TV Bites: Goldfinger

THE MENU:
Golden Tomato-Basil Soup w/Cheddar Goldfish Croutons


Well, I suppose you've been wondering where I've been (or not). My herniated disc problem came back and so I was laid up again for another six weeks through Christmas. Then, I've just been busy reassessing my life and since I haven't been able to get anyone interested in the Chef du Cinema book, it's just time for me to move on.

Depending on where my life takes me over the next year, I may return to publish more posts and another class here and there. But for now, it's time to take my chef's hat off and go on a new adventure and see what happens.

Since I had already written this post, here it is.

I loved James Bond as a kid. I was just the right age when Goldfinger came out and I decided then I was going to be a secret agent when I grew up. Or at least try to be as suave and cool as Sean Connery (and also throw in James Coburn in the Flint movies). I bought all the toys and used to play secret agent in my backyard. Like Dr. Who, I guess your first Bond is always the "real" Bond to you, and Connery is it for me.

So that's that. Let's get on with it....

Goldfinger Class Cancelled

My deepest apologies to those who signed up, but we've had to cancel this weekend's class.

I'll be rescheduling the Goldfinger class to sometime in January.

Have a great holiday season and see you then, I hope.

The Class: O Brother, Where Art Thou?

THE CLASS:
Jailbird BBQ Chicken Wings
Pappy O'Daniel's Buttermilk Biscuits 'n' Honey Butter
Grilled Boneless Rib Eye Steak with “Gratinated” Potatoes
Sauteed Greens & Corn
Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie


First things first... Wow, what a great class. Full house. Thanks all who came and especially the staff and volunteers at Central Market for a great job in making it happen.

I'm gonna say it one more time, though I've said it in the last few posts, that if you've been following this adventure, you'll know I got myself a herniated disc at the end of February which pretty much put me out of commission for almost two months. After that, my life was pretty much focused on physical therapy and getting myself functional again. The biggest problem, and remains so, is that sitting for long periods of time is not beneficial for me (as if it ever was!). So I took a break from it all in for the sake of my health.

And as I have for the last half decade now, I hightailed it up to Montreal to get away from the Texas heat of summer. This summer, because being in Montreal affords me a lot of opportunity to walk, I decided to take a longer than usual trip. I also took on more work than I usually do which meant more sitting on my duff than I wanted, but everyone's gotta work and thankfully, so far, I haven't had any recurring issues, though I'm still not all back (in my back) yet.

Hopefully, you've been following me on either Facebook or Twitter as I've been posting some cool links, to try and keep you amused, of food and/or movie related articles, as well as some of the articles I've written over the summer. If not, here are some links to them (shameless self-promotion time) which I hope you will enjoy reading.

New Class Tickets Now Available - O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Time: Saturday September 14, 2013 · 6:30pm - 9:30pm
Location: Central Market North, 4001 North Lamar, Austin, TX
CLICK HERE TO RESERVE

For my 20th class and 3rd anniversary teaching, I will be presenting a 3-course meal inspired by the Oscar-nominated adventure O Brother, Where Art Thou? Directed by the Coen Brothers, the film is a depression-era retelling of Homer's The Odyssey. The film stars George Clooney, John Turturro, and Tim Blake Nelson as three escaped convicts in 1920's Mississippi on a quest to find a hidden treasure. The film co-stars' former Austinite blues guitarist Chris Thomas King, Holly Hunter, and Charles Durning.

The Menu:
Jailbird BBQ Chicken Wings
Pappy O'Daniel's Buttermilk Biscuits 'n' Honey Butter
Grilled Boneless Rib Eye Steak with “Gratinated” Potatoes
Sauteed Greens & Corn
Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie

Interviews & Reviews! Chef du Cinema Live on KOOP Radio's Lights Camera Austin & A Nice Write-Up in the Chronicle!

First up, my interview with Robert Sims from KOOP Radio's Lights Camera Austin from a couple of weeks ago. Click the image to hear the interview!


Also, a great little write up in the Austin Chronicle from back in April I haven't posted!


Chef du Cinema Presents 'American Graffiti'
Also: Bourbon root beer
By Joey Keeton, 12:41PM, Wed. Apr. 3

Chef du Cinema, aka Ron Deutsch, makes me wish that I were dating somebody. And had money.

If you happen to have the relationship/money combo, or are just extremely into food and/or American Graffiti – George Lucas' nostalgic classic from 1973 about a group of kids on their last night before college in 1962 – you'd be doing yourself a favor to check out Deutsch's presentation of the two at Central Market this Saturday, April 6.

The word "unique" has a tendency to be tossed around all too haphazardly in the entertainment industry, but when somebody's résumé includes concert engineer for the Dead Kennedys, 10 years as a screenwriter and story analyst, documentary filmmaker, journalist, and renowned chef, I feel relatively safe in using it. Ron Deutsch, and his cooking class, are unique.

read more.....

(shameless self-promotion time!) New Interview with 20 Feet from Stardom director Morgan Neville

Unsung Heroes: 'Twenty Feet from Stardom' Hails the Singers behind the Hits
by Ron Deutsch
Documentary Magazine, Summer 2013

For nearly two decades, Morgan Neville has defined himself as one of the most prolific documentary producer/directors of American pop culture. Beginning with his 1995 film Shotgun Freeway, which imagined a history of Los Angeles through the eyes of its denizens like James Elroy and Buck Henry, Neville has explored the lives and work of such artists as Muddy Waters, Hank Williams, James Brown, James Taylor, Iggy Pop and a host of others. His latest film,Twenty Feet from Stardom, profiles the unsung songstresses of rock 'n' roll—the backup singers you've heard but not heard of.

"What I realized early on is that telling the unfamiliar story behind the familiar is something that has always been of interest to me," Neville maintains. "Even going back to Shotgun Freeway. It was a way of retelling LA history from a kind of microscopic point of view. Everybody has an idea of Hollywood or LA history, but let's find out what the invisible history is about it, so when you think about LA, you will think about it differently.

"That's certainly been happening with Twenty Feet from Stardom," Neville continues. "It changed how I hear music and hopefully it changes the way others will. I spent a couple of years while working on this with the radio on, suddenly hearing vocals in songs I've heard a thousand times and realizing just how they were constructed and how important those background vocals were. Being able to take a song and share it anew—I love that. It just adds so much more depth to things we take for granted."

more....