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Shirt vs. Potato Skin, Bobby Flay.

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Although I probably watch entirely too much television, I don't really have any shows that I Absolutely Cannot Miss. (My fingers are crossed behind my back right now, because I sort of can't miss Days of Our Lives or The Secret Life of the American Teenager. I justify my viewing of these shows in the following manner: In my mind, the average age of a Days of Our Lives fan is 60. Secret Life fan? 20. At (nearly) 40, I am The MEAN!

When I'm sitting on the couch knitting, I tend to hop through channels. More often than not, I end up on Food Network because I find that the Food Network hosts are (mostly) people I could see myself cavorting with in real life. (In a parallel universe, I am decorating cakes with Chef Duff Goldman right now. It's an enormous cake that looks exactly like a bathtub filled with scrambled eggs, and Chef Duff is very impressed with the fluffy perfection of my marzipan eggs. Okay. Back to this universe.) Anyway. The show that consistently captures my attention is Throwdown! with Bobby Flay.


Please know that I've never caught an entire episode of Throwdown! with Bobby Flay. With that said, here's how I think it goes down: Someone considers herself to be sort of an expert on a particular food item. This person looks into the camera and goes on and on about how her blueberry pancakes are "The Greatest Blueberry Pancakes EVER, Bobby Flay, because here in South Dakota, we know our Blueberry Pancakes!" And then Bobby Flay, looking all fetching as he struts down the streets of South Dakota in his Ray-Bans, says "Hey! You think your blueberry pancakes can beat MY BLUEBERRY PANCAKES?! I'll kick your pancakey butt right into Shrove Tuesday, Cha Cha!" He then busts into the house and embarrasses the self-proclaimed Blueberry Pancake Queen in front of her friends and family by making blueberry pancakes that put an end to every other blueberry pancake — all with one hand tied behind his back and absolutely no sweat to be seen.

At the end of the show, the townspeople vote, and more often than not, Bobby Flay is the Throwdown! Winner. And it really should make me feel a bit sad for the humiliated loser (who, in my mind, is eventually chased out of town), and sometimes it DOES, but more often than not, I simply cannot stop thinking that I wish Bobby had performed the entire Throwdown! without his shirt on.

Before I go any further, let me just say this: If a man would bounce on over to Fluid Pudding and say something about wishing Rachael Ray would do HER show without a shirt on, it would offend me. More than a little, even. And that, my friends, makes me a Hypocrite — a hypocrite who wants Bobby Flay to come over to my house and Throwdown! without his shirt on.

So. With that out of the way, it appears that I need to quickly become a locally-known expert on a particular food item.

After thinking about this for nearly ten minutes, I have chosen the Sweet Potato for two obvious reasons: 1. I bake a sweet potato almost every day for lunch. (With that said, I am not an expert on the baked sweet potato. Sometimes they're not quite done. Sometimes they're entirely TOO done. I do not discriminate. All are eaten — some just evoke more fond memories than others.) 2. Potatoes have skins, which opens up that whole Shirt vs. Skin thing, in which I would be Shirt. (And, most likely, Shirt with Swingy Cardigan.)

This is not going to be an easy task, which is exactly why I am here to ask for your help.

What can I do with a sweet potato that would stir Bobby Flay into a St. Louis Fluid Pudding Sweet Potato Shirtless Throwdown! (SLFPSPST)?

Quick! I need your sweet potato ideas!

(Confession: As much as I would dig seeing Mr. Flay without his shirt on, I really wrote this entire entry because I am looking for sweet potato recipes. I tend to dance around for seven hundred words or more before getting down to business.)

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Fluid Pudding 5 pts

I'm right there with you on Mr. Brown. (I'm all about The Men of Food Network. They need a 2011 calendar, methinks.)

I'd love that recipe, if it's not too much trouble!

Maria Young 5 pts

Alton Brown just does it for me. The crush I have on that man is just...embarrassing. I don't care for sweet potatoes, so I'm of no assistance, but I figured this was a great place to expose my craziness. Now, you know much too much about me.

