Cake and cranberries

Carol made Mrs. Billett's white cake  with vanilla butter cream for her games group.  It was delicious and the winning cake in a Southern Living contest.  Jennifer prepared sugared cranberries to garnish the cake.  I bet that was beautiful - the white cake with the red cranberries. 

 

I first had sugared cranberries at Bengy's and made them for Christmas last year.  They were a huge hit and simple to make.

Brunch at benjy's

A small contingent of the Gourmet Gals met for brunch on a rainy Sunday.  Brunch is served starting at 11:00 and reservations are necessary.  Benjy's is a trendy yet friendly place with awesome food.  

As with other meal times at benjy's, small bites are served.  Brunch featured spice muffins which tasted of cinnamon and savory biscuits.  Creamy apple butter was served on the side.  We also enjoyed blood orange mimosas.

  

We started off with biscuits with hamburger gravy.  The biscuits were amazingly flaky and I would have loved to have them alone with butter and jelly.  The gravy was like S.O.S. that my parents make and I now make as comfort food.  It was lightly seasoned and delicious with the biscuits.

For entrees we had nut crusted french toast with berries, nut crusted chicken with potatoes (which are ADDICTIVE) and corn puree and crab cakes with a side of eggs, fruit and potatoes.  

The french toast was flavorful even without syrup and light with no greasiness. 

The nut crusted chicken is the same that is served for dinner.  The portion is huge and there is a wonderful crispy crust.

The crab cakes had some cumin and nice overall flavor.  With the sauce it was like an eggs Benedict with crab cakes rather than English muffins.

Chrstmas Dinner 2011

Christmas Dinner 2011 was held at benjy's on Washington Street.  All were in attendance except for Lauren and Carol.  

I must say... this is now my favorite restaurant.  Everything was wonderful.  The staff was the nicest and most accommodating that I have ever encountered.  This is a VERY trendy bar and restaurant where I would not have been surprised if the staff were rude and uptight, especially since this is such a happening, "place to be seen", Washington Avenue hot spot.  I shall share examples of the awesome staff as I recount the evening.

 Mary, Janet and I arrived first and started at the upstairs bar.  At 6:30 pm, it was packed.  There was plenty of seating and standing areas and an outdoor patio.  The menu featured happy hour drink and appetizer specials.  Mary and I had the blood orange margaritas that were delicious!  The drinks were a bright orangey pink color, very sweet and with a hint of tequila.  YUM.  The waiter brought us water with our drinks, which is uncommon in a bar, but very appreciated and a nice touch.

At our reservation time of 7, the maître d' came upstairs to find us and told us we could have a table or a booth.  He seemed to really care which we preferred.  When we went downstairs and met Tonya he told us the booth was almost ready.  Upon sitting we were gives a triplet of munchies:  sugared cranberries, two types of sliced pickles and a wonderful flat bread.   Each item had us guessing as to how it was prepared and the waiter was happy to tell us.  He said the sugared cranberries were raw cranberries soaked in simple syrup (he told us that simple syrup is sugar and water HAHA) and then rolled in plain sugar and air dried on trays and "thrown in Tupperware".  The berries were tart and sweet and delectable.  The pickles were mild and the flat bread was very thin and crisp and like nothing I have ever had.  It was an usual pairing of treats but all delicious.

For dinner, Mary and I ordered the crunchy nut chicken which was 2 slices of a chicken breast coated in nuts (when asked, the waiter mentioned about 10 nuts) and served with potato gratin, asparagus, corn reduction and a balsamic vinegar sauce.  It was very very good and a huge portion for only $16.95. 

CRUNCHY CHICKEN
nut crusted + marbled potato gratin
+ sweet corn reduction 16.95

Janet had the:

HOUSE RICOTTA RAVIOLI
local shrimp + lump crab + forest
mushrooms + piquillo cream 17.95

I did not sample the ravioli, and the plate was beautiful with large shrimp piled high.

And Tonya had the:

RED WINE BRAISED BEEF SHORT RIBS
jalapeño-potato cream
+ warm brussels sprout salad 22.95

Tonya shared some of her ribs with me and they were AMAZING.  So very tender and flavorful.  The brussels spouts were delicious as well.  Next time, I will order the ribs.

A manager took our dessert orders and this was part of the entire restaurant staff working as a team.  I often saw others helping the waiters get their orders in ASAP to ensure food arrived quickly, which it did.  For dessert, I had read in reviews that Mom's chocolate cake was the one to order.  I like chocolate, but it is not my favorite desert.  I asked the manager about the banana pudding and if it was worth it.  Because yes, I have been places before and asked about desserts and was steered away from one, ordered it anyway, and was very disappointed.  Why would a restaurant have a sub-par offering on the menu?  The manager told me "get the banana pudding".  I did.  Mary ordered a challah bread pudding with white chocolate ice cream and Janet and Tonya ordered the chocolate cake.

