Double Double Animal Style at In-N-Out Burger

Double Double Animal Style

Sure, it may be a little cliche... and yes, I should be above fast food (or at least writing about large fast food chains) most of the time, but how can I resist a blog post about the Double Double "Animal Style" at In-N-Out Burger?  We don't have this chain where I'm from in Louisiana.  And it isn't everywhere that you can order something "animal style."  When out west and in need of a quick bite, In-N-Out it is!

In-N-Out is a regional (California, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah) burger joint that prides itself on fresh ingredients and quality products.  They serve burgers, fries, shakes, and drinks, and are well known for doing so.  The Double Double is a two-patty two-cheese burger served with lettuce, tomato, onions, and mustard.  All In-N-Out burgers also come dressed with a special sauce that is similar to a thousand island dressing.  However, that's not exactly what I ordered.  In-N-Out also has a not-so-secret lingo and menu that offers customers a way to act like they are in the loop when they order.  I got my Double Double "Animal Style" which meant that they would grill my onions, add more sauce, and throw on some pickles.  Damn.  Pickles.  I asked that they hold those.  So basically I got some grilled onions.  I'm okay with that.

The burger itself was certainly better than par compared to similar fast service restaurants.  I'd eat that before the competition most of the competition any day.  I'd put the burger in the same category as Five Guys... which didn't impress me that much because you have to go in and its a little overpriced.  In-N-Out was inexpensive and delicious.   I'll take that every time.  Maybe it should remind me What-a-burger, of which we only have one of in Baton Rouge but I remember them fondly from the Houston area. The grilled onions were money and the sauce added just enough kick to make the burger stand out.  The fries I had were forgettable.  I ate them all but they could have been a little crispier.  They weren't bad, but I wouldn't brag about them either.  Still, when in the far Southwestern USA and in need of quality, affordable fast food, give it a try!

National Potato Chip Day and Pi Day!!

For those of you who don't know, March 14th is known by many as Pi Day (3.14).  Unfortunately for me (but not necessarily for the kids), that resonates more in mathematics classrooms than in bakeries.  I do love a good, round, sweet or savory pie, but I'll have to eat something else on this day to honor the missing "e".  As luck would have it, today is also National Potato Chip Day!  Potato chips date back to 1853 when Chef George Crum decided to slice potatoes thin and make them crispier rather than soggy after complaints from some customers.  What an ingenious move!  In 2005, the global potato chip market generated a revenue of US$16.4 billion which accounted for 35.5% of the total savory snack market that year (Wikipedia).  So with that, I'll count down my top four potato chips in recent memory.  I'll let my readers decide what I'm missing that should round out my top five!  Leave a comment on here, Twitter, or Facebook!

4. Ruffles Cheddar & Sour Cream

Of all the truly major national brands, Ruffles Cheddar & Sour Cream is easily my favorite potato chip.  The ridges really do make a difference!  Plus, their cheddar and sour cream flavoring is spot on no matter what chemicals they use to artificially make it taste that way!

3. Zapp's Cajun Crawtators

Louisiana's own "Little Chippery in Gramercy" makes its first appearance on my list with their iconic Cajun Crawtators.  Zapp's is a proud Louisiana product with a growing market and favorable reputation around the country.  The crunchy kettle chips are cooked in peanut oil for extra flavor and the Cajun seasonings make them distinctive and delicious!

2.  Bob's Texas Style, Original

Bob's chips are thick cut, crunchy, and kettle cooked in small batches.  They are not over salted, but rather have a brilliant proportion of salt to potato that you strive to find in an ideal non-flavored chip.  Next time you are driving through the Lone Star State make sure to pick up a bag... or a case!

