Things to do in Dayton | Restaurants, Theatre, Music and More
“Chopped” Style chef competition. Anyone can participate and win the grand prize!
Antioch College and Mischievous Penguin INC. Present
Food Fight at Birch Kitchen
Sunday, December 15
6 PM
$10 admission at door (no ticket pre-sales)
An exciting culinary competition with music, food, and cash bar featuring local breweries.
Participation in the competition and judging is done via raffle. All are welcome! Home cooks, chefs, anyone could take home the cash prize for First and Second Place.
To sauté is to cook food quickly in a minimal amount of fat over relatively high heat. The word comes from the French verb “sauter,” which means “to jump,” and describes not only how food reacts when placed in a hot pan but also the method of tossing the food in the pan. It is one of the most important cooking methods and is essential to your knowledge in the kitchen, whether you’re cooking for 1 or 100. Come learn the tricks of the trade from Chef Gum in this hands-on class!
John Lemmon, Author of “Beer Makes Everything Better”
Dayton native John Lemmon has a passion for home brewing beer. He has worked in jobs from restaurant management to corporate property management and has always found time to indulge his brew hobby. He even developed a beer that is served at Star City Brewery in Miamisburg . It is a session IPA called “Hip Hop o Potamus.”
The Food Adventure Crew’s Big Ragu caught up with John for a couple of beers at Star City, and although we have known John for 20 years. we recently learned of his brewing hobby.
Now he has added author to his resume. And it is a cookbook of sorts….
The book is called “BEER MAKES EVERYTHING BETTER.” It is subtitled “101 Recipes for Using Beer to Make Your Favorite Happy Hour Grub.” Click here for info on purchasing the book.
John’s wife is a very successful author of fiction novels and through her dealings, he found himself in the middle of an opportunity to write a book about his passion. BEER !
John is a true Food Adventurer. His passion for brews and food is inspiring.
IT IS IN THE GENES:
After a few years of brewing, one of John’s siblings was researching the family tree. As fate would have it, they learned history was repeating itself. John’s great, great Grampa Johann (John) Grimm, was listed as a brewmaster in the turn of the century census. Johann Grimm was a brewmaster for 32 years before prohibition put his company out of business. This coincidence makes you wonder, was John “born to brew ?”
John also runs a fun blog called “That Happy Hour Guy.” Stay up to date with his activities on this FACEBOOK PAGE
WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS:
The book “Beer Makes Everything Better” is selling well, and John just finished a busy book signing event at a Centerville Library.
The book has recipes using all types of beers, and John says you can choose local beers or your favorite large-scale breweries. Check out one of his recipes here BEER BAKED WINGS !
He has some upcoming gigs you my want to hit.
Feb 3rd – Star City Brewery Book Signing
Feb 19th – he is at the Dayton Brew Club meeting taking place at Warped Wing Brewery.
Want more scoop on brews and food in the Miami Valley? Check back for a new Food Adventure article EVERY WEEK right here on DaytonMostMetro. Follow Food Adventures on Facebook with a click HERE
Enjoy browsing the gallery below.
Successful Authors in love – John and Jessica Lemmon
John making Beer Turkey chili from his cookbook
Beer lover and beer cookbook author, John Lemmon
The locally written book you need to add to your collection !
Owner Anna Borchers (right) on Living Dayton TV
Anna Borchers may be new to Dayton, Ohio, but she is an old pro at baking. Our Food Adventure Crew is excited to introduce you to the owner of Maui Mae’s Bakery and tell Anna’s story.
Have you ever tasted paradise? Look no further. We are in love with her chocolates, pralines and macadamia nuts. If you like to give locally made gifts, she might have just what you are looking for this holiday season. Get ready to learn about one of the “up and coming” businesses in the Miami Valley.
HERE’S THE SKINNY on MAUI MAE’S BAKERY:
Raw Chocolate and Macadamia Nuts
—Maui Mae’s began in, as you would guess, in Maui, Hawaii in 2011. Anna had her first child and realized she didn’t want to go back to work. From there, a business was born.
—Anna comes from a family of natural cooks. Her mother made everything from scratch and was an excellent baker. Baking runs in this family! Not only Anna’s mother, but her great grandmother on her father’s side (whose name was Mae) and all three of her great grandmother’s daughters were great bakers as well. Of course Anna’s children already like to bake with her and be official taste testers. Her husband is a Dayton native and Chaminade Julienne graduate. It is definitely a family business.
