A La Carte
"Circle These in Yellow"
Chef Hugo Ortega of Houston was selected by Yahoo! Telemundo to be featured in a special feature for Hispanic Heritage Month. He is one of a handful of successful Hispanics featured from across the country! To watch Hugo’s video feature, go to hugo The video is, claro, in Spanish.
Let’s hear it for the men, this time. According to Wine Spectator, a new study done by researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, shows that resveratrol, a compound found in red wine, reduces prostate tumor risk. Additionally, the study done on mice showed that resvertrol didn’t harm other systems in the animals. Resveratrol now is a prime candidate for use as a cancer-preventing dietary supplement for men. More research is pending.
Our friends at Urban Harvest are expanding their fruit tree sale this year. Prepaid orders will allow the fruit trees to be delivered to the market for you to pick up. For all the details and an order form, go to fruit trees
Kiran’s Restaurant and Bar (4100 Westheimer at Mid Lane) has announced new hours and a new lunch menu keyed to business people. The restaurant is now closed for lunch only on Mondays; other days lunch starts at 11 a.m. Dinner starts at 5:30 p.m. The new lunch menu offers a la carte selections as well as a three-course lunch; you can be in and out in about a half-hour. And for something quite different, Kiran’s is now offering High Tea on the second Saturday of every month starting at 3 p.m. The next High Tea will be October 13. For more info call 713-960-8472.
Culinary Calendar
"Squeeze these onto your calendar"
Mockingbird Bistro and Wine Bar (1985 Welch) welcomes Ed and Susal Auler of Fall Creek vineyards on Wednesday October 24 as part of their monthly wine dinner series. The Aulers were one of the first folks to jump-start the modern Texas wine industry and continue to lead by example. The event starts with a reception at 6:30 p.m. with the wine dinner at 7 p.m. The four-course dinner will match a Fall Creek wine with each course. $105 all inclusive. Reservations can be made at 713-533-0200 or by emailing michael@mockingbirdbistro.com
Akira Asano, bi-lingual tour guide and general manager of Kubo’s Sushi Bar & Grill, will host Kubo’s Japan Cuisine and Historic Excursion, November 14 to November 21. Highlights of this eight-day tour include a free day in the Ginza, Tokyo’s Fifth Avenue; tour of Nara, famous for its Great Buddha, the largest in the world; and a stay at a ryokan, an upscale yet traditional Japanese inn with hot springs baths and authentic cuisine. The deadline to register was Friday, September 28, but this will be extended for a week or so. The cost is $2,250 per person. For reservations, call 1-800-682-7872 and mention “Kubo’s Japan Tour.”
My Recipe
"Honeydew Melon Soup"
Serves four
For The Soup:
2 honeydew melons
1 bunch fresh tarragon leaves, picked
½ cup unfiltered extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For The Crab Salad:
12 ounces jumbo lump crab, picked through
1 shallot, minced
¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and deveined, then minced
¼ cup low-fat sour cream
Zest and juice from 1 lemon
Procedure:
Peel and seed the melon and roughly chop it. Place the melon in a blender along with the tarragon leaves. Puree the melon until smooth and strain it, if desired. Add the extra virgin olive oil, and season to taste with salt and black pepper. In a mixing bowl combine the crab, shallot, parsley, jalapeno, sour cream, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Mix the crab salad, taking care not to break the lumps.
Season the crab salad to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place the crab salad equally into four different soup bowls. Pour the melon soup into the bowls and garnish with fresh tarragon.
From the Wine List
"Is it Pinot Grigio or Pinot Gris?"
If from Italy, it’s Pinot Grigio. If from France or Oregon, it’s Pinot Gris. Both mean “gray pinot,” alluding to the color of the grape. But even though the grape is the same, just like the names, the resulting wines are different.
In the northeastern portion of France called the Alsace region, the Pinot Gris wines are full of flinty mineral character, rich fruit, and some acidity, giving them a very refreshing quality.
In the northeastern regions of Italy, Pinot Grigio has found a good home, producing crisp, easy-drinking, refreshing wines, but with a softer, rounder mouthfeel.
Oregon Pinot Gris can be vivacious and exciting, much like its Alsatian cousins. Some recommended Oregon Pinot Gris include Willamette Valley Vineyards (Turner, OR), Elvenglade (Gaston, OR), and a delightful, platinum-colored Pinot Gris from Washington’s Wilridge Winery (Seattle).
Pinot Grigio has become the best selling imported white wine in the U.S. surpassing Chardonnay, the long-time champion. I believe this is due primarily to the heavy and excellent marketing campaign over the past several years by wine marketers, especially Italy’s Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio. Every day drinking, but better value, alternatives from Italy exist in the $8-$12 range, such as those from Mezza Corona and Cavit. Outstanding Italian Pinot Grigios are available also, but distribution in the U.S. is somewhat limited and prices are often over $20 per bottle.
Texas wineries make some good Pinot Grigio. For example, Messina Hof’s Barrel Reserve Pinot Grigio (about $10). Messina Hof is located in Bryan, and offers fine wines, an excellent restaurant, a bed & breakfast villa, a beautiful wine bar, and a tasting room and gift shop. It’s turned into one of Texas’s wine resorts. I find their Pinot Grigio to be soft and fruity with hints of honeysuckle and pear.
Another example is Texas Hills Vineyard’s Pinot Grigio. Texas Hills is owned by Gary & Kathy Gilstrap and is located in Johnson City. Their Pinot Grigio is crisper, offering flavors of melon and fresh pear with a hint of flint and toasted almond.
I recommend you serve Pinot Gris or Grigio well chilled at around 45°F. An hour in the refrigerator before serving should do nicely. It is a dry, light-bodied wine that cools and refreshes. I also recommend that you drink it within a year of its vintage date because my tastings tell me it doesn’t hold its freshness and crispness much longer than that.
Whichever you pick (and I recommend trying the wines from all major producing areas), enjoy your wine—responsibly.
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Copyright My Table magazine, 2008
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