In the years since the first Thanksgiving, families throughout the U.S. have created their own culinary traditions, separate from the archetypal choices. Some opt to forego turkey for Cornish game hens, beef tenderloin, or honey spiraled ham. Some would rather buy cheap, canned jellied cranberries than create their own concoction.

Tagged: Barley Swine, Bryce Gilmore, Jack Allen's Kitchen, Jack Gilmore, Layne Lynch, Thanksgiving, Turkey Stuffing

This time of year we’re all focused on one thing: Thanksgiving. Whether you’re hosting (and preparing) a big feast, organizing a family/friend potluck, or you’re lucky enough to have simply been invited to a Turkey Day gathering, the big day of stuffing our faces and finding a cozy spot for napping afterwards is almost here. The menus are usually pretty simple: turkey, cranberry relish, maybe green beans and definitely stuffing, or dressing depending on where you’re from.

But one of the biggest dilemmas is settling on which wines to serve. With a cornucopia of different flavors dancing about the Thanksgiving table, it’s hard to know how to select a wine that will work well with everything you’re eating. Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. This month I was faced with a few different selections for wine of the month. And after tasting two particular wines multiple times, I find myself grappling with indecision: A red with great character, lots of fruits but also great balance with earth and light tannin; or a very unique white wine with a bright floral nose and a mild, off-dry palate with hints of citrus and white flowers.

So I chose both.

And I think you’ll be pleased. These two wines are perfect for sipping o. Their own, but also fantastic with food–in many ranges of flavor. This month’s selection comes with help from Houston-based wine writer Dr. Russell Kane. But many people know of him for his blog, Vintagetexas.com. Kane has been a champion for the Texas wine industry for more than ten years sitting on number of speaking, judging and special Texas wine pairing panels. His passion for Texas wine is so great that he has spent the past few years trekking the far reaches of the state collecting stories and evaluations of terroir for his upcoming book The Wineslinger Chronicles–Texas on the Vine. (Released through Texas Tech University Press in February 2012.) He has passed his first level certification from the Court of Master Sommeliers and this year he was accepted into the Master of Wine program of study by the Institute of Masters of Wine, an extremely rigorous program involving tasting and wine theory that will give Kane the distinction as a Master of Wine.

But most importantly, he helped me narrow down these two wines from an extensive Texas Selection.

McPherson Cellars La Herencia, 2009

RED WINE: McPherson Cellars La Herencia, 2009

This primarily Spanish blend includes Tempranillo, Mourvedre, Carignan and Syrah–all grapes that are doing very well in Texas. According to Kane,

“This is one of the wines that I call an opportunity wine made from a blend of small lot grapes that could be bought, made into wine and sold at this great price. It is a lively, aromatic, fruit-forward wine with nuances of red and black fruits and Mediterranean herbs on the nose and palate.”

As with most McPherson wines, you’ll find this wine has a lot of character and complexity but in a very approachable way — a perfect description of the quintessential Texan! To enjoy this wine at its best, bring it to about 65 degrees by sticking it in your refrigerator about 10 minutes before serving.

WHITE WINE: Eaglefire Muscat Blanc, 2011 from the Caldwell Family Winery

If you’re familiar with the term ‘Muscat,’ please don’t turn up your nose at this suggestion. Many associate Muscat with sweet or dessert wines. While you will definitely find a hint of sugar on this wine, you’ll find it quickly floats away. Leaving a nice, dry finish. It has low alcohol at only 12.9% and a good deal of acidity making it perfect to pair with food–particularly spicy foods.

Caldwell Family winery is a small winery based in Houston. Though they make some wines with grapes from Napa, this wine is made completely from grapes grown in the Brenham area. The 2010 vintage was a gold medal winner in the 2011 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo International Wine Competition.

Eaglefire Muscat Blanc, 2009

“This is a beautiful wine with notes of floral jasmine combined with citrus blossoms,” says Kane. “This wine is made from the same grape as Asti Spumante but without the carbonation. You might think that this is crazy but spicy beef tamales served with red or green chili salsa is an amazing pairing for this Muscat.”

