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Bad News & Good News from Dayton’s HouseMade

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Chef LeeAnne House of Housemade

In some exclusive scoop this week, we have learned that Dayton company, HouseMade LLC has good news and bad news.

You have come to love their hot sauces and spice rub lines. This locally owned company, owned by Chef LeeAnne House (also one of our Food Adventure Crew) has thrived at local vendors and has won national sauce competitions.

Unfortunately, they have had an ongoing problem, getting the Thai Chili Peppers used in their signature sauces. Currently, they have been unable to source peppers for several months due to import restrictions, trade law changes, and simple lack of local suppliers being able to handle the volume of peppers needed.

Housemade Sriracha Sauce

Housemade couldn’t have picked a more elusive pepper to make their delicious sriracha and hot honey sauces. After dealing with this “too many times” in the few years that they have been in business, Chef LeeAnne House has regretfully announced, that they will no longer continue production of her sauces.

This is heartbreaking for many local foodies, who have fallen in love with the Thai Chili Sriracha Sauce, the addicting Hot Honey Sauce, The Hot Peachy Habenero Sauce, and the Green Serrano Hot sauce. These sauces were not only popular in local stores, but many local restaurants featured dishes on the menu using these Housemade sauces.

Hard to find Thai Chili Peppers

But, there is good news.  This isn’t the end of Housemade’s culinary adventures! Chef LeeAnne has her great new spice blends available around the city and has more varieties yet to come.   She says there are no problems sourcing ingredients for these blends like they had with peppers.

HERE’S THE SKINNY on HOUSEMADE SPICE BLENDS:

You can currently find the spice blends  at:
Ghostlight Coffee House
Spice Paradise
Heart Mercantile

Housemade will still produce spice blends !

Maria’s Unique Foods
Spicy Olive (all 3 locations)
Treadway Gardens
Celebrate Local
Kroger on Stroop Rd.
Ollie’s Place
Greg’s Prime  Meats
Keener Butcher Block
Eclectic Essentials

and many more places outside of Dayton.

Chef House and her Peachy Hot Sauce

Housemade promises to continue to make cooking at home fun for everyone! Chef House will still be teaching cooking classes with her spice blends both at Dorothy Lane Market Culinary School and The Spicy Olive, olive oil stores. She will also continue to rock the local foodie scene here at Dayton Most Metro, each week with her part in Food Adventures.

Like Chef LeeAnne House says “This isn’t the end, it’s a fun new beginning.”

If things change and supplies are plentiful, would she go back to making her sauces again?  Answer:  “They may be back! You never know!..”

So until then, we will never say never.

Please browse the photos below for more info on Housemade.

For more saucy fun bout Dayton’s local food scene, click HERE and follow Food Adventures on Facebook.

Spice Blends

Housemade Sauce lineup and Sriracha Powder

Green Serrano Sauce

PEACHY !!!

Peachy sauce in production

Hot Honey

Elusive Peppers

Pepper Processing

 

 

 

Jax’s Recipe For Grilled Spicy Hawaiian BBQ Pizza

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Spicy Grilled Hawaiian Pizza – a Food Adventure on a plate !

Aloha! Jax here, from the Food Adventure Crew with our monthly recipe feature.

School may be starting, but we still have plenty of sunshine and summer  ahead of us! For many of us, summer means using the grill as much as possible. But if you’re falling into a grilling funk, here’s a fun and delicious recipe that is sure to please a crowd. And while this recipe is for a Hawaiian style pizza, get creative and use the base recipe of grilling the dough as a blank canvas for any type of pizza toppings!

You can also grill the dough ahead of time and either keep in the refrigerator for later or freeze!

When ready to eat, top the grilled dough with your favorite toppings and bake in the oven at 375 for about 15 minutes. This recipe is great for feeding a lot of people. You can lay out tons of topping and let everyone make their own!

