Buen ProvechoFOOD / DINING / INTERVIEWS / TRENDS

By June Naylor

[ THE DISH ]

It’s no wonder Texans are nutty for pecans. Not only is it the only commercially grown nut in Texas, but it’s been our state tree since 1919 and our state pie since 2013. The shelled jewels come in many varieties and usually show up in stores and on menus from late October through November, just after the harvest. Here are three particularly great restaurants around Texas where you can enjoy pecans this season.

THE POWER OF

PECANS

THE GIFT OFTENDERLOIN

[ TRENDING ]

Ever since the New York Times named

it the Mail Order Gift of the Year in

1995, the mesquite-smoked peppered

beef tenderloin from PERINI RANCH

STEAKHOUSE has been the go-to holiday

gift that puts fabulous Texas taste on tables

from coast to coast. The much-lauded,

James Beard Award–winning country steak

joint in Buffalo Gap ships this culinary

treasure to all 50 states year-round, with

thousands of pounds of it overnighted

during December alone. Delivered ready

to serve, the tenderloin can be ordered in

a gift package that includes owners Lisa

and Tom Perini’s just-released cookbook,

Perini Ranch Steakhouse: Stories and

Recipes for Real Texas Food, as well as

the Perinis’ signature steak rub and

new rib rub. $125 per tenderloin.

periniranch.com/tenderloin.

UB PRESERV HOUSTON(346) 406-5923; ubpreserv.comChef de cuisine Nick Wong has come up with an interesting spin on a classic Chinese-American dish, honey walnut shrimp. His version? HONEY PECAN SHRIMP. “Yes, we’re using pecans," he says, “’cause we’re in Texas and figured, ‘Why not?’” He candies the pecans in a mix of cayenne, five-spice powder, and a little sugar, scattering the results atop deep-fried shrimp tossed in a honey-mayonnaise sauce. He serves the dish over a bed of shredded iceberg lettuce. The crunch and earthiness of the pecans play against the crisp tooth in the shrimp, providing an enjoyable mix of textures. To drink with it, wine director Matt Pridgen recommends the sparkling chenin blanc called Crémant d’Loire.

SWEETFIRE KITCHEN AT LA CANTERA RESORT AND SPA SAN ANTONIO(210) 558-2479; lacanteraresort.comHow do you rev up a turkey sandwich? Just ask Robert Carr, executive chef at this open-air restaurant off the lobby of a Texas Hill Country resort. To create his TURKEY CLUB, he starts by layering sliced applewood-smoked turkey and peppered bacon with roasted tomatoes, avocado slices, and fresh spinach on grilled sourdough bread. The secret sauce—a pesto that combines chopped pecans with arugula, basil, Parmesan, olive oil, and a little brown sugar—provides a balance of salty, sweet, and herbal notes. Pair it with a Bombshell Blonde Ale, made at Southern Star Brewing in Conroe.

TRACE AT THE W HOTEL AUSTIN(512) 542-3660; traceaustin.com  This downtown Austin restaurant sources a startling percentage of its ingredients from Central Texas farms. In the case of the decadent CHOCOLATE PECAN TURTLE CHEESECAKE, pastry chef Wade Greenwood turns to San Saba Pecan Company out of the town of San Saba for his sinful dessert. Inspired by his grandfather, who taught him to make candies such as pecan turtles, Greenwood crushes the pecan and mixes in chocolate for his crust that holds the vanilla-chocolate-caramel-swirled cheesecake filling. The cheesecake is then covered with soft-set caramel, chocolate ganache, and candied pecans. It’s best devoured slowly with a cup of strong coffee, with or without an infusion of TX Whiskey from Fort Worth.

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22 Texas Journey | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019

Be sure to designate a driver if you plan to drink alcohol.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019 | Texas Journey 23

24 Texas Journey | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019 AAA.COM AAA.COM NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019 | Texas Journey 25

[ CHOP TALK ]

CHEF DAVID NORMAN David Norman calls himself the head dough-puncher at Easy Tiger Bake Shop and Beer Garden in Austin, where he’s officially the culinary director and co-owner. Norman came by his preferred title—cowboy lingo for the camp cook—organically, having worked as a professional baker in Seattle and New York before moving to Texas to help run a ranch. We caught up with him just as he was rolling out his first cookbook, Bread on the Table: Recipes for Making and Enjoying Europe’s Most Beloved Breads (A Baking Book).

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What was the first thing you ever baked? I had returned from spending a year in Germany to finish college and I really missed the bread, so when I saw a copy of Beard on Bread by James Beard, I bought it. I started with the basic white pan loaf, the master recipe in the book. My roommates thought I was a little wacky at first, but once I shared that first loaf with them, they were on board.

Tell us about one thing at Easy Tiger that’s a perfect reflection of your work. Our pain au levain, a French-style sourdough country bread, which we make using an ancient, very traditional technique that I learned from a French baker, though I have adapted it some over the years. I include some whole spelt flour, locally stone ground at Barton Springs Mill, because I love the flavor of spelt. What inspires new dishes at Easy Tiger? More and more, I find myself turning to the baking traditions of Scandinavia and Germany. Hearty, dense rye and whole-grain breads were central to our daily meals when I lived there. When I was learning to bake in America afterward, young artisan bakers had more access to French techniques, and the market for French-style artisan breads was more in line with American tastes. Now we see a growing number of people interested in whole-grain breads and learning more about how to eat them here, so for me it’s fun to introduce more of these into our line. When you bake on your own time, what are you most likely to make? My kids love to make cookies of all sorts, but we have also baked pies, cakes, and a few breads together. And if it’s Friday, you could very well find us mixing up pizza dough—that’s pizza night in our family. We often go out to one of our favorite spots, but we also love to make pizza at home.

Buen Provecho

Where was the last place you ate that made a big impression on you? Suerte in Austin. Their confit brisket tacos were amazing, as was the tetela with refried beans and beef tongue. Of course, the meats were cooked to perfection, but what really made these dishes shine was their masa, made from corn they nixtamalize and grind themselves. I also loved an appetizer made with refried lentils.

What is your idea of the perfect meal? One cooked and eaten together with friends. In New York, we had a group of friends who would get together and cook a meal every month or so, with each person contributing a course. We all had so much fun putting the food together and then enjoying it around one of our tables.

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