When you change your lifestyle, you change your life. And perhaps my recent lifestyle change has overturned my life as a foodie – in a good way, of course.

On my road to better health (and better shape) I’ve learned many things. I’ve learned how to maximize my time on the bicycle or in running shoes to burn as many calories as I can, in as little time as possible. I’ve learned about life balance, good fat versus bad, how to raise my metabolism, and when my body is most susceptible to burning fat.

But the most important lesson? That eating more often helps you lose weight. They say that weight loss takes baby steps. It also takes baby meals – several of them a day. Forget the fat burning pills, the special diets, the shakes. All you need is to stock your house with fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, and protein. It’s something I’ve known for years. I just didn’t listen until now.

Download Episode 95

In this episode:
• The hot dog truck hooker
• Evil Cousin IPA from Heretic Brewing
• How I raised by metabolism, got my life back, and stayed a foodie
• Chris Cosentino no longer wishes to be on TV
• The good and bad thing about Food Network
• Add another food writer to Bourdain’s shit list
• Cosentino’s book “Beginnings”is available now, and it’s not what you expect

Watch the rejected TV pilot for Cosentino’s show “Chef Unleashed”:

Pea porn. Get them while they’re fresh.

Music from this episode:

This episode has more to do with the fact that I like to eat rabbit than it does my disdain for Easter. But I do dislike what Easter has become. All of the pastel colors, cute drawings of bunnies, pink shit every where you look – it’s as if the inventors of “Candyland” had something to do with it.

Granted, Easter is well behind us, but I still felt it necessary to share one of my favorite preparations of rabbit with you – Lapin Aux Olives, courtesy of Anthony Bourdain and Les Halles. It’s incredibly simple to prepare, tastes delicious, and can be made with chicken if you have an aversion to eating a cute little bunny. Although they’re not so cute once you skin them.

Download Episode 94

In this episode:
• Servers in LA restaurants are most likely not “lifers”
• The Linkery and San Diego in general are getting everything right
• SHIFT from New Belgium
• Lapin Aux Olives (rabbit with olives)
• Mad Cow Disease rears its ugly head, yet again
• The Michigan DNR hates freedom and heritage breed hog farmers. Ugliness ensues.

Here’s your shopping list for the Lapin Aux Olives recipe:

4 rabbit legs – or chicken legs if you wish
1 small onion, coarsely chopped
1 small carrot, coarsely chopped
1 rib celery, coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs thyme plus one sprig leaves only, finely chopped
1 sprig rosemary plus one sprig leaves only, finely chopped
1 sprig parsley plus one sprig leaves only, finely chopped
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
1½ cups white wine
Salt and pepper
¼ cup flour for dredging plus 1 tablespoon flour for sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon tomato paste
¼ cup red wine vinegar
2 cups chicken stock
¼ pound green olives, pitted

Support the artists and buy music from this episode:

Renegade [hed pe]

Feasting With Panthers [bombay dub orchestra]

Let’s face it. They call these things “Nasty Bits” for a reason. Perhaps it’s the physical connection that we have with certain parts of our own bodies that make the idea of eating those same parts from an animal a complete turnoff. We’re all used to the flavor of steaks, loins, chops, legs, and breasts. But the off-flavors of internal organs like kidneys, liver, and heart are off-putting for most. Yet, there are those that will still eat them.

So what’s the problem with eating things like brains, reproductive organs, or tongue? Maybe because we can’t get over the idea that this was once a part of the animal that they used every day – even relied on it. We all have a tongue in our mouths. We use it every day, couldn’t live without it. So the idea of someone eating our tongue after we’ve expired makes the idea of eating an animal’s tongue repellent. Who knows where that thing has been?

After the first of the year, I said that 2012 would be a year for the Odd Bitsby Jennifer McLagan. Having tackled pig ears in January, it was time to tackle another part of the animal that I’ve never cooked before. The only debate was how I would prepare it. I’m not simply going to boil tongue and serve it. It has to have some curb appeal. And there’s no better way to make food interesting than to make it part of a taco. Sure, it’s all about the main ingredient, but sometimes those ingredients need help. Besides, there’s nothing more fun to eat than a taco.

Yeah, that looks delicious, doesn’t it? That thick skin, the taste buds – it’s a bumpy looking beast. But underneath that thick casing is firm meat, and it’s loaded with flavor. So how do we cook it? Boiling is the often suggested method, but we definitely want to make sure it’s seasoned properly. I decided to poach it. The tongue is a thick organ, so you really cannot overcook it.

