This Saturday was the 10th annual event for Alex’s Original Lemonade Stand in Wynnewood, PA. This year they raised over $100,000 to help find a cure for childhood cancer. I was thrilled to see my girls participate by volunteering at one of the stands and being involved with the butterfly release.

The Great Chefs Event - SOLD OUT

My wife and I are fortunate to know Jay and Liz Scott, Alex’s parents, and I was thrilled when they invited me (The Reluctant Gourmet) to be a sponsor at this years Great Chefs Event hosted by Chef Marc Vetri at his Osteria restaurant on Wednesday.

There will be over twenty world-class chefs at his restaurant for a “street fair for foodies” at this Fourth Annual event. Everyone there will get to walk around, meet these incredible chefs and sample small plates featuring their culinary creations. Here’s a list of the participating chefs this year. It is quite the gathering.

* Kiong Bahn, Twenty Manning,  Philadelphia
* Dan Barber & Josh Lawlor, Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Pocantico Hills, New York
* Franklin Becker, Abe & Arthur’s, New York
* Jonathan Benno, Per Se, New York
* John Besh, Restaurant August/Besh Steak/Luke/La Provence,  New Orleans
* Chris Bianco, Pizzeria Bianco, Pane Bianco, Bar Bianco,  Phoenix
* Tom Colicchio, Host of Top Chef, Craft Restaurants
* Bobby Flay, Food Network Star, Mesa Grill Restaurants
* Clark Fraiser & Mark Gaier, Arrows/MC Perkins Cove/SummerWinter, Ogunquit, Maine
* Neil Fraser, Grace, Los Angeles
* Jose Garces, Amada /Tinto/Chilango/Distrito, Philadelphia
* Suzanne Goin, Lucques/ A.O.C., Los Angeles
* Paul Kahan, Blackbird/Avec, Chicago
* Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson and Bobby Stuckey, Frasca Food and Wine, Boulder, Colorado
* Joseph Manzare,  Zuppa/Globe/Tres Agaves/Pescheria, San Francisco
* Masaharu Morimoto, Food Network Star, Morimoto, Philadelphia
* Jeff Michaud, Osteria, Philadelphia
* Emilio Mignucci, DiBruno Bros., Philadelphia
* Luke Palladino, Ombra, Philadelphia opening Summer 2009
* Eric Ripert & Jennifer Carroll, 10 Arts, Philadelphia
* Marco Rossi, Osteria Le Cantine D, Bergamo, Italy
* Bryan Sikora, Talula’s Table Restaurant, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania
* Michael Solomonov, Zahav, Philadelphia
* Brad Spence, Vetri,  Philadelphia
* Daniel Stern, Gayle/ Rae Restaurant, Philadelphia
* Michael Symon, Lola-Lolita, Cleveland/ Roast, Detriot
* Sue Torres, Suenos, New York
* Marc Vetri, Vetri/Osteria, Philadelphia
* Rocco Whalen, Fahrenheit Restaurant, Cleveland

A Little History About Alex (from the Alex’s Lemonade Stand website)

In 2000, a 4 year old cancer patient named Alexandra “Alex” Scott announced a seemingly simple idea -she was holding a lemonade stand to raise money to help “her doctors” find a cure for kids with cancer. The idea was put into action by Alex and her older brother, Patrick, when they set up the first “Alex’s Lemonade Stand for Childhood Cancer” on their front lawn in July of 2000.

For the next four years, despite her deteriorating health, Alex held an annual lemonade stand to raise money for childhood cancer research. Following her inspirational example, thousands of lemonade stands and other fundraising events have been held across the country by children, schools, businesses, and organizations, all to benefit Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation for childhood cancer. On August 1st, 2004, Alex died peacefully at the age of 8 — she had raised over $1 million for childhood cancer research in her short lifetime.

