http://www.prlog.org/10390674-rockvember-4x4-bash-benefiting-operation-homefront-of-nc.html

Disclaimer
"This is an event that is being conducted on the Uwharrie National Forest and is authorized under a Special Use Permit." "USDA – Forest Service Nondiscrimination Statement The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service prohibits discrimination in its programs on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital or family status. To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (202) 720-5964 (voice and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer."

Labels: Rockvember

This weeks challenge is 2 dishes with a Mexican twist, one sweet one savory with Tamarind seasoning. the exciting part of this challenge was the shopping done at the outside market. To see the chefs running around in chaos shopping is pure enjoyment itself. Almost at the end of the challenge the chairman threw in a drink to be made. It really cam down to the wire on this one.

TIME FOR JUDGING
Chef Dominque Crenn ~ dishes were not good, one was not done inside, drink was bad ~ if I had to pick right now she's going to be voted off
Chef Nate Appleman ~ the judges seemed to like his dishes, but his drink did not win them over
Chef Amanda Freitag~ they liked here shrimp dish, but she shopped poorly, dessert presentation was poor
Chef Jahengir Metha ~ liked his dishes, amazing that FINALLY this time he got the ice cream machine to work
Chef Jose Garces ~ in his element when it came to this challenge, he dishes seem to be pleaseing to the judges
Chef Seamus Mullen ~ market style, like street fair style food kind of won over the judges other than the mango
Chef Roberto Trevino ~ defiantly in his element when it came to this challenge, the judges really seemed to like his dishes and beverages




Jehangir Metha: won the Mexican challenge
Nate Appleman: survived to cook another day
Jose Garces: survived to cook another day
Seamus Mullen: survived to cook another day
Roberto Trevino: survived to cook another day
So it came down to Amanda and Dominque: Amanda lived to cook another day ONLY because of her dessert. Guess I read the judges right, Chef Crenn is now history.

the sneak peek for next Sunday said DOUBLE ELIMINATION. Here is my guess for next weeks double elimination: chefs Amanda Freitag and Nate Appleman

Labels: Appleman, Crenn, Frietag, Garces, Mehta, Mullen, The Next Iron Chef, Trevino

Labels: 2010 Toyota Prius, Fayetteville Toyota

This week on The Next Iron Chef the theme was Innovation. Each chef was assigned to learn about one of four Traditional Asian cuisines. Vietnamese, Thai, Chinese, Korean at each location they will have 10 minutes to study that dish to recreate it. Chef Mullen won last weeks challenge so he got to pick his partner and also pair up the other 6 remaining chefs on teams.
Out of these teams one of each pair will end up with an advantage.

On their way to the restaurant chef Mullen says, "we are on our way to Seoul" and as serious as possible chef Appleman says, "I thought we were going to Korea", WOW. Once they get to their restaurant locations they get to taste the dish they have to recreate. Then they start their time test of 10 minutes. Whoever creates the best replicated dish wins the timed battle. Amanda Frietag wins the Green Curry challenge over chef Jehangir Mehta. Pho beef soup winner was chef Dominique Crenn over chef Jose Garces, Nate Appleman wins Korea battle over chef Seamus Mullen, Chinese dumpling winner was Roberto Trevino over Brad Farmerie.

This weeks challenge of Innovation is to take the traditional dish they just created and make it American. The winners of the 10 minute test gets a 5 minute head start in the food network kitchen for the elimination cook-off. Five minutes to us is nothing but in a timed challenge it's huge.

As always there is equipment failure that adds a little twist and frustration. The meat grinder gets clogged, the deep fryers are not hot, ice cream machine not freezing. You would think after two weeks of the same failures that you might want to start the fryers before you need them. equipment prep is just as important as food prep.

This week there were not too many negative comments about the dishes from all the chefs. I must admit chef Mehta's presentation was creative. Serving his dish as "take-out" food was a good move. The judges really liked Trevinnos meatloaf dumplings, but the winner of this weeks challenge was chef Seamus Mullen's Korean spiced Reuben. The front runners this week were Seamus Mullen, Amanda Freitag, and Nate Appleton.

