The Turtle Restaurant - eating in the slow lane

Eat Your Way Around the Mediterranean

2011-07-17T16:52:00.004-05:00

It has gotten a little boring around here so we decided to fire up the place with our favorite Mediterranean foods and some hot music and dancing. Be here July 29 and 30, 2011 6:00 pm-9:00pm for food, music and dance. At 9:00 plus a few mintues for set up and $10.00 Samara will perform her fire dance on the patio. Drinks and small plates will be available on the patio and in the bar from 5:00 pm - 10:30 pm. Call 325-646-8200 for reservations or on line here http://www.theturtlerestaurant.com

and don't forget about the flaming saganki!!!!!

Rattlesnake As Food

2011-03-03T17:58:00.012-06:00

Before you start cooking rattlesnake, it would be a good idea to have a Waco Rattlesnake Cocktail to fortify yourself. This rattlesnake species is found under the bridge at 314 17th Street, Waco, TX.

1 1/2 oz Balcones True Blue Whiskey
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp Absenthe
1/2 tsp powdered sugar
1/2 egg white

Hard shake all ingredients with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and sip.

Rattlesnake meat can be prepared just about anyway you fix other meat. You can use it like chicken, bread it, fry it, put it in pasta dishes, chili, fajitas, really any way you would use chicken or pork. The main way people ruin rattlesnake meat is by over cooking it. For health reasons, you do not want to serve it rare, cook just until tender.

Where do you get rattlesnake meat? You can buy USDA inspected on line and have it next day air shipped to you frozen. It is very expensive. Or, you can catch your own. I have never done this so I will tell you the method described at Ehow.com.

Make sure your rattlesnake is dead before moving forward with the skinning. Also be sure the time between the time the snake has been killed and butchering is short otherwise do not eat it. Put on latex gloves. Cut off the head with a cleaver or meat saw at least 1/2 inch behind the head. Use extreme caution as the venom is inside sacs in the jaw. You do not want to accidentally pierce a finger with a fang or open the venom sacs. The venom remains dangerous even after the snake is dead. Dispose of the head by burning it or in another safe and secure way. You do not want your garbage man or neighborhood dumpster divers getting bit by a poisonous decapitated snake.

Turn the rattlesnake belly up. Starting at the head end, make an incision with a sharp scalpel down its stomach to its tail where the white and black colorings meet. Cut through the tail meat and peel away the meat from its skin. Gut your rattlesnake meat and wash it off with cold water just like you would a long fish. Cut the rattlesnake meat into three-four inch pieces with a sharp knife. Soak in brine then freeze in water if you are not going to cook it immediately. I recommend freezing the meat in baggies filled with various marinades.

Rattlesnakes can carry many pathogens on their skin such as salmonella, they slither on the ground through some gross stuff. Food safety first. After you are finished butchering the snake, remove your gloves and wash your hands with plenty of soap and hot water. Timely butchering, soaking the meat in salt brine, refrigeration and good hygiene will insure that your meat is safe for consumption.

Rattlesnake Chili is what you find for sale at many rattlesnake roundups. Brownwood's Rattlesnake Roundup is March 18-20 at the Brownwood Coliseum, hosted by the Brownwood Jaycees. Contact 830-646-3586, rattlesnake@hyperhog.net.

There is valid criticism for stopping these round ups. It has been reported that up to 1% of the Texas' snake population has been caught for a single roundup. Rattlesnakes are relatively slow to mature, have only modest litters, and are already adversely affected by habitat destruction and persecution. These events remove thousands of snakes, including large numbers of reproductively mature animals. Since rattlesnakes are an apex predator, a sudden decline in their population could have ecological consequences, particularly for the rodents on which they typically feed. Anything that reduces the rodent population and keeps the plague away is our friend. However, if you are gonna kill an animal you ought to eat it and wear it.

Here is a common recipe for Rattlesnake Roundup Chili. I don't think you'll find Rattlesnake Chili at Brownwood's Roundup because as I wrote earlier, rattlesnake meat is wildly expensive. Even at wholesale, with a 100 pound minimum order, it is $18.95 a pound plus overnight shipping. I would only eat rattlesnake meat that I killed and butchered myself or was USDA inspected because the danger of contamination by bad handling is too great. For one thing, many rattlesnakes are chased out of their hiding places by gasoline and who wants to eat gasoline. The other reason is you can get really very sick, even die, by eating salmonella contaminated meats and God only knows how long it was before Billy Bob killed that snake and he finally put it in the refrigerator. So you won't see me eating snake at fairs or Roundups unless I see a USDA sticker and a Health Department permit.

2 medium onions, chopped
3 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 red bell pepper, cut into chunks
4 fresh jalapeno peppers, chopped
1 15 oz. can tomato paste
1 28 oz. can chili beans
¼ cup chili powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
2 lbs. rattlesnake meatJuice of ½ lemon

Saute the onions, garlic, bell pepper, jalapenos in some olive. Remove from pan toss into a into 3qt sauce pan. Add paste, beans, spices to sauce pan and slowly simmer for 40 min. You may want to add a little water if it gets too thick. Meanwhile saute the rattle snake chunks in the oil and juices of the vegetables until the meat is tender to the fork. Cool, then remove the bones, chop and spritz the lemon juice over the meat. Add the sauteed meat chunks to the chili a few minutes before the chili is ready to serve. You don't want the meat to become tough by over cooking.

And here is a recipe more appropriate for a meat costing $18.95-$60.00 a pound delivered.

Pistachio Parmesan Crusted Rattlesnake

LEMON BUTTER SAUCE:
2/3 cup white wine
1/4 cup lemon juice
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1 tablespoon sugar
1 pound unsalted butter, cut into pieces

FOR THE SNAKE:
1 cup Italian breadcrumbs
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup crushed pistachio nuts
1/4 cup beaten eggs for wash
1/4 cup buttermilk
6 4" long sections of snake (cleaned of course)
1 1/2 ounces butter a a few teaspoons of olive oil for sauteing

TO SERVE:
2 artichoke hearts per serving, quartered and sauteed in butter and wine Coarsely chopped fresh basil for garnish

LEMON BUTTER SAUCE:
Combine white wine and lemon juice in a saucepan. Let simmer until reduced in volume by half. Add heavy cream and let simmer until thick but not brown. Add salt, white pepper and sugar.
Whisk in 1 pound of cold butter pieces slowly over low to medium heat. You will probably have more sauce then you need, left over can be saved for another dish.

PREPARE AND COOK SNAKE:
Combine breadcrumbs, Parmesan and pistachio nuts in a shallow pan. In another shallow pan, mix eggs and buttermilk. Lay snake meat, flesh side down, into the wet mixture, then roll snake in the breadcrumbs.

Heat butter and in a saute pan into which you place breaded snake breading side down. Adding the oil to the butter helps to prevent the butter from burning. Saute for about 2 minutes, shaking the pan so the breading doesn't stick to the pan. Flip and finish cooking in a 350 F oven for about 5 minutes depending on the thickness of the snake.

Plate with artichoke hearts and basil decorating the snake pieces and drizzle with lemon butter sauce.
Yield: 6 servings

A side of rice would be a nice touch.

Snake meat contains roughly 93 calories per 100g (3.5 oz) of raw meat, depending on the type of snake. This is roughly half the calories and one third the amount of fat of a similar amount of sirloin beef steak. So if you are on a diet, leave off the lemon butter sauce!

Wine Dinner with Fall Creek Vineyards 3-10-11

2011-03-02T18:44:00.009-06:00

We haven't had a wine dinner for nearly nine months. Beer Dinners, a whiskey dinner, but somehow we neglected wine. So, now is the time to polish the wine glasses and set the table.

My friend, Suzanne Fain, owner of the restaurant A Moveable Feast in Houston is cousins with the owners of Fall Creek Vineyards. Suzanne told me about Fall Creek wines several years ago when we met through the Slow Food movement, but The Turtle had been working with vineyards closer to home and I hadn't had the chance until a few months ago at a fair in Marble Falls to taste Fall Creek wines - nice, very nice.

The Turtle's Chef, Curt Sassak has been preparing for a wine pairing contest sponsored by Edible Austin. During our research we read about the first-ever Texas Sommelier Tasting during which nearly a dozen sommeliers and wine experts blind tasted more than 100 Texas wines to select their favorites that best represent Texas and its terroir. The tasting took place in Austin on Jan. 17. This information definitely influenced our Texas wine picks for the competition and for the restaurant. Tex Soms, the guys and gals wearing dark suits and Master Sommelier pins on their lapels are the creme de la creme of wine "tasters." They go through years of training and testing to achieve thir status. So, this really caught our eye, not one but two of Fall Creek's bottlings appeared on the Texas Sommelier Tasting list of Top Texas wines. Friendship aside, this is the best reason ever to show case Fall Creek wines with our food.

Here is the menu:

Chef's selection of canapes with Fall Creek 09 Chardonnay

First Course

Goat cheese panna cotta with pine nut tapenade, basil and balsamic reduction with Fall Creek Savignon Blanc

Main Course

Pan seared beef tenderloin medallion on an osso bucco ravioli, red wine jus and braised mushrooms with fresh thyme with Fall Creek 2006 Meritus (not on their web site and one of the Texas 100)

Dessert

Muscat (Fall Creek Muscat Canelli) poached pear with pecan baklava and caramel gelato.

$45.00 per person including 3 glasses of wine, excluding tax and tip. Please make reservations by calling 325-646-8200 or on line at http://www.theturtlerestaurant.com/ for March 10, 2011, 6pm - 8:00 pm.

David Alan to be guest Bartender at The Turtle Enoteca February 17, 2011

2011-01-24T15:13:00.007-06:00

Each year, the 42BELOW Cocktail World Cup attracts teams of the world’s best bartenders to Queenstown, New Zealand for a week of intense competition. Our regional qualifying round for the 42Below Cocktail World Cup took place Sunday January 23rd, 2011 at Lustre Pearl in Austin, Texas.

What’s on the line:
- The top two winners of this competition will be flown to New York City to compete in the semi-finals.
- The winners of the semi-finals will then be sent to New Zealand where he/ she will represent the United States in the finals.

Click here for an in depth break down of the World Cup. Why are we posting about the 42Below World Cup? Because....

We just recieved word that our guest, David Alan, The Tipsey Texan, placed Gold in our division of the 42BELOW Cocktail World Cup in Austin, Texas, and is on his way to New York City!!! BUT before he leaves, David is making an appearance at The Turtle Enoteca, in Brownwood, Texas as our Guest Bartender. If you ever wanted to see a master mixiologist at work or taste some of the more estoeric and historic cocktails of our time, this is not a not to be missed opportunity. So be here - February 17, 2011 5:00pm - everyone leaves or closing time. The Turtle Enoteca, 510 Center Avenue, Brownwood, Texas 325-646-8200. Show David some Central Texan love.

Championship Punch

Alan created this burnt orange punch for New Year’s Eve and a certain national championship football game that took place on Jan. 7, 2009. “What’s cool about punch is that you’ve got something already prepared to give guests, which frees you up to be with them instead of mixing drinks,” he says. Not only can you make punch ahead of time, punch can also be cheaper than buying bottles of wine or enough spirits to make a variety of drinks.

Punch, which predates the cocktail, was originally made with rum or brandy mixed with citrus juice, tea or spices and was a communal drink at taverns. (That was a question on my final at Tipsey Tech) Alan says. “Instead of ordering a drink at a bar, you walked in and had whatever they were drinking and dipped a ladle out of the communal punch bowl.”

Uuse an old Jell-O mold or silicon Bundt pan to freeze a block of ice. A big piece of ice is better than smaller pieces because it will melt more slowly.

3 or 4 tangerines, Meyer lemons, oranges or lemons
1/2 cup demerara sugar (or white sugar)
6 oz. strong green tea, warm
24 oz. (about one 750 ml. bottle) Flor de Cañ a 4-year Aged Rum (or other aged rum, such as Mount Gay or the Texas-made Railean )
6 oz. fresh squeezed tangerine juice
6 oz. fresh squeezed Meyer lemon juice
6-8 dashes Angostura bitters
1 oz. St. Elizabeth’s Allspice Dram (available at The Depot in Brownwood and fine liquor stores)

Over a punch bowl or glass pitcher, remove the zests of several tangerines, Meyer lemons, oranges or lemons. Be careful to remove only the outer zest and not the white pith, which is bitter. Leave the zests in the bowl and add sugar and warm green tea. Stir to dissolve sugar and allow to steep a few minutes.

Add rum, fruit juices, bitters and allspice dram. Strain mixture into a punch bowl. Add a large block of ice, which you can make by freezing water in a Jell-O mold, Bundt pan or half of a paper milk carton. Makes about a dozen 4-oz. servings.

