Eats

Friday's blustery weather and the two quickly melting snow flakes I spotted on my windshield got me thinking about all my favorite cold weather dishes. Broccoli-rice casserole. Homemade macaroni and cheese with the almost crispy edges. Chili with cheese and onions. Grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. While winter's – temporarily – here, I want my comfort foods (and apparently they all contain cheese and/or cream). What about you? What did you crave when the mercury drops? Tell us some of your favorite chilly weather dishes.

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The winners of this year's Scovie awards, for the best and hottest in hot foods, have been announced.
Grab your credit card, because the list includes links to many of the product web sites.
Want to try a bunch of the winning foods? Make plans to hit the Fiery Foods & Barbecue Show Feb. 29 through March 2 in Albuquerque.
(Tip: Habanero-stuffed olives look a LOT like pimento-stuffed olives. You have been warned.)

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John Tesar and Joanne Bondy are among the chefs lined up to teach at the Dallas Farmers Market in the next few weeks. Get the whole schedule.

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In Friday's On the Town – our weekly guide to things to do around Dallas – writer Nancy Moore lists five of her favorite places to sip a margarita. She says, "Listing all the margarita watering holes in the Dallas area could be as tricky as counting the stars in the North Texas sky. So we've rounded up a short list of a few old faithful places and profiled their house margaritas." Her picks: Enchilada's, Monica's, Mi Cocina (whose cocktail she dubs her "fav-o-rita"), Matt's Rancho Martinez and – the home of the frozen margarita machine – Mariano's Hacienda.

What's your favorite spot and why?

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Sandy Korem of Festive Kitchen reports that they sold nearly 3 TONS of their much-loved Cranberry Salsa over the holidays.

Up next for Valentine's Day: Red Velvet Cupcakes with Chunky Oreo Vanilla Buttercream Icing.

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While visiting relatives over the last few days, I was fed Cowboy Stew. Maybe it's unTexan to admit that I'd never had it, but it's true. What confused me about it was the ground hamburger meat in it. Isn't stew supposed to have stew meat? So, I did some reaserch, and apparently Cowboy Stew is always made with hamburger meat. I think I'll try this Texas Cowboy Stew recipe with kielbasa sausage added next time.

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At least one reader took exception to Anne Greer McCann's simplified King Ranch Casserole recipe. Not the real deal, the reader says.
But with so many versions of this Texas classic floating around, who's to say?
Tell us: Do you make your own King Ranch Casserole from scratch? If you buy it, where's your favorite source?

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Paul and Merrill Bonarrigo, the affable proprietors of Messina Hof winery in Bryan, have written Vineyard Cuisine, with favorite recipes and wine pairing-tips. Get a recipe from Vineyard Cuisine here.

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Check the calendar: Christmas is next Tuesday. So if you haven't placed your order for holiday tamales yet, you'd better get a move on.

In case you missed it: Last week, Taste ran a list of reader recommendations on favorite tamalerias around the Dallas area. People swear by all of these, and we can vouch for a few of them ourselves. So give them a shot, and see which tamaleria becomes your personal standby.

(DMN file photo: Evans Caglage)

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If you've ever lived in Austin -- or visited there very often -- you probably have stopped by Las Manitas at 211 Congress Ave., just north of the river. Maybe you've even made it a regular stop, as my husband and I always do. It's been at the same address since opening in 1981, and is sometimes called Las Manitas Avenue Cafe because the sign from the site's previous restaurant is still up on the front of the building.

The little Tex-Mex eatery is one of the city's most beloved gathering spots for breakfast migas, cafe con leche or an enchilada lunch plate. Its loyal patrons have included everyone from first lady Laura Bush, Texas Monthly editor Evan Smith and the late Gov. Ann Richards to musicians such as Los Lobos and Freddy Fender. Singer Alejandro Escobedo gives a concert there every year, during the South By Southwest music festival.

But its fans know the restaurant's days are numbered.

