On Today's Show: CRNtalk.com
Mike Golic is a football analyst, former professional football defensive end and father of three who enjoys getting behind a charcoal grill and sharing great food and good times with family and friends – especially during the fall football tailgating season.Mike Golic is co-host of ESPN Radio’s popular Mike & Mike in the Morning show (6-10 a.m. ET M-F), which premiered October 12, 1998 and is carried by more than 310 affiliates nationwide. He also serves as an analyst for ESPN and ESPN2’s NFL studio programming. On January 2006, Mike & Mike in the Morning, which had been simulcast on ESPNEWS (45 million homes at the time) since April 2004, moved its simulcast to ESPN2 (89 million homes at the time, 98 million now). Co-hosts Golic and Mike Greenberg have also made multiple appearances on Late Night with David Letterman. Golic joined ESPN in 1995 as an NFL reporter/analyst for Sunday NFL Countdown. He has also worked as color commentator for the Arena Football League (1996-98, 2007-08) and the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars pre-season games (1995-98). In 1998, Golic began serving as college football analyst for ESPN and ABC, and was an original analyst for NFL 2Night, ESPN2’s weeknight news and information program which ran through the 2002 season. Beginning in 2003, he held a similar position on ESPN2’s NFL Live.
After playing college ball at Notre Dame, Golic played defensive tackle for the Houston Oilers, Philadelphia Eagles and Miami Dolphins. He currently co-hosts ESPN Radio’s "Mike & Mike in the Morning" show, which is carried by more than 300 affiliates nationwide and simulcast on ESPN2. He also serves as an analyst for ESPN and ESPN2’s professional and college football network coverage.
Chris Lilly hardly needs more practice behind a grill, being one of America’s most well known pitmasters as head chef of the award-winning Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q Competition Cooking Team, and the winner of two Memphis in May Grand Championships and eight state barbecue grand championships across the Southeast. His recipes and tips have appeared on “Live with Regis and Kelly,” “The Today Show” and “The Martha Stewart Show” as well as numerous Food Network programs. Chris also has been featured in publications such as Food and Wine, The New York Times and Southern Living, among others. Chris had a very busy summer this year with the release of his first cookbook, “Big Bob Gibson’s BBQ Book,” and by serving as the Official Tour Pitmaster for the Keith Urban Escape Together World Tour together with KC Masterpiece barbecue sauces and Kingsford charcoal.
RedHot is supporting the Terrell Owens “Catch a Dream Foundation” to honor its Buffalo heritage by giving back to the community.
Chef Kevin Roberts & Drew Cerza, festival founder
8th Annual National Buffalo Wing Festival
Held annually in Buffalo , NY every Labor Day weekend, the National Buffalo Wing Festival is responsible for bringing over 78,000 people from across the country to Buffalo . For a town that was experiencing tough economic times even before it was front page news, the wing festival brings tourism and out-of-towners to Buffalo to celebrate this tavern food that has gone from popular pub grub to menu mainstay all across America. Just look at these impressive figures:
Attendees last year: 78,000
Wings consumed last year: 27 tons of chicken wings
Wing consumption overall: last year 24 billion wings were sold in the U.S. with 1 billion consumed during Super Bowl alone Wing Sauce consumption: according to Frank’s RedHot, the secret ingredient in the original Buffalo Wing Sauce, approx. 100 million pounds of Frank’s RedHot Cayenne Pepper Sauce are used to make Wings every year.
Hugh Davies President & CEO Schramsberg Vineyards
Mike - Just a reminder - He sent two bottles which Paul will mention as we has paperwork. Schramsberg Vineyards is now in the hands of Jack and Jamie Davies' youngest son, Hugh. Born in 1965, the year his parents Jack and Jamie Davies revived the historic Schramsberg Vineyards property in Napa Valley, Hugh was named President and CEO of the 40-year old sparkling wine house in 2005. Prior to this, he held the dual responsibilities of Winemaker and General Manager. He holds a master's degree in enology from the University of California, Davis, and has his undergraduate degree from Bowdoin College in Maine. At Schramsberg, Hugh has led the ongoing effort to fine-tune winemaking and grape growing techniques, building upon the winery’s venerable track record of producing award-winning sparkling wines. Schramsberg’s current stable of vineyards includes more than 90 specially selected sites in the Carneros district of Napa Valley, the Anderson Valley, and along the Sonoma and Marin coasts. The winery's commitment to small lot base wine production has yielded extraordinary blending opportunity for the 8-10 sparkling blends produced each year. Over 200 lots are evaluated after harvest, representing many variables: vineyard terroir, grape clone, barrel fermentation, stainless tank fermentation, malolactic fermentation, etc. Additionally, Hugh was instrumental in replanting the historic hillside Diamond Mountain District vineyards adjacent to the winery to Bordeaux varietals. They are now used by the Schramsberg winemaking team to make J. Davies Cabernet Sauvignon. From the first vintage in 2001, J. Davies has received both public and critical acclaim. Hugh serves on the board of directors for the Napa Valley Vintners (he was President, 2006) and, with his family, he chaired the 2004 Auction Napa Valley. Hugh, along with his brother Bill, heads up the Jack L. Davies Fund, which is committed to carrying on efforts initiated by his father to preserve the Napa Valley for its highest uses: agriculture and wild lands.
