Pat’s Pick
Pat's Pick
Photograph by Matthew Bromley
Pat's Pick
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PHOTO BY MATTHEW BROMLEY |
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I'M JUST MAD ABOUT SAFFRON I know I'm in the company of grown-ups when I can say "tapas bar" and nobody feels compelled to crack, "What? You ate at a topless bar?" At the moment, my favorite tapas bar is San Antonio's Saffron, a casual, three-month-old spot done up in rich autumnal reds and browns. I like owner Josh Duncan and chef Tito Aybar's menu not just for its global scope but also because it makes astute wine recommendations for many selections. (By the way, tapa means "lid" and comes from the practice, in pre-air- conditioned Spain, of putting a piece of bread or other food on top of a glass of wine or beer to keep flies from plunging to a boozy death.) At Saffron—where there are no flies—most people choose an array of appetizer-size dishes, perhaps a sampler of pâtés (bottom: chicken and sun-dried tomato, chunky duck-pistachio, and brandied rabbit with raisins), a bit of meltingly tender lamb cassoulet made with navy beans and Spanish chorizo, and a small bowl of Saffron's irresistible salty tapenade with toasted baguette slices. Then they sit there transfixed, trying to decide which one to sample first. Daily entrée specials like grilled white salmon with caviar beurre blanc satisfy folks who want a "real" meal. Me, I'm still toying with the tapas.
PATRICIA SHARPE
Word of Mouth
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PUMPED UP Douglas Brown, the 29-year-old executive chef of Dallas' Melrose Hotel and its Landmark restaurant, has some great pumpkin ideas for fall as well as tips for cooking with the real thing. His recipe for pumpkin gnocchi with apple-cider brown bbutter and pumpkin seeds takes this orange relative of the gourd to a whole new level.
How do you pick out a good cooking pumpkin?
Make sure it's nice and firm and look for a bright orange color. I use very small pumpkins, about the size of softballs, because they seem meatier and richer in flavor.
What are some creative things to do with the parts you're not using in a recipe?
We take the flesh of the pumpkin and grind it in a food processor, then spread it out, dry it, and grind it in a coffee-bean grinder. That gives you an intense, sweet pumpkin "dust" that can be sprinkled on fish, meat, or a salad. One small pumpkin will yield a quarter cup, which can be stored at room temperature in a plastic container for a couple of weeks.
Do you use the skin?
No, peel the pumpkin with a knife.
What do you do with the seeds?
Rinse, dry, and toast them in the oven, then grind them or chop them rough. They can be used as a garnish, or you can make candied pumpkin seeds by mixing them with a little brown sugar and butter.
Which spices complement pumpkin?
All the fall spices such as ginger and nutmeg work really well. I'm also drawn to a nice brown butter, for its nutty flavor.
What goes well with the gnocchi?
At the restaurant we do braised veal cheeks, but you can serve it with any kind of dark, rich braised meat, like leg of lamb.
Is canned pumpkin ever okay?
Use a fresh pumpkin unless you're making a pie. For anything else, don't be intimidated. Just treat it like a butternut squash with a slightly different flavor.
EILEEN SCHWARTZ
Pumpkin Gnocchi With Apple Cider Brown Butter
This dish from chef Doug Brown is tempting to fix on a cool fall day. It is, however, quite a challenge even for experienced cooks.
On the Road
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BACK TO BASICS Tucked away on a beautiful tree-lined road outside Elm Mott in north central Texas is Homestead Heritage, a pristine little village of sorts where the residents are dedicated to preserving traditional crafts and living off the land. You can sample the fruits of their labors at the delicatessen, which offers lunch items like tossed green salads and great sandwiches on homemade bread (we liked the turkey and Swiss on wheat). You'll want to stroll the grounds afterward to walk off that scoop of ice cream (or was it a slice of apple pie?). On your trek, stop by the herb garden, the blacksmith shop, and the potter's house. And definitely don't miss the barn, which was built by Dutch settlers in New Jersey in 1800 and moved to its current home in 1996. Inside you'll find everything from handcrafted tables and quilts to wrought-iron pulls and specialty jams for sale. You might even be inspired to take one of the many courses offered at Homestead Heritage: growing culinary herbs, canning and preserving, baking bread, cheesemaking, raising chickens, beekeeping, weaving on a treadle loom, blacksmithing, and woodworking. Even if you never practice these skills, it's fun to know how. (For more information, go to homesteadheritage.com.)
PATRICIA BUSA MCCONNICO
It's the Vittles Things
Beans and cornbread are simple foods worth sighing about.
A MEAL OF BEANS AND cornbread isn't fancy, but it's one we just plain love. It's as much a Texas tradition as flying the Lone Star, remembering the Alamo, and saying "y'all." Diners aren't likely to find this lowbrow combo in a restaurant. Sure, at times any decent cafe will offer sides of fresh hot cornbread and slow-simmered pinto beans. But the unadorned twosome is rarely considered a complete dinner anywhere but in your own kitchen, or your mama's. Actually, when I was growing up, my father was the chief proponent and preparer of cornbread and beans. Mother cooked much fancier fare, but she sure did enjoy his beans and cornbread. (And not just because she didn't have to cook that night!)
Because both corn and pinto beans are easy to grow, they have been staples for Texans for a good century and a half, and even many lifelong urbanites still relish the simple fare that was enjoyed and handed down, way back when, by their pioneer forebears. Within the beans-and-cornbread tradition, however, there are scores of variations on each dish. Depending on various families, geographic areas, or dietary preferences you investigate, you can find everything from hot-water cornbread and unleavened pone to vegetarian beans and pintos that have been fried—deliciously!—in lard. Besides the nostalgia factor, there are many other reasons beans and cornbread make a great meal: Both foods are filling, nutritious, and way cheap. But best of all, these dishes are downright easy to cook, no matter how full your plate overall, and odds are all the ingredients you need are sitting in your pantry and fridge.
Here are four recipes to try (or sneer at, if you're a veteran hand at fixing this homey combo). The bean recipes are from my 84-year-old father, G. W. Dingus of Pampa; one is basic but tasty, the other gussied up and good as all get-out. The cornbread variations come from two well-known sources of Texas culinary know-how: the influential Helen Corbitt, who ran Neiman Marcus' Zodiac Room restaurant for more than a decade, and Cheryl and Bill Jamison, the husband-and-wife team who are cookbook authors as well as food historians. Now, get out in the kitchen and rattle those pots and pans!
ANNE DINGUS
My Library
