The Man Who Ate the Town Podcast Episode 91

In Episode #91, proudly recorded at The Lab at Industry Hill:

Tim and Ray talk about:

  • Hop’s Burger Bar.
  • Carmine’s 901 and integrity in journalism.
  • Burgers in WSNC.
  • Food holidays and history

Don’t forget our sponsors:

DiLisio’s Italian Family Restaurant Italian food like you’re sitting, eating in Naples. Wonderful Italian dishes from traditional spaghetti and lasagna to contemporary delights. Rich, flavorful sauces, a variety of pasta options, seafood, meat and more. Just south of Downtown and Business 40 (SOB40).

Washington Perk & Provision Company. Better than a convenience store but not quite a grocery store, in the heart of Washington Park and Downtown WSNC.

The Humble Bee Shoppe is challenging your perception of scratch made and leaving you with an experience you couldn’t possibly forget! With inventive flavor combos and a sense of artistry, The Humble Bee Shoppe isn’t your average bakery.

The Man Who Ate the Town is part of The Less Desirables Network. Give it a listen on iTunes, Stitcher, Podcast Addict and TuneIn, basically anywhere you can listen to podcasts. Or you can listen here (at the bottom of the post).

Bon Appetit!

The Man Who Ate the Town Podcast Episode 90

In Episode #90, proudly recorded at The Lab at Industry Hill:

Tim and Ray talk about:

  • Tim and Ray have their wives in the studio with them.
  • Clyde Fitzgerald, former ED of Second Harvest Food Bank of NWNC passes away.
  • Earl’s getting their sign and opening this week
  • Mary’s Gourmet Diner getting beer and wine
  • Thanksgiving and other food holidays and history

No poll this week.

Don’t forget our sponsors:

DiLisio’s Italian Family Restaurant Italian food like you’re sitting, eating in Naples. Wonderful Italian dishes from traditional spaghetti and lasagna to contemporary delights. Rich, flavorful sauces, a variety of pasta options, seafood, meat and more. Just south of Downtown and Business 40 (SOB40).

Washington Perk & Provision Company. Better than a convenience store but not quite a grocery store, in the heart of Washington Park and Downtown WSNC.

The Humble Bee Shoppe is challenging your perception of scratch made and leaving you with an experience you couldn’t possibly forget! With inventive flavor combos and a sense of artistry, The Humble Bee Shoppe isn’t your average bakery.

The Man Who Ate the Town is part of The Less Desirables Network. Give it a listen on iTunes, Stitcher, Podcast Addict and TuneIn, basically anywhere you can listen to podcasts. Or you can listen here (at the bottom of the post).

Bon Appetit!

From the Home Kitchen: Italian Minestrone

Minestrone in the pot

I was editing a podcast today in my studio and the subject of that podcast was Thanksgiving dinner. Now, I will admit that this has nothing to do with Thanksgiving. Actually, I was thinking of things I may try to prepare for the feast at my family’s gathering and thought that I really wanted a soup. We did chili this past weekend and it was good but I wanted something different. So, instead, I opted for minestrone. With the exception of the pancetta (that I had to hunt down) that I rendered down for the fat and will sprinkle on top of the finished product, there’s no meat in this. That’s odd for me. Most everything has to have meat for me to enjoy it.

But, still, I wanted to surprise Stephanie with dinner when she got home. She’s on vacation all next week and this starts “Uber-Weekend” so I wanted to do something awesome for her.

I got this recipe from Ashley (Baker by Nature) and really did very little to modify it but there are some edits but any variation isn’t significant to my version of the recipe.  Because I don’t do a lot of “recipe posts” I’m just going to list the ingredients and what I did with them.

  • 4 ounces diced pancetta (I had to hunt it down because “P” didn’t carry any. The HT did, though.)
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (I didn’t add these because her instructions didn’t say where to put them in and Stephanie doesn’t like things too spicy).
  • 1 large yellow onion, diced
  • 2 stalks celery, diced
  • 3 large carrots, diced
  • 1½ cups green beans (trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces)
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning (I make my own Italian Seasoning – that’s for another day)
  • 5 tablespoons tomato paste
  • (1) 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
  • (1) 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes (for the diced and crushed tomatoes, I use Pomi chopped and Pomi strained which comes in 26.5 oz packages)
  • 4 cups low-sodium chicken bone broth (slightly less than)
  • 4 cups low-sodium beef bone broth (no sodium added)
  • (1) 15 ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • (1) 15 ounce can Cannellini beans
  • 1½ cups elbow pasta
  • 2 cups fresh spinach
  • ¼ cup fresh basil, chopped
  • ¼ cup fresh lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • ½ cup parmesan cheese, grated

