Sizzlin' Ranch Style Paella, a Royal recipe, and a sipper to Savor from France

The Paella from Spain stays mainly on West Seventh Street and it's not plain when Michael does it.

One of our favorite all-time chefs, Michael Thomson, whose eponymous restaurant in Fort Worth's beautiful cultural district has been pleasing palates for over 15 years, is swaying to popular demand to serve Paella! Here's the caveat (apparently, this is a bi-lingual column): He's only serving it THIS weekend. In case you miss it, and I know I will 'cause I can't make it to Fort Worth this weekend, I am inviting you to inundate him with calls and emails urging him to do it again! Gently, kindly and courteously, of course. Quoth the Michael evermore: "Paella", is the National dish of Spain. Our "Contemporary Ranch" version of this Classic is a delicious blend of Seafood & Saffron scented rice dish highlighted with Shrimp, Clams, Mussels, Calamari, Chicken, Pork, and Smoked Andouille Sausage. Garnished with Artichoke Hearts, Roasted Red Peppers, Green Peas, and our Fresh Seafood~Tomato Ranchero Sauce. Enjoyed with a Bottle of Nice Red Wine, this will be a memorable meal You will be wanting to return for. Make Your reservations for Friday (lunch & dinner) or Saturday (dinner only) by calling the Restaurant at 817-877-3413. BTW, Michael also adds that they have spruced the place up, "newly remodeled". Please support one of our finest chefs whether or not he's serving ranch style Paella. Michael's is located at 3413 West 7th Street, Fort Worth, 76107.

Our friend "The Royal Chef" Darren McGrady (he was the chef at Buckingham for the Queen and also for HRH Dianna), posts a super summer recipe that we share with you now. Check out his website for more great foodie finds. Or, as he puts it: "Eating Royally, recipes and remembrances from a palace kitchen." www.TheRoyalChef.com.

This months recipe:

Summer Ribollita

Next years Royal Chef Culinary Tour will take us to Tuscany

(for more information please call Southlake Travel on 817 657 9866)

So I thought I would share a delicious Italian soup/stew with you. Ribollita means reboiled and the stew tastes even better the second day "reheated"... I cant wait for this tour.

Serves 8

1 lb cannellini beans, cooked (dried or canned)
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
4 medium red onions, peeled and diced
1 head celery, plus leaves, stalks ¾ inch chopped
1 head fresh garlic, peeled and sliced
1 lb Swiss chard stalks and leaves, stalks sliced into large matchsticks
1 bunch fresh basil, leaves picked from the stalks
1 bunch fresh mint, leaves picked from the stalks
1 bunch fresh marjoram, leaves picked from the stalks
1 small bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked from the stalks
3lb vine ripe tomatoes, skinned, seeded and rough chopped
salt and black pepper
10oz fresh spinach
2 loaves ciabatta bread, stale if possible, crusts removed

In a large heavy pan heat ¼ cup of olive oil, then add the onion and celery stalks. Stir and cook gently until they soften and brown. Add the garlic and chard stalks and continue to cook. When the garlic begins to color, add the chopped tomatoes. Season and simmer for 30 minutes: the tomatoes should reduce with the vegetables.

Stir in the chard leaves and then the spinach. Drain and add the cooked beans and
the basil, mint, marjoram and parsley. Tear up the ciabatta (1-2in pieces) and add to the soup. Check for seasoning, add salt and pepper to taste. The consistency should be very thick.

Recipe by Darren McGrady, The Royal Chef

I call your attention to Grapefest, September 17-20 in Grapevine. An exposition of the best Texas wines, lots of fun for the family, and some mighty fine cookin! Our good friend, foodie Debbie Meyer-Gore is hosting the Culinary Pavilion at this year's Grapefest and sends this link to the schedule of demos:
https://www.grapevinetexasusa.com/GrapeFest/ENT/culinary.html
It's a great way to welcome Fall, and have a ball! By all means, DO try the grape stomp. It's not as easy as Lucy and Ethel made it look.

