A taste of Italy in Texas

Sometimes, you pass by a place for a few months or a year, and just don't go inside even though you have heard good things about it. Sometimes, you find yourself in that place in an unplanned but happy accident. That's what happened the other night.

A Houston franchise of the Piola founded in Italy and owned by Florence's own Michele Cencini, Midtown's Piola is an unassuming little pizza and pasta spot characterized by an explosion of colorful lighting and a welcoming garlicky air. Of course, there's less competition here for Italian food than there is in Italy, so that helps. But that smell is so welcoming.

We found ourselves there as accidental tourists, and we were pleasantly surprised. Not only is the menu huge, but it's reasonably priced and includes a number of ingredients flown over directly from The Mother Country. Portions are more than generous - three of us couldn't finish three plates. 

Check out the Valle dei Templi - imported creamy, massive burrata and shaved Prosciutto crudo with cherry tomatoes and the largest basil leaves I've ever met:

Apparently they don't have good basil in Trinidad, as you can see by Corey's demonstration of herbal happiness ...
 

The Roka Cabana insalate featured arugula, mozzarella, diced tomatoes and bell peppers, pistachios and pomegranate dressing. It was light and fresh with a citrusy hint, though I would probably try another salad next time as the texture wasn't quite what I imagined.

And the pizza, wow. There are dozens to choose from, and we tried the Prato with sauteed shitake mushrooms, arugula and shaved Grana Padano. The crust was crispy and thin, and the tomato sauce was so zesty and fresh. A little olive oil and pepper on top made this one of the most delicious pizzas ever!

If you're looking to bring back memories of a trip to Italy, practice your Italian or just enjoy some great happy hour specials, head to Piola. You'll leave happy, full and not broke! Pin It Now!

Labor of love: roasted butternut squash lasagne

It all started with an innocuous instant message. "Ping - hey, W., do you have a good vegetarian entree idea I could make for the family? Nothing too spicy. Just good." 

"Oh, there is this great butternut squash lasagne I made a while ago - I remember it was really great."

A short while later, I'd looked up said recipe and the reviews to see how to modify it. Many said it was time-consuming but yummy. Okay, no worries. 

What was I thinking? On the plus side, everyone gave it a big thumbs-up. On the minus side, I spent about three hours making this thing. I had to restrain myself from polishing off a bottle of wine while cooking, just to cope with the number of pots and pans this lasagne generates and the waning daylight.

If you want to really impress both the herbivores and omnivores in your life, this is it. Just be patient. Really patient. 

Note: I modified the original recipe from Epicurious to make it fill a 10"x15" pan. The recipe is for a 9"x13" and uses 9 lasagna noodles, and doesn't include onions or spinach. All I changed to make it for a bigger pan was to use 12 noodles, and added spinach and onions.  

Weigh the butternut squash when purchasing

What you need:

• 3 medium onions
• An 11-oz. package of baby spinach (the big box, preferably organic)
• 3 pounds butternut squash, quartered, seeded, peeled, and cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 9 1/2 cups)
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 4 cups milk
• 2 tablespoons dried rosemary, crumbled
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  1/2 stick (1/4 cup) plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 12 sheets dry no-boil lasagne pasta (7- by 3 1/2-inch)     
• 1 1/3 cups freshly grated Parmesan (about 5 ounces)
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
• Fresh ground pepper 
• Dash of nutmeg

To make:

Make rosemary infusion: put milk and rosemary in a medium pot, and simmer on very low for about an hour. More time, more flavor. Strain through a fine mesh sieve and set aside.

Caramelize onions: peel and halve the onions, slicing into 1/8" slices. Heat a medium size covered pot on medium-low; melt 2 tablespoons of butter and optionally a slosh of olive oil. Throw in the onions and let them cook for about 45 minutes until medium brown, stirring every few minutes so they don't burn. Add a dash of salt and pepper about halfway through cooking.

Make sure you fully caramelize the onions

Roast squash: toss cubed squash in large bowl with oil and a dash of salt and pepper. Spread onto two large sheet pans and roast in a 425°F oven for about 25 minutes, stirring a couple of times to ensure it doesn't over-brown.

