Sunday, September 20, 2009

I need some HELP finding entertainment - foodie podcasts???

I have a full day in the kitchen planned for tomorrow. As regular readers saw yesterday, I went to the local farmer's market to stock up on spices. Tomorrow is going to be one of those weird experiment days. I have 10 different rubs to make, and 6 different BBQ sauces to make. Most are recipes from my Steven Raichlen, HOW TO GRILL book, and a few are my own recipes. I am going to cut up a pork tenderloin and sample each of the rubs on a piece, as well as a few pieces of fish, again with the appropriate rub. Should be able to make an interesting blog or two out of these efforts (and secondarily, will get some tasty food (and some less tasty food also). All this means hours and hours in the kitchen, dicing, mincing, blending and simmering.

I have an iPod. I love it. I have many playlists. Including one that is called, "Dave Cooks", filled with peppy entertaining songs that gives me stirring rhythms (Blame it on the Bossa Nova is great for slicing vegetables). I have over 1,000 songs on my iPod, but I have spent a great deal of time in the kitchen since starting this blog. I need something new. I have been looking for cooking podcasts to fill the time, but they are few and far between.

A brief word about podcasts if you have never heard them, you can listen through your computer without downloading into an iPod if you don't own one. Think talk radio, except they are very specialized. Podcasts can be about hobbies, travel, politics, current events, history... anything you can imagine probably has a podcast being done about the subject. Mostly, they are done by enthusiasts with little or now compensation. Like a food blog, most are labors of love. They are much more labor intensive than a food blog, and that is wherein lies the problem. Many are started well, with 5-10 episodes, but then the frequency drops out. Often dropping to nothing new for months at a time.

Sadly, I will name a name... I LOVE Rockin Ronnie Shewchuk. He has written a couple of GREAT cookbook, grilling guides. His book, PLANKING SECRETS is a great specialty book dealing with plank grilling (keep an eye out for my planking cooking coming soon) is the industries best. And his BARBECUE SECRETS DELUXE is also one of the best recipe books I have ever seen. All of his recipes and conversations are very easy and accessible to the average cook/griller (me). In fact, I considered doing his BBQ SECRETS book as my cook through project instead of the Raichlen book. He does great books. He started a podcast a few years ago, and the early episodes were terrific. Again, kind of a talk radio for grillers show. But in the last few years, his show, when updated, features Ronnie on other radio shows and not original content. Ronnie is certainly a busy man, and has many irons in the fire (excuse the pun), but I do wish there was more to his podcasts. It appears in the near future, there will not be any new original content, and I miss that. BTW, He does have a great website, with lots of recipes and is well worth the effort to find (click HERE for the link to his website). he also has a blog that he updates every week or so, and that can be found by clicking HERE. Ronnie is well worth hunting down, and what he does is excellent, but i do wish he would go back to the original format to the podcast.

On the opposite side of the spectrum of foodie podcasts, is a new guilty pleasure of mine, CRIMES AGAINST FOOD. Here's their tagline, "We’re all guilty of committing crimes against food from time to time. In this show Gloria and Mia take a look at some of the worst things people do to food. It’s time to discover just how wrong cheap pasta is.". It is two British ladies talking about the good, bad and mostly ugly world of food. Each week, they talk on a specific subject, from cakes to BBQ to soups to waiters, nothing in our world is safe from their scrutiny and analysis. It is a fun show, little (sometimes no) knowledge is actually dispensed, but it is fun. And the accents help fill in my inner dining with Emma Peel fantasy (for some reason I imagine them dining in 60's Go-Go boots). They add new content weekly and are very regular about their new shows, and ALWAYS entertaining. Occasionally the British words do not always match up with American terms (Crisps, chips and biscuits come to mind; and the insist that grilling is BBQ (and we all know that grilling is direct heat, hot and fast cooking; while BBQ is indirect heat low temperatures for a long time)). But with a little effort, you are all smart enough to figure things out. You can access their site by clicking HERE, and every episode is available for listening to directly (no need to download, no iPod needed).

My favorite foodie podcast is an old and reliable radio show that has evolved into a weekly podcast. The Restaurant Guys are Mark Pascal and Francis Schott. They have been in the restaurant and wine business on the high end for about 20 years each. They met in college and now own and operate Stage Left Restaurant in New Brunswick, NJ, one of the most highly regarded Contemporary American Restaurants on the East Coast. They also opened, Catherine Lombardi Restaurant, named for the owner's grandmother is among the best Italian restaurants in the northeast (and probably America, and maybe even the world). Their podcast will feature authors, chefs, store owners, artisan foodies and opinions on eating local, food quality and government control. Their site can be found by clicking HERE, again, you can listen to their episodes right from the computer and no iPod needed. They update weekly and are always entertaining. Well worth a listen...

But now, I am out of options for what to listen to tomorrow, and I will be in the kitchen for HOURS!

So, I am asking you all if there is something I am missing... Do you have a favorite podcast you listen to??? Alternatively, what is your favorite song to listen to while cooking???



11 comments:

  1. You know, I don't think I've ever listened to a pod cast period. I have no idea why... I just haven't gotten into them God knows I spend enough time in front of my computer so there is little reason...

    As for music, I have no sound system in my kitchen, and as I share a house with a roommate, this is unlikely to happen. It is MY DREAM however to have a kitchen with a killer sound system hooked into my iTunes! Sometimes I listen to my MP3 player while baking, though. It can get inconvenient at times though, and I've nearly melted the cord twice as it dangled while I took stuff out of the oven!

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  2. Your new header- the asparagus bundles.. I've made them with bacon, and also Parma ham. Love 'em! Pork tenderloin is tender, but sort of tasteless..probably any rub you use will help, but that's a great experiment!

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  3. i don't listen to podcasts....If I don't have access to my normal stuff or am bored with what I have, I put on Pandora.com

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  4. I listen to my Ipod a lot when I cook too, and have been looking for some more different kinds of music for the kitchen.

    I stumbled here from a post you left on Cooking Stuff. I will need to come back when I have more time to peruse your site!

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  5. Oh My God! What an interesting blog. I need time to absorb all of this. Thank you and thank you again for all of your NY suggestions. Somehow I know that your ideas are spot on. I am printing all of your links. I owe you a big THANK YOU! Will visit again when I get home.

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  6. I just stopped by to say hello and ended up on your followers list. That way I won't miss anything :-). Great blog.

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  7. I have an ancient cassette player/radio in my kitchen that picks up our 2 local Cajun radio stations. Of course, this is what I cook to! Very interesting post! Good luck in the kitchen, tomorrow, cher!

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  8. I've never listened to a podcast, so I can't recommend any. And come to think of it, I've never listened to music while cooking. Probably 'cause with the exhaust fan going, I can't hear anything at all. :-P

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  9. Thanks for visiting my site and glad to "meet" a former Illinoisan. I have many relatives in central Illinois,(Tuscola) and just visited there on my way home from a funeral.

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  10. Not a fan of any kind of distraction while I'm cooking, I'm afraid, so I can't offer any advice. It'll be interesting to see what you come up with though!

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  11. Not sure this classifies as a pod cast but check out Greg's weekly online bbq radio show:

    http://www.latalkradio.com/Greg.php

    Tonight it's chicken.

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