The Chew Down, Tuesday October 25, 2011 (Episode Recap)

Summary

Show Theme: Halloween Tricks and Treats

Dishes Featured:

• Mario's Stuffed Cabbage Ligurian-Style
• Special Guest's Mozzarella in Corrozza

Tips, Tricks & Treats:

• Clinton's Halloween Party Decorations
• Carla calls in Fall with a slow roast.

Funny/Special Moments:

• Carla scares mama silly.
• Clinton almost kills Nannie.
• Mario's cheerful brown bag. 

Full

Today's show continues in the Halloween spirit on day two of HalloWeek. The co-host open with their stories of Halloween tricks and treats, sharing tales of scary pasts and showing pictures of cutsie costumes.

Carla told a story about how she scared her mother while walking through a door. Clinton scared his grandmother half to death while hiding under a pile of coats. And Mario as a boy put a bag of dog feces on a neighbors front door and set it on fire. The problem here is that he forgot to knock on the door before running off and burned down the neighbor's front porch.

After The Chew View: And I thought my staying up past my bedtime was bad. Gees! LOL.

Daphne shared a cute childhood picture in a mermaid Halloween costume, Michael shared his Ho-bo Halloween costume as a boy.

First Dish Feature

Mario's Stuffed Cabbage Ligurian-Style

Ingredients: Green Cabbage, Red Onions, Garlic, Potatoes, Fresh Ricotta Cheese, Basil, Italian Parsley, Tomato Sauce, Pecorino Romano

Quick Recipe: Cube and cook potatoes. Blanch large cabbage leaves. Saute cabbage, onions and garlic, add herbs. When potato mixture is cool, add ricotta, basil, and parsley and fold together. Add mixture to blanched cabbage leaves. Roll the leaves over the mixture by folding each leaf around the filling like a burrito and secure with a toothpick. Pour tomato sauce into 9x13” baking dish. Arrange cabbage packets on top. Toss basil across the top and bake.

$1.45 Per Serving

For full recipe and ingredient measurements, see The Chew website page.
Mario's Stuffed Cabbage Ligurian-Style 

Mario shares his new book, “Simple Family Meals”. The book is broken up into chapters that are user friendly for the home cook. The focus is spending time in the kitchen and around the table with your family. A copy was given to each audience member. The panel seems to really be enjoying this dish.

After The Chew View: Hubby is walking through the living room with oohs and ahhhs and requests for me to make this dish. Gonna have to test it out.

The “Party Rocking” Halloween house is shown. This is a house with all it's Halloween lights synchronized to the beat of the music. As the music plays the co-host dance a little Halloween jig.

They mention Sunday's Jet game where Mario takes a picture with Jimmy Fallon. Michael was also present, showing a picture of him enjoying some good eats during the game.

Money Saving Tricks for Halloween Treats:

1. Shop the sales and use coupons.
2. Buy Lollipops instead of chocolates.
3. Buy candy you don't like.
4. Save your receipts. (If the bag is not open you can return it to the store for a full refund.)

Clinton's Halloween Party Decoration Tips

Making a Giant Brain- Take a little red food coloring and a very large cauliflower, place in a clear bowl. It resembles a large brain.

Bug Bouquet- Take a nice bouquet of flowers and add plastic spiders and cock roaches. Can place them on plastic fruits as well. Use as centerpieces.

Candy Graveyard: Make brownies, smash up chocolate cookies and place across the top so it resembles dirt. Place cookies with RIP printed across them to make them look like grave stones, (use a pastry bag for printing.) Add gummy worms and spiders across your chocolate dirt. Your centerpiece becomes dessert.

Green Jellos Grossies: Make jello about half way formed (after it's cooled and begins to gel), add in candy eyeballs, fingers and gummy worms and let them gel.

Feed America Update: The Chew is doing it's part to help feed America, go to Feeding America with The Chew  to contribute.

Special Trick of the Day:

Fall is here and Carla calls us to get the roasting pan out. Vegetables make a great roasting rack for meats. Carrots, potatoes, parsnips and leeks are all good choices for this method. Take your meat of choice and allow it to slow roast over the vegetables. It will roast in the dry heat and easily makes a nice side dish as well.

Second Dish Feature

Michael pairs up with actress Debi Mazar and chef Gabriele Corcos. Together they make Mozzarella in Corrozza, (Italian Grilled Cheese)

Ingredients: Eggs, Buffalo Mozzarella, Milk, Sliced White Bread, Flour, Salt, Pepper, Olive Oil.

Quick Recipe: Slice cheese. Slice white bread, cut into fun Halloween shapes with a cookie cutter. Whisk eggs and milk. Make sandwiches and dredge sandwiches in flour, dip in egg mixture. Fry on both sides in olive oil until golden and crisp.
For full recipe and ingredient measurements, see The Chew website page.
Mozzarella in Corrozza 

This sexy couple hosts the show “Extra Virgin” together which is a combination between Green Acres and I Love Lucy. Sketch comedy and cooking as Debi explains it. Clinton said he imagines this sexy couple cooking and doing it all day!