Here's another wine find from our friends at Centennial Fine Wine and Spirits:

Taille aux Loups "Clos de Venise" Vouvray 2006

This delicious white wine is yet another example of a perfect summertime beverage that may also alter and change your perception of what a Chenin Blanc can offer. Chenin Blanc (also known as “Steen” in South Africa) is a very versatile grape varietal that can produce multiple styles of wine. As an example, when produced in the Savennieres region of Loire Valley France, it can be vinified bone dry with a mouthwatering acidity and refreshing citrus notes; however it can also produce light, semi-sweet wines with inviting green melon and honey like characteristics.

Specifically, Domaine de la Taille aux Loups “Clos de Venise” Vouvray 2006 (pronounced as Doe-main day la Tie O Lue Clo day Ven-ēs Voo-vray) is completely produced from Chenin Blanc grapes sourced from a few acres of vineyards located just outside the village of Vouvray within Loire Valley, France. The vines average from 50-75 years of age and are grown in soil mostly comprised of a mix of stony limestone and clay, which allow for the perfect ripening of the Chenin Blanc grapes. This Vouvray offers strong tropical fruit aromas and flavors of pineapple, mango and papaya with a hint of fresh ginger. The mid-palate reveals more citrus notes of pink grapefruit, nectarine and blood orange. There is plenty of bright acidity to keep it lively and should be quite long lived. Get it while you

Taille aux Loups "Clos de Venise" Vouvray 2006
Limited supply. Only 10 cases available at the following store.
Sale Price. $24.97. Retail $34.99. Save $10.02

6805 West Northwest Highway
Dallas, Texas. 75225
214-368-4162

Remember, KRLD Restaurant Week continues until Labor Day at many of the top participating restaurants. Keep doing your part to enhance your life with fine dining and to help the great work of the North Texas Food Bank and the Lena Pope Home. The complete list of restaurants continuing the three-course special dinners can be found at krld.com, guidelive.com, or opentable.com. Bon Appétit!

There's Gold (Wine) in them thar hills!

Rocky Mountain Dining and an incredible mile-and-a-half-high wine find

OK, so John Denver got it right. Rocky Mountain High Colorado is spectacular! The eagles fly, you touch the sky, and you get so high with or without assistance from controlled substances (just try exercising at 8000 feet, or playing golf like I did). On a recent jaunt through South Central Colorado (between Colorado Springs, Buena Vista/Salida, and Crested Butte), we found another reason besides hiking, fishing, and skiing to visit: wining and dining. Most small towns are lucky if they have a grits and gravy cafe. Really upscale hamlets have the requisite Starbucks. Neither elicits visions of particularly interesting wine or cuisine. But in this part of the world, there are so many well-healed expatriates (lots of Texans and Californians), that the number of good restaurants per capita soars almost as high as Mount Princeton. And, this particular point in the rarefied air of the Collegiate Range is where our tale of flavor profiles and palate pleasers begins.

Our hosts for the week-long R&R are long-time residents of the area and were primed to take us to several of their favorite foodie hot spots during our all too short respite from the Texas heat. These world travelers with intrepid constitutions were taking us for hearty mountain breakfasts (Jan's Restaurant in Buena Vista), crusty pizzas from wood-burning ovens from local favorite Amica's (Salida), and belt buster sandwiches from hippy friendly High Country Hoagies (Salida). All very tasty we thought, good ingredients, ample portions, nice surroundings, and friendly service, but the Taste-O-Meter was only slightly moving. An excursion over Monarch Pass to visit a friend in Crested Butte produced a fine lunch at the Paradise Cafe, which features a very pleasant outdoor dining area, like most of the serene settings we visited. Great salads, burgers, soups, and sweet potato fries made this stop at the foot of Mount Crested Butte really worthwhile. If you haven't been to CB, think Aspen before Tiffany's: beautiful little shops, restaurants, nice people, and manageable crowds (not as expensive either). If I had a spare million, I'd grab one of those spiffy mountainside vacation homes at a steal. Listings are plentiful in a down market.