When the desserts arrived, the waiter brought an extra chocolate cake for me and Mary to share!  How wonderful and totally unexpected!  The cake had two huge pieces, so I know Tonya or Janet would have given Mary and me a bite (we all shared our entrees).   Instead, Mary and I enjoyed our desserts as well as the cake.

The banana pudding, pictured below, had a silky, sweet meringue and the pudding tasted as if it had some peanut butter in it.  It also had peanut butter cookies rather than vanilla wafers.  On the side were two homemade peanut butter cookies and two homemade chocolate chip cookies.  All were wonderful.

The chocolate cake was divine with a ganache like chocolate icing with pecans and it was served with homemade vanilla ice cream.  

I highly recommend benjy's.  The staff is wonderful, the food is reasonably priced and delicious and there is great people watching of the young and hip of Houston's inner loop.

RDG

For the final night of Houston Restaurant Weeks, we dined at RDG Bar Annie.  There is a sitting room and private dining rooms downstairs and the bar and restaurant are upstairs.  When we arrived the happy hour was hopping in the bar that also includes an outdoor patio. 

Our first table was just off the bar and the noise was so loud that we could not hear over the boisterous crowd!  We asked the hostess for a new location and she gladly complied.  Our final table was in view of the kitchen where we could see the calm Robert Del Grande walking amongst his chefs, who also seemed very calm.  Their demeanor went well with the soothing atmosphere of the wood paneled dining room.

RDG offered a 4-course dinner deal with two starters, a main course and dessert.  Appetizers included polenta, trout with egg salad, and pear and endive salad with a spicy dressing.  Entrees ordered were the strip steak with hominy and salmon with ginger slaw.  For desert the choice was unanimous of cheesecake covered in caramel.  All entrees were delicious and several had lots of heat!

Brennan's of Houston

Another week in August, another week celebrating Houston Restaurant Weeks.  This week it was Brennan's of Houston and the food and atmosphere were both amazing! 

After being seated at our table featuring high backed chairs we ordered our three course meals.  Appetizers included shrimp and grits, the famous turtle soup and a salad featuring peaches and a sunflower seed brittle.  The shrimp and grits were my favorite even though I ordered the turtle soup!  The soup was thick and made from a brown roux and it was finished with a drizzle of sherry.  The salad was delicious and my second favorite appetizer.  I HAD to order the famous soup, which I did enjoy and finish, and fortunately my table mates were happy to share a taste of their dishes.

Entrees ordered were the filet of beef with delicious mashed potatoes over a bacon tomato jam and shrimp creole.  The steak was very tender and the bacon tomato jam gave the potatoes a bacon flavor that was very nice.  The shrimp creole featured large, fresh, perfectly cooked shrimp and a mild sauce that were served table side over a bed of rice.

All three of the dessert choices were ordered and these were strawberry shortcake, bread pudding and bananas foster.  All were delicious!  The strawberry shortcake had a strawberry puree with a biscuit covered in berries, fresh cream and another biscuit.  The bread pudding was accompanied by pecans and a whiskey sauce and was sinfully delicious.  Prepared table side, the bananas foster was served with a rum sauce, home made ice cream and a beautiful white bowl decorated with hearts made from powdered cinnamon.

Haven

A delegation of the Gourmet Gals dined at Haven on August 17, 2011 in celebration of Houston Restaurant Weeks. This is a month long celebration where restaurants offer 3-course $20 lunches and $35 dinners and money is donated to the Houston Food Bank.

We chose Haven and its southern cuisine from the long list of wonderful restaurants and the food was outstanding. So far almost $11,000 has been donated and Haven is hoping to break last year's record of over $20,000.

Appetizers enjoyed included the corn soup, baby arugula and peach salad and fried chicken livers with biscuits and gravy. YES, chicken livers! They were delicious and coated in a crispy, golden brown batter.

For entrees, most ordered the Akaushi steak which comes from cows raised in Texas that are the same breed as the Kobe cows in Japan. (More information can be found here). The steak was amazingly tender and stuffed with a thin line of brie cheese that oozed out with each bite. One brave soul faced her fear of shrimp heads and ordered the wild head on shrimp with shrimp boudin, andouille and grits. All entrees were delicious.

Finally, for dessert there was coconut tres leches bread pudding with a Swiss meringue and chocolate layer cake with homemade vanilla ice cream. YUM.

The Houston Restaurant Weeks is a great way to try trendy restaurants without spending $100 AND it all supports the Houston Food Bank. The Haven menu can be found here.

