.  

If'n you've never had these CBD's beauties, come on out to Clinton Crossing this week  - look for the purple Peace Love V truck (we're wrapping it today so pics forthcoming).  

Chef Big Dog is Back in Biz!

Well actually...

The title is twice incorrect.  CBD has never been out of business - I've been cooking for some of the fine folks at the Puppy Up Foundation across the fruited plains this past year.  I've also been supremely busy evaluating other opportunities for CBD some of which I've turned down; others I'm still considering.  

It's also technically not my 'biz'.  Back in September our good friend and person I inspired, Chef V, bought a food truck and I've been helping translate her idea into reality.  And that's been no small task.  Originally outfitted for baking, I've had to gut part of it, install a new prep table, re-plump a shoddy water system (the pic doesn't do it justice), and come up with a mouth watering menu which I'm finalizing today.  

And that's important since we're going LIVE - next week at the Clinton Crossing outlet.  If you're in the area, the Peace Love & V truck will be there Friday thru Sunday and during the weekends throughout the holidays. 

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CBD's PS 1:  Most of my postings and writings on Social Media for the next couple of months will be to my Facebook page and here at my blog.  

CBD's PS 2:  As some of you know I auditioned for Master Chef and they said if I didn't hear from them by November probably didn't make it to LA. I made it to the top of the Austin auditions but from what I learned a lot of failed actors now use shows like this to get into the reality biz.  Oh, the humanity of it all!!! 

Admittedly it was a neat experience and I learned a few things but I'm kinda glad since I can focus on building the CBD brand rather than lose the first half of next year.  Sadly, though, El Guapo, my Tex-Mex Muse, you will NOT be the next Master Chef. 

Chef Big Dog in Madison WI

Ay Caramba El Guapo

It's been over a year since we've posted here.  Granted I was walking the entire length of the west coast, from Canada to Mexico with the fuzzybutts most of last year.  I've missed you, Mano, and it's time to get back to the kitchen and to talk about our travels.

The most recent of which was Madison Wisconsin. My Tex-Mex Muse, El Guapo, & I were recently there to cook up some creative cuisine for the VIPs of the Puppy Up Walk.

This being only my third trip to the Cheesehead state I had to get a better sense of the local flavors and fares and visited a few restaurants first; Pig in a Fur Coat, The Tipsy Cow & The Old Fashioned.

When El Guapo & I were asked whether we wanted our cheese curds 'fried or squeaky', well there just isn't an exact Spanish translation for squeaky as chillona means screaming.  Not surprisingly El Guapo pulled out his pistola.

Ultimately we came up with a menu for Team Madison that fused midwestern meats and cheeses with what we do best.  Here are a few highlights:

Fried Soup.  Immediately upon my research that Beer Cheese Soup is a solid staple up here, my instinct was...  El Guapo - let's deep fry it.  Served in a shot glass and topped with a roasted garlic green chili sour cream sauce it was absolutely successful.

Also served were a Spotted Cow Beer braised Brat with a chipotle mustard pickle slaw and a Chef Big Dog version of Tex Mex Poutine.

The final course was a traditional butter burger but infused with CBD 17, my own blend of 17 spices and herbs.

It was a tremendous honor to cook for Team Madison WI and I hope El Guapo and I did a inspirational job of translating Tex Mex to Wisconsin.  Until Next time...

Puppy Up and Chow Down.

Papa Hemingway's Secret Hamburger Recipe

The Wild West?

I'm a history nerd and when I see something like this I go nuts like Ernest...

What fascinates me is two things: (1) the level of detail of his instructions & (2) the multiple refinements to his recipe.  Some of them are repetitive like adding capers and soy - both a seriously damn good salt source.  Others baffle me like what in the hell is stanford ham?  But I'm gonna try to recreate it.  

Maybe the pursuit of the bestest burger is what drove Hemingway insane and towards an untimely death.  Or maybe he never wanted to be on a Guy Fieri game show in which his burgers were referred to as 'Banging'.   That'd test the moral fiber of any artist.

CBD

God it's good to be back in the kitchen

OTomorrow chef lucky & I are hosting a luncheon for all of the wonderful volunteers for the puppy up walk east CT.