Steam spinach: put enough water in a Dutch oven to cover the bottom and bring to boil. Empty the entire container of spinach into it, cover and let steam for about 3 minutes, stirring once, just to wilt it. Drain immediately in colander. Sprinkle with a dash of nutmeg.

Baby spinach is a must

Make roux and finish sauce: in a large heavy saucepan cook garlic in butter over moderately low heat, stirring, until softened. Stir in flour and cook roux, stirring, 3 minutes. Remove pan from heat and whisk in milk mixture in a stream until smooth. Return pan to heat and simmer sauce, whisking occasionally, about 10 minutes, or until thick. Stir in squash and salt and pepper to taste. Stir to break down the squash slightly. Sauce may be made 3 days ahead and chilled, its surface covered with plastic wrap.

The sauce with squash before assembly

Reduce temperature to 375°F. and butter a baking dish.

Put it together: pour 1 cup sauce into baking dish (sauce will not cover bottom completely) and cover with 4 lasagne sheets, making sure they do not touch each other (break up the 4th one to piece it into pan). Spread half of remaining sauce over pasta,  sprinkle with 1/2 cup Parmesan and layer on spinach. Make 1 more layer in same manner, only this time with onions instead of spinach, beginning and ending with pasta.

 

Top it off with Bechamel: in a bowl with an electric mixer beat cream with salt until it holds soft peaks and spread evenly over top pasta layer, making sure pasta is completely covered. Sprinkle remaining 1/3 cup Parmesan over cream. 

Cover dish tightly with foil, tenting slightly to prevent foil from touching top layer, and bake in middle of oven 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake lasagne 10 minutes more, or until top is bubbling and golden. Let lasagne stand 5 minutes.

Garnish each serving with rosemary. Bask in the compliments. Drink some wine. Swear to never make it again. Make someone else do the dishwashing while you have more wine.

Ta-daa! Dee-lish

  

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Christmas cookie ninja: frosted sugar cookies

This year, our kitchen (aka: moi) didn't churn out the usual 60-plus dozen cookies - there just wasn't enough time. Making fewer Christmas cookies means careful editing. An opportunity!

For me, the rolled sugar cookie best encapsulates Christmas cheer. You can decorate however you want: super simple or funky fancy. I like vibrant frosting colors and fun sprinkles, personally. It gives the cookies a certain allure, and almost guarantees they'll disappear ahead of other types of cookies.

Use a toothpick to move around and swirl the frosting

What you need:

•     1 1/2 cups butter, softened
•     2 cups white or cane sugar
•     4 eggs
•     1 tsp vanilla extract
•     5 cups all-purpose flour
•     2 tsp baking powder
•     1 tsp salt

To make:

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper (my preference) or silicone pad.

Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Underbake vs. overbake so the bottom and edges aren't too browned. Cool completely before frosting.

Frosting:

•     1 cup confectioners sugar
•     2 tsp milk (plus more to thin out frosting)
•     2 tsp light corn syrup
•     1/4 tsp almond extract

Mix ingredients together until very smooth, adding a bit more milk as desired to thin it. This batch will be enough for at least half of the cookies. I divide it into four or five little containers to color each, and leave one white. This frosting dries quickly, so I usually just do two batches and mix up new colors.

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A tasty tailgate for a cause

We all migrated indoors..

Tailgater is not a portmanteau to typically describe us, though we are Texans fans. Greg impulsively bought tickets to the first 'Monday Mayhem' tailgate event in the parking lot of Triniti to enjoy the Texans game action against the Pats and 'gin up' on BBQ. This was also a charity event, with proceeds benefiting St. Jude children's hospital and OKRA. Greg is a generous guy, so maybe it was the charity angle that drew him in. Or maybe it was nostalgia, since I moved here from Boston. Or, most likely, it was the promise of BBQ and beer. 

Brandon, a recent import from Trinidad and chef at Triniti

We loved the lineup of participating restaurants: Anvil, Benjy's, Branch Water Tavern, Killen's, Roost, Soma Sushi, Sparrow, Triniti and Underbelly. Plus, we had the benefit of sampling from our favorite local/regional breweries including Karbach, Southern Star, No Label and St. Arnold.

