I am not a big fan of Bobby Flay. He's arrogant and smug, and when we were all coming up the ranks in NYC he treated people rather poorly, and I find his Food Network stuff boring . . . so I was delighted to learn from my pal Jeff Somers at Izzy's that Izzy's (and Jeff) kicked Bobby's ass in a segment of Throwdown, Flay's new show. The show is Punk'd meets Iron Chef. Food TV contacts great food stores, chefs, eateries and the like around the country and tells them they are arriving on a certain date and time to shoot a profile on their business. They tell them to be ready to demo their best stuff and when the day arrives, a limo pulls up and out pops Flay who then 'throws down' with his version of the store or chef's specialty in a mano a mano contest.

Typical. He gets to prepare for a food fight and his adversary is sitting there for weeks preparing for a different kind of experience. The best part is that Jeff destroyed Flay in the eyes of local celeb chef judges (112's Isaac Becker and Levain's Steven Brown). Hurry into Izzy's and taste the brown sugar ice cream with spiced pecans that Somers used to slay the beast. It's delicious.

I got dumped . . . first time in a long time, but dumped I got.

The View decided to go with Ray Liotta instead of me . . . the nerve. Such are the slings and arrows of the TV biz . . . .

So now it looks like all the promotional energy for the new show will be funneled into the month leading up to and after the premiere on March 12. all for the best actually, but boy was I psyched for a mano a mano tag team match with Babs, Rosie, Joy, and The Hasselbeck.

****

The family went apple-picking this weekend at what is now my favorite orchard. Rishia is THE BOMB for getting the family out to Deardorff's. If you have not been to Deardorff's in Waconia you are missing out on the ulitmate orchard experience. Deardorff's is family owned and operated, you park on the main road, walk to the apple house where they sell pies, apple donuts, cider, apples, caramel etc., but the fun part is hopping on the tractors and being pulled out to the most idyllic tree stands, loaded with apples, that you have ever seen. It was a perfect day—Noah's first apple party—and with the sun out all day, we were in heaven. As you walk up to the apple house, be sure to taste the fresh pressed cider which is unlike anything you have ever tasted. The juice has not had a chance to oxidize and they use whatever apples are being picked that day, not just traditional cider apples. We drank fresh Honeycrisp juice till we were fortified enough to head to the fields, pet the animals, and browse the pumpkins. Noah, Rishia, and I picked Sweet 16s that tasted like cherry lifesavers, Rishia got herself a huge bag of Honeycrisps that no one else is allowed to touch, and we scored a gaggle of Haralsons for our pal Debbie. Check out Deardorff's at applemn.com or log onto minnesotagrown.org for a local orchard to visit near you.

Apple time is upon us, and with this recipe almost any apple will work since it makes no difference if the apples fall apart or not. The key is that if you use firm bakers like Haralson or Cortland, be sure you dice the apples small and let all the juice evaporate and caramelize before you take the pan from the heat.

Apple Raisin Crumb Cake

Apples
2 T. butter
1-1/2 lbs. diced apples
1/2 c. raisins
1/2 c. sugar
1 t. lemon juice

Melt butter in a large pan over medium-high heat. When it foams, add the remaining ingredients. Sauté until ‘jammy’ and caramelized. Let cool.

Streusel
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. butter
1/4 c. crushed toasted pecans

Combine well with fingertips and set aside.

Cake
1-1/2 c. flour
pinch of salt
1-1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. ground allspice
4 T. butter
3/4 c. sugar
1 large egg, beaten slightly
2/3 c. buttermilk

Butter and flour a 9-inch brownie pan. Combine flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and allspice. Reserve. Cream together butter and sugar, then add the egg. Add flour mixture and buttermilk to sugar mixture, in thirds. Fold in apple mixture, swirling—not combining—and place batter in brownie pan. Cover evenly with streusel topping and bake for 45 minutes until a toothpick withdraws cleanly from the cake. Cool and serve.

Thanks to all for the kind notes wishing me a speedy recovery. So what got me so sick? You decide—was it the rodent, the giant grubs, the shrunken head, or the delirium I experienced when I returned from Ecuador and saw the Yanks and Mets on a seemingly locked and loaded Subway Series Collision? Or was it the Eli Manning deification fallout after his amazing comeback on Sunday? My Giants are back, baby. And unless you have ever feared for your life rooting for the Big Blue while sitting in the old Veterans Stadium, when Eagles fans would routinely throw Blue Backers over the railings, well you just have no idea how good that win felt. But I digress.

