With cool, overcast skies we attended a great tailgate party at Reliant Stadium with coworkers and friends. Not wanting to make too big a deal about food, I just prepped two staple dishes - Red Beans & Rice, New Orleans Style BBQ Shrimp and some  homemade bread for dipping into the shrimp sauce.

Well....that didn't work. No low key at all. Because these recipes are so reliable and I've made them so many times it's hard not to get pretty good results....so the people brought out the looove!! And the Texas held up their end of the bargain by smothering the Titans to get out to a 4-0 record for the season.

Except for the bread,which requires some dedication and training on the techniques, these are REALLY easy dishes to make. Give them a try.

KHS Homecoming 2011: Tom's Chris Steak House

If you've been following this blog you might recall the 'fine dining' menus for my daughter Nora and her friends for their high school homecoming festivities. Parents participate as waiters and kitchen staff. It's been a blast. As usual a mix of couples, singles, long time friends and new faces among the kids resulted in new and energetic parental labor.

In 2009 it was "Looks Like a Kid's Menu" in which 'kids dishes' were taken to an innovative and high level - such as a recreation of Grant Achatz's PB&J and a 'deconstructed hamburger with a constructed tower of chili cheese fries'.

Last year the menu was "Tastes From (Almost) Every Continent".

Yesterday's event went down the path of 'high end steak joint' - with Italian influences. My good friend Chris Day again tended the grill and prepped with me for hours and hours. So we labelled the effort as Tom's Chris Steak House. The menu is below, with links to several similar from here or Be A Better Cook. Other recipes to follow in due course. Wow - I like that unintended pun.

My friend Tootsie Urwiler did a professional photo shoot of the event. We'll share a complete photo essay / multimedia thing soon as we work through the hundreds and hundreds of great shots she captured. Here's her website - www.TheBubbleYears.com 

Tom’s Chris Steak House

An evening of fine steakhouse dining inspired by the elegant style of Mario Batali’s Babbo and the comfort of Frankie’s 457 Fourth Street Spuntino. These two ends of the dining spectrum have been transplanted from New York to Texas for our honored guests.  


REFRESHERS

Apple – Ginger Spritz

Pomegranate and Soda

STARTERS

Roasted Corn, Bacon and Cheddar Gougeres
Antipasti: Cravanzina Two Milk Cheese, Aged Provolone, Molinari  Salumi

Verdure a Scapece: Marinated Roasted Eggplant, Zucchini, Squash, Cauliflower, Red and Yellow Peppers and Olives

SALAD

Caesar Salad, Garlic-Rosemary Croutons, Crispy Pancetta

Homemade Rustic Bread

ENTRÉE

Porcini Crusted Grilled Ribeye

Grilled Calamari Steak with Tangerine Vinaigrette 

Cheesy Grilled Polenta

Spinach with Roasted Shallots and Garlic

Summer Vegetable Scafata: Asparagus, Artichoke, Baby Carrot, Fennel, Haricot Vert, Leek

DESSERT

Hazelnut Panna Cotta Topped with Amaretti Crumbles and Raspberry

Family Dinner for the staff:  Texas Hill Country Sausage and Seafood Gumbo (Shrimp, Crawfish, Crab).

Herbes de Provence Flat Bread

Flat Bread with Garlic and herbes de Provence

I got a lot of positive email and FB comments about the recipe for Pizza Dough with herbes de Provence. Thanks!

It might be quickly obvious that the same dough makes a great flatbread if you don't use it for pizza. Obvious to others, not me. I used it for flatbread for the first time recently. Add a little sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Some grated hard cheese is good too.

The Cheese Stuffed Flatbread, shown below came from Ideas in Food. I didn't care for it as much as the herby one.

Quick Bread Recipe

This very simple bread making approach was published in the New York Times in November 2007, and I began making it about a month later. It was an instant hit as judged by the responses of others. Of course I like it a lot too. Click here to get access the recipe details at the Times. Or it can be found in a book titled Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking. I've not yet obtained or read this book, but if this recipe is an indication, it won't be long before there are more bread recommendations coming from it.

This recipe results in a dense, yeasty loaf that can have a strong crust, or a bit less if you reduce overall cooking time. I have primarily portioned it into 3 loaves, but have made a few smaller loaves with equal success.

Why is this recipe so good?

• Ease - after 5 minutes of preparation, there is only one additional step, which takes very little skill to master.
• No kneading - which means not only less work, but no variability based on kneading time, technique, etc.
• Taste, look and feel - as good as any of the highest quality artisan bread.

What you need:

• Ingredients: Bread flour (highly recommended, though all-purpose will suffice), Kosher salt, yeast, warm water. Cornmeal for dusting.  
• Equipment: a large bowl, a cutting board or pizza peel, a baking stone (a must) and a rimmed baking sheet / pan.

The approach:

1. Mixing: combine 3 cups warm water, 1.5 tablespoons yeast and1.5 tablespoons salt to dissolve. Stir in 6.5 cups of flour.  use a soft spatula, and fold the wet and dry ingredients gently. The dough will be pretty loose and pretty wet.
2. Rising: Set aside for 2 to 5 hours. Can be refrigerated overnight. If you leave uncovered overnight in a fridge, erratic crusty formations will harden on the top of the dough, which make a great "artisan" look and feel.  
3. Pre-heat: Heat your oven at 450 degrees, with baking stone(s) placed on a middle rack, and a rimmed baking pan on oven floor or lowest rack.  Preheat for at least 45 minutes.
4. Sprinkle a small handful of cornmeal over a baking peel or cutting board.   
5. Forming: While oven is heating, using well-floured hands, pull dough away from the sides of the bowl, and turn upside down onto a marble/stone or well floured surface. Cut ough into thirds. Dust "wet" edges of dough with flour, turn upside down, and form a loaf shape, keeping the hardened crusty top in a prominent and attractive position. Repeat to form three loaves. Place loaves onto a making peel or cutting board. After setting the loaf down, twist it in a circular motion to ensure it doesn't stick.
6. Let loaves rise an additional 20-40 minutes.
7. Slide loaves onto stones in hot oven. Pour 1 cup of cool water into the sheet pan and quickly shut the oven door. Cook approximately 20 minutes, checking color to determine final cooking time.

Final comments: There are only two really tricky parts of this recipe. Forming the loaves is first, as the dough is pretty sticky and hard to work with. The process of sliding the dough into the oven takes a little finesse, also because of the stickiness of the dough. Be sure to use plenty of cornmeal and spin it a little on the peel. Notice the amount of cornmeal in the picture below. But just a little practice and it will pay off for you.