Debi Mazar treats the panel to a Halloween cocktail treat, the Corco's Aperol Spritzer. See The Chew website for recipe. Corco's Aperol Spritzer

Gabriele informs us that Today is World Pasta Day! Michael asks the naughty question, “What's better sex or chocolate?” The panel unanimously replies, “Sex!”

We see Clinton's mom Brenda back in the audience.

After The Chew View: I think Ms. Brenda needs her own segment! ;~)

The Chew hits the streets to ask New Yorkers about their favorite tricks and treats.

Masquerade Meals Challenge

Daphne and Mario test their taste buds. They have to chime in and identify the food they are given while being blind folded, the first to do so wins. This got a little messy as Michael feeds Daphne and got food all in her hair. Daphne still wins the game. The special prizes were Clinton Kelly's books, great styling books “Freakin Fabulous” and “Oh No She Didn't.”


After The Chew 
Tiffany Lane-Crane (TLC) 

The Chew Down, Monday October 24, 2011 (Episode Recap)

Summary

Show Theme: Kick off to HalloWeek. Today is the Monster Mash.


Dishes Featured: 

• Michael's Cast Iron Pork Pie
• Saltimbocca alla New Yorkese with New York State Apple Sauce

Tips, Tricks & Treats: 

• Daphne loves canned tomatoes.

Funny/Special Moments:

• Clinton needs a segway.
• Mario is scared of pools.
• Geoffrey Zakarian has a cream for everything!
• How did all these Cranky Mermaids and Blood-Sucking Cotton Swabs get in here?

Full

Today's episode was full of mashing things up in unique and delicious ways. This Monster Mash episode ushered in fall tricks and treats. 

First Dish Feature

Michael's Cast Iron Pork Pie

Ingredients: Ground pork, Bacon, Kale, Celery, Onion, Garlic, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Parsley, Aged Cheddar, Mashed Potatoes.

Quick Recipe: Crisp the bacon and cut into thin slices. Saute onions, garlic, and celery. Add pork to skillet. Add in spices. Add in bacon, kale and parsley. In a separate pot, cook potatoes, mash them and add butter. Add potatoes and then cheddar cheese to top of your pork dish. Bake at 450. $3.20 per serving.

For full recipe and ingredient measurements, see The Chew website page.

Michael's Cast Iron Pork Pie

Food Match Ups & Movie Madness

Clinton gives stats on Halloween, consumers will spend $72.81 on average.

Daphne served the panel a banana and milk smoothie as she explained the power of food combinations.

Power Food Mashups:

Calcium (glass of milk) + Inulin (banana) = Strong, Healthy Bones

Vitamin E (peanuts) + Vitamin C (broccoli) = Sharp Vision

Zinc (wheat bread) + Sulfur Compounds (garlic) = Strong Immune System

Clinton went to the next subject with “I cant think of a segway to save my life but do you guys like scary movies?” LOL, Clinton could so do stand-up! After seeing the movie “The Thing” this weekend he admitted he was doing a little yelling at the screen “Girl don't go in there!”

After The Chew View: We give that two snaps in a circle!

AFI's (American Film Institute) Top Ten thriller Movies.

10.Raiders of the Lost Ark

9. Rosemary's Baby

8. The French Connection

7. The Birds

6. Alien

5. The Silence of the Lambs

4. North by Northwest

3. The Exorcist

2. Jaws

1. Psycho

Mario's most memorable is The Silence of the Lambs because of the possibility that someone like that could be near him and Jaws because for years even when swimming in a pool, when something bumped into you would send you into screams.

Iron Chef Mash Ups

A couple of chefs stopped by from the upcoming show “The Next Iron Chef”, (the show premieres this Sunday.) This show features 10 superchefs all competing for the top Iron Chef title. Alex Guarnaschelli and Geoffrey Zakarian join the panel for a Mash Up. These chefs are also two of the judges on the Bravo show “Chopped”.

The chefs mash up ingredients: Popcorn, Pumpkin and Pork Chops.

Click here for these two recipes. Pork Chops with Pumpkin

Alex shares that on The Next Iron Chef that she and the other chefs make fun of Geoffrey often as he has a cream for everything. For his the outdoors, for his fingers, for his face and so on. Michael tells a story about how Geoffrey took his wife Lizzie away to go lotion shopping. 

After The Chew View: Hey the guy just likes to be moisturized.  

Special Tip of the Day

Daphne shows us that canned tomatoes are more healthy than raw tomatoes. They have 2 to 8 times more the amount of Lycopene and when combined with olive oil they help to reduce a number of cancers.

