Eat and Greet a Treat!

Stacy's Selling Points

Michelle Tait and I (Stacy Sturm) had the opportunity to attend one of the greatest dining events I've ever been a part of Saturday night at the North Dakota State Fair.  It wasn't a restaurant... it wasn't a food fair... it wasn't a food truck... it was the Eat and Greet with the Zac Brown Band.

I'm not sure if I can even come up with words to describe the event or the food.  This wonderful group of guys, with the help of one of the best chefs around - Chef Rusty, served us almost a dozen dishes.  Each one better than the last.  The menu diverse, the ingredients simple and locally grown... no matter where they're at.  The band as warm and sweet as the food.

They had decorated the tables, ushered us in, had hush puppies waiting for us when we sat down, a special station just for drinks thanks to their sponsor Landshark and Jack Daniels. Zac Brown thanked us for coming, like we would have missed it for the world.  Chef Rusty explained the menu, what it takes to put the event together and then welcomed us to come up and eat. Where the band served us and chatted with us as we went through line.

I don't know if I can even give you highlights from the menu because all the dishes were so good. You can't beat a good meat though.  The pork tenderloin and beef tenderloin was so tender you could cut it like butta (east coast version of butter).  The sauces were seasoned perfectly, cooked down perfectly, and soo smooth.  Might help that it had a little alcohol in it:)  Never hurts at least.  But my hands down and absolute favorite had to be the Chocolate Peanut Butter Bread Pudding. I you don't take a bite and slap your mama, there's something wrong with you.  Not the pudding, but your own damn self.  And I have Chef Rusty's recipe below for the pudding and also the Pocket Knife Coleslaw.  You're welcome.  Who loves ya baby?!  Well it's obvious, it's the Zac Brown Band who puts as much love into their fans as their food.  Thank you for an evening my winners, my co-host of "The Dish", and my winners Beth and Ryan Mertz will never forget.

If you get a chance check out Zac Brown's new restaurant outside of Atlanta called Southern Ground.  He also has his own cookbook and line of seasonings all you foodies can use to cook at home.  I may be no Chef Rusty, but the seasonings help. He sells it all on Zac Brown Band's official website, here's a link http://store.zacbrownband.com/cooking.html

Here are just some pictures from the evening. As you can see, there isn't much left in the warming trays...



Photos courtesy of Michelle Tait.

Tait's Take

Zack Brown band can be described in one word , WOW. Right when you walk in to the eat and greet you can see the level of passion they have for their fans. There was close attention to every detail. The whole band was there to greet us right as we walked in and shook each one of our hands. Zac Brown got up there and welcomed us.  By the way him and Chef Rusty talked you could tell they are very passionate about the food they were about to serve us. We got the best of the best! It was hands down, the most phenomenal meal I have ever sat down to. Talk about tantalizing the taste buds! While my taste buds were busy, my heart swelled with pride because before the band ever fed me they were already my favorite musicians. Words cannot express how respect and gratitude I have for a band that takes that much time out of their schedule to cook and serve and then literally hang out and mingle with that many fans right before their big concert. It was by far not your normal meet and greet. Heart racing... Check knees wobbly... Check Belly full.. Check expectations exceeded...check. Thank so much Zac Brown Band! You really do, "Play The Road."

Pocket knife coleslaw

Chef Rusty Hamlin, Chef for Zac Brown Band Eat and Greets

Ingredients

• 1 head Green Cabbage
• 1 large Green Bell Pepper
• 8 stalks Green Onion
• 2 ripe Tomatoes
• Slaw Dressing:
• 2 cups Mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons Hot Horseradish
• 2 tablespoons Yellow Mustard
• 1 tablespoon White Sugar
• 1/2 cup White Vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon fine Ground Black Pepper
• 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt

Preparation

Dice all veggies to 1/4 inch dice. Add 1/2 of the slaw dressing and add more as needed. Save some of the diced tomatoes as garnish.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Biscuit Pudding

Chef Rusty Hamlin, Chef for Zac Brown Band Eat and Greets

Ingredients

• Chocolate peanut butter biscuit pudding
• 8 large Day Old Biscuits
• 1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
• 1 cup of Half and Half
• 3 cups White Sugar (reserve 1 cup to sprinkle on top before cooking)
• 2 cups Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
• 2 each Eggs
• 4 tablespoons Melted Butter
• 1 cup Peanut Butter
• Rum sauce
• 12 ounce Condensed Milk
• 4 ounce Spiced Rum
• 1/2 tablespoon Cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon Ground Cloves

Preparation

     Crumble day old biscuits in a large mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients for the pudding and mix well. Place in a 9 inch/ 13 inch baking dish and top with remaining sugar.

     Bake at 400 degrees covered for 1 hour, after bake uncovered for 20 min to brown the top. While pudding is baking prepare the rum sauce by adding all ingredients and then warm up. Top pudding with rum.