Minestrone in the bowl

  1. In my Dutch oven, over medium-high heat, I cooked the pancetta until crispy, slightly less than 6 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, I transferred the pancetta to a small plate on a paper towel and set aside. I left pancetta drippings in the pan and splashed in the olive oil and onion and let it cook until the onion was translucent.
  2. I then added in the celery, carrots, and green beans and cooked until they begin to soften but not too much. Tossed in the garlic and cooked it about 30 seconds; until fragrant. Then came the Italian seasoning and tomato paste. I also added salt and pepper at this time.
  3. Time, then to stir in the Pomi tomatoes, chicken broth, and beef broth before bringing that to a boil. I reduced the heat to medium-low and let it simmer for 15 minutes.
  4. I then stirred in the kidney beans, Cannellini beans, and pasta and let that cook down about 10 minutes. I put the spinach in and cooked until it was all wilted.
  5. Once all that was done, it was time to remove it from the heat and stir in the basil and lemon juice.
  6. Ladled the soup into bowls, sprinkled the reserved pancetta bits on top and used a grater to shave some parmesan cheese over it, added a little hint of parsley to add bright green to it and, voila! Minestrone.

I was happy with the result. I do think it could have used a little more salt but that’s one of the things I keep pulled back. I can add S&P when I eat the next go-round. It paired nicely with the homemade pimento cheese that I made, too. Again, more on the pimento cheese in a later post.

If you make this, either from my modified recipe or from Ashley’s original, snap a picture and let me know. I’d like to hear about your results and thoughts.

Bon appetit!

The Man Who Ate the Town Podcast Episode 89

©Manginas Family (via WGHP)

In Episode #89, proudly recorded at The Lab at Industry Hill:

Tim and Ray talk about:

  • Evangelos Manginas’ tragic passing
  • 1703 Restaurant’s “Stock Your Cellar” wine event
  • WSNC restaurants open for or on Thanksgiving
  • The direction of the podcast, so we need your help!

No poll this week.

Don’t forget our sponsors:

DiLisio’s Italian Family Restaurant Italian food like you’re sitting, eating in Naples. Wonderful Italian dishes from traditional spaghetti and lasagna to contemporary delights. Rich, flavorful sauces, a variety of pasta options, seafood, meat and more. Just south of Downtown and Business 40 (SOB40).

Washington Perk & Provision Company. Better than a convenience store but not quite a grocery store, in the heart of Washington Park and Downtown WSNC.

The Humble Bee Shoppe is challenging your perception of scratch made and leaving you with an experience you couldn’t possibly forget! With inventive flavor combos and a sense of artistry, The Humble Bee Shoppe isn’t your average bakery.

The Man Who Ate the Town is part of The Less Desirables Network. Give it a listen on iTunes, Stitcher, Podcast Addict and TuneIn, basically anywhere you can listen to podcasts. Or you can listen here (at the bottom of the post).

Bon Appetit!

The New Logo!

Hidee-ho listeners and readers!

We had no podcast today as there really isn’t a lot of food news happening. But, I did want to talk, real quick about the new The Man Who Ate the Town logo that was designed by my pal, Stallone Frazier.

I talked to Stallone on a Friday about what I was looking for, not in detail, either. He had a design, almost this exact thing and I tweaked it a bit. He was back with me within a very short time. It was right and voila!! It was ready! I have already ordered shirts with the logo and can’t wait to show them off.

Stallone owns Stallone Frazier Photography & Graphic Design and he Specializes in creating images for businesses’ branding and marketing. In addition to his graphic design, he offers headshots, product shots, fashion and corporate event photography. Check out his Instagram for some of his greatest works. Or, visit his website or send him an email for more info.

While I’m here…

Don’t forget our sponsors:

DiLisio’s Italian Family Restaurant Italian food like you’re sitting, eating in Naples. Wonderful Italian dishes from traditional spaghetti and lasagna to contemporary delights. Rich, flavorful sauces, a variety of pasta options, seafood, meat and more. Just south of Downtown and Business 40 (SOB40).

Washington Perk & Provision Company. Better than a convenience store but not quite a grocery store, in the heart of Washington Park and Downtown WSNC.

The Humble Bee Shoppe is challenging your perception of scratch made and leaving you with an experience you couldn’t possibly forget! With inventive flavor combos and a sense of artistry, The Humble Bee Shoppe isn’t your average bakery.

The Man Who Ate the Town is part of The Less Desirables Network. Give it a listen on iTunes, Stitcher, Podcast Addict and TuneIn, basically anywhere you can listen to podcasts. Or you can listen here (at the bottom of the post).

Bon Appetit!