Continue reading "Austin prepares to say 'Adios' to Las Manitas" »

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I warned my pal John that the fiery Texas snowball was kind of hot. It's a slow heat, a habanero burn. Just when you think you've finished the nugget unscathed, it grabs the back of your throat, and by then it's too late. Which is why he had to run for water. Good times.
The fiery snowball is the zesty relative of Mary of Puddin Hill's snowballs, which are descended from its amazing praline pecan pie. Think pecan pie but thicker, wrapped in dark chocolate.
The heat level of the fiery snowballs varies, but they're hot enough that it would not be in the holiday spirit to offer them to guests without a heads-up.
Any of these would make excellent gifts. The company, which is based in Greenville, Texas, also makes a wickedly addictive habanero brittle and a jalapeno brittle.

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Here's a shout-out to chef Richard Chamberlain, who helped make the "How to make the best steak you can" package our most-clicked food story of 2007.
The rest of the top 10 is pretty evenly divided between desserts and more meat, plus down-home faves like Frito pie and tortilla soup.
And clearly there is no stopping the Neiman Marcus cookie hoax; it's only gained new life on the Internet. (We've got the real thing.)
See the top recipes of 2007 here.

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This event is a way down the road yet, but we just had to tell you about it.

The schedule for the Dallas Museum of Art's 2008 Arts & Letters Live series arrived in our mailbox. And who's at the top of the list?

Yup, Paula Disbrowe and Robb Walsh, the Texas cookbook writers who were featured in our May 2 Taste cover story, "Chowing Down."

Paula's the Hill Country chef and writer behind Cowgirl Cuisine (Morrow, $29.95). Robb, a two-time James Beard Award winner, is the Houston Press' restaurant critic and author of The Texas Cowboy Cookbook (Broadway Books, $17.95). They are good friends, and they're both very amusing conversationalists as well as skilled writers.

So it's logical that Arts & Letters Live is bringing the two in on April 14 for a "Laugh Your Lunch Off" program, with a lunch buffet and cook-off at the DMA's Seventeen Seventeen restaurant. That'll be followed by a program with the writers in Horchow Auditorium, and then by a book signing.

Continue reading "Cow cuisine throwdown at the DMA!" »

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Pass the Plate, the new cookbook from St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church, features about 400 recipes from parish families, as well as from several top Dallas chefs: Kent Rathbun, Stephan Pyles and Dean Fearing. Proceeds will benefit local non-profit organizations such as Bryan's House, Austin Street Shelter, Jubilee Park & Recreation Center, and the Central Dallas Food Pantry.

The cookbook is $29.95 and is available at the St. Michael's Women's Exchange shop, 5 Highland Park Village. Call 214-521-3862 for more information.

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I finally made it over to Texas Pecan Co. Spent a lot of money in very little time. This is a tiny, no-frills shop that sells nuts, snack mixes and a few dried fruits in 8-ounce or 1-pound bags. Pecans also come in 5-pound bags (halves, $33.75) for the freezer or one big holiday baking binge.

Other finds: a pound of sweetened dried cherries, $7.50; a pound of hot and spicy peanuts for $2.50; and a pound of roasted and salted cashews for $4.95. Check the web site for other items and prices (as well as hours). It's a little off the beaten path but not really that hard to find. Parking can be dicey.

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We asked, you answered. And here, at last, are the results...just in time for the holidays.

Wednesday's Taste section includes a roundup of reader recommendations on the best places to buy tamales. Besides our longtime Dallas favorites, such as La Popular and Luna's, there are a whole bunch of contenders worthy of your consideration.

Check it out!

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If you happen to be at NorthPark Center on Saturday, make a point of walking by Neiman Marcus, just to test your diet willpower.

Culinary instructor Steve Pilat and his students form the Art Institute of Dallas will be selling chef-made cakes, pies, cookies and other holiday sweets. All are donated by the Texas Chefs Association, and proceeds benefit the North Texas Food Bank's Operation Front Line.

