Around The Table Radio

Chef John Besh Releases New Cookbook:Cooking from the Heart

Just before Christmas I wrote an article aboutthe new Besh Box initiative that Chef John Besh launched in November. The Besh Box isessentially a subscription-based, hand-picked gourmet cooking kit. You can read all aboutthe Besh Boxby clicking here:Chef John Besh's New Besh Box.

But the Besh Box wasn't the only thing that John launched in November. He also released his third cookbook:Cooking from the Heart: My Favorite Lessons Learned Along the Way.

John Besh is a local New Orleans boy, born and raised just east of here, in Slidell, LA. He is a successful restauranteur, running 8 restaurants in New Orleans and 1 in San Antonio. He is a recipient of the James Beard Award, a philanthropist, an author, a TV personality, a good Catholic, and a husband and father.John Besh is dedicated to his faith, to his family, to New Orleans and its culture and cuisine, to real food, to seasonal ingredients and to the message of the importance of families eating together around the table as often as possible.

Full show notes are available athttp://catholicfoodie.com.

Chef Micah Martello and the King Creole Food Truck

Chef Micah Martello has been in the food business for over 20 years. He's been an executive chef, a food and beverage director, and a restaurant owner. He now owns and operates a Louisiana-themed food truck in Burlington, NC.

Originally from Baton Rouge (we graduated high school together!), Micah spent time in New Orleans where he owned a restaurant called Nautical. That restaurant was named in Bon Appetit Magazine's "Best of the Year" in 1999. Micah arrived in Burlington, NC by way of Chapel Hill.

Restaurant life can be grueling, especially on young families. In order to devote more time to his family, Micah left the restaurant business for about 5 years. Starting a food truck was something that he has thought about for a while. He loves being a chef, and he figured that a food truck would allow him to practice his craft without being tied down to a restaurant. He was right. In the fall of 2012, the King Creole Food Truck was born.

"The food truck allows me to practice my craft without being tied down to a restaurant, plus it gives me direct interaction with my customers, which I love."

The name "King Creole" actually comes from a movie starring Elvis Presley that was released in 1958. And, for Micah, the name represents "Louisiana food." [Incidentally, Elvis sang a song in that movie called "Crawfish." I love that song! You can listen to it below.]

I just wrote an article this morning that explainsthe difference between Cajun and Creole cuisines. For most people who are not from here, those two cuisines seem like they are one and the same, like it's all just "Louisiana food." They are both tantalizing, and they both say "home" to me, but there are some definite distinctions. You can read about the differences here:Louisiana Cooking: Cajun or Creole?

"Don’t know what Creole is? Allow us to drop some knowledge on you. Louisiana Creole blends African, French, Italian, Native American, Spanish AND Portuguese flavors with good ol’ Southern cookin’. Sounds amazing, right? It is. King Creole creates our dishes from scratch using only the freshest local ingredients. We aim to please and to fill your stomach with the tastiest, most flavorful authentic cookin’ you’ll find in the Greensboro and Burlington, North Carolina area."

FULL SHOW NOTES CAN BE FOUND AT CATHOLICFOODIE.COM.

NOLA Chefs’ Aid for the Philippinesbrings together – here in our great city of New Orleans – our love of good food and our equally strong love of family and community.

We know what it is like to suffer. After eight years parts of our city are still recovering from Hurricane Katrina. Our suffering helps us to keep focused on what is most important in life, and it urges us to reach out with a helping hand to those who also suffer.

In response to the devastation wrought on the Philippines by Super Typhoon Haiyan, New Orleans chefs are banding together for an evening of food and fun, with all proceeds going directly to the Philippines where it is most needed.

Nina Camacho has assembled a fantastic team to help make this event a reality. Susan Ford, Publisher ofLouisiana Kitchen & Culture Magazine, Ewell Smith, former Executive Director of theLouisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board, and Wendy Waren, VP Communications for theLouisiana Restaurant Associationare working tirelessly to make this event a success.

In addition, the Executive Board of theAmerican Culinary Federation of New Orleans(ACFNO),Philippine American United Council of Louisiana(PAUCLA),Filipino American Lions Club of LA, andVice District Governor, 8-S, Lions Clubs International, Robert Romero and more will be volunteering their time, talent, and treasure for this event.

