There are those nights where we search for comfort food… the type of food that soothes the soul and satisfies the palate.  Sometimes we dine out on these occasions, and other times, we need to go only as far as our own kitchens.  Tonight was the unusual and special circumstance where I got to enjoy both: good food in the company of friends and in the comfort of home… even though it wasn’t my own.  Tonight I enjoyed the culinary delights from the Starry Kitchen, an entrepreneurial venture from two people whose main goal is to share good food with good people.  Once or twice a week, Wyn & Thi Tran turn their small NoHo apartment into a mecca for home cooked food served with a homegrown attitude.  With order filled post-its lining the kitchen cabinet, Wyn & Thi serve food that tastes fantastic, with the simple desire that people enjoy the food.  And with a bunch of regulars who come back every week (many of whom I met tonight), it seems that the Starry Kitchen is becoming an addicitve habit for many.

Wyn, Me, & GQ

Tonight, Short Ribs were on the menu, and presented in 3 spectacular packages: tacos, burritos, or a sandwich.  With Korean BBQ, Taco Trucks, and street food becoming the latest trend in the L.A. food scene, it was a novel concept to get good food, at a good price, and not have to wait in line for an hour plus on somebody’s front lawn just to get dinner.  I started with the burrito, which was fantastic, and stuffed with short rib, kimchi fried rice, cabbage, carrots, and cilantro.  The burrito had wonderful flavor, with a nice smokiness coming from the short rib, combined with a spicy kimchi sticky fried rice and nice hint of cilantro for some depth and balance.  The cabbage and carrots gave the burrito some great crunch and provided a wonderful texture balance to the rest of the ingredients.

Up next was a pair of short rib tacos, served on crispy corn tortillas and no kimchi fried rice, the tacos had an identity all of their own, and with a garnish of lime, provided a wonderful balance of citrus and smoke.  If done wrong, grilled short rib can come out charred and overcrispy, but this meat had a tenderness that oozed natural juices that I was licking off my fingers by the end of the dish.  With a 3 hour service window, people have to get their food early, as the Starry Kitchen feeds the masses until their supply runs out.

a very tasty burrito

I will dream about these tacos...

Although I left the comfort of my friends’ kitchen before closing time, there was a line of people waiting for food, while Wyn took orders and Thi kept serving up delicious food.  It’s a 2-person operation, and a complete team effort.  Both Wyn & Thi just seem to love sharing their food with their customers, and you can tell there is some special emotion put into each and every bite.  With a small box on the table requesting donations, customers respectfully oblige, and seem happy to contribute to helping Wyn & Thi keep this operation afloat.  The coolest thing about the Starry Kitchen is that the menu is always changing.  Although the packaging is always the same (burritos, tacos, or sandwiches), the ingredients always change, and Thi comes up with an array of Pan-Asian cuisine that keeps people coming back for more.  Whether it’s Sundays from 12pm-3pm, or select weeknights from 6pm-9pm, the Starry Kitchen has tapped into why people love home cooked food, and it seems people will keep coming back for more.  Before the dinner rush, Thi had some time to sit down with Wyn and I and sample her own creation.  Thi, who began this business after being laid off from her job, has found something that truly makes her happy, and you can see it whether she’s eating it herself, or serving it to the line of people who stand outside her sliding glass door waiting for a home cooked meal.  I would like to thank my friends for serving me up some amazing cuisine, and I can’t wait to see what’s on the menu for next week.  Check ‘em out at www.starrykitchen.com, and tell them the Kosher Pig sent you…

KFC ain't got nothin' on these finger lickin' good foods...

GQ requests donations from Starry Kitchen patrons

Chef Thi grubbing on a short rib burrito before the dinner rush

Some thoughts…

A year ago today, I stepped into a kitchen for the first time as a cook, and it has been a wild ride ever since.  When I got into this business, I had no idea it would transport me to the stages of the Food Network, but I am so happy it did.  As I said in the final episode, looking back, I may have done one or two things differently, but I have no regrets about the decisions I made and I stand behind every dish I put on a plate.  I am proud that I stood up there and took the punches that were thrown at me like a man, even if I did get knocked out earlier than I expected.

