The Chew Down, Monday October 17, 2011 (Episode Synopsis)

Summary

Monday October 17, 2011

Show Theme: Fighting Hunger in America

Dishes Featured: 

• Daphene's Sweet Potato Pancakes with Basted Eggs.
• Michael's Turkey Taco's
• Carla's Braised Pot Roast
• Mario's Chicken with Black Beans and Rice.

Special Tips and Tricks:

• Daphene's Reduced Oil Great Basted Egg
• Micheal's hot tortillas. 
• Clinton's Baked Beets.

Funny/Special Moments

• Aaron McCargo Jr. visits hometown to help with food bank.
• Michael drops the tortillas!!
• Clinton has gas!
• Carla starts forks a flyin'!
• Announcement of The Chew's dedication to ending Food Insecurity in America.

Tomorrow's Teaser:

Souper Tuesday.

Full

Monday October 17, 2011

The show opened with a passionate focus on “Fighting Hunger in America.” This theme remained consistent throughout the show.

Hunger in America statistics
50 million Americans, (that is 1 in every 6 people and includes 14 million children,) have what is called Food Insecurity. That is they worry about running out of food before they will have money to buy more. The Chew is partnering with the nation's leading charity, Feeding America which helps to feed 37 million Americans each year nationwide.

First Dish Feature

Daphene offers up her Sweet Potato Pancakes with Basted Eggs.

Daphene's Sweet Potato Pancakes

(Ingredients: Sweet Potatoes, Onion, Granny Smith Apples, Carrots, Egg, Egg Whites, Flour, Vegetable Oil, Salt, Pepper.) 

{Quick Recipe: Grate veges. Drain excess juice in cheese cloth. Whisk egg whites. Baste egg whites by adding small amount of oil to a cloth or paper towel and rubbing into skillet, adding full egg, wait for egg to white and add a drop of water, cover. Combine carrot mixture to egg white. Combine into small cakes. Fry until golden brown. Serve egg on top of cakes.}

For full recipe and ingredient measurements, see The Chew website page. Daphene's Sweet Potato Pancakes and Basted Eggs

Price Per Serving $1.20

After The Chew View: I loved Daphene's trick to reducing oil when making eggs, my eggs seem to always be too oily to my liking. Adding water to baste the egg, priceless! 

Next segment opened with a PSA from Ben Affleck for Feeding America. 

 

The Co-Host Share on Hunger in America

Mario encourages us to get involved in our local food bank by offering our time and donating food. Get involved by going to Feeding America's website at Feeding America. Carla gives us feedback on a center in the Arlington area she recently assisted with, this organization takes recovered food and feeds families. Clinton commented on communities that may not take care of outward aesthetics due to the survival need of seeking food. Also gave an example of how common being Food Insecure has become as many two income households have experienced job loss or a divorce. Daphene added that many public assistance programs that offer food may not qualify families that are struggling but are yet above the poverty line. After The Chew View: Hunger in America is very clearly an epidemic. It's very much appreciated that The Chew has taken an active role in fighting hunger by encouraging the public to get involved and by offering budget conscious meal ideas for struggling families. 

Aaron McCargo Jr., (Food Network Star,) visits Camden New Jersey, his home town, to help out with  Feeding America's The Food Bank of South Jersey. Aaron shares a heartwarming story of growing up with 6 kids in his home, even with two parents in the household they had to make every meal count. Caren Perez a driver for the Food Bank of South Jersey took Aaron back throughout Camden to deliver food. She comments on how she feels like a millionaire at the end of each day because she is helping to feed people daily. After The Chew View: Kudos to workers and organizations who work endlessly to feed families that otherwise may not receive a decent meal. It appeared that the mashed potatoes, pasta and baked chicken provided for these needy families was whole food, unprocessed. Shout out to that!  

Second Dish Feature

From Michael's Family Table, he gets assistance from Aaron McCregor Jr in preparing tasty Turkey Tacos. 

Michael's Turkey Tacos

(Ingredients: Ground Turkey, Corn Tortillas, Canned Tomatoes W/ Jalapenos, Beans, Chili Powder, Cabbage, Red Onion, Lime, Cumin Seeds.)

{Quick Recipe: Brown turkey, (cook poultry thoroughly), add in ground with chili powder and salt. To prepare cabbage slaw, chop  cabbage, add lime rind, juice from lime and cumin seeds. Stew tomatoes in separate skillet from turkey, add chopped onion. Add beans to tomatoes while stewing. Add in additional onion in turkey as it's grounding add more salt.  Place bean and tomato blend in a separate bowl for optional use or to be added to meat mixture. Warm tortillas on burner. Add meat and/or bean mixture to tortilla, add cabbage slaw to top of taco.