Clinton's Costume Match Up

Clinton came up with the cutest new costume idea for Halloween. Take two bowls, in one add a bunch of adjectives, in the next add a bunch of nouns. Have your friends pick one out of each bowl. You'll come up with funny combos like a Cranky Mermaid, or a Tired Nurse. When Clinton was in college he went as a Blood-sucking Cotton Swab. Guests were chosen from the audience and arrived as an Elderly Zombie, a Bedazzled Trucker and a Pregnant Vampire. 

After The Chew View: This looks like too much freggin fun!

Clinton Costume Tips: 

How to make zombie make-up- mix corn syrup, red food coloring and coco, (makes blood.)

Bedazzling- You can buy sequins for under $1.

Cooking with the Stars

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg stopped by to welcome in the first annual Food Day. This day is committed to getting people to eat a little better. He helps Mario make Saltimbocca alla New Yorkese with New York State Apple Sauce.

2nd Dish Feature

Mario's Saltimbocca alla New Yorkese with New York State Apple Sauce.

Ingredients: Pork Cutlets, Fresh Sage Leaves, Prosciutto di Parma, Flour, Unsalted Butter, Dry White Wine, Lemon Wedges.

Quick Recipe: Mat a strip of pork, prosciutto and sage with a meat tenderizer. Place sage and prosciutto on cutlet and fold to form a sandwich. Mat with a meat tenderizer again. Add to pan and cook for 2 minutes on each side. Pour wine into pan and bring to a boil. Transfer cutlets to platter over applesauce, top with sauce and serve with lemon wedges.

Applesauce Ingredients: Cortland or Empire Apples, Sugar, Grappa, Cinnamon, Lemon Juice and Zest, Chives.

Applesauce Quick Recipe: Put apples into skillet, zest in lemon. Add cinnamon, sugar and Grappa. Squeeze ½ lemon juice into the dish and allow the lemon to sit in the dish allow to boil.

About $5 per serving.

Refer to website for full recipe. 

Mario's Saltimbocca alla New Yorkese with New York State Apple Sauce.

New York has 25,000 restaurants! Mayor Bloomberg

After The Chew 
Tiffany Lane-Crane (TLC) 

After The Chew Table (Sampling The Chew Dishes)

Carla's Pumpkin French Toast

We Put Carla's French Toast to the Test!

Okay are you sitting down?? This is coming from someone who did not like french toast...until today. This recipe is knock your socks off, stuff yourself until it hurts good! It would be the talk of any brunch, any luncheon, any potluck, any gathering. The recipe does have many ingredients, but most of which you will either already have in your pantry or you will have in your pantry for many months going forward.  We purchased the vanilla, ginger, bread, and the pumpkin. We had the brown sugar, eggs, milk, cinnamon, and butter. You cant really miss with this one if you're working with the great majority of what the recipe calls for.  

Meal Review

I started by cutting my bread. I had a french loaf, which was available in the store. After mixing all the ingredients my kitchen took on the aroma of what I can imagine the inside of a gingerbread house would smell like. This was a warm, Christmas morning feel that only can be realized after you make this dish. I then let my bread soak in the mixture for about 20 minutes. I placed the bread over a griddle and it was ready in minutes. I warmed up some real maple syrup and drizzled it over the top of each piece. Yum!

Meal Challenge

I wasn't really sure what do with raw ginger root. The recipe called for ground ginger but I got the fresh product and grated it on the small side of a cheese grater. I'm not sure if I did that correctly but I didn't get a hint of any overpowering bits of ginger in the dish. 

I'd been looking forward to making this since the show it aired on, however waking this morning I had a bit of a sinus cold which threatened my ability to complete the dish. Because I didn't feel well I asked for help in the grocery shopping. In doing so half and half and nutmeg mysteriously did not make it home. So I pulled a fast one and threw in some Coffeemate Hazelnut in place of the Half-n-Half. It served as a nice compliment. I'm so glad I pushed through and completed this dish.

Suggestions

The recipe suggests letting your bread soak overnight. I highly recommend this as I cant wait to make this again and do just that. This dish came out so deliciously after a 20 minute soak, I cant image a few hours. During consumption I might just bite all my fingers off! By all means try Carla's recipe for the Apple Cider Syrup. I used my Archer Farms, (get it at Target), organic maple syrup. It's pricey, but it is so worth every penny. You'll think you're eating syrup right out of the tap of a maple tree. 

Complete Dish

Can I just say that I'm forever converted to this recipe! When I serve it in the future, I'll be sure to let people know where I got it from. Thanks Carla! Truly, this was super duper good!

Total Prep Time: 30 Minutes.

Total Cooking Time:  7 Minutes.

Find full recipe on The Chew Down for Friday 10/21 or go to The Chew website at Carla's Pumpkin French Toast 

After The Chew 
Tiffany Lane-Crane (TLC)