chomp & stomp 2009

this was ryan's first year participating in chomp & stomp... a cooler of beer, a pot of chili, his idea of the perfect day off.
ryan tied for 7th place out of 80 participants, though he had hoped to place first, it was still a great day!
while ryan's chili recipe will remain a secret, we will say that it had hand diced angus beef brisket and 9 different kinds of chilies, dried and fresh, giving it layers of flavor. 6 gallons of chili was gone in 25 minutes. next year he will have to make more!thanks to all the staplehouse supporters for coming out and rooting us on, especially the ones that came back for thirds! for ma, kara and ben, a special thank you for taking time out of your day (a lot of time) to sling chili with ryan!and chef ria, we are coming to get you... as soon as the "real" staplehouse opens of course! and finally to the guys at "big foot chili", thank you for the shot of burbon, congrats on the spirit award.

inside the chef's kitchen - by: foodiebuddha

our buddy, foodiebuddha, asked ryan if he'd answer a few fun questions for his new weekly posting project called, inside the chef's kitchen. you may recognize a similar series of questions from the bravo tv show, inside the actors studio, where foodiebuddha acquired his inspiration. find the whole article here.

1. What is your favorite ingredient?
A: Changes all the time with seasons. I love tomatoes, but by fall I’m sick of them. I get restless with most food, if I had to choose pork, tomatoes and sherry vinegar to name a few.

2. What is your least favorite ingredient?
A: Tofu

3. James Beard Award or Michelin Guide star?
A: James Beard…..the things you have to do to get a Michelin star are not things I am interested in (all the respect for those guys though), just not my cup of tea. Also, I’m convinced that a Michelin star in America is not the same as a star in Europe…its a shame.

4. What turns you off?
A: Apathetic restaurant workers….don’t make it so obvious that you are doing it for the money, it is the "service" industry after all. If you don’t love what you are doing in this business you will live a short life.

5. What is your favorite curse word?
Fuck! It has so many contexts, it is versatile. Joy… "Fuck that’s delicious! …….Anger "FUCK!…… Pleasure…"you get the picture".

6. What one item must you have in your kitchen?
A: Salt and fucking pepper!….see! there is another use.

7. What one item would you ban from your kitchen?
A: Chef pants with chili peppers on the.

8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
I can’t imagine doing anything other than what I do, but I guess I have always had a soft spot for pumpkins. So I would be a pumpkin farmer, with all the haunted mazes and caramel corn a guy could ever want.

9. What profession would you not like to do?
Grease trap cleaner….have you ever smelled a restaurant grease trap in the middle of an Atlanta summer…NO THANKS!

10. You are faced with the choice of selecting your last meal, what’s in it?
Pacific north west oyster, king crab swimming in butter, a bowl of well made chicken stock with some nice bread and butter, a couple spoons of mash potatoes with beluga caviar (equal parts), a little toro perhaps, tasty china’s pork in garlic mud, an In and Out "double double"burger and for dessert……. some wings from Taco Mac. I know someone is going to give a really beautiful story of there last meal, but what the hell, if my light is getting ready to blink, I’m finishing up with the good stuff!

the atlantan

thank you to the atlantan for a very nice write up on several supper clubs around atlanta, including staplehouse! check it out here and search for pages 108-109.

dinner 11 - the hidinger haunting

the hidinger haunting of 2009 was a frightening delight. guests arrived in suitable attire including: santa clause, "hog heaven" and a "holy cow", a butcher, a bottle of opus one, sarah palin and a vampire straight out of salem!

guests were treated to a surprise halloween menu. this was a first for staplehouse. thank you to all for trusting ryan to the creepy cuisine! for this special dinner we also brought in the KSUTellers, a professional storytelling group. 10 tellers came and told entertaining tales for our guests. some frightening, some true and some absolutely hilarious. thank you KSUTellers!!!

the menu

warm fungus
liver, beans and a nice chianti
night of the living duck
road kill
chocolate mouse, red wine blueberries and marcona almonds (ryan couldn't come up with anything "ghoulish" for chocolate mouse, so it is what it is!)

liver, beans and a nice chianti
pan roasted foie gras, lentils with homemade bacon and a chianti reduction
a group of deep dark red wines for the night.
night of the living duck
duck confit, celery root puree, beet and walnut relish

sweet "ma", ryan's mom, helped us out for the evening.
ryan's original outfit was eaten by our dog the night before, so... you get the idea.
ryan's favorite dish of the night, "road kill".
step one. a splatter of blood (beet puree).
step two. a pool of maggots (rosemary and beet risotto).

step three. the carcass (braised beef short rib).
step four. a garnish of fried brussels sprouts to bring the dish together (because nothing is scarier than brussels sprouts). muah-ha-ha-ha-haa.
nothing scary here... just good ol' chocolate mouse topped with red wine macerated blueberries and marcona almonds.
our KSUTellers toasting before story time!
scarryyyyyyyyyyyyyyone of our very talented tellers captivates...the crew... thanks to everyone who attended and made the night memorable! a special thanks to shawn and natalie for the use of some photos! can't wait for next years 'hidinger haunting of 2010'! muah-ha-haha-haa.