Louie's Habit closed! I am freaked out. Louie's had a lot of problems—they outpriced their competition, were guilty of not paying enough attention to how sandwiches were constructed (enough with the thick slices and misshaped bread), but they had the great slaw, pickles, and the best pastrami in town. Oy vey. Anyone know any details? Let me know.

Check out The View on ABC on Tuesday morning and watch me serve the gals some of the weird taste treats I have learned to love over the years. I hope I survive Rosie.

I got a lot of email recently asking me about when the next airing of the pilot for my new Travel Channel series airs. You can see the show on September 23 or October 9 or 10. Bizarre Foods premieres, with a whole new season, on March 12.

I am sick . . . some horrible jungle fever I contracted in South America and brought back with me to the states. Oy vey.

I need to throw a huge ‘shout out’ to my wife for putting up with my hysterics at 2 a.m. on Sunday when she wanted to call an ambulance to take me to the hospital and I feigned indifference. Men suck that way. Here is the gist of the moment, forever etched in my memory . . . .

I am hallucinating with fever coming in and out of consciousness, dripping sweat, lying on the floor . . . the bathroom scene from a minute earlier was worse, trust me . . . . My wife is desperate to help and tells me she is legitimately scared and wants to call an ambulance. I tell her that while this is as horrible as I have ever felt in my life, I can handle it . . . by myself . . . thanks, dear . . . .

. . . Men suck. My wife is an angel.

How can I have the simultaneous thought that while I am convinced I am dying, I need no help from anyone, let alone from the person I love and trust more than anyone in the world? Moments like these make me doubt my Darwinian imperative. With such bad genes, how come us XY chromosomers are still on the planet? By this time in our evolutionary progress you would have thought that women would have figured out a way to impregnate themselves and make men a tad more disposable than they are now.

****

I am freaking out about next Tuesday’s appearance I have on The View. It’s a big deal, my first national promotional appearance linked to the new show on Travel Channel. Some of it is nerves, and some of it is the fear of the unknown. The other 20 percent is fear of Rosie. Or getting crushed in a clash of egos between the four ladies, oh dear.

I can't believe the fall is finally here. Time to break out a whole new set flavors. Here's a great way to use up some the hard squashes that are abundant at this time of year.

Acorn Squash Gnocchi with Brown Butter and Sage
1 bulb garlic
1/4 c. ricotta cheese
2 T. minced parsley
1 egg
2 egg yolks
2 lbs. acorn squash, halved, seeded, baked, skinned, and riced
1 lb. Russet potatoes, baked, skinned, and riced
3 c. all-purpose flour, plus a little more on hand

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place garlic bulb into small oven-proof container and roast for 1 hour. Remove and let rest at room temperature. Cut top off bulb and squeeze out roasted garlic cloves. Reserve. Add 2 T. of the roasted garlic, ricotta, parsley, egg, and egg yolk to a large work bowl. Add riced squash and potatoes. Add 2 c. of flour and mix quickly—using two or three forks held in your hand, let the fork tines ‘pull’ the ‘dough’ into a pile of small clumps; add flour a little at a time until dough holds together when pinched. Gather dough into a ball and let rest for several minutes. Roll out onto a floured work surface and cut into fifths. Roll each piece by hand into a long ‘hot dog.' Cut every 1/2 inch using a pastry bench knife. Freeze on a sheet pan and bag for later use, or cook right away in rapidly boiling salted water until dumplings float for 60 seconds. Drain and serve.

To plate
Melt 1 T. butter (for each serving of 12-14 gnocchi) in a large skillet and when it turns light brown add some fresh thyme and sage. When butter turns nut brown, add cooked gnocchi, tossing gently. Season and serve with plenty of passed Reggiano parmesan at the table.

I was doing an interview for a European food journal and the guy asks me the question that we all secretly dread in my biz: “What’s in your fridge?” I was horrified. Here's why:

a) I don’t want to dent the mythological chrome fender of my food life and let people in on the secret that I don’t have teams of elves stocking my larder with homemade bon bons and artisinal cheeses 24/7/365.
b) We have a nineteen-month-old evil wizard who casts spells on my kitchen, turning freshly chilled lobster salad into Go-gurt.