When I applied for the show, I had 3 goals: 1) Make the show, 2) Win a challenge, and 3) WIN!  Oh well, 2 out of 3 ain’t bad, and although I didn’t end up the winner, I never thought my recipe would have ended up in the pages of Esquire magazine, and I am proud to say that I will always be able to take that with me.  In fact, go buy that issue right now! I promise you will never look at brussel sprouts the same way…

To this day, I still don’t feel that I deserved to go home, and truthfully, it was kind of hard to swallow.  I won a challenge, never cooked raw food, and I still was questioned for my culinary authority.  How do you win a challenge and still end up in the bottom 3?  At the same time, I obviously didn’t show the judges the consistency they were looking for, and they sent me packing.  It just makes me hungry to become a better chef and to never stop learning about food.

Looking back at the experience as a whole, I have absolutely no regrets and loved every minute that I was there.  I will always remember our “family” dinners at the end of our long and exhausting days, sitting around the table, sharing stories, and just enjoying spending time together.  I will always remember chatting it up with Duff Goldman and Alex Guarnaschelli at the Sweet 16 party (which was my 30th birthday), and if either of them are ever looking for an extra pair of hands, I would love the chance to make some awesome cakes with Duff, and cook with Alex in a kitchen as beautiful as the one in Butter restaurant.  The baby blue jars containing all of the spices is a memory that will always be in the back of my mind.  I will always remember the excitement I felt when I was told I won the Esquire challenge, and I will always remember the disappointment I felt when I was told my Valentine’s Day dinner fell short.  I will always remember Michael screaming about his desire for a pony, Jeffrey and I sparring to work off some excess energy, or power walking with Jamika around the stove top in the green room before a challenge.  Most of all, I will always remember the friends that I made from this experience.  To Michael, Jamika, Teddy, Brett, Melissa, Jeffrey, Jen, Katie, and Debbie: I love all of you and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for all of us.  You all have a special place in my heart and you are all Stars in my book!

Now that the show is done, I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for me.  Since returning to L.A., I have been working in various restaurants around Los Angeles, and have also had the opportunity to cater a few private parties.  I definitely missed being in the kitchen, and it’s nice to be back in the groove with my face to fire.  My summer is looking pretty fantastic.  I have been doing a bunch of demos, will be traveling around the country visiting with a few different chefs and sampling some food, and will finish my summer in Washington D.C. for a week in late July to cook with Teddy Folkman, who I am proud to say has become one of my great friends.  I can’t wait to be in the middle of a dinner rush, back to back, laughing hysterically, while putting out truly amazing food together… It’s gonna be a blast!  I also have a new website: www.foods4dudes.com, which is dedicated to everything and anything related to food.  Recipes, blogs, you name it, I’m doing it!  I am also providing private chef services for bachelor and bachelorette parties, so if you have any friends getting married, give me a holler and we’ll make it a night that they will never forget!  As far as the rest of my future, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see… something tells me that food is going to play a pretty big role in my life and I promise that this is not the last that you have heard from me.  This experience was the birth of my culinary career, and even though I am a kid at heart, I can’t wait to grow up!

Finally, and most importantly, I would like thank everyone in my life who has supported me over the past 6 months.  To my family, my friends, Kit, and anyone else who has sent me good vibes from afar, thank you for being a positive force in my life.  You have no idea how inspirational you have all been.  You have all given me the power to believe that anything is possible and that I can achieve anything if I put my mind to it.  I would also like to thank everyone at the Food Network for giving a young aspiring chef the opportunity to shine.  To Bob, Susie, and Chef Flay: thank you for your honesty, your feedback, and your support.  Hopefully I’ll have the chance to see you all again in the future.

See you on the flipside and don’t forget to play with you food!

check out some new recipes in the Dude Foods section… from Roast Chicken (2 legs), to my Brussel Sprout & Bacon Hash (Rabbit Food), to Pulled Pork (4 legs), I am positive you will find some good stuff to try at home.

