A La Carte
"Just a Tablespoon or Two"
Michael English is the new restaurant manager at Mockingbird Bistro Wine Bar. English is a native of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. His first job at age of 16 was in a local restaurant. He moved to the U.S. 15 years ago, landing in Dallas, and continued in hospitality, working in all areas of the restaurant, from dishwasher to waiter to line cook and finally to front-of-the-house, discovering that management was what he truly enjoyed. He worked most recently in Cape Cod at Bleu Restaurant. Mockingbird Bistro Wine Bar is located at 1985 Welch at McDuffie. For more info, visit the restaurant online at www.mockingbirdbistro.com.
Want to get fresh? Then hop over to Bayou City Farmers’ Market on Wednesdays from 4-7 pm, and Saturdays from 8am to noon, in the back parking lot (north side) at 3000 Richmond at Eastside. You’ll find freshly baked yeast breads, salads, soups, produce, eggs, honey, organic coffees, and much more. For more info, call 713-880-5540.
British Chef Robert Gadsby has resigned from the Noe restaurants in Houston and Los Angeles to pursue fame and fortune in TV. He will appear in an upcoming Will Smith film and has auditioned to become the fifth Iron Chef on the Food Network’s Iron Chef America. The Noe restaurant in Houston is at the Omni Houston Hotel. A nationwide search has been launced to replace him in Houston.
Been dying for some Copper River King Salmon from Alaska? The Oceanaire Seafood Room’s executive chef Trevor White is bringing it to Houston. This fish is high in oil content, rich in Omega 3 fatty acids, quite flavorful, and will be prepared simply grilled or broiled to not compromise its flavors. Just in time for summer dining, the fish will be available for a limited period of time. The restaurant is located at 5061 Westheimer, Suite 8050, in the Galleria. For reservations or more information, call 832-487-8862.
Tired of not being able to get breakfast at your nearby Wendy’s? According to Marketing Daily, the company is testing a breakfast menu in 160 stores in five U.S. markets and plans to offer breakfast at up to 30% of its restaurants by the end of 2007. As a centerpiece of the menu, Wendy’s will be offering Folgers Gourmet Selection coffee (a Proctor & Gamble product). Wendy’s will be the only quick-serve restaurant serving this coffee and hopes to compete with, duh, Starbucks and McDonalds. The premium coffee will only be offered at the restaurants serving breakfast in the near term, but will expand to other locations over time.
Culinary Calendar
"On the Radar Screen"
If you don’t love them, there may be something horribly wrong. We’re talking about Champagne and chocolate, of course. And “Champagne & Chocolat,” the annual culinary gala benefiting the Culinary Endowment & Scholarship, will be held Friday, June 8, at the Houston Country Club (One Potomac Drive).
- The evening begins with a 7 pm Champagne reception, followed by 7:45 pm dinner, cancan entertainment and dancing to Jerry Atwood and Sharon Montgomery. My Table’s editor and publisher Teresa Byrne-Dodge is the 2007 honoree, and My Table and SideDish readers are invited to attend. It’s a fun evening, with many local foodies in attendance. Tickets begin at $175. For more information, call Marie LeNotre at 713-692-0077.
For more events, check the latest Calendar of Culinary Events from My Table by clicking on Calendar
My Recipe
"Camarones al Mojo de Ajo"
Serves 6
Mojo de Ajo (oil)
1½ cups chopped garlic
2 cups Spanish extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 5 Mexican limes
4 chipotle peppers, seeded and cut into thin strips
In a shallow wide pan, heat oil over low heat. Add garlic and simmer until the garlic turns golden brown, about 4 – 5 minutes. Add lime juice and chipotle peppers and cook 5 more minutes to integrate the flavors.
Camarones (Shrimp)
3 pounds, 26-30 gulf shrimp, peeled and deveined, (approx 12 shrimp per person)
6 jumbo shrimp, head on, for garnish
Sauté shrimp in 1 pound batches in the flavored oil. Add 2 tablespoons of the slow-cooked garlic-chipotle mixture to each batch, heat through.
Rice
2 cups white rice
4 cups chicken stock
1 cup chipiles, trimmed (you may substitute chopped parsley or spinach, chopped, but use
less, about ½ – ¾ cup)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Fry rice in olive oil until light brown in color. Add stock and simmer, covered until cooked through. Add chipiles and stir.