Maui Mae’s Logo
— When Maui Mae’s was in Hawaii, the baking first started in a friend’s restaurant at night while the restaurant was closed. Anna made cookies, breads, torts, brownies and much more. Now in Dayton, she focuses on Hawaiian pralines, raw coconut chocolates (they melt in your fingers and are so amazing) along with Hawaiian grown macadamia nuts.
— The company logo is Anna’s daughter, hula dancing.
WHERE TO FIND MAUI MAE’S “MUST EATS”:
You can find her products in quite a few local stores: Arrow Wine on Far Hills, all three Dorothy Lane Markets, the Centerville Whole Foods and both Jungle Jim’s.
Hawaiian Pralines
— Maui Mae’s phone number for special orders is (808) 268-8021 or [email protected]
—If you want to meet Anna Borchers in person, come check out one of the many events she sells at. She will be at the Night Market on December 16th. This market is held at the Yellow Cab Building at 700 E. 4th street from 5pm-10pm. The Night Market features free entry, lots of local vendors and local beer on tap.
Maui Mae’s Bakery has some delicious options
—You can also catch her at the Oakwood Farmers Market holiday event on December 11th from 11am-5pm at 1947 Far Hills Ave.
—Throughout the year she frequents the 3rd on 3rd, and The Grandview Farmers Market. She also does the Cyclops Festival in Yellow Springs, Dayton Most Metro’s Sweet Treats Festival, and the Chocolate Festival. She is a busy lady!
MORE ABOUT MAUI MAE’S OWNER, ANNA BORCHERS:
Chef House took some time to ask Anna a few of our favorite questions, of course many about food.
Macadamia Nuts, in fresh from Hawaii
Q1 – What is Anna’s favorite food and dessert?
***Eggplant Parmesan and chocolate cake.
Q2 – Anna, do you cook at home regularly, and if so what is your favorite cuisine?
***Yes, she loves to cook at home, loves to cook dinner for the family and her fave cuisine is Italian.
Santa gives Maui Mae’s a thumbs up for Christmas Gifts !
Q3 – Can Maui Mae’s do special orders for holiday parties and gifts?
***Yes! She has a variety of trays available and Christmas tins. She will even deliver orders over $30.
Q4 – Do you have any local collaborations?
***Yes! She buys her cocoa from Fairly Simple, uses Twisted River Coffee and is hoping to use Chef JC’s Hawaiian vanilla very soon.
Food Adventures cannot stress enough, our fondness for the sweet tastes of Maui Mae’s Bakery, and charming nature of the owner, Anna.
Beer Pralines !
Be the hit of this year’s Christmas, and spread the love from this local business. Hurry and place your orders at (808) 268-8021 to ensure you have your piece of paradise, in time for the Holiday Season.
Please browse the photos below for more photos of Maui Mae’s goodies. Try not to drool all over the computer. These one of a kind, mouth watering creations will do that to you. Make sure you get to taste this stuff. It is a true, local Food Adventure !
Are you a foodie with love for local restaurants? Then join the 7,000 Dayton area foodies on Food Adventure’s Facebook Page CLICK HERE.
A perfect Christmas Gift – GIVE LOCAL !!
Raw Chocolate with Macadamia nuts
Special Creations form Maui Mae’s
More Macadamia Nuts over Raw Chocolate
Anna and her family all participate in the business
Green Sriracha Bread Pudding by Chef House
Everybody is talking turkey, turkey turkey… giving pointers on grilling a turkey, baking one, deep frying one, etc, etc and so on.
Well, the Food Adventures crew says .. STUFF IT ! Literally. We want to share our secret or not so secret tips for stuffing, which is just as important as the turkey!
*** CHEF HOUSE’S TAKE ON STUFFING: Try Bread Pudding as an alternative. Always use quality ingredients.
—Stuffing vs. Bread Pudding by Chef House: I love both equally. My step dad makes an insanely good oyster stuffing every year for Christmas. It is loaded up with stock, butter and of course lots of oysters. I think gizzards are in there too.
Chef House in the Living Dayton TV Kitchen
Jax with a plate of freshly carved Turkey
Wow, are you drooling yet? We are just getting started on this Food Adventure Holiday edition….
HUNGRY JAX’S TAKE ON STUFFING: Don’t Stuff it ! Tweak it !
Hey fellow foodies… here are my tips on getting the most of your stuffing experience….
— I don’t ever put stuffing inside my turkey, I just cook it in a separate dish! Why? Because there is a slight risk of salmonella if the turkey is under cooked. By placing stuffing inside the turkey you’re creating longer and unreliable cooking times. Don’t risk turning a holiday into a sick day.
