This is making me hungry for NY

chefdustinj:

Jiro Dreams of Sushi clip! Have to see this movie! 

Kale Chips

Ingredients:

• Kale – 1 bunch, washed well and shaken dry
• Olive Oil 
• 1 Tbsp Chaat Masala
• 1/2 tsp or to taste Red Chili Powder
• 1/2 tsp or to taste Salt – to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Break Kale leaves into 3 to 4 inch pieces, discarding the tough middle stem. In a small bowl, mix Olive Oil, Chaat Masala, Red Chili Powder and Salt. Pour mixture over Kale leaves and rub gently so that all leaves are lightly coated with the oil. Arrange the leaves in a single layer on a baking tray lined with parchment paper or lightly oiled. Bake for 10 – 15 minutes until leaves are lightly browned.  Allow chips to cool completely before eating.

SXSW is finally here which means an obscene amount of BBQ and brisket tacos will be consumed this week. However, I’m way ahead and have already ODed on the meatgasum that was Gauchos & Cowboys this past Sunday hosted by the Wine & Food Foundation of Texas.

The foundation knows food and how to do food BIG, Texas style. Being the consummate foodie, I pride myself in trying anything at least once, so needless to say I have been channeling my inner Andrew Zimmerman and have experienced a lot of different foods. I tasted my first roasted Elk, Antelope Sliders and Wild Boar Chili all in one afternoon. That’s a lot of firsts in one day. I ate so much meat, I’ll be forgoing the free SXSW BBQ and frequent the Vegan Yacht instead, at least until SXSWi is over and music starts. 

Chipotle-Grilled Chicken Breast with Blueberry-Peach Salsa, Chile Sautéed Spinach, and Rice Pilaf

Chef Scott Samuel notes, “You can’t go wrong with a combination of sweet, spicy and salty. Blueberry-Peach Salsa plays off perfectly against the spicy-salty chicken.

Tomato Soup is my all time favorite comfort food.

Re imagined through the artistry of Molecular Gastronomy - this reconstructed Tomato Soup seems simple enough albeit time consuming.

I wonder how much agar is mixed per ounce of fluid to make the gelatin.

I know my trainer would not approve of this Angry French Onion Soup by the guys from Epic Meal Time but I am tempted.

This one’s got bacon, french toast and onion rings and more variations of bread sticks than a peacock has colors.

After the morning SoLoMo session, the Wine Sisterhood Mischief Maker crew had lunch at Oxbow Public Market’s Kitchen Door. Chef Todd Humphries and Chef Christopher Litts prepared a unfussy lunch of comfort food using simple ingredients in inventive ways.

The first course:

Shaved Celery Salad with candied pecans, dates, gorgonzola creamy white balsamic vinaigrette.  Thinly sliced celery, pecans and dates danced a sumptuous tango in my mouth along side the gorgonzola. I would have never thought to pair these ingredients together but now I plan to rethink how I use celery in salads in the future.

Herbed Flatbread with buratta cheese and olive tapenade. Burrata is a soft texture Italian cheese, made from mozzarella and cream that has a buttery quality to it. I could have made a whole meal from just the flatbread alone but I was not trying to blow all my calories on bread, when there was plenty of wine to be drunk. ;-)

The 2nd Course:

We had a choice of Grilled Loch Duarte Salmon served with warm asparagus salad, fried capers and hollandaise sauce or Roasted Chicken served with green peppercorn gravy, mashed potatoes and mirepoix vegetables, a traditional French culinary combination of onions, carrots and celery.

I am not a fan of hollandaise sauce so I opted for the roasted chicken. Since everyone is so seemingly healthy in Napa, I was pleasantly surprised to find a thin layer of crispy skin with the fat rendered out on my chicken. God bless the Chef’s! Crispy, yet tender chicken dredged in gravy is there anything better than that?

Oh yes, chocolate chip and snickerdoodle cookies that would send Girl Scouts back to their test kitchens to reinvent their time honored cookie recipes.

All in, a great meal with great company. Next time I’m in Napa I plan to visit the Oxbow Market again to sample the rest of the food court and see whats on Kitchen Door’s local ingredient driven menu. There is something for everyone there.

Try Kitchen Door: 610 1st Street  Napa, CA 94559

I am not a night owl and I avoid Friday nights out like the plague, so I imagine my surprise to be walking on East 6th at 5:00pm and find Via 313 Detroit-style pizza was already open for business.

I agree, life is too short to eat bad pizza. Not to mention, this Austin Yankee is biased towards New York Pizza so this cookie sheet pizza dough, pepperoni and heaping layer of cheese topped it off with a thick drizzle of tomato sauce better be good.

Hooray, Via 313 doesn’t suck. The wafting aroma of baked cheesy bread goodness was so inviting, I took a bite before I could even take a picture. Clearly I need to order another slice.

Try Via 313: 1111 East 6th Street  Austin, TX

I think I heart Norman Rose and their posh comfort food without snobbery. The juicy lamb burger topped with garlic spinach and herbed goat cheese was pure pleasure. Not to mention, homemade onion dip and fresh french fries. Simple ingredients elevated with style and panache.

I paired my meal with a Hahn Winery GSM, Southern Rhone-inspired blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre. The wine’s aroma of cherry coke and pepper were the perfect complement to my most excellent burger and fries. Diner food done Napa style. Yum.

Try Norman Rose Tavern: 1401 1st Street  Napa, CA 94559

Michael Symon vs. Bobby Flay!

Burger Bash Showdown at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival.

Does Michael Symon pull a three peat? Watch to find out