Supper Club/Guerilla Dinners

Recently it seems that Nate and I have been opting for cooking with friends instead of a night of drinking downtown that may or may not be augmented by the hot dog king (and that's no dig on the hot dog king, I adore that Chicago dog with pepperoncinis, sauerkraut, onions, and spicy mustard.....mmmm). However, the cooking with friends has its perks, including saved $$, no drinking and driving, and delicious food.

A few months ago we kinda started kicking this off with our friends Jeff and Darlene and their neighbors Mike and Cindy have been involved a time or two as well. My close friend Jessica has also joined us (and vice versa) a time or two and it's finally starting to feel like a trend is emerging.

A supper trend!

So, the goal is my mind is the formalize this process a little more. I know that Nate and I aren't the first (certainly not the last I hope) to enjoy the idea of getting together with friends for nights of drink and gnosh, but seriously, let's make this more of a pageant. We have a terrific book of recipes that Nate just discovered all about rogue dinner parties and adventurous locations, let's get down to business, what could be better?

This coming Wednesday we are planning a Mediterranean feast with aforementioned amigos, I will broach the subject with them and propose either standard times of cooking and scheming OR that we develop a proposal for a union of foodies and pot lucks to match.

And hopefully, I will include some pics finally, I know Nate has some from the last pizza party we had that involved a fantastic veggie heavy thin crust and a thicker, more decadent pear, bacon, and goat cheese pie that we all enjoyed. Oh yeah, the bacon one had egg on it too...!

The cogs are turning, mischief is afoot.

Bok Choy Obsession

Why am I in this phase right now where I want to eat really garlicky baby bok choy all the time?

It's not the worst problem, that's for sure.

I have been getting baby bok choy at Wheatsville Co-op (I FINALLY got a membership, after living in Austin for....13+ years...) and just trimming off the end, rinsing it really well and then splitting the leaves longways and chopping them into thirds.  I usually buy about 3 pieces, enough to feed 4 folks.

I put them into a mixing bowl, sprinkle with sea salt and drizzle with about a tbsp of olive oil and then I like to use my microplane fine grater to grate about 3 cloves of garlic.  Mixing the garlic in with your hands seems to work best, otherwise it gets kinda stuck in clumps.

At this point, we've been grilling it on our outdoor gas grill by just putting down a layer of aluminum foil.  Otherwise, it works great in a wok, also.

It's so sweet, crunchy, and delicious, a great autumnal transition food!  There's a good chance we are going to make it for Thanksgiving with our folks this year!

Warm Mushroom Salad, YES!

Last night, Nate and I decided to make a quick jaunt to Asti for dinner and share a few things. We sat at the bar. There's something about being a regular somewhere and having that preference, I don't know what it is, but it feels more familiar and we're not there to lavish ourselves, necessarily, just grab a great meal before other plans. It's intimate, I guess, but we can get in and get out.

Our good friend, Joey Simeone waited on us and informed us of the specials which really stood out. We decided on a bowl of the special soup which was like a creamy potato bisque and in the center a cold sage custard. Wowee zowee, such awesome comfort food. The potato soup was just like you'd hope from your mom on a sick day, but the sage custard gave it this really surprising textural element. Delish. So we snacked that up real quick.

I was thrilled that they had added the beef carpaccio back onto the menu, which is an old favorite, but it has definitely been updated. Foremost, they are still doing the fried capers, but instead of the non-pareil size, they are much larger caper berries and the crunchy salty is probably one of my greatest weaknesses. Excellent choice. Also, instead of a swirled lemon aioli, the arugula salad atop the carpaccio is tossed in a nice lemon vinaigrette. Easy, fresh, delicious, and fills you up nicely.

However, all those splendid elements cannot hold a single candle to the specialty salad of the evening. OMFG, the warm mushroom salad with black truffle oil and an Alexander Farms' egg on top was a total oral-gasm. Crimini (I believe) and lobster mushrooms, and possibly Chanterelles, were tossed and I think sauteed with some, salt, garlic and the truffle oil and then a poached egg on top. It was almost too much, but we shared everything, kinda like a little appetizer sampler and it could not have been more perfect.

