Tips on how to create some of the best Texan dishes out there
Recipe from chef Jeff Blank, Hudson’s on the Bend.1 12-ounce lamb loin filet 2 pounds lamb bones 2 medium onions 1 stalk celery 3 carrots 5 bay leaves 2 sprigs rosemary 1/2 cup whole mint and 2 teaspoons chopped mint 2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns 1/2 cup brown sugar 3
From “What’s Good For the Goose”
1 cup sugar1 cup heavy cream1 cinnamon stick of dash of ground cinnamon1 tablespoon unsalted butter1/2 teaspoon cornstarch1/4 cup water1 tablespoon bourbonPreheat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl, cream sugar and butter. Mix in eggs, cream, cinnamon, vanilla, and raisins. Pour mixture into 1 3/4-inch-deep, 9-inch-square pan. Arrange bread
From “Quick Cuisine: Winter’s Bounty”
From “Quick Cuisine: Winter’s Bounty”
From “What’s Good For the Goose”
For a winter night’s meal, making a pot of roasted acorn squash soup will warm your kitchen and your bones.
It may not look like much, but don’t be fooled.
Turkey Day is upon us, and an abundance of families will be cooking fall-centric dishes at home tomorrow. In case you’re looking to scrounge up some last-minute Thanksgiving recipes, here are a few offerings from a handful of talented Texas chefs. Roasted Pumpkin Soup with Absinthe Crème Fraîche from Jason Dodge of Péché
Get your salt shaker and limes ready to celebrate that "frozen concoction that helps you hang on."
Get cozy in the kitchen with your significant other and turn up the heat on Valentine’s Day.
A recipe from Helen Corbitt, who reigned as Neiman Marcus's head chef for seventeen years.
Invite a few friends over for a good ol' fashioned crawfish boil!
Orange-Zest Biscuits From Nellie Connally. Servings 16 Print Share Ingredients 1x2x3x2 cups flour4 tablespoons sugar½
Equipment1 turkey cooker with a propane burner (also called a catfish cooker or crawfish boiler) 1 36- to 40-quart stockpot and basket 1 large turkey injector with needle 1 deep-fryer thermometer or candy thermometer elbow-length oven mittsCinnamon-Chile Rub1/2 cup cinnamon 1/2 cup pasilla or other red chile powder 1/2 cup
1 pot hot coffee1 1/4 cups heavy cream2 tablespoons powdered sugar2 tablespoons Kahlua liqueur8 teaspoons shaved chocolateMake a pot of good strong coffee. In a bowl whip the cream until soft peaks form. Fold in the powdered sugar and Kahlua. Put a dollop on each cup of coffee and garnish
How to stuff a wild tortilla.
Saucy Katherine Anne Porter’s recipe for mole.