—David Alan, TipsyTexan.com

Balcones Whiskey Dinner February 12, 2011

2011-01-18T17:47:00.011-06:00

Chip Tate in front of his hand built still at Balcones Distillery, Waco, Texas

Texas is the home to a number of new craft distillers of high quality spirits, Tito's Vodka, Paula's Orange to name a few. The Turtle Restaurant and Enoteca make a point of serving our great state's home brews, wines and spirits. We're here to help you discover the best that Texas offers in the way of food and drink as we welcome Balcones Baby Blue and Rumble to our spirits of Texas shelf.

Balcones Distillery is located under a bridge in Waco, Texas and is the closest distillery to Brownwood. Released in 2009, Baby Blue not the moonshine often associated with corn whiskey in the little brown jug. “Most of the stuff that’s marketed as corn whiskey on the shelf is junk,” Tate says during an Edible Austin interview. “We’re not just trying to make whiskey in Texas; we’re trying to make Texas whiskey. We are trying to create a tradition.”

Chip built his distillery system from scratch with a two-person crew in an old Waco warehouse under the shadow of the 17th Street railroad bridge. His stills are self built instruments with which he creates his spirits as a composer creates a symphony, layers of taste evoking memoeries and emotions. Chip was a dedicated homebrewer for 18 years then spent two years learning the art and science of distilling, including an apprenticeship in Scotland. His philisophy is learn from tthe best, use the best ingrediants, make the best spirits, do your best.

To make a unique and outstanding product, Tate imports Hopi blue corn from New Mexico. While he could purchase generic corn for 15¢ a pound, Tate insists the blue corn is worth the $1.60 price tag. “I just wanted the best corn,” he says. “It’s a question of flavor.”

Tate speeds up the maturation process by using much smaller barrels than other distilleries. “Our stuff is typically about four months old,” he notes, “which is about the equivalent of five to seven years in a larger barrel.” This is because there is more barrel surface available to each cubic centimeter of liquid and because of the atmospheric conditions in the distillery. For a more detailed explination, talk to Chip.

Baby Blue customers can be found coast to coast and in London, surrounded by coasts. Balcones Distillery won a double gold medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition which just confirms what we already know, that Baby Blue, Texas first whiskey since prohibition is first in taste.

Baby Blue, as well as their small barrel-aged fruit brandy, Rumble have become staples for bartenders in Texas' capital, like Tipsy Texan’s David Alan, who says that Baby Blue’s unusual flavors make it fun and challenging to work with. (Attention! David Alan will appear at The Turtle Enoteca on February 24 as a guest bartender. David is a master bartender and teacher) Lara Nixon, also a member of the Tipsy Tech teaching team and Balcones Distillery brand ambassador agrees. “The blue corn is delicate and complicated,” she says. “I like bright flavors and products that build on, and enhance, the blue corn properties. For example, lemon, cherries, oranges and blueberries . . . those are bright, fresh flavors that open up the blue-corn taste.”

Lara won the 2009 Edible Austin Drink Local Cocktail Contest with her Baby Blue-infused entry, We’re in It for the Corn (click to see the recipe). We are considering serving a taste of her cocktail with the chef's canapes as guest arrive or perhaps something new. Lara will be here at The Turtle along with Chip and his wife to meet and educate our guests about Balcones Distillery spirits. You will get to taste an early version of Baby Blue to compare with the significantly improved Baby Blue being bottled in 2011. Chip will also bring some Brimstone, a newly unvailed smokey whiskey to taste as a special bonus. This is Chips' version of "scotch" only instead of peat smoke we taste bar b que smoke destined to become an iconic spirit for Texan cuisine. (At least that's my thought)

We'll finish up with a taste of Rumble with or after dessert. Rumble will most certainly be IN the dessert. Dessert makers out there listen up, Rumble is a wonderful flavoring agent for all kinds of sweets. “It’s a play on rum but not really a rum,” says Chip. “It’s between rum and brandy, with single malt and tequila notes.” Rumble isn’t overly sweet but has a honeyed and slightly smokey aroma. “We sell a consumable fragrance,” says Tate. Smell is in fact the major part of the way something tastes. We eat with our eyes first, then our nose while our taste buds just confirm the first two senses. Rumble is in a category of it's own. Not a rum but almost a brandy. Rumble is distilled from Texas Wildflower Honey, Mission Figs and Demarara Sugar.

Here's the menu:

Chef's choice of canapes

First course: Chestnut gnocchi with smoked bacon, roasted garlic, wilted greens and veal jus (vegetarian option available)

Main course: choice of - Steak au poivre with potato and fennel gratin, wild mushrooms and brandy-mustard sauce
or
Duet of roasted duck breast and duck confit with mole sauce, wild rice pilaf

Dessert: assorted whiskey filled chocolates and Balcones Rumble Cake

$65.00 per person includes approximately four shots of various styles of distilled spirits from Balcones Distillery, a cocktail taste, coffee and tea. Plan to spend at least two hours over dinner and tastings. Seatings at 6:00, 6:30 and 7:00. Dinner without spirits is $40.00 Reservations can be made over the phone 325-646-8200 or on line http://www.blogger.com/www.theturtlerestaurant.com The Turtle Restaurant is located at 514 Center Avenue, Brownwood, Texas

A Revolutionary Way To Make Spaghetti

2011-01-05T09:53:00.008-06:00

Last night as we were getting ready for bed my husband sighed a long long sigh which was followed by, "Two years ago we were walking in the snow all over Bologna." Before I left the restaurant that evening, I had surfed the net late into the night looking for ideas for our next trip to Italy revisiting the website of the cooking school we previously attended and the variety of pastas we ate. I had looked at The Geomoetry of Pasta's web site . My mouth watered. I had ordered a garganelli board as my Christmas present and used it for the first time earlier that day. The curled garganelli tubes lay drying on the bread rack. We had the Bolognese pasta blues bad. I kept surfing for a taste of pasta. Another cooking blog suggested I watch a revolutionary way to make pasta. I did and it was.

This PEZ fellow is a genius. Andrew Pesapane gives alternative multiple lives to objects which then participate in a revolutionary way to make spaghetti.

New Year Menu at The Turtle Restaurant 2010

2010-12-28T16:05:00.003-06:00

The Turtle Restaurant will be opened New Year's Eve until everyone leaves or it is midnight, which ever comes first. Make your reservations here or call 325-6466-8200 The Enoteca will be serving some of Ty Wolosin's fabulous pre prohibition cocktails and all of our champagne is half-off so bubbles may flow with abandon.

New Year's Eve 2010 Menu -
First Course - Choice of:
Goat Cheese agnolottis with roasted poblano and tomatillo sauce
OR
Beef carpacio with shaved mushrooms, baby arugula and chipotle dressing

Second Course - Choice of:
Salmon and asparagus salad with mustard dressing and salmon caviar
OR
Duck confit on potato gratin with pot sauce
(Vegetarian option available)

Third Course - Choice of:
Grilled beef tenderloin with foie gras butter on a potato, artichoke and mushroom ragout
OR
Rack of Lamb with horseradish potatoes, mint and seasonal vegetables
OR
Butter poached lobster tail with fennel and shrimp, pancetta bacon and preserved lemon
(Vegetarian option available)

Dessert
A selection of pastries and gelato

Four Courses $55.00 per person excluding beverages, tip and taxes

The Sazarac

2010-11-29T21:39:00.019-06:00

I've spent Tuesday evening of the last 10 weeks in Austin, Texas at Tipsy Tech learning as much as I could about Spirits, not the ethereal kind, but the temporal and delicious. Until recently I almost never drank anything other than gin and tonic, and that rarely, usually in the company of other drinkers, especially the Anglo Saxon. I am usually found at table with a glass of wine. Since The Turtle Enoteca and Restaurant could only acquire a full bar with food license due to the peculiarities of our local laws; and since that privilege was quite expensive, we decided to sell mixed drinks to help pay for the overhead of the full bar license. I really knew nothing about spirits and still consider myself to be a complete novice, even after attending 10 weeks of Tipsy Tech. I do not bar tend except under duress (someone doesn't show up for shift) and my head is too full of tax due dates, employee schedules, important reservations, gelato and bread recipes to make room for the sixty plus cocktail recipes we covered in class much less the nuances of the hundreds of spirits on the market. However, now I do have an idea about what is going on in the bar and an idea about what makes a good drink and how to make one with a good recipe book, other wise - it's gin and tonic. I have even begun to make my own tonic water. The history of tonic water is a long tall topic on it's own which traverses from Peru to India and then some.

I found the history of various drinks and alcohols to be deeply intertwined with all the rest of our history whether it be political, religious or scientific. This was the most interesting part of the class. But what I am going to post about today is the history of the Sazarac Cocktail. I am doing this not just to elucidate you, dear reader, but to practice my essay for my big test tomorrow evening at Tipsy Tech. I don't expect to receive a fabulous grade because, as I said, I am severely short of RAM these days and even if I could remember anything, I don't have time to study. Restaurant life intervenes.

Around 1830 Antoine Peychaud invented the bitters which carries his name today. Bitters started out as patent medicine, good for what ails you. Mr. Peychaud's family was from Bordeaux, France. They emigrated to Haiti. They were slave holders. Inspired by the American Revolution and the French Revolution, Haitian slaves began to feel that the "Rights of Man" belonged to all men and revolted. By 1803 it appeared unsafe for white people to be on the island so many immigrated once again, this time to New Orleans. Antoine found himself in New Orleans by 1811. He became a pharmacist. His recipe for bitters had immigrated with him as well. By 1820 he was offering Pechaud's Bitters for sale.

Mr. Peychaud entertained his fellow Masons with a drink consisting of brandy, sugar and his bitters served in the large end of an egg cup. Legend has it that this is how the word cocktail came into the language of the bar as the french word for egg cup is "cocquetier". If one had imbibed several or spoke with a southern drawl, one's pronunciation might be slurred into cocktail. There are other theories concerning the invention of the word "cocktail" but this much we do know and that is Antoine Peychaud invented Peychaud's Bitters in New Orleans around 1830. The little drink he served to his fellow Masons was almost a Sazarac but not quite. It needed a particular brand of cognac before it would earn it's name.
The french cognac company Sazarac de Forge Et Fils had an agent in New Orleans by the name of Sewell Taylor. It was a happy coincident that Mr. Taylor's and Mr. Peychaud's businesses were located up the street from each other. Mr. Taylor owned a bar called The Merchant Exchange. At some point he sold it to focus on his importing business but not before he declared that the drink that Peychaud served to his fellow Masons up the street was to be concocted in his establishment using only his own imported product, Sazarac de Forge Et Fils cognac. Aaron Bird took over the Merchant Exchange and changed it's name to Sazarac Coffee House - named after the main ingredient in the house drink. In 1870 Thomas Hardy took over and changed the name of the bar to Sazarac House (period). He also changed the main ingredient from cognac Sazarac de Forge Et Fills to Rye Whisky. Thomas Hardy used Maryland Club Rye. He also bought the Peychaud's Bitters company and other liquor companies.

Why keep the name Sazarac but change the main spirit? Well, it was on account of the Phylloxera epidemic. A tiny little bug caused total French wine production to fall by two-thirds between 1875 and 1879. Bartenders who had sworn by French brandy were switching to whiskey as cognac became expensive and rare. It may have also been on account of native pride, preferring red likker to french cognac.

Cartoon from Punch, September 6, 1890, page 110

"THE PHYLLOXERA, A TRUE GOURMET, FINDS OUT THE BEST VINEYARDS AND ATTACHES ITSELF TO THE BEST WINES."

Artwork by Edward Linley Sambourne (January 4, 1844–August 3, 1910)

We can't reproduce the Sazarac Thomas Hardy made with Maryland Club Rye because there aren't any distilleries in Maryland any more. Here is a link to some Maryland Rye Whiskey brands of the era.

In 2006 The Sazarac Company decided to release Sazarac Rye Whiskey made in their Buffalo Trace distillery. After a 116-year absence Sazerac Rye, bottled in the original late 1800s package, was available once more.

This is the official Tipsy Tech class Sazarac Rye Whiskey recipe: You need a mixing glass and an old fashioned glass. Pack the old fashioned with ice. In the mixing glass put 2 oz Sazarac Rye, .5 oz simple syrup, 4 dashes Peychaud's Bitters, stir until chilled. Throw out the ice in the other glass, rinse it with herbsaint (I like the idea of spraying the glass with Absinthe). Strain the Rye mixture into this glass. Flame a lemon peel over the glass and discard.

Now for something close to the original version substitute a decent cognac. It won't be the same since Cognac Sazerac de Forge et fils was bought in the early 1870's and became Sazerac de Forge et Kotniski then disappeared when the company was sold in 1965 to la société Engrand

We are too late in time to taste the original and can only mix a Sazarac with the spirits available today. There are many disputes about the proper way to make a Sazarac. So, mix it with what you or your customer like to drink using the technique you prefer, sugar cube or simple syrup, absinthe or Herbsaint, leave the peel in, take the peel out, rye or cognac, or half and half. I won't argue with you about whether you've made a Sazarac correctly as long as it is enjoyed. Bottoms up!

