Show & Recipe for Jan. 20

THE BUSINESS OF DINING
Poor management, thieving employees, cursed locations – you hear a lot of reasons given whenever a restaurant gets into trouble or closes its doors forever. But Bret Wieman and his wife Cheryl Kirsten have built a successful business in Houston buying places that have fallen on hard times and doing all the right things right – while keeping as many employees as possible. Talking to them is a real education in what really matters when it comes to a restaurant making it.

MASTERS OF SCOTCH
We’ve always been fascinated with Scotch whiskey, even though we haven’t always liked drinking the stuff. Those tastes of smoke and peat its fans adore has always struck us as an “acquired taste” – one we never got around to acquiring. Still, when every few months now, we sit down for a Grape & Grain tasting at Spec’s with Scotch ambassador Simon Brooking, the combination of the whiskey and his accent keeps bringing us around. We’ll be tasting the “heather on the hill” from Brigadoon before long.

PAOLA AND THE DANCE
Certainly the Dominic Walsh Dance Theater is a Houston treasure, as has been recognized both locally and nationally – and part of that treasure status comes from the small group of gifted dances that has gathered around the company’s namesake. No one of those is more important to the look and style that “is Dominic” than Chilean-born, Greek-heritaged Paola Georgudis. The lovely Paola joins us to talk about an upcoming celebration of two Italian choreographers.

This Week’s Delicious Mischief recipe…
FOIE GRAS AND SHRIMP RAVIOLI

1 ½ cup diced foie gras, cleaned and deveined
18 large shrimp, peeled
¼ cup heavy cream
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2/3 pound all-purpose flour
3 large eggs, beaten
1/3 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons vegetable oil
½ cup foie gras or duck fat
2 whole leeks, white part only, julienned
2 cups duck stock
2 cups shrimp stock

To prepare the filling, puree 1 cup diced foie gras with 10 of the shrimp. In a saucepan, bring the cream to a quick boil and let cool down. Add to the foie gras-shrimp mixture, processing until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Let cool. Mix the flour, eggs, salt and oil in a large bowl. Using your hands, shape into a ball, cover and let rest for 1 hour. Divide the dough into 2 equal parts and roll each out into a large, very thin rectangle. Fill 1 square with 1 tablespoon about 1 inch apart, then cover with the other pasta square. Cut out ravioli using a pizza cutter and crimp the edges sealed with a fork.

Prepare the Leek Fondue by heating the foie gras or duck fat in a pan and braising the leeks for 20 minutes, until very soft. Drain on paper towels. Saute the remaining shrimp in the fat. Prepare the Shrimp-Foie Gras Essence by reducing the duck and shrimp stock over high to only 1 cup. When reduced, puree the stock with the remaining diced foie gras. Cook the ravioli in boiling salted water for about 5 minutes. To serve, make a mound of leeks on each of 8 warmed dinner plate, then set 2 ravioli on top. Spoon the Shrimp-Foie Gras Essence around the plate. Garnish with sautéed shrimp. Serves 8.