But I sallied forth and proudly ran down the list of our fave must-haves, and I realized that Rishia and I should share our food-tastic finds with you:

Watermelon, this summer we ate almost one a day.
Just Fruit, the freeze-dried stuff . . . the banana-strawberry one is the most popular in our house.
Mushroom Veggie Burgers, the frozen ones from Gardenburger. Heat one in the microwave on top of some fresh tomato sauce . . . heaven.
Frozen Haagen Daz coffee yogurt. Enough said.
Valbreso Feta . . . can’t live without it in the fridge. We use it in everything.
Kashi . . . it rocks.
Snyder’s pretzels dipped in port-wine cheese spread. One a day has to be good for you.
Edamame . . . we all love them, especially our son.
Solo Berry Bliss bars . . . Rishia turned me on to them and they are the best energy bar I have found.
Old Home cottage cheese, the giant curd one in the yellow tub.
Pom . . . especially mixed with Fresca
Ba Tempte pickles . . . the real McCoy—no vinegar, kids, real pickles.
Emergen-C . . . the tangerine kind with glucosimine and chondroitin.
Edy’s popsicles . . . lime and tangerine are my faves, RZ loves the berry versions.

And what are your desert island food must-haves???

So I’m at the airport and I grab a slice at Sbarro. It’s a mushroom. Not exactly on my diet, but what the heck. The price says $3.79. I figure, hey pretty smart, with the tax it’s probably gonna’ be $4 even. I hand the lady four singles and she points to the register . . . once again, I’m wrong. The lady rings me up and it’s $4.04. So the easy thing, which would be to create a price that means people can pay with bills, and cashiers aren’t burdened with making change, is swapped out for the harder row to hoe, which results in me walking around with 96 cents in my pocket. Why not make the pizza cost three-seventy-whatever . . . just so the math works out for everyone . . . am I the only one annoyed by this?

****

According to an AP story, even splurging on one meal that includes saturated fats, like a fast food burger and fries, causes arterial constriction and inflammation to occur within hours. Saturated fats and trans fats, as we are learning each day it seems, are not just unhealthy, they are suicidal to consume. So, it seems to me to be time for Governor Pawlenty, Mayor Coleman, and Mayor Rybak to ban the use of these foods in our school systems, and other publicly funded food programs. Public school lunch programs answer to city, state, and USDA budget issues, are typically managed by school boards, and are staffed by union employees with inflexible bosses. School lunch reform has been a desperate need ever since the Reagan administration redefined the word lunch. These are our kids, and they need our help.

****

Japan has coerced the international community to slacken the rules restricting the hunting of whales. The slow and steady comeback of the whale population is now in jeopardy. The Japanese accuse the “West” of practicing cultural imperialism, arguing that telling someone else what to eat or not to eat is hypocritical given that we are a hamburger nation, and kill millions of cows ignoring their sacrosanct status in India, for example. The Japanese who argue for the lifting of the twenty-year-old IWC ban on whaling are insane. And guess what? The Bush administration is sympathetic to the argument, and will probably aim to move the position of the IWC away from saving the whales, and toward regulating their slaughter. The 2007 IWC confab is in Alaska this coming year, where our reps are hell-bent on growing the quotas on whale harvesting. Make a difference and call your congressman . . . and vote—early and often—but not on Diebold machines. What happened to my country?

The green tea selection at San Fran’s Imperial Tea Court is rivaled only by the one at St. Paul’s Tea Source.

****

Check out this video we found on YouTube of foods on a stick at the Minnesota State Fair.

Cool nights bring out the braiser in me. This is one of those classic Chinese dishes that will quickly become a favorite in your house. The best part is that the prep takes five minutes, and the dish will go from fridge to table in under an hour. Serve the chicken with any sautéed or steamed green vegetables, a bowl of roasted carrots or rutabagas, and some short-grain Asian rice. This is my wife Rishia's favorite dinner in our home. I hope you like it too.

One-Pot Chinese Chicken with Master Sauce
8-10 chicken thighs
1 c. sake
2 golf ball–sized nuggets of fresh ginger, julienned
1/3 c. soy sauce, I use Yamasa from Japan for cooking
1/3 c. Chinese yellow rock sugar or brown sugar
4 dried hot chilies
1/4 c. oyster sauce
2 T. hoisin sauce
4 cloves of star anise
2 cinnamon sticks
1 bunch scallions, cut in 1-inch lengths

Place 14-inch sauté pan over high heat. Add chicken and dry-sear to lightly brown chicken on skin side. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. Cook, covered, for 10 minutes. Uncover, and simmer until pan is almost “dry,” tossing frequently to coat thighs. Serve, garnishing with fresh scallion shavings, cilantro sprigs, and toasted sesame seeds.

