SHOW & RECIPE FOR FEB. 9

This week we broadcast live from Spec’s wonderful warehouse store on Smith Street, so come by, pick up a few things for your next meal, and say hello. Also, in the spirit of Valentine’s Day, you can register to win a two-night stay at the romantic Maison Dupuy Hotel in the French Quarter of New Orleans, with a special-occasion wine dinner for two at Dominique’s. It’s all part of the upcoming New Orleans Wine Festival.

SUSHI FOR THE MANY
For a long time, it seems, sushi was the food for purists – people who tended to take yoga classes, read Eastern philosophy and discuss feng shui every time they thought about moving the sofa. Today, thanks to places like Ra Sushi in Houston, sushi is or at least can be for everybody. Our friends Bill and Jerry from Ra (as opposed to Ben and Jerry from Vermont!) teach us how to appreciate some of their finest culinary creations, along with the different kinds of sake that pair with them. Or, if you’re like me, you can still have a nice New Zealand sauvignon blanc!

WINES FOR VALENTINES
Veteran waiters may roll their eyes and grumble about “amateur night,” but Valentine’s Day (or, in this case, night) remains the single busiest day in restaurants across America – followed by Mother’s Day, which shows where all this romancing tends to lead. Our Spec’s buddy and wine guy extraordinaire Bill Coates joins us for today’s Grape & Grain segment, talking about what makes a wine “romantic.” He’ll also pour us tastes of two or three vintages he thinks especially likely to make the most of dinner with your Valentine.

THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL
Talk about romantic! Surely everyone has seen at least one movie version of “The Scarlet Pimpernel”. This time around, it’s a musical being staged at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts by Houston’s own Masquerade Theatre. These guys do some really terrific shows – as we saw a few months back with “Gypsy” – and we’ll have a chat with artistic director Phillip Duggins and “Pimpernel” star Luther Chakurian to find out how they do it. And since the last time we saw Luther, he was killing people to fill London meat pies in “Sweeney Todd,” we hope he’ll be a bit lest culinary this go-round.

JOHN’S SAY-IT-AIN’T-SO ONE-HOUR
CHICKEN AND SAUSAGE GUMBO

Sometimes, when you’re going from cookbook signing to cookbook signing far from home, you have to whip up gumbo in a hurry in some mighty strange places that aren’t exactly kitchens. You do this by “going Thoreau” and simplifying, deciding what’s really important and what’s only an old wives’ tale. Thus, this gumbo in one hour, made with one of those roast chicken Spec’s and everybody else loves to sell us these days. You may grimace at the shortcuts, but you’ll be amazed at the taste. As Justin Wilson says from somewhere in Cajun heaven, long before that guy trying to sell us suits: “I gar-on-TEE it!”

1 roast chicken
1 pound smoked sausage, sliced in coins
2 slices bacon
1 large onion, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 cups cut okra, fresh or frozen
½ cup tomato salsa
4 cups chicken broth
Creole seasoning to taste
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup vegetable oil
Chopped green onion
Streamed white rice

Remove all meat from the chicken and discard skin and bones. Brown the sausage and bacon to render the fat, then remove the meat from the pan. Saute the onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic in the fat until lightly caramelized, then add the okra and stir until soft and the mixture has thickened. Stir in salsa and cook briefly to incorporate. Pour in chicken broth and season to taste. Crumble the cooked bacon and add to the gumbo, along with the sausage and chicken.

In a separate skillet, stir together the flour and oil until smooth, then cook while stirring to form a very dark brown roux. When finished, carefully (it will bubble and splatter) add some of the gumbo to the roux and stir until thick and smooth, then repeat the process – this will “temper” the roux so it combines better. Add the tempered roux to the gumbo and cook until you run out of hour, or longer of course. Serve in bowls garnished with green onions and steamed white rice. Serves about 8.

