Sometimes it Hurts

Im not going to try & catch you up on all events that have happened in the past six months other than the fact that myself & a group of friends physically built & opened a "localvore" restaurant without any financial backing on the east side of austin texas.

Mickie Spencer is the designer, owner & builder/ floor manager. Trudy Spencer is the mother/ owner/ dishwasher/ HR. Mindy Spencer is server. Chauncy James is bartender. And myself the Cook. Mickie rented the place & entirely gutted it. Funded by Trudy's retirement fund. Then rebuilt it with the labor mainly from Mindy, Trudy & Chauncy. Well, and many other friends.

I don't think that the general public understands what it takes to cook good food. My kitchen staff (5 total) have literally been working 12 hour days since before we were open (with zero pay!!) in my tiny (SO tiny) kitchen to source & cook simple REAL local food for your bellies. For example, we will have 6 different farms come in to deliver their weekly meats & produce in a single afternoon (my favorite times!!) & we are the only restaurant that Rain Lily Farms will sell to because of the demand, RL is located literally 5 minutes from us. The veggies we get from them are picked & delivered to me the same day & it becomes the special for service that night. You just can't get any fresher than that unless you eat it from the dirt while it's still alive! This high demand will hopefully encourage other farmers to start raising more organic foods to sell.

It is so important that we change the way we eat & purchase food. If only to improve our quality of life. I truly believe that the food revolution will help our communities & therefor the economy. Mass production of animals & single crops are directly destroying the environment & our families. We are so still at the beginning of making changes & it also feels trendy. Folks come in & explain to me that they are so excited that we feature texas grown product. Then their next sentence is about how they are so disappointed that we are sold out of certain entrees for the day. There is not an endless supply of product from these small farms. If we are truly going to support the "localvore" movement then we will commit to understanding that the demand that to have "everything-we-want, all-the-time" is harmful to the integrity of our food. This is hard for most to grasp. On the other side, we will have TONS of one item, because of our weather mostly. Then you hear folks say that they would gladly receive the "local food basket" from our farmers but it always has the same items in it everyday. Like greens right now or cabbage or cauliflower. The thing to do is to invent new ways of using these ingredients... or just roast em, puree em , stack em, steampunk em, blend em or eat them raw!

It has been rough on us at the East Side Showroom after the Chronicle Review proclaiming that we are a victim of our own success, oh and my noodles were limp. It's frustrating that one single person's opinion can do so much to the place a layer of fog over the kitchen staff that has given up any resemblance of a "life" to cook for you. We are such masochists, us cooks.

Thanks for letting me rant! oh blog in the sky! Now come & eat some local food!!

Hello Rabbit!

Some of this weeks menu items are all about the mad hare. We have a delicious rabbit sausage with fried sage & mushrooms as the meat of the moment on our charcuterie plate, a rabbit ravioli with rabbit stock consommé & a rich rabbit cacciatore with pilaf.

Our favorite was the rabbit ravioli because it is so super fun to make. If you are lucky enough to have a pasta roller attachment to your kitchen-aid mixer that is, oh and a pastry chef who will make you a dough on the spot. Wow! What a luxury that I never knew existed. The thing costs a pretty penny (Thank you Showroom!) but well worth it. After years of use my handheld crankin' lil Italian baby finally bit the dust. God bless it's soul.

Misto Fritto of Offal

Last Night we did a special that sort of freaked people out but it was so delicious. Rabbit kidneys, rabbit livers (so fresh from countryside farm), veal sweat breads (humanely raised) https://www.ecosalon.com/is-veal-ethical-and-eco-friendly/), quail livers & duck liver fried n cornmeal with cajun spices. These fried bits if yummy-ness sit on top a bed of "crazy" lettuce. We call it crazy lettuce but what it is a delicious blend of wild lettuces that include succulents that we get from Farm to Plate.

The sauce for this dish consisted of beef demi with grape jam finished with butter, grape vinegar (we made this from summer red grapes that we got from rain lily farm. hello!) & a dash of pink salt.

I ate tis for my dinner.

East Side Showroom flooded!

Yes, it's true! We were going to move all the small wares into our beautiful golden kitchen to prepare for the opening of the showroom. ... it hasn't rained in a month until today.

We have a leak. Again we will have to wait to open the new restaurant.

www.eastsideshowroom.com

Little Birds

Solstice was quite a celebration with dinner for thirty five at the Rockin' Y Ranch (where apparently Cote Catering has their own room!).

The band was perfect. Eight piece acoustic complete with accordian & washboard who describe themselves as "your favorite band of gypsies from Austin Texas" https://winovino.com/
This very rich menu included:

fresh goat chevre with spicy peach preserves | chicken & duck sausages with shaved fennel | quail liver mousse with sherry | squab paté with chili syrup

Chilled Sweet Corn Bisque with oven dried tomatoes | Marinated Quail on Field Lettuces with blueberry vinaigrette | Pink Pilaf & Mushroom Stuffed Duck with Musketel Pan Ju | Tomato & Chard Gratin | Dark Chocolate Tart with Lavendar Cream | Chilled Zabajone & Fresh Fruit

Hello Halibut Stock!

Well, right now is the season for Fresh Wild Alaskan Halibut, which is super delicious in my opinion.

Buy this fish (or any wild caught) while it's in season to promote sustainable fishing ( https://www.msc.org/ )

This weeks "Seasonal Bistro" menu:

Shaved Celery & Fennel Salad with Sweet Pickled Radish

Fresh Spinach & Chard Gratin

Nut Crusted Halibut with Spicy Lemon Cucumber Sauce

Puff Pastries with Blackberry Ice Cream & Chocolate Sauce

If you have a fishmonger that fillets his own Halibut, ask for the bones, this makes the most flavorful fish stock. Add whatever vegetables (lemons, tomatoes, carrots, celery, onion) you desire include lots of herbs (thyme, bay, parsley, peppercorns) & simmer stock for 30 minutes (fish stock doesn't take as long as meat stocks). I like to stain it & then reduce for easier storage. Halibut stock can be used for seafood pies, soups, white wine sauces. For added flavor you can "sweat" the vegetables before you add water. Do not use mackerel or salmon in this recipe; their taste is too strong and heavy.

Halibut Stock
3 c cold water
1 onion
1 carrot
1 celery stalk
sprinkle of black peppercorns
sprig of parsley
1 bay leaf
sprig of fresh thyme
3 garlic cloves
1/2 lemon
1 lb halibut fish bones

Place water, onion, carrot & celery in stockpot. Tie peppercorns, parsley, bay leaf, thyme, cloves, and lemon rind in a square of cheesecloth and add to pot. Add rinsed fish bones and trimmings. Heat to a simmer over medium high heat. Simmer for 30 minutes. Skim the surface of the soup, strain the stock, and refrigerate or freeze.

Graduation Feast ~ Kleyla Backyard BBQ

Texas Style BBQ in Rhode Island?

For the sport of it (well, and as a favor to Chris K & money enough for the ride back to Austin) my cousins & I threw a party for one of our favorite families; graduations for two of them, a birthday for Katie, a brand new kitchen for mom & the oldest home for a visit. This definitely calls for celebration, we decided to give them a taste of Texas.

The Menu:

• Slow Cooked Whiskey & Cider Brisket

• Spicy Texas BBQ Sauce

• Barrocho Beans

• Roasted Corn on the Cob

• Cheesy Jalapeño Corn Bread

• Homemade Mac & Cheese

• Sauteed Collard Greens

Slow Cooked Whiskey & Cider Brisket

1