Meanwhile, back at the headwaters of the Arkansas River in home-base Salida, while strolling and shopping we ventured past the most interesting looking dining establishment we had seen, with a picture of a chef (you can always tell the good guys in their white jackets), smiling next to Bobby Flay. Hmm. Might be on to something here. At least he hangs out with the right people. We took a look at the menu posted in the window: "Specializing in Colorado inspired cuisine; organic and sustainable ingredients; Chef/owner Kurt Boucher--The Butcher's Table." Well, at least it came by its name honestly. A chef with the French name for Butcher. A picturesque setting. A very palatable sounding menu. We got the phone number from the menu (719-530-9909) and decided to call for a reservation for an all-important birthday dinner the next evening for my darling, discriminating wife Vicki.

We arrived exactly on time for our 7 p.m. reservation. The place was nearly empty save for two tables near the back. Still early, we thought. People still out enjoying the beautiful weather. The dining room was set for a large table of 12, so we knew we'd have company eventually in the quaint room that seats about 60 to 70 altogether. The restaurant is fairly new. It has a very contemporary look. Open just a few months, but gaining a following, we're told. Perusing the menu we note a fine looking chef's three-course prix fixe menu: a baby wedge salad with Cambozola dressing, tomatoes, banana peppers, cucumbers, caramelized onions and smoked bacon bits offered for course one; a choice of locally caught black bass on a seafood nage, with grilled asparagus, ramps and foraged mushrooms; Chef Kurt's take on classic Coq Au Vin; and a Pasta du jour for the second course; and, pecan pie for dessert; all for $24.95. Looks like a great option. Let's check out the wine list and see if these selections will pair well. I remember several impressive names jumping off the list, but to tell you the truth, the only one I remember caused my eyes to jump out on cartoon stems. Everything else went out of my head when I saw the 2006 Chateau Montelena Napa Valley Chardonnay listed, way down at the bottom of the whites, for $24!!! Wait, this must be a split. Maybe it's the price by the glass? No. They are shown as a two price option with a slash (7/35 for example). The server informed us that it was neither, but was, indeed, the price for a full 750 ML bottle of the bottled gold. He said he thought the wine list was under-priced and that he tried to get the chef to raise the rates, but he insisted on wine values to compliment his cuisine. Wine value? This was the investment of the century. We ordered a bottle and told him to have additionals at the ready while we sipped the first. I said I thought this bottle would be on most restaurant wine lists for at least $125 to $150 and we giggled with anticipation. We Googled Chateau Montelena while we waited and discovered the suggested retail price for the bottle is $50. With the usual triple mark-up from retail to table (and sometimes more), this bottle could easily sell for $150 to $175 in most upscale establishments. Having just watched "Bottle Shock" in our mountain retreat the night before--the movie about Chateau Montelena's storied win in the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976--we laughed that maybe this was some of the "brown Chardonnay" that Jim Barrett thought he had produced. But, as it turned out it was golden and captivating and, unfortunately, only one of two bottles the restaurant had left in stock. I'd have rented a truck to haul off more if it were available.

Turns out that Kurt Boucher is a classically trained chef from Denver who happens to love cooking. The fact that his is the highest-end restaurant in an area with a clientele that appreciates good food is a plus. He likes to "put little wine surprises on the wine list for people who will recognize the treasure and enjoy it", he says. He plans to acquire some more Chateau Montelena, but the price this time will likely be around $36--still well below retail! I know there are other great finds on his list. But my head is still spinning from this epiphany. This place would be worth putting on your radar and if your travels take you to Salida, Colorado, stop by for a great glass of wine at a remarkable price, and a delicious menu prepared by a chef who cares. Bonus: his beautiful 10 year old daughter may greet you and seat you if it's not a school night. Check it out: www.TheButchersTable.com.

Other worthwhile finds in the area:

The Twisted Cork-Salida-719-539-7384
Laughing Ladies-Salida-719-539-4248
Benson's Tavern-Salida-719-539-9391 (also Wi-Fi hot spot)
Quincy's Steak & Spirits-Salida 719-539-3059 and Buena Vista-719-395-3160
The Golden Bee at the storied Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, with great Pub Food and Brews-719-634-7711

Italian Family Style and Helping Hungry Families

How about some yummy Italian tonight? Or, "A Tasteful Pursuit"
with Stephan Pyles to help Share Our Strength?