Crazy or not, both of these wines are sure crowd pleasers for Thanksgiving. You can find La Herencia (~$10) statewide at Spec’s (although I just nabbed the last three at the Spec’s on Brodie Lane in Austin–sorry!). You can only get the Eaglefire ($18) through the winery, but there’s still enough time to order!

Here’s to you and yours this Holiday season and here’s to the Texas wines you’ll hopefully be serving!

Red Wine: McPherson Cellars La Herencia, 2009

Price: ~$10

Availability: Spec’s. Check with winery for other locations.

White Wine: Eaglefire Muscat Blanc, 2011 (Caldwell Family Winery)

Price: $18

Availability: Winery

- Jessica Dupuy

Tagged: Eaglefire Caldwell Family Winery, Jessica Dupuy, McPherson Cellars, Russ Kane, VintageTexas

How a food truck scene evolves. First, trucks move around from place to place, in many cases because that’s what city law requires.

Then they find a parking lot or vacant lot in which to stay parked all the time. If the landlord has more room to add in a few neighbors, then you get a “pod” or “cluster.” Such collections of multiple food vendors are all over Austin, while the Boardwalk on Bulverde is the heart of San Antonio’s scene.

Now it’s the Metroplex’s turn. The Fort Worth Food Park, the first food court of its kind in DFW, will open on December 2, four months after receiving a city variance, which will permit the trucks to stay immobile and allow the lot to provide power, water and disposal services to the eateries.

“You can see that the food truck culture in Austin, Portland, Los Angeles and similar cities is really starting to move towards a food-court-setting with a number of trucks working together,” said park owner Chris Kruger when he announced the new business. “So I wanted to bring that trend to Fort Worth.”

Kruger, who owns the land at 2509 Weisenberger St. near the West Seventh Street–Montgomery Ward entertainment district, has made room for six trucks. DFW.com’s Robert Philpot* reported that the Good Karma Kitchen truck will be a fixture, while others will rotate in and out.

Other trailers that will be there opening night include YES! Taco, Nammi Truck, Lee’s Grilled Cheeses, Red Jett Sweets, and Jake’s Hamburgers. All the trucks involved can continue to be mobile when the park’s not open—at first it will only be open Thursdays though Sundays.

Food truck enthusiasts welcome this new development. The Facebook account for Austin and Fort Worth chef Louis Lambert’s recent cookbook, Big Ranch, Big City, commented on the park’s own Facebook page, “It’s great to see the trend take hold in Fort Worth,” read the wall post.

However, Lambert himself recently told our own Layne Lynch, “I hate to even acknowledge food trucks. I think food trucks will run their course. The market is getting overcrowded, and I don’t think it can sustain itself.” (He was presumably talking about Austin.)

Also sounding a less cheerful note was Fort Worth Star-Telegram‘s Eats Beat columnist Bud Kennedy, who said “I’m still a skeptic” in a tweet about the park. “This park has a bad location,” Kennedy clarified to me in another tweet. “But I generally favor businesses that lease spaces and stay in a community, not those on wheels.”

More from WFAA, which filed this report, centered around cupcake maker Red Jett Sweets.

Tagged: Boardwalk on Bulverde, Eats Beat, Fort Worth Food Park, Good Karma Kitchen, Red Jett Sweets, Trailer Thursday

Next week, we celebrate my absolute favorite food day of the year. The turkey’s nice, don’t get me wrong, but I’ve always been a bigger fan of that particular bird the day after Thanksgiving, served between thick slices of white bread slathered with a healthy dose of mayonnaise and bedecked with Grandma’s secret-recipe sweet pickles. You’re nodding in agreement, aren’t you?

What really makes Thanksgiving my very favorite day for eating, you ask? The bevy of sides available, from traditional green bean casserole to soon-to-be-classic butternut squash bread pudding. Yeah, you heard me. And with a slew of fall vegetables available at farmers’ markets across the state, it’s easy to put together a totally Texan Thanksgiving meal. Our warm climate even affords us the chance for fresh green beans, potatoes, pumpkins, and more. Here’s my dream menu, complete with three recipes featuring my favorite, butternut squash.