A Drizzle of Housemade Hot Honey

Grilled Hawaiian Pizza

You’ll need:

  1. 1 lb fresh pizza dough (Bobby Flay has a great recipe)
  2. 6 pineapple rings, about 1 inch thick
  3. 2 jalapeños
  4. ¼ cup red onion chopped
  5. 8 oz shredded mozzarella
  6. 8 oz shredded sharp white cheddar
  7. 1 cup cooked bacon, crumbled.
  8. 1 cup bourbon sriracha bbq sauce (recipe to follow)

Directions:

This recipe is great for feeding party sized crowds

Preheat Grill to medium-high heat

  1. Lightly oil pineapple slices and jalapeños. For the pineapple, cook on grill until grill marks are distinct. Flip to grill both sides. For the jalapeño, it will only take 2-3 minutes. Slice up into pieces.
  2. Divide dough into four pieces. Roll out onto oiled piece of parchment paper. Lightly oil the top of the dough. Take dough and flip onto grill. Peel off parchment. Allow to cook until grill marks are distinct (about 3-minutes). Do not flip! Remove from heat and place grilled side up onto an oiled pan.
  3. Top the pizzas with bbq sauce, cheese, pineapple, jalapeno, and red onion. Place back onto grill until bottom is crispy and cheese is melted. You might have to turn heat down to avoid burning.
  4. Finish it off with a drizzle of HouseMade hot honey and bacon crumbled on top!

 

Thats not all Food Adventure fans!  You gotta have a base sauce for that pizza!

 

Bourbon Sriracha BBQ Sauce 

Jackie is known for her recipes & her  Foodie t-shirts

  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 4-6 cloves garlic, minced
  • ¾ cup bourbon whiskey
  • 2 cups ketchup
  • ½ cup packed brown sugar
  • ⅓ cup cider vinegar
  • ¼ cup tomato paste
  • ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tbsp. liquid smoke flavoring
  • 1½ tsp. salt
  • ½ tsp. black pepper
  • 1 tbs HouseMade Sriracha

Directions:

Pre-Grilled PIzza Dough

Bring the onion, garlic and whiskey to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Low heat to a simmer and allow to cook for 10 minutes. Add remaining sauce ingredients to the saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and allow the mixture to simmer for 20 minutes. Use BBQ sauce in your favorite recipes or as a dip or topping ingredient.

NOTE:

If you prefer a smooth sauce, run the sauce through a sieve or strainer to remove onion and garlic bits.

The sky is the limit for adding your own toppings

Store in refrigerator and use within 10-14 days.

(Sauce adapted from: here)

There you have it.  A fun summer twist on grilling that is sure to please the masses.

Are you a Dayton Foodie?  Then follow Food Adventures on Facebook by clicking here.

 

Browse the photos below for more about Jax and her recipe.  Stay tuned to Dayton Most Metro every Tuesday for a feature food article from the Food Adventures crew.

Pre-Grilled Pizza Dough option

The sky is the limit on the toppings you choose.

Jax is one third of the Food Adventure Crew. She is an Italian mom, who uses her family as taste testers in her home kitchen. Always “Hungry” she is a passionate foodie, and loves trying new restaurants.

Jax uses her grill for many things from Turkeys to Pizzas

Get your family involved in recipes whenever possible

 

Hummus for the Holiday!

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Lemon Chimichurri Hummus, Carrots, Flatbread and Feta for fun

Lemon Chimichurri Hummus with Grilled Carrots, doesnt that sound delicious?

Well it is, and it is something healthy and fairly easy to make for the masses this July 4th.
It is a perfect summer snack and addition to the party.  Ready to wow your friends?

Chef LeeAnne House from The Food Adventures Crew is here to share her special recipe with Dayton Most Metro readers.
In addition to Food Adventures, she also owns her own Hot Sauce and Spices company called HouseMade.