I would be lying if I said that I was shocked that chef Crenn was in the bottom 2. Each week the judges have struggled with her dishes. Now I am surprised that my top pick at the beginning of the show Adam was in the bottom 2. When the verdict was handed down Adam was sent home.

Labels: Appleman, Crenn, Framerie, Frietag, Garces, Iron Chef America, Mehta, Mullen, The Next Iron Chef, Trevino

Daniel-
I???ve checked around and it sounds like your event will be pretty significant. I also like that you are supporting the troops through ???Operation Home Front??? which is like what Off-Road Adventures magazine is doing with ???Operation Light Sabre.??? I will be sending my freelance writer/photographer, Debbie Economos to cover your event. She will need a media pass and full access to all venues of the event. She is an accomplished off-roader (owns a pretty cool Jeep trail machine) and knows her stuff.
Please extend her all courtesies.
Please email any background info to Debbie and me in preparation for covering the event.
Since the 4 Wheel Parts Raleigh store will be exhibiting and is a sponsor, I would hope you would allow them to solicit donations for Operation Light Sabre from their booth. It would also be great if some announcements were made to support their efforts.
ORA will be covering this event with a 3-4 page story???would like to have some ORA banners displayed and magazines included in the goodie bags.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Regards,
Denis Snow,
Editor/Publisher
Off-Road Adventures magazine

Labels: customer service

This weeks theme is "simplicity". The Chairman brought into play different cooking vessels from all over the world for these chefs to cook with. Not so simple (pun intended) when there is only one of each vessel to cook with. Appleton won last challenge so he got to pick first then the free for all flood gates were let open. This was not a time to be a gentleman as Holly gets an elbow to the face from Brad. Amanda did man-handle Jehngir for her cooking vessel, but ironically voted for him to win the challenge.

Each chef got a chance to say their best and worst dish they tasted and boy they threw chef Mullen under the bus. You can tell he was visibly upset with everyone. Jehngir won the challenge and had a one up on everyone on the next challenge "interpretation".

Next challenge, Greek, Italian or French: Your interpretation of that cultures dish. Host Alton Brown started handing out the cultures they will cook from and better yet the dish they need to prepare. His purpose was to get them out of their comfort zone.

the drama of this show was when Jehnagir took all the grape leaves. Trevino needs grapes leaves to make his Dolmas, it's the wrapping needed to make the authentic dish. When Alton asked Jehnagir is this apart of your strategy because you are gunning for Trevino, a HUGE smile came across his face. Half way through he gave up some grape leaves and it might have backfired for him. He decorated his dish with the grape leaves and the smell was over powering his dish that the judges noticed.

coq au vin ~ Amanda Freitag ~ pretty good twist on a French dish, deep flavors 1
bouillabaisse ~ Holly Smith ~ ok
spanakopita ~ Jehnagir Metha ~ good 4
Dolmas w/ Greek crudo ~ Roberto Trevino ~ great 5
Minestrone ~ Jose Garces ~ great 2
Pasta Puttanesca ~ Seamus Mullen ~ in a salad form, excellent 7 WINNER
Ratatouille ~ Appleton ~ judges loved it 3
Moussaka ~ Dominque Crenn ~ pretty salty, light and rich 6 most improved
Vitello Tonnato ~ Brad Farmerie ~ nothing really stood out

Brad and Holly last two on chopping block. Brad is my pick from the first day of the show and I was surprised to see him on the last two. Holly gets cut. We I got to go the big boys are on now... Iron Chef America. Time to see Bobby slice and dice.

Labels: interpretation, Iron Chef America, simplicity, The Next Iron Chef

2009 Avalon Limited is the flagship car of the Toyota fleet. There are many fullsize sedans out there that claim to be comparible to the Avalon but they just don't come close.
2009 Chrysler 300 Limited RWD vs 2009 Avalon Limited:
Avalon has 268 horsepower vs. 250 on the Chrysler
Avalon gets 19/28 city/highway vs. 17/25 city/highway
Avalon 6-speed automatic vs. Chrysler's 4-speed automatic
Avalon has STANDARD side, and side curtain airbags vs. Chrysler it's OPTIONAL (more $$$)
Avalon has STANDARD Smart Key Ignition vs. Chrysler not available at all
Avalon has STANDARD Sunroof vs. Chrysler's its OPTIONAL (more $$$)

Labels: 2009 Avalon, Avalon, Avalon Limited, Chyrsler 300, Toyota Avalon

With the recent news about Saturn, many owners are worred about where they can get their Saturn serviced. Right now our dealership has an option for all Saturn owners. So if you own a Saturn Astra, Saturn Aura, Saturn Outlook, Saturn Sky, Saturn Vue your Saturn has not been worth more than it is right now. We are excepting Saturns for trade in on any new or pre-owned vehicles at our lot. To find out more call us at 866-479-1115.

