Roasted Turkey with Garlic & Butter
This recipe is inspired by Ben Barker at the Magnolia Grill in Durham, NC

Ingredients:
Turkey, fresh- 1 (21-25#) preferably free-range, brined
Sage, fresh- 8 large sprigs, washed and dry
Thyme, fresh- 8 large sprigs, washed and dry
Bay leaves- 6-8
Parsley, fresh- 1 bunch, washed, dry and chopped fine
Garlic, fresh and peeled- as many as you can stuff into the cavity of the bird (or at least 7 heads)
Butter- 1 1/2#, 1# melted-2 sticks room temperature
Salt and pepper to taste

Method of Preparation:
1. The day/night before, remove the turkey from its wrapper. Remove the giblets and neck and set them aside. Wash the turkey inside and out.
2. Place the turkey into the brine for 8-10 hours, turning once during the process. See the special instructions for brining a bird further down the page.
3. Approx. 4 hours before you begin to cook the turkey, remove it from the brine and dry it thoroughly, both inside and out. Put it, uncovered, into the refrigerator for 3 hours to dry the skin and cavity. Pull the turkey out of the refrigerator 1 hour before cooking to bring up to room temperature.
4. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the chopped parsley and the room-temperature butter. Spread the parsley-butter mix between the breast meat and the skin of the bird. Divide the sage, thyme, and bay leaves between the body cavity and the neck cavity. Shove as many of the peeled garlic cloves into each cavity as possible; tie the ends of the legs together with twine.
5. Using a silicone brush, coat the entire skin of the bird with the melted butter. Season liberally with salt and pepper and position the bird in a roasting pan, breast side down.
6. Roast the turkey, breast side down, for 45 minutes on the bottom rack of the oven. Remove from the oven and, with an assistant, turn the bird breast side up. Using the silicone pastry brush, baste all the surfaces of the melted butter/turkey juices from the bottom of the roasting pan.
7. Return the turkey to the oven and continue to roast for 10 minutes more per pound. Be careful not to overcook. A thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh meat should read 155 degrees. The juices should be barely “pinkish” or clear.
8. Remove the turkey to a cutting board and rest for at least 30 minutes, preferably 40.
9. Carve the turkey and transfer meat to a platter.
Serves: 14 hungry family and friends

Sweet Potato Casserole with Bourbon Syrup
This recipe has been graciously shared by Dr. Rebecca Woo, M.D. and family.

Ingredients:
3 cups cooked sweet potatoes (fresh or canned)
½ cup white sugar
2 eggs, beaten
½ stick butter, melted
½ cup milk
1 ½ tsp. vanilla
¼ tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. nutmeg

NUT TOPPING:
½ CUP BROWN SUGAR
1/3 CUP FLOUR
1 CUP ROUGH-CHOPPED PECANS
1/3 STICK BUTTER AT ROOM TEMPERATURE

Method of Preparation:
1. Mash sweet potatoes.
2. Add sugar, eggs, salt, butter, milk, vanilla and spices.
3. Mix well.
4. Pour mixture into shallow baking dish sprayed with vegetable oil.
5. Combine nut topping ingredients in a medium-size bowl.
6. Top the sweet potatoes with pecan nut topping.
6. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes.
*If you do not use the nut topping, you can add marshmallows to the top of the casserole after 30 minutes of baking and then return to a 400 degree oven for 5-10 minutes or until marshmallows are brown.


Bourbon Syrup

Ingredients:
Sugar, white granulated- ¾ cup
Water- ¼ cup, warm
Lemon juice, fresh- 1 tsp
Bourbon- ¾ cup
Ginger, fresh- 1 inch piece, chopped

Method of Preparation:
1. In a saucepan, combine sugar, lemon juice, and warm water until sugar begins to dissolve. Clean saucepan sides of any residual syrup and bring mixture to a boil over high heat. Continue to cook, evaporating the water, until the inverted sugar begins to caramelize. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook until the all of the sugar has turned a deep amber color. This entire process should take about 4-5 minutes.
2. Once the sugar has caramelized to a deep amber, remove the saucepan from the heat and add the bourbon. Return the saucepan to the heat and continue to cook until all of the sugar has dissolved into the bourbon.
3. Once all of the sugar has dissolved, remove the saucepan completely from the heat and add the chopped ginger. Brew the ginger in the syrup for 5 minutes, then strain out ginger using a fine strainer.
4. Cover and refrigerate the syrup immediately.
5. Drizzle the bourbon syrup over the sweet potatoes as they are being carried to the table.
Yield: ¾-1 cup

Cinnamon-Honey Glazed Apples and Carrots

This is one of my favorite dishes to prepare during the holidays. It possesses an interesting flavor profile. Sweetness from the apples, carrots and honey are backed up with the savory sweetness of the shallots. Adding just a touch of salt and pepper at the end really brings out the flavors. I love to mix just a bit of this with my mashed potatoes during Thanksgiving dinner. Warm mashed potatoes add just the right amount of smooth creaminess tot he heavily-spiced apples and carrots.

Ingredients:
Granny Smith apples- 4 each, washed, peeled, cored and sliced thick
Baby carrots- 1-16oz. bag, washed and cut in half lengthwise
Shallots- 4 each, minced
Butter- 1 TBSP
Honey- ½ cup
Cinnamon- 2 tsp
Parsley, fresh- ¼ bunch, washed and chopped fine
Salt and pepper to taste

Method of Preparation:
1. In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, heat butter until completely melted and beginning to foam.
2. Add carrots and shallots and saute until slightly browned, about 1-2 minutes, then add apples and saute mixture for an additional minute.
3. Add honey and cinnamon and combine entire mixture with a silicone spatula until all of the cinnamon has dissolved.
4. Reduce heat and continue to cook mixture until carrots are just barely tender. Be sure to keep heat low enough so that the syrupy sauce does not reduce too much and burn.
5. Once carrots are at desired doneness, remove heat from pan and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper a little bit at a time.
6. Cover and keep warm for service. Add fresh parsley just before service.