 

Chef House says “Use local produce for dipping into the hummus, from sources like Treadway’s Garden

Lemon Chimichurri Hummus with Grilled Carrots Recipe
Hummus:
2 cups canned chick peas
1 teaspoon smashed garlic
¼ cup water
¼ cup olive oil
½ teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons HouseMade Sriracha Chimichurri seasoning
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Puree all ingredients in food processor till smooth.

Grilled carrots:
Cut carrots on a bias at least an inch long. The bigger the piece the easier they are grill.
Blanch in salted boiling water. They should still be crisp. Shock the carrots in cold water to stop the cooking.

Chef House from the Food Adventures Crew

 

 

Dry off and toss in olive oil. Season with a little kosher salt.
Grill on high heat quickly for grill marks on both sides. Toss with lime juice when they come off the grill.
Top the hummus with sheep’s milk feta and fresh parsley. Serve with grilled carrots.

Grilled flatbread is great with this too!

 

There you have it.  Everyday can be the 4th of July !

We wish you and your family a Happy Independence Day and an incredible summer season filled with food, love and fun!

For more Food Adventure content, check us out and our over 7,000 foodie fans on Facebook by clicking here to “like” us.

Housemade Sriracha Spices can be found at the Yellow Cab Night Markets and other local sources.

Here is another shot of this month’s recipe.

Food Adventure Recipe of the Month: Zucchini Ribbon Skewers

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Thinly sliced grilled zucchini, the beginnings of a recipe

Attention Dayton Cooks and Foodies !

You know the Food Adventure Crew from their weekly articles and food photos shared on this site, or maybe their dinner events.

With all of this original content, there is more …. Did you know they also have a nice collection of recipes? Some have been shared in various cooking classes at Dorothy Lane Market, Living Dayton TV, Spicy Olive, or through Foremost Seafood’s site. Some recipes will make their debut here.

It is all in a NEW monthly feature now cooking on Dayton Most Metro: “Your Food Adventure Recipe of the Month.”

June starts out featuring our culinary crew hero Chef LeeAnne House and a summer favorite that will wow your friends.

Chef House getting ready for a cooking class !

Chef House has always been known for her love of veggies and her philosophy of using local vendors for that fresh,  “farm to table” dimension.  The results are Dayton’s seasonal flavors, bursting on your plate and leaving your tastebuds happy.

Without further delay let’s dive into one of those fresh recipes.

 

ZUCCHINI RIBBON SKEWERS with PEPPER SPIKED MOZZARELLA & ARUGULA PESTO 

Ingredients:

2 zucchini

2 teaspoons olive oil

½ teaspoon kosher salt

Lemon juice

ZUCCHINI RIBBON SKEWERS with PEPPER SPIKED MOZZARELLA & ARUGULA PESTO

Directions:
Pick the straightest zucchini, these will be easier to cut on the mandolin. Slice them lengthwise ¼ inch thick. Toss with olive oil and salt.

Grill on high heat quickly, get grill marks on both sides and off the grill. Toss with a pinch more salt and a little lemon juice.

 

PESTO:

1 clove garlic, smashed

4 ounces basil

2 cups arugula, packed

1/3 cup roasted salted pistachios

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons grated parmesan

Directions:
Puree all of the above ingredients in a food processor till smooth. Slowly drizzle in ¼ cup and 1 tablespoon olive oil.

Now we add and assemble with:
-Fresh mozzarella
-Hot pepper flakes or even better use HouseMade Sriracha Toasted Sriracha Powder

Assembly Directions:
Roll the zucchini ribbons up and skewer 2 to a small skewer. The mozzarella goes on the end. Season it with kosher salt and spiced pepper. Serve with the pesto.

Pesto in the processor

Try this for a summer picnic, or a party on the patio.  Your next cookout is a great chance to skewer some of these bites.