On the menu:

1. Black bean chile con queso fried dumpling

2. Tex-Mex chicken fajita shooters 

3. Tortita cubanos

4. Whatever sweet thing chef lucky concocts. I'm all about salt spice & grease

Chef Big Dog's Barbaric Birthday Yawp

"I am of old and young, of the foolish as much as the wise,

Regardless of others, ever regardful of others,

Maternal as well as paternal, a child as well as a man,

Stuff’d with the stuff that is coarse and stuff’d with the stuff that is fine" 

As my life's timepiece takes another tick, I cannot help thinking of Walt Whitman's Song of Self.

Today is my birthday and it'll be spent sounding my barbaric yawp tho not over the roofs of the world, but in the sidestreet eateries and backally barrooms of NYC.  

As of now, here's the 24 hour culinary itinerary 

Saturday:  

Lunch at Stanton Social and I'm looking forward to their French onion soup dumplings.  

Afterwards, walking the streets of the city as my holiday season cannot be without it.

 

Then tapas Japanese style and some serious sake at Sakagura 

For digestifs, there's a place that seems all too apropos to the 'Song of Self' and that's Lovers of Today - a speakeasy and, from my understanding, a purveyor of creative, uncommon, and seemingly righteous cocktails.  

And to top off the nite I really wanted to go to Fatty Cue Brooklyn for some sort of 1AM pork, bacon, naughty grease goodness but from what I'm hearing, the servers are self bloviating buttholes so we'll see.  

Sunday:

To sum up my culinary adventures in the city I'll go to La Esquina, a restaurant renown for its simple, beautiful Mexican dishes.  

My Thanksgiving Fast

While everyone's feasting with family, I'll be out in Shelby Forest forbearing food for a week. As a man of large appetites, it won't be easy but I've done it before. Back in 2011 after I lost my dog, Murphy, to cancer I fasted in Memphis for 18 days during a scorching heatwave with temperatures stuck in triple digits for most of the entirety.

This time the experience will be inverted.  As of this morning, it's 22 in Tennessee and with the wind chill factor feels like 16 degrees.  This represents a unique risk as the primary purpose of sustenance in cold weather is providing heat to your body.  Exercising, too, can't used for warmth since muscle mass is broken down during the fasting process.  

My Pyrenees won't be with me since after a few days I won't have the strength to tend to their needs.  Nope it'll just be me and El Guapo out in the woods, alone in a tent, and, wait a tic, this is starting to sound a little like Brokeback Mountain...  

My communication will be limited as well since I'll only have my phone for emergency use.  No computer, no iPod, Kindle, or any other electronic device which, to be honest, I'm looking forward to.  Sometimes the noise in life can just be deafening and you've gotta unplug.  

But mostly I made the decision to fast this week for physical reasons.  Now that my other dog, Hudson, was recently diagnosed with cancer, I know that the road ahead will be hard and my body and spirit under constant assault from the uncertainty of outcome.  2014 will be a definitive year and I must strengthen myself in preparation and fasting is the first step.  .  

I shall miss breaking bread with family and friends but I fast so that I may feast again with them one day soon.  

Chef Big Dog

Recipe: The Homeless

The breakfast taco... This is what put me on the map!   Literally.

The classic that I made for many o'family on our walk and I made it this morning and I almost forgot how damn tasty it is.  And simple to make.

Fry up four slices of bacon.  Slather one side of tortilla with cream cheese.  Add a layer of refried beans on top seasoned with my own Mexican blend, CBD 17. 

Then diced green chiles and cheese.  I prefer pepper Jack for a little heat or a blend. Stuff it with the bacon, fold over like a taco and fry it in the grease.  Once it's nice and golden on both sides, top it with sour cream, more cheese, and salsa.  

Hell yeah, that's The Homeless.  

Yah?

Yah, you betcha.!

I'm in the land of 10,000 lakes and although the purpose of my presence here is primarily philanthropic for our foundation, I try to take a few tics on our travels to savor the local culture, fare and flavor. 

The first thing that I couldn't help but notice about Minneapolis is the almost absolute absence of fast food franchises.  We've been here since, what, Wednesday, and only seen two, and while I'd normally be a big fan of that - the nearest Dunkin Donuts is five and a half hours away in Wisconsin and that makes me a little cranky and suspicious.  