1. Zapp's Hotter 'n Hot Jalapeño

Of all the chips that Zapp's makes, their Hotter 'n Hot Jalapeño is easily my favorite.  Sure, the Crawtators are more established and well know, and their Original chips are solid, but the jalapeño chips are one of the more perfectly seasoned chips that I know of.  The best part is that they are actually hot!  It isn't just a wimpy jalapeño flavor like you get with other brands of chips.  Zapp's actually provides heat and flavor while delivering that trademark crunch in every bag of potato chips.  Keep it up, Zapp's, and I'll keep eating!


Agree, disagree, or want to tell me what chip should round out my top 5?  Leave a comment here or give me a shout using Twitter, or Facebook!  Happy chipping!

Louisiana Culinary Institute's Race to Cannes

The Louisiana Culinary Institute's Third Annual Race to Cannes cooking competition presents an opportunity for state's best culinary students to challenge each other for a trip to the Cannes Film Festival.  Their journey to France will provide them with an opportunity to work with world-famous chefs as part of the festival's culinary team.  I had the privilege of judging two of the head-to-head match ups in the second round of the single-elimination bracket.  The ingredients that the chefs had to work with were chicken livers, red lentils, and oyster mushrooms.  Let's see what the chefs created!

Rumaki served with braised lentils and oyster mushroom salad

Chef number one was Bryan Poche.  His colorful dish featured rumaki with braised lentils and an oyster mushroom salad.  Rumaki, for those wondering, is a bite-sized morsel typically consisting of a water chestnut and duck or chicken liver wrapped in bacon and marinated in soy with either ginger or brown sugar.  Bryan's rumaki had excellent texture and flavor.  I would have preferred to have a little more flavor in the salad and in the lentils, but overall this dish had plenty appeal.

Southern fried chicken liver with red lentil and oyster mushroom tomato sauce over pasta shells

Our next dish came from Taylor Johnson.  Taylor took his chicken livers and gave them a nice, crispy southern fry before placing them over some pasta shells.  These were easily my favorite fried livers of the day, but I found the rest of the dish to be a little displaced.  The lentils were hardly noticeable and plate could have used more sauce.  The oyster mushrooms were there, but they didn't add much to the dish and kind of got lost as well.  In the end, I loved the livers, but the lentils and mushrooms didn't get their share of the love.

The other judges seemed to agree with me.  While the scoring was extremely close, Bryan Poche moved on to the third round of the Race to Cannes!  I think one thing that set him apart was that he happened to be the only competitor to not deep fry his livers.  Way to do something different, Bryan!

Pan-fried chicken livers with red lentils and oyster mushrooms

The next match up began with a spectacular dish from Jeremy Campbell.  His fried livers sat on top of a bed of red lentils cooked to a point where they still retained a little texture.  He added a veal demi-glace and the cooked down oyster mushrooms to bring it all together.  I didn't want to stop eating the lentils and demi-glace at the bottom of the dish.  The livers left a little to be desired as they had lost some of their crispiness, but everything else worked so well that I ate every bit of my food.

Southern style fried chicken livers with pepper jelly sauce served with sauteed red lentils and smoked oyster mushrooms

The final plate of the evening came from Logan Alfred.  Logan delivered more delicious food, though his plate could have been a little less monotone.  Still, his smoked oyster mushrooms were absolutely my favorite mushrooms of the day.  They had just the right amount of hickory smoke flavor to make me thing I was at a KCBS competition.  Additionally, Logan used some panko bread crumbs on his fried livers and topped them off with a pepper jelly sauce.  Unfortunately, the lentils were a little bland, especially compared to flavors from the mushrooms and livers.

Both of these dishes were really amazing and it was hard to see either of them lose.  I had one point separating the two dishes.  The other judges clearly scored them fairly evenly as well.  Ultimately, the judges and I agreed that the winner was Jeremy Campbell's dish.  I think that veal demi-glace with the lentils is what really set him over the top.

I'll be excited to see how Bryan and Jeremy do moving forward in the competition.  My hat off to all of the competitors as well as everybody at the Louisiana Culinary Institute for putting on this great culinary challenge.  I can only hope to be back to judge (and eat) more! 