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Our DMN colleague Kathy A. Goolsby writes in with an unsolicited testimonial to the powers of the Dallas Morning News-Central Market Holiday Cookie Contest:

When it came time to find a recipe to take to this year’s cookie exchange party — an annual tradition started by my daughter and her friend several years ago — I did what I do every year. I perused the winning recipes from the DMN’s annual cookie contest. This year I chose Creamy Lime-Coconut Bars, third-place winner in the bar cookie category in 2003. Let me just say they should be renamed DREAMY Lime-Coconut Bars. Each one was like a miniature bite of a heavenly lime pie: nutty cookie crust topped by a silky smooth lime concoction with just the right sweet-to-tart ratio. And I have the cookie dough scoop to prove it. That’s the prize I won when my cookies were voted “tastiest” by the attendees.

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Readers have been sounding off all afternoon. We've combined the new comments with those from our last Tex-Mex episode a few weeks back. Get the scoop on Dallas Tex-Mex here.

Shown: Pepito's Special (front) and Brisket Tacos at Avila's, by Rex C. Curry

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If you'd like to get an up-close look at Dr. Anne Jones' Latte Da Dairy and goat farm, head out to Flower Mound this weekend. She's holding an open house from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday.

Dr. Jones will sell three farmstead chevre varieties, two feta cheeses and two soft, ripened cheeses: Piccolo Brie and Argento Capra. You might remember reading about her goat cheeses in Taste, back in mid-October.

Find Latte Da Dairy at 1304 Bridle Bit Road in Flower Mound.

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Every December, Southern Living puts a big white cake on its cover. One year it was coconut; another year it was a red velvet cake with peppermint. This year they've collected all the cake recipes on their web site.

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As it does every holiday season and all year round, the famed Collin Street Bakery is rolling out thousands of fruitcakes and other goodies to its loyal customers. (To read more about this 111-year-old Texas institution, see the current Texas Monthly article about Collin Street's president, Bob McNutt.)

The bakery teamed up with former White House pastry chef Roland Mesnier in 2004. This year they've produced gifts worthy of a Neiman Marcus Christmas catalog. For $50,000, Chef Roland will recreate a White House dessert extravaganza for you and up to 100 guests, at the location of your choice.

Or, for considerably less -- a mere $4,950 -- Chef Roland will offer a cooking demonstration for up to 50 people at the customer's home or club.

If you can't quite afford that, you can still buy Chef Roland's White House Banana Cake or his Pumpkin Cake (the latter was a fave of Presidents Reagan and Clinton), for $39.95 each (plus shipping).

Or, for $32.95 postpaid, you can buy his cookbook, Dessert University, and try to make more than 300 of Chef Roland's specialties, which he served to five U.S. presidents from Jimmy Carter to George W. Bush.

Photo: Chef Roland Mesnier and President Bush

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Had enough of pecan and pumpkin? Check out the behemoth apple pie made in the Hill Country. Find out more about the Tootie Pie from Boerne, Texas. You can get them by mail order or at Central Market.

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Tomorrow's Taste section will be all about the winners of this year's cookie contest. One of the judges, who was also featured in a recent issue of Taste, was Rebecca Rather, chef-owner of Rather Sweet Bakery and Cafe in Fredericksburg (www.rathersweet.com) and author of The Pastry Queen Christmas: Big-Hearted Holiday Entertaining Texas Style (Ten Speed Press, $32.50).

Rebecca is also featured prominently in the November/December premiere issue of Victoria magazine (www.victoriamag.com). As in The Pastry Queen Christmas, the four-page photo spread is all about the way Rebecca has taken to celebrating the holidays since her move to Fredericksburg seven years ago. "It's close to impossible not to get swept up in the Christmas spirit when it's all around you," the story quotes her.

The reincarnated Victoria has plenty of other holiday goodies in its pages, too, including pictures and recipes for linzertorte, panna cotta and shortbread, and a back-page essay about the joys of holiday cookie-baking.