Fall favorite sides:
Roasted Butternut Squash with Sage Sage* (add potatoes, shallots, and rosemary too!)
Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pecans
Cornbread Stuffing with Poblano Peppers
Modern Green Bean Casserole*
Braised Carrots with Thyme
Swiss Chard Gratin

Dessert:
Butternut Squash Bread Pudding with Tres Leches Sauce*
Spiced Butternut Squash Pie with Pecan Shortbread Crust*
Caramel Pumpkin Pie*
Good Old Apple Pie*

What are you serving up along side the turkey next week?

*These recipes have been tested, and approved, by yours truly! As for the others, I’ve made very similar dishes but the recipes reside in cookbooks stacked on a shelf in my kitchen, so these links represent a close match.

Tagged: butternut squash, cooking, farmer's market, green bean casserole, Texas produce, Thanksgiving, tres leches, turkey

For the grand opening of his new “veggie-centric” food trailer, Soular Food Garden, Hoover Alexander invited attendees to take a celebratory stroll with him around his childhood stomping grounds. The small group began their walk at the trailer’s East 12th street plot, continued to his church’s community garden, and finished at the high school where his parents first met. Along the way, Alexander detailed his memories of living and cooking just east of IH-35.

“Soular Food Garden came out of a desire to literally and metaphorically get back to my roots,” Alexander said. “All of these things stirred around in my head in what I call ‘the divine stirring of the pudding.’ Thirteen years ago I opened Hoover’s Cooking, and I’d describe it as almost a spiritual experience. We looked at a lot of different places to open up, but it was meant to be here in the East Side. The same goes for Soular Food Garden. I’ve closed my eyes and taken a leap of faith.”

The two establishments couldn’t sit further away from one another on the lifestyle spectrum. Frequenters at Hoover’s know the menu isn’t “veggie-centric,” unless crunchy fried okra, creamy macaroni and cheese, and sweet candied yams count. The healthier, greener menu choices of Soular Food Garden are Alexander’s personal choice, a result of his efforts to take better care of his own health. By incorporating more vegetables into his eating habits, the chef has already lost 30 pounds.

“I’ve got some work to do in terms of health and wellness, and the idea of taking baby steps resonated with me. I’m not an either/or kind of guy. I like my meat and ain’t no denying that,” he said. “This just gives me an opportunity to take a new direction. I can learn to plant some things, learn to grow some things, and just embrace what veggies have to offer.”

It’s not that Alexander hasn’t always appreciated his Southern sides, but the affection for mashed potatoes and cowboy beans has been replaced with cleaner vegetables such as collard greens and beets. “I’m a product of the Texas culture,” he said. “But I’m going through a period of personal and business deconstruction.” (more…)

Tagged: austin, Hoover Alexander, Hoover's Cooking, Layne Lynch, Soular Food Garden, Trailer Thursday

Jeffrey’s, one of Austin’s longest-running restaurants, is soon to get an extreme makeover courtesy of Austin chef and restaurateur Larry McGuire of Lamberts and Perla’s. Half a year from now Jeffrey’s will have a new chef and menu, a new look—and a new lease on life.

Jeffrey’s three founders and owners, Ron and Peggy Weiss and Jeffrey Weinberger, have partnered with McGuire’s hospitality group to revitalize the 36-year-old Austin dining venue. Long one of the city’s most iconic restaurants, Jeffrey’s has struggled in recent years with a succession of chefs, starting with the departure of David Garrido, then Alma Alcocer-Thomas, and most recently, Deegan McClung. It seemed as if its culinary identity was in a constant state of flux.

That will change when 29-year-old McGuire, who has enjoyed considerable success with both Lamberts Downtown Barbecue and Perla’s Seafood & Oyster Bar, becomes executive chef. McGuire says his intention is maintain the restaurant as a fine dining destination but redo the menu. He will release details later but has been quoted as saying that French-American is a likely direction. McGuire, a native Austinite who first visited Jeffrey’s at the age of ten, says he has always held the restaurant in high regard. The Weisses and Weinberger will retain partial ownership.