Most importantly, that amount of food with a beer each totals roughly $50 before tip. Really reasonable and the service is great, we have a lot of friends that work there and they are all excellent servers.

Asti is like our little neighborhood Italian destination, and frequently, we end up getting the old favorites, but this was a night of real exciting surprises, kudos to all, it was great to have such a stellar meal, if you haven't checked them out before, I highly suggest it.

Fresh German Apple Cake -- from Sally Swanson

As promised, here is the recipe for this amazing dessert. Thanks to Sally for giving me the recipe and for feeding us as always!

Fresh German Apple Cake

1 C Vegetable Oil
3 Eggs
2 C Sugar
2 tsp Vanilla
3 C Whole Wheat Flour
2 tsp Baking Soda
2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Nutmeg
1/2 tsp Ground Cloves
3 C Diced Apples (unpeeled)

1 C Chopped Pecans (optional)

Combine vegetable oil, eggs, sugar & vanilla. Mix lightly then add whole wheat flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg and ground cloves. Mix all of it thoroughly with the diced apples.

Pour into greased 8x12 pan. Bake 1 1/4 hour at 350 degrees. Enjoy!

Eating on Tour--September '08

Day 1 -- Columbia, MO

After driving for 12 hours including a stop at Braum's (had never eaten at one before, it was mediocre, but not terrible) in Oklahoma we finally arrived at our first destination: Columbia, MO. Jeff's parents live here which makes for a wonderful first destination.

We wake up the next morning to find that his parents had already bought food for us to make breakfast. We ended up going simple with some scrambled eggs (with some fresh minced garlic), toast, some peppered bacon and some banana pancakes. All together it made a delicious homemade breakfast. Of note was the cranberry habanero jam they had in the fridge made by Austin Slow Burn. On toast it was a perfect sweet and spicy snack. If you are not familiar with Austin Slow Burn I highly recommend checking out their sauces and salsas. I have never been disappointed.

For dinner Jeff's mom, Sally, had prepared a veggie casserole and a turkey casserole which were both perfectly done. Just like your mom always made them. She also made some sweet potatoes that were soothing and just plain buttery goodness.  And it must be mentioned that anyone willing to feed 6 dudes is a saint!  So regardless of quality (and it was delicious) when someone makes food for you on tour, you are very very thankful!

The main highlight was her amazing dessert.  It was a German Apple Cake.  It was perfect and not too heavy or sweet.  It had the texture of a bunt cake almost, but was made pretty much entirely of apples with some wonderful hints of nutmeg, clove & cinnamon.  (I will post her recipe in the next blog for anyone wanting to try it).

Day 2 -- St. Louis, MO

Short list today. Had breakfast at Ernie's in Columbia, MO. Solid diner style with good and super cheap options.  I had eggs over easy with toast and some veggie sausage.  

We decided not to eat until after the show tonight.  We arrived late to our friend's house in St. Louis who had ordered some pizza for us.  Not just any pizza though...it was from Imo's.  It is a pretty famed pizza place known for their "St. Louis Style" pizzas.  Basically it was a super thin crust pizza but with some of the best house-made mozzarella cheese and a very light red sauce.  One pizza pie was all veggies, and the other had red onions, canadian bacon and more.  They were delicious.  Also tried their relatively famous Toasted Lasagna.  Delicious bites of literally toasted lasagna pieces.  Wonderful!

Day 3 -- Memphis, TN

Our wonderful hosts in St Louis made a lovely little breakfast with ham & cheese biscuits, hash browns and some fresh fruit.  Simple but more than enough to get us going and help kill a couple hangovers.