Thomas Keller has a recipe for tongue, as does McLagan. I used a hybrid of both of their recipes to poach my tongue. I placed the tongue in a large saucepan, then added the following:

1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
1 medium leek, sliced (white parts only)
6 black peppercorns
6 allspice berries
2 bay leaves
4 stems of fresh parsley
3 sprigs of fresh thyme
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup of sea salt

Then I added just enough cold water to cover the tongue.

I covered the pot, put the heat on medium low, and let it all simmer for 3 hours. It was then that I started to pierce the tongue with a metal skewer at its thickest part (near the back of the tongue). You’ll know when the tongue is cooked through when the skewer comes out without a lot of resistance. When it was ready, I turned the heat off, removed the tongue from the pot, rinsed it in cold water, and set it aside.

Appetizing, right?

I strained the broth, reserving the liquid in a separate container. It was now time for the critical task of removing the skin from the tongue which has to be done while the tongue is still hot. Wait too long and the skin firms up, making its removal very difficult. It doesn’t take a lot of work to make this thing look worse than it already does. One of the reasons why you really want to cook the hell out of the tongue is because the longer you cook it, the easier than outer layer of skin will be to remove. As it was, a very sharp blade running just underneath the skin made this part of the job very quick and easy.

Since I wasn’t going to be making these tacos until the next day, I put the skinned tongue into the reserved broth and refrigerated it overnight. The longer the tongue sits in this flavorful broth, the better. The tongue can be kept refrigerated for up to 4 days in this liquid.

When it was time to make the “tacos” I removed the tongue from the refrigerator, allowed it to come to room temperature, then made a couple of cups of small dices. The tongue had been cooked through quite well, so this was a very easy job. The tongue had the consistency of cooked liver. It even tasted like it.

I wanted a nice sauce to go with these tacos, so I dug into Bobby Flay’s Boy Gets Grill cookbookfor an Avocado-Tomatillo sauce. It’s no secret that I like Flay. I think he’s one of the only things the Food Network has going in its favor. His how-to shows on grilling remain some of my favorite shows on that network. And the man knows how to drink.

For Bobby’s Avocado-Tomatillo sauce:

8 tomatillos, husked and rinsed
2 jalapeño chiles
1/2 cup mild vegetable oil
salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons honey
4 ripe avocados, halved, peeled, pitted, and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 small red onion
1/4 cup freshly chopped cilantro leaves

I halved the tomatillos, then brushed them and the jalapeños with vegetable oil, seasoned with salt and pepper, and grilled them over hickory wood until everything had a nice char on them.

I removed everything from the grill and coarsely chopped the tomatillos, adding them to the blender. I stemmed, seeded, and chopped the chiles and threw those into the blender too. Then I added the lime juice and honey. I capped the blender and blended it until smooth. Then I started pouring the vegetable oil into the blender at a slow pace until everything emulsified perfectly. I transferred this to a bowl, folded in the avocados, onion, and cilantro. I seasoned this to taste with salt and pepper. And that’s my sauce.

For the actual taco shell, I decided to use flat bread cut into rounds. We have a new market that has opened up near us that not only sells farm fresh produce, fresh cheese, and a very wide variety of middle eastern specialty items, but they make fresh flatbread all day long. You can walk into this place any time of the day, and there you’ll see this guy working his magic on a very large circular oven. The flatbread is cheap, fresh, and delicious. And I knew it would be the perfect compliment to this dish. Besides, who says a taco has to use a corn tortilla?

Setting up my prep station was easy. I had the flat bread rounds, avocado-tomatillo sauce, meat, crumbled queso fresco, and fresh sprigs of cilantro. To prepare, it was a matter of placing a small amount of sauce on the flatbread, adding 2 tablespoons of diced tongue meat, topped with a little more sauce, queso fresco, and a piece of cilantro. The sauce is flavorful, so too much of that will overpower everything else. Striking a balance is key, as always.

To me, the tongue tasted a lot like cooked liver. The poaching liquid enhanced the flavor quite a bit and maybe made the meat taste less earthy than it would have otherwise. It was very flavorful, far more powerful than most other parts of the animal (steaks, chops, etc).

Was it worth the effort? Absolutely. I’m unapologetic when it comes to being a carnivore, and I want to experience more parts of the animal than just the few select cuts we’re used to eating – not only out of respect for the animal who gave its life for us, but for the sheer understanding of why people have been eating this way for hundreds of years. The more I taste these odd bits, the more I come to realize the importance of using every piece of an animal that has been raised and slaughtered for food.

I’m already looking forward to the next challenge and tasting what I’ve been missing.

