A thriller for our griller
By
Laura Reiley, Times Food Critic
Published Friday, October 17, 2008 6:16 PM
He does not have the blindingly white smile of Giada De Laurentiis, nor Paula Deen's easy folksiness. Still,
St. Petersburg Times copy editor Jim Webster may just have a future for himself in one of the Food Network's studio kitchens.
He is, in fact, the Ultimate Grilling Challenge champion, an intergalactic honor bestowed upon him Friday by none other than Food Network darling Mario Batali. The announcement was made on Rachael Ray's daytime talk show.
It's easy to see why Webster's Pig-Wrapped Pig-Stuffed Pig stomped the likes of semifinalists Gabriel Campbell's Memphis-style pulled pork sandwich and T.J. Palmrose's grapewood grilled squab in a tomatillo-ancho marinade served with polenta. The former? Too down-home. The latter? Too froufrou. Webster's PWPSP has all the allures to catch Mario's eye. It's elegantly simple (only 7 ingredients), gutsy (crisp pancetta encircling a pork tenderloin stuffed with homemade pork sausage flavored with orange zest and toasted fennel) and it's molto Italiano. A culinary achievement somewhere between Isabella Rossellini and Al Pacino.
Most importantly, it's a whole lot of pork.
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An hour later a friend in D.C. did the same thing when it came on there. Then we went to work and watched it ourselves at 2 with a room full of cheering co-workers. It was awesome.
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