The changes will take place starting in the spring of 2012, when the restaurant closes briefly for a top-to-bottom remodeling. It will reopen in the summer with McGuire at the helm.

Another major ongoing project of the McGuire Moorman Hospitality group is the French-Vietnamese restaurant Elizabeth Street Cafe, to be located at the corner of Elizabeth Street and S. First Streets, in the former Bouldin Creek Coffee House.

It’s not every day you get to meet the man who grows the grapes that make up your favorite wine. The very guy who painstakingly plans throughout the year on when to irrigate, when to prune, when to net the vineyards, what to do when there’s a hail, heavy winds, late freezes and scorching heat. (And I’m probably only scratching the surface of what goes into vineyard management, aka grape farming.) So it’s a particularly special treat when one of the most well known grape growers in the state joins you (and a restaurant full of other wine lovers) for a dinner paired with wines made from grapes from his vineyards.

Such was the case Thursday evening when Neal and Janice Newsom of Newsom Vineyards trekked some few hundred miles down from the Lubbock area to Fredericksburg for a special dinner in their honor at the Cabernet Grill; a restaurant known not only for its great Texas fare, but for its Texas-only wine menu.

Newsom comes from a cotton family with dating back for more than 100 years in either growing the ubiquitous row crop or managing the cotton gins that helped produce the commodity. It was a path he originally began to take in his younger career helping his father manage a West Texas cotton gin and small cotton farm before following a bit of inspiration he received in college from Texas Tech professor and Texas Wine pioneer Dr.Roy Mitchell and planting his first acreage of grape in 1986; a vineyard of Cabernet Sauvignon.

At the celebratory vintner’s dinner at Cabernet Grill, winemakers from across the state gathered with a dining room full of more than 70 guests to applaud Newsom for his Texas-sized leap of faith almost 30 years ago. In attendance was Gary Gilstrap of Texas Hills Vineyard who presented a beautiful Pinot Grigio and Sangiovese from Newsom’s stock as well as Cord Switzer of Fredericksburg Winery who was one of Newsom’s first buyers. (And one of the first to gain Texas wine recognition with a silver medal from the Chicago International Wine competition with a dessert Orange Muscat wine from Newsom Vineyards.) Dan Gatlin of Inwood Estate Vineyards spoke briefly on Newsom’s contribution to Texas wine industry saying “I’ve done a lot of research across North America and I can promise that there are no better grapes than from Newsom Vineyards–hands down.” (more…)

Tagged: Bar Z, Cabernet Grill, Fredericksburg Winery, Inwood Estates Vineyards, Jessica Dupuy, Neal Newsom, Newsom Vineyards, Texas Hills Vineyards, texas wine

I first saw Japanese takoyaki - a delectably ambrosial octopus dumpling that has graced the shops and street corners of Japan for centuries – on an episode of Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations. Immediately I hopped to my computer and conducted a frantic search for takoyaki restaurants in Texas. There had to be some Japanese transplant living the American Dream somewhere in Texas peddling authentic foods of the homeland to American foodies. There just had to be.

Needless to say, I got nothing, not even a nibble. I should’ve known better. The extent of authentic Japanese cookery here is as far-reaching as a Philadelphia roll at happy hour on a store-bought tatami downtown.

Then one fateful afternoon, a friend called me up and suggested we visit a new food truck: Love Balls. Putting other possible connotations aside, this truck really holds true to the name. “We make balls, and we put love into them,” says owner Gabe Rothschild, 27.

They certainly do, with all entrees made right to order. The process is a meticulous and slow one, but it’s worth the approximate 10-20 minute wait. Each order of takoyaki comes with eight chewy chunks of octopus encased in a searing-hot ball of dough, seasoned to savory perfection and topped with a helpful heap of special Japanese mayo, powdered seaweed and bonito flakes.