More about Chef House.  In addition to being a member of the Food Adventure Crew, she has her own line of locally made, all-natural sauces, spices and rubs called Housemade.  Her Thai Chili Sriracha sauce and Hot Honey sauce have won National competitions.  She also teaches many local cooking classes.   In the past, she has helped with catering companies and has been a chef at some top notch local restaurants.  You will be able to catch her in a FREE COOKING DEMO on Saturday July 22nd at Garlic Fest at the Sons of Italy Bella Villa Hall on County Line Rd.  Chef House will be giving out free tastes of her garlic dish to those in attendance.  Come join the party at Garlic Fest !

See you next month with another fun recipe.

Follow Chef House, the Big Ragu and Hungry Jax on Facebook by clicking HERE.

We are not food critics, we are just 3 passionate foodies that love to feature local foods!

ZUCCHINI RIBBON SKEWERS with PEPPER SPIKED MOZZARELLA & ARUGULA PESTO

 

HouseMade Introduces New Spice Blends

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We’ve been writing about HouseMade for several years, starting with the sweet sauce with a slow, powerful Thai Chili heat that was the Winner of the 2014, 2015, & 2016 Cajun Hot Sauce festival. Then there was the PEACHY Habanero, for those not so fond of the heat from the original, and then came the Serrano GREEN and the Thai Chili Hot Honey.  Those were enough to get you hooked.  But now there’s more!

Just in time to start your grilling weather off right! Who doesn’t need some fun, funky, unique spice blends to add major flavor to their meats, veggies, dips and sauces?

 

LeeAnne House, the owner and chef of HouseMade Sriracha, says “even chefs need go to spice blends to spice up their week night repertoires.” She found herself buying blends from other companies but wanted to create her own version without all the additives. Her new spice line is just like all her sriracha sauces, no colors, preservatives or anti caking agents in anything. Just great fresh flavors!

 

Chimichurri grilled zucchini and squash ribbons

There are 3 brand new HouseMade spice blends that your kitchen absolutely needs:

Salsa Verde rainbow carrot slaw

        chimichurri

        salsa verde

        chorizo

They are available at the Spicy Olive in Austin Landing and will be at The Night Market at the Old Yellow Cab tonight,  Friday, April 21 and runs from 5-10pm.  Of course there will be plenty of sriracha too.

 

 

If you haven’t been to The Night Market you are truly missing out. It is full of handmade items from local Dayton vendors. Everything from soaps, jewelry, BBQ sauces, coffee, candy, candles, sweets and hot sauces. Going on at the same time is the Food Truck Rally with a boat load of trucks. Live music and local beer on tap round out the event. And if beer isn’t your thang, check out the pedal powered espresso bar from 13North Coffee. That will keep the night going!

 

chimichurri brown sugar and garlic cured salmon bagel

If you need cooking suggestions there will lots of new recipes coming to the HouseMade Facebook page very shortly. LeeAnne’s Instagram, leonaleelady, is full of food photography using the new spice blends and of course lots of pictures of her pups! Feel free to shoot her a message. She is always ready to talk shop.

Chef House is also our resident expert at Food Adventures.

Catch her on their Instagram Page as well

Locally Owned Housemade Sauces Introduces Green Sriracha

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Locally made Green Serrano Sauce is coming to store near you

Your favorite locally owned hot sauce company, Housemade Sauces, is going GREEN.  Serrano Green that is...  Local Chef LeeAnne House has released some more bottles that she hopes will be as sought after as her previous sauces.  LeeAnne has worked in the food industry her entire life, and comes from a family of restaurant entrepreneurs.  We have the scoop on Chef House and her latest culinary creation.

*** And we are giving a FREE bottle away to a lucky, random reader who comments below ***

 

HERE’S THE SKINNY on THE NEW SERRANO GREEN HOT SAUCE:

— Serrano peppers, tomatillos and pineapples are the main ingredients for this Serrano Green sauce

— Housemade puts pineapples into a juicer to make this sauce.   Then they boil the sauce to reduce it by half for a thick sauce with a huge punch of flavor.

