Lidia or Emeril. Emeril or Lidia. For me there is no choice. Hands down,I prefer Lidia. But when I was buying a ticket for the closing weekend of the Edible Garden at the New York Botanic Garden, I didn’t know which chef would be present on which day. The schedule wasn't announced yet. With my Murphy’s law luck, I bought a ticket for Saturday, which turned out to be Emeril’s day.
When Emeril stepped onto the stage, he seemed, dare I say tired. Maybe he was jet lagged. Maybe he was hung over. Whatever the case, I paid $35 for a ticket and he wasn’t acting like Emeril. I was unimpressed.
There I sat in a rickety plastic folding chair, getting partially rained on, surrounded by hoards of Emeril fans from all walks of life. I sat uncomfortably and glazed over in boredom for 12 minutes listening to Emeril’s uncharicteristically monotone description of making Aqua Fresca in a blender. Really? Cantaloupe, pineapple, sugar, ice and water? I think my six year old nephew could come up with something similarly light and refreshing. But he did say it had something to do with Mexican's and “Katrina,” so I should be more sensitive.
BAM! That one word. It snapped me out of my zombie-like state. The dreary audience, which matched the weather that day, woke up and started clapping and hooting from hearing Emeril’s over done catchphrase.
I couldn’t help but think.....that’s all these people came for? That one word? A word that he now uses to sell minty fresh toothpaste.
Emeril seemed to shake off his doldrums at hearing his own catchphrase and instantly he became more jovial, more playful with his garlic, pepper, and bacon.
His cooking demonstration started with a spinach salad French style. It featured plentiful bits of bacon (with drippings) and a fried egg on top. The dressing called for shallot, garlic, red wine vinegar and....BAM....more bacon drippings.
The main dish was Po’ Boy Vietnamese Style. Pork tenderloin sat in a happy marinate of lime juice, red pepper, scallions, garlic, fish sauce, salt and pepper. Slices of grilled pork were layered upon grilled bread with a slathering of herb marinade and jalapeno slices on one side and a heap of pickled carrot diakon on the other.
Emeril’s grilling tip of the day was to refrain from putting meat on the grill right out of the refrigerator. The chilled meat will stick. Allow the meat to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before you even think of approaching the gill.
Shoot for an internal temperature of 145-148 degrees for your pork tenderloin. Being a little pink on the inside won’t kill you, because it will continue to cook a few degrees more while it rests after grilling.
Once the demonstration ended, I wandered the vendor stands lined up nearby. I sipped on crisp Pear Cider and a light Apricot wheat beer. I tasted creamy Vanilla Goat Milk Ice Cream and chomped on 70% cacao nibs from a chocolate bar that cost over $6.00. I actually got more excitement from my free samples than from Emeril.
But like I said, I was really there to see Lidia.
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