Tejano in Oak Cliff

It seems that everyone I know is trying to save money.  We’ve been cooking at home and taking our lunches to work a whole lot more in this new year.  I took a weekday off recently and Hubbard and I decided to go out for lunch.  Tejano has the big draw of $1.00 “small” margaritas weekdays until 5:00 or 6:00, I believe.  I should have written it down because now I’m not sure about the cut off.  It’s a daytime thing.  Other drink specials are available, too.  We decided to give it a try.  I had not been there in quite a while.

Tejano is kind of hit and miss.  The salsa is not so good.  Tastes a little like it came out of a can.  Not at all fresh.  The queso is a somewhat disappointing, too.  A little bit gelantinous and not very cheesy tasting.  The chips were OK.  I ordered a combo plate of sour cream chicken enchilada and cheese enchilada with chili.  This was much better than the appetizers.  Pretty typical of your basic enchilada plate.  But, the accompanying beans were outstanding.  Refried, while still retaining some texture.  You could see that beans were actually involved, as opposed to that kind of runny, tasteless puree that you find many places.  These beans had a lot of flavor.  Thick and savory. 

Now a word of warning.  Don’t forget to say “rocks” when you order your little margarita.  I did.  The frozen concoction is a color similar to anti-freeze.  Very artificial looking and tasting.  The rocks version is much better.  The color of lime juice, as is preferable, and very tasty.  Strangely enough, they use table salt around the rim of the glass instead of kosher.  This “small” margarita is not actually very small.  I would say the glass held at least 8 ounces.

We had the unexpected treat of running into Martin Zisman.  Martin has been a chef in these parts for years.  We first new him from his place on Ferguson about 10 or 15 years ago.  He’s also done a lot of work with Matt Martinez.  Now he’s at Tejano and we had the pleasure of reminiscing with him after lunch.

Should you go to Tejano?  Hell, yes.  It’s a TexMex classic.  The next time you find yourself on Davis Street or want to show someone an authentic Dallas Mexican food joint, drop by Tejano.  With tip, and several drinks we got out of there for $35.  Can’t beat that.

Why?

Why is it that the minute I stick my hands in a big sink full of soapy water to do dishes, one of the dogs suddenly and urgently needs to go outside?  Furthermore, why do I inevitably try to just reach over and open the door without drying my wet soapy hands?  It never works.  So, I drip water all over the place and still have to go find a towel to dry my hands and let her out.  I get back to my dishes and listen to Maxine bark her fool head off at nothing.

Then, of course, she wants to come back in.

In the Mood for Beef Stew

This recipe is adapted from an Irish Beef Stew recipe I found on Epicurious.  Really good stuff.  It should make a tasty lunch or two this week.

Beef  Stew

Oil for browning meat
3 pounds beef stew meat, cut into roughly one inch dice

1 onion, diced
6 large garlic cloves, minced

6 cups beef stock
1 beer of your choice
3/4 cup sherry (optional, taste the broth and decide)
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Some salt and pepper
2 bay leaves

3 pounds of potates, diced into 1/2 inch pieces

butter to saute’ veggies listed below
1 onion, diced
2 cups peeled and diced carrots
1 1/2 cups of quartered mushrooms

You’ll need a big pot for this.  I used a 5 1/2 quart Le Crueset Dutch oven at it was almost too full to stir by the end.  The size of the dice doesn’t matter much because the meat will be pretty much falling apart by the time you eat it.  Do what appeals to you.  I kind of like bigger pieces of meat that I have to cut with my spoon in the bowl.  Carrots and potatoes I like bite-sized.

Heat oil in the pot over medium high.  Saute’ the beef in batches, being sure to get a little crusty browning going.  We’re not just talking “make it not red anymore”.  I mean, really brown it.  You should have a crust on the bottom of the pan when you’re done.  The pieces of meat should not touch while browning.  You don’t want to crowd the pot.  It took me about three or four rounds of browning to get all the meat done.  Put each round of browned meat in a bowl to rest while you finish the other batches.