A Partial History of Thanksgiving

2010-11-05T13:56:00.005-05:00

President Lincoln was the first president to proclaim a November Thanksgiving Day in 1863. The holiday has been a fixture of late November ever since. We were taught that Thanksgiving began with the Pilgrims in 1621. But is this entirely true? What is Thanksgiving's genesis?

Before going to Plymouth, the Mayflower group lived 11 years in the Dutch city of Leiden where they had fled to escape violent and endless religious and political wars. This affected their outlook on life in interesting ways. When the Pilgrims left England in 1607-08 they were not known as Pilgrims, but rather as "Separatists" who were out of step with both the Church of England and with the Calvinist "Puritans" who were trying to "purify" the Church of England of popeish influences.

These British Pilgrims sharply advocated church-state separation unlike British Puritans who wanted to turn Massachusetts into a theocracy. The Pilgrims also believed the heresy that women should be allowed to speak in church. They were far more tolerant of other faiths and open to the idea that their theology, like all human dogma, might contain errors. They did not burn witches. The influence of the Pilgrims on the future United States has been great. No fewer than seven American Presidents are direct descendants of the Leiden Pilgrims.

Eventually political tides turned in Leiden, inhabitants of the city became less tolerant of dissidents and reformers so persecution of the refugees returned which encouraged both the Pilgrims and the Puritans living in this adopted home to take their chances in the New World and so in 1620, The Mayflower sailed.

The Pilgrims celebrated Thanksgiving in the fall of 1621 after having lost 46 members of their group the previous winter to starvation, cold and disease. Ninety-one native Americans participated in this Thanksgiving celebration with the Pilgrim settlers. I will tell the story of one of these natives down page. The menu included fish, berries, watercress, lobster, dried fruit, clams, venison, and plums and wild fowl. The celebration was not repeated for many years.

The reasons for this Pilgrim Thanksgiving were nearly identical to an Oct. 3 Dutch Protestant "thanksgiving." October the 3rd was the start of three days of sermons, games, militia exercises, and feasting which celebrated the end of the 1574 Spanish Catholic siege of Leiden, during which half the city starved. Thanksgiving there was a time to celebrate relief from certain starvation, political and religious persecution. In this picture, Leiden mayor Van der Werff is seen as offering his own body as food in an attempt to prevent the people from surrendering to the Spanish after the seige had gone on for nearly a year. The Spanish had tried to lure the citizens into surrender with promises, but the people of Leiden toughed it out. The Mayor offering the meat of his own body must have been a persuasive exhortation to resist. Finally, the Dutch army, led by William of Orange, deliberately flooded the fields around Leiden by breaking the dikes to force the Spanish armies to leave. The Spanish were literally washed away, and the siege ended on October 3, 1574. The Dutch army entered the city with food, bread with cheese and herring. The date on which the siege ended, the third of October (Leidens Ontzet or Leiden's Deliverance), is to this modern day celebrated every year with large scale festivities, and.... with bread and herring. As a reward for the Leideners' courage in resisting the Spanish, they were given a choice by their liberator, Willliam of Orange, of exemption from taxes or a University! Imagine a people who would choose a University over NO TAXES!! It is traditionally said that the citizens believed that a tax law could be rescinded, whereas the great universities of Europe had survived for many centuries.

Now back in the New World - how are the theocratic Puritans getting along? They declared Thankgiving, June 29, 1676, fifty five years after the Pilgrim's Thanksgiving, the Puritan governing council of Charlestown, Massachusetts declared an official Thanksgiving Day of Thanksgiving. One cannot help but notice that one half century after the Pilgrims had been saved from certain death by the natives, the theocratic Puritans are now thanking God when their "Enemies are in any measure disappointed or destroyed". The Puritans punished all who are not Puritans. The natives had been given reason, as we shall soon see, to exchange feelings of hospitality for hostility have begun taking an eye for an eye. As we all know, this conflict did not end well for the natives or Episcopalians, Quakers, and "Others" in the neighborhood. Non Puritans began to lose life, liberty, limbs, and ears.

Squanto -
I shall now tell the story of one Amerian Native of the era. I think the most important and certainly the most interesting man at the Pilgrim's Thanksgiving was a Wampanoag named Squanto. His life story is a fantastic one, nearly unbelievable and mythic and nothing like I learned in school.

When Squanto, discovered the Pilgrims in 1620-21, they were in dire straits. Their English crops of wheat and barley had failed. They had lost nearly half their members to disease and starvation. Imagine the Pilgrim's surprise when out from the forest came a man "stark naked, only a leather about his waist, with a fringe about a span long, or little more; he had a bow and two arrows, the one headed, and the other unheaded. He was a tall straight man, the hair of his head black, long behind, only short before, none on his face at all..." who spoke broken English. This was Samoset, of the Nausets. Samoset quickly returned with Squanto who spoke excellent English.

These were not "friendly Indians." Squanto was quite experienced in British ways. He had been kidnapped twice and sold into slavery by them. He spoke perfect English having lived the English life for 16 years. He probably spoke some Spanish as well, having learned it during captivity in Spain. The rest of the local natives had experienced trading furs and corn with Europeans, not to mention that European slave traders had been raiding their villages for at least hundred years. They were wary, never knowing which kind of European they were facing -- but it was their custom to give freely to those who had nothing and hold potlaches. It was believed that by giving there would be enough for all -- the exact opposite of the system we live in now. Potlatching was made illegal in Canada in 1885 and the United States in the late nineteenth century, largely at the urging of missionaries and government agents who considered it "a worse than useless custom" that was seen as wasteful, unproductive, and contrary to "civilized" values.

It is all the more astonishing to me that Squanto helped the Pilgrims survive that winter when you consider that they were building their settlement on the ruins of his own people's settlement and their bones at Patuxet. Squanto, it turns out was a pragmatist and a survivor of many horrors. I think he tried to live in a dual world which was quite impossible in the end. I think that one of the main themes running through all Thanksgivings is "survival." Sometimes it is for "my survival at all costs" and sometimes it is for "thank God we all survived."

Imagine when you were 14 years old you were lured aboard a ship and then carried off to England where you were delivered to Sir Ferdinando Gorges, commander of the fort at Plymouth on the coast of England. How would that shape your future thoughts? Imagine the fear, the homesickness, the strangeness of Plymouth. Sir Gorges had a substantial stake in the Plymouth Company which in the First Virginia charter of 1606, was granted the southern part of Maine. Sir Gorges had a financial interest in extracting all the wealth he could from the territory and needed a guide, a man with intimate knowledge of the territory. Fourteen year old Squanto was that "man."

"We gave them a can of peas and bread, which they carried to the shore to eat. But one of them brought back our can presently and staid aboard with the other two; for he being young, of a ready capacity, and one we most desired to bring with us into England, had received exceeding kind usage at our hands, and was therefore much delighted in our company." Captain Weymouth

In 1614 (this is 6 years before the Pilgrims set sail for the New World) Gorges sent two ships, one commanded by Captain John Smith and the other by Captain Thomas Hunt, to the New World to prepare to start a plantation in New England and to trade with the Indians who were natives of the region. Squanto went along as an interpreter. It was agreed Squanto would help Smith for a short time, and then he would be permitted to return to his village. Squanto traveled with Smith as his interpreter. Finally, when Captain Smith was ready to return home, he gave Squanto permission to travel back to his village.

On his way back to his village, Squanto ran into Captain Thomas Hunt and his ship. Captain Hunt tricked Squanto to board his ship. Hunt was an especially evil man. He had planned to sell natives as slaves in Malaga, Spain. Squanto was imprisoned along with 27 other young Indians. This evil event triggered a series of revenges by both the natives and the English upon each other causing many needless deaths.

Once again Squanto crossed the ocean but this time in worse quarters than before. Conditions on these ships were dismal for everyone, but especially for slaves. Rats scampered across the damp hold where the Indians were chained. Scarce provisions, a stormy trip, and continual seasickness took their toll. Many slaves died and were buried at sea. One could imagine hatred building in Squanto's heart for the white man, but that did not happen. He was more interested in surviving this ordeal.

On arrival in the Spanish slave port of Malaga, all the natives were sold. Several reputable sources assert that nothing is known about his life in Malaga except that after two years he escaped and was able to find passage back to England. They point out that Squanto's ability to speak English probably gained him sympathy with English sailors who brought him back to England.

William Bradford who was governor of Plymouth while Squanto was there describes the events as follows:

He was carried away with divers others by one Hunt, a master of a ship, who thought to sell them for slaves in Spain. But he got away for England and was entertained by a merchant in London, and employed to Newfoundland and other parts, and lastly brought hither into these parts by one Mr. Dermer, a gentleman employed by Sir Ferdinando Gorges and others for discovery and other designs in these parts.

Some Internet sources maintain that Squanto was fortunate enough to have been purchased by a group of Spanish Franciscan friars in Malaga. The friars offered Squanto his freedom. Some historians contend that he converted to Christianity at that time, because the Friars treated him with care and respect. Those sources assert that after a period of time, the Franciscans helped him to board a ship back to England. Sir Ferdinando Gorges, who knew Squanto very well as Squanto had lived in his house. Sir Gorges asserts:

Some local Friars, however, discovered what was happening and took the remaining Indians from Hunt in order to instruct them in the Christian faith, thus "disappointing this unworthy fellow of the hopes of gain he conceived to make by this new & devilish project".

To the Pilgrims, and most English and European peoples, the Wampanoags were savages, and of the Devil. They saw Squanto not as an equal but as an instrument of their God to help his chosen people, themselves.

Once Squanto returned to England, he stayed in the home of John Slany, treasurer of the Newfoundland Company. So Squanto was sent sailing again, this time for the New Foundland colony of Cuper's Cove. The year was 1618. Two years before the Pilgrims arrived in The New World.

By the time Squanto landed in New Foundland, Cuper's Cove had been in existence for 8 years. During that time the colonists had learned to survive the harsher climate conditions of the Atlantic cost line of North America. They used the abundant fish of the north Atlantis to fertilize their crops. Squanto later taught the Pilgrims to fertilize their crops the same way. One could ask, who taught the colonists these methods at Cuper's Cove?

In 1618 Squanto accompanied Dermer back to England to ask Sir Gorges permission to return home. This was Squanto's fifth crossing of the Atlantic. Sir Ferdinando Gorges wanted to use Squanto to help make peace with the Indians of the Coast in New England so it would be useful to return Squanto home. Captain Hunt's evil slaving had really made a mess of things:

Notwithstanding these disasters, it pleased God so to work for our encouragement again, as he sent into our hands Tasquantum [Squanto], one of those savages that formerly had been betrayed by this unworthy Hunt....There was hope conceived to work a peace between us, and his friends, they being the principal inhabitant of that coast....But this savage Tasquantum, being at that time in the New-found land with Captain Mason governour there...Master Darmer (who was there also, and sometimes before employed...by us) found the means to give us intelligence of him, and his opinion of the good use that might be made of his employment....

Squanto again worked for Gorges and Dermer by traveling along the coast with Dermer. May 1619 they arrived at Patuxet, Squanto's home, which had once had a population of 2,000 people. They found it was deserted with skeletons everywhere. One can only imagine the shock and horror that Squanto experienced upon his arrival, sixteen years after having been stolen from his beloved home. Imagine discovering that your family and everyone else you had known and loved were dead. Patuxet was in ruins. Clouds of black anger and hatred surely would have built in his heart and he would take revenge, but this did not happen. I think Squanto thought pragmatically, it was better to hang onto life, make the best of it even during long periods of adversity, than to die.

Two Wampanoag leaders, Massasoit and Quadequina told Squanto that a plague had killed all the people of Patuxet. Not only had Squanto's village been destroyed, but the plague (most likely small pox) had swept across the lands of the Massachuset and the Pokanoket Wampanoag, destroying whole communities, and reducing those surviving to ten to thirty per cent of the original population.

Thomas Dermer returned to Wampanoag Country in the summer of 1620 with Squanto and an Abenaki leader from Pemaquid (Maine) named Samoset. This is the Samoset who first walked into the Pilgrim settlement. Later in summer the people of Pokanoket and Namasket took Dermer prisoner. Squanto spoke on Dermer's behalf so he was set free. Captain Dermer later wrote that he would have been killed at Namasket without Squanto's intervention. He added,

"their desire for revenge was occasioned by an Englishman, who having many of them on board made great slaughter of them when they offered no injury on their parts."

Squanto and Dermer then traveled to Martha's Vineyard, an island south of Cape Cod Bay. Near Capawack they met Epenow, a native who had been previously captured with Squanto by Captains Hunt and Smith. Epenow knew Dermer worked for the same Sir Ferinando Gorges who had kept him a prisoner until 1614, so it was reasonable he feared Dermer might have come to take him prisoner again. As a result, Epenow and his men attacked. Captain Dermer was wounded and several of his men were killed. Captain Dermer, although he was able to escape to Virginia, later died of his wounds.

