I love being a Chef. Food is a universal language that touches the lives of almost everyone. No matter what road of life one travels along, chances are they have an appreciation for a good meal.
If you know me and my wife Katherine, you will know of our love for not only food but also for music. Recently we had the pleasure of being introduced to country music legend Toby Keith while he was in town for his American Ride Tour.
Toby Keith has taken his love for food and paired it with the success of his hit single "I love This Bar" to create a chain of restaurants aptly named I love This Bar & Grill. These popular honky tonk style restaurants are dotted across the USA and his 10th location will soon be opening in Boston.
Although we have not personally visited any of his locations as of yet, they are definitely on our radar in the near future. When inquiring about any recipes from the menu he could share with my readers we were provided with the following two. They may require a bit of improvisation on your part, depending on the ingredients available where you live, but creativity is half the fun about cooking. The other half is "drinking beer from a mason jar" while doing so. Enjoy.
Southwest Cream Corn
2 bags of frozen corn
1 oz of bacon grease
1 corn set (see note below)
1/4 cup of cowboy blend (proprietary), use favorite pepper seasoning.
1.5 LB of Cream Cheese (1.5 inch squares)
1/2 quart of half n half
6 Strips of bacon (diced 1/4 inch)
1) Place diced bacon and bacon grease in a large braising skillet and cook over medium heat until done.
2) Add remaining corn set and cook until peppers become tender.
3) Add corn and cook until it begins to thaw.
4) Stir in cream cheese, then add half n half
5) Spread Cowboy Blend (seasoning) over mixture and blend.
6) Cook until texture is to your liking, (approx. 15-20 min)
*Note: Corn Set
2 Poblano Peppers
2 Red Bell Peppers (diced 1/4 inch)
2 White Onions (diced 1/4 inch)
Fry poblano peppers for 1 minute. Under running warm water run your hand down outside of poblano to remove skin. Dice poblano peppers into 1/2 inch pieces and mix all ingredients for set.
Fried Bologna Sandwich
We use a five inch round chub of bologna and slice it 1/2 thick.
Cook sliced bologna in a skillet or on a flat top grill until it starts to blacken or turn up on the edges.
Serve on a hamburger bun with Toby's Signature BBQ Sauce, (sold in Toby's I Love This Bar & Grill), a 1/4 cup of shredded jack and cheddar cheese mix and top with two slices of tomato and shredded lettuce.
Add mayo if you like.
Send your food/cooking questions to [email protected] or P.O. Box 2674, Abbotsford, BC V2T 6R4
Chef Dez is a Food Columnist, Culinary Instructor & Cooking Show Performer. Visit him at www.chefdez.com
The next "Chef Dez on Cooking" column will appear May 26/11.
