Hot, Hot, hot
Guy Fieri is on fire.
No, there wasn't an unfortunate grilling accident that ignited his beached blonde spikes or loose collared shirts. The gregarious food personality heats up the screen his Food Network shows “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives” and “Guy's Big Bite” and his NBC hit “Minute to Win it” and he's blazing a trail toward Chicago.
Fieri stops in the Windy City Saturday, May 28, to throw out the first pitch at Wrigley Field and promote his new book “Guy Fieri Food” before his no-holds barred Road Show parks at Hammond's Horseshoe Casino for the night.
I caught up with Fieri at his home in Northern California to talk food and see what he has planned for Midwest fans.
What's new in the 2011 show? It's music, it's food, it's me, it's them. Even when we did the tour two years ago, not one show is the same as another show. It's like when you see AC-DC play and they have a new album; you get what you loved about the band and the new stuff.
We went back to the Chicago area because we had such a good response. There's no dancing unicorns, every one gets involved ... it's just another foodapolooza coming to you.
“Minute to Win it” has introduced you to a school-aged audience. Is the Road Show for them or better suited for older audiences? It's kid-friendly, (but) not little kids. Kids 12 and up and will definitely understand more of the content. I have two boys; Hunter (14) and Ryder (5) will be on tour with me for the second half of the tour.
What do you take away from these live performances? I think anyone that's on the network or my position in TV, I got the shot because a lot of people voted for me. This is a way to say ‘thank you,' to interact with the fans.
Tell us about your new book, “Guy Fieri Food: Cookin' it, Livin' it, Lovin' it”: This is the greatest thing in my career that I've done. It's a compilation of 30 years of food, from the time I was a kid up til now. There's picture, recipes, it's 400-some pages.
As summer approaches, what is your favorite ingredient and how do you like to use it? Pork is one of my all time go-to favorites... ironically the National Pork Board sponsors the (Road) Show. It's the super versatile protein with the ability to do so much. It can be a condiment, like bacon, and a centerpiece.
Name three ingredients every home pantry should have: Chipotles in adobo sauce, anchovies and chickpeas. Chipotles have great smoky flavor that you can mix into basting sauces, hot, cold, you name it. Anchovies, they have deep flavor, a salty brine. Mash them into just about anything — barbecue sauce to salad dressing — just do it without telling people.
Chickpeas can go everywhere. You can mash them into hummus, dress them up in a salad, give them a corn meal coating and them fry for a snack.
Do you have a guilty pleasure foods? I love pizza... I could eat it hot, cold, a.m., p.m. My go-to food is Chinese food. I would like a Chinese restaurant built in my bedroom. ... and salty proteins; salamis, prosciutto. If there was prosciutto-flavored toothpaste I'd eat it.
What was the last meal you cooked at home: I'm on the road so much, quite honestly, but I was home other night and I made five things for dinner. My wife looks and me and says what is wrong with you? Why did you make all this food?
I made barbecued artichokes (steamed, thinned some Carolina BBQ sauce), a cross between Louisiana barbecued shrimp and corn maque choux, Tomahawk chops — I did one with an Asian-ginger seasame sauce and the other with a Cabernet balsamic reduction, brown basmati rice with chicken stock and white wine and a then I made a Marsala demi-glace for the balsamic steak. That was a good days work, but I didn't knock that out in a half-hour.
Any places you hope to eat at during your stay in the Chicago area? I could stay in Chicago for a year and eat my way around that town; it is honestly, without question one of my favorite food towns... Paradise Pup, Kuma's Corner. We just shot seven locations there for Triple D. I can't reveal those seven, oh heck, one is Irazu (1865 N. Milwaukee Ave). The place does Latin food; it's an unbelievable place. When I'm there I'll send a production assistant around to get some of my favorite foods.
Tell us about this recipe: Watermelon Pork Tacos. It doesn't get much more tender than the pork tenderloin. And whoa, does it ever host the flavor party. This is one mean, lean, healthy lettuce taco machine.
Guy Fieri Road Show
Tickets are available for Guy Fieri's only Chicago-area stop on his 2011 tour.
Location: The Venue at Horseshoe Casino, 777 Casino Center Drive, Hammond, Ind. (219) 473-6060, thevenue-chicago.com
Showtime: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 28
Tickets: $39.50 to $250
More at: guyfieri.blogspot.com