in sausage

After too much conversation and little action, I finally made my first sausage. With the help of the one and only Sean Fenton, the whole experience turned out to be really awesome with an excellent product in the end.

If you ever need anything for cooking, curing, drying, frying, boiling, or anything to do with meat then go to Allied Kenco. Actually, if you aren't doing anything after you read this, then you should go to Allied Kenco. The place is amazing. It is a Vegetarian's Hell and my Heaven. Located just off I-45 N above the loop, Allied is inspiring, intriguing and makes you appreciate being on top of the food chain.

I think the most important lesson that came out of this first run is that sausage is easy to make, but really easy to screw up. There are a lot of rules to be followed and a good deal of time and attention is a must. It is so worth it.

I decided to make a kind of Cajun sausage recipe I found-- with some alterations. The day before I completed the sausage, I bought a couple of pounds of pork butt cuts and some other fatty cuts. I chopped this all up into 1-inch cubes, mixed in minced shallots and garlic, and my choices of spices and fresh herbs went in before chilling for 24 hours.

The next day Sean and I went to Allied Kenco to get our pork casings, stuffed them with our ground up mixture and into the Ol' Smokey it went for 6 and 1/2 hours of hickory smokin'. We took the sausage to a friend's BBQ later that evening.

Deep down I was really nervous about tasting it, especially after reading a bunch of literature about how easy it is to spoil the meat if not smoked properly. I cut it open and took a bite...hell yes. These links were really juicy with a great smoky, garlic taste and just the right amount of cayenne. The only complaint I had was that I used too much clove, which was a bit over powering. Other than that, it was a success and I can't wait to get at it again.

I did not mean to write this much-- I just wanted to share the pics, really. But if you are reading this, thanks. We are going to keep making sausage and play with some recipes. Maybe a Sausage Fest?

the last supper

Two days ago the lady and I went to Whole Foods to get dinner. We couldn't decide on a single idea, so we did what my mom used to call a "hodge-podge" night, and just grabbed what we desired: Crab cakes, garlic hummus, pita bread for the hummus, squash and carrot cake. This led us to a discussion; topic: the last meal. The Question we asked each other was, "If you could have anything that you wanted in the world to make a three course 'last meal,' what would it be?" Damn.

It took me a day to come up with my answer:

Appetizer- Fresh oysters in the shell with garlic and a little oil.

Main- Jambalaya with smoked chicken, crawfish, and shrimp.

Dessert- Tres leches cake with a raspberry sauce.


Also, I thought about what restaurant would I like to eat if it were my last meal, and I think it would be at the bar of Restaurant Desire in New Orleans.

But that is for now. Who knows whats next.

So if you have read this far then answer the question: What would be your last meal?

jon ross

Pizza Quest: Luigi's Pizzeria

Located in the shadows of midtown, Luigi's Pizzeria is currently the love of my pizza life. My lady and I met some friends and family in the small, cozy, building that is Luigi's this past Saturday night. The owner, Brad Ward, was leaning over the cash register with a confidence about him; it's like he knows that he is about to give me a pizzagasm. His Italian wife, whose presence is so comforting, like a sweet-smelling grandmother, instantly came rushing to us, pushing the small tables that her family was sitting at out of the way to accommodate us, because we are just as important to her.

I could go on and on about how much I love when families are involved with restaurants, and how I prefer those places to any other, but then you'd probably just stop reading it and call me a homo and stuff. So moving on...

Ward and wife have an excellent menu of specialty pies, which I intend on eating, but we decided to order a few custom pies topped with out favorites. To me, the true test is of a kitchen's ability to deliver a special order. If the cooks can adjust to a customer's desires, and still create an excellent dish consistently, that's when you know. Luigi's went beyond that. The pie I ordered was a large thin crust with feta, artichokes, garlic, and spinach. Without going into too much detail, every bite was flavorful, crunchy, cheesy...just really, really good. What made it even better was that Luigi's is BYOB/with no corking fees, and the beautiful regulation-sized bocce court, on which it appeared they spared no expense.

The pizza was great and the atmosphere is even better. When the weather gets a little better here in Houston I expect to be spending a lot of time at Luigi's out on the patio next to that bocce court.

Luigi's Pizzeria
3700 Almeda Road
Houston, TX

(281) 793-3333

On the Rise.