Congratulations to Morris and Mike Salerno, and the entire Salerno Family, for 25 years of great Italian dining at Salerno's in Flower Mound. Sublime and tasty Italian food that makes it worthwhile to drive to the 'burbs if you live downtown or even half-way across the Metroplex. Heck, if you lived here you'd be home by now, so take any freeway to any freeway and follow the signs to Salerno's. Check out these daily specials:

Mondays - All You Can Eat Lasagna, Salad and Bread $7.00/person
Tuesdays - Buy one entree (valued at $8.50 or more) and receive the second entree for 50% off
Wednesdays - Half Price House wine by the glass
Thursdays - Ladies Night! Half price margaritas, Martinis and House Wines
Saturdays - Free Tiramisu with the purchase of (2) entrees - totaling $25 or more
Sundays - Half price appetizers

Salerno's Italian Restaurant is located at 3407 Long Prairie Road, in beautiful downtown Flower Mound 75028, 972-539-9534.

Stephan Pyles again hosts a unique dinner event to raise funds to support Share Our Strength's efforts to end childhood hunger in the United States. The fabulous dinner "A Tasteful Pursuit" takes place at Stephan's eponymous restaurant in Dallas at 1807 Ross Avenue on Sunday August 30. Participating chefs include:

David Uygur, Lola;
Sara Johannes, Five Sixty by Wolfgang Puck;
Dan Yamauchi, Motor City Casino Hotel, Detroit
Bradford Thompson, James Beard Award winning chef/Food & Wine Top Ten Best New Chefs
Arturo Romanillos, Pastry Chef, Stephan Pyles

There are silent and live auctions to help raise additional funds. We bid on a cool item last year that Gary Cogill put together with tons of DVD's and a real Indianna Jones Fedora. Very slick. My wife thought the wine items were more to here liking. Tickets are $175 per person or you can host a table for $5000. Call 888.273.6141 for reservations. Or make reservations online:
"A Tasteful Pursuit" Reservations.

[If the link doesn't work, paste this gobbledygood into your browser:

https://secure2.convio.net/sos/site/Ecommerce?store_id=3901&JServSessionIdr011=kbxf0uhdc4.app13a]

News flash from Zagat.com: After shuttering his long-acclaimed Café Annie, trailblazing Houston chef-restaurateur Robert Del Grande has unveiled its successor, RDG + Bar Annie, in a new construction near the Galleria; the three-in-one concept spans two floors and features a lounge, a casual bar area and an upscale dining room serving expensive Southwestern-inflected New American fare, including some Annie classics like wood-grilled squab; tying it all together is the handsome decor done up in vibrant earth tones with mahogany touches. 1800 Post Oak Blvd., Houston; 713-840-1111


Morton's The Steakhouse is offering a secret email only menu for summer dining, featuring items like steak and seafood for two for just $99.99. Get on the Morton's email list by clicking on the link below. Or, just pop in and tell them you heard about the special menu that you can only get if you tell them you heard about the special "Escape to Morton's This Summer" menu. I don't think there is a secret handshake, or a password, but there are some tasty looking items. Enjoy!

Menu

Choice of Any Two Signature Salads

Two Single Cut Filets
Or $58 per person if you select one
of the following three steak enhancements:

Double Cut Filet Mignon • Prime Ribeye Steak
Single Cut Prime New York StripChoice of Two:
Broiled Sea Scallops, Colossal Shrimp Alexander
or Jumbo Lump Crab Cake
One Signature Potato &
One Fresh Vegetable to Share
Choice of Two:
Morton’s Legendary Hot Chocolate Cake
or Key Lime Pie
Pair your dinner with a Bottle of
2007 Estancia Pinot Noir, Monterey
or
2008 Franciscan Sauvignon Blanc, Napa
for an additional $45 per bottle.
This special is exclusively for you and a friend, and not offered
on Morton's menu. To receive this great menu, please mention
this offer on every visit now through September 30, 2009.
Visit www.mortons.com/steak to sign up for more great email offers.
Price does not include tax or gratuity.
Price may vary in select US locations & Canada.

Morton's 501 Elm Street, Dallas, TX 75202, Phone: 214-741-2277

"Restaurant Week" Etiquette, or Don't try this at home!

