We are kicking off our summer with a trip to Key West, Destin, Wisconsin, and Delray Beach. Then we’re headed up to the North East. Here’s the schedule.

Here comes a wild and crazy Summer. We are off to new places, as well as our old haunts. chompin at the bit to see some miles. The new line up is the best yet. See ya down the road, and don’t forget…Keep COOKIN!

I thought I was cool when I grabbed a beer bottle and played slide guitar with it.  This guy puts me to shame. Check out Danny Gatton with bottle and towel
.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfBF4rr7FiA

“It looks like . . .Fudge!”

Roux
What’s the first thing a Cajun cook does when he goes to make coffee? Make a roux.  An exaggeration, but not too far off the mark, there’s a lot of roux makin goin on in Loosiana.  Transplanted from France, the roux underwent some changes. I learned to make roux (and gumbo) from Shirley Neal. She’s Kenny Neal’s mom and Raful Neal’s wife. The Neal family is from Baton Rouge. That Baton Rouge roux is much darker than its French counterpart.  Roasted to a rich mahogany to give that smokey flavor. When I cooked gumbo for two weeks at Le Meridien in Paris, the chef who made the roux for me looked at me in absolute horror when I compared the color of my roux to a dark ceramic bean casserole dish.  Le Meridien was a trip.  There are five restaurants in that hotel.  A sushi bar, their own bakery, butcher shop, and the top dog restaurant has a menu with no prices on it.  So little ol Sauce Boss (you can just call me “Cornbread”) is telling this five star chef, “NO, NO, NO, it’s gotta be very dark. LOL!

So here’s how I make my roux. I use a very large cast iron frying pan. I have also used a wok.  Put the oil in and turn it all the way up.  Start stirring in the flour a little bit at a time. I do 3 parts flour to two parts oil. I stir constantly, scraping the bottom of the pan as I go. Twenty to thirty minutes later I have a mocha colored pan full of glop. I generally turn off the flame at this time, and let it cool a bit.  It will darken to a milk chocolate color when it’s cool. Or you could keep cooking till it’s darker. I usually make a big batch of it, and use some immediately, putting some on the shelf for later use.  This cuts my roux making time in half or a third, or fourth, depending on how much I make. You can also freeze it to keep it longer.

SONNY’S DELI
494 LANDING RD. ROCHESTER, NY 14625         585-288-7820

When I walked into Sonny’s Deli in Rochester, New York, Rick was makin the pizzas from scratch. I explained my crazy diet requirements, and he was all about accommodating me. What a great pizza!  Sonny’s is a classic American Deli with your typical bill of fare. In addition to pizza, there’s burgers, dogs, phillies, reubens, hot and cold subs, wraps, salads, fries, seafood, and Italian dinners.  AND… it’s also a grocery store.  Nice guys cookin good food and dispensing the necessities of life with a laid back attitude. The way it oughta be.