Christian Bowers of Bola Pizza and the Austin Food Journal
I think I might be getting a hang of this bread thing. I think the trick might be to let it rise the full 12 hours (like the recipe says), instead of 3 hours (that I arbitrarily chose to do). What a difference! Who would have thought!
This batch rose three times the size of the other that I had done.
The idea was to see if I could freshen up Chicken Parmesan. I make it often, it is one of my favorite comfort dishes. My angle here was to do a Croque Monsieur/Napoleon stacked thing. I hammered out the chicken, cut it into small triangles, breaded and fried as usual, then stacked the pieces with a little sauce and mozzarella between the slices. Then, I put it in the oven to melt the cheese and get everything up to temperature. Immediately, all the stacks fell over! A quick rescue with some vertical toothpick support and I was back in business. All in all a fun variation.
After reading an article in the Times, I wanted to try Alto while I was in New York on business. Wonderful dinner. NYC is absolutely the undisputed heavy weight of restaurant towns. Four Course Prefix: Puree of Wild Mushrooms Soup (fantastic flavor and presentation), Sea Scallops with Citrus Oil (the orange flavor was a perfect pairing), Rack of Lamb (two, double cut, massive loin chops). The front of the house was just as impressive as the back. The interior was beautiful and the service was immaculate.
Wonderful Buffalo Tenderloin with potato gratin and green beans. For the sauce, I did a quick pan sauce: deglased with some stock, then added Shitaki mushrooms and butter.
To me, green beans always look disheveled on the plate. So, I decided to tie them up. I poached a leak and sliced it into ribbons. Gathered up a few green beans and trussed them into nice organized bundles. They are even stackable! Sauce them with a vinaigrette and you are ready to go.
This is always a hit. Thinly sliced potatoes, baked down with parmesan and cream.
I know…it looks flat. I am good at a lot of things. Many of those things, in the kitchen. But, baking, til this point, has not been one of them. I am on a quest to clear up these short comings. So you see before you my first loaf. Humble may it be (not a quite a focaccia, as it should have been), it received high marks from the tasting crew. A good start I think.
We had a wonderful time at the Texas Book Festival this weekend. On our way to see Paula Disbrowe and Robb Walsh we stopped by a book tent and chatted with Efisio Farris. He has a few restaurants around Texas serving traditional Sardinian food. Above is one of the recipes from his book, Sweet Myrtle & Bitter Honey. Polenta with Sausage and Tomato Sauce. I juiced up the polenta with our chicken stock and bought two types of Central Market sausage. Mix it up with our tomato sauce, caramelized onions and Pecorino cheese and you have a piping hot skillet of goodness.