4 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary 13/4 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup warm milk 2 ounces Parmesan cheese, freshly grated (yields 1/2 cup) salt to taste freshly ground pepper to tasteMelt butter in a small saucepan. Add rosemary
olive oil for brushing on peppers 2 red bell peppers 1 teaspoon fresh chopped thyme 2 tablespoons pure olive oil salt and pepper to taste 8 slices French bread, 1/2 inch thick 1 clove garlic, peeled 6 sprigs fresh thymeBrush olive oil on peppers and place on a sheet pan
Pine Nut—Balsamic Vinaigrette1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar 1 tablespoon toasted pine nuts, crushed (or more, to taste) 1 teaspoon chopped cilantro 1 clove garlic, minced (or more, to taste) salt and pepper to tastePlace all ingredients in a bowl and whisk thoroughly.Mixed Greens1/2 pound mixed greens
24 large Gulf shrimp 3 fresh jalapeños, finely chopped 1⁄4 cup finely chopped pickled jalapeños 1⁄4 cup juice from pickled jalapeños 3 shallots, finely chopped 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh epazote 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice 2 tablespoons unrefined
1 whole chicken, 3 to 4 pounds 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon 1 tablespoon ancho or other pure chile powder 1 tablespoon brown sugar 1 teaspoon cocoa powder 1 teaspoon coarse salt 1⁄2 teaspoon ground black pepper 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegarPreheat oven and roasting pan to 400
5 ancho chiles 1 cup heavy cream 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice 1 tablespoon unsalted butter 1/2 yellow onion, diced 6 ounces wild mushrooms (morels, shiitakes, oysters, portobellos), sliced 1/2 avocado, peeled, pitted, and cut into quarter-inch cubes 3 ounces queso fresco or feta cheese, crumbled
6 baking potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced 1/4 cup minced garlic 1/4 cup minced shallots 1 1/2 sticks butter 1 1/2 cups heavy cream 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese salt and pepper to tastePreheat oven to 350 degrees. In a heavy saucepan, sauté garlic and shallots in butter over low
4 ancho chiles 1 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic 2 1/2 cups demi-glace 1/4 cup Jim Beam bourbon salt and pepper to tasteCore and seed chiles. Cover in boiling water and simmer for approximately 10 minutes, or until soft. Purée in a blender with enough water to make a
In theory and in practice, bread pudding is what you do with leftover bread—it’s poor folks’ food. But not this bread pudding. The dauntingly rich and absolutely delicious dessert is the specialty of pastry chef Melissa Bailey, who with her husband, executive chef Benjamin Bailey, heads up the kitchen at Houston’s arty
1 1/4 cups pinto beans, soaked overnight and drained 1 bay leaf 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons corn or vegetable oil 2 yellow onions, cut in 1/4-inch pieces 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 2 tablespoons red chile powder, or more, to taste 1 teaspoon ground cumin
6 cups water 3 family-size (1 ounce) tea bags 2 cups fresh mint, loosely packed 1 small can (6 ounces) frozen lemonade concentrate 1 bottle (32 ounces) R.W. Knudsen Peach Nectar (it has the most flavor) 1/2 to 1 cup simple syrup 1 liter ginger ale 1 liter club sodaBring
Vegetables of every shape, color, and texture are mixed and matched in chef Monica Pope’s innovative and healthy dish. A light but filling option from the menu at Boulevard Bistrot in Houston (4319 Montrose), the multilayered assemblage consists of a pancake of grated and sliced vegetables on the bottom and
Forget the figgy pudding. The centerpiece of your party table for the holidays should be this voluptuous cheesecake from Houston’s Sierra Grill.Chef Charles Watkins has taken an everyday dessert and turned it into something special, its texture as lush as velvet, the density firm without being heavy. But what raises
Venison is the name of the game in this stylish take on a Texas classic from Hunter’s Moon in Fredericksburg. Partners and chefs Cynthia Castleberry and Alan Hirsch embellish the lean meat with a lush demiglace-based sauce incorporating cranberries, pistachios, ginger, and sherry. The final kick comes from the judicious
Every November, my family gives thanks for Texas pecans, Karo syrup, special spices, and the secret recipe that turns them into the best pecan pie on earth.
Recipe from Teala’s, Houston
1/2 cup champagne vinegar 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 1 cup extra virgin olive oil 1 1/2 cups pure olive oil 2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots Salt and pepper to tasteMix vinegar and mustard in a stainless steel bowl. Add olive oil in a steady stream, beating with wire whisk until
1 15- or 16-ounce can garbanzos (chick peas) 2 tablespoons tahini (sesame paste) 1 tablespoon pure olive oil 1 teaspoon fresh pressed garlic or prepared garlic paste 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice Salt and pepper to tasteDrain garbanzos, reserving liquid. Blend first 5 ingredients in food processor or blender, adding
This creation mixes and matches ingredients from the countries of the Mediterranean: grilled portobello mushrooms from Italy, olive oil from France or Spain, hummus-tahini spread from the Middle East.“This sandwich was my wife’s idea,” says David Holben, the executive chef at Dallas’ Mediterraneo. “She’s a vegetarian and she asked me
“Mixing so many flavors, you wouldn’t think the dish would turn out,” says Ethel Fisher, the executive chef and co-owner of Houston’s Post Oak Grill. But it does, and more is more in this unlikely pairing of lamb and not-so-subtle tomatillo sauce.Fisher spent twenty years traveling throughout Europe and South
1/2 cup fresh soft goat cheese 24 edible flowers (preferably trumpet-shaped)Whip goat cheese in blender until smooth; pipe or spoon into flowers.To serve, arrange slices of stuffed lamb on plate atop tomatillo sauce. Decorate lamb with remaining pepper strips and garnish plate with flowers. Serves 6.
