A Great Guy

I thought I was wild and crazy about food and football, but I've met my match in Guy Fieri, the chef, restaurant owner and hot-cha-cha TV personality of the Food Network show "Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives."

Guy is just back at his Northern California home from a lei-over in Honolulu, where he did cooking demos for 1,200 troops (he is pro-soldier to the core) at Pearl Harbor. After wheeling his son to school, he fielded my call from Dallas, and he was extremely generous with his time, talking about who quarterbacks his team, the fried butter at the State Fair of Texas, Eli Manning taking his front line to the Kentucky Derby, his upcoming book "More Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives" (set for release Nov. 3; please pardon the screenshot) and his groundbreaking 21-city "foodapalooza" tour Guy Fieri Roadshow. It's 21 cities in 30 days, complete with what sounds like the world's biggest margarita machine - able to churn 25,000 servings in 4 minutes. His passion and fire shoot right through the phone - he credits his family, buddies and his pro team for making it all come together. Love that Guy!

Guy's first book, "Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives," a New York Times bestseller, started at 40,000 copies and has topped 400,000. I tell you this because if "More Diners" is anything like the first, grab it for the behind-the-curtain stories from his "Kulinary Krew," new leads on more Triple Ds across America and more jaw-dropping recipes.

Why should we care? Because spotlights on small businesses help us preserve what is good in this country, built with tradition and sweat and family values in the face of mass marketed, corporately commonplace chains. I could chew on this topic, but I'd rather go follow his lead to Twisted Root Burger, a place I've never heard of in Dallas. Just so you know, Guy doesn't pick the locations for the Triple D show, but he vets the food, characters and stories, and his research team is on site more than an ESPN College GameDay crew.

Here's a recipe from Guy's first book that had me running to the cereal aisle. The results, in my non-chef professional opinion, were off the plate!

Cap'n Crunch French Toast
(adapted from a recipe courtesy of Blue Moon Cafe)

4 to 5 Servings

3/4 cup heavy cream
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 cups Cap'n Crunch cereal
8 to 10 slices bread, such as Texas toast or French bread
Butter for cooking

Topping
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups assorted fresh seasonal berries

1. Mix the cream, eggs, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl and whisk until combined.
2. Put the cereal in a storage bag and use a rolling pin to crush cereal until it resembles cracker meal. Transfer the cereal to a shallow dish.
3. Dip a couple of slices of the bread into the cream mixture until soft but not completely soaked. Let excess liquid drip from the bread, then press into the cereal crumbs to coat evenly. Place on a sheet pan and repeat with the remaining slices.
4. Heat a large skillet or griddle over medium heat, add butter as needed, and cook the bread until caramelized on both sides, about 6 to 8 minutes total.
5. For the whipped cream topping: Beat the cream, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl with a hand mixer to soft peaks. Dollop on top of the French toast and serve with the berries.

(reprinted with permission from "Diners, Drive-Ins, & Dives: An All American Road Trip with Recipes, William Morrow, 2008)

For tailgating, I like the Black Bean Hummus. See page 92.

May the road rise to meet you, Guy. Keep putting the "badda" in the badda-bing.