New Top Chef, Michael Voltaggio.

Much to the disgust of my fellow podcasters, Michael Voltaggio was named Top Chef. All three were deserving, but Michael was the boldest. He took more risks and rarely got burned.
Check out the finale podcast

Easily the most balanced group Top Chef has had in the finals. Usually, there’s a dark horse, but any of the three could take home the gold.

Is bringing the Jumbo Jack to the metro the first step in building a bigger, better culinary community? No. but together we can make it happen.

My term as friendly Oklahoma Food Dude is a little more than a year old. What fun it’s been. I’ve been with The Oklahoman since Dec. of 1990, working in Sports, Metro, City and State. I even did a stint as television columnist. In the nearly 19 years, I’ve never worked harder than I have the past year. At times, I’ve felt a little overwhelmed — so many story ideas, so little time.
But I’ve never been happier. It took almost two decades, my snoot a-spark from the grindstone, but I’m working to my passion.
In the past year, 105degrees has brought raw food to the city thanks to 105degrees, Ryan Parrott has grown from chef to restaurateur to social media entrepreneur, Chris Lower brought us Cool Greens and Big Truck Tacos — which has spawned copycats on the north side who might not be award that BTT is an inspired a copycat of what’s been going on down South for years – longtime Coach House owner Kurt ”The Big Kahuna” Fleischfresser partnered with Carl Milam and Western Concepts, OKC native Rick Bayless become the first Top Chef Master, “Food Inc.” changed the way people look at food, the Deep Fork Group gambled and won with Ian McDermid’s inspired Drunken Fry concept, the Rock Cafe reopened a year after a devastating fire thanks to the sheer will of owner Dawn Welch, La Baguette opened a second location, Peruvian food was introduced to the metro, Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond took the nation by storm, and I had the sincere privilege to make the acquaintance of  been introduced by the inspirational Kamala Gamble and a host of local producers around the state.

While all this was going on, I had a dark secret. I was moonlighting as editor of LOOKatOKC. That job had previously been held by a full-time employee, so I was essentially holding down two jobs. While food is my passion, music and entertainment aren’t far behind. Had that been my only job, I would’ve thoroughly enjoyed it. However, because of the time it took, I sometimes felt guilty that I wasn’t able to give either food coverage or LOOK, the attention they deserved.
Well, that’s changed now. Entertainment writer extraordinaire George Lang has taken over LOOK and I’m now a full-time Food Dude.
I’m spending this month assessing the past year’s coverage to formulate a plan for 2010.
That’s where I need your help.
How can I better serve you? Think big, be critical. It’s time to raise the bar, but I can’t lift it alone. Together, we can put Oklahoma City’s culinary scene on the national landscape. And no,  Jack in the Box coming to town isn’t the first step – but 4th meal just got some stiff competition.
Comment, call (405-475-3155) or email (dcathey@opubco.com) me your suggestions. I’d really appreciate it.

 After completing our latest podcast for “Top Chef,” I’m left with the question: Is this show jumping the shark?

Seriously, how do you send home a competitor with a chance to win versus one who has no chance to win?

If Henry Winkler shows up as a guest judge, we’ll have our answer. 

Hear all about it on the Top Chef Podcast.

Pasta with vodka sauce and chorizo

1 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 sm. onion, sliced
3 clove garlic, minced
1 (28 oz.) can crushed Italian plum tomatoes,
1 c. whipping cream
1/4 cup vodka
1 teaspoon. dried crushed red pepper
1 lb. pasta, I used a fusilli lunghi
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Minced fresh chives
1/4 pound Spanish chorizo, sliced thin
1-2 serrano chiles
Salt and pepper
Fresh basil, julienned

Melt butter with oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Sauté onions and garlic until translucent. Add tomatoes and simmer 15-20 minutes. Add cream, vodka and red pepper and boil until thickened to sauce consistency, about 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Lower heat until pasta is ready.
Cook pasta in large pot of boiling water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Drain well. Transfer to a large bowl.
While the pasta is cooking, fry the chorizo and peppers 3-4 minutes and set aside.