Traditional Creole Rubs are a mixture of salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, onion powder, chili powder, cayenne pepper, dried oregano, and dried thyme.  I like using a combination of all these ingredients, but there is never a specific ratio for me.  I am a big salt freak, so I always make sure to cover the pork butt liberally with salt.  I like to use Kosher Salt, as the flakes give you a better visual of how much you are using, and tends to be less strong than sea salt or regular iodized salt.  I am also a huge fan of Tony Chachere’s Orginal Creole Seasoning, which is a combination of salt, crushed red pepper, garlic, and other spices.  You can always use this as a base for your rub, and then add salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

1. Season the pork liberally on all sides and set aside.

2. In a dutch oven (I prefer cast iron), brown the pork on all sides and set aside.  Make sure the brown the pork in batches.  Too much meat in the dutch oven at once will create steam, and not allow the meat to sear properly.

3. Once all pieces of pork are browned, deglaze the dutch oven with Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey and scrape all of the fond off the bottom of the pot.  Once the pot has been completely deglazed, return the pork to the dutch oven, and fill the pot halfway up the meat with a mixture of milk, whiskey, soy sauce, and honey.  It is very important not to have too much liquid in the pot.  A proper braise will have the braising liquid covering half of the meat, while the other half will be exposed to the air.

4. Add trimmed leeks (whites and pale green parts only), onions, carrots, celery, shallots, and garlic to the pot.  Cover with lid or aluminum foil and put in oven at 275-300 degrees.  Proper braising temperatures are between 275 to 325 degrees.  Once the dish has been in the oven for about 30 minutes, take it out and check it.  Make sure the dish is at a low simmer.  If it is boiling, reduce the heat accordingly.

5. The dish will take about 3 hours to cook completely.  Every hour, turn the meat so the side that was submerged under the braising liquid will be exposed to the air.  Repeat this step every hour until pork is falling apart when touched.

6. Remove pork from dutch oven and reduce braising liquid by half.  Pull pork apart into think shreds and set aside.  Once liquid has reduced, pour braising liquid in top of pork.  Taste and add seasoning if needed.

For the BBQ Sauce

1. Roast two bulbs of garlic in oven at 350 degrees in foil with olive oil, salt, and pepper.

2. Take one pineapple, core, and cut into small pieces.  Saute pineapple chunks in 2 TBSP of butter for a few minutes.  Add apple cider vinegar and reduce.  Once reduced, add roasted garlic and your favorite bbq sauce to pan, reduce heat and simmer. Simmer for about 5-10 minutes until all falvors have had chance to incorporate with each other.  Mash together or puree to desired consistency.  Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if needed.

** Find your favorite roll, pile on some pork, add some sauce, and grub your face off!!! **

2 pounds carrots

2 large leeks (chopped – white and pale green parts only)

2 TBSP chopped garlic

4 teaspoons ground cumin

2-3 TBSP finely chopped peeled ginger

3 TBSP stick of butter

5 cups of chicken or vegetable stock

1 lemon

salt and pepper

creme fraiche or sour cream

1. Heat butter in pan over medium heat, add carrots and leeks, and saute unti leeks begin to soften (about 5 minutes).

2. Add garlic and saute for about 1 minute.

3. Add cumin and ginger and saute for another minute.

4. Add stock and bring to boil.  Reduce heat and simmer uncovered until vegetables are very tender (about 35 minutes).

5. Working in batches, puree soup in blender until smooth.  Season to taste with salt, pepper, and the juice of half of one small lemon.

6. Refrigerate for about 4 hours until cold (keep in fridge overnight is possible)

7. Transfer to serving bowls and top each with dollop of creme fraiche or sour cream.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a skillet over medium-high heat, cook 6 strips bacon (diced) just until the edges start to crisp. Remove to a paper-towel-lined plate. Reserve the fat. • Wipe skillet clean and return to medium-high heat. Melt 1 tbsp butter. Add a chopped shallot and cook until translucent, about three minutes. Coarsely chop 1 leek (white and light-green parts only) and 1 lb brussels sprouts,* and slice 1 scallion (white part only). Add to skillet and cook until the vegetables begin to soften, about ten minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add half a bottle of Jamaican lager, so that half of the hash is in liquid. Bring to a simmer and reduce until almost all the liquid is gone. Add the bacon, another tbsp butter, and reduce heat to low, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes.

