Gay telechef Johnny Carino shares his ideas for Thanksgiving dinner

Dallas Voice

Saturday, November 18, 2006

NOW WE'RE COOKING:

Johnny Carino's kitchen at his home in Corinth is as warm and open as the one used on his TV cooking show, "Break Me Off a Piece of That."

Whatever the differences among TV chefs, one thing most of them have in common is a silhouette to accompany their appreciation of food. Paul Prudhomme, Emeril Lagasse, Mario Batali and the perfectly descriptive hosts of "Two Fat Ladies," each boast a girth that comes from years savoring good cooking and licking the beaters.

So you might think a label like "the best built chef on TV" is faint praise at best.

But that's only if you've never seen Johnny Carino.

Carino, the North Texas-based host of the cooking show "Break Me Off a Piece of That" (airing locally Saturdays on Channel 13), has the physique of a gym-rat: A squat frame with arms that look carved out of granite — five-feet-five, 200 pounds of solid muscle. It is not surprising Carino is built like a fireplug: He comes from a long line of professional firefighters (until recently, he was an enthusiastic volunteer fireman himself).

The man who now says he hates the word "diet" admits that in the not-so-distant past, he would enter into a 16-week program for body-building where he consumed almost no food every day, a low-carb, no-fat system. After all, a body like his takes work.

"When I was training, I was very disciplined. I did not put anything in my mouth that didn't make me cut," he says.

In 2000, he placed second among 16 competitors in a national bodybuilding competition.

Those days ended in 2002 when Carino, then 40, developed a pancreatic disease that was causing his organ to fail. The diagnosis forced him to drop his competition regimen, although he still works out almost every day, and wants to keep what he calls "that Men's Fitness look."

With that kind of background, how is it that for more than a dozen years, Carino has made his living working primarily in the — gulp! — fast-food industry?

"Until 1994, all I did was fine dining," says Carino, a New York native who now lives in Corinth, near Denton.

That year, he "went corporate" through his association with Brinker International where he developed his eponymous Italian-food chain Johnny Carino's (he's no longer associated with it). He's currently involved with Pizza Hut-KFC-Taco Bell in the corporate office, "reinventing dining concepts for them," he explains.

But even in the presence of trasnfats and megaportions, Carino has always kept one eye focused on eating well. He worked for a year with Darden Brands, conducting research before the opening of the Orlando-based concept Seasons 52, which specializes in portion-controlled, low-calorie, flavorful dishes. And his TV show, which has been broadcast statewide since September, zeroes in on comfort food made as healthful as possible.

THANKSGIVING WITH MUSCLE:

Carino, left, and partner, Chris Miklos, are planning a big Turkey Day spread this year — featuring a Carino family tradition: lasagna.

"I'm Sicilian, and I've eaten Sicilian food all my life," says Carino, who was born in Brooklyn to two Palermo-bred families.

And while Italian food might not sound heart-conscious, that environment helped him develop an appreciation for family-friendly cooking.

"We always ate and had family meals together," which often included odd dishes like squid and octopus. "We had a big pot of sauce which had pigskin in it. We weren't the most popular house among my friends because we ate such unusual food," Carino says.

But it led him to explore unusual ingredients and alternative preparations. In his career, Carino has traveled the world in search of everything from inventive okra dishes to the best crab.

"I like Italian, of course, but I like Pac Rim cooking a lot, too," he says.

Given such a wealth of experience, the well-traveled TV chef embraces the chance to do Thanksgiving dinner right. And as you might expect from someone who designs corporate menus, it's no small affair.

"Thanksgiving at our house is really different," says Carino, who has been with his partner, Chris Miklos, for five years. "It's the one holiday I usually celebrate. So every year — except for last year — I have had our employees over. That's 60 to 80 people at the house."

With that many guests, Carino usually ends up doing a buffet, including ham, turkey, roast beef and — here's proof of his Sicilian heritage — lasagna.

"We always had turkey, but my grandparents weren't used to turkey, so they would overcook it," he says. "But I grew up with lasagna on Thanksgiving. Sometimes it was manicotti, but we also always had antipasto salad with different imported olives and salamis. I'm really into salamis."

Still, Carino is willing to try new things. He even fried a turkey — once.

"My dad taught me how to do it. It was real moist, but for me turkey has had to have that brown skin," he says, pausing to add: "I'm kind of a control freak when it comes to cooking."

But he's not inflexible. Sure, Carino offers up such nontraditional fare as stuffed artichokes with parmesan for his Turkey Day guests, but years of work in the corporate food service industry have led him to give the people what they want. Since arriving in the South, Carino has altered what you find on the menu at his house on Thanksgiving.

"After I moved to Texas, I had green bean casserole, and broccoli with cheese and rice — all of which was new to me," although they now find a way into his rotation of side dishes, he says. "Cornbread stuffing — I didn't even know what it was, and I still don't like it. But I serve it — only ours has garlic and herbs."

And Carino heartily endorses a bone-in ham with a glaze made of brown sugar and that true Texas ingredient: Dr. Pepper.

"I picked that up from my ex," Carino says. "Dr. Pepper eats through the meat, so softens it up and makes it very tender."

He says he's "not big on desserts," partly because he doesn't have a sweet tooth and partly because he doesn't like the precision of baking. But guests are invited to bring a pie or cake to his feast. That's another thing Carino's family taught him: Diversity is always welcome at the table.

"Break Me Off a Piece of That" airs Saturdays on Ch. 13 at 4:30 p.m.

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