Labels: Astra, Aura, Outlook, Saturn, Sky, Vue

In the land of reality shows this is won of the best to watch. It's not like you are stranded on an island and people have to vote you off or back stab you. This show is based on pure culinary skill. If your food reigns supreme you get to stay another week. What I do like better this year verses last year is Bobby Flay is not a Judge. I love Bobby Flay but it's very intimidating having and Iron Chef as a judge each week.

The premier show was a great how they flew them all the Los Angeles and began their journey. It was cool that they took their backgrounds and their first challenged was based off off those foods. It was interesting to see the meals they prepared with the food they were given. The 10 contestants had a chance to rate each others dishes, and that is when it got interesting. You could see the personalities emerge quickly.

Amanda Freitag from New York, seemed to the easy target of the show, even though she has 20 years experience. She claims that she can be sneaky. If I had to pick a winner today, just based on the information I know I would say Brad Farmerie will be the winner, or at least the top two. Even though Brad only has 12 years under his belt he seems very confident and his style of food is perfect to be The Next Iron Chef. Dominique Crenn really did not impress me on the first two episodes, if I had to bet, I would bet she would out before Amanda.

The surprise to me was Eric Greenspan being cut on the first challenge. This guy was moving all over the kitchen and he was helping people out; guess it doesn't pay to be nice. Holly Smith has a great personalty, I could see here as a finalist. The story she told about her friend eating at her house when they were younger was hilarious. Jehangir Mehta I believe will be the surprise chef. It is going to be interesting to see how his Persian cuisine plays out on The Next Iron Chef.

Jose Garces for Philly, comes off as the smooth, calm, collected chef in the kitchen. Jose's style is mainly Latin-American, and he has 15 years experience. He does not seem very aggressive at first glance, but his food will have to tell the story. Nate Appleman , now he is everything that he said he was not in his bio. He claims that he's not confrontational, likes to keep his mouth shut and his head down and just cook, not an instigator ~ it you watched the first episodes of The Next Iron Chef you would not believe it. He definitely will be the bad boy of the show, but hey you got to have some spice somewhere right?

Roberto Trevino from Puerto Rico, looks to be a good contender, but what will he do when they start to throw some curve balls at him? If you watch Iron Chef America you know that nothing is what it seems to be, there are always surprises. Seamus Mullen to me made the least impression at all on the show. He really did not stand out in the crowd of the other 9 contestants. SO the jury is out on him. The best thing about him is the resturant menu changes everyday, that can be a big help.

All in all it looks to be a very interesting series this year with some great chefs. Make sure that you get a chance to see the next episode on Sunday night on Food Network Channel.

Labels: Iron Chef America, The Next Iron Chef

The all newly re-designed 2010 Toyota 4Runner is on it's way here soon. Our Inventory Manager said to expect it within 2 weeks from now. I got my new Toyota Connections Magazine today and this vehicle looks massive. When you look at the front of the 2010 4Runner you see the traditional look of the 4Runner but you also see "Highlander-styled" headlights and a Land Cruiser-style hood and front fenders. The body style looks like a smaller Sequoia with hints of a Land Cruiser to it. Toyota is good for using design elements into their new vehicles.

From what I heard Toyota is dropping the "SPORT Edition" and replacing it with the 2010 Toyota 4Runner Trail Edition. So the available trim levels will consist of SR5, Trail, and Limited. 4Runners are very rugged vehicles anyway this is a smart move by Toyota introducing the 2010 Toyota 4Runner Trail Edition .

Labels: 2010 4runner

Lifted FJ and 2 lifted Double-Cab.