Alex’s spirited determination to raise awareness and money for all childhood cancer while she bravely fought her own deadly battle with cancer has inspired thousands of people, from all walks of life to raise money and give to her cause. Alex’s family and supporters are committed to continuing her inspiring legacy through Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, a registered 501c3 charity. Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation has raised over $25 million for childhood cancer research. The result — Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation has given millions of dollars for childhood cancer research across the country!

How To Get Involved

There are lots of ways to get involved. Of course you can donate some money at their web site but you may want to consider hosting your own Alex’s Lemonade stand or event in your neighborhood. On a hot day my kids will ask to set up a stand and sell cups of lemonade to the neighbors driving by and raise some money for the cause. It’s a great way to teach your kids the meaning of charity.To learn more about Alex and how you can get involved, I encourage you to visit their website at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.

I will be reporting more about The Great Chef’s Event after I meet a bunch of  these chefs. Hopefully, I’ll be able to share with you some of their recipes.

How to Cook Great Rice and Beans

Have you ever stopped to notice that there are some dishes that can be found in almost every area of the world? They might go by different names or be spiced differently, but if you look beyond that, they are almost identical.

An example of this is flat bread.  Mexico has tortillas, India has chipati.  Go to Africa and find injera; visit Russia for blini, Malaysia for roti and Greece for pita.  Most cultures also have some sort of dumpling—whether they be called ravioli or pot stickers or Jamaican patties—and some sort of stew.  Curry, coq au vin, beef Bourgignon, Hungarian goulash, bouillabaisse and gumbo, just to name a few.

The one I want to focus on is simple rice and beans.  Rice and legumes are inexpensive to produce, are nutritious (the combination of beans and rice yields a complete protein) and can be stored for long periods of time.  As a result, many cultures make their own versions of rice and bean dishes.

Also, since meat has historically been featured as a main dish only on special occasions, it only provides a background flavoring note, if it is present at all.  This allowed the cook to stretch meat much farther and offer a less expensive meal that was still full of protein.

Rice and Beans Template

When considering making rice and beans, you might go and search for a particular recipe.  There is nothing wrong with that, of course.  But, you might want to consider the dish as more of a recipe template than one stand alone recipe:

• Soak dried beans overnight
• Cook rice in liquid
• Cook onions and maybe some bacon (or similar) in fat and spices
• Add liquid and beans and simmer until tender.
• Add any other flavor components.
• Either stir cooked beans and rice together, or top rice with beans.

When looking at a particular dish as a recipe template, it frees you up to use different cooking liquids, different beans and even different types of rice and spices.  For example, to make a Mexican-inspired rice and beans, you might cook the rice in chicken stock and cook the beans with a little chorizo in beer and/or chicken broth seasoned with cumin and chili powder.

For an Indian-inspired dish, cook basmati rice with a little clove and cinnamon.  Cook chickpeas with cubed potatoes and diced tomatoes in vegetable stock seasoned with curry powder.

Here are two recipes for rice and beans.  Enjoy them the way they are written.  Then, don’t be afraid to change the ingredients up to reflect a particular country’s cuisine. These recipes make a lot and will serve 6 - 8 people with leftovers depending on whose doing the eating and what you are serving them with.

Canned Bean Substitutions & Equivalencies

If you are in a hurry, you can substitute canned beans although the results will be different. Some will say there is a huge difference, some will say not so much.  I don’t always remember to soak beans the night before so if in a hurry, I pull out a couple of cans of beans from the pantry and prepare this meal in under 1/2 hour.