Bread. Over the holiday season, my lovely lady bought us a really great book called My Bread, by Jim Lahey, owner of Sullivan Street Bakery in New York. I had heard of the guy before, but now I have a little bit of a temporary man crush on him. In his book, Lahey lays out his "no-knead" method to baking. After years of studying the art of baking, Lahey has concluded that this is the easiest and best way to make a bread. The idea is to let the yeast and other elements in the dough do their thang, and to not disrupt the natural processes that occur. The method is INSANELY simple. It takes a few minutes to make the dough, a little patience for the rising, and just over an hour in the oven. Check it out. Try it out. Here is an article in the Times giving the recipe for a plain-ass loaf.

The lady and I have been making the whole wheat loaves (as seen above) which probably costs less than a buck to make, which tastes, feels, and smells just as good, if not better, than anything we could buy. We also have tried a few specialty loaves that Lahey recommends in the book that are all super easy and amazing. I especially like that the last chapter of the book is dedicated to meals that can be made with stale bread. We haven't had a chance to get around to those, yet.

PIZZA QUEST BACK ON: Pink's Pizza Montrose

What it do. I have been away from this for a bit. Not that anyone noticed probably, but I am back now. No need to explain that I lost focus and interest because I felt that my thoughts and feelings about food were of little significance...but I guess that is that.

Happy New Decade! This past New Year's weekend I unfortunately spent in a near drunken stupor/two-day, frat-douche keg party that my little brother threw...at our parent's house. Saturday morning I woke in a bed of self-loathing, and after a few hours showering off the filth of sour keg beer and disappointment, I decided that it was time to get back on track.

Forward motion.

Last summer a few friends of mine pleaded that I try Pink's Pizza for the quest. I heard of the place but never had tried it. I nearly forgot about it until later in the Fall a seven-foot, drunk, white guy at Cecil's Tavern screamed,"PINK'S!" at me for a good 15-20. It should be noted that this was the only English that he spoke to me that evening. He decided after meeting us that he would only speak in Spanish. I studied French.

With a slight hangover the day after New Year's, and a lust for grease and bread, I decided I had put Pink's off for too long. The lady and I stayed in our nighties and called for delivery. The menu is mouth watering and makes for a tough decision. We went with the Deuce: goat cheese, mozzarella, spinach, portobello mushrooms, roma tomatoes and garlic with a pesto sauce. I have recently found a new love for goat cheese, and I appreciated it even more with their pesto sauce, which wasn't too overwhelming nor oily. Another thumbs up goes to the mushrooms, which were cooked well enough so that there was a good flavor and aroma about them.

But unfortunately I have to say that this pizza was only just slightly above average. There were two problems I had: first, the crust was a little too soggy which if you have read past "pizza quest" entries you'd know that s*** don't fly with me; and second, the mozzarella was cooked for too long and it gave it a gummy, chewy bite to the pizza, which is something I expect from Domino's.

I am dedicated to try another one of Pink's pies, though, because I love that with only two locations withing a square mile of my place, it is like our own neighborhood pizza joint. But for now, I am still in the hunt, like a sexy lioness.



P.S. This year I have many personal culinary goals, including producing my own sausage, perfecting fried chicken, and working on Frexican food. If these things interest you, then please keep up.

Pizza Quest: Turquoise Grill. whaaaaaaaa!!!

What it do. It has been a week or two since my last post. I am currently in school, and pizza quest proves to be a little more difficult when you have little time (and little money). My latest pizza experience happened on accident. And what a wonderful accident it was.

My father's piano store, so cleverly named The Piano Store by yours truly, was located near the intersection of Richmond and Kirby until it was closed. In the same building there is a little Turkish-Mediterranean restaurant called Turquoise Grill. Sometimes my father would have events and the Turquoise Grill would cater and serve a bunch of snobby people listening to excellent pianists. The first thing you should know about Turquoise, if you have never been, is that the moment their food enters your life you are treated like a part of the family. It is the same in the cafe as it is when they cater snobby events. The Turquoise staff caters to your every need and desire, going beyond food. Few establishments even try to do that. I also love the pride they have for their food. It is their passion and they tell you all about it without hesitation. It makes me feel all gooey inside.