Ruffino's Oscar Night Wine Dinner

Ruffino's has an annual tradition of rolling out their own red carpet to host an Oscar Night Wine Dinner.  I received an invitation to join in on this evening of Hollywood cheer and to watch the Academy Awards in style.  Naturally, I couldn't pass that up!  We were treated to fantastic wine, a sensational dinner, and a wait staff (as well as Ruffin Rodrique himself) dressed up as a cast of characters from the movies.  I knew right away that this would be an evening worth blogging about!

Ruffin Rodrigue did his best "King's Speech" Impression

The meal began with the "Mad Hatter's Tea Party".  This round of walking the carpet, clinking glasses, and finger foods got the night at Ruffino's kicked off before the Academy Awards began.  All guests were served plenty of Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc to go with the hors d'oeuvres.  The mild and fruity New Zealand wine proved to be an excellent choice to start the dinner and pair with the Tea Party courses.

The "Caterpillar's Mushrooms" combined crawfish and cheese to brilliantly stuff a mushroom cap.  These bite-sized appetizers delivered plenty of flavor that paired nicely with the wine.  Also served with the Tea Party were some crab meat stuffed, deep fried artichoke hearts.  Being served above by a character from "The Fighter", the stuffed artichokes were my favorite of the appetizers. Finally, the red carpet came to a close with some Tea Party sandwiches of smoked salmon and cucumber.  As inventive and interesting as they were, the sandwiches were my least favorite of the starters.  The red carpet had wrapped up and we were on to the Oscars.  My taste buds readied themselves for the rest of the show.

The formal dinner part of the evening began with a "King's Speech" inspired dish: King Salmon with the Crown Jewels.  The plate featured a pair of New Zealand King Salmon Roulade cooked in the trendy sous-vide style.  For those unaware of this method of cooking, in French it literally translates to "under vacuum."  The meat (or salmon in this case) is enclosed in a vacuum sealed bag then cooked in water that maintains a certain temperature.  This constant heat at a regulated and typically lower temperature than traditional cooking is said to maintain the integrity of the ingredients.  The King Salmon rolls were then placed atop Beluga lentils with roasted chicken jus and parsley puree.  The salmon turned out rich and flavorful.  The lentils underneath had plenty of texture to them, which I really liked compared to overly cooked down lentils.  Overall, this dish exceeded expectations and left a smile on my face... as did the accompanying wine.  The King's Salmon came paired with a 2007 Simi Chardonnay.  This California white wine featured some tropical fruit with oak flavors.  My first taste had notes of grapefruit and pear... but what do I know?  I can definitely say that it did not come across as an overly sweet Chardonnay, which I certainly like.  It worked for me, but I quickly prepared myself for the upcoming glasses of my preferred red wine varietals.        

"True Grit" made an appearance at the Oscars as well as at the Ruffino's Wine Dinner.  The above plate represents the Rooster Cockburn Cacciatore with True Grits.  The free range organic chicken thighs were stewed in a San Marzano tomato, red wine, and porcini mushroom sauce and served over creamy Mascarpone polenta.  Poured along side the dish was a 2007 Wild Horse Pinot Noir from Santa Barbara.  I loved the idea of pairing chicken and polenta with red wine. The thigh itself had a great flavor but ended up just a little dry in the middle.  With the chicken being stewed I certainly wasn't expecting to be even the slightest amount dry.  Still, the moistness of the sauce and polenta made up for it and the dish as a whole worked very well.  It certainly seems a little risky to serve bone-in chicken thighs in a fine dining setting, but I'd say that the Chef Peter Sclafani managed to pull it off.  As I said earlier, I really liked the bold pairing of red wine with chicken and polenta.  The Wild House Pinot had a bold and spicy profile that I felt worked really well with the dish.  I certainly would not have been shy about going back for more if there wasn't another course already on the way.

