Austin Food Journal

I made French Toast this weekend (my wife made the lovely blueberry topping). For me, the importance of this dish boils down to bread. As you know, I have been hit and miss with making my own bread. A quick trip over to Mandola’s Market, and I picked up an Italian Rustic (which I used for the breakfast) and a Cinnamon Raisin loaf. I think they bake the best bread in town.

My friend Henry cooks a mean brisket. Slow braise in wine for three or four hours. Wonderful.

A light coating of seasoned flour makes a big difference for a simple piece of chicken. With different spices, one day’s Southwest chicken is the next day’s blackened.

More that you ever wanted to know about corn. Some rough parts about what we are actually eating and a pig feast to wrap things up.

This roasted chicken yielded the best pan sauce that I have ever made. Not sure why. Maybe because I started out with too low a oven temperature and to compensate that bird was in for some time. Served with a side of mashed truffled potatoes.

Go ahead, make too much. You can always freeze it. Case in point, I pulled some bolognese for this quick pasta dish. Tasted like I worked on it all day.