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Saveur magazine kitchen director Liz Pearson writes a charming story in the December issue about her holiday tradition: making candy from scratch, at home with Mom in Mason, Texas.

As Ms. Pearson writes:

I've been crazy about making candy since I was a kid. There's something about the over-the-top indulgence of it all that appeals to me on a purely emotional level.

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The Cultured Cup hit on some perfect tea pairings during the store’s Sunday afternoon tasting session. Owners Kyle Stewart and Phil Krampetz teamed up with local cheese maker Paula Lambert of The Mozzarella Company, offering samples of eight fine teas, each paired with two artisan cheeses.
Some in attendance were skeptical at first; but the daring pairings turned out to be winners all.
All but one of the teas were from the acclaimed Mariage Frères line that the store imports from Paris.
With its subtle lemon balm notes, a Temple de L’Aube green tea brought out the best in the Crescenza, a tart, yeasty but mild fresh cheese. A delicate Oolong Fleurs d’Oranger tea held a hint of orange blossom that matched beautifully with an herbed goat log. And the Noel tea’s vanilla notes and complex spices proved an excellent match for a smoked Scamorza.
If you want to learn more about tea and cheese pairings, drop by The Cultured Cup. Mr. Stewart, a former college professor, can explain just why the pairing works and set you on the path to tea enlightenment. Be forewarned: You might get hooked.
Tina Danze

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What do you need to know today? We've assembled our collective wisdom, from recipes to the video on how to fry a turkey without causing yourself or your stuff any harm.

Click here for Thanksgiving advice.

In a nutshell: Wash your hands a lot. If the gravy is lumpy, strain it and get on with things. And don't let the food sit out more than two hours.

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Looking for a few last-minute, sure-fire additions to your Thanksgiving menu?

Check out today's Taste cover, with three crowd-pleasing side dishes: green beans, cream corn, and potato gratin. These are all recipes that notable Dallas food professionals make for their own families.

Plus: We have the recipe for the Hockaday School's famous chess pie, so fondly remembered by generations of alumnae. This is the pie that is always requested whenever Hockaday "girls" of all ages gather for events back on the school campus.

Rosie Mae Bell with a chess pie, in the Hockaday School's Great Hall.
(DMN photo by Natalie Caudill)

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This is a sweet story.

Out in Glen Rose, two kindergarten teachers make and sell dozens of pies every holiday season -- and any of their students, past or present, can come by to claim a free slice.

Read all about the Pie Peddlers in today's Metro section story by Michael E. Young.

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You might remember that a few weeks ago, we had a story about veterinarian Anne Jones and her Latte Da Dairy in Flower Mound.

Dr. Jones has just sent word that "this Saturday (Nov. 17), I will be at the Grapevine Farmers Market (just behind the Gazebo off Main Street)." She will be selling her prize-winning chevre, feta and Argento Capra varieties from 8 a.m. until 12 noon, or as long as her day's supplies last.

She says she's "guessing this will be the last Farmers Market until springtime," but she hopes to schedule some farm pick-up days for customers who can make they trek out to her dairy.

Latte Da Dairy goat cheeses are retailed at Central Market stores in Fort Worth, Southlake and Dallas. Dr. Jones says she just delivered her first order of Piccolo Brie to CM-Fort Worth.

Above right: Dr. Anne Jones with her Latte Da Dairy goats. (DMN file photo: Rex C. Curry)

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These bite-size beauties from Petit Fours Cakes Gourmet will make you forget all about pumpkin pie. From left: pumpkin meringue tarts, pumpkin cheesecake petit four, and white chocolate pumpkin spice truffles. Check their web site for more adorable holiday treats.

Of course, it's all about pumpkin now. Find other pumpkin desserts from bakeries around town, and don't forget to order well ahead of time.

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Reader Sheryl Yonack just wrote to me with a special request:

I really enjoyed your Thanksgiving recipe by local chefs today. I'm looking for Kevin Garvin's stuffing recipe. Where is it in the paper or on-line?

