Appeteasers
"We hear tell ..."
Wendy Jones has sold her two Mission Burritos to Mexican Restaurants Inc., which owns Casa Ole, Monterey’s Tex Mex Cafe and several other Tex-Mex chains. No word on what Jones will do next.
Jerry Lasco and Jonathan Horowitz, co-owners of the Tasting Room Wine Cafe, have more entrepreneurial irons in the fire. Besides their
third Tasting Room (going in near Fleming’s on West Alabama), they’ve announced another venture, Max’s Wine Dive, a sexy, yet laidback diner
featuring comfort food and wine. Located on Washington Avenue, it is scheduled to open in mid-November. Expect the menu to include Kobe beef
burgers, Southern fried chicken and pan-fried Texas redfish along with 150 wines, all available by the glass.
The buzz-generating Hotel ZaZa, now set to open around December 1 in the old Warwick location in the Museum District, has announced
Bradley Manchester, a culinary arts graduate of the Art Institute of Houston will run Monarch, the hotel’s 245-seat signatuare restaurant
and lounge. Manchester has been working at the Renaissance Hotel in Las Vegas and was previously at Hudson’s on the Bend and Four Seasons Hotel, both in Austin. His Monarch menu will include steaks and lighter Mediterranean fare, and he’s planning a Saturday (yahoo) brunch.
Culinary Calendar
"Join the Mexico Culinary Trip"
Update—Culinary Trip to Mexico Now Going to Puebla
Click on the following link for all the details:
Mexico
A La Carte
"Yummy Stuff"
- Houston chefs compete in Iron Chef America
The next season of Iron Chef America, set to debut in February 2007 on the Food Network, will include two Houston chefs as challengers. Charles Clark (Ibiza Food & Wine Bar) and Robert Gadsby (Noé) have both been tapped to do culinary battle against Mario Batali, Bobby Flay, Masaharu Morimoto and Cat Cora in the upcoming fourth season. In addition, Tim Love, chef and owner of The Lonesome Dove Western Bistro in Fort Worth, will be power-cooking for the title of Kitchen Stadium victor. Taping begins October 6 in New York.
- Chocolate lovers rejoice!
Truffles Chocolate Lounge, a dessert restaurant, lounge and chocolate lovers paradise, is scheduled to open this November at Market Street in The Woodlands. It will feature a variety of chocolate and dessert specialties including signature truffles, petit fours, flights of chocolate, hot cocoa, coffees, chocolate martinis, chocolate fondue, decadent cakes, and more.
Jorge and Maggy Bejar, owners of Bazart in Market Street, developed the chocolate concept. Truffles Chocolate Lounge will open in the current Bazart space, which is adjacent to Cru-A Wine Bar in North Market Street.
For more information on this and other Market Street events, visit market street
- Turkey and Zinfandel: An All-American Classic
Most of us know that Zinfandel is the classic American wine and a great choice for the all-American holiday, Thanksgiving. In a new twist, wine producer Rancho Zabaco is pairing America’s Heritage Grape, Zinfandel, with America’s Heritage Bird for a delicious holiday dinner. For several years we have seen a host of recipes designed to make a dry turkey taste better, including techniques such as brining, barbecuing and deep-frying. This year, Rancho Zabaco offers a simpler way to have a delicious Thanksgiving dinner featuring a Heritage Turkey and side dishes designed to pair with their wines.
Rancho Zabaco Winery has chosen Executive Chef / Owner Bruce Riezenman of Park Avenue Catering Co. to develop recipes that can easily be prepared at home. These dishes promise to put a spicy and sophisticated spin on Thanksgiving dinner.
Visit the Eat Well Guide’s (www.eatwellguide.org) “advanced search” page to find Heritage, organic and sustainable turkeys in your area, or Heritage Foods USA (www.heritagefoodsusa.com) to order fresh Heritage turkeys, ducks and geese online or to find recipes for these products.
- Katz hits the suburbs
Katz’s Deli, the iconic, always-open, New York-style deli located in the heart of Houston, is on-the-grow. Owner/Chef Barry Katz opened his new “spin-off” concept, Katz’s Express, 19075 Interstate 45 North in Portofino Center on September 15.
At the new Katz’s Express, diners will enjoy the same New York City appeal found at the Houston cafe. Big-Apple embellishments include Art Deco styling, bright graphics with subway signage and an eye-popping, 14-foot Statue of Liberty.
Katz’s Express will serve much of the flagship’s authentic New York deli-style fare, but with express service. Included will be all the towering signature sandwiches they are famous for, in addition to salads, pastas, entrees, burgers, foot-long hot dogs, breakfast items and delectable desserts, including Katz’s famous Cheesecake Shake.
Regular hours of operation are: Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; and Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. If diners demand it, says Katz, Katz’s Express will adopt the famous “Katz’s Never Kloses” hours of the original deli and remain open around-the-clock.
- Cool cooking ideas and recipes
If you haven’t seen it already, Cuisine at home is an ad-free, colorful, foodie magazine crammed full of recipes and information on foods, seasonings, etc. It is published bi-monthly for $24/year. More information can be obtained at www.CuisineAtHome.com or by calling 800-311-3995, 8 am-5 pm CT.
My Recipe
"Meatloaf Tower"
BACKSTREET CAFE MEATLOAF TOWER
Serves 6
Meatloaf
1 pound ground veal
1 pound ground beef
4 whole eggs
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
1 teaspoon ground oregano
1/4 cup parsley
Salt & Pepper to taste
Beat eggs and mix with other ingredients. Form into loaf and bake free form or in loaf pan at 375 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes or until done when tested with toothpick.
Mashed Potatoes
6 Idaho potatoes
2 tablespoons roasted chopped garlic
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 pound butter
Salt & Pepper to taste
Peel and boil potatoes until done. Add remaining ingredients and mash well. If putting through pastry tip, whip the potatoes till smooth.
Wild Mushroom Gravy
6 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons chopped garlic
2 cups sliced assorted mushrooms (button, crimini, shitake)
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped
1 tablespoon chives, minced
1 teaspoon fresh sage, chopped
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup red wine
1/4 cup Worcestershire
3 tablespoons cold butter
2 cups demiglace
Heat olive oil on garlic pan. Add garlic and mushrooms; sauté and release water from mushrooms. Add heavy cream, red wine , Worcestershire and demiglace; reduce by half. Add fresh herbs and butter to finish.
Spinach
3 pounds spinach
1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt & Pepper to taste
Clean and trim spinach. Heat olive oil in large pan; add garlic and sauté. Add spinach and sauté just until it gives way. Discard excess juice and set aside.
To assemble Meatloaf Tower:
Place bed of spinach in center of plate and spoon sauce around outer edge. Place slice of meatloaf on top and pipe rosettes of potatoes with pastry bag, forming a tower, on top of meatloaf. If not using pastry bag, place “mounds” of potatoes on meatloaf in same fashion.
From the Wine List
"Pinot Envy"
I define Pinot Envy as that condition among human males where one thinks his Pinot is bigger, darker, fuller, rounder, and with a longer finish that the other guy’s. But Pinot Noir, on the other hand, is definitely female in nature: soft, round, full, sensuous, and, at its best, like softly stroking a woman’s hair or ever so lightly sliding your hand down the middle of her back. It’s not only an analogy to life, as in Sideways, it provides inspiration for the best that life can bring to our spirit. Do I like it? Oh, yeah, just a bit; just a bit.
For more on Pinot Noir and the ratings of about 20 new Pinot Noir wines by Chuck Jenkins and me, see the October/November issue of My Table.
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