A La Carte
"Heard over a Diet Dr. Pepper"
Pleasant Hill Winery in Brenham is celebrating its 11th Anniversary during Friday, April 11 through Sunday, April 13. Owners Bob and Jeanne Cottle invite you to attend and enjoy the wildflowers of the Hill Country.
- On Friday, “wine and cheese on the deck” starts at 3 p.m. and live music starts at 7 p.m. Then “tour, taste and celebrate” from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and from noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Chef Gilbert of Muldoon’s Saloon and Steak House in El Campo will provide special food pairings to match Pleasant Hill’s wines. There’s even grape juice and Blue Bell ice cream for the kids. No admission fee. Go to www.pleasanthillwinery.com for directions, a map, and more information.
Congratulations to Sweet Tomatoes! The current issue of Health magazine rates the restaurant as Number 2 in its survey of 10 healthy standout chain restaurants. Sweet Tomatoes has four locations in greater Houston. For more information, visit www.sweettomatoes.com
Are you interested in visiting Paris, France and getting a tour of the wine regions nearby? Would you like to join a French wine club and get information and videos about France’s wine country? Then check out www.winerendezvous.com which is operated by O Chateau of Paris. For info on Paris wine tours, visit the O Chateau website at www.o-chateau.com. Both are tres bien!
Bistro Calais is offering new jazz nights beginning in April. Live jazz performances will be on Friday evenings from 7-10 p.m. For the upcoming jazz calendar, food menus, and money-saving coupons, visit their website at www.bistrocalais.com
Felix Mexican Restaurant at 904 Westheimer shut down in late March after 60 years in business. Longtime patrons have taken to leaving notes on the front door of the shuttered Tex-Mex institution demanding an explanation.
H Mart, the South Korean-owned supermarket chain, is about to open its first Houston location at 1302 Blalock at Westview in Spring Branch, an area already known for its Korean restaurants, churches, bookstores and bakeries. This former Randalls is undergoing a complete makeover. There will be an impressive seafood counter (including many kinds of live fish), excellent meat counter where you can order super-thin-sliced beef, kimchee of every kind, noodles and more. Not to mention the dumpling counter and take-out area for barbecued duck and pork. It’s been compared to a Whole Foods for Asian foodstuffs.
“The Boss” has donated two sets of tickets for his Monday, April 14 concert in Houston to the Houston Food Bank. Bruce Springsteen’s generosity will be used for an online auction to raise money for the organization. The concert is at the Toyota Center in downtown Houston. 100% of the proceeds go to the Food Bank.
- Available for auction are two concert packs: each including two passes to the backstage E Street Lounge before the concert and two loge-level tickets within the first five rows, either to the left or right of the stage. Bidding closes tomorrow, April 11, so don’t delay. To place a bid, visit the auction postings at www.ebay.com
Molina’s Cantina has announced it is closing its restaurant at 5227 Buffalo Speedway on Saturday, May 24. However, the Molina brothers are seeking a new location within the same geographic area and intend to be back in business in the West U area soon. The current site will soon be cleared for reconstruction and be redeveloped by H-E-B Grocery Company. To thank their loyal customers, Molina’s will host an “Adios Amigos” farewell week from May 18-24, complete with food and drink specials, as well as commemorative gifts.
Executive Chef and General Manager Karlo Solyom, has announced that Fuegovivo Churrascaria (“roaring fire” in Portuguese), 11681 Westheimer (between Wilcrest and Royal Oaks Club Drive), will open on Wednesday, April 23, with a private reception from 5 to 7 p.m. benefiting the Children’s Cancer Hospital at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. Tickets are $20.00 each. Doors will open to the public for dinner service at 7:30 p.m. For more information about Fuegovivo Churrascaria, visit its website at www. Fuegovivo.com, or call 281-597-8108.
Bayou City Farmers Market is in need of a music coordinator. This person schedules the musicians, composes the blurb about them that the Market includes in its email newsletter, and keeps the music calendar for the Market. The job can be done mainly via email and telephone, although an interest in and familiarity with the city’s musicians is helpful. Contact Urban Harvest at 713-880-5540 for more information.
After nine years, the State Grille will serve its final dinner on Saturday, May 31. The property was purchased by Interfin Cos. in October 2007 from owners Frankie Mandola and Bubba Butera. To celebrate the restaurant’s final farewell, The State Grille will be serving a special three-course dinner for $39.95 during the month of May. There will be several specials to select from including the famous Wilhelmina salad, Texas-size chicken-fried rib eye steak, and the traditional pecan ball. After closing The State Grille, Mandola and Butera will continue to operate the restaurant’s successful catering business, The State Grille Catering.