Kevin's recipe for his baguette stuffing is given in his new Neiman Marcus Taste: Timeless American Recipes cookbook. We didn't include it with his other recipes today, since we'd planned to use Chef Jake's Louisiana Dirty Rice Stuffing for a little regional variety.

But since Kevin's so kindly shared his Thanksgiving turkey and pan-gravy secrets, we'll give you an extra helping of Chef Garvin's Baguette Stuffing, too. (Recipe follows on the jump.)

Happy eating! And do check out Kevin's new cookbook -- it really is a gorgeous volume.

Continue reading "Kevin Garvin's Baguette Stuffing recipe" »

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Neiman Marcus chef Kevin Garvin shares his turkey and gravy recipe -- plus a video on how to carve the turkey. I'm not a huge turkey fan but I've watched this one three times. The meat is simply gorgeous, and you can hear the skin crackle when he slices it. E-mail it to someone you love -- you know, the person who always wants to carve the turkey.

Kevin Garvin's Thanksgiving turkey (DMN Photo by Evans Caglage)

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Looking for tamales like the ones your abuela (grandma) used to make? Agape Memorial United Methodist Church is now taking orders for handmade tamales to be picked up at the church at noon on Sunday, Nov. 18.

In the tradition known as la tamalada, Agape UMC's women, men and young people get together and work in assembly lines to make about 200 dozen tamales. These sell for $10 per dozen.

For more information or to place orders, call the church office at 214-826-8686 or Juanita Trillo at 972-252-7828. The church is located at 5111 Capitol St. (at Garrett) in East Dallas.

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Check out this video of Robert Ramm of Barbeques Galore. He makes frying a turkey look simple. He's got a lot of good safety tips, too.

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Joe Drape of the New York Times gets all serious about Tex-Mex in today's issue.
I'm totally on board with Robb Walsh, the Houston writer quoted extensively, including this pronoucement: "The embodiment of Tex-Mex is a cheese enchilada with gravy."
Mr. Drape is a staunch supporter of Herrera's on Maple Avenue in Dallas, where he gets an enchilada plate with a taco on the side.
Tell us: Where's your favorite Tex-Mex in Dallas? What do you order?

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Paula's Texas Orange and Paula's Texas Lemon are two wickedly wonderful citrus liqueurs. They are quite nice on their own, but Quintessential Chocolates Company of Fredericksburg goes Paula one better by using the Texas Orange as the filling in dark chocolate candies.
Here's where to order Paula's Texas Orange chocolates. They're $6.50 plus shipping for a box of six pieces (a convenient size for filling a Christmas stocking).
Quintessential Chocolates also makes chocolates filled with various wines and spirits, including some Texas wines.

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This comes from our colleagues on the Metro blog:

A reader sent Neighborsgo editor Kandace Dodson a story suggestion, with pictures. There's an interesting woman in Rowlett, the reader says, who owns her own bakery called Absolutely Edible Cakes. Words won't describe one of Nikita Jackson's latest cake creations. So here's the photo (at right). The cake is designed to look like the bride.

From the additional pictures that were sent, we can tell you that this bride's cake is virtually life-size. The design is an extravagant replica of the real bridal gown, the bodice of which features a heart-shaped, jeweled panel with paisley and flower shapes embroidered into it.

Though this is one of her more spectacular specialty efforts, Nikki Jackson also does more conventional wedding and special-occasion cakes, as her bakery's website makes clear. She says she has "had cakes featured on Good Morning Texas, Walker Texas Ranger and on the billboards throughout the state of Texas, when I created cakes for the Texas Lottery Commission."

For more information, contact Ms. Jackson at 972-463-9199.

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McKinney mom and cookie maker Mary Beth Schad (left) will be one of 11 women honored as part of the first "Dreamers Into Doers" awards on Tuesday's Martha Stewart Show (12 noon on KXAS-TV, Ch. 5).