Wrapping up the entree portion of the menu, Ruffino's turned to "The Fighter".  The dish, titled "Black and Blue" Steak, onion "rings", "3 rounds" of zucchini, paired with a Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from Robert Mondavi in Napa.  Though typical, I love beef and cab.  It is hard to go wrong.  Bold with bold.  Bring it.  Winning.  The blackened Sterling Silver filet mignon was cooked to an ideal medium rare and topped with a blue cheese glacage.  Some buttermilk battered crispy onion strings complimented the sauteed zucchini slices.  The spice rub on the steak intrigued me on first bite.  I went back for another.  I couldn't quite wrap my tongue around it.  While delicious, the blacken seasonings and blue cheese took away from the superiority of the beef.  I took another bite.  It grew on me.  I didn't love it, but I certainly wasn't opposed to it either.  Fork to mouth once again.  Well, why stop now, I thought.  Sip of wine.  Insert delicious zucchini round.  Back to the steak.  The dish fought me.  I fought back.  The spice rub may have been a bit much, and blue cheese glacage may have been over the top, but dammit, I ate every bit.  I won.  KO.  Fourth round. Ding ding ding.

Oh, and then there was dessert.  "Black Swan" delivered the final course: swan shaped profiteroles filled with white and dark chocolate mousse, raspberry sauce, and mixed berries.  Creative, delicious, and well played.  The wine dinner managed to successfully incorporate a handful of the year's best movies into the themes of their dishes.  The swan profiteroles may have been the most direct and obvious, but there's nothing wrong with that.  The dessert came with a glass of Magnificat by Fransiscan.  The Magnificat is a red wine blend from Napa that is mostly Merlot and Cab.  While not a true dessert wine like what I would expect with a final course, the Magnificat stood tall against the swans and continued to be my beverage of choice until the Oscars went off the air.  

"King's Speech" won best picture while "The Social Network" racked up its fair share of awards as well.  I'm really glad that Natalie Portman won for Best Actress.  Anybody that watched "Black Swan" and thinks somebody else should have won, please explain yourself!  I'd like to thank Ruffino's for having me as a guest at their Oscar Night Wine Dinner.  Ruffin and his crew put on a great show in the front of the house and Chef Peter provided an amazing feast to go with the entertainment.  What a night on the red carpet!

WAFB 9Chefs Airs Today at 6:30 pm

WAFB's original and local cooking show airs tonight (Wednesday, March 2, 2011) at 6:30 PM.  First off, I applaud WAFB for stepping out on a limb and creating original content.  I'd love to see much more of this in Baton Rouge, and 9Chefs ought to be a great start!

Jay takes a gander at one of the dishes from 9Chefs

Unfortunately I was not selected to be a chef in the 9Chefs competition.  Let down a bit, I knew there must be a reason.  As it turns out, WAFB decided that after my victory in the Tony Chachere's Tailgating Cookoff, I was over-qualified for this amateur, home chef competition.  Instead of getting to compete, they decided to bring me on board as a judge!  What an honor!

9Chefs Host Steve Caparotta with judges Jay Ducote, Miss Louisiana USA Page Pennock, and Louisiana Culinary Institute Chef David Tiner

The Louisiana Culinary Institute hosted the challenge.  I judged part of the Round 1 of 9Chefs along with the current Miss Louisiana USA, Page Pennock, and Louisiana Culinary Institute Chef David Tiner.  The first round had the nine participating home cooks split into groups of three where they were required to cook a starter dish for the judges.  They received a pantry of basic community ingredients and were allowed to bring 9 ingredients of their own from home.  We got to see some pretty spectacular dishes from the home cooks, but I really can't tell you all about them here.  For that, you'll have to join me in watching the show tonight!  Oh, and make sure to let WAFB know how much you like them doing local shows with Baton Rouge residents!  Maybe we'll see more of this kind of content in the future!