Appeteasers
"Feast is Open"
Feast, 219 Westheimer between Bagby and Taft, 713-5297788, opened in late March. It’s from Meagan and James Silk and Richard Knight, the trio who ran the much-praised Taverna in Conroe. They’ve taken over the old Chez Georges location on lower Westheimer (and before that it was Aldo’s) and offer a menu that they describe as Italian, French and English. From our point of view, it’s 99% English, with lots of surprises, including some oddities. Their website is www.feasthouston.com. Read more in the June-July issue of My Table.
Culinary Calendar
"Wildflowers, Wines and Shopping!"
A reminder that the Wine and Wildflower Trail is continuing April 11-13. The Texas Hill Country is now alive with Texas bluebonnet and Indian paintbrush during spring’s annual wildflower profusion. Wine enthusiasts can enjoy vineyard tours, picnics, music and much more while drinking up the spectacular seasonal scenery. There is no charge for this trail event and no tickets are required. For more information and a map visit www.fredericksburg-texas.com or wwww.texaswinetrail.com. Or you may call 888-997-3600 toll free.
Save the date, Thursday, April 24, for a special Ojai Wine Dinner at Kiran’s (4100 Westheimer at Mid Lane). The dinner starts at 6:30 p.m. For more information, call 713-960-8472.
Those wonderful ladies at Flat Creek Estate known as The Divas have put together a day of wine, shoes, brunch, purses, and more on Sunday, May 4. This fashion show and brunch for the ladies will start at 11 a.m. at the estate in Marble Falls. Tickets are $50 plus tax and there is limited seating. Call 512-267-6310 by April 23 to make reservations and obtain directions. Reservations are non-refundable, but are transferable. (You might even want to bring your Mom for an early celebration of Mother’s Day!)
Rainbow Lodge owner, Donnette Hansen, will be celebrating the harvest, versatility and beauty of squash blossoms with a Squash Blossom Festival on Sunday, June 22, from 4:30 until 7:30 p.m. The festival will feature refreshing summer wines paired with squash flavors at casual food and wine stations throughout the restaurant and gardens. Tickets are $29 per person. For more information and reservations, please call 713-861-8666. The restaurant is located at 2011 Ella Boulevard.
- If you can’t make this festival, guests are invited to enjoy the Rainbow Lodge’s Sunday Suppers, which are “comfort food” specials from $15 that are run every Sunday after 5 p.m. “Guests enjoy 1/2 price wines by the glass on Sundays, as well,” says Hansen. Insiders recommend the “Food and Wine Safari,” an exciting nightly tasting menu, and the casual Sunday Brunch featuring 99 cent mimosas and champagne.
Kitchen Stuff
"Texas's Thriving Cabbage Crop"
Cabbage is big in Texas and there are a great number of ways to enjoy it. Texas, in fact, is the second largest producer in the U.S. Think corned beef and cabbage, cole slaw, salads, stews, vegetable soup and more. It’s healthy and delicious. Here’s more information, courtesy of the Texas Department of Agriculture.
From corned beef and cole slaw to salads and stew, cabbage is a key ingredient to a healthy and delicious diet. In Texas, that goodness is grown right here at home.
Cabbage is a longstanding dietary staple throughout the world. Abundant and inexpensive, cabbage is typically available throughout the year.
Fifteen percent of the cabbage consumed in our country is grown in Texas, and that ranks our state second in total U.S. production. Approximately one-half of Texas’ commercial cabbage is grown in the Lower Valley, one-third in South Texas and the remainder on the High Plains and Trans-Pecos.
- History
Cabbage has been cultivated for more than 4,000 years and domesticated for more than 2,500 years. Although it is often connected to the Irish, cabbage was brought by the Celts to Europe from Asia around 600 B.C. Early cabbage was not the full-bodied head we take for granted today, but rather a more loose-leaf variety. The head variety was developed during the Middle Ages by northern European farmers. Because cabbage grows well in cool climates, yields large harvests and stores well during winter, it became a major crop in Europe. It was French navigator Jacques Cartier who first brought cabbage to the Americas in 1536. - Fast Facts
Cabbage is round in shape with layers of leaves. Typically the leaves on the inside are lighter in color than the outer leaves because they are protected from sunlight. Cabbage belongs to the Cruciferae family of vegetables, which also includes kale, broccoli, collards and Brussels sprouts. There are three types of cabbage: green, red and Savoy. Green cabbage ranges in color from light to dark green with smooth-textured leaves. Red cabbage has purple or crimson smooth-textured leaves with white veins running through them. The leaves of Savoy cabbage are ruffled with a yellow-green color. - Nutritional Value
Cabbage contains beneficial phytochemicals, which can help activate and stabilize the body’s antioxidant and detoxification mechanisms that dismantle and eliminate cancer-producing substances. Avoid buying precut cabbage, either halved or shredded, as once a cabbage is cut it begins to lose its vitamin C content. - What to Look For
Look for a cabbage with a green head, some shiny, crisp wrapper leaves and a freshly trimmed stem. After trimming, cabbage will start to discolor, but unlike lettuce it won’t turn a rust color. A lot of handling has occurred by the time a shipment of cabbage reaches the store and goes on the shelf, so you’ll also want to find one that’s not damaged or cracked. - Storage Tips
Keep cabbage cold to help it stay fresh and retain its vitamin C content. Store the whole head in a plastic bag in the refrigerator crisper. Stored in this manner, red and green cabbage will stay fresh for about two weeks, and Savoy cabbage will keep for about one week. When storing a partial head of cabbage, wrap it tightly with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator. Cut and wash the cabbage right before cooking or eating it.
