It’s What Ya Got Cookin'?, our occasional spotlight on traditional cooking and food preparation. Today on Midday, three great local chefs join Tom to talk about their cooking journeys, and offer ideas on how to make our 4th of July holiday gathering festive and fun.We begin with a young chef from Baltimore who is making her mark on national television. Turn on the TV any night of the week and you are bound to run across a cooking competition show. There’s plenty of excitement and lots of folks consider it a great opportunity to elevate their cooking ambitions with techniques from some of the best chefs, the best bakers, and the best grill masters from around the country. In fact, more than a few competitors come from our very own backyard right here in Baltimore.Keanu Hogan joins us. She is featured in this season’s Hell’s Kitchen: Young Guns Edition on Fox. All the contestants are in their 20’s, and they compete under the critical eye of chef Gordon Ramsey.Keanu Hogan is a private chef here in Baltimore who runs Thee Perfect Bite, LLC. She joins us on Zoom….Tom's second guest is Chef David Thomas. He is another one of our Baltimore chefs who found himself in a competitive cooking television battle in 2018. He walked away with the Grand Champion Title in the television series “Chopped.” Chef Thomas and his wife Tonya Thomas are the founders of the H3irloom Food Group. Chef David Thomas joins us on Zoom…Tom's final guest on this 4th of July Edition of Midday's What Ya Got Cookin'? series is Chef Damian Mosley, the founder of Blacksauce Kitchen. Blacksauce Kitchen is a mobile food business in Baltimore that recently opened a new storefront on 29th Street in the city's Remington neighborhood.Their signature creation is handmade biscuits. If you’ve ever had one at one of the local farmers markets, you know why the lines to get them are always significant. Damian Mosley founded Blacksauce Kitchen in 2010. You can also see Damian and his crew at the Waverly Farmers Market every other Saturday. He joins us today on Zoom…

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Tastee Towers Strawberry Shortcake Dessert Trifle

Chef Keanu Hogan mentioned this recipe on the show today. It's a sweet little dessert that's perfect for 4th of July entertaining.Ingredients:8 oz pound cake16 oz heavy cream (cold)2-4 tbsp powdered sugar1 tsp vanilla bean paste8 oz diced strawberries1 tsp honey (or sweetener of choice)zest of half a lemonInstructions:1. In a small bowl combine strawberries, honey, lemon zest and a squeeze of lemon juice. Mix thoroughly and set aside.2. Using a hand or stand mixer, whip the heavy cream for about five-ten minutes until it begins to thicken. You want the cream to be whipped to firm peaks which mean you can scoop it and it won’t fall off your spoon.3. Add vanilla paste, powdered sugar and fold carefully. Taste and adjust flavoring.4. Cut your pound cake into dice sized pieces. This doesn’t need to be perfect and the more crumbly it is, the better.5. In a glass dessert trifle jar (or mason jar) layer your pound cake in one even layer. You can then layer your whipped cream, then macerated strawberries. Continue to layer until you are out of ingredients or your jar is full. Top with mint or lemon zest and ENJOY!!!

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