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
This chicken-and-sausage gumbo is redolent of filé, and the jalapeño cornbread is thick with creamed corn and cheddar cheese.
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
A recipe from Parigi, in Dallas.
4 cups all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons powdered sugar 1 tablespoon salt 2 teaspoons baking soda 1/2 cup shortening 2 cups buttermilk 1/4 cup caraway seeds 1 egg yolk 4 tablespoons milkPreheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix together flour, sugar, salt, and soda. Cut in shortening, add buttermilk, and mix until
Houston pastry chef and bakery owner Marilyn Descours suggests making her easy sandwich cookies for parent-child assembly-line fun: Dab your favorite seedless raspberry jam between wafers, and dip the sandwiches halfway in 6 to 8 ounces of melted semisweet chocolate. Chill on waxed paper until the chocolate sets.Marilyn Descours’ Raspberry
1 medium yellow onion, diced1 tablespoon each of butter and flour1 can (32 ounces) low-salt chicken stock1 small bunch leeks (green and white parts), washed, trimmed, and sliced2 medium baking potatoes, peeled and diced3/4 tablespoon dried thymeSalt and black pepper, to taste1 medium bunch fresh sorrel1 large bunch fresh watercress1/2
2 quarts tomato juice (Sacramento) 4 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (Lea and Perrins) 6 tablespoons chopped horseradish, or to taste 2 tablespoons each of chopped fresh garlic, lemon juice, lime juice, and dried dill 2 teaspoons ground black pepper 1 teaspoon each of ground white pepper, celery salt, and garlic salt
3 cups grated fresh coconut (from about 5-inch-diameter coconut) or unsweetened packaged coconut1 1/2 cups sugar1 cup milk1/4 cup peanut oil25 green cardamoms, peeled and seeds crushed, or 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamomMini-sized paper baking cupsIf using fresh coconut, break shell with hammer. Pry meat from shell with knife tip.
4 large cucumbers 6 tablespoons chopped cilantro 3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves 3 teaspoons sugar Juice of 2 lemons or limes 1 1/2 tablespoons peanut oil 1 teaspoon mustard seeds 3 or 4 serrano chiles (optional), seeded and slivered 1/2 cup raw peanuts, oven-roasted and coarsely chopped Salt,
4 tablespoons peanut oil 4 to 6 garlic cloves, minced 3 serrano chiles, minced 1 teaspoon cumin seed 2 small Japanese eggplants or 1 small purple eggplant; 2 medium red new potatoes; and 2 carrots – all cut into 1/2 -inch cubes 1 1/2 cups cauliflower florets, broken into 1/2
1 cup garbanzo beans1 cup black-eyed peas1 cup chana dal (split yellow peas may be substituted)1 cup mung beans5 medium red new potatoes8 scallions (with some green), finely sliced4 serrano chiles, seeded and minced 2 tablesppons chaat masala seasoning mix6 tablespoons chopped cilantroSalt, to tasteJuice of 2 large lemons or
2 cups sifted flour plus 4 tablespoons flour 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, plus extra for dusting Zest of 3 lemons, 3 limes, and 2 oranges 1/2 pound butter, chilled 4 large eggs 3 cups granulated sugar 4 tablespoons each of lemon, lime, and orange juice 2 teaspoons baking powder 2
1 to 1 1/2 cups olive oil 2 cups each of diced red bell pepper, diced green bell pepper, and diced white onion 6 cups diced eggplant 1 cup canned diced tomato in juice 2 tablespoons capers 1/4 cup each of red wine vinegar and sugar 1/4 cup minced cilantro
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard 1/2 cup red wine vinegar 1 tablespoon sugar 1/4 cup chopped garlic 1/2 tablespoon salt 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper 1/2 cup olive oil 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil, plus 1 1/4 cup cut in julienne 18 ounces fresh tricolored
Recipe from executive chef Michael Thomson, of Epicure in the Park, Dallas.
9 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped walnut pieces 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs 4 tablespoons plus 1 cup sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon 32 ounces cream cheese, softened 2 tablespoons flour 3 whole eggs, at room temperature 2 egg yolks, at room temperature 1 teaspoon vanilla
64 ounces plain lowfat yogurt 2 cans (28 ounces each) mango pulp 12 cups crushed iceWhip half of ingredients at a time in blender until frothy. Pour into glasses. Serves 10 To 12.From Savoring Summer, featured in Domain, May 1990
Drew Allen, a co-owner of San Antonio’s Liberty Bar, came across this custardy buttermilk pie recipe in an out-of-print forties cookbook. The pie was powerfully sweet for modern taste buds, so Allen halved the sugar to come up with his restaurant’s most popular dessert.4 ounces frozen butter 1 ounce cold
From Cooking: “I, Piscivore” by Gary Cartwright, in the September 1987 issue of Texas Monthly.4 large eggs¾ cup whole milk¾ cup all-purpose flour, sifted¼ cup finely grated Italian Parmesan cheese¼ teaspoon salt2 tablespoons fresh snipped chives, chopped basil, or chopped parsley2 tablespoons unsalted sweet butter (for
From smoked chicken salad to Kahlua s’mores, our summer picnic sampler has a spread for you.
Recipe from Castle Hill Cafe, Austin10 cups flour 1 cup sugar 6 tablespoons baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 1 1/4 pound margarine cubed 4 cups cold milkThese are bite-size muffins; use a small-muffin pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.In a bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix
Recipe from Cappyccino’s 5003 Broadway Alamo Heights
1/2 cup vegetable oil 2 onions, chopped 1 clove garlic, mashed 1 32-ounce bottle ketchup 3 tablespoons yellow mustard 2 cups black coffee 1 cup distilled vinegar 1 lemon, cut in half 6 tablespoons chili powder 3 good taps Worcestershire sauce Salt and pepper to tasteHeat oil over medium-low in
West Lynn is no longer around, but this recipe lives on.
Roasted rosemary chicken and jicama slaw.
FOOD HAS PLAYED prominent role in some of history’s most momentous upheavals — mention tea and the American Revolution comes to mind. Or cake: Marie Antoinette’s snide directive, “Let them eat cake,” symbolizes the issue around which the French Revolution swirled. It may not be going too far to say
Recipe from Jim Anile, Executive Chef, Melrose Hotel, Dallas.
Las Manitas Avenue Cafe is closed while the sisters prepare to open in a new location.
Recipe from Las Manitas Cafe, Austin.
Recipe from Rosario’s, San Antonio
Recipe from Threadgill’s, Austin.
Recipe from Threadgill’s, Austin.
Recipe from Threadgill’s, Austin.
Recipe from Threadgill’s, Austin.