Imagine a farm-to-table lunch spot in the heart of the craft beer movement of San Diego, with an amazing beer list (constantly updated), proudly serving their house cured charcuterie using locally sourced ingredients from farms and producers that they also feature on a chalk board in the dining area.

Imagine that. Then visit The Linkery at 3794 30th Street in Downtown San Diego and experience it for yourself.

From a pile of cheese fries topped with a fried hen egg from a local farm, house-cured bacon, longanzina and San Diego avocados, to house-made chicharrón pork sausage tacos, The Linkery provided a refreshing twist to an ordinary lunch break.

Visit their web site at thelinkery.com.

I get it a lot. “How do you know that you don’t like things if you haven’t tasted them?” True. Everything deserves a chance, right?

On today’s show, I’ll fix all of that. I taste it, drink it, cook it, and live with the consequences. From a beer I swear would never pass my lips, a hamburger from the Evil Empire, to a recipe from a Food Network personality I never thought I’d give a second thought to – I give everything a chance this time.

Download Episode 93

In this episode:
• Jiro Dreams of Sushi is a must-see documentary. No sh!t.
• BEER REVIEW: Bud Light Platinum
• The drinking club with a running problem
• IN THE KITCHEN: Sandra Lee’s French Pork Chops are mmm-mmm-bad!
• Jamie Oliver’s Chicken Nuggets Experiment
• FOOD REVIEW: McDonald’s Angus Supreme Burger

Buy the music:

DIY by Savoy

The Geometer of Dreams by Darshan Ambient

Walking On A Dream by Empire of the Sun

With St. Patrick’s Day falling on a Saturday this year, it’s more important than ever to remember that drinking and driving don’t mix. So if you’re out having a good time this weekend, keep in mind that your safety, and the safety of others, hang in the balance if you get behind the wheel of a car over the legal limit. I know it sounds like an old record, but if you drink, please don’t drive.

We’re celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with a beer-centric feast this year. In a recent guest blog post I wrote for One For The Table, I shared the recipe for beer-braised corned beef with an IPA mustard. I’m sharing that with you as well on this week’s show. See the recipe below. In addition, one of my favorite carbo-loads of all time – Colcannon. It’s an Irish potato classic that you’ll love as a side dish, or on its own.

Download Episode 92

In this episode:
• Drinking and driving is for chumps
• Braised corned beef with IPA mustard
• “G’Knight” from Oskar Blues (formerly “Gordon”)
• Colcannon
• Andrew Zimmern going into politics?
• “Food Blogging for Dummies” Seriously?
• Marilyn reviews The Olive Garden causing food bloggers to shit their cage
• Samuel Adams 26.2 Brew hits the Boston Marathon

Music in this episode by Bluefish.

RECIPES

Colcannon
3 pounds potatoes
1 stick of butter
1 1/4 cups hot milk
Freshly ground black pepper
1 head cabbage, cored and finely shredded
1 pound of ham or bacon
4 scallions, finely chopped
Chopped parsley leaves for garnish

It’s a hot topic in our country – its reform being one of the foundations of the current White House administration. Healthcare is often misunderstood. Why is it so expensive? What’s wrong with the proposed “Obamacare” universal healthcare system? Why won’t socialized medicine work in the United States?

It took me 91 episodes, but I’ve finally talked my wife Katrina into joining the show and answering all of these questions, shedding light on how and why healthcare costs what it does, and what opportunities there are for us to lower our healthcare premiums. In addition, she shares the story of one Cleveland employer who has found a way to give its employees a way to lower their healthcare costs by living healthier lifestyles.

Given the direction this podcast is heading, that’s a win-win for everyone.

Download Episode 91

In this episode:
• How the Taste Awards has affected the future of the show
• Just Outstanding IPA from Kern River Brewing
• Sam Calagione drops the boot on Beer Advocate beer snobs
• Everything you wanted to know about healthcare
• Black Truffles – are they worth the expense?
• Hello Kitty Dreams Restaurant opens in Beijing
• The chicken nuggets school lunch fiasco
• Bobby Flay and Giada DeLaurentiis are the new “Regis & Kelly”
• This man walks into Heart Attack Grill . . . .

Music in this episode by Samantha James.

This week on Out To Lunch, we visit Watermarc Restaurant in Laguna Beach for some off-the-charts gourmet burgers and fries.

When Don tells you that he’s taking you for a “light lunch” it’s a good idea to give thought to what he considers a “light lunch.” Burgers with toppings like duck confit, brie, caramelized onions, bacon, gorgonzola horseradish cream, and aioli are hardly for the “light” crowd.