Jackie never puts stuffing in her turkeys. Maybe a few herbs…
—Here are some tweaks I have done with test recipes!
1. Stuffing muffins: basically take your favorite stuffing recipe and cook it in a well greased muffin cups instead. baking time will be shorter so keep an eye on them. But now you have individual servings!
2. Hollow out a pumpkin or any other favorite squash (acorn would be fun too!) and bake the stuffing in the squash! This is a great pairing with stuffing that has the flavors of sage, maple or even apples!
Jax added some cranberrys to this stuffing
3. Add ins: Doctor up a simple stuffing by adding apples, pears, maple sausage, bacon or pancetta! Raisins, crasins and water chestnuts are also great too!
Finally, we have the last crew member giving some tips:
THE BIG RAGU’S TAKE ON STUFFING: Go Italian with it.
Big Ragu chopping garlic in the DLM Culinary Center
The Big Ragu says “here is my super duper, top secret, family recipe for Italian style stuffing that is versatile, quick and easy.”
This recipe, developed by my mom, is used regularly by our family for turkey stuffing, stuffed artichokes, stuffed mushrooms and even stuffed clams. I have tweaked it in my own special way, but basically it comes down to …. the “butter drizzle” at the end.
ITALIAN STYLE STUFFING RECIPE:
Oyster Stuffing, Ready for the Oven at Big Ragu’s home
Ingredients: 1 Loaf of Bread, 2 Eggs, 2 TBS Minced Garlic, 3 dashes of garlic powder, 3 dashes black pepper, 1 can of chicken broth (14oz), 2 TBS dried Oregano, 2 TBS Basil (dried or fresh), and a stick of melted butter or 2.
Directions: Whirl a loaf of bread in a food processor (Ragu normally uses Wonder Bread) or chip a loaf of bread by hand into silver dollar size pieces. Place bread into a big mixing bowl. Add eggs and spices and mix by hand, no.. really, using your hand and fingers. All the time slowly adding chicken broth until stuffing is mixed and slightly wet. The stuffing is best cooked in a casserole dish at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes until golden brown. *** The final and maybe most important step: Right before serving, drizzle some hot, melted butter over the top of the dressing.
Ragu’s Turkey Stuffed with Lemon Halves and Quartered Onions
Want Oyster Suffing (Dressing)? Use the above recipe and add a pint or quart of raw oysters, depending on how much of a seafood lover you are.
But Ragu, you say… “You didn’t put the stuffing in the turkey?”
NOPE.. I always cook it in a separate dish.
Here is what I stuff all turkeys with: Equal amounts of lemon halves and quartered onions. I stuff them in until they are bursting out. But I never eat the onions or lemons.
We hope this helps make your Thanksgiving plate complete
So there you have it…
The Food Adventure Crew of Chef House, Hungry Jax and The Big Ragu want to thank you for checking out our tips, and wish each and every one of you a Happy Thanksgiving.
Are you a Dayton Foodie? Follow us on Facebook by clicking HERE. We feature amazing photos, restaurant features, dinner events, charity events, recipes, cooking classes and so much more!
Feel free to browse some of our Holiday and party photos below.
Chef House’s Green Sriracha Bread Pudding !
Even use Ragu’s Stuffing for Artichokes
Use the same stuffing techniques for whole chicken dinners
Stuffed Clams by Big Ragu
We wish you a Happy Thanksgiving
Stuffed Portabella Mushroom – ready for the oven
Never stuff a deep fried turkey
Stuffing and more, makes the turkey dinner even better.
Jackie basting her grilled Turkey
Just Stuff It ! With lemon halves and onion quarters
My wife and I recently watched Jessica Jones, the extraordinary television series on Netflix. The show is weighty, dark, funny, thought-provoking, and fun. I’d read commentary about the female-driven superhero series from people I respect, and the show did not disappoint.
Once we finished Jessica Jones, we couldn’t help but watch another Marvel property on Netflix, Daredevil. If you’re counting that’s roughly 28 hours of television that we binge-watched in a manner of a few weeks. Great for keeping up with the zeitgeist and relaxing.
Terrible for almost everything else.
According to a Bureau of Labor Statistics survey (based on 2014 data and released in July 2015), Americans watched television for an average of almost three hours per day. There were weekend days during our Marvel/Netflix binge-watching extravaganza during which we exceeded this average.
Probably the excuse I hear from people who don’t work out and don’t cook at home is lack of time. You see where I’m going with this television thing, right?
The only way to think about health and wellness is this: if you’re not exercising at all and not cooking most of your meals at home, then you have no time to watch television.