Stir in another tbsp butter, up to 2 tbsp of the reserved bacon fat, 1 tbsp whole-grain mustard, and 1 tsp Dijon mustard, and sauté a few minutes more. Total cooking time for the hash is about 30 minutes. · Divide hash onto two plates. Place steaks on top and spoon on some chutney. Serve with more lager. Serves two.

* You can use a food processor to quickly chop the brussels sprouts and leeks. Just don’t pulverize them — a few pulses and they’re good. Otherwise they’ll get mushy.

If you have ever been to San Francisco, you have to swing by Zuni Cafe on Market Street.  They have the most amazing Roast Chicken that will absolutely blow your mind… trust me, your tastebuds will thank you.  When buying a chicken, try purchasing a 3-4 pund roaster, preferably cage free and organic… you will taste the difference.  Mary’s Chickens, which you can find at Whole Paycheck, are air chilled, and are truly succulent and delicious.

1. Season chicken with salt and pepper.  As a guide, use 1 TBSP of salt for every pound of the chicken.  Season the inside of the cavity as well.  You can always add more seasoning if you feel the chicken needs more.  Let the chicken sit over night, or at least 5 hours to ensure the seasoning permeates the chicken.

2. Take the chicken out of the fridge and make small pockets between the skin and meat near the breasts and thighs and stuff little bundles of sage, rosemary, and thyme in the pockets.  In addition, stuff budles of the same herbs inside the cavity, as well as cut up 2-3 meyer lemons in slices and stuff the cavity of the chicken full of lemons.

3. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees and put a sheet pan and a roasting grill in the oven for about 20-30 minutes.  Once extremely hot, take the sheet pan out of the oven, put the chicken on the hot roasting grill, breast side down.  You will hear the chicken skin start to sear as you put the chicken back in the oven, which means you are off to a good start.

4.  Once the chicken is in the oven for twenty minutes, flip the chicken over so the breasts are now up, and cook for another 20 minutes.  Once another 20 minutes passes (which should now be at the 40 minute mark), flip the chicken over again, breast side down.  The skin of the chicken should be turning golden brown, and the smell of the meyer lemons and sage should be permeating the air with a heavenly aroma.  Cook for another 20-25 minutes, then remove from the oven and set aside.

5. Deglaze the sheet pan with your favorite liquor (I like bourbon), and transfer the jus into a small serving bowl.  Remove the lemons from the cavity, cut the chicken into pieces, and serve.

Last week, I headed back to Tennessee for a few days to visit with some friends, eat some good southern cooking, and catch some truly spectacular music.  After spending a good chunk of my life in the south, there is a part of me that craves to be back where biscuits, pulled pork, and pabst blue ribbon are staples of the diet.  My best friend Trey picked me up at the airport and the fun began: lunch of pulled pork, mac & cheese, and pabst.  There is absolutely nothing that brings me back to southern cooking than this grouping of food and drink.

there is no such thing as too much goodness

Up next, a little wakeboarding, and no… we didn’t wait 30 minutes before getting in the water.  I haven’t gone wakeboarding since summer camp when I was 13, but I couldn’t resist.  With the speedboat growling, and the music pumping through the speakers,  I jumped into the water and just tried to hold on… I managed to get up on the board, attempted to look cool, and then ate the water a few times…  What an absolute blast!

I'm turning pro in 3 weeks...

maybe not...

After we got out of the water, we headed to Thompon-Boling Arena, witnessed Phish rock the joint, and after dancing my ass off for about 3 hours, headed back home.  Everyone was exhausted, but we all had a blast… Sitting with your boys you remember the good times… where it all started.  Throwing back beers, telling stories, and just enjoying each other’s company… There is nothing better… Even the cat got involved in the drinking.