These days, despite the new gig for Travel Channel and Noah’s arrival last January, I seem to have a lot of time on my hands . . . except it’s all at 30,000 feet and only occurs between take-off and landing. I catch up on reading and unfurl the hundreds of crumpled Post-Its that I accumulate between flights. So in the interest of clearing the decks, here are some random ideas I have had on ‘my desk’ for a while now . . .

*Wine dinner, this Sunday night at Town Talk Diner . . . be there or be square . . . $65 a person, all very hush-hush and on the QT. It promises to be a blast—these guys know how to throw a party.

*Happy fifth birthday, Alexis! Check out Girl Friday and you’ll see how the busiest folks in town can be in two places at the same time. I’m not just a fan, I’m also a client.

*Opening-week parties for the new restaurant in the Chambers Hotel begin this weekend. I will miss attending them, and rumor has it so will Jean Georges Vongterichten. If JGV spends as little effort in opening this restaurant as he seems to be, the results could be dismal. Personally, I would like to see JGV plotz down for a few weeks and work his magic around town—kiss some babies, make some food, and create a little buzz for the place. One of the five best meals I ever ate was at Lafayette in the Drake Hotel twenty years ago when he first came to NYC, and he can still make my head spin when he is in front of the stove. I am praying that he pays attention to his new outpost here in Minneapolis, because the track record of gastro-preneur owned and operated boites is dismal when the lead dog never pulls an oar on his own. An ugly mixed metaphor, but you get the idea.

As Val says, we all love hodgepodge!

Steve Irwin’s death is senseless. We all do crazy stuff on camera, he was that way off the camera, and the irony of his being killed by an animal is not lost on anyone. Privately, many of our colleagues are saying his death was a self-fulfilled prophecy. Steve was a risk-taker to say the least.

****

On September 17 you have your pick of the litter when it comes to great Twin Cities food events.

Twin Cities Rise! is hosting a fundraiser at Levain. The restaurant's chef, Steven Brown, one of the most talented chefs in the Midwest, will be cooking dinner alongside Todd Macdonald, the sous chef from Cru, one of my favorite restaurants in New York City, who is flying in for the event. His mother, Sue, is an event co-chair. TCR!, a locally born initiative, represents one of the nation's most successful anti-poverty initiatives, empowering participants to forever turn their backs on poverty and build a hopeful and productive life. Its work has become even more crucial as the number of poverty-stricken individuals in this community has risen. Partnering with corporations including Target and American Express, and local law firms such as Faegre & Benson, TCR! trains under- and unemployed adults for skilled jobs that pay a living wage of at least $20,000 annually.

The Levain event is expected to sell out and tickets can be purchased by calling Twin Cities Rise! at 612-279-5889 or visiting TCR!’s website.

Good thing Brown had a pal fly in because all the other chefs in the region that evening will be cooking at the Taste of the Nation event, benefiting Share Our Strength, at the Graves 601 Hotel. From La Belle Vie’s Tim McKee to Alma’s Alex Roberts, from 112 Eatery’s Isaac Becker to Corner Table’s Scott Pampuch, almost every other chef in town will be cooking dinner in a live interactive setting in the Graves 601 ballroom.

The event begins with a cocktail hour and silent auction of food- and wine-themed items and is followed by a multi-course gourmet dinner paired with exceptional wines. Each table of ten is hosted by a chef who prepares a creative multi-course dinner for their table. Sixteen top local chefs and two visiting guest chefs from Boston and Chicago will make this an unforgettable evening. Share Our Strength's Taste of the Nation, presented by American Express and Jenn-Air, is the nation's pre-eminent culinary benefit supporting anti-hunger and anti-poverty efforts. Every year, thousands of community leaders donate their product, time, and talents at more than sixty events throughout the U.S. and Canada. The events, which include food and wine tastings, seated dinners, brunches, and barbecues, raise both awareness and funds for anti hunger initiatives around the world. Click herefor tickets.