Serves: 6

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

4 lb baking (russet) potatoes
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into bits and softened
1+ cups heavy cream or half-and-half, heated until hot
Salt & pepper to taste

Special equipment: potato ricer or food mill

Peel potatoes and quarter. Add potatoes to salted water (enough to cover potatoes by 1 inch), then bring water to a boil. Gently boil potatoes until tender, about 20 minutes, and drain in a colander. Dry potatoes in either the oven or return them to the cooking pot to dry. Force potatoes, while still warm, through ricer into a large bowl. Add room-temp butter and stir with a wooden spoon, letting butter melt completely. Add 1 cup warm cream and incorporate by gently stirring with wooden spoon, adding more cream to thin to desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

** the temperature of both the butter and cream are important. You want cool/room-temp. butter and warm cream for the potatoes to turn out creamy.

Makes 8 servings.

Turkey Brine

Ingredients:
Vegetable broth- 1 gallon
Salt, Kosher- 1 cup
Brown sugar, light- ½ cup
Pepper corns- 1 TBSP
Ginger, fresh- 1 inch piece, chopped
Juniper berries- 1 TBSP
Cinnamon- 1 TBSP

14 hours of prep time!!!!!!!!!

Method of Preparation:
1. Combine all ingredients in a large stock pot and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and cool the brine to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate until needed (can be made up to 2 days ahead of use).
2. Add brine to a large bucket or cooler. Add 1 gallon heavily-iced water (at least 3/4 ice) and stir to combine.
3. Add turkey, breast-side down, and keep submerged for 4 hours. After 4 hours, turn turkey so that the legs face down in the brine. At this point, add, 1 gallon of ice and another cup of salt. The idea is to keep the bird cool and in a solution that is not a haven for bacteria.
4. After 8-10 hours, remove turkey from brine and pat dry with paper towels. Allow the turkey to sit in the refrigerator, uncovered, for a few hours more to completely dry the skin. This will promote a crispy skin once the turkey is roasted. The turkey is now ready to roast.

Pan-Seared Filet with Pumpkin Butter & Port Reduction

Here is a dish that I served right after Halloween. The sweet Port reduction went very well with the spiced pumpkin butter. Some simple oven-roasted veggies and it was a perfect autumn entree.

Baked Brie en Croute

Baked Brie en Croute with Chilled Vanilla-Scented Apples, Spearmint Oil and Raspberry Syrup.
Photo by Ed McCain.











This photo was taken at a recent private event I did here in Houston. Although the portion is a bit bigger than I usually do, all of the plates came back empty.

Tropical Fruit Platter

With the weather turning warm, fresh fruits will be at the peak soon. Here is a great way to make a tremendous impression with a tropical fruit platter enhanced with a simple Mint & Lemon Infused Honey. Just take 2 cups of honey and bring it to a simmer in a small saucepan. Remove the honey from the heat and add 1/2 cup of fresh mint leaves. Let the leaves brew for about 5 minutes, then strain them and discard. Next, add the juice from 1 lemon and stir well. Let the honey sauce cool to room temperature and serve alongside the fresh fruit. Another great alternative would be to add fresh vanilla instead of the mint. Try both !

Sweet Soy Marinated Lamb with Soy Syrup and Mint Oil

Here are a few photos of the lamb dish that I developed for a recipe contest sponsored by Kikkoman Soy Sauce and Johnson & Wales University. I have included both "linear" and "center of the plate" presentations to demonstrate the versatility of the components in relation to presentation.
PHOTOS BY ED MCCAIN

Sweet Soy Marinated Lamb with Soy Syrup and Mint Oil

Steak & Fries

I developed this recipe for a Kikkoman Soy Sauce recipe contest sponsored by Johnson & Wales University. The contest challenged both current students and alumni of the university to create a new recipe using Kikkoman Soy Sauce in a new and innovative way. Now, I'm not suggesting that using soy sauce as a marinade is new or innovative, but the flavors of this dish are really amazing.

This is a take on the classic bistro dish of beefsteak and pommes frites (steak and French fries). If you ever get the opportunity to eat lunch at a quality Provencal French bistro, more than likely they will have a simple grilled or pan-seared steak with crispy-fried potatoes on the menu. The steak is usually a strip steak marinated in garlic, herbs and olive oil and the fries are freshly-cut and fried in duck fat. I had the pleasure of working in a French bistro for about 3 months once and was amazed that they filled their deep fat fryers with duck fat instead of vegetable or peanut oil. The flavor that the duck fat lends to the food is amazing. Once out of the fryer, we would toss the fries in sea salt, a lot of fresh-cracked black pepper and minced garlic. I'm getting hungry just remember those fries. Of course, I always had to test a few to ensure that the seasoning was just right. What a tough job.

On the plate, we would fan out the sliced, grilled strip steak then pile on at least two potatoes worth of fries. These things stood about eight inches off of the plate! The interesting thing is that almost all of the plates came back empty because the fries were usually shared at the table. These were the best fries anyone had ever tasted.