Restaurant Week "Etiquette"
By Jim White

As a veteran of 12 "Restaurant Weeks" I have some observations and suggestions to share. To be clear, that is 12 annual "Restaurant Weeks" dating back to 1997, rather than 12 weeks in one swell foop as some restaurants do tend to s-t-r-e-t-c-h the combination celebration, fundraiser time period well beyond the official "week". But, that's a good thing all around. First of all, it gives you a chance to try more of the great restaurants that are participating. And, just as important, it helps raise more funds for the North Texas Food Bank and the Lena Pope Home. The effort raised nearly a half-million dollars last year. This year, with over 120 restaurants, some of whom are restaurant weeking until Labor Day, it's got to exceed that amount. This is where you come in.

"Restaurant Week" is a contact sport; not for the faint of heart--or digestion. By all means, DO organize your friends in groups of 4, 6, or 8, and encourage them to recruit others to go out to as many restaurants as possible. Invite friends and family to town. Telling them you're saving money on taking them out is optional. I'd stress the good cause angle and look like a hero in mom's eye. Next, divide and conquer--try some of the restaurants on the list you've never heard of. They're all good, and this is an ideal way to discover something new and exciting. Be SURE you have a reservation. While most of the restaurateurs would probably let you in if they have an open table, the rules say "you must have a reservation". This is a courtesy to the restaurant so they know how much to buy and prepare. "Hey, I woulda baked you a cake if I'd known you were coming!" Please make sure you KEEP your reservation. Worse than not having one, is making one and then not showing up. You just aced someone else from getting a table and stiffed the restaurant. Bad manners. Bad Karma. If for some reason you cannot keep you reservation please call and let them know. These are talented people, but they are not mind-readers. When you arrive, please let them know you are there for the Restaurant Week reservation you have. This will insure that you are offered the proper menu AND that the donation mechanism engages (I believe it's a simple process of counting noses, or heads, or mostly what you have one of). Nothing worse than wandering into the restaurant, asking to be seated, having the regular menu, paying more for it than a Restaurant Week meal, AND not getting that all-important donation generated to the Food Bank or the Lena Pope Home.

I encourage you to enjoy the food and wine pairing that most of the chefs have created. They have worked hard on this. It will enhance your meal. You may try this at home, once you have received guidance from the professionals. The other strategy that many people employ is to buy a better bottle of wine than usual. The logic goes something like this, "Well, we are saving money on dinner, so let's splurge and buy that wonderful Single Vineyard Chardonnay we've been wanting to try, or Estate Bottled Cab, or highly allocated Pinot." You get the picture. In the end, it all balances out.

Now, the critical factor after a wonderful three-course dinner, the Central Market "Fourth Course", and the great wine, is to be sure and take care of your server with a worthwhile tip. Twenty per cent is the recommended percentage, but of what total? Let's play a game of "pay it forward" here. Why not round up your dinner tab, say, 15-20 per cent (to about what it might have cost if you weren't getting the Restaurant Week special), add in that nice bottle of wine, and heck, even figure the final gratuity with the tax included, and figure your 20 % on that amount. THEN you are giving the hard working server, a reason to appreciate the fact it's Restaurant Week. He or she will treat the next table even nicer than they did you. And, you'll have a warm, rosy feeling inside because you have done something nice. Given the choice between being a big tipper, or a penny pincher, always go for the former. You will like yourself much better. The generous action will definitely get filed in your "Good Karma" folder of life.

The most important advice I have for you concerning "Restaurant Week" is: ENJOY! Bon Appétit! Thanks for your support of the great causes and the wonderful restaurants participating. Gotta go! But remember, as we used to say on The KRLD Restaurant Show with Jim White, "If anybody asks you what you're making for dinner. Tell them RESERVATIONS, for Restaurant Week 2009!

Surfin' Dubai-a

We've always said, anything worth doing is worth over-doing, or at least doing it in comfort. Gotta love the ingenuity of the hospitality folks in Dubai. If you've ever burned your tootsies on the blazing sand in Florida or Hawaii, you'll love this high-tech day at the beach!