Epenow held Squanto and Samoset prisoners because he did not trust them as he considered them traitorous traveling companions of Demer. Epenow turned his prisoners over to Massasoit. Squanto charmed Massasoit by fires at night telling him stories of his time in England and his travels. Then he tried to convince Massasoit that making peace with the English would be in his best interest. Since they had been weakened by the plague, Massasoit's people could not defend themselves against the Narragansetts, and they were now under the control of Narragansett leader Canonicus. Squanto told him that the Englishmen had powerful weapons. He also told them the lie that the Pilgrims kept the plague in a box and would open it if they were attacked, surely this must have seemed true enough after what had happened. If Massasoit and his allies decided to make peace with the Englishmen, they could use them as allies against the Narragansetts who were influenced by the French in the Canadian territories. In return, they would offer the Englishmen help if they had any enemies. He convinced Massasoit that by helping the English, Massasoit's people could be strong again, and not forced to be subservient to their Narragansett enemies. There was relative peace between the Pilgrims and the Massasoit's people for a number of years as a result of the treaties brokered by Squanto.

The Pilgrims first encounter with American Natives -
It was not the Wampanoa natives whom the Pilgrims first met but the Nauset. The Nausets observed from a distance, the Mayflower near land on November 9, 1620. While the Mayflower remained off Cape Cod, the Pilgrims went ashore near Namskeket.

The Nauset were alarmed when they saw armed men come ashore and search the area. The Nauset saw them take corn and other items that had been stored there. On December 6, ten of the Pilgrim men landed on the coast in a small boat, and set up camp. Finally, the Nauset, remembering the men (Samoset being one of them) who had been captured and taken away six years before, attempted to drive them away. They attacked and shot arrows at the Pilgrims in their camp, but left when the Pilgrims shot back with their guns.

The Pilgrims described this event that occurred on December 8, 1620 as follows:

"About midnight we heard a great and hideous cry, and our Sentinel called out 'Arm, Arm'. So we bestirred ourselves and shot off a couple of Muskets and noise ceased; we concluded that it was a company of Wolves or Foxes for one told us he had heard such a noise in New-found-land. About five a clock in the morning we began to be stirring. ..one of our company being abroad came running in and cried, 'They are men, Indians, Indians'; and withal their arrows came flying amongst us, our men ran out with all speed to recover their arms. .. "There was a lusty man and no whit less valiant, who was thought to be their Captain, stood behind a tree within half a musket shot of us, and there let his arrows fly at us. .... He stood three shots of a musket. At length one took as he said full aim at him he gave an extraordinary cry, and away they went all."

In Mourt's Relation, there is a description of a later meeting with an elderly native woman, Squanto now on the scene, serving as the interpreter and peace maker:

"One thing was very grievous unto us at this place; there was an old woman, whom we judged to be no less than a hundred years old, which came to see us because she never saw English, yet could not behold us without breaking forth into great passion, weeping and crying excessively. We demanding the reason of it, they told us she had three sons who, when Master Hunt was in these parts, went aboard his ship to trade with him, and he carried them captives into Spain (for Squanto at this time was carried away also) by which means she was deprived of the comfort of her children in her old age. We told them we were sorry that any Englishman should give them that offense, that Hunt was a bad man, and that all the English that heard of it condemned him for the same: but for us, we would not offer them any such injury though it would gain us all the skins in the country. So we gave her some small trifles, which somewhat appeased her."

The Pilgrims apologized, paid back the Nauset for the corn they had taken, and exchanged gifts. Then Aspinet and the Pilgrims made peace with one another.

In October of 1621, the Pilgrims celebrated their first harvest with feasting and games, as was the custom in Leiden. Samoset, Squanto, and Massasoit and 87 other natives were in attendance. Since that initial sharing, Native American food has spread around the world. Nearly 70 percent of all crops grown today were originally cultivated by Native American peoples. What did the Europeans give in return? Within 20 years European disease and treachery decimated the Wampanoags. As discussed earlier, even before the Pilgrims arrived in the New World, eighty percent of the native population had already been decimated by plagues. The original Pilgrims attempted to maintain peace and be fair with the natives, however other Englishmen had evil in their hearts.

One Hundred Years Later -
In October of 1777 all 13 colonies joined in a Thanksgiving celebration. It commemorated the American victory over the British at Saratoga. This battle was a turning point in the colonists war against the British and proved that George Washington's men could defeat them. Not long after France, Spain and Holland all took notes and declared war on Britain as well. What had been a "rebellion" became a World War, the economic strain of which the British Empire could not sustain. This Thanksgiving was a celebration of victory in war, one of the same reasons, the city of Leiden gave thanks .

both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me "to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness. Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be. That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks, for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation, for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his providence, which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war, for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed, for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted, for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

Several other efforts were made at creating the holiday "Thanksgiving" by national, state and local governments. Finally, the author of "Mary Had A Little Lamb," Sarah Josepha Hale, credited as the individual most responsible for making Thanksgiving a national holiday persuaded Lincoln to proclaim "Thanksgiving" as a national holiday. The new holiday was considered a unifying day after the discord of the American Civil War. This Thanksgiving Proclamation was one of unity, repentance, forgiveness, and peace.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle, or the ship; the axe had enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years, with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and voice by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union. In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the city of Washington, this third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the independence of the United States the eighty-eighth." Proclamation of President Abraham Lincoln, October 3, 1863

Today, even though most of us left the farm a generation or two ago, I think we regard Thanksgiving as a fall harvest festival when we celebrate the space between the end of the harvest and the beginning of a long cold winter by tasting a bit of everything we have put away to get through the coming cold dreary days. We are thankful for this bounty. Looking back through the mists of time we can see that there are many reasons for being thankful, relief from hunger, relief from persecution both religious and economic, for abundance, for freedom to enjoy one's life peacefully, for hospitality and conviviality.

In stories told by the Dakota people, an evil person always keeps his or her heart in a secret place separate from the body. The good people must find that secret place and destroy the heart in order to stop the evil. Where is the good person who will destroy the heart of evil? I believe it must be each of us. Indeed, when I give thanks this Thanksgiving, I will be thinking of this hidden heart and how all of our ancestors, who ever and where ever they may have been, survived evil through their ability to share and give. If we can survive, with our ability to share and to give intact, then good will have crushed evil.

Celebrate Thanksgiving 2010 at The Turtle Restaurant

2010-11-01T12:45:00.011-05:00

Don't want to spend a week in the kitchen?
The entire family is not coming this year?
All by yourself?

The Turtle Restaurant will be opened on Thanksgiving Day from 11:00 am until 7:00 pm. We will be open all day so you can enjoy your Thanksgiving Dinner any time you wish during the day. The last seating will be at 7:00 so our employee will be able to enjoy the end of the day with their own families.

We have a traditional and delicious feast planned - $25.00 per person, $11.50 children under 12, tax, drinks, gratuity not included.

Please make your reservations here

Discover the pleasures of a deep fryer and micro wave free leisurely repast, choose one starter:

Caesar Salad with garlic croutons
Butternut Squash Soup with toasted nuts and spices
Mixed Green Salad with roasted vegetables and herb vinaigrette

Choose: one entree and three sides

Entrees:

Roasted Turkey with cranberry chutney and giblet gravy
Stuffed Pork Loin
Vegetarian three cheese lasagna with charred tomato sauce

Choose three Sides:

Mashed potatoes
Baby French beans with shallots and bacon
Apple and walnut stuffing with sage
Spice roasted sweet potatoes with orange
Roasted root vegetables with cumin

Choose one dessert:

Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Tart
Traditional Pumpkin Pie with whipped cream
Pumpkin Gelato

Oktoberfest at The Turtle Restaurant October 21, 2010

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Octoeber 21, 2010 6:00 pm Reserve your seat now for a special paired beer dinner featuring Rahr Beer from Fort Worth. Seats are $35.00 per person which includes four beer tastings and four courses of Chef Curt Sassak's German cooking. We will be serving several sausages from Pederson's Natural Farms.

1) Camembert cheese with pear and sun dried cranberry chutney, baguette toasts and arugula
paired with Rahr's Blonde Lager.

2) Pederson bison Polish smoked sausage on German style potato salad with veal jus

Vegetarian option: Grilled vegetable brochette on German style potato salad with vinaigrette paired with Rahr Oktoberfest

3) Pork schnitzel with braised red cabbage, spatzle and red wine jus

Vegetarian option: Root vegetable pave with herbed coulis paired with Buffalo Butt

4) Chocolate Macho cupcakes paired with Rahr's Ugly Pug

Be there!
The Turtle Restaurant
512 Center Ave
Brownwood, TX 76801
325-646-8200 or make reservations on line

Watch this video!

Texas Fall Fest in Marble Falls October 10

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Visit us at Texas Fall Fest’s Farm to Market & Wine Fair, showcasing food artisans and wines, Oct. 10. The Turtle Restaurant will be selling our fabulous artisan breads and homemade gelato. We will be there sunday for the Farm to Market Wine Fair There are three days to celebrate Texas Fall Fest in Marble Falls, with wine dinners, a wine auction and a Chef’s Taste-Off, among other activities. On Sunday, October 10, from noon to 4 pm, Edible Austin will host the Farm to Market & Wine Fair, featuring all things locally grown and made. This event, held in downtown Marble Falls, will be an entertaining finale to the spectacular wine and food offered during the entire three-day Texas Fall Fest. Fair goers will peruse the big tent of vendors presenting their locally grown and produced olive oils, meats, produce, chocolates and more, complimented by Texas wines, available by the taste, glass or bottles. Food artisans / vendors include: Art Y Chocolate, Aurelia’s Chorizo, Christen’s Gourmet Pralines and Beignets, Cuvee Coffee, CKC Farms artisan cheeses, Doctor Kracker, Dry Soda, Green Grass Meats, Hill Country Homestyle Canning, Reel Popcorn, Texas Olive Ranch, Texas on the Plate, The Turtle Restaurant, Twin County Lamb and Zhi Tea. For a complete listing of the wineries, click here! Come curious, hungry and thirsty! $15 fee includes 10 wine tastings, and raises money for much needed Texas wine research as well as for child healthcare needs. Buy tickets here

The Turtle Studies Mixology with The Tipsy Texan

2010-09-20T11:30:00.004-05:00

The fall semester of Tipsy Tech started last week. I traveled all the way to Austin to study the craft under David Alan and Lara Nixon. The Turtle Bar staff has had many discussions about cocktails they've had lately, about the ills of bad mixes laden with chemicals and high fructose corn syrup and how the scene in Austin is exciting and full of all manner of new craft cocktails. All of the hard work and evangelization going on in Austin is making inroads into the cultural fabric of the city and even reaching out to bubbaville - heart of Texas - Brownwood. Once you taste the pure thing, there is no going backwards. People like Bill Norris, Rob Pate, Adam Bryant, Billy Hanke, Lara Nixon, Adam Harris, Moxy Castro, and David Alan are working to continue moving the cocktail revolution forward. They embrace the history and understanding of what was and are adding to the pantheon of new classics with their own creations. Support your craft bartenders everywhere, because they are a treasure. We love our own Ty Wolosin. Ty has been creating some amazing berry and fruit smashes and brewing up his own natural infusions and syrups.

The lineup of guest lecturers is awesome. Bobby Heugel (Anvil/Houston; DrinkDogma.com) and David Suro (Tequilas Restaurant/Philadelphia; Siembra Azul) will make a return appearance for our Spirits of Latin America class. Brand Master Apprentice Aaron Rodonis of Bacardi will be here to talk rum. Hugo Chambon will walk us through the Cognac region of France. Adam Harris will take us on a tour of Bourbon Country with the seminar on American Whiskey. And many more

Field Trip! Intro course students who sign up for the whole course will get to go on the Balcones Distilling facility tour in Waco, Texas. Chip Tate is on the Fall cover of Edible Austin magazine. We have their Blue Corn Whiskey and Rumble in The Turtle Enoteca. I made some very tasty caramel with the Rumble and streaked our vanilla gelato with same. Devine. Texas is growing some mighty fine distillers.

Drink Local Night-the fall semester classmates will show off their stuff at Drink Local Night. This will be the fourth year for this event, sponsored by Edible Austin magazine, and hosted by Peche/Cedar Street. Attendees will meet the distillers of Texas, and sample great cocktails made by the best bartenders in town, featuring the spirits of Texas. Peche is our favorite place to go for cocktails when we are in our capitol.

Drink Local, Eat Local, Go Texan

Tour de Vin

2010-09-07T18:30:00.004-05:00

The Turtle Restaurant will be one of the featured restaurants at Tour de Vin, Thursday, October 7th, 2010 6:30-9:00 pm at Whole Foods Market on Sixth and Lamar on the rooftop plaza.
This will be a world class wine tasting and a chance to sample some of the finest cuisine to be found in Central Texas while enjoying music by Cienfuegos. Call 512-327-7555 for tickets or visit www.winefoodfoundation.org $75.00 general admission. $50.00 for Wine & Food Foundation Members.

The Turtle is a community partner of The Wine & Food Foundation of Texas. Our Chef, Curt Sassak will be stirring up a special risotto. We look forward to seeing you there.