Indeed it's a strange yet curious place.  (I mean, other than the fact that they had a rassler for governor and stuart smalley as a senator).  

But there's some seriously good food here.  

Bacio, a giant of a restaurant in Minnetonka, has an excellent stater menu.  It's pretty much policy now when I'm at a new and unfamiliar restaurant to just sample the little bites because if they can't do that right, no need to move on to the entree.  

And there's was spot on.  The parmesan crusted shrimp and tuna crisps both delightful but the two other dishes I sampled deserve their own spotlight.  First is their heirloom grain salad, which is just about one of the best damn salads I've ever had - brilliantly constructed, fresh and surprising.   

And finally the crab cakes, pictured nearby, an experience I've never had before and I've eaten them just about everywhere.  The odd motley of ingredients are what drew me to it: avocado drizzled with EVOO, vanilla bean puree, and sweet and sour chili sauce. Individually, they all have singular distinctness but good god, man, mash them together and it becomes a melody.  

Nevermind that the cake isn't even fried.  IT'S BAKED.    I didn't ask if the crab was dungeness or blue but baby, it was lumpy and luscious. 

On Lovers and Sliders

I maintain a profound respect for chefs that make me re-think dishes but this city makes me re-think reality.  The twin cities are replete with five star restaurants but the hottest, most exclusive place to take your lover on a valentine date is..... White Castle.  Wait what?  

Yer Dern Tootin'.  Apparently, the one day out of the year that the fast food joint reverse transmogrifies into a high class restaurant where the waitstaff wears tuxes. And get this, there's a two year wait list.  

God Bless El Guapo

He's a puppet, he's been on a promotional tour for six months.  Who can blame him?

Long Wharf New Haven

Yesterday we spent the early afternoon sampling the predominately Spanish influenced cuisine at the Long Wharf food trucks. 

I've oft griped of the paucity of authentic Tex-Mex-ish food in the Northeast but apparently, I was looking in the wrong place.  

But you can't blame me.  Who would've thought that the home to Yale University could also be home to anything real and unpretentious?  But since I walked through New Haven, it now makes sense.  

Beyond and beneath the ivy walls, it's a predominately blue collar, salt-of-the-earth port town, not unlike so many on the old Boston Post Road in Connecticut. Full of color, flavor, and people who, if they only have $10 to spend on food, demand that it's down and outright authentic.  

I found that in a row of food trucks along Long Wharf CT.  When I posted this photo on my FB page, someone remarked that they passed by it for 16 years and never stopped for reasons which elude me.  

Look, I'm a foodie and an anti-foodie all rolled up in a Big Dog bun but for Christsakes - support your local culinary community.  And if a sense of social responsibility doesn't convince you, take a gander at that gigantic torta mexican styled cuban sammich.    

And the carnitas, and the alambre with cactus taco, too.  

Noah's

"When I ain't cookin.  I'm a eatin." 

As a cook and eater of extraordinary extent, it seems incumbent on me to celebrate the culinary creations of other chefs. And I'll chronicle those exploits here.  

In route to NYC to fund a cancer study, the fuzzybutts and I pitched tent at a North Fork campsite in Greenport Long Island.  Late in the day, long in our travels, and after wine sampling at a few of the vineyards, I just wanted a tasting menu and for the first time, Yelp took us to that place.  

Chef Noah gets that little bites are the trend, perhaps the future of the dining experience.  The tired old equation of appetizer + entree + dessert just doesn't add up anymore.  

Noah's is a destination place and not only for foodies.  Deviled eggs are a new inspiration for me.  Thanks, Chef.

Chef Lucky: Clinton350

Clinton 350.  Wow. What a great event.  So proud of the people in my hometown for coming out and celebrating the birthday of our great town.  And boy, did they come out!!

I do believe the Ladies of Clinton enjoyed watching Chef Big Dog sing, dance and shake the maracas each time a "Booty" Tattie was ordered.  We kept people smiling all day long.  Our tent was the most festive looking and the most fun!  The queue, the feedback and repeat customers proved that our Tatties were the best food there.

Thanks to all the Clinton folks who came out, the Food trucks who kept feeding us, and my favorite neighboring concession, John at the Bartenders Express, who kept the Magic Margaritas appearing on our freezer.

