A chronicle of my life in recipes. I love to cook, but more importantly I love to eat. The food you cook and eat tells a story of where you were raised and the path you have traveled. This is my story . . .

Monday, August 15, 2011

Deep Ellum Art Show 2011








Here are a few pictures of the Spring Art Show we catered at the Continental Gin in Deep Ellum.
Pita strips and veggies with peppercorn dip and spring pea humus, Gruyere profiteroles with shaved ham and mustard aioli, Caprese tartlets and lemon bars.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Home Slice

White Clam Pizza: OUR FAVORITE!


The logo says it all . . . Home Slice is the QUEEN of pies. There is nothing like it, you have to know it to enjoy it. I don't know what else to say, if you go one place in Austin to eat, GO HERE!


I am not sure what we enjoy more . . . the food or the T-Shirts, they are both fabulous and we can't get enough of either one. Clever, silly and cute, the shirts, not the food always spur conversation.


Start with the garlic knots, especially if you have to wait, most likely unless you visit on a very OFF hour. Chewy and served with a side of pure tomato sauce, they are a great preview of what is to come.


Pizza by the slice is amazing, Bo loves the calzone, but Beep and I can't resist the white clam pizza, WOW! If you had told an Indiana farm girl that she would be one day eating clam pizza, I would have said, "NO WAY," but I must admit it is a mouthful of happiness.

Smarties: The perfect way to end the meal.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Green Mesquite

A family and Austin favorite we have at least one meal per visit at Green Mesquite! Casual and quick, this joint offers great food and funky, only in Austin, atmosphere. Dine inside in the summer, but sit outside in the "picnic" dining area when the weather is mild. Enjoy live music while you dine on this perfect blend of BBQ and comfort food.

I left MY comfort zone and tried something different this trip! I tried the cheese steak taco basket, recommended by our waiter. Soft tortillas filled with tender well seasoned beef, gooey cheese, caramelized onion and pico de gallo, they were fantastic.
Paired with perfectly lightly dressed slaw and fresh cut fries, need I say more. Beep stuck with his staple, as did Camille, half a chicken with fried okra for him and the pulled pork sandwich for Camille.

Bo stuck with a comfort food favorite, the chicken fried steak. Big hit, an Austin home town favorite, he polished off every last bite.


Cam had the chopped beef sandwich, yummy!


Other don't miss items on the menu if you have a crowd to help you out are onion rings, po boys and chili cheese fries with chopped beef. Save room for dessert, a cobbler or pie with Amy's ice cream of course. It might be tough! A hospitable staff and old school atmosphere, Mesquite is a must visit in Austin.

Coconut Cookies

This is an amazingly versatile sugar cookie recipe that has evolved into a number of flavor variations. This flavor is one of my favorites. Nothing smells better than toasting coconut! Sweet and crunchy, it adds the perfect punch to this simple cookie.

INGREDIENTS:
8 oz. Butter, 2 sticks
1 3/4 C Sugar
1/4 C Brown Sugar
2 Large eggs
1 T Coconut syrup
1 tsp. Vanilla
3 C Flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 C toasted coconut, chopped or crumbled

Get all your ingredients ready, mix, scoop and freeze. Pull out cookie flavors as you bake and you can always have a variety of flavors to bake and serve. I mix several flavors in one day and store in the freezer to bake fresh another day.
PREPARATION:

Toast slow and mix often to attain the dark caramel color. Heat oven to 350 degrees and place sweetened coconut on a parchment lined pan. Bake approximately 10 minutes, stirring often to prevent over cooking, until golden brown. Remove from pan to cool, as the coconut will continue to cook and brown outside of the oven. Cool coconut and crunch with your hands or chop with a knife prior to mixing into the cookies.
PREPARATION:
Beat together, sugars and butter until yellow and fluffy. Beat in eggs, vanilla and coconut syrup. In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients with coconut. Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients, just until combined.
Scoop with a 40 scoop onto a parchment lined baking dish. Flatten cookies with two fingers and freeze. To bake right away, flatten and place two inches apart on a baking sheet. Coat with sugar and bake at 350 degrees, approximately 12-15 minutes, rotating pan once during baking. To bake later, place scooped cookies on the sheet, flatten and freeze. Once frozen, bag and date. To bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees, dip the cookies in granulated sugar and place 2 inches apart on the baking sheet and bake as directed above.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Nectarine Basil Lemonade

This was one of my favorite recipes when we created the Dallas Dish cookbook, I need to make it more often. I was shocked while Beep, Bo and I were at an Italian dinner, when Bo announced that he loved basil. I never knew! Then it dawned on me, I make Bo nearly every fruit flavored lemonade I can think of, but have never made him this. He was so little when I was working on the book, I would have never imagined that he would like it. And just like all the planets coming into alignment, I happen to have a basil plant the size of barn. Things could not be more perfect. So, here is an oldie, but a goodie from Dallas Dish. Below is the actual photo we shot for the book, I think Brook and Dave do a much better job with the styling and photography, but then I am just in a normal kitchen with natural lighting and my dinky fuji waterproof camera. My pictures are the other ones, it's pretty easy to tell them apart.


INGREDIENTS:
2 C Water
1 C Fresh Basil leaves
1 Nectarine, chopped do not peel
3/4 C Sugar
1 1/2 C Cold Water
1 C Fresh Lemon juice
Additional Nectarine and basil for garnish
I doubled the recipe, simply because I had SO much basil and nectarines are wonderful and plentiful this time of year. Bo, also, will finish it off in no time.

PREPARATION:
Combine 2 Cups water, 1 Cup basil, the chopped nectarine and the sugar in a saucepan and mix well. Place the pan over medium high heat and bring the mixture to a boil, until the sugar dissolves, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Let stand until cool.
You can juice lemons while the mixture is cooking or you can cheat like I did and buy freshly squeezed. I got a 16 oz. bottle at our local Central Market for about $3, it doesn't pay to buy the lemons and squeeze them at that price and it was perfect for my double batch.
Once cool, strain the mixture through a fine sieve over a pitcher, pressing all the liquid out of the fruit. Discard the remaining solid fruit. Stir in the cold water and lemon juice, serve over ice or chill for later. YIELDS: 6 Cups, I ended up with just over 2 Quarts after pouring Camille a glass.



Camille and Cameron both turned up their noses, looking at the nectarine and basil stew that was brewing on the stove top, but Camille was converted, Cam, well he will take a bit more arm twisting. Don't doubt these flavors, your tongue will thank you!


My, not quite finished product, this is before adding the additional water, so it is a bit darker than the true lemonade. The color is amazing, although my picture, as promised is slightly less professional than the one in the book! HA HA, if I took the time to garnish and worry any more about presentation recipes would never get posted.