Canned Beans to Cooked Beans

• 14 -16 oz can = 1.5 cups cooked beans
• 19 oz can = 2.25 cups cooked beans
• 28 oz can = 3 - 3.25 cups cooked beans

Dry Bean Yields After Cooking

• 1 pound dry beans = 6 cups cooked beans, drained
• 1 pound dry beans = 2 cups dry beans
• 1 cup dry beans (most kinds) = 2.5 cups cooked beans
• Chick peas, great northern beans, and lima beans: 1 cup dry beans = 3 cups cooked beans
• Lentils: 1 cup dried lentils = 3 cups cooked

Cajun Red Beans and Rice

1 ½ tablespoons vegetable oil
1  1/2 lbs. smoked sausage, cut in 1/3” slices
1 lb. dry red kidney beans
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 lg. onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
3 bay leaves
2 green bell peppers, seeded and chopped
Salt and black pepper, to taste
Cajun seasoning, such as Louisiana or Tone’s, to taste
Hot sauce, such as Tobasco, to taste
1 beer (optional)
7 - 8 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable stock
Hot cooked white rice

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Pineapple Upside Down Cake

When I was a kid I was given my choice of cake my mom would make for my birthday. I’m not sure why but I always asked for pineapple upside down cake. It may be that I just liked the taste of pineapple with a classic yellow cake mix or it was the only cake my mom knew how to make. I’m not sure.

Yesterday was my birthday, and my 11 year old daughter asked me what kind of cake I would like.  I flashed back to when I was her age and requested pineapple upside down cake and sure enough she made it for me with very little help on my part. All I did was facilitate her getting the cast iron skillet into the oven, removing it and flipping it onto a plate. The rest she did herself with some additional help from her friend Duncan as in Duncan Hines Moist Classic Yellow Cake. I was impressed.

Now you can make your own cake batter from scratch, and I will post a recipe for that too but when in a hurry or are just a kid doing it for the first time, there is nothing wrong with a little commercial cake mix. It just cuts out a few steps and speeds up the process.

When my mom made her pineapple upside down cake, she used a rectangular bake pan and crushed pineapple but for this recipe, we used a large cast iron skillet and pineapple slices. My mom always served her pineapple upside down cake with real whip cream so I taught my daughter how to make it herself.

We prepared a great dinner of grilled steaks with a port wine demi glace sauce, steamed yellow squash and rice pilaf, but the highlight of the meal and the one that took me back to my childhood was the cake. It was a great night.

Important: Although my daughter prepared most of this cake by herself, I was still there watching what she was doing especially since she was working with the stove top and oven.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Ingredients:
2/3 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 can of pineapple slices
some maraschino cherries
1 box of your favorite yellow cake mix

How to Prepare

I used a large cast iron pan because it is heavy and I can stick it into the oven without having to worry about it burning the bottom of the cake. You can prepare the topping in a sauce pan and transfer it to a cake pan with 2 inch high sides but then you have two pans to clean up.

Preheat your oven to 350°F degrees.

Heat your pan over medium heat, add the butter and brown sugar to it and let the brown sugar melt and the mixture start to boil. My daughter asked me how to measure out 2/3 cup of butter and I told her she can let it come to room temperature and use a measuring cup or look at the butter wrapper for the conveniently marked measurements. She opted for the second idea.

When the butter and brown sugar start boiling, remove from heat and start adding whole pineapple slices to the bottom of the pan. Cut some remaining slices in half and line the edge of the cast iron pan with the half pieces. Add some cherries to the holes in the whole pineapple slices and you are ready for the yellow cake batter.

Prepare the box of yellow cake mix following the directions on the box.  The recipe my daughter followed called for three eggs and for some reason she only added two but the end result was fine. I’m not sure how the third egg would have changed the taste, but her version was delicious.

When the cake batter is ready, pour the cake mix into the cast iron pan and bake for  the amount of time suggested on the cake box. You know it’s done when you can stick a toothpick into the cake and it comes out clean. My daughter’s cake took a little longer than the recipe said it would which is why the toothpick test is a better indicator.

When the cake is done, remove it from the oven and immediately loosen the side of the cake from the pan with a dinner knife and let it cool for a few minutes. Once cooled down some, place a plate on top of the pan and flip it over. It should come out easily looking delicious and ready to eat.

Whip up some homemade whip cream, add some birthday candles and you are ready to blow.

Yellow Cake From Scratch

For those of you who would like to make your moist yellow cake from scratch, here is a simple recipe for you:

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