SHOW & RECIPE FOR FEB. 2

NEW CHEF AT ALDEN’S 17
We’re back in the studio today after broadcasts from places as different as New York, Washington and Dallas – and we get to welcome the brand-new executive chef at one of our favorite local restaurants. Wes Morton comes to 17 at the Alden Hotel direct from Navio Restaurant at the Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay in California. Before that, he cooked at three super-cool eateries in the nation’s capital, Circle Bistro, Cityzen (cute name!) and Michel Richard’s Citronelle.

LATITUDES IN THE TROPICS
While we’re on the subject of 17 and the Alden, today’s show also welcomes back good friend (and cookbook co-author) Dominique Macquet of Dominique’s in New Orleans. As part of a weeklong series of promotions and cooking classes right here in Houston, Dominique joins us to discuss his (our) latest book, “Dominique’s Tropical Latitudes. In particular, we’ll talk about a special book signing and cocktail reception Dominique is doing at the Alden.

FOR LOVE OF PISCO
In the crazy, mixed-up languages of South America, pisco is named after the word “piscu,” for “little bird,” presumably because the spirit made from grapes (a brandy, in other words) can make us fly pretty high. Pisco is widely and wildly consumed in Peru and Chile, both of which fight over the creation of the pisco sour cocktail, as well as Argentina and Bolivia. In today’s Grape & Grain segment, our buddy Jean-Francois Bonnette joins us to give us a taste of the pisco sour his company is introducing to the Houston market.

This Week’s Delicious Mischief Recipe…
JALAPENO-CHEDDAR CORNBREAD

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons finely ground corn flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar
5 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 1/3 cups milk
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons seeded and chopped jalapenos

Grease a 8-by-8-inch baking pan. In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, lightly beat the egg, then whisk in the milk and butter. Combine the wet and dry ingredients, then thoroughly blend in the cheese and jalapenos. Pour into the prepared pan and bake in a preheated 350-degree oven until golden brown, about 50 minutes. Let cool. Serves 6-8.

SHOW & RECIPES FOR JAN. 26

RESOURCE FOR CHEFS
To be a top-flight chef these days, you need all the resources you can get – including information on equipment and personnel, financial and legal matters, and yes, even that all-important media training. One of the best helps for professional chefs we’ve seen is a website called starchefs.com. In our opening segment, we sit down with founding editor Antoinette Bruno in New York City to learn all about her take of the challenges facing chefs these days.

MASTER OF THE COCKTAIL
For a while, it was looking as though any weirdness you can fit into a glass could be sold and would be bought as a cocktail. But as author David Wundrich tells us, the renaissance being enjoyed by the martini and other classics points the trend-spotters in a different direction. In particular, we want to hear from David why he thinks this is happening – when just over a decade ago, cocktail making and spirit sales in general were considered an endangered species.

HEY, AREN’T YOU TIM KEATING?
Chef Tim Keating didn’t come from Houston, and he isn’t working here right now – but we’re tempted to call him “Houston’s own” anyway. We ran into the chef most recently seen here at the Four Seasons while he was attending the Star Chefs Congress in New York City, and we ask him what all he’s doing as a culinary hotshot for Disney World in Orlando. Yes, he misses us too!

This Week’s Delicious Mischief Recipe…
SHINER BOCK BARBECUED CABRITO

1 (5-6 pound) goat hind quarter, cleaned
½ cup prepared mustard
2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped
½ cup chopped cilantro
½ cup lemon pepper seasoning
½ cup chili powder
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 cup butter
1 onion, peeled and sliced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 lemons, quartered
2 limes, quartered
1 bottle Shiner Bock beer
2 cups vegetable oil
½ cup Worcestershire sauce

Rub the coat completely with the mustard. Combine the jalapenos and cilantro with seasonings in a large sealable plastic bag and place meat in the bag, turning to cover with seasonings. Close the bag and refrigerate overnight. When ready to cook, melt the butter in a saucepan and cook the onions and garlic in a large saucepan until caramelized. Add the lemons, limes and beer. When the foam subsides, stir in the oil and Worcestershire sauce. Simmer for about 25 minutes.

