The sun's out and Guy Fieri is firing up the grill. Today it's Tandoori-style Yogurt Marinated Lamb Shoulder hitting the grates, with sweet grilled onions and crisp-tender green beans. His Spicy Chickpea Salad with tomatoes will heat up your taste buds, while a glass of green tea and rum-based Tea on the Green cools 'em right off.
Grilled Tandoori-Yogurt Marinated Lamb Shoulder with Grilled Onions and Green Beans - recipe
Guidposts Magazine recently interviewed Guy Fieri about "his macrobiotic childhood, love of garlic and a complex personality that few know."
Q: What inspired you to start cooking? A: Very simple. The deal in my family was whoever cooked made the decision of what would be made. My parents were into macrobiotics, and I was a carnivore as a child. So [by cooking] I could make people happy, I could decide what we’d eat, and I didn’t have to do the dishes. If that doesn’t channel you as a child I don’t know what does!
Macrobiotics use whole grain cereals such as brown rice and buckwheat pasta, fish, nuts and seeds as a staple ingredients with legumes, vegetables, seaweed, fermented soy products and fruit, combined into meals according to the principle of balance (known as yin and yang).
Nightshade vegetables, including tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, eggplant, spinach, beets and avocados are not recommended or are used sparingly at most. (More on macrobiotic diets)
Q: What three ingredients are always in your kitchen? A: Fresh cracked pepper, garlic and I can’t decide between soy sauce or olive oil.
On pepper If we went through my kitchen, there are probably 100 seasonings and sauces. From 20 different seasoned salts to 10 different vinegars. But when you get to the core basics, the taste of fresh cracked pepper is immeasurable. Salt and pepper are the simplest. It’s the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers of food.
On garlic The bodacious garlic. I call it “Vitamin G.” Its versatility is unparalleled. It can be sweet and creamy, sharp and bitter, can support or be lead character. I have to put that ahead of everything. At any given time there will be 10 bulbs in the jar when I’m home.
On soy sauce We often add sodium to things and soy sauce has a rounded flavor. I do a lot of Asian food, and it has a nice complex taste that works well--not a “Boom!” here’s my sodium.” I love it when people say, “But there’s no soy sauce in there!”
On olive oil Extra version olive oil is great for gentle, subtle things like dipping sauce or salads. Good plain olive oil can play a real nice role in many dishes. And it does not have a high smoke point. Often people don’t realize it can go bad. You need to keep it in a dark bottle, out of the heat. People will say, “This olive oil has a big flavor,” but actually it’s rancid.
Q: If you were a dish, what would you be? A: Hong Kong noodles. It’s one of my favorites when I do demonstrations.... I’m a deep person. Things in my life are flavorful. And, it’s crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. That’s something people will see in me, too.... I get people to see the other side of things. People might think that I’m a certain way, but there are other sides to me.
Guy Fieri has several stops to make in Southern California over the next few weeks. Guy is appearing in Disneyland on May 30 and 31 and filming Triple D in Los Angeles June 2 - 5.
The OC Register interviewed Guy about Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, his fans, and his upcoming appearance at the California Food & Wine Festival.
Q. So, your goal is to always give someone a great place to eat. But, what if it’s not good? A: I’ve had something like that happen, where it doesn’t look good. (Translation: the cook has totally messed up.) I stop (filming at that point) and say ‘Let’s move on.’
Q: What do fans say when they first see you? A: ‘Dude, is it really you. Dude, you are really cool.’ They also ask me, “Is the car (Chevy Camaro convertible) really yours?
Q: Is it? A: No. It’s the producer’s car.
Q: Since you’re headed to Disneyland later this week, let’s talk amusement park food. Do you like theme park food? A: I’m not a big theme park food fan. I will give props to Disney. I think the thing that Disney does best is the prime rib at the Blue Bayou and the corn dogs at the red truck. Now, that’s my kind of fast food. The broasted chicken is killer.
Q: You are a California boy. Yet, it seems like you spend a lot of time at dives outside California. Any plans to do more in Southern California? A: We are shooting in Southern California the day after Disney. In fact, we have 14 locations in California in the next (few) weeks.