The sauces on that bistro steak were a garlic aioli and simple tomato and basil relish. The contrast of the creamy aioli and the piquant relish was sublime on the palate. Along with the flavorful strip steak, they combined to create a taste experience that no one could forget.

So, in the spirit of this timeless dish, I set out to create a dish that was both easy to execute and complex with bold and interesting flavors. I think that I achieved my goal. The lamb is perfect. The soy compliments the natural flavor of the meat and also bridges the meat to the sauces. The key to the marinade is the brown sugar. It lends a sweet flavor along with helping the caramelization of the meat. I got this marinade from a friend who uses a similar marinade for Chinese beef spareribs. I added the ginger and sesame oil to boost the flavor a bit. I think that this marinade will work on beef, pork, chicken and other cuts of lamb such as chops or even leg of lamb.

As for the sauces, while they may take some skill and experience to execute, they are well worth the time and effort. The mint oil really works with both the soy syrup and the lamb and is a nice alternative to mint jelly. The soy syrup will keep forever it seems and is a great sauce for grilled chicken breast with sauteed spinach and garlic. I've also used it many times with rare tuna. It really works as a light finishing touch to almost any meat you serve.

Here I serve sweet potato frites instead of the usual white potato frites. I chose this simply for the plate presentation. The brilliant orange color really jumps off of the plate and the sweet flavor works nicely with the lamb. Of course, you can substitute the traditional potatoes here or even serve a combination of the two. Go ahead, get creative with this one.



Sweet Soy Marinated Lamb Tenderloin

Ingredients:
Lamb (American): 4 - 6 oz. portions, trimmed of fat and silver skin
Garlic, fresh: 4 cloves, crushed
Ginger, fresh: 1 inch piece, minced
Kikkoman Less Sodium Soy Sauce: ¾ cup
Sesame oil: ¼ cup + 2 TBSP for saute
Brown sugar, light: 2 TBSP
Chinese mustard, spicy: 3 TBSP
Sesame seeds: 3 TBSP
Cilantro, fresh: ½ bunch, chopped fine
Green Onions: 12 each, washed and kept whole
Salt and pepper to taste

Method of Preparation:
1. In a shallow, non-reactive container, combine the garlic, ginger, Kikkoman Less Soy Sauce, sesame oil and brown sugar.
2. Marinade the lamb, covered under refrigeration, for at least 1 hour and up to 2 hours.
3. Remove lamb from marinade and pat dry.
4. Heat 2 TBSP sesame oil in a large saute pan until smoking.
5. Pan-sear lamb on all sides until dark brown.
6. Remove lamb from pan and add whole green onions, cooking for about 1 minute. Lightly season onions with salt and pepper.
7. As green onions are cooking, brush lamb with thin layer of Chinese mustard and sprinkle with sesame seeds and chopped cilantro.
8. Position lamb on top of green onions and cook for 7-9 minutes in a 375 degree oven.
9. Once the lamb is cooked to rare, remove the pan from the oven and allow the meat to rest on a cutting board for about 4 minutes.
10. Slice meat into 5 or 7 pieces and arrange with whole green onions on plate. Serve with sweet potato frites and both soy syrup and mint oil.

Serves 4 as a main course


Sweet Potato Frites

Ingredients:
Sweet potatoes, fresh: 2 each, washed and peeled
Parsley, fresh: ¼ cup, chopped fine and dried well
Salt and pepper to taste

Method of Preparation:
1. Using a mandolin, julienne the sweet potatoes and reserve.
2. In a deep pot, heat vegetable oil to 375 degrees.
3. In 2 or 3 batches, add the sweet potato and fry until potatoes begin to color (about 1 to 1 ½ minutes). Remove cooked sweet potato from the pot and allow oil to drain onto paper towels or a sheet pan with a fine rack.
4. Season potatoes immediately with salt and freshly-cracked black pepper.
5. Keep frites warm until service.
6. Toss crisp frites gently with finely-chopped parsley just before platting.

Soy Syrup

Ingredients:
Sugar, white granulated: ¾ cup
Water: ¼ cup, warm
Lemon juice, fresh: 1 tsp
Kikkoman Less Sodium Soy Sauce: ¾ cup
Lemongrass: ½ stalk, chopped

Method of Preparation:
1. In a saucepan, combine sugar, lemon juice, and warm water until sugar begins to dissolve. Clean saucepan sides of any residual syrup and bring mixture to a boil over high heat. Continue to cook, evaporating the water, until the inverted sugar begins to caramelize. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook until the all of the sugar has turned a deep amber color. This entire process should take about 4-5 minutes.
2. Once the sugar has caramelized to a deep amber, remove the saucepan from the heat and add the Kikkoman Less Sodium Soy Sauce. Return the saucepan to the heat and continue to cook until all of the sugar has dissolved into the soy sauce.
3. Once all of the sugar has dissolved, remove the saucepan completely from the heat and add the chopped lemongrass. Brew the lemongrass in the syrup for 5 minutes, then strain out lemongrass using a fine strainer.
4. Cover and refrigerate the syrup immediately.

Yield: ¾-1 cup

Mint Oil

Ingredients:
Grapeseed oil: 1 ½ cup (or other mildly-flavored oil)
Mint leaves, fresh: 1 ½ cup, washed and packed tightly
Salt and white pepper to taste

Method of Preparation:
1. In a small saucepan, heat the oil over moderately high heat until the oil reaches 325 degrees.
2. After the oil has reached temperature, add the mint leaves and cook the mint until the leaves turn bright green. Remove saucepan from heat and cool the oil with the leaves.
3. Once the oil cools, add the oil and leaves to the bowl of a blender and blend on high speed for 1-2 minutes.
4. Strain the oil/mint mixture through a fine strainer.
5. Season lightly with salt and white pepper.
6. Cover and refrigerate.