We arrived in Memphis a few hours before the show and headed straight to the venue, The Hi-Tone to find that they would feed us dinner! (always an amazing plus when the venue has food and is willing to give it to you for free or a discount!)  I had a nice little spinach salad with a light bleu cheese dressing and a slice of an alfredo pizza with portabella mushrooms.   The first time you eat some greens on tour you thank yourself.  Sometimes they never seem to be an option, so when you see it you should take it.  It's a life saver on tour.   Thanks so so much to Dan & the Hi-Tone staff for hooking up six hungry dudes, not to mention the drinks!

Day 4 -- Hot Springs, AR

Wake up this morning in lovely Memphis, TN. Our host for the night, Mikey B  (THANKS!), recommended a new cafe in his hood called Cafe Eclectic.  It is a new place in Memphis that has only been open for a few months and was a total revamp or a pretty dilapidated building.  Basically a mix of a neighborhood restaurant with a coffeehouse and soda fountain.  

Since they were no longer serving breakfast we opted for their lunch menu. I had the warm Brie and pear sandwich with arugula and honey.  I did love their menu options (probably should have played it safe with their BLT with avocado), however, my sandwich was good but not completely satisfying. The ingredients were great but the bread was thick and too overpowering. And it just tasted slightly incomplete to me, like it just needed one more thing to set it over the top.  Brandon had their burger which looked and tasted delicious and their other basics were all covered adequately. Hopefully with time they will keep adding and honing in on some of their more adventurous fare.  

We arrived in Hot Springs, AR in the mid-afternoon.  Jeff, Brandon, George and I ventured to the Arlington Hotel (where Al Capone regularly hung out) to have an early evening beer.  Following that we end up eating at a locally owned burrito joint called, El Loco Burrito. We chose this place because it was about the only place in Hot Springs that was open past 6pm.  I had a pretty simple chicken burrito that definitely hit the spot.  Not the most amazing burrito place (I mean, we are in Hot Springs), but very delicious and a cool little local place that you wouldn't expect to find in an old resort town.  

Day 5 -- Dallas, TX

In the morning a few of us ventured to The Pancake Shop for breakfast in Hot Springs.  It was super greasy and not the best meal I've had, although that's kinda what you ask for with breakfast places on tour a lot of times.  The place has definitely been around forever (the man, guessing one of the owners at the cashier booth must have been pushing 80) and obviously satisfying many tourists so good for them!

We arrive in Denton, TX in the mid-afternoon at Marc's parents house.  As usual Regina and Herschel order Thai food for us from their favorite places, Andaman.  I've always loved everything I've gotten here on previous tours.  This time I went with the Panang Curry and some Tom Kha soup.  I am a sucker for Tom Kha soup and this place has some of the best I've ever had.  Always just perfectly seasoned and delectable.  The Panang Curry was also really well done and had lots of great veggies.  

Day 6 & 7 -- Austin, TX

Originally we had a showed booked in Houston, TX for Day 7, but sadly cause of Hurrican Ike it was cancelled.  So we end up spending an extra day in Austin which we luckily got a last minute studio booking at Ohm Studios.  Only one thing to mention food-wise here for these couple days -- Juan in a Million.   I go there to pick up food for Jeff & Brandon and I while they are getting set up at the studio.  Their breakfast tacos are always solid (although I still have yet to try the infamous Don Juan) and I had a refreshing glass of horchata.   But I gotta give them an A+ on service and hospitality.  Juan was there when I walked in and as is his speciality he gave me an incredibly firm and jubilant handshake.  Anytime I walk into Juan in a Million it just makes me feel good and realize what I love about certain Austin restaurants, and this one in particular!