Five Facts About The Ten Dollar Bill And One That Will Save You Money

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1. This 1901 United States Large Ten Dollar Note featured portraits of Meriwether Lewis on the left, William Clark on the right, and Black Diamond, an American Bison.

2. Alexander Hamilton is the only person featured on U.S. currency who was not born in the continental United States, as he born in the West Indies.

3. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing says the average life of a $10 bill in circulation is 18 months before it is replaced due to wear.

4. Approximately 11% of all newly printed US banknotes are $10 bills.

5. The $10 bill is the only U.S. paper currency in circulation in which the portrait faces to the left.

6. August 31 - September 30, 2010 from 11:00 - 2:00 pm Tuesday - Saturday you can buy any sandwich plate on The Turtle Restaurant’s menu which includes a cup of soup or salad and our homemade spiral cut potato chips AND a small scoop of gelato AND iced tea, ALL for $9.95. Offer excludes To Go orders, tax and tip.

This is a recession beating plan! A delicious bail out available to our customers. A complete freshly prepared lunch made with home made breads and love for $9.95 because you deserve good food. Just tell our waitstaff you want The Black Diamond Special! They will know what you mean.

The Turtle Restaurant
514 Center Ave
Brownwood, TX 76801
325-646-8200

Vote for The Turtle Restaurant Chefs Under Fire

2010-08-19T08:50:00.003-05:00

Mary Stanley and The Turtle Restaurant have been chosen as one of the top entries for Chefs Under Fire 2010 Austin-San Antonio Regional Competition. Follow this link and vote for Mary Stanley and The Turtle Restaurant.

The competition starts out with an online poll where votes are cast for the public’s favorite chefs. The poll opened on Wednesday and will last through August 30 at 11:59pm. Click here to give Mary and the Turtle your support each day until the deadline. So vote every day.

The top four contestants then have a live competition against other in the finals where he or she could be named Chef Under Fire 2010 by Celebrity Chefs and Iron Chef America contenders.
Chef David Bull, Chef Tyson Cole, and Chef Kent Rathbun. The Austin-San Antonio Regional Finals will be held Monday, September 27, 2010 at the Texas Beef Council.

Chef Stanley will be up against such names as:

* Chef Victoria Ann, of Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts Austin, Student
* Erica Beneke, of MAX's Wine Dive Austin, Sous Chef
* Chef Camero, of Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts Austin, Student
* Chef Trysh Gonzales, of Art Institute of Austin, Student
* Chef Jason Hardacker, of Silver Whisk Cooking School, Kitchen Manager
* Chef Tanner Harris, of Thai Fresh, Chef
* Chef Tonni, of Hinospices, Executive Chef/Proprietor
* Chef Chad Holt, of Wandering Chef, Owner/Chef
* Chef Deegan McClung, of Jeffrey's Restaurant, Executive Chef
* Chef Renee Morgan, of Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts Austin, Student
* Chef Steve, of Southern's Fine Dining, Owner
* Chef Byron, of TRIO at Four Seasons Hotel, Cook 1

“As you can see from the list of chefs we are up against some large and extremely popular restaurants in Austin,” stated Stanley. “ We need every vote we can get so this little David can take on an Austin Goliath.”

Chefs Under Fire is national competition, open to professional chefs in the United States (all 50 States and the District of Columbia). Regional finalists will be asked to prepare 4 identical plated dishes on site under a time restriction for the judges. Dishes will be judged on taste (50%), presentation (25%), and originality (25%). Regional finalists will be annouced September 2, 2010. One contestant will be selected as a Finalist to move on to the CUF Final Competition that will be held at the AT&T Executive Education & Conference Center in Austin, TX on October 25, 2010.

These CUF Finalists will then be asked to prepare a pre-developed 4 serving dish (entrée and side dish) to be judged by a Celebrity Chef Judging Panel. The dish must use all specified secret ingredients which will be announced no later than 14 days prior to the competition date (October 25, 2010). Finalists’ dishes will be judged on taste (50%), presentation (25%), and originality (25%). An overall winner, (chosen by the Judges Panel) and a Fan Favorite (chosen by voting via text and online public polling) will be named at the Final event.

Tea Party with Zhi Tea Saturday May 22, 2010 3:00 - 5:00 pm

2010-05-14T13:41:00.004-05:00

Lisa Smith - Artist Photographer - Show Opens May 29, 2010

2010-05-11T11:42:00.006-05:00

The Turtle Enoteca is proud to present the work of Lisa A. Smith. Join us for wine and nibbles from 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm Saturday, May 29, 2010. Lisa'a work will be for sale and remain in our wine bar and Candle Room until the end of July.

LISA A. SMITH: PAINTER, PRINT MAKER, PHOTOGRAPHER, ARTIST

Art to me is to provoke. To get people thinking, talking, it’s sometimes supposed to make them angry, so that they can’t help but confess frustration to the stranger standing next to them. But it is also supposed to help humanity question what art is, what life is, and even what, what is. Art can address any issue, emotion, problem, idea or ideology.

The main interest within my work is people, all aspects: anatomical, emotional, mental, spiritual, societal and intellectual. Because of this my imagery had ranged from the frightening others*, to the iconic Eve in the Garden.

People cannot escape themselves or their perspective, empathy can bring people close, but never completely outside of themselves, so it is with this recognition that I approach each idea from my own worldview. Even if I am doing a study of the human figure or a bird, it is through my eyes and my neurons that my hand draws out what my brain is telling the rest of my body is before me. Because of this my work is often biographical, or deeply personal. The subject matter may not directly relate to me, but my interest peaked on the subject because of a conversation that I found fascinating, a reveling story or something that I simply found curious or humorous.

It is the subject matter or idea that is most important to me, more often than not. And so I let the idea dictate the process, because of this I do not work with just one medium, and I prefer to mix mediums to any other method. With my two-dimensional work, for example, I enjoy layering not only images, but also text. Often within my 2D work I also utilized the technique of repeated image, and with my paintings and drawings that is almost always include collaged Xerox images.

Sacred imagery is something that I have used often, and within the culture that I grew up in one was constantly bombarded with religious imagery and language, and the question that I have been exploring for some time now, is, “If one repeats an image, how many times does it take for that repeated image to lose its meaning? Or does the repetition just reinforce the meaning?”

It is questions like these and my deep urge to create that drive my art, and that will continue to drive my art. I hope to perpetually challenge myself as an artist, so that my art may always challenge the viewer.

*Other in the philosophical concept of the self and the other.

Lisa was born in Abilene, but grew up in Huntsville, Texas. People have always fascinated her; so much of her art is figurative and explores the question of what it means to be human. Lisa's interests are wide and so her art reflects this, but there is a strong theme of the human figure. Her work is also often rooted in personal experience yet universal. She is a B.F.A. painting and drawing major at Hardin-Simmons University where she also received a BA in Theology this past December. She will finish my undergrad in December after which I will pursue an MFA, which MFA program she has yet to decide.

Fire Dancer

May 8, 2010 Four Chilean Wines - Three Empanadas 5:00pm - 7:00 pm

2010-04-19T12:27:00.012-05:00

Saturday, the eighth of May, The Turtle Enoteca plays host to Dan Gibb of South American Wine Importers. Dan is bringing four wines with him while The Turtle is pairing empandas to complement these wines. The cost is $15.00 per person. Time is between 5:00-7:00 pm come and go, meet Dan, discuss wines, taste empanadas and more, hang out on the patio and in the wine room.

Tasting Notes Chilean Wine Tasting May 8, 2010 at The Turtle Restaurant

2009 Cantaluna Sauvignon Blanc received a Silver Medal - Wine of Chile Awards 2008

Sauvignon Blanc finds its apogee in brisk, vibrant wines that are at their best when consumed young. The color is light yellow with an intensely fruity nose and offers scents of melon, peach, fig and tangerine, plus a hint of anise. Sappy citrus and pit fruit flavors show good depth and energy, with a refreshing bite of white pepper adding further lift. Finishes with good cling and a bit of heat, echoing the melon note.

Chile's Central Valley as well as the Casablanca and San Antonio Valleys to the north are emerging as the source of vibrant, unoaked Sauvignon Blancs at very reasonable prices. The Colchagua Valley is located between the southern latitudes of -34º 15' - 34º 50' , and the eastern longitudes of 72º 00' - 72º 15', 130 km south of Santiago .

The combination of an excellent climate with different soil types that are irrigated with melted mountain ice, make the Colchagua Valley a true paradise for quality winemaking.

With its bracing acidity, Sauvignon Blanc is a natural partner for fresh goat cheese, as the acidity slices perfectly though the chalky texture of this style of cheese. Sauvignon Blanc also works well with shellfish and delicate seafood.

We are serving this Sauvignon Blanc with goat cheese and beet empanadas.

2006 Amayna Chardonnay received 93 points from Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate, October, 2008

This 2006 Chardonnay exhibits mineral, almond, white peach, and poached pear aromas. On the palate it displays elegance, a creamy texture, layers of flavor, and a striking resemblance to Grand Cru white Burgundy. It is a terrific value at the price.

Amayna is a new super premium Chilean brand that is owned by the Garces Silva family. The winery that bears the family name was founded by Jose Antonio Garces who acquired the property in the San Antonio-Leyda Valley in 1997, and in doing so become a pioneer in the area’s vitivinicultural development

On the seaward side of Chile’s coastal range and only 14km from the ocean, Amayna is produced from some of Chile’s most temperate vineyards. Situated on rolling hills with a clay loam soil, Amayna’s vines are also supported by a long cool ripening season that offers an ideal environment for perfumed and elegant Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. A particularly delicate grape, Chardonnay readily expresses the characteristics of the growing region as well as the specific techniques employed in the winery.

Winemaking
An important feature of the Amayna winery is that it is built into a hillside, there is a natural downward slope that permits use of gravity to move must and wine, a critical aspect of the winemaking process. Gravitational flow implies that pumps are not used in the winemaking process, providing greater hygiene and less astringency, but most importantly greater elegance to the final.

We are serving this excellent Chardonnay with sweet corn and cheese empanadas

PARQUE 2008 Carmenere

Dried plum, strawberry & fresh blackberry blend with green pepper & earthy notes of fresh tree sap & dried leaves. Notes of dried sage & thyme round out the flavor of this mouthwatering Carmenere.

The carmenère grape was imported to South America in the 1850s, along with other Bordeaux varieties, prior to the European outbreak of Phylloxera. The history of Carmenere wines is interesting. Carmenere was one of the six nobel grapes of Bourdeaux, France, brought to South America in the mid 1800’s by the French to become a very important part of South American wine character. Carmenere has fallen out of favor in France due to the time it ripens and the phylloxera plague which destroyed most of the vineyards in Europe during the late 19th Century. Carmenere is only produced in extremely small quantities around the world outside of South America. Carmenere is a mellow grape with soft tannins and very herbal accents. Chile is really the only country producing Carmenere wines in quantity

If you tasted a Merlot wine from Chile before 1994, chances are you were actually drinking a Carmenere wine. This mix up happened because Carmenere grapes look just like Merlot grapes. The vintners in Chile weren't being dishonest, it took genetic analysis to tell them apart. In 1994 French ampelographer, Jean Michel Bourisiquot discovered that these grapevines were actually the “Lost Grape of Bordeaux”, Carmenere. Vineyards had been interplanted with both grapes. Now wineries are doing their best to sort out which grapes they receive from their growers are Merlot and which are actually Carmenere.

Carmenere wines are table wines and very good wines to serve with vegetarian dishes, something like stuffed peppers or vegetarian casseroles, or ethnic food like burritos, tacos with beef or chicken, couscous with meat, Gyros, Moussaka, Blackened Cajun Steak, Meat Tarjines, Meat Tandoori. Another great way to enjoy Carmenere is in your bath, both in the bath water and in a glass in your hand. Now that is putting on the Ritz.

We are serving this Carmenere with beef empanadas.

Pérez Cruz Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva 2008 Valle del Maipo, Chile

The regional identity of the Maipo Alto region, in the production of high-end red wines is highlighted in this wine; its Mediterranean climate and piedmont stony soils contributes to its unique characteristics, structure and aromas. This is the terrior of Viña Pérez Cruz, a family owned company that has been marked by the consistent quality of its wines, led by their balanced and well-structured Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva.

This is a big bold gutsy wine and it’s proud of it. Deep aromas and flavors of blackberry, chocolate, cherry. Just enough alcohol to warm the mouth and throat without being offensive. Get a nice cut of meat and invite some friends over. Perez Cruz is coming to dinner.

Pérez Cruz was declared 2008 Winery of the Year" by Wine & Spirits. This Cabernet earned 93p points.

We are serving this Cabernet Sauvignon with grilled beef skewers.

The History of Mother's Day

2010-04-15T13:39:00.012-05:00

Mother's Day is both modern and centuries old. Honoring mothers goes back to the times of ancient Greeks, who held festivities to honor Rhea, the mother of all the gods. Ancient divinities were not static types, but rather expressions of cultural systems that responded to historical change. How holidays are celebrated are also expressions of cultural systems that respond to historical change. As we have noted before, Easter, Christmas, nearly all our modern holidays have Greek or Roman origins which were converted to Christian holidays as the Roman Empire and Europe converted to Christianity.