Yield: 1 ½ cup

A Few Of My Favorite Places

Being both a food professional and lover, I find myself eating at a lot of restaurants, always looking for something new and exciting. This is my pass time. My hobby. Perhaps I should include a treadmill in my hobby, but that is a matter for another discussion. You’ll find that most cooks or chefs have very clear ideas about what they consider good and what they stay away from. Now, it also has to be noted that I have never met a chef that wouldn’t put anything in his mouth at least once. This stems from our need to educate our palates every day. Even if something doesn’t look good or if we have heard that it isn’t good, we’ll still give it a try. Maybe, just maybe, there is a flavor or spice in there that we can use in our own recipes. Most times, this is a futile endeavor. It’s like searching for a lost treasure. You do a lot of digging around, but usually yield very little. But, there are those exceptional occasions where your senses are surprised and your taste buds electrified. These are the special moments. Interestingly enough, it doesn’t have to come from finding a new ingredient or experiencing an innovative flavor combination. Sometimes it comes from eating a perfect apple or a crusty piece of French bread. On occasion, it’s having a slice of pizza that has the prefect balance of crispy crust, tangy sauce and great cheese. That is the idea that none of us, professional or not, can forget- appreciate perfect food. While Café Annie or The Remington may be considered the best restaurants in town (and deservedly so), that does not mean that they have the best food. I personally don’t want to eat fancy food every day. I love truffles and foie gras more than anyone, but most days I’ll take a beef fajita burrito from Ruchi’s over anything at Brennan’s. My guess is that most of you would as well.
I remember teaching a class once and a student asked me what my favorite meal was. This is always a hard one for a chef to answer because we have eaten so much good food in so many great restaurants. I finally came up with the most honest answer: the best meals that I’ve had have been over trash cans. Now, don’t be shocked by this one. This is a little restaurant secret that most guests would find revolting. What happens in most professional kitchens, at least the ones that I have worked in, is constant eating. A chef is literally eating from the moment he walks into the kitchen to the minute he leaves. He’s tasting the stock, the soups of the day, the lunch and dinner specials, the sauces and so on and so on. Cooks bring you food throughout the day to sample and critique. At the end of service, there is invariable a piece of meat or two that was “fired” (cooked) by mistake or overcooked and not served. These are usually consumed by the guilty cook who tries to hide the evidence by eating it. Most of this consumption, however, is not done with the use of a plate or fork or spoon. Most of it is done right over a trash can next to a hand washing sink so that the paper towel it was served on can be quickly discarded and hands washed.
I can’t tell you how much fun it is to stand over a trash can and eat ribs or chicken or pieces of grilled meat with two or three other cooks at the end of service. It’s awesome. The hard work of service is finally behind you and the clean up of the kitchen is waiting. If you don’t smoke (and I don’t) this is the non-smokers smoke break. Those moments with colleagues enjoying, talking about and evaluating food are my favorite memories of my time spent in production kitchens.
Unfortunately, for most, those experiences aren’t readily available. So, I thought it would be interesting to give my thoughts on a few restaurants and menu items here in Houston. These are the places that I eat at and the menu items that I order. There are a few notable exceptions from the list (ultra-high end restaurants, large chain restaurants and all fast food joints), but I think that you’ll find that you are familiar with most places. If you’re not, please give them a try. Hopefully you enjoy them as much as I do.

Thelma's Bar-B-Que
1020 Live Oak St Houston, TX 77003-3614
(713) 228-2262
In my opinion, Thelma’s is the best BBQ that I’ve had in Houston. The meat is smoked perfectly and the sauce is sweet with just the right amount of heat. The secret to Thelma’s success? That sweet sauce. Whether coupled with the ribs, brisket or chicken, the sauce both accentuates and enhances the pure smoke flavor of the meat. Also, the side dishes are all awesome (my favorites being the potato salad and coleslaw- hey, I’m a traditionalist), and the selection of cake and pie slices is solid (go with the chocolate cake). Although the confines are tight (exacerbated by the fact that the place is crowded seemingly day and night), I prefer to dine in than take-out. So, if you take the Houston BBQ scene seriously, head down to the 3rd Ward and find out what the fuss is all about.

Pappas Bar-B-Q
1217 Pierce St Houston, TX 77002-8213
(713) 659-1245
OK, I realize that the Pappas empire rules the Houston restaurant scene. Sometimes I think that I see more of the Pappas brand around town than McDonalds. That being said, I think that their BBQ baked potatoes are the ultimate comfort food. On-line, they’re described as being the “size of a small electric toaster”. Well, I’m not sure that they’re that big, but I will admit that they are bigger than your average spud. I find it hard to finish one alone, and my appetite is not modest. I’ve been told that the chopped beef is the most popular choice, but I prefer mine to be stuffed with the sliced beef (it’s a little less greasy in my opinion). Any way you choose, I don’t think that you can go wrong.
Also, no mention of Pappas BBQ can be made without bringing up their beef ribs or dessert selection. The beef ribs are almost perfect. Nothing more really needs to be said about them. As far as the finishing act, I don’t think that there are better desserts offered in any restaurant in Houston. Just because they are served pre-sliced on a cafeteria-style line does not take away from their perfection. Any high-end restaurant in town would consider themselves lucky to have a chocolate cake or cheesecake remotely as good as Pappas’. The chocolate cake is perfect because it isn’t pure sugar. I’ve never had a slice that wasn’t moist (which is a miracle for chocolate cake) and the portion is almost more than one person can handle. Often times my wife and I share a piece at the restaurant and then take one home to share later. As for the cheesecake, The plain is great and the carrot cake cheesecake is even better. I think that both rival The Cheesecake Factory’s.

