Category: Gulf Coast

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Why A Food Blog? Roux And A Symposium . . . Or How I Dance, Talk, And Brown Butter At The Same Time.

Greenling has delivered okra!  Harold McGee in On Food and Cooking tells us that “Okra comes from the annual plant Hibiscus (Abelmoschus) esculentus, a member of the hibiscus family and a relative of roselle and cotton.  It originated in either southwest Asia or eastern Africa, and came to the southern United States with the slave … Continue reading Why A Food Blog? Roux And A Symposium . . . Or How I Dance, Talk, And Brown Butter At The Same Time.

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Your Food Is Brought To You By . . . .

Sunday Morning by Wallace Stevens. Complacencies of the peignoir, and late Coffee and oranges in a sunny chair, And the green freedom of a cockatoo Upon a rug mingle to dissipate The holy hush of ancient sacrifice. Such a gorgeous, lush opening.  A perfect pairing with a very serious Bloody Mary from Downhouse in the … Continue reading Your Food Is Brought To You By . . . .

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The Dinner Party 2: Cooking As Grace.

Madame Babette Hersant composes the meal of a lifetime for Martinne and Philippa, daughters of a strict prophet who saved her from civil wars by taking her into their home.  Her feast offers gratitude for their kindness and at the same time a defiant gesture displaying the glory of her culinary art. Babette’s Feast generously … Continue reading The Dinner Party 2: Cooking As Grace.

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The Dinner Party: Do I Amputate, Change Out, Or Kill The Guests?

Jules-Alexandre Grün knew how to paint a dinner party.  All the light, all the wealth, all the joy.   Such a beautiful nineteen hundred and eleven, what could go wrong?   I think of the word hospitality.  Here’s a Walter Arnold photograph of the old Marine Hospital in the French Fort area of Memphis, Tennessee. … Continue reading The Dinner Party: Do I Amputate, Change Out, Or Kill The Guests?

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Terroir And Smoke: Bruichladdich Islay Barley 2007 And Smoked Catfish Étouffée With Readings From Sir Albert Howard, Aldo Leopold and Eliot Coleman.

Islay.  The name conjures salt water-spray off the North Atlantic, peat bogs rich with all that decays, limestone, spring water, geese and thrushes.  And whisky.  Laphroaig, Lagavulin and Ardbeg on the southeast shore of the island.  Bunnahabhain and Caol Ila to the northeast.  Bowmore, Bruichladdich and Port Charlotte around Loch Indaal in the middle of … Continue reading Terroir And Smoke: Bruichladdich Islay Barley 2007 And Smoked Catfish Étouffée With Readings From Sir Albert Howard, Aldo Leopold and Eliot Coleman.

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Caipirinha, the Girl From Ipanema, And World Cup 2014!

We’re preparing for Brazil vs.Germany and I’m drinking a caipirinha as we cook a Moqueca.  Why moqueca?  It’s a signature dish from Bahia!  Here’s where we are so far. I’ve halved, quartered several limes and added a spoonful of brown sugar. Also, the Rolling Stones on brown sugar. Next step, mottle. Add ice, cachaca, and … Continue reading Caipirinha, the Girl From Ipanema, And World Cup 2014!

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Traveling Through Food Wastelands, Blended Scotch, Uncle Tupelo, And Onto Good Soil.

I’m reading a Chili’s Too menu at Bush Intercontinental Airport as the Bosnia/Nigeria World Cup game buzzes overhead and travelers from the states and the rest of the known world whisk in for a few sips of sacred water and then dash back out for their gates.  I’m flying Spirit Airlines tonight which means I … Continue reading Traveling Through Food Wastelands, Blended Scotch, Uncle Tupelo, And Onto Good Soil.

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You Can’t Tuna Fish, But You Can Smoke It!

Ah, REO Speedwagon back in the early eighties.  I had traded in my Britannia Bell Bottoms, silk shirts and platform shoes for thin black ties, Guess jeans, and high tops.  The air bristled with “Roll with the Changes” and “Time for Me to Fly,” (the latter became the song for my 1981 graduating class) well … Continue reading You Can’t Tuna Fish, But You Can Smoke It!

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Adán Medrano and Truly Texas Mexican

Jon Harvey introduced me to Adán Medrano after a performance of my most recent play Rome, which featured horrible people talking about horrible things, which they may have or may have not done.  Adán loved the play, admitted he also loved Scotch, and also revealed he’s a chef with a new book coming out called Truly … Continue reading Adán Medrano and Truly Texas Mexican

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Memorial Day with Canh Bún, Saké and The Hobbit.

“In a hole in the ground lived a hobbit.”  Such an understated opening sentence and the centerpiece of our Memorial Day.  How to remember?  What food fits our remembrance?  My father served in the National Guard in the early sixties and narrowly missed going to Vietnam.  Living in Houston means a rich heritage of Vietnamese … Continue reading Memorial Day with Canh Bún, Saké and The Hobbit.