Lastly, and most importantly, thanks to the Chef for the amazing job he did frying and entertaining.  You make me proud!

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CBD's Notes 1: It was a great day indeed and I filmed a few hours of the historic occasion for what comes next. 

CBD's Notes 2: It's now the 'Shake Murphy's Booty Tattie' accompanied with the Maracas!

CBD's Notes 3:  Thanks for making me do this festival Chef Lucky

Magic Margaritas

Yesterday, at the Clinton 350, was the first time I truly felt like a Chef.  Yes, I've been cooking my heart and soul out since I started this culinary adventure in April, concocting new recipes and concepts to keep us on the cut, and at the Connecticut Wine Festival and the Celtic Rock, the customers loved, loved our tatties.  

But Clinton 350 was an entirely new experience I just wasn't prepared for.

First of all, I freely admit I was less than enthused about going.  The competition was fierce for a small town festival, from BBQ to burgers, French fries, lobster rolls, pizza, and grilled cheese in giant food trucks I suspected we'd get lost since after all, we're just 2 guys with a fryer and a crazy, Tequila drinking Mexican marionette.  

But I got schooled!

I can't recall the exact inflection point in my perspective Saturday but everyone there was so receptive to our culinary concept and we were warmly and well received early on in the day.  So we started frying up tatties for our fellow chefs to share the love, love we have for food and they reciprocated in sharing their wicked good wares.  

The first was The Cheese Truck out of New Haven.  If you're anywhere within a 100 mile radius, their Avocado Bacon grilled cheese sammich is so frikkin good and it has this mustard seed relish that ties the whole dish together like the Dude's rug to his living room.  

Next up was Fryborg whose concept is the age old French fry with a side of some serious freakiness.  We sampled their fried egg fries with Sriracha Mayo and it was all kinds of good.  

It was great to be in the presence of fellow chefs, Chef Jonathan with Fryborg, Chef Jason the Cheeseman, Chef Benjamin with Cowabunga, who are all trying to create a wholly unique and new culinary experience.  And to get their feedback on our Tex-Mex Tatties.  

The pursuit of and path to greatness in whatever your life endeavor, is paved with self doubt and uncertainty but for the first time I felt like I was part of a community and, although still small and new to it, that I have earned a seat at the table.   

And a drink! 

We also fried up some tatties for the lovely ladies with Bartenders Express and towards the end of service, two Margaritas magically appeared on top of our freezer.  And they kept coming!  

We suspect that the proprietor, John, was the clandestine culprit.  Maybe he wanted to keep us hydrated  or maybe he fancied Chef Lucky - I'll post her version of yesterday's festivities in the next blog.   

But that figuratively and literally topped off the evening and the end to a great event and season for Tex-Mex Tatties by Chef Big Dog.  Thanks to everyone for a successful and enlightening day. 

My duties as a philanthropist kick in next week as the Executive Director of 2 Million Dogs, Ginger Morgan, comes up to New England and we have some cancer studies to fund.  After that, we're traveling to the Twin Cities for VCS and then on to Chicago for their Puppy Up! Walk.   

But I'll be cooking and creating throughout our travels.  Stay tuned for what comes next from Chef Big Dog!

It'll be magic

Clinton 350

No, that's NOT how many interns Bill has...  nevermind.

It's the sesquarcentennial (Jeez - even I had to look that one up) in Clinton Connecticut this weekend and si, si, Senor, El Guapo and his Tex Mex Tatties will be there!  

This Saturday from noon-ish to ten-ish, Chef Big Dog and Chef Lucky will be at the Clinton 350 Festival, celebrating the anniversary of their township from 1663 - 2013.  

FYI - that's 50 in dog years.  Since I was born in the Year of the Dog and at 42, I should have my own sasquatchial...sexquintupligus...siestadelfuego.... Yep, I'm an idiot.  

Idiot or savant, every great celebration deserves to be honored and I'm thinking about what should be the chef special for this historic, beautiful, Norman Rockwellesque, New England fishing town that the fuzzybutts and I walked through.  

At our last one, the crazy punk kilt fest, everyone loved, loved the Chef Specials: my Tex Mex interpretations on Bangers and Mash, Shepherd's Pie, and my Irish Whisky Habanero sauce.  

