[CH] Biker BIlly in the Toronto Star
LiPant@aol.com
Thu, 09 Jan 2003 16:22:00 -0500
Biker Billy brings the heat
Freewheeling, Harley-riding cook makes fiercely flavourful vegetarian food
JENNIFER BAIN
SAUCY LADY
Biker Billy is armed and dangerous. Armed with chili peppers and clich}s. Dangerous to carnivores, mild-mouthed eaters and politically correct thinkers.
He's harmless for about a split second during his cooking show at the North American International Motorcycle Supershow as he struts out to his stage at the Toronto International Centre, to what else? Steppenwolf's "Born To Be Wild."
Then he tosses a frying pan on the burner, cranks up the heat to high and reaches for the butter.
"When you're forking around, lubrication is very important," snickers the apron-clad biker. "Butter's a lethal weapon. Nothing but fat and cholesterol."
Biker Billy's making Breakfast Burritos and needs to chop two onions. So he holds them up to his chest as mock breasts and threatens to peel them alive. "You damn, rotten, stinking onions. You hacked up, mutilated onions. You're going to be saut}ed and stimulated."
Uh-huh. Canada outlawed this kind of humour in the 1980s.
But this leather-clad, mostly male crowd doesn't seem to care. People laugh politely at the American biker/public television cooking show host/cookbook author's lame jokes. They don't roll their eyes or flee.
Neither do I, because I know a few things about the real Biker Billy. Like the fact he's a gentle, thoughtful man with an artistic soul who has come up with some damn tasty recipes.
And the fact that although his shtick revolves around "cooking with fire" (that's a chili-based fire), he's a vegetarian.
But why should this be surprising? Meat-eating bikers are just another clich}.
So I squirm through his virgin jokes, Monica Lewinsky references and warning to men about handling raw chilies and then going to the bathroom without a serious hand-washing first.
And I'm relieved when the happy couple Biker Billy ropes into an egg-cracking gimmick dumps a bowl full of goopy, raw eggs all over him.
"You could fry my beard in a minute," Biker Billy laments.
There are no tears from this clown. Just burrito samples, autographed cookbooks, and Biker Billy t-shirts and aprons.
The apron's fetching and has useful, deep pockets. But I'm disheartened to discover it's 65 per cent tacky polyester and just 35 per cent cool cotton. Sort of like Biker Billy himself.
So forget the shtick and meet the North Carolina man =D1 Bill Hufnagle =D1 who has birthed http://www.bikerbilly.com, a U.S.-only TV show, two cookbooks (with a third on the way) and a legion of fans.
Hufnagle's second book =D1 Biker Billy's Freeway-A-Fire Cookbook: Life's Too Short To Eat Dull Food =D1 explains how his comfort tools are his bike (Harley's 1996 fuel-injected Road King Police bike and a 2000 Buell S3T sport-touring bike built by Harley) and food are his comfort tools. Motorcyling blows away his troubles. Fiery food blows away his hunger.
He appears to know his way around the kitchen, making his own pasta, specifying the size of egg he wants and the variety of avocado. The W. Atlee Burpee Seed Co. (http://www.burpee.com) has even named a "blazingly hot jalapeno" after him.
In person, Hufnagle's a softie who gardens and has been meat-free for 32 years. He discovered vegetarianism when he briefly ran away from home at age 14 and wound up at a Hare Krishna temple that stuffed him with scrumptious, vegetarian Indian food.
"It was like somebody opened Pandora's culinary food box," remembers Hufnagle, who went on to study fine arts and printmaking.
When the burly man realized "artists do starve" he opted for an arts-related craft, worked with a photographer and got into television commercial directing. He wound up producing his own food show and attracting the attention of Vanity Fair, People, the New York Times and Jay Leno's Tonight Show.
In the midst of all this, at age 30, he had an epiphany and got a motorcycle.