[Wow. Has it really been a week since my last post? ~D]
Moments Photography was on hand to help Home of the Innocents with their fund-raising event on Oaks day. They write, "the special guest was Guy Fieri - Food Network Chef. He was so awesome to work with and we had a ton of fun!"
------------------------------------------------------ Kate and Josh write from their blog, "Guy Fieri came and spoke at SSU, it was really interesting!" And continue with this story he told:
"He told a story about how he was recently at a fundraiser in Kentucky trying to raise money for a children's hospital, and he was at 9K and was trying to get to 10K but all of the items had been auctioned off, and he was even auctioning off random things he just found like a mini fridge from the hotel. And finally he yelled to the crowd "We need to get to 10K, what's it gonna take??" and a guy yelled from the back "your sunglasses!"
Well, apparently he had just received the sunglasses as a gift from the manufacturer, they were a one of a kind pair, created with his custom logo and copy of his tattoo as the design. He was in love with the glasses and had only had them about a week. But after standing on stage hyping everyone up about raising money, he knew he had no choice. So he walked to the back of the room and gave the guy his sunglasses, and brought the fundraiser up to 10K."
------------------------------------------------------ Guy Fieri stopped by EMG Pickups in Santa Rosa, CA - where this video was shot.
"Our mission is to be the undisputed technological leader in the pickup industry, creating exceptional products that empower musicians around the globe to explore and express their passion for performance."
------------------------------------------------------ From Fox Providence, more on grilling with pork:
------------------------------------------------------ Lisa Mertins writes from her blog that "Guy and his crew ... created a night of a lifetime to benefit Cardinal Newman high school and I felt lucky to be included...."
Winners of a charity auction enjoyed a dinner cooked by Guy Fieri and his crew, served in the Barrel Room at Villa de Vino, home of Kimberly & Allan Henderson, for a party of 10.
"Fieri was gracious and fun, signing books and posing for photographs. And he promised a spin with Lucinda in the Camaro he drives in “Diner’s, Drive-Ins and Dives” when he’s back in the North Bay — that put Lucinda over the moon.
Oh, there’s a caveat. She had to promise to spike her grown in hair like Guy’s to complete the picture, but she’s game."
Captain Guy Fieri's got a chicken recipe guaranteed to fly off your plate: his Pan-Seared Airline Breast is coated in paprika garlic rub, then smothered in caramelized onion and leek pan sauce. Flying alongside is wingman Rice a Munee, blending rice and vermicelli with veggies in a white wine sauce. Flaky Strawberry Rhubarb Turnovers hover close behind.
The Great American Food & Music Fest Saturday, June 13th , Doors 11:00AM/Show NOON Shoreline Amphitheater at Mountain View, California Tickets range from $35 to $526
The Gastronomy Blog has TWO tickets to give away to ONE lucky gas•tron•o•my reader.
All you have to do is visit their blog at gas•tron•o•my and leave a comment there with your name, email address, and the name of your favorite restaurant in America.
All entries must be received by Tuesday, May 26, 2009 at midnight PST. Good luck!
For more information on the festival, see my post here, or visit the event's webpage here.
For a Memorial Day week-long series of Dear Food Network, several fans meet up with their favorite Food Network hosts about grilling and bbq'ing.
On Monday, May 25 - All Access Grill Pass - Guy Fieri brings two of his biggest fans to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, to show them the Mexican pride, culture, lifestyle and flavors he enjoys when on vacation. He'll expose his new friends to the old and the new Cabo cuisines, including the places only the local foodies know about. Plus, Aaron McCargo. (repeats on May 26 and May 29)
Tuesday, May 26 - All American Style Grilling - featuring Alton Brown, with Giada De Laurentiis, Aaron McCargo.
Wednesday, May 27 - Grilling in Paradise - featuring Bobby Flay, with Aida Mollenkamp, Aaron McCargo.
Guy Fieri cooks for Carroll Shelby and Kenny Stabler his Racing Slick Shrimp in a Snakebite Sauce at the SEMA Show, November 2008 in Las Vegas. (Newsvideoweb)
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