If you care at all about your lifelong health and quality of life, then you should construct your daily calendar along these priorities (in this order).
1.) Sleep — Block off 7 to 8 hours
2.) Nutrition — Schedule your grocery trips and build in time for food prep and cleanup.
3.) Exercise — When, where, and how will you be working out?
If you listed your top five priorities based on where you spend your time and what you do most consistently, what would that list look like? For many of the people I coach, initially that list looks something like this:
1.) Work
2.) Television
3.) Social media/online time
4.) Eating out
Candidly, I don’t often attack people’s television habits head on. I tiptoe my way toward the topic, even when I know right away that the person I’m coaching is watching hours of television. I’m wary because hearing that one watches too much television feels like the worst kind of judgmental and condescending rebuke. That’s a recipe for shame—not exactly the kind of relationship I like to have with my clients.
And yet I cannot escape the truth. The amount of television you’re currently watching might actually be detrimental to your health. Those few weeks of binge-watching decreased the amount I cooked, decreased the amount of sleep that I got, and decreased my level of readiness for work.
The difficult thing for someone trying to balance a healthy lifestyle with living a textured existence is we’ve never been in an era with more interesting choices on television. Very good television, like good literature, has the capacity to make us more empathetic, thoughtful souls. That’s not a bad thing. So I’m not here to tell you to give up television completely. But here are some guidelines you can use to make sure that your TV-watching habits don’t interfere with your health.
1.) Cut the cord: Getting rid of your 200+ channels will go a long way toward helping you eliminate the mindless flipping of channels that can suck away an evening better spent cooking, talking, and having sex. You’ll have to be more intentional about your TV-watching choices (by paying specifically for shows on services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, or Hulu), which is exactly what you’re after. Cut away the fat.
2.) Don’t binge: Shows like Mad Men, Jessica Jones, and Breaking Bad demand binge-watching. Establish a rule for yourself or your house that you’ll never watch more than one show in a row. That way you can grab an hour in front of the television to unwind without losing hours of your life.
3.) Quality over quantity: Empty TV calories like terrible mid-season NBA basketball and HGTV reruns featuring wealthy people complaining about the backsplash in $500,000 homes are the equivalent of drinking Kool-Aid for lunch. Your time is better spent elsewhere (I promise).
Food Adventure in a Bottle – Housemade Sriracha, a Dayton Original
We had to follow up on our own Chef LeeAnne House and her Sriracha sauce, because it has really taken off since our first article–>read here. Want a bottle of her amazing sauce for free?? Then comment on the story below and you will be entered into the contest. One name will be chosen at random next week.
The locally made Housemade Sriracha Sauce is a “must eat” and must have condiment. It has popped up at various vendors all over town, and is now stretching to Cincinnati, Columbus and beyond.
Haven’t tried it yet? Well this Sunday, is a perfect time.
— RELEASE PARTY FOR THE NEW SRIRACHA BEER at TOXIC BREW this SUNDAY, AUGUST 17th at 1PM.
Two popular Dayton brands collide as Toxic Brewery releases their Sriracha Beer made with Housemade Sriracha Sauce. It is a Food Adventure in a pint.
Get to 431 E. Fifth St., and enjoy some beer and food samples made with Housemade Sriracha.
Other events include, a couple of weeks ago, when the DOROTHY LANE MARKET SCHOOL OF COOKING CLASS featured, HOUSEMADE SRIRACHA.
Toxic Brew Launches Sriracha Beer Sunday, Aug. 7th at 1pm couple of weeks ago,
Attendees got to learn from the best, Chef Jenn DiSanto, but they were also able to meet and greet Chef LeeAnne House, the owner and producer of the Housemade Sriracha Sauce. Keep yourself updated with DLM School of Cooking as another class may be popping up soon. Even a Food Adventure class.
Chef LeeAnne will also be at the Toxic Brewery event on Sunday, so make sure you visit and say ‘Hi.’
What’s next for Housemade Sauces? Well since they have entered many major Ohio cities, look for them to expand vendors in those cities, and look for them in Indianapolis in the coming weeks. So keep your eyes peeled for this sauce at a vendor near you!
We are proud of a true Dayton Original, LeeAnne House and her hot sauce! So proud that Food Adventures wants to give a lucky fan a free bottle !
******* FREE BOTTLE GIVEAWAY *******
Just comment below and you will be entered to win a bottle of Housemade Sriracha. One winner will be chosen next week at random.
Want even more heat? Then add FOOD ADVENTURES to your Facebook by clicking HERE.
[flagallery gid=102]
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.
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 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?
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!
[flagallery gid=90]