"Life without risk is basically just being an animal in a zoo," Hufnagle now says. "I try to bring the adventure of motorcycling and mix it with the creativity of cooking. Motorcyclists love to eat, so it's a natural blend."
His recipes are offered as "a road map" to be explored and altered. "I don't believe in culinary elitism =D1 you can create great food on any budget. I guess in a sense I'm the anti-chef."=20
And yet this is a man who's comfortable saying he creates "edible art" and turns it into "performance art." This is a man who's not ashamed to say "the palate is part of my artist's palette."
Hufnagle transforms back to Biker Billy to vow "it's good to be open-minded about life and cast off prejudices."
No problem. But how about casting off that clich}-riddled live show and letting your food speak for itself?
Hot Chili Pie
1/4 cup olive oil
2 onions, chopped
2 chipotle peppers packed in adobo sauce, minced
2 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp liquid smoke
1/2 tsp each: ground cumin, ground coriander, salt, black pepper
1 tbsp each: dried parsley flakes, dried cilantro leaves=20
1/4 cup water
19 oz (540 mL) can red kidney beans, drained, rinsed
19 oz (540 mL) can white kidney/cannellini beans, drained, rinsed
28 oz (796 mL) can whole tomatoes, coarsely chopped, with juices
Two 9-inch (23 cm) frozen single pie shells in pie plates
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Heat oil in large skillet or saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and chipotles. Cook, stirring often, until onions are golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Add garlic; cook 1 minute. Add liquid smoke, spices and water. Cook, stirring often, until liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Add both beans. Cook, stirring often, 7 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and juices; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, stirring often, until sauce thickens, about 30 minutes.
Remove from heat. Let cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes (hot filling will melt pie crust).
Preheat oven to 450F.
Prepare pie crusts according to package directions (you may need to thaw them slightly). Fill each with half bean mixture. Top each with half cheese.
Bake until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.
Makes 2 pies or 12 servings.
Scrambled Beyond Belief
Adapted from Biker Billy's cookbook. Anyone who has given up eggs will enjoy this flavourful but gentle entry into the world of tofu. Look for dried chiptoles in some major supermarkets and Latin American grocery stores in places like Kensington Market. For extra heat, buy a small can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, pur}e the contents, and use 2 to 3 teaspoons in this recipe instead of the chipotle pepper-water mixture.
2 dried chipotle peppers, stemmed
1/4 cup hot water
2 tbsp butter or margarine
6 green onions, white and light green parts minced
1 lb (500 g) firm or extra-firm tofu, drained, crumbled
1 tsp each: turmeric, cumin, ground ginger, chervil leaves, salt, black pepper
4 pita bread rounds, halved
Place chipotles in small bowl; cover with water. Let stand 20 minutes until peppers soften.
In blender or food processor, pur}e chipotles and liquid, about 1 minute.
In large skillet over medium-high heat, melt butter or margarine. Add onions and tofu; stir well. Cook, stirring often, 7 minutes. Stir in chipotle puree and spices. Reduce heat to low. Simmer 5 minutes or until any liquid is absorbed. (Tofu has various water contents.)
Fill pita halves with scrambled tofu.
Makes 4 servings.
Umm Aahs
A unique dessert creation by Biker Billy. When he cooked it on his TV show, everyone in the audience who tried it spontatneously made a sound of delight that translates to "umm, aah."
1/2 cup pine nuts
1 cup honey
1/2 cup apple juice
1 tbsp butter, melted
1 tsp each: cayenne pepper, ground cinnamon
2 tbsp cornstarch
4 large shredded wheat biscuits
Preheat oven to 350F.
In blender or food processor, combine 1/4 cup pine nuts, honey, apple juice, butter, cayenne, cinnamon and cornstarch. Pur}e 1 minute.
Place biscuits in baking dish. Pour pine nut pur}e over biscuits. Sprinkle with remaining pine nuts. Bake until golden and bubbling, about 25 minutes.
Makes 4 servings.