“We were eating at a lot of food trailers and something was missing: Japanese street food,” says Rothschild. “And we thought takoyaki was accessible, quirky and fit into the Austin food scene. Nobody was doing it town; nobody was even doing it in Texas. And we figured a lot of people would be interested, curious about it. And it was a form we could play with.” (more…)

Tagged: Anthony Bourdain, austin, Gabe Sao Rothschild, Love Balls Bus, no reservations, Takoyaki, Trailer Thursday

Virginia Sherwood, Bravo

We heard the rumors that the show was coming (and that producers tried to shut down tweets about it). We’ve read about the state tax breaks and the lawsuit and the omission of our biggest (and completely food-rich) city, Houston.

Now the day is finally here: Top Chef: Texas, the ninth season of the cooking competition show, premieres tonight.

All the episodes will take place in Austin, Dallas or San Antonio; Paul Qui of Austin’s Uchiko and Andrew Curran of Austin’s 24 Diner are among the 29 “cheftestants.”

“Everything is bigger in Texas,” writes TV Guide. “And that includes Top Chef.” It also includes all the Texas cliches that we’ll be seeing on the show (“Saddle Up,” says one of Bravo.com‘s pop-up ads) and in the coverage of it.

The premiere (and eight of the season’s 14 episodes) takes place in San Antonio, which, as the Express-News‘ Jennifer McInnis notes, anted up $200,000 to the show’s producers via its Convention and Visitor’s Bureau (the state provided twice that).

Give the producers points for wit, however: the season will feature Pee Wee Herman, whose Pee Wee’s Big Adventure took him to the Alamo, as a guest judge. And that particular setting is probably appropriate given that the 29 competitors will shrink to 16 by the end of next week’s episode.

“It’s going to be quite a slaughter there,” says Eater Austin, while the Los Angeles Times compared the rapid cut-down to “[Rick] Perry and his state’s tough stance on final justice.” (more…)

Tagged: 24 Diner, Andrew Curran, austin, Bravo, dallas, Houston, Paul Qui, san antonio, texas, Tom Colicchio, Top Chef, uchiko

Creative Commons/Rich Anderson.

A man allegedly attacked a Pleasant Grove woman with a frozen armadillo in late September, Dallas’s Fox 4 News reported, reminding us again that basically anything can be turned into a weapon. The news ricocheted around the Internet, as weird animal stories tend to do, making BoingBoing and newspaper websites as far away as Australia.

The Fox 4 story, based on a police statement, said the woman had met her alleged attacker to sell him an armadillo when he turned on her and began hitting her with the carcass. Ida Greshen, the woman injured in the alleged attack, gave a different account of the September 29 incident when tracked down by Eat My Words last week. Dallas Police did not return a call for comment on the incident.

Greshen, 57, said that her alleged attacker, a former flame whom she has known for thirty years, had been storing two dead armadillos in her freezer, preserving them until he could cook them. “I had the armadillo in my icebox,” she said.

Greshen said that on the day of the alleged attack, she did not want to return the armadillo carcasses to the man because he had not repaid her $250 she had loaned him. A tussle ensued in the parking lot of the senior community where Greshen lives, she said, and they both were tugging at the armadillo before he began to hit her with it.

“He took it and hit me with it,” Greshen said. “He went berserk. He had fire in his eyes like he wanted to kill me.” He hit her on the leg and breast, leaving both areas bruised and swollen, Greshen said. The armadillo, which had been removed from its shell (husked?), “wasn’t frozen solid but it was big enough and hard enough to bruise my leg,” she said.

Perhaps more interesting than the attack itself is the story of how armadillos got in Greshen’s freezer in the first place—and the glimpse it affords us into the world of unconventional game meats. The armadillos were not the only type of critter Greshen had on ice—the man also kept the occasional possum or raccoon in her apartment. The man would come over to her house to marinate and cook them because his gas had been cut off, she said.

“I let him cook his ‘coon; I let him cook any kind of wild stuff he thinks he likes,” Greshen said, adding she has never tried the meat herself. “He’s a country boy.” (more…)

Tagged: Armadillo meat, Barbacoa de Armadillo, dallas, dillo, game, opossum, possum, raccoon