Dadgum That’s Good: The South Is Rising Again In….New York?
12 Oct 2011Someone sent me a link to an article recently about Southern food becoming a trend in New York City. (Zagat Diners Love Southern Food…)
My guess is that New Yorkers have discovered what we Southerners have known for a lifetime – there’s nothing like some good ol’ Southern food! In the South, it’s not just about the food, it’s about the time spent with family and friends while you’re cooking the food. You would be hard-pressed to find a Southern food that wouldn’t double as comfort food.
From time to time, I get questioned about how we stay trim and healthy eating all of the rich, Southern food we cook at Masterbuilt. I’m sure you’ve heard it said, but it’s the truth – moderation is key. We do love to deep-fry just about anything here at Masterbuilt, but we also love to put our own modern twist on old Southern favs and substitute lighter ingredients. When may skip the fryer and throw a pork chop on the grill instead. (Which balances the meal out when we throw some fried okra or mashed potatoes on the plate!)
We’ve cooked up Southern Food on the streets of NYC and it always draws a crowd. Like I said, it’s not just about the food. Southern food has a way of pulling folks in. The smell of BBQ or deep-fried turkey is like an elixir to our overstressed souls.
I’m glad Northerners are realizing the value of our dadgum good Southern food. What’s one Southern dish you would tell your Northern friends they have to try? (I would definitely say BBQ ribs and smoked mac n’ cheese!)
-John
Dadgum That’s Good: Lappers Giveaway
13 Sep 2011
Our Lapper Trays have been designated as “Tailgating Approved“. To celebrate, we’re giving away a set of 2 Lapper Trays!
To enter, leave a comment on this blog post and tell us: “My fav tailgating food is __________________.”
You can read more about our Lapper Trays here and view our infomercial with Anthony Sullivan.
We will choose a winner at 9 am EST on Wednesday, September 14. Only comments left on this blog post will be considered in this random drawing. You must leave your email address to qualify, so that we can contact you if you win. Your email address will not display in your comment.
Congrats to Tina B., the winner of the Lapper Trays!
Dadgum That’s Good: Denver
2 Sep 2011It’s day 2 of this week’s DTG road trip. We started off the day at Fox31 and taped 2 segments. There’s nothing like smoking ribs, chicken wings and mac n’ cheese for breakfast!
We had lunch with Barb of Creative-Culinary.com at Big Papa’s BBQ. Give the bison ribs a try if you eat at Big Papa’s.
Barb is one of those people that loves to entertain and share good food, so she became our instant friend. She has a post on her blog with a recipe for bacon-wrapped pretzels. Can’t wait to try those!
For dinner, we dined at the oldest restaurant in Denver – The Buckhorn Exchange - with Shannon Wilson of Grubology. I would highly recommend you visit this piece of history if you are in Denver. They have liquor license #1 in Denver! They have a table that belonged to Buffalo Bill and mounts cover the walls, including a brown zebra and a 2-headed calf. After your meal, take some time to walk around and take it all in.
Tomorrow morning we’ll be over at 9 News Daybreak, then we’re headed home.
-John
P.S. Forgive some of the photo quality…cell phone photos!
Dadgum That’s Good: On the road again…
1 Sep 2011We’re on the road this week, bringing “Dadgum Good” food to Dallas and Denver. We’ve got some TV segments lined up, and some meals with bloggers.
We started last night with a BBQ dinner with Chris Baccus of GasStationTacos.com and TheConsideredCook.com. We tried the brisket, pulled pork and ribs at Sonny Bryan’s. I would highly recommend the brisket – it was very tender and had a good amount of smoky flavor. The smoked sausage appetizer was a nice start to the meal; the mustard dipping sauce has quite a kick!
Chris is a great guy and we enjoyed talking with him about food, media, football and just about anything. We look forward to teaching him how to make some “Dadgum Good” BBQ very soon when he is in Georgia. We hail from a land where gas stations have Frozen Slurpees and hot dogs on a roller, so it’s interesting to see that Chris has found authentic Mexican food at “fillin’ stations”.
This morning, we taped a segment at the “Good Morning Texas“ studios. Our segment was originally meant to air live, but the wild fires in Texas dominated the news this morning. My prayers are going out to those affected by these fires – I hope they are able to get those under control very soon.
The folks at WFAA were awesome to work with and we hope to go back again soon. We made some Smoked Baby Back Ribs with Espresso Sauce, Smoked Mac n’ Cheese, and Super Smoked Sweet and Spicy Wings. The segment should air on Thursday, but could possibly run on Labor Day (we’ll keep you posted on our Facebook page).
One of the highlights of the day was meeting Duff – the “Ace of Cakes” – in Dallas. Such an authentic guy. If you watch his show you should know, he’s the same guy in person. I gave him a “Dadgum, That’s Good!” cookbook. I wonder if he can make some BBQ cake?! One of our Facebook fans made that suggestion. Sounds good to me!
In the morning, we are taping a couple of segments at Good Day Colorado / Daybreak on Deuce. We’ll keep you posted on those air times, also.
I’m looking forward to meeting a couple of bloggers tomorrow also. For now, it’s time to turn in here in the Mile-High and get some rest.
-John
Dadgum That’s Good: No-Name Donuts
11 Aug 2011We’re working on recipes for our next cookbook and we served Team Masterbuilt some fresh, hot donuts this morning that were a big hit in the office. The recipe has definitely received the “Dadgum Good” seal of approval, but we need a creative name for these donuts. What would you name them?
You start with canned refrigerator biscuits. Homestyle preferred – the small generic brand ones that come in bundled packages of 4 cans (10 biscuits per can). Don’t use flaky or buttermilk.
Combine 1 cup of sugar with 1 tablespoon of cinnamon. Spread on a plate, or put in paper bag.
Heat your oil to 325 degrees.
Open the canned biscuits. You have 2 choices on the size. We fried them whole and also cut them in half; we preferred the half-size.
Gently place the biscuits into the oil and fry for 4 1/2 to 5 minutes, until golden brown (make sure you flip halfway through the cooking time).
Remove from oil and drain on paper towel. While still hot, roll biscuit in cinnamon-sugar mixture on a plate and cover evenly. If you have a paper bag, you can shake the hot biscuits in the bag with the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
We dare you to eat just one!