This is me tooting my horn.  

Toots to the left.  Ideas for a Chef Special to the right....

DUMBO

I think we found our home.  In an old abandoned skeletal tobacco warehouse situated in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge, the Sunday location of Smorgasburg.

El Guapo, Chef Lucky, and I spent the weekend doing due diligence on this curious culinary community and it was a phenomenal experience.  Seemed like the foot traffic on Saturday was as substantial as Sunday but the latter is preferable to us.  

It's dog friendly, family orientated with a park and Ferris wheel nearby, and well, the name of the neighborhood may seem fitting to some of our friends and followers.  

We're submitting our application today to be a vendor so keep your pistolas crossed because it seems they're very exclusive.  

As many of you know, I walked across Manhattan, Brooklyn, and most of Long Island and one of the singular things I observed was the paucity of big dogs in the city. They're all micro, toy, min min, so it's time for a big dog there.  Chef Big Dog, that is.  

The Infamous El Guapo

Meet the Infamous El Guapo, the official mascot of Tex-Mex Tatties.  

He's kinda creepy, he's a puppet, and he enjoys long walks on the beach brandishing a pistola.

We don't know much about his past but we can assume that his white shirt, black sequined pants, and sombrero, he may have been a mariachi at some point.  

Because hell yeah, El Guapo can party (shown in nearby photo with Chef Big Dog).  

But he loves puppies, too.  Look, there's El Guapo with Oliver in Clinton CT.  With his pistola pointed at him.  

But the greatest thing about the Infamous El Guapo, is his palate for authentic Mexican food and that he eats, drinks, and loves the ladies more in one day than Tony Bourdain does in an entire season, that makes him more interesting than that Dos Equis guy.  

"Eat tatties, my friend".  

Next stop. Smorgasburg which will be a curious experience since El Guapo has never been to the city and the mayor, Uncle Mike doesn't like pistolas.  

Smorgasburg

We met a ton of foodies at the Wine Fest who want to help us take our culinary concept to a whole new level and one of the recommendations was the SMORG in Brooklyn, a self-styled Flea and Food Market.  

So this weekend, Chef Lucky and I are heading to the city to explore this seemingly cutting edge culinary community.  

We had to make the tough decision that Tex-Mex Tatties will no longer sell at the Aquidneck Grower's Market.  Much to our surprise, our demographic just wasn't really represented there.  We had a steady stream of loyal customers but not enough to justify the opportunity costs.  Most of the nice folks there are older and in search of bran and oatmeal and not really into fried foods which seems strange since the area is known for some of the best fried seafood in the world.  

Going forward, we're going to allocate our time and energy to New England festivals and perhaps a foodie market like SMORG but they're very selective in their vendors and it's expensive so we're headed there this weekend to check it out to see if it makes sense.  

The Schtick of Chefs

Chefs are the new celebrities and as they should be given the vacuous vapid void that is reality TV programming (a few exceptions notwithstanding).  

They're creators and innovators at the cusp of culinary experiences and while I don't count myself a member of that coed and co-opted elite yet, I'm trying to.  

And I realize now that showmanship is a part of it so I need a schtick.  

The orange Crocs of Batali won't work.  Nor will any Crocs for that matter.  I'm a Berks kinda guy.  

Nor will the, je nai sais quoi, spikey white hair and reverse david caruso sunglasses head thing of Chef Fieri.  Jesus that's scary.

Nor can I ever attain Tony Bourdain's bad boy reputation in rapid time or come to quip with Ramsey's constant beratement of donkeys.  

No, even though I created an entirely original culinary concept, I need a schtick and I've been sketching it out all this week.  I'm a desperate man.

Behold - The Brittany Bearded Brow

If I shave my head and let my eyebrows, much like Hugh Acheson's unibrow, merge with my goatee, well then I got something special and television-worthy. Artist rendition nearby, although NSFW or Sesame Street.    

I'm like the Louis CK of chefs, self loathing but curiously entertaining and still in search of a schtick since the Brittany Bearded Brow has already been trademarked in 23 states and a little known country, Stanktopia.  

I guess I'll just have to keep making great food damnit!