The Catholic Mother's Day celebration became part of the liturgical calendar as Laetare Sunday, the fourth Sunday in Lent to honor the Virgin Mary and the "mother church". Laetare means "Rejoice" in Latin.During the sixteenth century, people returned to their mother church for a service to be held on Laetare Sunday. This was either a large local church, or more often the nearest Cathedral. Anyone who did this was said to have gone "a-mothering".

Another name attributed to this festival is Simnel Sunday. Simnel Sunday is named after the practice of baking Simnel cakes to celebrate the reuniting of families during the austerity of Lent. Recipe Mothering Sunday as it was also known was a time put aside for relaxation and enjoyment during the long Lenten fast. It was kind of a break or holday from fasting. Young British servant girls who worked away from home were given time off by their masters to visit their mothers on this special day and they would bake a Simnel cake to present to their Mothers as a gift.

Earlier traditions saw the cake being eaten on Simnel Day but it soon became customary to keep the cake for a week until Easter Sunday. Keeping the cake fresh for the week leading up to Easter was seen to be a test of the cook's culinary skills; she was considered to be a good cook if the cake tasted good, a week later, on Easter Sunday. Catholics and Episcoplaians brought versions of these traditons to the New World.

Mother's Day in the United States of America

Julia Ward Howe, author of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic", organized a day for mothers dedicated to peace. It is a landmark event in the history of Mother's Day in the United States. She proposed an annual Mothers' Day for Peace. Committed to abolishing war, Howe wrote: "Our husbands shall not come to us reeking with carnage... Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience. We women of one country will be too tender of those of another country to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs".

......................................
Mothers' Day Proclamation: Julia Ward Howe, Boston, 1870

Arise, then, women of this day! Arise all women who have hearts,
whether our baptism be that of water or of fears!

Say firmly: "We will not have great questions decided by
irrelevant agencies. Our husbands shall not come to us, reeking
with carnage, for caresses and applause. Our sons shall not be
taken from us to unlearn all that we have been able to teach
them of charity, mercy and patience.

We women of one country will be too tender of those of another
country to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs. From
the bosom of the devastated earth a voice goes up with our own.
It says "Disarm, Disarm! The sword of murder is not the balance
of justice."

Blood does not wipe our dishonor nor violence indicate possession.
As men have often forsaken the plow and the anvil at the summons
of war, let women now leave all that may be left of home for a
great and earnest day of counsel. Let them meet first, as women,
to bewail and commemorate the dead.

Let them then solemnly take counsel with each other as to the
means whereby the great human family can live in peace, each
bearing after their own time the sacred impress, not of Caesar,
but of God.

In the name of womanhood and of humanity, I earnestly ask that a
general congress of women without limit of nationality may be
appointed and held at some place deemed most convenient and at
the earliest period consistent with its objects, to promote the
alliance of the different nationalities, the amicable settlement
of international questions, the great and general interests of
peace.

Julia Ward Howe
Boston
1870

Beginning 1872 and for the next 30 years, Americans celebrated Mothers' Day for Peace on June 2. Many middle-class women in the 19th century believed that they bore a special responsibility as mothers to care for the casualties of society and to turn America into a more civilized nation. They played a leading role in the abolitionist movement to end slavery. They launched successful campaigns against lynching and consumer fraud and fought for improved working conditions for women, protection for children, public health services and social welfare assistance to the poor. People like Glen Beck would hate them.To these activists, the connection between motherhood and the fight for social and economic justice seemed self-evident. Ann Maria Reeves Jarvis is a fine example of this sort of activist 19th century woman. It is because her daughter , Anna, wished to honor her work that Mother's Day is celebrated on the Second Sunday in May in the United States.

Ann Maria Reeves Jarvis and her brother, a doctor, organized a series of Mothers' Day Work Clubs in five Virginian cities to improve health and sanitary conditions. She actively sought to improve the health of her community. Among other services, the clubs raised money for medicine, hired women to work for families in which the mothers suffered from tuberculosis, and inspected bottled milk and food. In 1860, local doctors supported the formation of clubs in other towns and these ideas spread. Ann Jarvis urged the Mothers' Day Work Clubs to declare their neutrality and provide relief to both Union and Confederate soldiers. The clubs treated the wounded and regularly fed and clothed soldiers stationed in the area. Jarvis also managed to preserve an element of peace in a community being torn apart by political differences. She actively sought to bring peace to her community.

Tensions increased as both Union and Confederate soldiers returned at war's end. In the summer of 1865, Ann Jarvis organized a Mothers' Friendship Day to bring together soldiers and neighbors of all political beliefs. The event was a great success despite the fear of many that it would erupt in violence. Mothers' Friendship Day was an annual event for several years. Perhaps it's return would bring together the disparate parts of our modern body politic.

The first Mother's Day observance was a church service honoring her mother, Ann. Services were held at Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton, which is now the International Mothers Day Shrine at which Anna handed out her mother's favorite flowers, white carnations, because they represent sweetness, purity, and patience. Anna was successful in getting West Virginia Governor Glassock to proclaim a statewide Mother's Day in 1910. President Woodrow Wilson finally proclaimed the second Sunday in May as a national holiday in honor of mothers in 1914.

Anna Jarvis had worked in an insurance company’s advertising department, and used that experience to promote her Mother's Day by incorporating an association in 1912, registering trademarks for the white carnation symbol and the phrases “second Sunday in May” and “Mother’s Day.” Note the apostrophe: the holiday was to be personal and possessive, not collective and plural as in the previously observed Mothers' Day For Peace. The coming commercialization of Mother’s Day should have been no surprise to Miss Jarvis; her ally in creating Mother's Day and fellow Philadelphian, John Wanamaker had become wealthy by inventing the department store and modern advertising. Wanamaker’s department stores gave free carnations to women shoppers on the holiday, which was observed at a ceremony in the Wanamaker Store Auditorium on May 10, 1908, where Miss Javis spoke to the crowd for over an hour.

By 1920 Politicians and businessmen eagerly embraced the idea of celebrating mothers and motherhood. As the Florists' Review, the industry's trade journal, bluntly put it, "This was a holiday that could be exploited." America was becoming a consumer culture with mother's charging the way. This holiday took on the expressions of a changing cultural system.

The new advertising industry quickly taught Americans how to honor their mothers - by buying flowers. Outraged by florists who were selling carnations for the outrageous price of $1 a piece, Ann Jarvis daughters undertook a campaign against those who "would undermine Mother's Day with their greed." But they fought a losing battle. Within a few years, the Florists' Review triumphantly announced that it was "Miss Jarvis who was completely squelched." Anna and her sister Ellsinore spent their family inheritance campaigning against the holiday. Both died in poverty. According to her New York Times obituary, Jarvis became embittered because too many people sent their mothers a printed greeting card. As she said,

A printed card means nothing except that you are too lazy to write to the woman who has done more for you than anyone in the world. And candy! You take a box to Mother—and then eat most of it yourself. A pretty sentiment! The "grafters" who purveyed such trifles would, she said, "take the coppers off a dead mother's eyes."

Anna Marie Jarvis never married and had no children. Growing blind and deaf, she was finally moved to a nursing home—where she was secretly supported by the florists she so despised until she died in 1948.

Regardless of Jarvis' concerns, Mother's Day has flourished in the United States. Flower sales have grown at a 6% annual rate, and now represent a $102 billion global market. The second Sunday of May has become the busiest restaurant day of the year, surpassing even Valentine's Day.

* The Golden Rule: "Whatsoever ye would that others should do for your mother if she were in need, and whatsoever your mother would do for the needy if she had the opportunity, do in her name and in her honor for other mothers and their children, victims of present-day maladjustments."

Easter Brunch Buffet April 4 2010 10:30 am - 3:00 pm

2010-03-25T15:51:00.005-05:00

Easter is the only time during the year that The Turtle Restaurant sets out a buffet. Buffets are an easy way to serve a large number of people but there are draw backs from a fresh food perspective. That's why we will have a carving station and an omelette station.

The main draw back of buffets for me is the temptation to overeat. My father used to tell us to eat enough to "get his money's worth." It was a command, I was duty bound to become chubby. I imagine that he still saw these sumptuous spreads through his own child's eye which suffered terribly through considerable poverty, danger and starvation during World War 2 in Europe, so I forgave him. Like everything else in life there are good and bad points about "a way to do things" so we only serve buffet style once a year. It is fun to taste everything.

Wikipedia says "The modern buffet was developed in France in the 18th century, soon spreading throughout Europe. The term originally referred to the sideboard where the food was served, but eventually became applied to the form. The buffet became popular in the English-speaking world in the second half of the nineteenth century."

The "all you can eat" buffet has been ascribed to Herb Macdonald, a hotel manager who introduced the idea in 1946 and was closely connected to LasVegas Casinos. William Pearson wrote in The Muses of Ruin of the buffet:

At midnight every self-respecting casino premières its buffet—the eighth wonder of the world, the one true art form this androgynous harlot of cities has delivered herself of.... We marvel at the Great Pyramids, but they were built over decades; the midnight buffet is built daily. Crushed-ice castles and grottoes chill the shrimp and lobster. Sculptured aspic is scrolled with Paisley arabesques. They are, laid out with reverent artistry: hors d'oeuvres, relish, salads, and sauces; crab, herring oyster, sturgeon, octopus, and salmon; turkey, ham, roast beef, casseroles, fondues, and curries; cheeses, fruits and pastries. How many times you go through the line is a private matter between you and your capacity, and then between your capacity and the chef's evil eye.

Well...our chef won't give you the evil eye and our spread will be delicious, attractive, perhaps even a bit healthy as we will be serving Pederson's All Natural Ham and eggs supplied by Windy Hill Farms and greens from there as well as Wiley Ranch. We'll tempt you to eat as much as you want, once a year.

Real Ale Paired Beer Dinner March 11, 2010

2010-02-16T19:59:00.016-06:00

The Turtle Restaurant, a slow food restaurant, recently received an Award from Wine Enthusiast Magazine for it's wine list, however few people know that we serve great craft made beers as well. The Slow Food Movement helps people rediscover the joys of eating and understand the importance of caring where their food comes from, who makes it and how it’s made. The Turtle Restaurant and Enoteca invites you to discover the joys of of eating and understanding how Real Ale Beer is made and who makes it at our first paired beer dinner with Real Ale Brewing Company, Blanco, Texas.

"You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline - it helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer."
-Frank Zappa

Texas has a hand full of great craft brewed beers, football teams, Southwest Air and probably a nuclear weapon or two (ain't that right Amarillo?). So ... Texas is a full fledged Real Country. Several of our favorite beers are made by Real Ale Brewing Company, established in 1996 in Blanco, Texas. Their beers can be found primarily in San Antonio, Austin, Houston, and at The Turtle Restaurant and Enoteca in Brownwood, Texas.

Originally operating out of a tiny basement brewery on the square in Blanco, the brewery relocated in May 2006 to a brand new facility in Blanco, where they have increased production. The owner credits the Blanco River as having some of the best brewing water for the styles of beer that they make, obviously Blanco is an ideal location for the brewery.

A dedicated team of brewers produces quality handcrafted beer utilizing a 60-barrel stainless steel brewing system. They incorporate 100% malted grain, domestic and imported hops, and crystal clear water from the Blanco River into their unique recipes. Be sure to ask for Real Ale by name at your favorite places. Support our Texas brewers - Go Texan - Go Slow.

Real Ale is also a great destination for a day trip in the Hill Country. Currently their tasting room is open on Fridays from 2 - 5 pm with tours starting at 3 and 4. If you have a large group please give them a heads-up. For directions and more information, please call 830.833.2534 or send them an email (info@realalebrewing.com).

This paired dinner, in honor of St. Patrick, is a great opportunity to meet the owner and brewer of Real Ale, Brad Farbstein and salesman Scott Hilaman. They will be here to guide you through their beers while our chef entertains your palate.

Here's the MENU, cost $35.00 per person. Reservations can be made online or by phone 325-646-8200. The Date is Thursday, March 11, 2010 at 7:00 pm.

First course: Turtle made chubby pretzels with Fireman's #4 beer mustard paired with Fireman's #4 Beer

Second Course: Choice of Shrimp Beignet with hop pesto, fried lemon garnish OR Leeks and Spinach Fritatta Wedge with fried lemon garnish paired with Rio Blanco Pale Ale

Third Course: Lamb Provencal Terrine, Smoked Raisin Mustard, Hearth-baked Crackers, Fried Pickle OR Rice and Eggplant Timbale paired with Full Moon Rye Pale Ale

Fourth Course: Shepherd's Pie - tender chunks of steak, with celery and onion in a hearty Brewhouse Brown ale gravy, topped with pepperjack and sour cream mashed potatoes and Veldhuize n Redneck Cheddar OR Shepherd's Pie with chunks of portabella mushrooms and onions in Brewhouse Brown Ale gravy, topped with the same decadent potato topping as the meat version paired with Brewhouse Brown Ale (but of course!)