For prior hands-on experience in the wine industry before joining Schramsberg, Hugh worked with Möet et Chandon in Epernay; Petaluma Winery in South Australia, and Mumm Napa Valley, among others. His political and public service background includes work with the San Francisco Trust for Public Land and assisting California Congressman Tony Coelho in Washington, D.C. Hugh lives on the Schramsberg grounds with his wife, Monique and his three young sons Emrys, Nelson and Hugh Lawrence. He enjoys spending time with his kids, backpacking and going to the Oakland A’s baseball games. Hugh is dedicated to continuing the quality enhancement of Schramsberg and J. Davies wines. With his leadership, Schramsberg Vineyards is in good, sturdy hands. Jack and Jamie Davies were determined to seek out a simpler, more meaningful life for themselves and their family. In 1965, after a yearlong search for hillside property in the Napa Valley, they discovered a run-down winery on the mountainside above St. Helena. The historic Schramsberg property had been abandoned for years, but the Davies were looking for a challenge and the spirit of its founder was strong and compelling. The antique Victorian mansion presided over the tangled remains of once stately gardens and the gaping entrance to underground cellars. There could be no question in their minds that this was the challenge they sought, this was the place. On that day they decided Schramsberg would be brought back to life. The Davies had an ambition to make wine, but not just any wine. They were setting out to produce sparkling wine – specifically, "America's most prestigious, select and admired sparkling wine; chosen for special guests, special gifts, pampering one's self and expressing one's taste in unique products." It was a lofty goal. They saw the challenge of producing sparkling wine in the United States as a need to change ingrained mindsets. To many Americans, sparkling wines were just bubbles and not granted the prestige given to the revered Burgundies and Bordeaux, indeed, in the mid-sixties, any wine produced outside France. They intended to create wine with richness and complexity. They envisioned their sparkling wines, fermented in the authentic Méthode Champenoise, as expressive as any of the great Champagnes – delicate, yet possessing distinct individuality and style. With these challenges before them, they began their immense enterprise: the replanting of the vineyards, the creation and aging of the wine and engaging the world with the Schramsberg story. Among their many achievements is the innovation for which the 20th Century Schramsberg would become known - with Jack and Jamie at the helm. The 1965 Blanc de Blancs was a product of the first commercial use of Chardonnay in American sparkling wine. The 1967 Blanc de Noirs followed, an accomplishment in California premier Méthode Champenoise wines in that it was produced using Pinot Noir according to the classic style. Their next wine release was the Reserve, with over four years of aging, which quickly became widely accepted as the finest sparkling wine made in the United States. The Crémant Demi-sec, first made in 1973 using the Flora grape (a cross of Semillon and Gewürztraminer created at the University of California, Davis) became a favorite at the White House and was served at many state functions. In 1992, the 1987 J. Schram emerged as the crowning glory of the Schramsberg range, a wine to join the ranks of the world's finest sparkling wines. Through the decades, this spirit of innovation has earned Schramsberg and the Davies praise and recognition throughout the world. In 1972 the 1969 Blanc de Blancs was served at the "Toast to Peace" in Beijing, between President Richard Nixon and Premier Chou Enlai and Schramsberg wines have been served by every subsequent presidential administration. The Davies earned many awards throughout the years, including; "Winemakers of the Year" by Friends of the Junior Arts Center in Los Angeles, and the Junipero Serra Award for Excellence by the California Museum of Science and Industry, both in 1984, the 1995 International Festival of Méthode Champenoise Lifetime Achievement Award honoring "the thirty-year history of their exceptional winery and its world-class products." In 1996 the James Beard Foundation awarded them the Wine and Spirits Professional Award for "making a significant impact in the wine and spirits industry." History continues to be made at Schramsberg – time has proven that the original goals have been met with style, grace and elegance. The noted wine author and critic, Nathan Chroman, summed up the Davies' contributions to American winemaking this way: "Some producers will earn a paragraph in the history of sparkling wines in California. The coming of the French will need a page. But it will merit a chapter to spell out what Jack and Jamie have done here." The work was never done alone. Throughout the years Jack and Jamie gathered a strong and able staff to help them run the expanding business. Members of the Schramsberg team tend to stay; many employees have been with the winery for more than twenty years. In 1996, Hugh, the Davies' youngest son, joined the winery full time, adding his talent to the winemaking staff. To every ones great sorrow, Schramsberg lost Jack Davies in the spring of 1998. Jamie carried on with the support of her family, the dedicated staff, and the legion of friends she made during the Schramsberg odyssey until her death in the spring of 2008. Now, Hugh Davies, with the support of his own family and friends, continues the work and carries on the dream his parents, Jack and Jamie, started together.
"Oscar" Grandpa Fred's BBQ - Barbeque as we have come to know it in America has come into being over a period of a couple hundred years. Born from adversity and necessity, BBQ got its earliest beginnings as a way to make otherwise inedible meats edible. The throw away parts of the animal were often gathered up by the poor and slaves for extra food. Once the meat was gathered, the next step was to devise a method of cooking the meat that would tenderize the meat without extracting all of the moisture. The method best suited for tenderization was to cook the meat at a low temperature with indirect heat for an extended period of time (Smoking). And since propane was not readily available back then, wood was the logical choice. They would first dig out a hole in the ground (Pit) with two indirect compartments, one for the meat and the other for the wood. They later discovered that certain woods like Hickory and mesquite also added a distinct flavor to the meat. The first BBQ sauce was molasses (burnt sugar) was used to keep the moisture left in the meat from the smoking process from evaporating while the meat was being cooked for the second time, over and open flame with direct heat. The reason the meat was cooked again was that the smoking process alone did not cook the meat "well" enough. So in order to complete the cooking of the meat, the open flame, direct heat (grilling) method was used. This is the process we here at Grandpa Fred's BBQ use to cook all of our Que. We do not boil our BBQ, nor do we throw uncooked meat directly on a grill. We do our barbeque one way, and that is the way my Grandpa taught me -- a five step process. My family is from Blythe, Georgia and Falcon, Arkansas, and the cooking we do here is what has been done in my family for generations. We make our own deserts, side dishes and sauces.