 

HERE’S THE SKINNY on CHEF LEEANNE HOUSE:

— A lifelong Daytonian, LeeAnne has worked in restaurants since she was a kid clearing tables.  Her recent past jobs include being an assistant or Executive Chef at a couple of Dayton area, fine dining  establishments and caterers.

— Today, Chef LeeAnne House wears many hats .

1) She is the partner in “Bad Dog, Nice Taco” food and catering.

2) She is part of the popular food blog,  “Food Adventures” featured weekly on Dayton Most Metro.

3) Chef House is also the owner of the wildly popular Housemade Sriracha Sauces.

4) LeeAnne also helps organize the local “Night Market” events at the Old Yellow Cab Building

 

You can find Housemade Sauces at Dorothy Lane Market, Foremost Seafood,  Treadway Gardens and various local vendors.   Chef House has accomplished a lot in the past 2 to 3 years with her Housemade Sauces.  Here is a breakdown that shows how far she has come, and highlights some of the best products in her inventory.

 

Chef House cooking up a big batch of her new Green Serrano Sauce

THE HISTORY of HOUSEMADE SAUCES:

— Housemade made a splash in the Dayton area in 2013, with its first sauce, a red sauce, called Housemade Sriracha.  It is a delicious condiment made with red Thai chile peppers.  A sweeter version of the traditional srirachas sold in stores, it quickly sold out on local area shelves.  It won a national sauce competition, winning first place in the 2014 Cajun Hot Sauce Festival of Louisiana.

— In 2014, Chef House then released her second product “HOT HONEY,”  a local honey, infused with red thai chiles.  It was another huge hit regionally.  It also won a competitions, gaining 2014’s Best Hot Specialty at “Jungle Jim’s Weekend of Fire.”

— Housemade also released SPICE RUBS in 2014 partnering with Miami Valley Spice Traders.  The flavors of  Thai chili sriracha rub, tomatillo-serrano salt, smoked sriracha salt and chili sriracha salt were a hit for local cooks and chefs.

— PEACHY SRIRACHA SAUCE, burst on the scene in Fall 2015 to rave reviews.  It is her familiar sweet spicy sauce, with all natural ingredients and gluten free, which is typical of Housemade products.  The sauce is very versatile, from toast topping to spicing up spreads, dips and various dishes.  The sky is the limit with this one.

— Saturday November 21st, 2015, Housemade will debut it’s GREEN SERRANO  SAUCE at the Night Market at at 700 E. Fourth Street at the Old Yellow Cab Building in Dayton.

*** WE ARE GIVING AWAY A FREE BOTTLE of GREEN SERRANO SAUCE to a random winner who comments below on the story.
The comment section is after the photos

 

What is next for this local sauce company?  Stay tuned to Food Adventures and DaytonMostMetro .com for upcoming developments.

Also, make sure you follow FOOD ADVENTURES on Facebook by clicking HERE.

Serrano Peppers for the sauce

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jason Kramer, of Housemade Sauces, bottles up from fresh Green Sauce !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A chef’s work is never done !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stockpiling sauces for Holiday sales

Bottling party at my place ….

Capturing the flavors in a bottle

All smiles late into the night, bottling the good stuff !

Draining some sauce into the a large pot

Some of the special jars available at the Night Market Nov 21st

Stirring up some magic

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Green Serrano – ready for use

Testing phase of Green Serrano – experimenting with various flavor levels

Cartoon version of Chef House

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Housemade Jams for sale – rare

Peachy Sriracha – she is sometimes called the Sriracha mama

Salts – rub me

Best stuff = Hot Honey

The bottle that started it all – Sriracha sauce

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Introducing NEW Food Adventures Crew & Fried Chicken at Lily’s Bistro ($25 Gift Card)

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Food Adventures Just Got More Adventurous !

Food Adventures just got a whole lot more adventurous….. and you can benefit by winning a $25 gift certificate to Lily’s Bistro in the Oregon district.