Fifth Course: Coffee Porter gelato topped with crushed malted milk balls.

You will be quite full and warm and happy all over by the end of the evening.

See you at The Turtle Restaurant, 514 Center Avenue, Brownwood, Texas 76801, right across the street from City Hall in historic uptown Brownwood!! Bring your friends. Drink Real Texan Beer - Real Ale - Real Country.

An Early First Valentine

2010-02-07T14:43:00.016-06:00

Trois Chansons by the French Impressionistic composer, Claude Debussy, are settings of poems by Charles d’Orleans to music. This Charles was Charles (1394-1465), Duke of Orléans, a prince. He was wounded at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 and imprisoned in England for the next 24 years (held for ransom, actually), during which he wrote most of his poetry, more than five hundred poems — including what some claim was the first Valentine sent to his very young wife, Bonne d'Armagnac, from prison. Sadly, Bonne died while Charles was pining away in The Tower. A manuscript of that poem is in the British Library, however I couldn't find a translation on line. This is the manuscript cover. You can see Charles writing at his desk through the artistic contrivance of a cut-away in the wall of the tower.

Upon Charles' release, he met Maria of Cleves, who was the daughter of a German Duke and a French Duchess also of the house of Burgundy, the older sister of Philip the Good, who arranged for Charles' release. Upon first sight of the 14-year old princess, it is said that he told her, "M'Lady, I make myself your prisoner." Maria went on to bear Charles his only son, Louis the XII of France. Maria would outlive Charles by many years, and would become a poet herself.

The imagery in Charles's poems is vivid, strongly visual, and so romantic. So much medieval French poetry is stilted stuff about unrequited love... sigh... oh Charles, my prince! I can understand why Debussy selected these old poems as texts for his scores. Here is a rendition of Debussy's Dieu! Qu'il La Fait Bon Regarder!
Listen, English translation below:

God! But she is fair,
graceful, good and beautiful.

All are ready to praise
her excellent qualities.
Who could tire of her?
Her beauty is ever new.

God! but she is fair,
graceful, good and beautiful!

Nowhere does the sea look on
so fair and perfect
a lady or maiden.
Thinking on her is but a dream.
God! but she is fair!

February 26 - 27, 2010 Noel Kerns Light Painting and Photography Workshop

2010-01-28T11:45:00.005-06:00

Double Click Poster for more information
We promise it will be fun and informative.

A History of Steak Diane, Ovid, How To Flambé and Why One should Hang a Lamb Chop In The Window

2010-01-24T16:35:00.016-06:00

This illustration of Ovid's story about Diana and Actaeon is by Giuseppe Cesari (1606); notice that Actaeon's metamorphosis has already begun.

According to Ovid, while Actaeon was out hunting, he inadvertently came upon the virgin goddess as she bathed in her secret grotto. To punish him for seeing her naked, the goddess sprinkled Actaeon with water, magically transforming him into a stag. The unfortunate youth was torn to pieces by his own hounds.

Goddess of wild animals and the hunt, the sister of Apollo, Diana was praised for her strength, beauty, athletic prowess, and hunting skills. She was also deemed a protectorate of woman and became associated with chastity, marriage, and fertility.

The myth of Diana (the Greek goddess of the moon and hunt, originally named Artemis) and Actaeon (a Theban prince) is recounted in Ovid's first - century "Metamorphoses". Metamorphoses is a narrative poem that describes the creation and history of the world through the metamorphoses of it's protagonists. Completed in 8 AD, The recurring theme, as with nearly all of Ovid's work, is that of love — personal love or love personified in the figure of Amor (Cupid). The other Roman gods are repeatedly perplexed, humiliated, and made ridiculous by Amor, an otherwise relatively minor god of the pantheon who is the closest thing this epic has to a hero. Apollo comes in for particular ridicule as Ovid shows how irrational love can confound the god of pure reason. The poem inverts the accepted order, elevating humans and human passions while making the gods and their desires and conquests objects of base humor. The Metamorphosis retells 250 Roman myths. Ovid's influence on Western art and literature is a writer's dream legacy.
Ovid was a major inspiration for Dante, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton and other of the world's great authors.

Shakespeare alludes to the story, as Orsino speaks of his love:

O, when mine eyes did see Olivia first,
Methought she purged the air of pestilence!
That instant was I turn'd into a hart;
And my desires, like fell and cruel hounds,
E'er since pursue me.

Twelfth Night 1.1.18-22

Had I the power that some say Dian had,
Thy temples should be planted presently
With horns, as was Actaeon's; and the hounds
Should drive upon thy new-transformed limbs,
Unmannerly intruder as thou art!

Titus Andronicus 2.3.61

And that my fellow gastronomes and lovers, brings us to Steak Diane on Valentine's day.

In the 19th century sauces made “a la Diane” were dedicated to Diana as an accompaniment to venison. Sauce a la Diane was composed of cream, truffles, and ample amounts of black pepper. The first mention of Sauce Diane, (as opposed to a la Diane), comes from Auguste Escoffier in 1907. He added hard cooked egg white to the a la Diane formula.

As with Eggs Benedict , New York City appears to be the best candidate for the location of the creation of Steak Diane. Jane Nickerson’s article “Steak Worthy of the Name” (New York Times, January 25, 1953) suggests three possible sources in New York City as originators: The Drake Hotel, the Sherry- Netherland Hotel and the Colony Restaurant. The best suggestion is that it originated with Beniamino Schiavon (aka "Nino"), from Padua, Italy. He worked at the Drake Hotel in New York City. The earliest print references found to date not only point to Nino, but talk about the recipe being wheedled out of him by Perle Mesta who was appointed by President Truman as ambassador to Luxembourg from 1949 to 1953, known as Madam and The Hostess with the Mostes. Perle is such an interesting character that I will digress from Steak Diane for a moment.

In the 1930s, Perle Mesta became involved in the National Woman's Party. She lobbied for the Equal Rights Amendment, first as a Republican and then, after changing party affiliation in 1940, as a Democrat.

She moved back to Washington, D.C., about 1940 and quickly became one of the capital's premier party hostesses. The guest list for her extravagant soirees included senators and congressmen of both parties, world leaders, Supreme Court justices, movie stars, foreign ambassadors, military leaders and White House personnel.

A Christian Scientist, Mesta didn't drink alcohol though she did serve alcohol at her parties. She claimed though that her parties gave her the same elation liquor gave other people.

She was an early supporter of Truman, serving on the Democrats' finance committee during his 1948 campaign and then acting as co-chairman of his inaugural ball. In 1949, Truman named her minister to Luxembourg. She was the first to hold the post -- and the third woman appointed to a foreign diplomatic post. She served until 1953, becoming the first woman to receive Luxembourg's highest honor, the Grand Cross of the Crown of Oak. As minister, she became famed again for her hostess skills. She threw "GI parties" for servicemen and women stationed in Europe.

She also became well known for her title. When asked how she wanted to be addressed, she replied, "Call me Madam Minister." The line was shortened to "Call Me Madam," which became the name of Irving Berlin's musical inspired by her life. The musical featured the song "The Hostess with the Mostes". Mesta was amused when the nickname stuck to her. Starring Ethel Merman, the show was a 1950-52 Broadway hit and was adapted into a 1954 Academy Award-winning film Call Me Madam.

After leaving Luxembourg, Mesta spent much of the next decade traveling the world. She met with the heads of 19 different governments, even touring Soviet Russia. She narrowly escaped death in 1955 after getting caught up in a riot between Communist and anti-Communist factions in Saigon, Vietnam.

In 1960, she published her biography, "Perle: My Story." She continued to give lavish parties into the early 1970s.

"Hang a lamb chop in the window," was the advice Perle Mesta gave those who wanted to make a place for themselves in Washington D.C.

Lamb Chops or not, one thing is for sure. Steak Diane was the rage in the 50’s and 60’s, especially in New York. A hot culinary trend at the time in upscale restaurants was dishes that could be flamboyantly prepared tableside on a cart. We're talking about the headwaiter or maitre d' wheeling a food trolley to your table and, before your very eyes, deftly performing acts of slicing, dicing, de-boning, saucing or flambéing. Steak Diane theatrics came from the flambéing of the cognac used to make the sauce. One suspects that our current culture's fear of personal injury lawyers, insurance adjusters, non-professional waitstaff and danger in general has doused table side flambéing forever. The Turtle Restaurant chef flambés in the kitchen under the vent-a-hood.

Fortunately, flambéing is not just for show or there would be no reason to continue performing the technique. Igniting the brandy in the recipe intensifies the flavor of the finished sauce by caramelizing the sugars or carbohydrates. During caramelization, the intense heat causes the sugars to undergo a series of chemical changes. The most important of these is to develop mouth watering flavor. Caramelization requires temperatures in excess of 300 degrees.

Here are the secrets:

Start with a dry piece of meat. Use a paper towel to dry off the meat. Water is the enemy of caramelization
Use high heat. Preheat your pan or grill and make sure it’s hot before putting the meat on. If the heat is too low, moisture will collect in the pan and you’ll steam the meat which is what the British are famous for and not yummy.
Use a heavy skillet. The heavier the better. This helps the pan retain heat when adding room temperature meat. Cast iron or heavy stainless steel.
Bring the meat to room temperature. This will keep the pan from cooling too much when you first put in the meat. Always remember that 41-140º F is known as the danger zone. Foods that are exposed to this range for more than four hours may not be safe to eat. Don’t let meat sit out all day- just let it warm up a bit before you intend to cook it.
Balance the heat and time. Balance the heat and time so that the meat has the perfect amount of caramelization when it’s just done inside. Tip: For thick pieces of meat - start by caramelizing in a pan or on the grill on high heat and then finish it in the oven (350F).
More surface area. The larger the surface area, the more room there is for caramelization. Butterfly cuts like chicken breasts or pork loin to create a larger area to brown, this creates a flatter surface so the meat caramelizes evenly.
Flambé. The food is topped with a liquor, usually brandy, cognac, or rum and lit afire. The volatile alcohol vapor burns with a blue flame, leaving behind the faint flavor of the liquor or liqueur.

Only liquors and liqueurs with a high alcohol content can be used to flame foods. A higher proof will ignite more readily. Beer, champagne, and most table wines will not work.

Liquors and liqueurs that are 80-proof are considered the best choices for flambé. Those above 120-proof are highly flammable and considered dangerous. NEVER light the pan before you are finished pouring or the flame could follow the stream of alcohol up into the bottle causing an explosion severely burning the cook and bystanders.

The liquor must be warmed to about 130F, yet still remain well under the boiling point, before adding to the pan. (Boiling will burn off the alcohol, and it will not ignite.)

Always remove the pan from the heat source before adding the liquor to avoid burning yourself. Vigorously shaking the pan usually extinguishes the flame, but keep a pot lid nearby in case you need to smother the flames. The alcohol vapor generally burns off by itself in a matter of seconds.

You can apply these techniques to anything that benefits from caramelization. Now that you know those secrets, I’m going to leave you with a tip. NEVER discard the brown bits left in the pan after caramelizing meat. The French call this “fond.” I will tell you why I am fond of fond in a future post.

Valentine's Day is on a Sunday!

2010-01-24T15:49:00.007-06:00

This means you have two opportunities to treat your honey. Sunday Brunch can be very romantic. Sleep late then dally over coffee, creme brulee french toast or a pitcher of Mimosas while playing footsies under the table From 10:30 am- 2:00 pm

OR

Surprise your sweetie with our special Prix Fix Dinner $45.00 per person - four courses 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm. Reservations requested 325-646-8200 or online.

Creamy Tomato and Sweet Basil Soup

Organic Field Greens
Maytag Bleu cheese, toasted almonds, craisins, balsamic vinaigrette

The Legacy of the Huntress - Steak Diane
Tournadoes of beef tenderloin, garlic, shallots, brandy, demi-glaze, dijon mustard with roasted potatoes, green beans almondine

The Lake Front Sundae For Two
A scoop of mint chocolate, dark chocolate, and flor di latte gelato in a waffle cone bowl topped with fudge and marshmallow sauce, a sprinkle of coconut. A white chocolate ganache sloop rides the confectionery waves.

Blogger Made with Air! gives The Turtle Honorable Mention

2010-01-16T12:18:00.005-06:00

as one of the top ten restaurants of 2009. We are quite happy with honorable mention because the other restaurants listed here put us in very good company, indeed. I appreciate Air!'s food photography. All those lovely photographs of gorgeous plates of food made me want to go to my room and do art on a plate.

There are also few honorable mentions:
Modern Pastry (Boston, MA): Forget the long line at Mike's, the cannoli here is far better, and hardly anyone knows about it

Sunburst Grill (Denver, CO): It's a little mindboggling that Denver has super authentic Filipino food.