****

Walter Buffalo, the former sous chef at I Nonni and the chef at Nochee in Minneapolis, and a partner have bought the defunct Vintage Restaurant and Wine Bar on Selby Avenue in St Paul. This old building, dating back to 1888, has a shameful and appalling history of consistently serving some of the worst food I have ever eaten in a ‘nice’ restaurant. Here’s hoping that changes because the building is great. It needs to be opened up on the inside and remade into a functioning set of rooms that makes sense from a service and diner's viewpoint, but Buffalo has some talent. The biggest problem he had at Nochee was in the editing process. Too many gimmicks, too many ingredients. So many talented chefs these days would be better off if they had a process through which to vet their food, but the days of the owner who knew food because they grew up in the biz and could participate in a food decision have left us. Chefs control the process 100 percent now, and not all of them are up to the task. If Buffalo can keep it simple, like he did at I Nonni, his new venture will do very well in St. Paul.

Here is a great Labor Day grill treat that is a fun departure from the hot dog and burger alternative we always fall back on. Serve these as a first course, a main course, in pita as a sandwich, wrapped in lettuce leaves like a spring roll, plated with lemon-scented rice pilaf, whatever . . . you can’t miss with this stuff.

Morroccan Kefta with Herbed Yogurt Sauce
1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. ground lamb
1 minced onion
4 minced garlic cloves
1 egg, beaten
1 c. breadcrumbs
2 T. lemon juice
1/4 c. minced fresh parsley
3 T. minced fresh mint
1 T. ground cumin
2 T. minced leaf coriander (cilantro)
1/2 c. crushed tomatoes

Combine all ingredients. Season with salt and pepper. Roll into walnut-sized balls, skewering 3 to a skewer, pressing down to make a tongue shape. Brush with olive oil. Grill over high direct heat until cooked through. Serve with the yogurt sauce and a few heads of Boston lettuce for wrapping . . . or as a dipping appetizer, etc., etc. Serves 6-8 light eaters.

Yogurt Sauce
1/2 c. finely minced red onion
2 c. plain yogurt, strained overnight through a cheesecloth set in a mesh strainer, water discarded.
1 bunch cilantro
1 bunch mint
1 hot green chilies (I like serranos)
juice of 1 lime
3 T. olive oil
2 cloves minced garlic
2 T. ground cumin

Combine onion and strained yogurt in a large bowl and reserve. Purée remaining ingredients in a food processor. Fold the two mixtures together and serve with any grilled or roasted meats, poultry, or seafood.

Macy's has a big corporate event out at the State Fair and sent teams all over the grounds on a scavenger hunt. Congrats to Geoff's crew who cornered me at the Minnsota Cooks event and made me an honorary member of his squad. And we won! The best foods at the Fair are, and in no real order:

Cinnie Smiths Cinnamon Rolls across from the Pet Center
Gizmo Sandwiches on Cooper
Jerk pork and chicken at West Indies Soul in the Food Building
Lamb Gyros at The Lamb Shoppe in the Food Building
Nitro Ice Cream, espeically when you run your scoop around the corner and toss it into a big vat of root beer (Food Building)
The footlongs across the street from K102 and Tim Pawlenty's booth, catty corner from the Pizza Palace
Sausages by Cynthia (200 yards west of the Haunted House entrance as you walk out if it)
Papa's Gelato (at the Pizza Palace)
Goldens Bagels on Ligget and Dan Patch
Fudge Puppies outside the Food Building
Kiwanis Malts up by the Fine Arts Building
The Original Cheese Curds, the one not in the food building
Grandstand Mini Donuts
And why can no one make a good steak sandwich at the Fair? Hello Tri-tip sirloin, skirt or flank . . . cheap and tasty . . .

Media Notes
I have been rescheduled on ABC's The View. I am now taping on September 26 and still trying to figure out if this will be live, but I think it is.

I got a date for the premiere of Bizarre Foods on the Travel Channel, it will be March 12. We will replace the station's number one–rated show on the network, No Reservations with Tony Bourdain, at 9 p.m. CST for a seven-week run while he takes a break, and then our shows will air back-to-back on Monday nights from July onward. I am thrilled to say the least. I am off to Ecuador on Wednesday, so I'll be blogging from the rainforest, the equator, and the capitol city of Quito. Adios.

Restaurant News
This just in . . Oddfellows and Boom! are closing in three weeks. The building is sold and a chain called Bulldogs, a brew pub, is moving in. "Now us homos have no where to go," says Boom!-o-phile Jason Matheson, Show Tune Sunday host and Twin Cities media maven.