Goode Company Barbeque
5109 Kirby Dr Houston, TX 77098-5011
(713) 522-2530
When I first arrived in Houston, I was told that Goode Company was the best BBQ in town. Well, while I will never pass on an opportunity to eat there, I’m not prepared to lavish such praise on this city landmark. I will, however, sing the virtues of both the Austin Baked beans and the jalapeno-cheese bread. Being from the East Coast, I never had chunks of apples in my beans. Boy, was I missing out. As for the bread, I always ask for a couple extra slices when I’m in line- I can’t get enough of it. I would buy this stuff by the truck load if I could. Another reason I love this bread so much is because, when my mother-in-law was visiting last year, she really loved it as well. Anything that can make her happy, and put her in a good mood while in town, is a superstar in my book.

Houston's
4848 Kirby Dr Houston, TX 77098-5006
(713) 529-2385
Traditionally, I’m not into these nation-wide chain restaurants that tend to choke out the local guys (yeah, I may be a bit of a food snob when it comes to this one), but in this case I’ll make an exception. I have never been terribly impressed with anything that I have had in Houston’s, that was until I had the French Dip one afternoon. Now, you have to be prepared for this one. This is a $16.00 sandwich. No, it doesn’t come with shaved truffles or sliced Kobe beef. No, there isn’t foie gras or caviar anywhere near the plate. This is simply a toasted baguette, shaved prime rib and horseradish dip served au jus. And because of this simplicity, it is the best French dip that I’ve ever had.
Normally, in kitchens around the country, a French Dip is put on the lunch menu as a cross utilization for the whole prime ribs that are cooked for evening service. This is a great was for a chef to keep his food cost low (no wasted prime rib). Typically, a cook would take the left over rib ends, slice them thin and then reheat them as a sandwich order comes in. I have nothing against this method and have employed it myself when I was chef of a country club in Florida. I can’t tell you how many times a member would come in Friday night for the Prime Rib Buffet, then order a French Dip in the 19th Hole after his round of golf on Saturday. Little did he know that he was eating the same piece of meat. Really it didn’t matter because he was happy, I was happy, and most importantly, the Food & Beverage Director was happy with my numbers. This is what we call a “Winning Golden Triangle”. T chef of a private club usually keeps his job so long as this triangle is stable.
Another way that some kitchens do his sandwich is to take very thinly sliced raw ribeye and cook it to order. I’m not a fan of this method because it generally lacks the depth of flavor that the slow-roasted meat has. Basically, the cooked meat starts out more flavorful than raw meat (besides, I think of this as a way to make Philly Cheese steaks, not French Dips).
The technique that separates Houston’s from the pack is taking a freshly-cooked prime rib and slicing it paper thin. They aren’t using last night’s leftovers. They can get away with this because of the volume of business that they do (they are busy both day and night, selling a lot of prime rib and French Dips). Another reason that this sandwich is so good is because the kitchen doesn’t try to reinvent it. This is a traditional French Dip. There are no fried onions or salsas or exotic spreads. It’s refreshing to find an unadulterated classic. Maybe that is why I don’t mind shelling out $16 each time (just don’t tell my wife please).

Pappas Burger
5815 Westheimer Rd Houston, TX 77057-5616
(713) 975-6082
I am not on the Pappas’ payroll, I swear, but Pappas Burger has the best burgers in town, hands down. The meat is fresh (and cooked to your desired doneness which is a plus) and served on toasted buns. These are not five-day-old rolls pulled out of a bag. No these are quality rolls that really enhance the experience. For a treat, get one of the shakes. Made from real soft-serve ice cream and milk (you’d be surprised how many places add ice), they are superior to any of the platted desserts offered.

Goode Company Hamburgers & Taqueria
4902 Kirby Dr Houston, TX 77098-5008
(713) 520-9153
If I’m looking for the best ribeye in Houston, I don’t head for Ruth Chris or Outback. I head for Good Company Taqueria on Kirby. The flame grilled ribeye is cooked to order over such an intense heat that really imparts that awesome sear that all steak-lovers crave. Served with tortillas, salsa and ranchero beans, it’s different than your average steakhouse fare. I can’t get over the sear on this bad boy. The price isn’t modest ($18.00 the last time I checked), but I consider it a guilty pleasure for lunch every so often.

D J's Old Timey Hamburgers
7918 Kirby Dr Houston, TX 77054-1702
(713) 667-8855
To put it simply, D J’s is a great little family-owned burger shop. I love these places because it let’s me hold out hope that McDonalds and Wendy’s haven’t yet taken over the world (that’s not to say that I don’t enjoy a Big Mac or Spicy Chicken Sandwich on occasion). The burgers are good, and the service is fast (located near the Med Center, lunchtime crowds can get up to four or five deep at the counter). I like their seasoned fries, but always get the tater tots so that I can be reminded of elementary school lunches. Also, their onion rings are the batter-dipped variety, not the bread crumb nightmares of other establishments. All in all, a solid burger joint.

