Special Summer Supper

Here's a peek:

Roasted Beet, Globe Carrot, Easter Egg Radish, Baby Fennel, Roasted Dulce Pepper, Red Grape, Heirloom Tomato, Parmesan, Puffed Forbidden Rice

Seared Scallop, Corn, Ginger, Peach Butter, Bacon

Seared Niman Ribeye, Brown Beech Mushrooms, Celery Root Puree

Eat With Your Eyes

I just watched the newest in a long line of food-system related films, Food, Inc. and while it might not bring a lot of new information to the table, it certainly does a good job of illustrating several key issues and continuing to bring our inherently flawed agricultural system into public discourse.

Interviews with Michael Pollan, Eric Schlosser and Joel Salatin highlight a well-produced trip through various aspects of the food production process, touching on everything from CAFO's to childhood obesity and industrial organic. While there have been myriad books published in recent memory on these subjects with more detailed information, Food, Inc. brings a different touch to the discussion by visualizing several things that are more poignant when seen and not just read.

A well executed film with a high production value and some very important information, I highly recommend giving Food, Inc. a place in your movie queue.

Food for Thought

A large percentage of my reading time is devoted to my love for fiction, but I do try to intersperse a fair amount of non-fiction, and most of that is generally food related. No surprise there. Here are a couple of recent reads that I really enjoyed.

Sex, Death and Oysters

In this travelogue-style reader, fellow Texan Robb Walsh explores the oft misunderstood nature of oysters in a world tour that left me with a serious craving and a lot of new information about one of the most eco-friendly and fabled foodstuffs.

Just Food:
Where Locavores Get It Wrong and How We Can Truly Eat Responsibly

Austinite James E. McWilliams' tome takes an interesting look at our current food system, from organic to the industrialized farm. He proposes a 'golden mean' of food production for the future that does its best to recognize the pros and cons from both sides of this very important and impassioned debate.

Gastronomical Gear, Vol. 3: Pizza Stone

While certainly not an everyday necessity, my new favorite piece of equipment in my kitchen has to be this beautiful pizza stone.


I am something of a pizza fanatic, eating it at least once a week, and to get pizza at home that can get anywhere close to rivaling those baked in lovely wood-fired ovens, you'll need one of these. The stone serves as a porous, pre-heated surface that aids the crust by removing moisture and distributing heat evenly across the base. Homemade, store-bought, or even reheated delivery will never be better than when cooked on a pizza stone.

Most commercial stones come with instructions for use, but there are also several online resources to answer any questions as to their proper use and how to achieve the best results. If you don't want to spend the extra money for a name-brand, you can head to your local hardware store and pickup an unglazed terra cotta tile that will do the job perfectly. Just be sure to get unglazed, the glaze is usually made with lead and that is not an appetizing topping.

For homemade use, I dust the stone with a bit of cornmeal, then place in a cold oven, pre-heat to 500 F, and let the stone sit in the 500 F oven for about 30 minutes before cooking. Pop the pie on the stone and cook until the crust/cheese are golden brown. Simple as that.

With results like this, who can argue?

A peel is a great tool for moving delicately constructed pizzas onto the screaming hot stone with minimal difficulty.

Here's another post with my basic pizza dough recipe (I usually alter this recipe to 16 oz. AP flour and 4 oz. Semolina flour for my pizza dough.)

Enjoy!