Nopales Salad
5 young cactus paddles, trimmed and cut into strips
¼ white onion, cut into strips
1 pickled jalapeño, seeded and diced
1 tablespoon vinegar from the pickled jalapeños
¼ cup chopped cilantro
2 Roma tomatoes, peeled and cut into strips
2 teaspoons dried Mexican oregano
2-3 tablespoons Mexican lime juice
Salt to taste
Steam the nopales until tender, about 3-5 minutes. Place in water bath to help retain color. Chill in the refrigerator. Mix all ingredients.
To serve
Mound rice on plate, place shrimp around or on rice. Garnish with large shrimp with its head on. Sprinkle flavored garlic oil over shrimp if desired. Serve with cool, fresh nopales salad.
From the Wine List
"A Yen for Zin"
You may already love Zinfandel, the red wine from the eponymous grape that has become known as “America’s Heritage Grape.” Or you may have thought that White Zinfandel was the only wine made from this grape. Or you may love red wines, but have never tried real Zinfandel. In any case, you owe it to yourself to try some of the better Zins on the market.
Recently I attended the Zinfandel Grand Tasting at the Omni Hotel in downtown Austin. The event was sponsored by the Wine & Food Foundation of Texas, and the Zinfandel Advocates and Producers (ZAP), most of whose members are from California. Austin is one of three cities chosen for this tasting tour by ZAP.
The event was a bit overwhelming with over 50 wineries presenting several wines each. After two hours of tasting and talking, I was exhausted and had covered only about one-third of the producers present. But it was a great opportunity to taste some new, small production wines and those of lesser-known producers just entering the central Texas market such as Graziano Family of Wines from Hopland, California, and Saxon Brown Winery of Sonoma. Big-time producers such as Seghesio, Rosenblum, Cline, Ravenswood and several value brands such as Old Knarley also were present.
Zinfandel has found a home in California, producing rich, spicy, and earthy red berry and strawberry flavored wines with often high (e.g. 17%) alcohol content. Some of these wines are so rich and high in alcohol that they are “stand alone” wines for sipping; others of lesser alcohol content are more food friendly and lend themselves to meals with grilled lamb, pork chops or steaks.
The Zinfandel grape is now known to be genetically identical to the Italian grape Primitivo. It is thought that these grapes were brought, via France, to the U.S. East Coast and then to California years ago by Italian immigrants who found the West Coast climate and soil conditions and the prodigious growth of this grape variety to their liking. Accounts of a vine called “Zinfindal” appear in the East Coast agricultural press as early as 1840. In 1850, according to Master of Wine Jancis Robinson, a nurseryman in Sacramento exhibited a new grape variety at the California state fair which he called “Zeinfindall.” Some believe the grape was known in France as “Black St. Peters.”
Here are some of my favorites from the ZAP tasting. As production of many of these wines is relatively small, you may have to ask your wine merchant to get them. Some are already carried at Spec’s and Central Market. Other fine Zinfandels are available from these sources as well as other wine shops such as Houston Wine Merchant and Vino 100.
- Brutocao Cellars: the 2004 Estate Hopland Ranches at $22 was quite sophisticated; the 2005 vintage at $22 was richer; and the 2005 Estate Port, $34, was quite good and tasted (unlike many wannabees) like real Port.
- C.G. Di Arie Winery: although wines from 40 and 141 year-old vines were presented, I liked their 2005 Amador County wine at $18 the best.
- D-Cubed Cellars: the 2004 Napa Valley at $25 was very good and the 2004 Howell Mountain at $37 had subtle vanilla flavors, but I didn’t care for it as much.
- Edmeades Winery: the 2005 Mendocino at $18 and the 2005 Piffero Vineyard at $25 were both very good.
- Four Vines Winery: the 2005 “Sophisticate” from Sonoma County at $23 was my favorite of the three wines presented.
- Graziano Family of Wines: the 2003 Kazmet Vineyard at $23 made from 40-year old vines was very good.
- Saxon Brown Winery: the 2003 Casa Santinamaria at $35 is a “kitchen sink” blend of several red and white grapes, but it is complex and makes you wonder at the variety of aromas and flavors you experience; the 2005 Stonewall is 100% Zinfandel and is an outstanding wine at the $40 price point. It was my favorite of all wines tasted.
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Copyright My Table magazine, 2008
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