Once all the meat is browned, toss the first onion in with the grease.  You can skim some of the grease off first, if you want.  I always figure I’ll do that at the end and just leave it.  Saute’ the onion until soft and then add the garlic.  Saute it for a minute or so.  You really don’t want the garlic to brown or it will turn bitter.  You just want to be able to smell it cooking and then add the meat back into the pot. 

Add the next group of ingredients, from beef stock to bay leaves.  Stir to combine and bring to a boil.  Taste the broth and add a little salt and pepper if you need it.  Go easy.  You can always add more later, but you don’t want the meat to cook without some good flavoring.  Bring the heat back down to pretty low, cover the pot and let simmer for about and hour and half.  I kind of cock the lid so that there is a little crack for the steam to escape.  That way you can keep an eye on how hot it’s getting.  You really don’t want it to rapidly boil.  But, a nice gentle bubbling is good.  Stir often to check on progress.  Once you can cut into the meat with a spoon I would proceed to the next step.  The meat should still be toothy at this point, not just falling apart or anything.  Taste it.  I taste stuff constantly.

Add the diced potatoes and turn up the heat to get it boiling again.  Turn it back down to simmer.  In a separate pan, saute the carrots, second onion and mushrooms until they start to soften up.  Then toss them into the pot with everything else.  Cook until potatoes and carrots are desired tenderness, probably another 45 minutes or so.  I like to smash some of the potatoes against the side of the pan as they get done to thicken up the sauce a little.  Adjust seasonings and serve with crusty bread and butter.  Maybe a little side salad and a nice Belgian beer would be good, too.

Your basic beef stew.  Yum.

Jimmy’s Food Store’s Website

Jimmy’s finally has a website and it’s just great!  Do check it out.  There’s a little overview of the merchandise they carry.  Of course, they couldn’t list everything.  There’s so much more to see.  They tell about the history of Jimmy’s and post some fun pictures.  They even have a menu with photos of the terrific sandwhiches they sell.  Don’t be fooled by the Cuban.  It’s tastier than it looks in the picture. 

Be sure and subscribe to the newsletter because that’s how I found out that they’re taking orders for burrata right now.  Also, stracchino and robiola can be ordered.  The deadline to order is Thursday the 22nd and the cheese will arrive the week of the 26th.  The burrata only has a shelf life of about 5 days, so be prepared to eat it right away.  You’ll want to eat it in the car, it’s so good.  But, wait until you get home and drizzle a little olive oil and freshly ground black pepper over it.  It’s amazing stuff.  If you’ve never had it, it’s basically a ball of fresh mozzarella with shreds of mozzarella mixed with cream inside.  Very mild cheese.  Great with some speck, proscuitto or bresaola, some olives, crusty bread or crackers… their porchetta is really good, too.  If you want to order, send an email to paul@jimmysfoodstore.com

And remember, Jimmy’s doesn’t go out of their way to charge you as much as they possibly can.  I always find that they charge much less per pound than Central Market.  Plus, it’s just a fun little shop.  Go.  You’ll like it.

Steak

Someone at work today was talking about how she didn’t see the point in spending money on steaks.  She said, “You can go to the grocery store and get a perfectly good steak for $10.  Why pay $50 for a steak?”.  I didn’t but in and start waxing on about the virtues of a good steak.  Maybe she’s never had a really good steak.

So, what about you?  Is a steak worth $50-$75?  How do you feel about steakhouses?  Is it worth the money or would you rather cook your steak at home?  Do you cook steak at all?  Do you buy the $2.99 a pound boneless top sirloin that Tom Thumb has on sale this weekend?  Or are you the type who invests a small fortune to buy from Central Market or Rudolph’s?

Never Trust a Recipe

I love those “contribution” cookbooks.  You know the kind, where people send in their own recipes.  Junior Leagues often publish them and various church groups, etc.  Long ago, when Hubbard and I didn’t know anything about cooking, Hubbard tried a recipe for Corn and Sausage Chowder from one of those “contribution” books.  I think he made it the first time for some friends of ours when I was out of town.  He said it was so hot none of them could eat it.  Hubbard can eat some pretty hot stuff. 