Day 8 -- San Antonio, TX

After two days back in Austin we drive down to San Antonio for the last show of our short little tour.  We arrive right around dinner time and end up parking near where we knew there was an art party happening a little later before the show.  SO, we walk around to find some food.  I checked out some places on my IPhone and we think about heading to Rosario's which seems to be the hippest Mexican restaurant in San Antonio.  It was completely packed so we decide to look elsewhere.  Not far away we see a cool looking old building that simply says, "Tito's Mexican Restaurant."  Speaking our language.  We sit down and are promptly greeted by their extra jovial wait staff.  I immediately order a large and wonderfully refreshing mango margarita and munch on their homemade chips and salsa.  Then Jeff and I decide to split their chicken quesadillas.  Again, kudos to their homemade tortillas, and the quesadilla itself is thick and delicious.  A really really solid mexican food place if you ever find yourself in San Antonio.  

Eating on Tour: An Introduction

This is my first in a series of posts that will involve a meditation and description of eating on tour. As well as being a cook at Foodheads in Austin, TX I also spend time playing music in various bands (When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth, Awesome Cool Dudes) which affords me the luxury to occasionally tour the US (and hopefully other countries soon!). I recently returned from a short week-long tour up into the midwest and back to Texas. Thie following post will be about this trip. In November I will be going on a more involved 2 1/2 week tour that will include more details and pictures as well as a (hopefully) larger picture of what it is I eat while on tour and the various specialties in different locales that I get to indulge in.

Eating on tour can occasionally be a logistical challenge. Sometimes you venture to cities where you don't know anyone and therefore don't know where to go to eat, or what to do, or where to stay, etc. You end up feeling almost stranded and basically just look for the nearest and easiest options. However, this isn't always a bad thing. By just walking into a random local business sometimes you come across wonderful people and wonderful food.

Sometimes however you have friends or family that not only will give you a place to stay but also cook for you, or at the very least be willing to show you around town and tell you where to go and what to do. It is a very comforting feeling and helps you feel more at ease in your new unfamiliar surroundings.

So, here it is. My food diary from our September tour. Enjoy! And please, if you see cities and you say, "I could have recommended some places!" PLEASE, let me know. I'd love to have some better ideas for the next time I visit! Thanks...

Raw Kale Salad

I've been making this raw kale salad at work lately that's really become a hit and I thought I'd pass it around.

• 1 bunch Raw curly kale
• (organic if you are so inclined), I think that lacinato kale would also be good, but this is a good recipe for curly because you chop it up really fine
• 1 cup of raisins or craisins (if you're feeling more like it's a special occasion)
• 1 cup of almonds, chopped
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• The juice of 2 lemons
• 2 cloves Garlic, minced
• 3 T Olive Oil
• salt/pepper to taste
• drizzle of honey or agave nectar

So what I like to do is wash my kale really well and pat it dry before I put into my food processor.  If you do not have a food processor, it works just fine to use your hands and tear the leaves into small bites.  It's great to get the kale as small as possible because when it's raw it is extra fibrous and this will later save to chewing time.  It's fun to chew, don't get me wrong and it's better to chew longer, but with kale there is a risk of feeling like a cow with cud, you know?

Okay, so you now have a bowl of bite size kale pieces.  I would toss in the dried fruit of your choice, the carrots (you could also substitute some sort of sprout for the carrots, spicy or bean), and your almonds.  At this point, leave your kale and you can mix up your lemon vinaigrette real quick.

The lemon vinaigrette would be great on a variety of salads and dishes, but I love it here because the acid and the bitter kale with sweet fruit is such a refreshing way to get your greens, you know?  Anyway, for those of us that know when we need our greens, this salad is really satisfying, and certainly craveworthy.

Squeeze your lemons (no seeds!  Use a cheesecloth if you like) into a small mixing bowl, then your minced garlic, season it, and then whisk in your olive oil to emulsify the dressing.  Add the sweetening agent of choice, I usually do agave nectar, and whisk again to make sure everything is well incorporated.   Now you can pour your dressing over the kale and give it a nice toss.  Serve it up either by itself or however you like.  Also, after it's been dressed, I find that it will last in the fridge for up to 5 days, so make a larger batch for the week and take it for lunch.  It's great with fish or with other protein tossed in.