Tag: pete pearce

Wondering About Vortex Plus Air Fryers?

Being the son of pioneers I’m not well rehearsed in modern kitchen tools. One gadget that has been getting quite popular recently is known as an air fryer and has me wondering about kitchen tools. Questions like ‘How am I this old and have never used one of these cooking devices?’ and ‘Do I really need this thing?’ kept floating up to the top of my head along with all the things I daydreamed that I could potentially prepare. My neighbor ended up purchasing an Instant Pot Vortex Plus from Amazon and I had to go over and check out the unboxing.

Food Network says the following about the Vortex Plus;
“While it’s very similar to the 4-in-1 air fryer, the standout feature in the Vortex Plus is the dehydrator. If you’re looking for a reliable air fryer that can also produce perfectly dried fruits and veggies, the Vortex Plus is for you. Just like the 4-in-1, the Vortex Plus has a roomy, 6-quart basket with a nonstick coating for easy cleanup. Equipped with pre-programmed settings and a temperature-controlling dial, the interface is also super user-friendly. The only downside to this model is the broiler function, which is preset to 400 degrees F for two minutes and didn’t perform well for us in testing.”

The Instant Pot Vortex Plus has 6 cooking options:

             Air Fry (increments between 180°F and 400°F)
             Roast (180°F–400°F)
             Bake (180°F–400°F)
             Reheat (120°F–360°F)
             Broil (350°F–400°F)
             Dehydrate (95°F–175°F)

Chef Carmen Spillette has created 31 Best Air Fryer Recipes that are worth checking out by clicking on the photo below. Thank you Carmen.

I’m still curious and can hardly wait to prompt my neighbor into making some cauliflower buffalo wings and some of the other things that look really good on the Eat with Carmen page.

Bon Appetit, the Dude of Food

“Create tapas and you create joy!” the Dude of Food

photo: @p3_stuff
Tapas photo: @p3_stuff on Insta

This form of eating called Tapas can be traced back many moons to when bar owners used salty meat strips to cover drinks to keep the flies from swimming. The salty meats promoted thirst amongst the patrons and drink sales thrived. Soon the drink covers became other salty creative snacks and a bar culture of food was born. Spain gets most of the credit for this type of nourishment as many of the ingredients used in creating these food gems are found abundantly in their region.

This salty sales theory is why in the 70’s and early 80’s many bar owners in the US offered free peanuts to bar patrons. Peanuts were cheap and salty and the President (Jimmy Carter) was a peanut farmer. Jimmy’s brother Billy was a famous beer drinker. See how these things go together!? The cool thing was back then that many places just let you throw the empty peanut shells on the floor like at a hockey game.

The Dude of Food was really impressed with the tapas in Donostia/San Sabastian. While visiting this beautiful Basque city many great items were discovered. I stumbled upon a place named Bar Desy that invited me to try tons of great foods including an extensive tapas menu. I went back to Bar Desy a bunch, sometimes 3 times a day, for the next week. The staff was really great and I even met the owners father.

The top photo is one I took after I created a few tapas for my Brazilian girlfriend to enjoy while listening to some Samba and sipping on wine. We would look deep into each others eyes and share moments that made the world outside go quiet. Love was in the air. I digress.

Anyways as stated, the Dude of Food created the above pictured tapas. On the various breads are oil, cheese, meats, tomato sauce, veggies, sardines, salt and herbs. Tapas are fun to make, great to share and super enjoyable to eat.

Below was my first pass by the home made tapas table.

Don’t be afraid to try this style of eating. Combine some of your favorite flavors and enjoy some tapas soon.

Bon Appetit, the Dude of Food

Discover Roasted Almond Snacks

M & W Gourmet Foods – Oxnard, CA

M & W Gourmet Foods of Oxnard, CA was begun in 2006 at 3 Farmers Markets with the desire to create “a healthy snack alternative.” Over the last 16 years these snack makers have grown into a really good thing keeping many people happily snacked up.

photos: P. Pearce


The Dude of Food discovered these tasty snack treats while being on set and finding his way to the craft service table. These roasted almond filled snack bags are a great replacement to donuts and potato chips. Over time more and more flavors became available with 11 roasted almond flavors currently available at their web page (https://www.mwgourmetfoods.com) including many creative tasty flavors. Some of the Dude of Foods favorites include Coconut Macaroon, Honey Cinnamon and Cappuccino.


For more information you can visit https://www.mwgourmetfoods.com or call 661.305-3515. They can also be found on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/mwgourmetfoods and on Instagram, @mwgourmet

Thank you M & W Gourmet Foods.
Enjoy.

The Dude of Food

The Dude of Food creates a great new oatmeal-tapioca breakfast treat.

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Tired of the same old thing for breakfast? Gave up on your quest to eat healthier 10 days after your New Years resolution? Perhaps you are a hockey player and have no front teeth to bite a burrito with. What ever the case may be, the Dude of Food has created an awesome new way for people of all ages to enjoy a pretty healthy breakfast.

