Big Daddy's House

This afternoon, Mr Minx and I made a point to watch the premiere of the "Next Food Network Star" Aaron McCargo's Big Daddy's House (sounds like a prison flick, doesn't it?). This is the official blurb from the TVFN site:

Watch out – Big Daddy is in the house and ready to cook! The Next Food Network Star’s season four winner, Aaron McCargo, Jr., shares his passion for big, bold flavors and fun, family cooking on his new daytime series, Big Daddy’s House. Aaron brings a down-to-earth vibe and warm smile to the kitchen while whipping up mouth-watering recipes inspired by many years of culinary experience and his fun-loving family. Expect big food and big fun on Big Daddy’s House.

It was chockablock of all the awkward moments one has come to expect from Mr McCargo. Not that he's not a perfectly likeable guy - he's just not comfortable in front of the camera. The show was full of quick cuts juxtaposed with snapshots, making for a jumbled viewing experience. Mr Minx thought that was to take some of the focus off of the host's discomfort. It just gave me a headache.

If only he could calm down and gather his thoughts before speaking. Maybe that could put an end to calling everything a "bad boy." As in "put this bad boy in the oven," and "put this bad boy on the stove."

But first, before dealing with the bad boys, Aaron makes a spice mix that he plans to use on everything he cooks in the episode - shades of Emeril's Essence! He uses it to coat a pork loin that he then browns in a cast iron pan. Actually, "blackens" is probably a better term for it because those spices looked pretty darn burnt.

He prepared "Everything but the Kitchen Sink Chicken Tenders Salad," which he says his youngest son Justin helped him invent, then he makes "Josh's Roast Pork Sandwich with Broccoli Rabe and Provolone Cheese" and some oven-baked fries. Justin is in the episode, but Josh is shown only in a photograph. Perhaps this is the runaway son to whom Aaron alluded in an episode of TNFNS, not yet returned home? Was this episode meant to be an invitation to his son to come back? Or is the kid home but did not want to be seen on television? Inquiring minds....

The thing I liked best about the show was that Aaron seems to be a bit of a germ-phobe like me. He washed his hands several times, and when Justin came out to eat with him, he made the kid wash his hands too. That's right - don't let those grubby little germ magnets touch the food with dirty paws!

As of this moment, there are no recipes online. But the oven fries looked pretty good.

We'll see how long it takes before this show is in the toilet and Aaron is tooling around town in a convertible on his way to eating at someone else's daddy's house.