My grandmother makes really great sweet potato chips though, I could bumrush her for the recipe if you like. :)

- Maria Young

immoralmatriarch.com ( http://immoralmatriarch.com )@maria0305
( http://twitter.com/maria0305 )

KatieBrown 5 pts

Sounds pretty, the chests, but high heat and bare skin?  I have a few splatter burns to prove that this practice falls into the "seemed like a good idea at the time" chapter of my eventual memoirs.  I have a friend (I swear his name is Dick) who insists that, spiritually, scantilly-clad cooking is the only way to go. Dick's caviat: unless chopping carrots. 

In other news, Bobby Flay, sweet potatoes and chipolte go way back.  I have been using his gratin of sweet potatoes with a chipolte steeped cream for years.  So easy and gorgeous and delicious.  Not sure where I originally found it. 

Fluid Pudding 5 pts

How amazing would it be if they did shirtless/recipe of your choice for charity?! Tyler Florence, with jeans and no shirt, making curry for $25,000. Bobby Flay, shirtless with boxers and white socks, making sweet potatoes for $74,000. (I know MY auction paddle would be flapping!) If I can make this happen, I'll save a seat right next to me for you.

mail4rosey 5 pts

I don't have a recipe, but I had to post.  I love your article.  I have seen the Throwdown show many a time (my husband and I like it and Bobby Flay quite a bit), but I have never thought of BF taking his shirt off, you're hilarious.  :)  Not that he would look bad, quite the opposite, I'm sure...just laughing at the concept.  Talk about drawing in ratings...I bet if the fellas of food performed shirtless, women all over America would be lining up to watch.  You may be on to something here...write in and suggest the idea for a great charity.  Oh, and then let me know what day and time to tune in, I'm totally there. ;o)

kehouse 5 pts

I don't know what it is about Bobby Flay, but I DETEST HIM. It's something about his attitude and his gestures and his tendency to smirk at everything and anything. I typically only have this reaction to people missing a lot of teeth and sporting a lot of arm hair, so he stands out. But if you really, really want him to come over, I suggest grilling sweet potato rounds with olive oil and rosemary.

On the other hand, Tyler Florence can visit anytime.

And Then I Was a Mom Adjusting to parenthood. One year at a time. andtheniwasamom.com

ByJane 5 pts

Bobby Flay sparks the most amazing conversations online.  One I saw a month or so ago was a huge debate on whether or not he's Jewish.  I voted yes.  I also vote that I would not like to see him shirtless because he's a red-head, and I'm afraid he has man-titties.  

Jane Gassner

By Jane

http://midlifebloggers.com 

Fluid Pudding 5 pts

I'm going to be making these tomorrow evening. I never would have thought of chipotle powder on a sweet potato! Thanks for sharing.

Mickie 5 pts

they're still darn good!  I make sweet potato fries in the oven, but I like them savory and not sweet.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel a sweet potato (or more than one). Cut into small wedges and spread onto a cookie sheet with sides.  Sprinkle with olive oil, and use hands to coat each piece all over with the oil.  Sprinkle top sides liberally with chipotle powder and garlic powder.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and flip each potato wedge.  I sprinkle with garlic powder again, but not chipotle powder unless you like them really spicy.  Bake another 10 minutes.  Serve with homemade ranch dressing.

I know, the ranch dressing sounds odd, but it's really wonderful with the garlicky sweet potatoes.  One potato will be plenty for dinner by itself.  I will usually make extra and nuke the leftovers for a quick lunch the next day.  Even my friends who think you should only eat sweet potatoes with sugar and cinnamon love these!

Fluid Pudding 5 pts

Three of my favorite foods—beef, broccoli, and sweet potatoes! Thank you!

doableanddelicious 5 pts

I just posted a recipe utilizing sweet potatoes.  I was pleasantly surprised by the unexpectedness in a stir fry yet how much we enjoyed it.  My teen devoured the remainder for lunch the next day! 

http://www.doableanddelicious.com/index.php/2010/0...

Dawn