LATEST WEBISODE HERE!!!
--CLICK THE MOVIE REEL TO WATCH THE SHOW!

It seems like a real long time ago when the Food Network featured my recipe for "Smoked Gouda Cheese Vegetable Soup" on the show "Calling All Cooks." The show has been off for quite some time but Food TV keeps all the recipes in their massive data base intact since the inception of the website and that includes mine. Click here to see it. You'll notice the dark glasses-I used to wear them all the time. That was before Lasik. And you'll see my wife Patty before we both appeared on our talk radio food show, "Atlanta Cooks!" in Atlanta. Our son Chris seems so young in this footage. Forgive the quality. This goes back to video tape and producer David Tunnell is a whiz when it comes to making this historic stuff jump back to life. Hope you enjoy this webisode--The recipe's below.

J J's Smoked Gouda Vegetable Soup Recipe courtesy J.J. Jackson
Show:  Calling All Cooks
Episode:  Smoked Gouda Vegetable Soup
10 strips bacon, diced
1 1/2 cups sliced onion
2 or more cloves garlic, mashed and chopped
2 carrots, cut in half lengthwise and sliced
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced (or crushed) tomatoes (do not drain)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini or Great Northern beans (do not drain)
2 roasted red peppers, sliced
2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans chicken broth
1 small zucchini, sliced and chopped in large pieces
1 small yellow squash, sliced and chopped in large pieces
2 large leaves fresh basil, chopped
12 leaves fresh oregano, chopped
12 (1/2-inch) slices French baguette
Vegetable cooking spray
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, to taste
Hungarian paprika to taste (optional)
1/2 cup smoked Gouda cheese, diced

Render bacon slowly in nonstick skillet over medium-low heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserve for garnish, and heat fat on medium-low. Add onion and cook for 3 minutes.
Add garlic and continue cooking until onions are translucent. Do not allow garlic to burn. Transfer onions and garlic to a soup pot. Add carrots, tomatoes, and season with salt and pepper.
Cook on medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the beans, red peppers, chicken broth, zucchini, and yellow squash. Bring to a boil. Add basil and oregano. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray baguette slices with cooking spray and lightly toast in oven. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese and paprika on toast and toast until light brown and bubbly.

Five minutes before serving, add Gouda cheese to soup and allow a few minutes for cheese to soften. Ladle soup into serving bowls. Sprinkle reserved bacon over top.
Place 2 slices of toast per serving on top of soup.

- click the movie reel to watch the second webisode of the Rock N' Roll Food Guy J.J. Jackson.  Here's the recipe...

Italian Style Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Ingredients:
2 slices Texas Toast bread
2 slices Provolone cheese
4 very thin slices Prosciutto ham
3 tablespoons butter
Aioli sauce:
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon ketchup
Pinch of Italian seasoning
Pinch of dried Parsley
Pinch of Paprika
Pinch of salt
¼ teaspoon chopped garlic

Method:
First mix up the Aioli by adding all the Aioli sauce ingredients together and then whisking it vigorously with a fork until everything is well combined. Spread the Aioli sauce on one side of each slice of Texas Toast bread. Meantime add 2 tablespoons of the butter to a warming 10 to 12 inch grill pan. Place both slices of Provolone cheese on the bread Aioli sauce side up. Put the other slice of bread on top Aioli sauce side down. Place the assembled sandwich in the pan and turn heat to medium-high. Spread the other tablespoon of butter on the top bread slice. Check the bottom for doneness with a spatula. When it’s golden brown, flip it and press down. You most likely won’t need a pan top for this one because the Provolone is a much softer cheese.  Check the other side for browning and then serve!
_{Makes one serving}