Ralph Brennan,Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group,GW Fins Executive Chef/Owner Tenney Flynn, andBrigtsen’s Executive Chef/Owner Frank Brigtsenwill be Co-Chef Chairs and over 30 chefs from around the state will be participating, lending their talents and spins on popular Filipino dishes.

Entertainment and Music for the evening will be headlined by Jazz TrumpeterDuke Heitger and Friends. A bit of Filipino culture will be included with cultural dance and costumes by all Filipinos present.

TheHilton New Orleans Riverside Hotelis a Platinum level sponsor and the event will be held in its Grand Ballrooms onDecember 16, 2013. Many have stepped up to donate food and spirits, and the event will have an extensive Silent Auction with something for everyone.

Tickets go on sale Tuesday, November 26 athttp://NOLAChefsAid.com.Donations will be accepted there as well. Donations can also be made online to our partnerhttp://NAFCONUSA.org.

Full show notes available athttp://catholicfoodie.com.

Food and Etiquette: HowChef Carolyn Shelton Makes a Difference in New Orleans

Originally from Lafayette, LA,Chef Carolyn Sheltonnow reside in New Orleans. She is a cookbook author, a caterer, and an advocate for opportunity youth. In addition to cooking demos and motivational speaking, she also teaches manners and etiquette to the youth of New Orleans. She is a woman of faith who understands the importance of family and that food is something that really brings people together.

Chef Carolyn Shelton Joins Us on Around the Table

It was a pleasure to have Chef Carolyn Shelton join us on Around the Table, and I want to thank her for sharing her faith and her passion for families and youth with us.

Full show notes are available athttp://catholicfoodie.com.

Loyola Pressis unveiling a new series that celebrates the many ways Catholics express their faith through the culinary arts. The collection of stories, calledFood and Faith,explores how we feed our spirituality at the intersection of food and faith, just in time for Thanksgiving.

Just last week Rosemary Lane from Loyola Press joined us on the Around the Table Food Show to give us a taste of the of the new Food and Faith series.

Full show notes available athttp://catholicfoodie.com.

Monsignor Christopher Nalty reports in live from Rome. We discuss Northern Italian cuisine, Boston, the Catholic New Media Conference, and a recipe for Basil Pesto.

You can find the full show notes athttp://CatholicFoodie.com.

Kuma's Corner and the "sacrilicious" Ghost Burger. Edita Krunic of Select International Tours. Food Meets Faith in the Holy Land. Travel with me to Israel on a unique pilgrimage experience.

Full show notes are available athttp://catholicfoodie.com

Scanio's vision and flavor for Delmonico is expressed through his creole heritage and fresh, clean, ingredient-based approach to cooking. He's returning to the roots of creole cooking—homey, approachable, fresh and diverse—and including ingredients and techniques that have been long forgotten to reinterpret the dishes for today's tastes, keeping in tradition with Chef Emeril's signature “new New Orleans” cuisine.

Full show notes can be found athttp://catholicfoodie.com.

This past Monday, David Dawson and I had the pleasure of pre-recording theAround The Table radio showin the test kitchen of Emeril's Homebase. Susan Ford, the publisher of Louisiana Kitchen & Culture Magazine, organized it all. This photo shoot was for the upcoming holiday issue of the magazine, which spans Thanksgiving and Christmas. The recipes in this issue alone will top 70.

Think about that for a moment.

Food magazine. Photo shoot... There must be food, right?

Yes, indeed, there was!

To see photos, and to read the rest of the story, go tohttp://catholicfoodie.com

Miraculously healed of a deadly blood disease, Chef Matt Murphy – originally from Ireland – went on to open The Irish House in New Orleans... a true Irish gastropub on St. Charles Avenue, right on the outskirts of the historic Irish Channel. Listen as Chef Matt recounts his miraculous healing, the love he has of his faith and his family, and his experience at winning last year on Food Network's Chopped.

The last line of his bio on his website sums Chef Matt up well...

Today, the most important thing to this bona-fide family man and unofficial ambassador of New Orleans, is to live, laugh, cook and always give back.

Full show notes can be found at CatholicFoodie.com.