Stu Helm: Food Fan
Stu Helm: Food Fan
Good Morning, Friends...
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Good Morning, Friends...

Burgers, Tacos, Pie & Raw Stuff

GOOD MORNING, FRIENDS

Today’s Podcast is another full-length episode of the Food Fans Radio Show, which airs every Friday and Saturday on WPVM 103.7fm, Asheville’s Progressive Voice of the Mountains! The three topics that I covered in this episode are, in order: A random collection of reviews, followed by a conversation with my frequent guest, and all around awesome person, Alex Knighten from Bear’s BBQ, and that’s followed by a rebroadcast of a review of a salad that I liked very very much! Featuring: Sawhorse, Table, The Med, Blackbird, El Charolais, Zella’s Deli, Cecilia’s Kitchen, Amicizia, Chow Chow, and Rocky’s Hot Chicken Shack.

Today’s Newsletter has another burger recommend, plus a raw-commend, a road-commend, a recipe, some food news, and more!


BURGER RECOMMEND

The other day I saw a picture of a burger on Facebook, and that was all I needed to get me out the door and hot-footing it on down to CREAM WORKS to try their new Big Daddy Burger, and wow! It was super yummy and delicious, moist & flavorful, and cooked just right! I may have gone slightly overboard by getting a double patty, next time I’ll do a single instead, but I’m psyched to have a new go-to burger in my hood!

May be an image of burger

Cream Works parks at the bottom of Coxe Ave on the South Slope in downtown, as well as other locations, please follow them on Facebook to see where they’ll be next, get the Big Daddy Burger, and tell ‘em Stu sent ya! 🔥🍔🤘


RECIPE

This recipe is courtesy of Liisa and John of Cottage Cooking. It was in their latest newsletter, so if you want to get these types of things via email, click HERE, scroll down, and sign-up to be on their list!

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Coconut Pie in a Blender? Yes, please!

If you typically stay away from making pies because you don't want to tackle making your own crust and are not really a fan of the store-bought kind, fear not, this pie makes its own! What?? Tell me more. This easy peasy coconut pie recipe only requires a few ingredients, a blender and pie dish. That's right. No muss, no fuss. Just a little bit of flour added to the blender mix will yield just the right amount of crust and texture to this delicious delight. Here's what you need:

Ingredients
4 eggs
6 T butter, melted (cooled for a few minutes before adding to blender)
½ cup flour + more for dusting
2 cups milk
1 t vanilla
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
¾ cup sugar
Directions
Preheat oven to 350. Spray pie plate with cooking spray and dust with flour. Tap off excess. Place all ingredients in a blender, except coconut, and blend till smooth. Add the coconut and blend for a few seconds till mixed. Pour into pie plate and bake for 50 to 60 minutes. Cool on counter for about an hour and then cool in fridge for about 3 to 4 hours. Serve with berries, on top of your favorite jam or with a dollop of freshly-made whipped cream. Note: You can make this pie gluten free by substituting coconut flour. It can also be dairy-free if you use almond or oat milk instead of regular milk.

And, this pie tastes even better the next day! We hope you enjoy it. To learn some more fun and easy recipes, book a class with Cottage Cooking. Share a meal, some cooking tips and likely a few laughs too ;)

SIGN UP FOR A CLASS

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THE RAW-COMMEND

Dawn & I really love Contrada, the tiny bar on Wall Street that serves drinks, pizza and snacks. It’s part of Cucina 24, the amazing Italian restaurant owned and operated by Chef Brian Canipelli. Contrada is its own thing though, more of a quick bite & beverage, café-style kind of place, than a sit for a spell and eat a big meal kind of place. It’s perfect for stopping in or meeting up after work, before going home, or out for a night on the town. We went recently after one of my Food Tours, and sat outside in the warm evening breezes, sharing a few bites, Dawn had a drink, and it was exactly what we wanted.

Among the bites we enjoyed was this fairly traditional take on crudo, which means raw food, served with oil, herbs, and other stuff. The set-up here was tuna, with capers, oregano, sea salt, and a rich, flavorful tomato confit. I frickin’ loved it. There was a time in my life when I straight-up would not have eaten something like this, or any crudo, sashimi, tartare, etc, but Dawn got me out of my box years ago, and now I love it. If you want to try a really great crudo, get on down to Contrada. I can’t promise that it will be on the menu at any given time, but I can all but guarantee it’s gonna be great if it is!


JOHNSON CITY TACOS

Dawn and I took a drive to Johnson City for non-food related reasons and while we were there we stopped into El Charolais Mexican restaurant for tacos, and enjoyed them very much! I got pork pastor and carne asada, and both were very traditional and delicious, with minimal ingredients: Meat, onions, fresh cilantro, with a lime wedge and few radishes on the side. Is there anything in this world more perfect than that? If it’s done well, which these were, I’m gonna love ‘em, and I did. Very high recommends for these two tacos at El Charolais. They have three locations, we went to the one on Bristol highway.


SAVE NORTH LEXINGTON AVE!

Are you aware of the horrible plans that Duke Energy and the City of Asheville have proposed for North Lexington Ave, in downtown Asheville? This neighborhood needs love & attention, not destruction & ugliness. Find out more for yourselves & sign the petition by clicking THIS LINK. Believe me, this plan would be a knife in the heart of one of the coolest neighborhoods in our city!

May be an image of text that says 'Lexington Avenue Needs Your Support! 中要巴中日生 Stop the swap of public green space for a new substation Duke Energy and the City of Asheville are actively discussing new substation project which would alter the unique greenscape and character of Lexington Ave. This brings environmental and economic risks to the heart and soul o the neighborhood. Don't let the city trade trees for transformers and towers, Support the green and growing future of Lexington Ave. Learn more & get involved at www.FriendsofLexingtonAvenue.com or via the QR code. FRIENDS OF LEXINGTON AVENUE'

SIGN THE PETITION


SUBSCRIPTION DRIVE

Thank you, new subscribers! I appreciate you very much! This newsletter is free, and always will be, but when you decide to pay for your subscription, you really do help me stay independent while I provide you with the best local food coverage I can! My goals are humble, just 36 new subscribers and 5 new paid subscribers.

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