Friday, June 3rd, the lady and I were dropping off the rent check across the street from Turquoise and decided not to f- with going home, and just eat out. We walked in to the late afternoon crowd of five or six. The color pallet inside is as charming as our server. He walks over and begins to woo us with his recommendations in a soft, alluring tone. I have eaten the food of Turquoise many times, but for some damned reason I have passed over the Turquoise Lahmajun every time. I asked him about it. He goes on to tell me about how it is prepared and that it is Turkey's version of pizza, but better. It is a thin crusted pie with ground beef, onions, red peppers and spices. I had a knee-jerk reaction at first to say "no," but I went ahead and ordered the pizza along with salad. "Why JR?" you ask, "It's pizza." For all future purposes, I generally hate ground beef on pizza. It is never of good quality nor flavor. But I have a quest, right?

The pizza takes a while. The salad comes out first, which is below par, served with wonderful fresh baked flat bread. Turquoise also serves the Turkish beer Efes Pilsen, which is the the big name in Turkish beer. It is very tasty, hoppy and refreshing. A good summer beer. As I finish off the beer the pizza comes out. The lady and I share the 12" seen above. Our server explains that the best way to eat it: put the fresh shredded lettuce and cabbage on top, add some lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste, then fold it up and eat it like a tex-mex fajita. "This is as they do in Turkey, " he says. So I did as they do. Best pizza I have had so far on my quest. The ground beef, spices and oil, along with the lemon, red pepper and cabbage had me regretting only ordering one. And the crust was a dream-crust: thin, crunchy but not too dry and a little smokey flavor. I was destroyed.

Head over to Turquoise Grill. Order this pizza and an Efes and tell me I am wrong. I can't wait to go back and try the rice pudding which is said to be the best in Houston.

Pizza Quest continues...

Turquoise Grill
3701 Kirby Dr #160
Houston, TX 77098
(713) 526-3800

Banana Leaf

woman w/ coconut

shrimp puffs

ginger chicken

calamari

salted fish, tofu and chicken casserole

Last week I put my Urban Spoon iPhone app to use. Scrolling through the different styles of food and Malaysian caught my eye. I have seen Anthony Bourdain in Malaysia, and other Travel Channel specials, but what is Malaysian food like, really? And what is it like in Houston?

Unfortunately, only a few places pop up in the Malaysian category in Houston. Whaaaa?!?! Banana Leaf was one of them. Coincidentally the Texas Monthly that my lady just purchased had a review of Banana Leaf as being one of the best new restaurants in Texas. I did not even hesitate. I called up my life-long friends, the Brown's, and set a date. We met in a ginormous strip center off of Bellaire at Beltway 8, right in the heart of Asia-town. I had half a seizure processing this place. It looks so unnatural. I associate Asian script with pictures I have seen of Korea, and of course in Lost in Translation. Combining the bright Korean and Chinese with the lifeless, concrete shopping centers that make up most of Houston, I got really messed up for a minute. I was dazed AND confused. McConaughey is great...

Inside, Banana Leaf is a charming little room with bamboo mat walls. There are 12-15 crammed tables, two sweaty servers and an exposed kitchen. There are many cooks in the back making sweet Indian pancakes, tossing them like pizza dough. Every now and then the charming, bald head-waiter quickly goes to the back, grabs a coconut and with one movement, chops the top off, stuffs in a straw and serves it fresh to his customers. This place is producing some of the best food I have eaten in this city. It is fresh, healthy and full of interesting flavors.

I had to go over the menu about six times. This thing is monstrous. It is a novella. Immediately I see that there were two dishes I HAD to get: the Banana Leaf House Special calamari and the shrimp puffs. The calamari... I can't even explain what is all going on in there. It hits so hard. The shrimp puffs are one of the reasons God gave us shrimp. It is minced shrimp, wrapped in bacon, and then deep fried. For my main I choose the salted fish, tofu and chicken casserole. The salted fish is very dominant. It is very salty, which I love, and the texture of the tofu adds a cool element. The Browns and I also share some curry chicken, which I enjoy, and some ginger chicken. For dessert we devour one of the Indian pancakes that is folded over with banana and butter inside of it. I can't wait to go back.

Banana Leaf Malaysian Cuisine
9889 Bellaire
Houston, TX 77036

P.S. Per Sam Brown, aloe juice and vodka martinis are popular in Korea, and they are good. I'm trying some this weekend.