Prepare the grill for indirect cooking, with soaked mesquite chips for smoke. Remove the meat from the marinade and place directly on the grill and smoke for 2-3 hours, basting regularly with the sauce. When the goat’s internal temperature reaches 155 degrees, wrap it in foil and return to the grill until the internal temperature reaches 185 degrees. Remove from the grill and let meat rest for 20 meats before carving. Serve pieces on a platter with barbecue sauce on the side. Serves 6-8.

SHOW & RECIPE FOR JAN. 12

MAKING THIS ABACUS COUNT
Today’s Delicious Mischief comes to you from our neighboring Metroplex to the far north, Dallas. We began our eating and drinking tour at one of the city’s best-known fine-dining hot spots, Chef Kent Rathbun’s Abacus. To his credit, Kent refuses to fuse – so “fusion” is not a word he wants to hear about his food. Still, the confluence of many American and European classics given a twist with some of the finest sushi we’ve had anywhere certainly makes you stop and think. When it comes to cuisine, sometimes it IS a small world after all.

MASTERS OF THE MARTINI
We don’t approve of drinking and driving, of course, but when we’re in Dallas and want a martini, a drive just might be in the offing. Up in Plano we find one of the most off-the-wall, over-the-top tributes to the born-again American cocktail ever, a place called Martini Park. We were intrigued enough by the now-accepted notion that anything served in a martini glass is by definition IS a martini. But we forgot even that when we took a look at the food menu, a list of dishes concocted for their ability to pair with martinis. What a tasty concept that proved to be!

CENTER OF IT ALL
Executive chef Tom Fleming comes to his duties at Central 214 after a host of exciting opportunities, both in north Texas and in Chicago. In the latter city, in fact, his food helped chef/proprietor Jean Joho of Everest win a James Beard Best New Restaurant Award for the newer place called Brasserie Jo. Fleming carries this French training into the American food he cooks at Central 214, located in the chic and centrally located Hotel Palomar. Listening to him is hearing the many “fresh, local, seasonal” mantras of today’s American chef.

This Week’s Delicious Mischief Recipe…
BOILED BEEF WITH HORSERADISH SAUCE AND STEAMED CABBAGE

2 ½ quart water
3 pounds boneless beef rump
1 medium size carrot, peeled and sliced
2 leeks, cut in half, washed and sliced
2 turnips, peeled and sliced
½ cup chopped parsley
1 bay leaf
10 pepper corns
2 teaspoon salt
1 medium head of white cabbage

Horseradish Sauce:
½ stick of butter
¼ cup flour
2 cups beef stock
½ cup heavy cream
¼ cup prepared horseradish
1 bay leave
Salt and pepper to taste

Place the water in a medium size pot or Dutch oven; add the meat, carrots, leeks, parsnips, peppercorns, bay leaf and salt. Bring the broth to a boil, lower the heat and simmer uncovered for about two hours, skimming the top occasionally to remove any scum. When cooked (the meat should be fork tender) remove the meat, vegetables, and place on a platter, cover with foil and keep warm. Reserve the beef stock. Cut the cabbage in half, and remove the core. Slice each half into 3 wedges and place in a shallow casserole; strain 2 cups of the reserved beef stock over it. Cover the casserole and steam over low heat for 30 minutes, or until the cabbage is tender.

To make the sauce, melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Blend in the flour and cook the roux for two minutes. Mix in two cups of hot beef stock and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly until the sauce is smooth and thickened. Combine with the horseradish and cream, mix well, add salt and pepper to taste. To serve, place the steamed cabbage wedges on a heated serving platter, slice the beef across the grain about ¼ inch thick, and arrange the slices over the cabbage. Arrange the vegetables around the beef, top with a little broth, sprinkle with chopped parsley, and serve with the horseradish sauce. Serves 6.