Pour sauce over pasta and toss well. Sprinkle with Parmesan and basil. Serve chorizo with individual servings.

Sorry, dude, no Central Market or Whole Foods in OKC. It’s Wal-Mart or bust. Ugh.

Anyway, he used shrimp instead of scallops for the first course, which I was lucky enough to sample. Wow. I left soon thereafter, worried I might attempt to tackle Tre for the leftovers. That would’ve ended badly for me. Have you seen the muscles on that guy?

Anyway, here’s the recipe:

Bacon-Scallion Risotto
4 ounces unsalted butter

¼ cup yellow onion, small diced

¾ cup carnanoli rice

5 cups chicken stock, plus reserved

¼ cup heavy cream

3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons apple-smoked bacon, diced and cooked till crisp.

¼ cup scallion, chopped fine

Salt and pepper to taste

→Melt butter slowly in heavy-bottom stockpot, saute onions over medium high heat for three minutes.

→Add rice. Toast for three to four minutes. Begin adding chicken stock a cup at a time, stir constantly.

→After last cup of stock has cooked away, finish risotto with cream, cheese, butter, bacon and scallion. Season with salt and pepper.

→Serve right away.

Pomegranate Brown Butter
4 ounces unsalted butter

3 tablespoons pomegranate juice

1 teaspoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons pomegranates

Salt to taste

→Brown butter over medium high heat. When butter is browned, strain through fine mesh strainer.

→Cool slightly, mix with remaining ingredients and season with salt.

→Keep warm until time to serve.

Scallops
6 each U-10 diver sea scallops, muscles removed

Grapeseed oil

Salt to taste

→Using hot pan, sear sea scallops in grapeseed oil until cooked to desired temperature.

→Serve right away.

→For the plate: In the bottom of small bowl, place a spoonful of the risotto. Spoon pomegranate brown butter around risotto. Top with one seared sea scallop and garnish with chervil sprig. Serve.

Copyright October 2008

As promised, here is the menu at Le Castle Dude of Food:

Caprese vs. Corinth vs. Culiacan Salad

1 sliced green onion

1 thinly sliced roma tomato

1 sliced serrano pepper

2 tablespoons Feta Cheese

1/2 teaspoon pink peppercorns

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar.

Salt and pepper.

Simply mix and serve.

Fusion of sausage, onion and peppers

4-6 ounces sliced Spanish chorizo

1/4 red onion or two shallots sliced

1-2 serranos sliced

1 teaspoon regular olive oil

Salt and pepper.

Slice the chorizo as thin as you can. Heat the oil then drop in the chorizo and saute on med-high heat about a minute. Flip the slices and add the onion and pepper. Salt and pepper and remove from heat just after the onions and peppers become translucent. Drain on a towel and serve on crusty bread with a dollop of the caprese.

I’ve always thought Ted was great, but he might not be the type of TV Bravo was looking for. Ted’s always been thoughtful, intellectual but not afraid to lend fair criticism.

Toby Young has made a career of more or less pissing off those around him. Methinks Bravo is seeking the “Puck Factor.”

Until last season, most of the contentiousness and conflict was between the contestants. Last season, some of the chefs took the judges to task, showing a new exploitative avenue.

Emotion is what puts the TV in Reality TV. Whether it’s weeping would-be pop divas or machine gun bleeping from an overwrought chef, outburst affect viewers. Once compelled, they’re lost forever.  It all goes back to Puck from the Real World. Oi.

But I haven’t even mentioned the new season’s biggest guest: New York City. Previous host cities have included Miami, Chicago, and San Francisco. All are respected restaurant cities and have their strengths, but none can compete with New York across the board.

It’s home city to all the judges and good portion not only of this year’s contestants but many from previous seasons, which means we can probably look forward to a lot of guest appearances.

Be sure to look for our “Top Chef” podcasts on Thursdays following the show. Links to it will be available on this blog.