The Sauce

It used to not be on the menu, it was just a very well known secret.  My friend Sheryl introduced me to it.  We started by dipping our chips in to it but eventually ended up dousing everything on our plates with it. It was a good secret to know.  The ‘it’ is Chuy’s creamy jalapeno dip and if you’ve had it, you know exactly what I am talking about.  The stuff is as legendary as Kraft macaroni and cheese or a good batch of Ronald’s fries.  

I would describe Chuy’s as Tex-Mex Elvis-a-fied TGIFriday’s.  It has lots of tacky junk tacked to the walls and you can dine in a Cadillac but unlike TGIFriday’s it’s actually cool to go to Chuy’s in spite of the cheese factor.  It’s the kind of place where you can openly drink a frozen margarita and not feel like a dick because everyone else is happily having one too.  Specifically the ridiculous ‘dot’ or ‘double dot’ which is a frozen margarita served in a bathtub of a glass with a dot or a double dot of strawberry margarita in the center. It’s Disneyland level dining for adults.  

I don’t know what they put in that sauce to make it so awesome.  I’ve been trying to replicate it for years.  When I lived in Texas some of my friends speculated that the backbone of the sauce was ranch dressing.  At home I mainly use the creamy jalapeno for fish tacos but I also use it as a crudite dip served with jicama and peppers.  Apparently I now have the chance to compare mine to the real deal, Chuy’s just went national and opened an Atlanta location.

Creamy Jalapeno Dip - Makes about 1 cup

1 - 4.5 ounce can green chiles

4 ounces sour cream

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1 bunch cilantro

Juice of 1 lime

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1/3 of a jalapeno, minced or 5 pickled jalapeno slices

1 tablespoon pickled jalapeno water from the jar

Place everything in a food processor and process until blended.

Holiday Traditions

I lament the loss of summer, I really do, I get frustrated about the homogeneity of the produce section. However winter brings a whole different cooking approach; my feeling about winter is you can't cook with enough booze. Come wintertime I am warming up all sorts of vegetables and meats with sherry, Madeira, Grand Marnier, Pernod, Brandy and regular old wine. Cooking straight out of the liquor cabinet.

Thanksgiving preparation usually marks the watershed trip to the liquor store to purchase all sorts of booze we don't drink, well, most of it. The one exception is the Grand Ma. I used to make the cranberry sauce with it and the ritual went, a shot Grand Ma for the relish and a shot of Grand Ma for the cook, and any other cooks (Jim), to sip to make the chores a little easier. When the bottle of Grand Ma is all gone (and it usually lasts through January and sometimes February) that marks the official end to the holiday season. We now use Jim's cranberry recipe, which uses a bottle of wine, but we still keep the Grand Ma tradition. Grand Ma also helps with the hanging of the lights on the house, tree decorating, cold weather in a town that doesn't believe in insulation and generally making merry; feel free to use in place of egg nog.

I've never met a mushroom that didn't want to be paired with a fortified wine. This 'bread pudding' has replaced our stuffing or dressing or whatever you may call it. I originally found this recipe in Food&Wine, but it was not playing by the winter cooking rules, so I ‘corrected’ it. In spite of what F&W says Jim has found letting the mixture soak overnight creates a creamier texture, but not longer than just one night. And please excuse the mess of brown that is the photo, it tastes better than it photographs.

Mushroom Bread Pudding (Adapted from Food & Wine) Serves 8

4 cups bread cubes from a Challah loaf

1.5 lbs. mixed mushrooms, sliced

1/2 cup chopped shallot

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup chopped flat leaf parsley

2 large garlic cloves, minced

2 cups half and half

4 large eggs

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons Madeira

salt + pepper

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

Pre-heat the oven to 350. Bake bread cubes on baking sheet about 12 minutes until golden brown.

Heat the butter in a pan, cook the shallot until just tender, about 3 minutes, add the mushrooms, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper and continue to saute until mushroom liquid has evaporated, about 10-12 minutes. Add the Madeira and simmer until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Add in parsley, stir and remove from the heat. Let cool slightly.

Meanwhile, whisk the eggs, half and half, cheese, more salt and pepper together. Add in bread crumbs and mushroom mixture. Toss to coat. Store in fridge 6-24 hours. Toss the mixture every few hours.

Pre-heat oven to 375. Pour mixture in to a large casserole or individual ramekins. I use two large 7" ramekins. Bake for 30-40 minutes until top is crusty and interior has set.

Taking Requests...