*** FOOD ADVENTURES WITH BIG RAGU and THE CREW ***

Blazing the trails in the foodie forums since 2008, Food Adventures has developed a large following…

Today, we add some big players to the mix.  They include Chefs, Foodie Fanatics, royalty and an appetite for Dayton that has never been bigger.  Although we have a couple of new faces, FOOD ADVENTURES with BIG RAGU and THE CREW, is still the same FOOD ADVENTURES you have come to love.  We will continue to have the MUST EATS, killer food photos that make your mouth water, and multiple visits to a place before we write an article.  Will continue to give you “THE SKINNY” on our favorites.  Follow our relentless pursuit of the best eats in the Miami Valley!

Together, your humble Food Adventurers will seek out locally owned restaurants, unique places off the beaten path, and even give our slant on some familiar favorites. Whenever we visit a place, we call it a “Food Adventure.”  You can expect pictures of each Food Adventure we embark on. You can expect us hugging waiters, visiting mom & pop establishments, posting nostalgic blogs, tongue-in-cheek comments and emotionally eating our way through life.   We don’t take ourselves seriously, enjoying the adventure all the way.  “We are not food critics, we just love to eat!”  Food Adventures won’t limit ourselves, we try it all – NO RULES !  We will leave no plate unturned.

You know the Big Ragu already ...

You already know The Big Ragu

We will continue to set the trends, host Food Adventure dinner events, and give our unique spin on Dayton’s best “Mom and Pop” places in the Miami Valley.  Food Adventures with Big Ragu and the Crew will continue to attend and support numerous local food and charity events.   We eat it all, and the photos are ours. No stock pics here.  We aren’t a share and click site.  We are Dayton Originals, so all of our stuff is original content. Often imitated, never duplicated, accept no substitutions.

You can find us here:

Facebook Page: Facebook.com/foodadv

Website: DaytonFoodies.com 

Twitter: @food_adv

Instagram: Instagram.com/Dayton_Foodies

 

Our recent “Meeting of the Mouths” happened last Sunday at Lily’s Bistro on Chicken Dinner night.  We will get into the Must Eats from that night shortly, but first…,

Ladies and gentlemen, it is time to MEET THE NEW CREW !

 

Chef House - expert foodie !LEEANNE HOUSE aka “CHEF HOUSE”:

Chef House or “The Sriracha Mamma” is all about the heat.  Lover of all things spicy she is constantly in the kitchen coming up with fun new ways to whip up veggies and add a little spice.  She is a Dayton native, with lifelong experience in the restaurant industry, working with some of the best chefs in the Miami Valley.  She loves to keep it local especially in the summer when beautiful produce is plentiful. She is a true foodie who knows we have a lot to offer in Ohio!

Chef House’s Top 5 Favorite Local Places for a Food Adventure :

(in no particular order)

1) Meadowlark (they do veggies right!)

2) Rue Dumaine (it never disappoints)

3) Fresco (best chef hands down)

4) Oregon Express (favorite pizza since I was a kiddo)

5) My kitchen ! …  duh!!!!

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JACLYN SCANLAN aka “HUNGRY JAX”:

Jackie relocated to the Dayton are in 2006. This Italian from Upstate NY found herself in a very different culinary atmosphere than what she was used to back home in Utica, NY.  However, different proved to be good a she fell in love with not only this “gem” of a city, but also the food and foodies within it! Cooking is a passion of Jackie’s.  She loves to use her husband, John, and two daughters, Coraline and Ashlyn, as her lab rats to test recipes out.  Some of her recipes have even been published in National Food Magazines!  But as much as she loves to cook, she also loves to take a night off from her kitchen and enjoy eating out and letting someone else do all the work (and the clean up)!  Other foodie interests include years of volunteering at the Dorothy Lane Market School of Cooking and being an Alton Brown fan since way back when he wore bowling shirts.  Jackie is excited to be part of the Food Adventures team and is looking forward to experiencing some new eats!

