Oh, darn. The taste of python or iguana slathered in one of the products made by Croix Valley Foods sauce guy Damon Holter will never cross my lips.
The maker of sauces, rubs and Bloody Mary seasonings is host of "Fired Up Food," an Outside Television Network show that likes to show you adventurous activities that help build up an appetite. "I've done rock climbing, sailing in a regatta, fly fishing, sky diving," said Holter, a grillmaster of varied talents including including photographer, accomplished harmonica musician and award-winning wildlife painter (and he's colorblind).
I drove to Hudson, Wis., to interview Holter. He prepared, over hardwood lump charcoal, a spicy chicken quesadilla burger with cheese, grilled red and orange bell peppers and onions for me in his backyard which sits on the water.
"This recipe is a play on a different recipe I created for the World Food Championships in Las Vegas last year. I was competing in a sandwich category," said Holter. "This is very indicative of the menu items I do; taking something that's familiar, chicken quesadillas, and finding a different application for it. That's really the kind of cooking that I love to do."
The ground, skinless chicken thighs also make the easy transition into meatballs that are popular with the blended family of three boys and three girls Holter is raising with his wife.
As disinterested as I was in chicken thighs, until I ate this burger, there's no chance of me dining on the python and iguana Holter had in his freezer, which I forgot to shoot for my startribune.com/video. Beyond the credit I captured commentary from is youngest child, who has earned a reputation for publicly embarrassing dad.
Q: Would Depends have come in handy when you were parachuting out of that plane?
A: They may have. [Laughter] I'd never sky-dived before. The scariest thing was that first initial fall coming out of the plane. I'm strapped to someone, it was a tandem deal. My life was in his hands and I trusted him. He's done it a million times. It was 1, 2, 3, we're going. They just basically pushed me out and we tumbled a couple of times in the air. I put my arms out as instructed. That whole 123 mph free fall, it was like I couldn't breathe. They expect that. You have to remember to breathe. The wind is rushing past your face. It was hard to catch a breath but once my parachute opened then we're just zipping along, waiting to come down. It was relaxing. Nothing scary about it anymore. It was pretty cool. I really enjoyed it.