Mary Beth Schad started a home-based business after a friend told her, through a mouthful of cookies: "I'd buy these from you." She named her company Ellie & Ollie after her kids, Eloise and Oliver, who are her taste testers.

Mary Beth and the other "Dreamers Into Doers" finalists will be featured in the November issue of Martha Stewart Living magazine, and they'll also be recognized at a ceremony Tuesday evening at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall. In addition, Martha will present a "Living Legend Award" to singer-songwriter Carole King, who also will be on tomorrow's TV show.

Ellie & Ollie cookies come in five varieties: Poppydoodles (caramel, chocolate and peanuts), Key Lime Crackles, Cinnamon Toast, Crunchy Peanut Butter, and Mary Beth's signature Chocodoodles, made with dark semi-sweet chocolate and M&Ms.

Mary Beth's Ellie & Ollie cookies are packaged for gift giving at $20 per box of 15, and are available online or by calling 214-733-1056.

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Finally, we're seeing the kind of weather that's perfect for a bowl of red, as Frank X. Tolbert christened the dish in his 1953 classic, A Bowl of Red. There's no better place in North Texas to experience this Texas meat-and-chile stew than Tolbert's in Grapevine, owned by Frank's daughter, Kathleen Tolbert Ryan. Furthermore, if you go to the GuideLive entry on the restaurant, you can also see a video of Kathleen and chef Rodolfo Ojeda explaining what makes a good bowl of chili.

Tolbert's will even serve it with beans for sissies and health nuts who want to add a little fiber to the mix. (Psst: It doesn't affect the goodness of the chili at all, even if Frank may strike me dead for saying so.) And if you missed the Frito pie at the State Fair of Texas, Tolbert's has that, too. Try them with the jalapeno margarita, a kind of a fire-and-ice combination that cools you down and makes you sweat, all at once.

Frank was a fixture in the newsroom during my toddler days in journalism, and I can still remember that when something riled him, he would barrel at you head down, hat still on, snorting steam, eyes aflame, like a mad bull. Luckily, I didn't rile him. Much.

(DMN file photo: Special Contributor Elena Noel Grothe)

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One of the best things about Brothers Chicken was the discovery of Ain't No Mo Buttercakes, a sort of bakery in transition whose baby Bundt cakes are on the menu there.

I had the chocolate and buttercream, which were pure pleasure: moist, flavorful, with a beautiful delicate texture - and no off mix-y notes. With a call to the bakery, I found out they also supply eight area Williams Chickens (you could call for the one nearest you), Hall's Chicken Shack (the downtown and Buckner locations) and Michelle's Homestyle Cooking at Skillman and Audelia.

While they're concentrating on supplying restaurants and looking for a new location they will also work with individuals. In a city that loves food finds, these cakes are da bomb.

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Hundreds of local foodies took food tours with freelance writer Susan Taylor before she moved to Chicago awhile back. Now there's a new culinary tour company in town. Food Roots organizes tours to artisan food producers and events around the state. They're just getting started, so check it out and let them know what you want to see. And eat. Read more about Food Roots here.

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Peanut patties. You either love them or you don't. Would you change your mind if they came in another flavor? (What is the "flavor" of a peanut patty, anyway?) Check out these peanut patties in a range of flavors. The neon darlings, for sale at the State Fair of Texas, are from Arlington-based Texas Authentic.

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Today in Taste, you can read all about Dr. Anne Jones, a veterinarian who now runs the Latte Da Dairy in Flower Mound. The story includes a link to a video of Dr. Jones with her dairy goats, a.k.a. "the divas."

Latte Da Dairy's fresh goat cheese is available in the Dallas area exclusively at Central Market and costs about $8-$10 per 4-oz container.

You can meet Anne Jones and other Texas goat cheese makers the first weekend of November at Central Market. Events featuring local wine and cheese makers are scheduled from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Nov. 2 at the Dallas store; Nov. 3 in Southlake; and Nov. 4 in Fort Worth.

(Dallas Morning News photo: Rex C. Curry)

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