Mind you, this was a Texas tailgate. So, it was rather ... meaty. I ate more smoky goodness in a few hours than I generally eat in a few months. A lot of months. I noticed that Greg didn't complain, but finally surrendered to the gods of carnivorous carnage and said 'no more.'

What worked so well for me were the deep flavors as the parry and fresh crunchy vegetables as the riposte, and the preponderance of pickling. What didn't work well was the 40-something temperature (I'm a wimp now that I live in the south!).

Here are a few highlights:

Benjy's sandwich with picked veg and pickled egg

With Kevin Naderi, Roost's chief everything & owner

Roost's foie gras 'jell-o shot'

Monica Pope's crazy great tacos

Pork cheek, crunchy veggies and hibachi corn from Soma

If Triniti decides to do this kind of event again, I'd recommend outdoor heaters if it's cold, some kind of seating to watch the game or a way to inform attendees that they should bring their own tailgate chairs (there were like 20 seats they grabbed from the front patio), and basic handouts from the participating restaurants to describe what they're serving and maybe an incentive to get us into their restaurants (we frequent most of them anyway but this type of event is a great marketing vehicle).  

Best part of the evening: eating all that wonderful food offset the pain of losing the game. 

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Dessert delivered with a straw

Couldn't be bothered to garnish it

I was craving something sweet. I don't really do desserts, but after some scrounging around, I created a grown-up goodie in a glass, rated M for Mmm, yummy. It's amazing what you can create with stuff in your freezer and fridge. 

When any kind of fruit is getting pretty ripe, freeze it on a tray with parchment or silicone sheet in non-touching pieces for a few hours, then add to your large Ziploc bag of handy fruit pieces. I freeze every kind of berry, grape, mango, pear - nothing is safe from my freezer drawer. Oh, and bananas - at any given time I usually have about 12 of them ready to be pressed into service. 

Let's call this Grown-up Go-to Dessert in a Glass. 

Put in a blender:

1 1/2 frozen bananas

3/4 cup or so of frozen pineapple chunks

1/3 cup of coconut water

1/3 cup of coconut rum

2 tablespoons of half and half

1 liberal dash of cayenne pepper (optional)

Blend, and add more coconut water if needed to thin it out. 

Pour into a glass of your choice, throw in a straw and go to town. Nighty night. 

Bonus Tip: always have straws on hand, even if you're not a straw household. You never know when you or a guest will need them for drinks or crafts or during hurricane season.

 

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North meets South slow cooker chili

North Meets South Chili

Between the cooler days in Houston and our powerhouse Texans, I was inspired to celebrate with - what else? - a batch of chili, of course. 

Since the number of available chili recipes probably exceed the number of mosquitoes in the Buffalo Bayou, I decided to forage in the freezer, fridge and pantry to create my own version of North meets South chili. The northern part is the tomato focus, ground turkey and beans. The southern part is the vinegar and brown sugar. There's also a Southwest flavor from the hatch chiles. 

The result?  Different tasting but really, really addictive. Greg asked me to blog this one so other folks who want to break out of the usual can give this a try. Oh, and the cornbread muffins are just a basic recipe with very little sugar. I like thinner batter, as you bake these at a screaming hot 450 degrees and they look like popovers when they bake. They're slightly crisp on the outside.

Feel free to increase quantities of spices or herbs - just be careful with oregano as too much of it will make everything bitter. If you don't want to make this in a slow cooker, no problem - just reverse the recipe by cooking the turkey first, and just throw in everything else and let it simmer for as long as you can stand it.