It's Fun to Know: The Cure for "Burn-Your-Feet" Beach Sand

From the land of indoor ski slopes in the middle of the desert and man-made islands in the shape of palm trees comes the latest in luxury recreation: an artificially cooled beach.

The Palazzo Versace resort in Dubai has hired an engineering firm to make sunbathing bearable during the area's 122-degree summer days. A complex system of underground heat-absorbing pipes cools the sand - cool enough to lie on. Aboveground wind turbines send cool breezes over beachgoers. The resort will also feature cooled swimming pools.

The ocean is on its own.

(Source: Popular Science)

Now, if they can just figure out something to help you get the sand out of your unmentionables after a day at the beach!

Happy Cheese Year--ciao bella!

As we head into 2009--a great year for wining and dining rumor has it--I wanted to share this bit of light-hearted culinary news with you. Next week, we'll start profiling great chefs of Savor Dallas 2009. Happy New Year!

It's Fun to Know: And You Thought the Automaker Bailout Was Cheesy?

The financial and auto industries aren't the only ones getting government handouts. The Italian government is propping up one of its "native" industries to the tune of $70.4 million by buying 200,000 wheels of cheese. Half of that is Parmigiano-Reggiano, a.k.a. Parmesan cheese. The other half is Grana Padano, another "grating" cheese. The bailout cheese will go to charity.

Italian cheesemakers have been struggling to survive, because wholesale prices have gotten so low. But the government's move is not without its critics. Some believe that the entire cheese industry needs to be overhauled, and that the bailout is nothing more than a temporary fix. Meanwhile Buffalo Mozzarella producers are fuming. They aren't receiving similar assistance, despite having an 18 percent drop in sales over the past year.

(Source: The Wall Street Journal)

Slick Chef in a Tie? Food's still great.

I kid you not. Chef Nick Badovinus is the first chef I have EVER seen in a tie while on duty! There he was last Friday night, resplendent in his sartorial grandeur, expediting the kitchen line at his new, wholly owned eatery, Neighborhood Services. First off, Nick: Change the name. Please call it Nick's Neighborhood, or Nick's Goodtime Grill, or Nick's anything. Neighborhood Services reminds me of the free methadone clinics I used to hear about when I lived in San Francisco (I was not a patron). At any rate, I digress. The food and the vibe at Nick's (Neighborhood Services) is exactly what you want from one of our first-rate, first-class, all around good guy chefs. It's sensational grub. Ribs, to live for (we don't say the die thing). Great onion rings go with that. A fun mixed grill kinda thing with quail and a tenderloin. Oh, wait, I forgot the lobster fritter starters that inspired us oldsters to start singing a chorus from Perry Como's old TV show ("letters we get letters"....we get lots and lots of letters" substitute fritters for letters and you've got it). Now, I know most of you are asking "who the hell is Perry Como?". Google great crooners and you'll know. Bono could not pull that off on live television every week. More digression. Must be the holi-daze. Nick has a neat reservations policy. There is none. But, if you call ahead and tell them you are coming in, when you arrive, somehow, you are magically put at the head of the waitlist (which is considerable on weekends 'cause Neighborhood Services is cool, and hot and new now), and boom, you're seated. Actually, I thought it was better than a reservation. Well anyway, the menu has burgers, sandwiches, great fish dishes, real food for real people. The price is right and the wine list is easy on the pocketbook and the palate. I love this place. I love that Nick (formerly head pooh-bah chef extraordianaire at Consilient Restaurants--think Hibiscus-Fireside Pies-Cuba Libra-The Porch) has his own place. Please do yourself a favor and stop in. Nick's Place, er, Neighborhood Services is in the old Rouge spot (5027 W. Lovers Lane) two blocks west of Inwood. 214-350-5027 (for that step in line call ahead deal). We are trying to talk Nick out of his kitchen so he can bring the restaurant to Savor Dallas. If you can put in a good word for us, or if you want to start the groundswell here, please respond to this blog. I will pass along your sentiments to Nick. Please also ask him to change the name of the restaurant to Nick's Neighborhood (or other suggestions welcome). What do you think? Eat at Nick's has a nice ring to it. Ciao baby.