Jackie’s Top 5 Favorite Local Places for a Food Adventure:

1) Lock 27

2) The Cakery

3) Sweeney’s Seafood

4) Dorothy Lane Market

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 And our final Food Adventurer…
The King - all smilesBLAKE KING aka “THE KING”

After hopping the globe with the Air Force, The King recently touched down in Dayton with his wife and daughters. Flying recon for great local food, the Big Ragu has set the course for his newest wingman, and he is logging some serious mileage. The King is a dessert FREAK! There is no shake too shaky, pie too flakey, nor cake to…cakey for this lunatic. He wants to find the best dessert in Dayton. Please help him. He needs it, a lot.

The King’s Top 5 Favorite Local Places for a Food Adventure:

1) Taco Loco

2) Jet Freeze

3) Bill’s Donut Shop

4) Hasty Tasty Pancake House

5) Submarine House

 

 

Now to the food of the day .. not a typical article for us, this is just about one dinner …. The Sunday Chicken Dinner at Lily’s Bistro

Get your hens ready….

HERE’S THE SKINNY: 

— The dinners go from 5pm – 9pm on Sundays only

— The menu is pretty much fried chicken, with the sides, appetizers, and desserts changing from week to week.

— The prices are $9 for a 2 piece dinner, $16 for a 1/2 chicken dinner, and $28 for a whole chicken

— Sides are $3,  good prices, no clucking around

Now we ruffle our feathers and give you our patented.. Must Eats!

 

Buttered Johnnycake..

Johnny Cakes at Lily’s Bistro. Click to Enlarge the Goodness

MUST EATS:

— JOHNNY CAKES:  It might have been chicken night, but the appetizers and sides stole the show !  We couldn’t stop talking about the Johnny cakes. Pancakes, as an appetizer? This was right up our alley. The King wished he could have bottled the scent to keep by his pillow at night. Made with jalepeno, for just enough contrasting kick to the sweet buttery mapleness.   These cakes were  slathered in butter and syrup and simply amazing.  Who would have thunk it?   Crispy, sweet and spicy made for a perfect combination, and Chef House’s favorite dish of the night.

— SMOKED SALMON DIP:  Another great appetizer of the night, served with bagel “nuggets.”  We started out polite, then found ourselves thumb wrestling for the last bits.  Addicting, and addiction is an ugly thing.

— HOMEMADE MASHED POTATOES: We are talking the real deal, mashed with decent sized chunks in them.  We wondered why conversation stopped, it was as if all the Food Adventurers discovered these at the same time and were very quietly stuffing their faces.

— COOLDADDY COCKTAIL:  This spicy cocktail is a must.  Who could pass up a drink that features Chef House’s Sriracha sauce? Tequila, handmade pepper syrup, strawberries, cilantro are also among the ingredients.

— BEIGNETS:  Pronounced “Ben-yays.”   Known in some circles as “pizza frite”, “zeppole” or fried dough, these puffs of dough are a perfect end to a rich dinner.  Ever so slightly covered with sifted powdered sugar, Big Ragu had white on his “man bib vest” in no time.

 

Smoked Salmon Dip with Bagel nuggets - a must eat

Smoked Salmon dip, made in house, with Bagel Bites

Honorable Mention:  The mac n cheese and hand breaded, fried okra deserve a nod!

Thank you for reading our special  Food Adventure with Big Ragu and the Crew!

We always visit a place multiple times before we write a story, so we are ready for a trip back to Lily’s.. want to join us?  COMMENT BELOW on the story for a chance to win!

**** CONTEST **** WIN a $25 Gift Certificate to LILY’S BISTRO WITH BIG RAGU AND THE CREW !!   Just comment on the story below for a chance to win.  One entry per person, please.  A winner will be chosen at random.  We will revisit this restaurant for an another Food Adventure and you are welcome to join us !
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Hot House! Local Chef Heats Things Up With New Sriracha Sauce

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Hot stuff in Dayton

Dayton Chef LeeAnne House, with her Housemade Sriracha Sauce !