This Is It
207 W Gray St Houston, TX 77002-8523
(713) 659-1608
I could eat at This Is It every day of the week. I’d gain 100 pounds a year, but they would be happy pounds, and isn’t that what really matters? Cafeteria-style comfort food that is just a level or two above Luby’s, This Is It offers generous portions (3 sides, 1 meat and corn bread muffins) that are perfect reminders of Sunday dinners at Grand Ma’s house. I can’t get enough of the glazed sweet potatoes (heavily spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, etc), home-made mashed potatoes or braised greens. The meat loaf is perfect and my wife and I usually fight over the chicken and dumplings. To top it all off, this is one of the few places west of the Mississippi that offers real sweet tea! For a man from the Southern East Coast, this is a real treat.

Frenchy's Chicken
3919 Scott St Houston, TX 77004-5522
(713) 748-2233
I have to admit that I am a big fan of Popeye’s Chicken. When done right, I really don’t think that anyone can touch it. But, if I’m looking for really greasy, really flavorful, really good fried chicken that isn’t Popeye’s, I head down to Scott Street and get some Frenchy’s. Anyone in Houston knows that this landmark establishment can’t be ignored on the local restaurant scene. There is a reason that the drive-thru line wraps around the place and spills out onto Scott. The chicken is all fresh and the sides are really good. While the desserts aren’t up to the level of the chicken, I can forgive this one (besides, not having dessert means that I can have another wing or two. . . or three). So, if you haven’t been there in a while, head down to UH and support this local legend.

Cafe Rabelais
2462 Bolsover St Houston, TX 77005-2518
(713) 526-6841
At Café Rabelais I had the best meal that I have experienced here in Houston. The country-side French cuisine is simple and perfect. From the chalk board menu to the cramped seating, everything about this place screams neighborhood bistro. Personally, I like the close confines, it reminds me of restaurants in New York or San Francisco. The food is sublime ( I had the grilled ribeye with shaved shallots on one visit- one of the 5 best dishes that I’ve ever had the pleasure of consuming), and the service is friendly. Get there early (no reservations and limited seating) and sample the nice wine selections. I promise that you won’t be disappointed.

Fadi's Mediterranean Grill
4738 Beechnut St Houston, TX 77096
(713) 666-4644
I recently found this place and can’t get enough of it. From the awesome pasta salad and hummus to the perfectly braised lamb shanks or seasoned potatoes, Fadi’s delivers the goods every time. My wife always orders the beef kabobs, so it’s usually up to me to venture out and try other options. I also enjoy the kabobs as well as the gyros. The baked chicken is consistently good and the mashed potato croquettes are one of the true hidden treasures in Houston. We both love the fresh-bake pitas. Try the fresh juices that are offered near the register. My wife gets the mango topped off with a little of the strawberry. I don’t get one, I just steal sips of hers as she eats off of my plate, not sharing any of her kabob.

Pappasito's Cantina Restaurant
2515 South Loop W Houston, TX 77054-2633
(713) 668-5756
I know that everyone knows about this place (the packed house every night is a good indicator), but I can’t talk about my favorite foods in Houston without mentioning the Tres Leches dessert. For me, this is right up there with the chocolate cake at Pappas BBQ. Perfect, perfect, perfect. Also, the warm chocolate bread pudding with caramel ice cream isn’t one to turn down either.

Taste of Texas Restaurant
10505 Katy Fwy Houston, TX 77024
(713) 932-6901
Finally, my favorite. While it might not be as fancy as Pappas Brothers Steak House or as famous as Ruth Chris, for my money The Taste of Texas is my favorite steakhouse anywhere. This is, in my mind’s eye, what I envision when I think of a Texas steakhouse- a lot of wood, trophy mounts on the walls and Muhammad Ali‘s gloves over the urinals in the men‘s room. I love that it isn’t stuffy or pretentious. I love the salad bar. I love the waiting area (no reservations are accepted once again) with its popcorn and soda machines. But most importantly, I love the steaks. From the Cowboy Steak (bone-in ribeye), to the filet to the prime rib, everything that I have ever eaten there has been nothing short of perfect. I need another five pages to give you all of my thoughts on the quail bites, the desserts are as good as any in town, and the service is second to none. Here’s my dream scenario for my final meal: I start out with a Johnnie Walker Black on the rocks. Then another. After that, an order of quail bites. Another Johnnie Walker, please. And this time fill it up. OK, now it’s time for the salad bar. Sure, one more. Next, prime rib, biggest on the menu, mid-rare with a loaded potato. OK, but this is my last one (with the meal please). Dessert, I‘ll take a chocolate cake to go and one more Johnnie (by this time we‘re on a first-name basis). Yeah, we’re done. All I need now is a wheel chair. . . and maybe one more for the road.

Ceritfied Master Chef Fritz Gitschner of The Houston Country Club. Photo by Ed McCain 

Interview With a Master

You have thirty minutes to present a hand-written menu inspired by a mystery box containing a whole fish, another protein (usually a cut requiring braising, maybe a lamb shank), vegetables such as fresh artichokes or cactus leaves, and starches that could include Israeli cous cous, Arborio rice or Peruvian purple potatoes. During the next four and a half hours, you will have total access to arguably the finest kitchen in Houston, working among sixty five professionals who have all been in your shoes (or clogs) as they prepare to serve up to one thousand members and guests. Before time runs out, five courses will be presented to one of seventy Certified Master Chefs in America. He will then evaluate everything from the tidiness of your workspace and uniform to the clarity of your consommé and acidity of your vinaigrette. When he’s done, you will have completed the final step in the interview process and know whether or not you have earned a cook’s position at The Houston Country Club.