North Meets South Slow Cooker Chili

...8+ servings

Use the freshest ingredients you can find

What you need:

• About 1.5 pounds of ground turkey or TVP, browned 
• 2 large stalks of celery, thinly sliced
• 2 large carrots, peeled and chopped in the food processor
• 1/2 a large Vidalia or Bermuda onion, chopped
• 3 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 1/2 tsp Van Roehling Sizzlin' Oak Steak seasoning (order here) or 1-2 tbsp of 'Better than Bullion' beef base or 3 beef bullion cubes
• 2 bay leaves (dried)
• 3 hatch chiles, chopped (we roast our own but canned will work)
• 1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can (6 oz) tomato paste 
• 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes (or fresh if possible)
• 2 tsp chili powder, divided
• 2 tsp cumin, divided
• 2-3 tbsp vinegar
• 1/3 cup of your favorite beer (any type except a sour or weissen is fine)
• 1/3 cup water (or more)
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 to 1 1/4 lb ground turkey 
• Salt and pepper as desired

How to make:

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker from the above except brown sugar, turkey, salt and pepper, using one teaspoon of cumin and one teaspoon of chili powder and reserving the rest. 

In a large pan on the stove top, gently cook and break apart turkey. Add remaining cumin, chili powder and brown sugar. Cook until no pink remains, but don't allow turkey to brown. Add to slow cooker.

Cook on low for 5 hours or more, turning to warm once the flavors have combined. 

Top with your favorite garnishes and enjoy!

Van Roehling seasonings rock

 

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Foodies, rejoice - Houston culinary adventures

I like adventures. Traveling, learning, trying new skills - and especially eating. It's rare for me to miss out on good food. When it comes to telling a story about food, the next best thing after being there and enjoying the food is the memory of such joy, in the form of pictures.   

Here are a few from a recent collection: Corey's visit, and then from the just-opened and much anticipated The Pass and Provisions from Pilot Light Restaurant Group. 

Grilled tuna, pineapple-cilantro salsa, grilled avocado with watermelon

Corey is an adventurous foodie, which I love, because it's like the icing on the cake to hang out with her and enjoy food so much. She was craving fresh tuna (not available in Trinidad) so this was a wonderful Saturday lunch made at our house. It was ridiculously good, the tuna was seared perfectly, and I'd never tried grilled avocado. The watermelon provides an exclamation point of color and flavor.  

Then there were the favorite foodie fixes on Corey's list, including shrimp corn dogs at Haven and diver scallops in a green pea broth at Brasserie 19. It was a quiet afternoon before the dinner rush, so we had a great visit with Executive Chef Amanda McGraw.

Haven's shrimp corn dogs, lemonade

Brasserie 19 Executive Chef Amanda McGraw

Diver scallops from Brasserie 19

Illuminated foyer at The Pass and Provisions

The Pass and Provisions is such a treat for us, as we mourned the closure of Gravitas and the ensuing empty space at the end of our street. We feel like we won BIG with the opening of this amazing space brought to our community by the Pilot Light Restaurant Group, and outstanding menu meant to be shared. 

After all, we live an entire 10 houses away from the restaurant, so you can't beat the commute. Oh, and our friend Marty custom-built many elements of this funky space, including the bar structure, finishes and furniture.  

Have I mentioned how much I love living here?

Truffled maitaki mushroom pizza, fontina

Shaved potato and thyme pizza, tallegio

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Lighter fare: kitchen sink summer soup

It's summer, the appetite is a little more in check, and so we crave lighter, healthier fare. I'm not a huge soup fan, but every now and then it's so pleasurable. I made up this recipe by accident. This soup lets you throw in everything but the kitchen sink - as long as you stick to vegetables and stay away from fatty or starchy additions.   

Collard and kitchen sink summer soup

This soup starts with a quick saute, followed by the addition of the remaining ingredients and a short simmer. You can switch out ingredients according to whatever is in the fridge.

Collard and Kitchen Sink Summer Soup

What's in it:

• About two smallish carrots or 6-7 baby carrots, thinly sliced with a mandolin
• One large clove of garlic, minced
• Half a head of collard greens or kale, cut into thin strips
• About 5 cups of good chicken broth or stock (I make my own in large batches and freeze it in one-cup measures)
• 2 green onions, tops cut off then sliced into 1/8 inch rounds
• About 8-10 square wonton wrappers, cut into smaller squares or triangles
• One teaspoon dark sesame oil  
• Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
• A dab of Sriracha (to your heat preference)

How to make it:

Saute carrots, garlic and collards or kale over medium heat with cooking spray or olive oil for 7 or so minutes, until they begin to get tender. 