Everyone has a skill set and not-so-skilled set. In my bag of tricks I can boast that I am an excellent parallel parker; I can fit my behemoth 20 year old station wagon into spots fit for an MG and I can do it on the passenger side too. I can poach the heck out of an egg. And I can make a damn good salad. Really. And I have a formula for it but first let me prate on about what I don’t like about other salads for entertainment value.

Entree salads are different beasts than side salads (and many people would argue there is no such thing as an entree salad), so for the sake of this blog I’m going to stick to side salads. Things wrong with side salads: boring vegetables, insipid dressings distributed by a food conglomerate, or giant trophy leaves of lettuce that slide across the plate on to the tablecloth with everything else when you cut them, proving you are an uncouth heathen. How many times have you seen cherry tomatoes, cucumber, raw mushrooms and raw onion? What do you do with that cherry tomato? Bite it whole and let the seeds and juice gag you or shoot out of your mouth on to your fellow diner? Cut it in half like some OCD salad eater? The rest is just a snooze fest. There is very little creativity when it comes to salads out there. I really can’t argue that I’m more creative because I have a formula for creating a salad, but mine taste good.

I make salad dressing at least 3x a week; why I don’t make more than a day’s worth is not a question I can answer. I have several salad dressings I make, all based on the same theory. Recently a friend of mine requested that I post my everyday salad dressing on this blog. She wanted to shave a few pounds via salad for dinner and she wanted it to taste good. The thing is I don’t really know what goes in to it. Well, of course I know what goes into it, just not the proportions. So I have tried to make it several times and when I measure it it seems off. Normally I use my leftover jelly jars and pour the ingredients in, always in the same order, I can tell based on the level in the jar what is correct.

Now, for the salad, it goes like this: greens (I usually use a lettuce - bibb, green leaf, or recently, the very cheap Romaine or spinach or arugula), a chopped fresh herb (basil, cilantro, chives, mint, fennel fronds), fruit and a protein - either a nut (always toasted), cheese or meat or sometimes a combination. Next step, goody to leaf ratio. Honestly, you prefer the goodies (goodies = good) and the goodies are anything that is not leaf. My theory is it should be about a 65% greens, 35% goodies. Then there is the dressing. It shouldn’t be cloying or mask the flavor of your food; just like wine it should complement the salad.

I normally have these items on hand in some form or another. Usually it comes in scrap form, leftover from some other dish but not enough to make a real dish, whatever herb is floating around in my vase by the sink or in the herb garden. Nuts: buy them and store them in the freezer so they don’t become rancid, we always have pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, peanuts, pignoli... whatever. Fruit: again, whatever leftover; apple, orange, blackberry, strawberry and if you don’t have those may I suggest dried cranberries, dried blueberries or golden raisins? Seal them up and they will last in the pantry. Cheeses: shaved parm, chevre, blue, gruyere or sometimes, in our case, whatever leftover, bizarro, stinky cheese Jim has picked up on a whim. Meat: think pig or cured fish; prosciutto, Spanish chorizo, bacon, pancetta, smoked trout, smoked salmon. Seriously it’s like legos, pick one ingredient, grab another and start building.

So let’s try this a few ways. Arugula, chopped Navel orange, sliced fennel, toasted pecans and chopped fennel frond. Romaine, mint, chopped cantaloupe, goat cheese and prosciutto. Spinach, basil, golden raisins, blue cheese and walnuts. It’s easy and tasty. So pick your building blocks and lessgo.

Balsamic Vinaigrette - dresses 1 head of Romaine or a side salad for 4

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, the better, the better

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoons dijon mustard (I prefer old stand-by Grey Poupon)

1 teaspoon honey

1 garlic clove cut in half on the bias

Variations

1 teaspoon Herbs de Provence

1 teaspoon Orange zest

1 teaspoon Lemon zest

Put everything in a jar and shake, or a bowl and whisk. It is preferable to make it an hour or two before dinner and let the garlic flavor infuse, discard garlic before dressing the salad. I dress the salad, meaning only the greens and mixed in herbs, 5 minutes before serving, I put the goodies on top. Nuts, meat, fruits and cheeses do not need to be covered in dressing, and really, it effects their textures and ruins their colors.

Salad with Cantaloupe, Proscuitto and Goat Cheese - Serves 2-4

1 Heart Romaine (approximately 2 cups chopped)

1 1/2 ounces goat cheese - crumbled

1 ounce prosciutto - chopped

1/2 cup cantaloupe - chopped/cubed