With an incredible assortment of well thought out small plates, you don’t have to feel compelled to go crazy like we did. Caprese with burrata, ahi watermelon skewers, smoked bacon wrapped dates, oysters, mussels, and so many more grazing plates are another way to experience the brilliant offerings from Chef de Cuisine Kiel Andersen.

Located at 448 South Coast Highway in Laguna Beach, California, Watermarc is the perfect stop for a business lunch, happy hour (when all burgers are HALF OFF), or for a quick glass of beer or wine. Stick around long enough and you might even recognize a Real Housewife of Orange County. For more information, visit their web site watermarcrestaurant.com

Introducing a new segment of My Life as a Foodie – Out To Lunch. In each episode, we’ll visit a new lunch spot that I like, give you an idea of what they serve, and how much lunch costs.

In this episode of Out To Lunch we visit 101 Noodle Express located at 5408 Walnut Avenue in Irvine, CA.

This chinese eatery is open everyday from 9 am to 10 pm, specializing in noodles, dumplings, xiao long bao (which are soup dumplings that squirt hot soup all over you if bitten into too quickly – just ask Don), and an assortment of other types of chinese soups with regular or hand torn noodles.

When we closed the year a few years ago, I projected that food trucks would be the next big trend in food. That happened, although I didn’t care for the outcome. Whether or not that trend continues in 2012, I have a feeling that another trend is about to really catch on and I’m far more excited about it than eating really good food on the curb of a dirty street off of paper plates and plastic utensils.

Enter the world of nose to tail eating. This year on the show, we’ll be eating every part of the pig but the oink.

I feel so strongly about this trend catching on this year that I’m coming right out of the gate cooking pig ears and sharing a terrific recipe for cold pig ear salad. It’s pure gelatinous goodness that only pig ears can provide. The recipe for both the court bouillon (a staple broth for cooking the “nasty bits”) and the actual salad can be found below, complete with pictures. It comes courtesy of Jennifer McLagan and her book “Odd Bits: How to cook the rest of the animal.” If you’re interested in nose-to-tail eating and really like food porn, you can buy her book from amazon.com below.

Download Episode 90

In this episode:
• All of you in the Facebook Group make me so proud. You get it. You truly get it.
• Why the nose to tail movement makes sense
• Kim Jon Il was a foodie. Who knew?
• More Brown Than Black IPA from The Alchemist / Ninkasi / Stone Brewing
• Applebee’s parody: “Cheese on Queso on Fromage Menu”
• Chipotle CEO wants your kids to get to work so he doesn’t have to hire illegals
• In The Kitchen: Cold Pig Ear Salad
• McDonald’s in Germany pisses of Burger King
• Food Illness Mystery Solved: The FDA has been hiring state inspection agencies all this time.

Court Bouillon recipe

In a large stockpot, add the following:
5 cups water
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
1 shallot, sliced
1 stalk celery, sliced
lemon zest
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
1 large sprig thyme
1 fresh bay leaf
10 black peppercorns
4 cloves
sea salt to taste

Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook over medium-low heat for 20 minutes. Allow to cool, then strain. Reserve the bouillon for future use.

Cold Pig Ear Salad

Start with a couple of fresh pig ears. If you’re not into gagging or puking while you cook, have your butcher clean out the ear wax and shave them for you. Just tell him to hold the Barbasol.

Heat the bouillon to a low boil, then add a couple of pig ears.

Cover and poach the pig ears for 1 1/2 to 2 hours until the pig ears are starting to come apart. You’ll know when they’re ready. If you reach in with a pair of tongs to pick up the ears and they almost fall apart, those boys are ready to leave the sauna.

Remove the pig ears and transfer them to a board. Make a small cut at the base of the ear, the place them on a plate lined with parchment paper. Cover with another piece of parchment paper, and another plate. Place the plates in the refrigerator, then put something heavy on top of them (like a can of tomatoes or a 6-pack of beer). Leave to cool overnight.

The next day, pull the chilled ears out of the fridge and slice them into strips about 1/2 inch wide. Put into a bowl, then add:

1/4 cup peeled and finely diced carrot
1/4 cup finely diced celery, saving as many celery leaves as you can
2 tablespoons finely diced shallot
1 tablespoon capers, rinsed

Now make a mustard vinaigrette:
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
whisk in 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt + pepper to taste

Add the vinaigrette to the salad, dish the salad to the plates, and garnish with the celery leaves. Enjoy this crunchy, gelatinous salad.