Add broth, onions, wonton wrappers, sesame oil and salt and pepper. 

Simmer for 20 minutes. Serve it up, add your Sriracha and enjoy!

Ideas for substitutions or additions: shaved leeks instead of green onions; cabbage instead of collards/kale; add in sugar snap peas at the end

 

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Turkey Meatloaf ... Living on Leftovers

Ready to go into the oven

Since it's summer, one of the last things to hit the menu is meatloaf. But I'd contend that comfort food is year-round. Since I only purchase ground beef about four times a year, I moved to meatloaf made with ground turkey some time ago. I've gradually been updating one of my fave recipes to sneak in more of those healthful veggies. Try this one out - it's a barbeque theme and makes awesome leftovers!

Finished product! I couldn't help taking a bite first.

Turkey Meatloaf with Secret Veggies

[the loaf]

1 egg

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 - 1 1/4 pounds ground turkey

1/2 - 3/4 c. fresh bread crumbs (process in your food processor)
About 6-8 sprigs of fresh parsley, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/2 onion or 3 green onions or 1 large shallot, finely chopped
1/4 large green bell pepper, chopped

1/2 medium red bell pepper, chopped

2 peeled carrots, put through the food processor until finely chopped

1/3 of one large zucchini, put through the food processor until finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

[the sauce]
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup water or beef stock (can use bouillon)
3 tbsp. Balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce 

Combine the sauce ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat together the egg and olive oil. Add in remaining loaf ingredients (hint: mix veggies in separate bowl then add to turkey, etc.) and 2/3 cup of the sauce. Mix gently. If possible, put the bowl in the fridge and let the flavors steep for a few hours. 

Place into shallow 7x10 in. pan or bread loaf tin, lightly oiled. I prefer the 7x10 pan so I can free-form it. Brush just enough sauce over meat loaf to coat. Bake in a 350 degrees Fahrenheit oven for up to one hour and 15 minutes. Let it sit for 15 or so minutes before serving.

When the meatloaf is nearly finished baking, put the rest of the sauce in a small saucepan and gently simmer on the lowest heat, mostly covered, so it reduces just a bit and the flavors concentrate. Drizzle some of this lovely sauce over each piece.

This meatloaf is great with mashed cauliflower as a substitute for mashed potatoes (also better for summer eating). 

 

[leftover ideas]

- Enjoy cold meatloaf sliced and tucked into whole wheat pita along with homemade coleslaw. 

- Make a shepherd's pie out of crumbled meatloaf along with leftover sauce as the base. You might have to make extra sauce.

- Pizza! Cut meatloaf into bite-sized pieces as a pizza topping, along with extra barbeque sauce, thinly sliced green onions, sharp cheddar or Jack cheese, jalapenos and maybe some cilantro sprinkled on after baking.  

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Loafing around

Feeling industrious, I decided to make use of a bunch of small quantities of leftover dried fruits. I don't normally make sweet stuff, but couldn't resist trying out and modifying a recipe I found on an Australian site for an apricot/fig/raisin loaf. This recipe owes a lot of its success to the base of the batter sitting in the fridge overnight. I added vegetable oil to make it really moist. Greg gave this one a double thumbs-up, so it made clearance for the blog!

Rich 'n' fruity loaf

Rich 'n' Fruity Loaf

What you need:

• 2 cups of dried fruits of your choice - I used apricots, figs, dates, currants and cranberries 
• 1/2 cup sugar (I used 1/4 cup of cane sugar and 1/4 cup of brown sugar)
  1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves or allspice
• 2 cups self-raising flour 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil  
• 1/2 cup sliced or coarsely ground almonds 

How to make:

In a large food storage container, combine fruits, spices, flour and milk. Mix well. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a standard loaf pan. Remove the batter from the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for 20 minutes. Blend in the oil and baking powder, and let it sit another 5-10 minutes. Add half the almonds. Stir until just combined.

Spoon mixture into prepared pan. Sprinkle with remaining almonds. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Stand in pan for 5 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool (careful or the almonds on top will fly all over the kitchen! oops). 

Best when you cut this into thin slices (it is very rich), toast them and serve with butter.

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