My Recipe
"Asiago Chicken"
Asiago Chicken
1 chicken breast butterfly and pounded thin
½ roasted red pepper
¼ cup cooked spinach
4 tbsp grated asiago cheese
Layer ingredients in middle of chicken breast
Roll, folding in sides
Dust with flour and sear on all sides until golden brown
Sauce
1 lemon
2 tbsp chopped garlic
1/2 cup Messina Hof Chardonnay
2 tbsp butter
Salt and Pepper
2 oz oil
In sauté pan heat oil, add garlic lemon juice and white wine, sauté for a few minutes.
Add cold butter and season with salt and pepper.
From the Wine List
"What's in your Bottle?"
According to Vintage: The Story of Wine by Hugh Johnson, “The standard wine container of the ancient world was the amphora, a clay vase with two handles, ...[looking] generally like a root vegetable with a long neck. Its bottom end was either pointed like a root, or formed into a knob, but never flat. Size varied widely. Greek amphoras averaged about 40 litres, Roman ones about 26 litres – call it nearly three dozen modern wine bottles.” Some oil, most likely olive oil, was poured over the surface of the wine to keep out air and avoid quick oxidation which would ruin the wine’s flavors.
Johnson notes that the amphora was an invention of the Canaanites, the forebears of the Phoenicians, who introduced it from Egypt before 1500 BC. “The name (which is Greek)”, notes Johnson, “means something which can be carried by two; one on each side.”
In the late 1600s, with the invention of strong glass containers, the bottle eventually became the wine container of choice after bottle sizes were standardized and production costs reduced. These bottles were closed principally with cork. Cork was chosen because of properties that had been recognized for centuries: it was imperious to air and almost impervious to water, is heat resistant, doesn’t rot, and has the ability to mold itself to the shape of its container.
According to The Wine Bible by Karen MacNeil, “A 1-inch cube [of cork] contains roughly 200 million fourteen-sided cells filled with air. ... cork is four times lighter than water, yet highly elastic, capable of snapping back to its original shape after withstanding 14,000 pounds of pressure per cubic inch.” A tough material, indeed, which comes from the bark of the cork oak tree which is found principally in southern Portugal and Spain.
After 25 years of growth a cork tree is stripped of its bark. After a two-year recovery period, it may be stripped again. A single tree may be stripped as many as 15 times in its lifetime. After treating the cork, the bark is trimmed into planks and then wine corks are machine punched from the planks.
To sanitize corks they used to be washed in a chlorine solution (hydrogen peroxide is often used today). However, a problem often developed that currently affects about four to five percent of the world’s wine. The chlorine would react with water and cellulose materials, such as cork, wood, cardboard boxes, to produce a chemical called 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA). The TCA contamination makes the wine smell and taste like wet paper or cardboard (“cork taint”). A wine with such contamination is called “corked.” The wine can be drunk without harm, but it’s not a pleasant sensory experience.
To get away from cork taint problems, several closure alternatives are in use today. One is composite cork, where bits of cork are mixed with a polymer. Another is a totally plastic cork. These seal well, but are often harder to remove than real cork. A third alternative is the Stelvin® closure, commonly known as the screw cap, which historically was used only on cheap, bulk wines in the U.S. However, this closure is becoming more popular for premium wines and has been used since the 1970s for wines from Australia and New Zealand.
Another closure that you may find is the crown cap, the same type that is used on beer and soda bottles. This closure is cheap, simple and easy to remove, but lessens the sophistication of opening a fine wine.
Finally, ground glass stoppers are being used by a few wine producers. This method is expensive, but harkens back to the days of early glass bottles when it was popular with, and could be afforded by, the upper class. Whether it will catch the public’s fervor, however, is yet to be seen.
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Copyright My Table magazine, 2008
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