1 pound fresh tomatillos, quartered 1 jalapeño, seeded and chopped 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh garlic 3 tablespoons clarified butter 1 cup sherry 1/4 cup soy sauce 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup chopped destemmed fresh mint 1 teaspoon ground black pepperSauté tomatillos, jalapeño, and garlic in clarified butter until
The ingredients are earthy but the effect is divine in chef Mark Morrow’s rustic anitra arrosto, or roast duck. Morrow’s recipes from Mi Piaci in Dallas (14854 Montfort) do a turn on traditional Italian fare: fresh fowl brushed with honey and balsamic vinegar and slow-cooked creamy polenta, made from simple cornmeal.The
Think casual entertaining, and you think “grill.” This dish, from the New Southwestern bistro Third Coast Rotisserie and Grill in Houston, propels tradition up a notch.The shrimp and scallop skewers, a creation of executive chef Gary Tottis, take one of Texas’ great natural resources—seafood—and give it a distinctive Mexican accent—the
For millennia, Mexican people have used corn husks as cooking vessels. Alan Mallett, the executive chef at Houston’s Cafe Noche, has adapted the technique for the restaurant’s signature Little Boats because, he says, the ingredients “steam in their own juices and retain all their flavor and texture.” Three variations on
Dallas chef Stephan Pyles redefined Texas cuisine in the eighties, giving a sophisticated treatment to down-home staples and adding the distinctive kick of chiles and Mexican spices. The founder of the dear departed Routh Street Cafe and its more casual offspring, Baby Routh (2708 Routh Street), Pyles shares his pioneering
Recipe from Dean Fearing of Dallas’ Mansion on Turtle Creek.
In Texas, October is the kindest month, bringing idle breezes and the promise of nippy mornings followed by glorious blue afternoons. In weather like this, you want to have friends over for Sunday brunch, but you don’t want to kill yourself cooking. That’s when you need recipes that get you
Treebeards does lunch. Not the hasty post-modern “Let’s do lunch” but the leisurely traditional “Will you join me for lunch?” Inside the flagship Market Square location (315 Travis) in Houston, ceiling fans waft a breeze across baskets of fresh produce while customers queue up to peruse the possibilities: shrimp étouffée,
Treebeards does lunch. Not the hasty post-modern “Let’s do lunch” but the leisurely traditional “Will you join me for lunch?” Inside the flagship Market Square location (315 Travis) in Houston, ceiling fans waft a breeze across baskets of fresh produce while customers queue up to peruse the possibilities: shrimp étouffée,
Some restaurants are so intertwined with the identity of a city that the place is unthinkable without them. London minus the Sherlock Holmes pub? Inconceivable. Paris sans La Tour d’Argent? C’est impossible. Houston without the Rivoli? No way. For seventeen years, the Rivoli (at 5636 Richmond), with its latticed garden
“I’m not crazy about chiles,” says chef Gerard Bahon, in a formidable French accent that has successfully resisted Americanization for more than twenty years. So at his Arlington restaurant, Bistro Bagatelle (406 W. Abrams), the native of Brittany eschews the potent ingredients of Texas’ Southwestern cuisine in favor of the