Executive Chef Fritz Gitschner has been feeding and educating members at The Houston Country Club since 1991. Carrying his Austrian accent on a tall, lean frame, Gitschner’s reputation and resume precede him. A search on Google brigs up hundreds of hits that cumulatively reveal his past training as an apprentice in Austria and his work as a chef in Europe, the Middle East, Bermuda and the Caribbean. He is a member of the American Academy of Chefs and early in 2005 competed in the Bocuse d’Or World Cuisine Contest in Lyon, France (placing eighth overall). The Bocuse d’Or is on par with the International Culinary Olympics, showcasing the top talent in the food world on perhaps its largest stage. Gitschner was honored with representing the U.S. after competing in and winning regional competitions domestically.

Now that his patriotic obligations are complete, he has returned to the kitchen he created to oversee a bustling staff of culinary students, interns, career cooks and busy sous chefs. A walk through the club’s kitchen hints at Gitschner’s attention to detail and respect for the art of cooking. Every cook wears a pressed apron over a classic white chef’s coat and hound’s tooth (or checked) pants, topped off with a crisp toque on their head. Steam-jacketed kettles, large enough for a person to climb into, simmer with fresh chicken stock and reducing demi glaze. Powerful aromas escape from convection ovens, filling the kitchen with the perfume of a professional kitchen. The smells of fresh-baked breads and cookies mix with roasting ducks and simmering stews. Anyone who has worked as a cook knows the smell of a kitchen. You either love it or hate it, but the essence is unmistakable.

Gitschner’s office sits as the command center of the kitchen. Surrounded by windows, he has an enviable vantage point, being able to see almost everything that goes on. Most chef’s offices are tucked in corners of the kitchen because they are an afterthought. Some are not in the kitchen at all. But, after just a few minutes, one gets the idea that Gitschner had a purpose when he designed his dimly lit office. Plate designs sit on the desk. Large three ring binders fill one wall, overflowing with standardized recipes and photos. Few cookbooks take up space since the chef explains that he uses the internet quite a bit to assist him with recipe searches. Overall, it is a typical chef’s office with one interesting difference. Chef Gitschner’s office doubles as the “Chef’s Table” for eight lucky members who get to sit there and have the master prepare their meal as they observe a night’s diner service. “That became the ’in thing’ at the club, to have the Chef’s Table. But more so it brought people back to the kitchen,” Gitschner said. “I did not realize that most of our members did not even know where the kitchen was. So as I started creating the Chef’s Tables, I kept the kitchen real clean until one day I didn’t get to it and left a chicken stock going. People began congregating around it, like it was something special. I couldn’t believe it. So now I just leave the kitchen operating as it is, and people are very fascinated. But what helped is that they started talking to other members. They educated them as to what we are doing and that really brought more and more members back to the club and we basically have doubled the amount of members who eat at the club since 1991.”

When Gitschner arrived in Houston from the Caribbean, some fourteen years ago, he found a club that was using canned and concentrated soup bases along with some other foods that he quickly eliminated from the kitchen. Installing a culinary program that relied on itself to produce most of the food for the club was not just a transition for the staff. “Making stocks was the hardest thing in this kitchen because they (the cooks) were used to cans. Members, I had to retrain them as well. They didn’t know what real chicken stock tasted like because they were used to the canned stuff with a high sodium content.”
Fortunately for both the staff and members, Gitschner was committed to his vision of being almost completely self reliant. “Ninety nine percent of what we serve here at the club is produced here at the club. From your sausages to your smoked salmon to your bread to your pastries to your sauces, everything is done ‘in house.’ Also some canning and pickling, it’s all done here. I’m not doing that to make it more difficult for the line or to save food cost. I’m doing it because it’s the proper way of preparing food. The guests notice it. They find out all of a sudden that the sauce has a more vibrant flavor. The vegetables really have great color to them and have great texture.”

Along with instituting a fully staffed kitchen that has a butcher, saucier and pastry chef, Gitschner also committed his energy to improving the quality of the food that was being delivered to the back door. He remembers being so disappointed with the quality of fish, that he refused to buy any for the first six months of his tenure. Through hard work and by collaborating with local purveyors, the chef has accomplished his goal of having the freshest and best tasting food in Houston delivered daily. “If you have a tomato that doesn’t taste like a tomato, I don’t care what your culinary skills are, you’re never going to have a great-tasting tomato sauce. So, what I instituted when I came here was that we purchase based on taste and flavor. I don’t care if the tomatoes all look different, so long as they have flavor. That (flavor) is what you’re purchasing. My sous chefs and receiving agent taste all of the vegetables, tomatoes, carrots and melons. Before, people would say that you could not cut into a melon. Well, if I buy a case of melon off you and it doesn’t have any sugar, then it is no good. If I cannot cut into it, then you are not doing business with me.”

With statements like that, it’s easy to see why I was so interested to sit down with this man and discuss food, business and the future of culinary arts. He is very serious about his profession and truly expresses a passion for cooking. I have had the pleasure of meeting two other Certified Master Chefs and have found that they possess an intensity and charisma that fills up the room. Gitschner is no different. Even though I was conducting the interview, he was in control the entire time. He is extremely intelligent and expresses his thoughts on complex levels. Through my experience as a working chef, I was able to scratch the surface on some topics, but I could tell that he was working in a higher gear. I was more than a few steps behind on a couple of topics, but he never made me feel insecure or uncomfortable with the obvious gap in knowledge and experience between us. I left his office feeling that working for him would be both difficult and rewarding. He is the type of teacher that shows you something and then you say to yourself, “That is how I will do it for the rest of my life.” The flip side to that coin is are you talented enough to do it for the rest of your life?