We decided to make the chowder again today.  Let’s say we did a little improvising.  Two tablespoons of crushed red pepper became a sprinkling of crushed red pepper.  Who the hell puts two tablespoons of crushed red pepper in anything?  Two tablespoons of black pepper became a teaspoon.  Two tablespoons of oregano became a teaspoon.  Two tablespoons of bay leaf became two small bay leaves from our bush in the back yard.  Seriously, did anyone even look at this recipe before they published it?  Two tablespoons of everything?  Then it says to throw in 2-4 tablespoons of jalapeno to taste.  Taste?  After the two tablespoons of crushed red pepper I can’t imagine even noticing the jalapeno.  No mention of adding any salt at all.  Please.  At the top of the page there was some pretentious quote from the woman who submitted the recipe saying that this soup really reminded her of the food she ate in Berlin.  What?  They like to cry when they eat chowder in Berlin?

Just goes to show…  you really can’t just trust a recipe because it’s in print.  Don’t run with scissors.  And when it says to add two tablespoons of something you’ve never used more than half a teaspooon of at a one time, question it.

Rudeness in Restaurants

I think we would all agree that we prefer to have a pleasant experience when we dine out.  So, what about those restaurants like Dick’s Last Resort?  The waiters basically speak abusively to the guests, tossing things around and cause a general commotion in the dining area.  Why do people enjoy that?  Someone obviously likes it because the place has been around for a while.   Is it like going to a spook house or something?  I mean, are people so shocked by what is happening around them that they actually enjoy the poor treatment?  I have to admit that I don’t understand the attraction.

Even a place like Twisted Root Burger Co…  First, I have to say that they have the best burgers I’ve ever eaten.  But, if I were in a less than stellar mood I would pick another burger joint to visit.  There are signs around that basically convey this kind of “shut up and order” message.  ”We refuse to serve ass holes”, that kind of thing.  When your order is ready, someone calls out a funny name they’ve given you to identify your order over a microphone.  If the small dining area is filled with people and the guy is blasting out names non-stop, it can get to be a bit overwhelming.  Those things aside, the food is incredible.  I wish they had a quiet room for us old people.  Sitting outside would probably be nice when the weather is perfect.  None of the staff has ever been anything but pleasant to us at Twisted Root.  Very friendly people work there.  It simply has a somewhat chaotic feel when it’s really busy.  I don’t feel welcomed by the idea that I better have my order ready to spit out when I step up to the counter or something terrible might happen to me.  At least that’s what the sign says…

I guess I just don’t think rudeness is fun.  Call me crazy. 

No, don’t.

That would be rude.

Is it Just Me?

A couple of questions have been nagging at me recently.

First off, does that Christopher Kimball guy from Cooks Illustrated seem a bit self-absorbed?  I mean, what makes him so special?  And why does he think we all want to hear about his life down on the farm when we pick up a cooking magazine?  Maybe it’s just me.  I was watching one of their shows yesterday and he said, “Come on, I won the taste test!”  What’s that supposed to mean?  How do you win a taste test?  I wouldn’t call having an opinion “winning”.  Is it really some kind of triumph if your opinion is the same as everyone else’s opinion?  I don’t know, the guy rubs me the wrong way. 

And, seriously, have you never, ever, ever used dish soap in a cast iron skillet?  Never?  I know they say you aren’t supposed to use soap.  But, sometimes my anti-bacterial-self can’t resist.  Sorry, I felt the need to come clean on that point.  (I can’t believe I just said that.) 

And now, more coffee.

2009

Nothing like having houseguests to slow me down on the blogging!  I love it when Emma and Chris come to visit.  They just didn’t really stay long enough this time.

We had New Year’s Eve dinner at our house…

Then New Year’s Day smoked duck gumbo and black-eyed peas at the Smith’s place.  I took off Friday, which was a good thing, since I would have been seriously challenged if I had to work that day.  I’m still having a little New Year’s loafing, as a matter of fact.  Hey, why waste too much energy?  I’ve got all year to accomplish something, right?

Any resolutions?  I’m going to seriously cut down on those plastic bags at the grocery store.  I love giving myself attainable goals.  Now all I have to do is remember to take my own bags into the store.  So far, they’ve managed to stay in the back seat of the car.  Since I haven’t gone grocery shopping this year, I’m not going to count last year’s failure.  Wouldn’t want to discourage myself.  What about you?