Commander Zulu enjoys his PBR tallboys...

Hello all,

Well, episode 2 was quite a ride… winning Esquire in the beginning, and then facing elimination at the end.  I have to be honest, I didn’t think I deserved to be in the bottom 3 again… especially since I had won the previous challenge.  But, I guess that’s why I am the contestant and they are the judges…  I mean, c’mon!  To this point, there have been 3 challenges, I have won one of them them, never cooked raw food, and never had difficulty plating my dishes in the time allowed… Oh well, just try and live to fight another day.

On a more positive note, I have attached the link for the winning recipe from the challenge: Grilled New York Strip Steak with my Tennessee Drunken Braised Brussel Sprout & Bacon Hash, topped with a spicy Caribbean chutney.  I hope you enjoy it.

These ain't your momma's brussel sprouts!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a skillet over medium-high heat, cook 6 strips bacon (diced) just until the edges start to crisp. Remove to a paper-towel-lined plate. Reserve the fat. • Wipe skillet clean and return to medium-high heat. Melt 1 tbsp butter. Add a chopped shallot and cook until translucent, about three minutes. Coarsely chop 1 leek (white and light-green parts only) and 1 lb brussels sprouts,* and slice 1 scallion (white part only). Add to skillet and cook until the vegetables begin to soften, about ten minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add half a bottle of Jamaican lager, so that half of the hash is in liquid. Bring to a simmer and reduce until almost all the liquid is gone. Add the bacon, another tbsp butter, and reduce heat to low, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes.

Smear 1 tbsp softened butter all over 2 New York strip steaks (about 1 lb each), then season liberally with salt and pepper. Grill in an ovenproof pan just to sear, then place in the oven and cook until desired doneness — about eight minutes for medium rare. Remove and let rest ten minutes before serving.

Meanwhile, in a skillet over medium heat, melt 1 tbsp butter, then add 1 orange (chopped), 1 apple (peeled, cored, and diced), half a mango (diced), 0.5 tsp minced ginger, and another chopped shallot. Cook until everything starts to soften, about five minutes. Add a pinch of cinnamon, a few dashes of Sriracha hot sauce, a splash of lager, and 0.5 tsp of the reserved bacon fat. Reduce the heat and let simmer until the fruit is soft and has the consistency of chunky jam, about ten minutes. Drink the rest of the beer.

To the hash, stir in another tbsp butter, up to 2 tbsp of the reserved bacon fat, 1 tbsp whole-grain mustard, and 1 tsp Dijon mustard, and sauté a few minutes more. Total cooking time for the hash is about 30 minutes. · Divide hash onto two plates. Place steaks on top and spoon on some chutney. Serve with more lager. Serves two.

* You can use a food processor to quickly chop the brussels sprouts and leeks. Just don’t pulverize them — a few pulses and they’re good. Otherwise they’ll get mushy.

4 6-ounce Salmon filets

1-2 Shallots (small dice)

1/2 Cup White Wine Vinegar

2 Cups Heavy Cream

1 Vanilla Bean

1-2 Threads of Saffron

3 TBSP Unsalted Butter

1 Lemon

Salt & Pepper

VANILLA SAFFRON SAUCE

1.  Melt 1 TBSP of butter and sweat shallots until translucent.  Add vinegar, bring to simmer, and reduce.  Add cream, saffron thread(s) and vanilla bean*. Reduce to nappe**.

* Before adding the vanilla bean to the sauce, slice the vanilla bean lengthwise and peel open to expose the vanilla seeds inside the pod.

** Nappe is the desired consistency of the sauce.  To test, dip a spoon in the sauce and cover.  Draw a line in the sauce on the back of the spoon.  If the sauce does not run below the line, the sauce has reached the desired consistency.

SALMON

1. Brush salmon filets with a little bit of olive oil and season with salt & pepper.

2. Place filets on hot grill, skin side down, and cook to medium (about 4 minutes per side).

PLATING

1. Take vanilla saffron sauce and spoon over salmon filets.  Garnish with vanilla bean or lavender (pictured).