The Dude of Food decided that he wanted to try a German packaged cereal thing he saw on a market shelf in Munich. The package was made by a guy named Dr. Oetker and was called Griesbrei. As you can see below the label is in German as were the directions for preparation. I had a heck of a time trying to decipher exactly what the proper measurements and times were when it came to try and prepare it. I only know like 5 Bavarian words; prost, liebe, obatzda, steckerl fische und Oida! Anyways to make an interesting long story short, the stuff was like a cross between creamed wheat and tapioca pudding. I liked it and mentioned it to my Bavarian friends. Oddly, they all said the same thing, “You like baby cereal?”Dr-Oetker-Griebrei-Klassische-Art-Sweet-Porridge-92g_main-1

Well since the stigma is that this griesbrei stuff is too sweet for a proper adult breakfast the Dude of Food had another idea and decided to try mixing tapioca pudding with oatmeal.

Now, in the German market the small packet of Dr. Oetker Griesbrei was like .89 euro or about 93 cents at the time. If you can find it in the states or online it is $3.99 a packet or more!

So the Dude of Food prepared 1 cup of oatmeal. Separately I made tapioca pudding. Just as it was time to turn off the oatmeal to cool down I added a little bit of warm homemade tapioca pudding and stirred it all together. Ratio was something like 2/3 oatmeal to 1/3 tapioca. there is no rule here, so mix to desire. Spooned into a bowl, I topped the mix off with a little bit of cherry preserves as seen in the photo above and put it to the taste test. The results = excellent.

Get ready world, a brand new and delicious little some-some for breakfast is here. Get some.

When in Florence the Dude of Food loves Bar Porta Al Prato.

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Seen from the street, Bar Porta Al Prato looks like this corner building. Sitting quietly, this recently opened culinary beauty awaits your entrance, offering everything one could desire once you make your way through the doors and into the soul of this gem. I went daily.

indoor
patio

Bar Porta Al Prato in Firenze offers both a great indoor environment or a huge patio out back to enjoy.  The staff here are awesome, extremely helpful, talented, generous and fun besides offering many delicious and thoughtfully prepared Tuscan dishes.

Their menu offers everything from pizza and gelato to pasta and fine wine and everything in between. What a great way to spend quality time dining with your family, friends or team while in Florence.

staff team
pap pas

 The delicious wine comes from local vineyards that produce some excellent flavors.  The homemade gelato is delicious and kid approved. (see photo below)

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kid

Thank you Bar Porta Al Prato for everything. The Dude of Food thinks you guys are doing a great job. Keep up the awesome hospitality and great food. They can also be found on Facebook by searching Bar Samus Porta. Grazie.

Johnny’s Off License Store, Rome for beer.

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Located at Via Veio, 4, near the San Giovanni metro station in Rome is the greatest beer and wine store around. The staff at Johnny’s OFF LICENSE are super knowing about the processes and tastes of their products and offer an awesome selection, especially beers.

You can drink on the streets in Rome, so you go in and buy yourself a coldie and simply enjoy it out front while talking with other beer professors. Much local knowledge can be learned from respectable folks at these street meetings, i.e. restaurant recommendations, train and bus info, etc.

off l2

These guys at Johnny’s OFF LICENSE are a hospitable bunch and even gave me a beer book to read while traveling. (3 Sheets to the Wind, Pete Brown). Johnny is a good dude and you certainly should go by and say hello. Thank you guys for your hospitality.

This place is a must if you are tired of feeling like a tourist at the hotel. Tell Johnny that the Dude of Food sent you. Enjoy.

“Saibling, Char, whatever, it’s delicious!”, said the Dude of Food.

http://www.austrianwine.com/our-wine/wine-food/austrian-food-wine/trout-char-of-whitefish-forelle-saibling-oder-reinanke-muellerin/

luds lunche

  So if you like fish, especially salmon then you will love Saibling fish. Sometimes called Char. It is a lake fish once forbidden to be eaten by all Bavarians except the king himself. It’s referred to sometimes as ‘the kings fish’.

  When south of Munchen in one of the small villages on farmer’s market day you will most likely find a vendor selling freshly smoked Saibling fish. The Dude of Food says Run, don’t walk to the vendor and get the biggest one you can. I cannot speak for the Forelle, which is supposed to be ‘as good’ but never sells out as fast as the saibling fish. The third fisch you see is Mackerelle which are good too. Saibling is the best. They can be eaten for breakfast, brutzeit, lunch, dinner or when sleep eating.

Better than ice cream!

The Dude of Food recommends Morandell Imports.

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Carl Morandell being interviewed on KABC Talk Radio 790 in Los Angeles 

http://morandell.us/

Quality knows no boundries. Morandell Imports has the expertise and experience to share these product options with you.

If you are having a party, opening an eatery or just want options for stock, then go to this web page and see their line of  beverages available or ask me, the Dude of Food, how you can order any of the fine products that the good folks at Morandell Imports can provide.

Prost.

The Dude of Food wants to represent your food product or brand.

The Dude of Food is working on becoming a food product representative. After years of independent merchandising for surf companies and the Hawaiian Tropic brand, the Dude of Food is switching gears and working on a list of quality food and beverage products to represent and promote sales for.

If your company is looking to get in other markets, whether domestic or international, then please by all means let’s talk.

The Dude of Food can be emailed at- weallgottaeat(at)gmail(dot)com

Eat well and be happy.