SHOW & RECIPE FOR SEPT. 8

ARMANDO’S REDUX
It wasn’t too long ago that one of the hottest restaurants in Houston was called Armando’s – a place that blended the joys of our beloved Tex-Mex cuisine with the joys of seeing and being seen, a social gathering place by way of upscale watering hole. That era at Armando’s ended, leaving its owner to concentrate on founding a museum for Latin American art. Now, Armando Palacios is back in the food business, and he joins us in the studio to tell us what’s old – and of course, what’s new, starting with a brand-new location.

THE CODE OF DA VINCI
Before Da Vinci came to be understood as Leonardo’s last name, it was the town from which he hailed in the Tuscany region of Italy. And some of the greatest things Leonardo DIDN’T invent were the wines of this lovely area, including world-famous Chianti. Today, for our Grape & Grain segment, we sit down at the Tuscan winery that markets its wines as “Da Vinci” in the United States. We speak with the marketing director, along with the woman who leads increasing numbers of tours of the winery and the chef who cooks every day in its incredible restaurant.

A TALE OF TWO MUSEUMS
Houston is a city of intriguing museums, and quite often there’s more than one exciting museum event at a time. In our studio, we chat with the curator of the show at the Houston Museum of Natural Science inspired by the 3-million-year-old Ethiopian fossil of a girl named Lucy – and also with a curator from the Museum of Fine Arts, talking about the current cinema retrospective honoring the recently deceased Italian master Michelangelo Antonioni. By coincidence, we’ll be focusing on the cultures of Ethiopia and Italy, two countries in bitter conflict in the days before World War II.

This Week’s Delicious Mischief Recipe…
PASTEL DE TRES LECHES

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
5 eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup whole milk
7 ounces sweetened condensed milk
6 ounces evaporated milk

Topping:
¾ cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Sift together the flour and baking powder. Cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla, beating well. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture a little at a time, mixing until incorporated. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes. Let cool. Pierce the cake with a fork in about 10 places. In a bowl, combine the milk, condensed milk and evaporated milk and pour over the cake. Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving. To make the topping, whip together all ingredients until thick and spread over the top of the chilled cake. Serves 6-8.