Christmas Dinner 2010

A partial gathering of the Gourmet Gals was held at Hugo's to celebrate Christmas. The restaurant was beautifully decorated with poinsettias everywhere, including a 20-foot tree made out of the red plants and white lights. The picture below does not do it justice (the lighting was very low).

Three of us started with margaritas that were "shaken" at the table and served with much pizazz. Then everyone had a salad, either the house salad or the mango and avocado salad.

• Ensalada de la Casa: watercress, endive, arugula, mache, beet, xoconostle, mint, cilantro, orange and lime zest, shaved fennel, chayote,pomegranate seeds and toasted almonds.
• Ensalada de Aguacate y Mango: avocado and mango salad with blue cheese and pumpkin seeds.

Entrees ordered included:

• Evening Special: pan fried red snapper with lump crab meat, a squash tamale, blue potato mash, Swiss chard and two mussels.
• Sopa de Albondiguitas: rich, spicy broth with vegetables and small beef and pork meatballs.
• Cabrito: roasted goat meat pulled from the bone, served with nopales asados, guacamole and salsa de habanero

Though thoroughly full with the amazing dishes above, as Gourmet Gals, we pressed on to dessert, choosing four different ones and then sampling all.

• A chocolate pyramid that had a shell full of chocolate mousse and a side of ice cream.
• Crepes with caramel and a side of ice cream.
• Bread pudding with a side of ice cream.
• Chocolate cake with coffee ice cream.

All were divine and well worth the calories!

Merry Christmas!

Collard Greens...

My mom gave me some fresh collard greens she received from a friend's garden. She told me she made some and they were bitter. I stuck the greens in my refrigerator and thought maybe I would not take up the challenge of making collard greens taste good.

Friday night I ate at a fancy comfort food restaurant (South Street Dining on Kuykendahl) and I asked for spinach rather than carrots. The waitress said they may be out of spinach and if so, how about some collard greens? She then said "they are good.. a little bitter". REALLY?! A CHEF cannot make greens not be bitter?! How was I going to?

So Sunday I was bored and decided to tackle the greens. I went to one of my favorite recipe sites, http://www.allrecipes.com/, and found a recipe for Southern as You Can Get Collard Greens and decided it looked so easy how can I not try it? I did not have ham hocks, so I used a couple of slices of bacon. I also added, as recommended by reviewers, some honey, red pepper flakes, garlic salt, onion bits and for the heck of it, a couple sprigs of fresh thyme.

WOW! These were delicious! Not bitter at all! I wished I had some ham with them and cornbread. Next time I will create a meal around these greens.

t'afia

We celebrated on March 26, 2010 at t'afia for our special dinner that normally takes place in December. All attended, except for Mary.

When I arrived, wondering if I would see famous chef Monica Pope, I was pleasantly surprised to see Monica taking part in what looked like a photo shoot for The Houston Press. I will keep a look out for her in a future publication!

I started out with a ratafia with strawberries. Very yummy. I also had an endive salad (which was so good!), pistachio crusted salmon with an orange drizzle and the best spinach I have ever had and creme brulee for dessert. Janet also had the salmon, Tonya and Teresa had scallops with a chile sauce and quinoa and Carol had the veal. I think between the 5 of us we had every dessert and all were tasty. Carol liked my creme brulee the best, but I thought the chocolate brownies and mouse were very good.

La Baraonda

I feel compelled to report a bad dining experience. (Well, maybe not bad, but a bit disappointing at least!)

Joe and I ate at La Baraonda last night, which is on 1960 right outside our neighborhood. We've been a couple of times before and really enjoyed it.

They had osso buco on the special menu last night, so I decided to go for it. I won't claim to be an osso buco expert, and I've never made it, but this one just wasn't quite right. Maybe I've been spoiled by really good osso buco in the past? I brought home my leftovers, and I'm not even sure I want to eat it, but at least now I have photographic evidence!

When I've had this before it was much more tender ... falling off the bone. This wasn't really tough, but it's veal ... come on! Also when I've had this before it was cooked in a sauce that had just a little tomato in it, and the sauce flavored the meat and the meat flavored the sauce ... wonderful! I don't know how they cooked this, but it looks like they poured Chef Boyardee over the top. I hope this poor baby cow did not suffer too much, because La Baraonda did him no justice.

And then the "risotto." We have made risotto together before, so you will all agree with me that this just isn't right! Don't call it risotto if you are serving rice, and not even very good rice!

But of course, I did not complain. I'm such a wus! I never want to cause a scene, and I didn't want Joe to be mad, so I just ate and smiled and brought home my leftovers to share with you ...