What follows are some simple questions and great answers. Chef Gitschner was kind enough to talk with me about his career and gave me some professional insights. His kitchen was busy on the other side of the office windows, but Gitschner’s calm demeanor never indicated that he had even one concern over the evening’s service. The chef participated in this interview about four hours before serving over eight hundred guests for dinner. . . just an another Saturday at The Houston Country Club.

You have been this club’s executive chef for fourteen years, but in this industry it is common to turn over chefs as often as the menu. What do you attribute your longevity at this club to?
Well, I think it’s a combination of things. There’s three areas that you have to be good at to be successful as a chef. I think that the first areas is of course culinary abilities. Not just your culinary abilities as a cook, but also your ability to teach. It doesn’t matter that I can cook the dish if I can’t find a system to teach my staff. I think the second one is organization. You know a lot of people say that they are a person who strives under stress. Well, stress for me is not stressful. You have one hundred and fifty people in an hour blazing orders and I have fifteen other things popping up, which I have to deal with in a minute, and it really doesn’t matter because I have already planned for that. What I mean by that is that my management style is preventative management rather than emergency management. Today I am working already a month, two months out. If you do not have that organization, then you will not have a lot of time to have a very smooth-running operation. We can have sixty five people here (in the kitchen). I have come to terms with the fact that I have in some ways become the training ground of Houston. I have people working here for a year, maybe two years and then someone hires them as a sous chef or chef. That’s fine with me as long as those people work here and give a hundred and ten percent. That’s why they come here. But, any new person coming in isn’t just walking onto the line and know it. So every time you have a new employee coming in, you are going through the training process, showing them how we do things and why we do things. It doesn’t help to tell somebody to “do it this way” and walk away without telling them why. The third thing to being successful is manpower. How well can you develop a team? For example, when I came here in 1991, there were two kitchens. There was a la carte and there was banquets, and they wouldn’t work together. I stopped that. I designed the whole kitchen to have a la carte and banquets back to back. Now, if we’re busy in banquets, a la carte helps out. If we’re busy in a la carte, then banquets helps out. In terms of production, everything is assigned throughout the various outlets that I have here. We can plate up to a thousand people in twenty minutes. Everyone has to contribute. I have the pastry chef, and if we are platting a large party, they will help. The reason we do that is to have a quality product. I can cook the meats to the temperature I want. The sauce has a nice glossiness to it, the vegetables are perfect. I can have crispy textures to the food. It makes it much more exciting.

Having achieved the level of Certified Master Chef, what is your take on the phenomenon of the “celebrity chef?” What do you think when you see a relatively young chef, who attended culinary school and maybe had two or three high profile jobs, represent your profession to the masses?
Cooking, overall, has become part of entertainment. The media definitely has a great impact on that. Unfortunately it also sends some wrong messages to people who want to get into the industry because out of one hundred thousand, maybe one will become the TV chef. So I see these people more as entertainers than chefs. And all the power to them. I think it depends on the individual if it goes to his head or not because it’s all fluff really.

Recently I had a conversation with a friend and his father, both of whom are trained chef’s, and my friend’s father lamented the fact that very few cooks today learn in a kitchen with a classic brigade system. Meats come in portion controlled so a butcher is no longer required. Vegetables can be purchased peeled or precut. I.Q.F. (Individually Quick Frozen) vegetables and soup or stock bases are more common than their fresh counterparts in today’s commercial kitchen culture. Even the chef’s position is being phased out, replaced with “Kitchen Managers.” How do you feel about that?
You can go too far and have everything convenience food, and that takes out even needing chefs. But the end effect, if you did that in a hotel like a Ritz Carlton, you would end up losing customers. You have to look at you clientele. So I think there is a market where you can use those products, but I would not endorse all of it. Also, you have to look at what skills you have in your operation and then determine from there what you want to use in terms of convenience products. You go into some kitchens today where there is not even a trained cook in there. We have a shortage in our hospitality industry, particularly in foodservice. Throughout the country you will find people constantly looking for people to work in the kitchens. We still do not have enough qualified or trained people to cover the demand.

Very few newcomers to the industry train in an apprenticeship program like you did and many look for sous chef or chef jobs right out of culinary school, bypassing lower-level positions that build fundamentals. How much has that aspect of the industry changed over the years?
We have today, younger culinarians who are much better educated than we were at that age. They are more educated in food, management, nutrition and so on. There are more opportunities than we ever had. It is now a diverse market. You have a web site. Would you ever think twenty years ago that you would have a web site? There is food styling, consulting, nutrition. I think that young culinarians today definitely do not subscribe to the eighty or one hundred hour work week. I don’t subscribe to it either. I used to, but no more. I think that people should have their two days off every week. In a ten to twelve hour day, you should be able to get the job done. If not, then you really have to evaluate the operation, what you are doing and the training program because something isn’t working. You know, when you look at the plate, there’s really no rocket science to it. You have to go back to basics. For example, about two years ago, beef prices just went through the roof. The prices were astronomical. I refused to cut quality. We’re still serving prime beef in all of our restaurants, even tenderloins. But I believe in integrity and truth in menu. If I’m saying that is what I’m going to do, then that is what I’m going to do. You don’t have to cut quality; you have to be creative. We started doing a lot of combination plates. Let’s say that you have a beef tenderloin on you menu and all of a sudden it costs twice as much as it used to, well you can still serve a beef tenderloin (at a smaller portion size), but maybe serve it with a braised short rib. Not only have you infused new flavor profiles and made the dish more interesting, but you have also helped yourself in terms of cost. Why don’t a lot of people do it? There’s an extra step. It means that there’s more work to it.