We’ve got the boss with the hot sauce right here!  Want to heat up your Food Adventures at home?  Then look no further.

Local chef, our own LeeAnne House has made her mark in the kitchens of upscale area restaurants. Now she is out on her own, with a new company called Housemade.  Her first bottled product is a popular one, called Housemade Sriracha Sauce. She started experimenting with new sauces in her apartment kitchen and the batches grew, and so did the demand.  Now she has taken her saucy self corporate.

Believe it or not, sriracha is a style of sauce, and not a brand name.  We are all familiar with that plastic bottle with the rooster and green spout.  This gives that sauce a kick in the pants.

 

HERE’S THE SKINNY:

— LeeAnne grew up in the food industry.  Her parents at one time owned various restaurants like Lincoln Park Grille, Oregon Express, and others.  LeeAnne worked her way up from bussing tables to chief hottie.

bottling plant

Bottles of Housemade Sriracha, Ready to be Labeled

— The sauce took a year and a half to perfect.  Originally home cooked and home produced, she is now off  to the big time with the same, natural recipe.  Food Adventures have been trying her home batch sriracha sauces for months, so we are especially happy to see her recent success.

— This sauce won 1st prize in the 2014 Louisiana Cajun Hot Sauce Festival, for the best specialty chili sauce, and is being blogged about nationally from California to Nashville.  Foodies and Food Adventurers agree, it’s fantastic!

— A bottle of this sauce goes a long way, good thing there is a 2 year shelf life.

 

WHY IS THIS SAUCE A MUST EAT?

— FLAVOR:  That is the most important thing, right?  Not just heat for the sake of heat, but good flavor is what a sauce is all about.  Housemade Sriracha is sweeter, hotter and meaner than the sriracha you are used to.   There is a good amount of tang and zing to get your tastebuds rolling.

 — ALL PEPPERS in this sauce are Thai Chili Peppers, and the sauce has NO STEMS.  This is huge, because most mass produced sauces have stems ground into them, thereby changing the flavor of the sauce.  Housemade keeps the flavor truer to the pepper itself with the tedious process of stem removal.

— NATURAL INGREDIENTS:  We wont give away the recipe, just read the side of the label for the natural ingredients.  Did we mention it is vegan and gluten-free ?

— LOCALLY MADE – Whenever possible local ingredients are used, local farmers, and the sauce is assembled from Dayton to Chillicothe.  Hello, support local, buy local.  Expect different sauces from Housemade in the future !

 

The Big Ragu knows you can get Housemade Sriracha at Foremost Seafood

The Big Ragu knows where to get Housemade Sriracha, and now, you do too !

The Big Ragu loves the sauce on chili, shrimp, wings and anything mexican (nachos, tacos, tortas, burritos and sopes).

LITE BITES: Try the sriracha on egg white omelettes, roasted veggies, homemade vegetable soups, and quinoa.

 

Housemade Sriracha Sauce has made its way into local restaurants and has been appearing on specials at Lily’s Bistro, and pizzas at  Oregon Express to name a couple.  We expect more locally owned restaurants to follow this trend.  In fact, the demand has been so good, that a second batch has already gone into production.

 

WHERE CAN YOU BUY THE BOTTLES OF HOUSEMADE SRIRACHA?

— Arrow Wine & Spirits

— Clash Consignments

— Eclectic Essentials

— Foremost Seafood

— Healthy Alternative Markets

— The Spice Rack

— Yankee Street Market

 

In more ways than one, it is the hottest product in Dayton.  Housemade Sriracha, we love you, you hot thang you ….

Speaking of hotness, check out Food Adventures on Facebook  and “like” them HERE

Also, see more of LeeAnne and her hot sauce in the photo gallery below!

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