For full recipe and ingredient measurements, see The Chew website page. Michael's Turkey Tacos

After The Chew View: We love this dish. Look for it, we'll be preparing it Tuesday and will give you all the juicy details! I do a whole lot of ground turkey, replacing ground beef, I've been a bit turkeyed out but I'm going to have to try this one, looks delish!! We also love Micheal's quick tip on how to warm tortillas. He placed them directly on the burner for a couple of seconds for a simple warm up. Seems doing this in the oven makes them too crispy, nice Michael! 

Funny Moment: As Michael chats with Aaron during cooking, he drops several tortillas all over the floor.  “I'm looking like a beginner here.” After The Chew View: Loving this show! Real moments still make real good food!  

Today's Special Tip
Clinton's Baked Beets. Take a gathering of beets, slice them up, put in foil with salt and pepper. Add olive oil and bake until tender. Cut the leaves off and saute like spinach. One audience member takes one of Clinton's sampling proclaiming to love beets. Another audience guests chooses to decline the beets stating she does not like them. After The Chew View: I'm with the second audience member, love veges, beets, not so much. But try this out, see if you likey.

Third Dish Feature

Carla's Braised Pot Roast

Carla Stretches the Cow with her Braised Pot Roast, she's assisted by Mario Batali. (Ingredients: Top Round Roast, Carrots, Onion, Garlic, Flour, Red wine vinegar.)

{Quick Recipe: Season roast generously with with salt. Braise roast. (Braise is to slow cook in limited liquid at a low temperature.) Sear roast to brown. Sear all sides. Remove roast. Add veges to the sear mixture, add more salt. Add flour to thicken. Add vinegar, (deglazes to add in yummy bits in bottom.) Add water to mixture, return roast. Serve over mashed potatoes.}

For full recipe and ingredient measurements, see The Chew website page. Carla's Pot Roast

After The Chew View:  I've never made a pot roast. For some strange reason I've been craving it for months. My mother made a fabulous pot roast, I didnt get her recipe before she passed away, so I'm looking forward to making this dish in her honor. I LOVE THIS! Look for it on Tuesday! We also love Carla's ode to salt. "Salt is your compliment, if you dont salt it you aint goin get no compliments." Love her southern charm.

Carla's Braised Roast Spin-Off Suggestions

Braised Meat Quesadillas

Braised Meat with Penne/Beef Ragu.

See links for these recipes 

Carla's Beef Quesadilla 

Carla's Beef Ragu

Matt Damon is shown in another PSA for Feeding America. 

Last Dish

Mario's Chicken w/ Black Beans & Rice

Mario Batali offers his expertise on what he'd do with foods provided from America's Food banks. In most cases there would be offerings of fresh protein and produce, Mario whipped up a great dish from simple ingredients. See his Chicken with Black Beans and Rice. 

(Ingredients: Chicken Legs, Rice, Celery, Onion, Carrot, Rice, Cilantro, Turmeric, Chicken Stock.)

{Quick Recipe: CHICKEN- Brown chicken on stove top. Add chicken stock, carrots, onions and turmeric. Add rice to mixture, allow to cook in liquid provided. Allow to bubble. Add optional cilantro.
The show featured the above recipe, for optional salad and bean addition and for full recipe and ingredient measurements, see The Chew website page. Mario's Chicken, Black Beans and Rice

The After The Chew View: We love this dish. Perfect for fall! We suggest to use the cilantro at will. Cilantro is one of those herbs that you either love or hate. Personally I cant stand the stuff, it ruins anything it touches for me, but if you like it, pile it on. It makes Mario's dish look lovely. 

In Closing

As Clinton enjoys Mario's dish he chats about having gas from the onions. Forks start a flying as Carla encourages us to help at a food bank. In jest Mario throws his fork on the floor, lol, fun times. After The Chew View: May be TMI, but I stay at home when indulging in onions, I've got the same problem as Clinton, same problem! I'm looking forward to throwing my fork up in the air tomorrow when I sample of couple of these dishes. Stay tuned! 

Hunger in America

The Stats:

1 in 6 food insecure

1 in 7 lives in poverty

1 in 7 on food stamps

1 in 8 currently feed by Feeding America.

Special Announcement:

The Chew puts their money where their mouths are.

For every audience member since the premiere, The Chew has donated $1 to Feeding America. $1 will provide 8 meals for hungry families. The Chew has donated 19,200 meals as of Monday October 17. The goal is to reach $300,000. Donate Today! 62,000 pantries and shelters are donated to through these donations. Feeding America

Tune in tomorrow for Souper Tuesday.

Dont miss The Chew, then Come visit us at After the Chew for a show breakdown and a fork and knife break out. We'll show you how the meals turn out. It's real, in real time, in a real kitchen, real good! 


Tiffany Lane-Crane (TLC)
After The Chew