Four Winds Steakhouse (Wills Point, TX): delicious steak, even better setting

5-8 Club (Minneapolis, MN): Jucy Lucy is a heavenly experience

Enoteca Vespaio (Austin, TX): fun place to kick back and enjoy some cannoli in Austin

The Turtle (Brownwood, TX): an unexpected gem in a very small town, the owner also makes outstanding gelatos

Sunday Brunch Returns To The Turtle Restaurant January 17, 2010

2010-01-12T09:42:00.007-06:00

You may have noticed that we had posted an article about the history of Eggs Benedict and Brunch. It was because we have been anticipating the reopening of the restaurant for brunch service. For the past two months we have been training Jerome Vigil to take over lunch service so Chef Thomas may extend our service to include Sunday Brunch. We also thank the good doctors at Brownwood Specialty Group, and Dr. Strefling, for taking good care of Chef Thomas' knee so that he is back on line. Everyone has been waiting for this moment. I know I have missed Eggs Benedict with real hollandaise sauce in the worst possible way and nobody does it better than Chef Thomas Vezina.

So - if you've ever been curious about the word brunch or why we eat at the times we do or the origin of Egg Benedict, I hope I've answered those pressing questions adequately. If you've been dying for a really excellent Bennie - here's your chance to taste one. There are many variations on the classic which we will explore as time marches on. Meanwhile, try all the comfort food on this menu. Other restaurants serve chicken fried steak but The Turtle goes all out with chicken fried beef tenderloin steak and real, and I do mean real, cream gravy. We didn't list all our gelato flavors, or the new Italian Soda flavors, but we take this occasion to remind you that we have fabulous coffee drinks made with fresh roasted Anderson's Coffee beans. Sunday is a time to eat with the family and relax - take it easy at The Turtle.
Brunch is served 10:30am - 2:00 pm Sunday at The Turtle Restaurant, 514 Center Avenue, Brownwood, Texas 76801 reservations are nice 325-646-8200

Soup & Salads
Soup of the Day

Windy Hill Mixed Greens
white balsamic herb vinaigrette, candied pecans, gorgonzola cheese crumbles
Add grilled chicken, salmon or asian grilled tuna salad for $5

Center Avenue Caesar
hearts of romaine with handmade dressing, grated parmesan cheese, croutons
Add grilled chicken, salmon or asian grilled tuna salad for $5

Insalata Caprese
sliced roma tomatoes, basil, fresh mozzarella, balsamic vinegar

Brunch

Mary’s Quiche
egg custard with ham, cheddar cheese, a touch of roasted peppers in a
light flaky crust, side of steamed broccolli

Eggs Benedict
Two poached eggs, canadian bacon, 1910 English muffin smothered in
hollandaise with country style home fries

Creme Brulee French Toast
Our challah bread baked in creme brullee custard, maple syrup, bacon,
with country home fries

Monte Cristo
ham, turkey, swiss cheese on challah sandwich dipped in french toast
batter - grilled, maple syrup with country home fries

Grilled Chicken Sandwich
grilled chicken topped with dill havarti cheese on a toasted cranberry
orange English muffin, mixed greens with white balsamic vinaigrette,
home made chips

Asian Grilled Tuna Salad Sandwich
chopped grilled ahi tuna, crunchy oriental vegetables, chow mein
noodles, pineapple, wasabi mayonnaise, secret spices, on a challah roll,
home made chips

Chicken Fried Beef Tenderloin
buttermilk battered fork tender beef tenderloin, mashed potatoes,
real cream gravy and french green beans

Pecan Crusted Chicken
pecan crusted chicken breast with carrots and potatoes in a honey
butter sauce

Slow Roasted Prime Rib
Thomas’s amazing 10 oz prime rib, mashed potatoes, au jus, french green beans

Chalkboard Specials

The History of Eggs Benedict

2009-12-20T17:21:00.014-06:00

In 1827, at the beginning of New York City's evolution as the financial center of the world, the genesis of what would become a world renowned culinary institution, Delmonico’s Restaurant, was set. A small shop selling classically prepared pastries, fine coffee and chocolate, bonbons, wines, and liquors as well as Havana cigars was operated by the Delmonico brothers. Its success led them to purchase a triangular plot of land at the intersection of Beaver, William, and South William Streets where, in 1837, they opened the first fine dining restaurant in the country.

Delmonico's offered the unheard of luxury of the availability of private dining rooms (located on the third floor) where discriminate entertaining was the order of the day. The basement held the restaurateur's treasure, the largest private wine cellar in the city, holding an impressive 16,000 bottles of the world's finest wines. It was during these early years that Chef Alessandro Felippini began to develop the restaurant's culinary identity with the house special, Delmonico Steak.

In 1862, Charles Ranhofer was named Chef de Cuisine inventing many original dishes during his time at Delmonico's. He is most noted for his innovative creations, Eggs Benedict, Baked Alaska, and Lobster Newburg. These dishes remain on the Delmonico's menu today.

A regular patron of the restaurant, Mrs. LeGrand Benedict, finding nothing to her liking and wanting something new to eat for lunch, discussed this with Delmonico’s Chef Charles Ranhofer (1836-1899), Ranhofer indulged her with Eggs Benedict. He has a recipe called Eggs a' la Benedick (Eufa a' la Benedick) in his cookbook called The Epicurean published in 1894.:

Eggs à la Benedick - Cut some muffins in halves crosswise, toast them without allowing to brown, then place a round of cooked ham an eighth of an inch thick and of the same diameter as the muffins one each half. Heat in a moderate oven and put a poached egg on each toast. Cover the whole with Hollandaise sauce.

Before Delmonico's , diners ate at cafes or boarding houses, where food was offered prix fixe. Diners had no choice of dishes but ate the food that was served. Delmonico's changed all that and claims the following firsts:

* The first dining establishment called by the French name restaurant
* The first restaurant where guests sat at their own tables instead of communal tables
* The first printed menu
* The first tablecloths
* The first debutante ball outside a private home
* The first restaurant to offer a leisurely lunch and dinner
* Oysters Rockefeller
* Lobster Newberg, first called Lobster Wenberg
* Baked Alaska in honor of the acquisition of the Alaskan territories
* Eggs Benedict
* Delmonico potatoes
* Delmonico steak
* Hamburger (known then as the Hamburg Steak)
*First use of the expression that something is "86'd"

(since the Delmonico Steak was item 86 on the menu and, when sold out, it was "86'd")

A good idea can be had in more than one place and more than one time. The following story appeared in the December 19,1942 issue of the weekly New Yorker Magazine "Talk of the Town" column and is based on an interview with Lemuel Benedict the year before he died:

In 1894, Lemuel Benedict, a Wall Street broker, who was suffering from a hangover, ordered “some buttered toast, crisp bacon, two poached eggs, and a hooker of hollandaise sauce” at the Waldorf Hotel in New York. The Waldorf’s legendary chef, Oscar Tschirky, was so impressed that he put the dish on his breakfast and luncheon menus after substituting Canadian bacon for crisp bacon and a toasted English muffin for toasted bread.

I wondered what, exactly, is a "hooker" of hollandaise? It's not what one might think... it's a boat, a boat of hollandaise. The boats are often noted for their strong sharp bow and sides that curve outward like 'the breast-bone of a water fowl'

Compare!

In another account, Craig Claiborne, a writer for The New York Times Magazine and famous cook book author, wrote in a September 1967 column about a letter received from Edward P. Montgomery, an American living in France at the time. In the letter, Montgomery detailed a dish that was created by Commodore E.C. Benedict. Commodore Benedict was a banker and yachtsman who died in 1920 at the age of 86. The dish created by Commodore Benedict was Eggs Benedict. The commodore claims that the recipe had been given to him by his mother who had received it from the commodore’s uncle.

In November of the same year, Mabel C. Butler of Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts responded to Mr. Montgomery’s letter to The Times requesting a correction to the story. Her story was the “true story” of how Eggs Benedict came to be, a retelling of the Delmonico's stpry above. In Ms. Butler’s story, the creation of Eggs Benedict was well known to the relatives of Mrs. Le Grand Benedict, of whom she was one. Her version included a truffle on top.

A fourth origin of the dish is in food historian, Elizabeth David's French Provincial Cooking, where she writes about a traditional French dish named œufs bénédictine, consisting of brandade (a puree of refreshed salt cod and potatoes), spread on triangles of fried bread. A poached egg is then set on top and napped with hollandaise. This story would also explain the continental syntax, where the adjective follows, rather than precedes, the noun.

Mrs. Isabella Beeton's Household Management had recipes in the first edition (1861) for "Dutch sauce, for benedict" and its variant on the following page, "Green sauce, or Hollandaise verte", so Eggs Benedict undoubtedly precedes the New World stories above. In 1859–1861, she wrote a monthly supplement to The Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine In October 1861, the supplements were published as a single volume, The Book of Household Management Comprising information for the Mistress, Housekeeper,Cook, Kitchen-maid, Butler, Footman,Coachman,Valet,Upper and Under House-Maids,Lady's Maid, Maid-of-all-Work,Laundry, Nurse and Nursery maid, Monthly, Wet Nurse, and Sick Nurses, etc. etc.—also Sanitary, Medical,; Legal Memoranda: with a History of the Origin, Properties, and Uses of all Things Connected with Home Life and Comfort.

While all of these stories are entertaining, it is most likely that the dish is a Lenten or meatless dish evolved from Renaissance times.

Now presenting How To Make Truffled Eggs Benedict...

A History of Brunch or What Time IS Dinner?

2009-12-19T16:26:00.017-06:00

The 1972 supplement to the Oxford English Dictionary says the word "brunch" first appeared in the British magazine, Hunter's Weekly in 1895. This is confirmed by the Aug. 1, 1896, issue of the magazine Punch: ''To be fashionable nowadays we must 'brunch'. Truly an excellent portmanteau word, introduced, by the way, last year, by Mr. Guy Beringer, in Hunter's Weekly, and indicating a combined breakfast and lunch.''

Although the meal itself became a star in the United States during the 1930s, the word is a British invention, coined in 1895 by Mr. Beringer, an early visionary foodie. He wrote "Brunch: A Plea." Instead of England's early Sunday dinner, a post church ordeal of heavy meats and savory pies, Beringer wrote, why not a new meal, served around noon, that starts with tea or coffee, marmalade and other breakfast fixtures before moving along to the heavier fare? By eliminating the need to get up early on Sunday, brunch would make life brighter for Saturday-night carousers. It would promote human happiness in other ways as well. "Brunch is cheerful, sociable and inciting," Beringer wrote. "It is talk-compelling. It puts you in a good temper, it makes you satisfied with yourself and your fellow beings, it sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week.""

More than a century later, Beringer's advocacy for brunch remains as compelling as the day he made it, perhaps because, in drafting his brunch manifesto, he was not too specific about what dishes should be served. He demanded ''everything good, plenty of it, variety and selection.'' In a postscript, he suggested that beer and whiskey could be served instead of coffee and tea, laying down a precedent for the mimosa, the Bloody Mary and the screwdriver.

Perhaps the best way to approach the history of brunch is a reflection on "What time is Dinner?" I grew up in central Illinois, my relatives were farmers. When we spoke of dinner we meant the meal at noon. Supper was eaten in the evening. During my university years, I cooked a Thanksgiving Dinner for co-workers in the laboratory for which I washed dishes. I was quite shocked when no one showed up until the evening. I had not been specific about the time. I just knew they would show up around noon. Most of my friends were from Chicago. Dinner meant 7:00 pm. What caused this miss-communication?

Class distinction, local customs and from where or when our respective ancestors immigrated to America were to blame (my not stating plainly the TIME withstanding). I didn't think it was strange to have a large meal in the middle of the day because our family came from a long line of farmers who immigrated from England, Ireland, and Wales generations before. They got up early, ate a fortifying breakfast at sunrise, worked the fields, came home to a large and hearty dinner that my aunts spent the entire morning preparing then returned to work until sundown when they might enjoy a light meal of leftovers from dinner or a bowl of soup or stew made from the aforementioned remains. The women folk, as my aunts referred to themselves, spent the afternoons working the gardens or canning or sewing. They didn't have time to prepare a large meal again in the evening and it was wasteful to throw away leftovers. Leftovers were best eaten the day they were created. This was an old English way of eating based on sunrise and set, and the requirements placed upon my aunts by their station in life. In my young life, dinner was ALWAYS at NOON. I didn't know people ate a different way until my guests failed to arrive when I expected them.

We, in the United States, rarely eat a large meal at high noon. We have become a fast food nation impoverished by lack of time. Today we take the light switch for granted. Back in the day, artificial lighting, oil lamps and candles were an extravagance. Everyone went to sleep at sundown except the extremely wealthy who could afford candle wax. So supper, the third and last meal of the day, was usually eaten before the sun went down, or very shortly afterward. People generally went to sleep soon after eating it, plus it was considered unhealthy to sleep on a full stomach. That was the standard schedule for centuries.

There were some exceptions, of course. People at the wealthiest courts might stay up after dark. They controlled most of the world's capital and used it for things like indulgent parties, clothing, castles, armies, and candles. They were used to the world revolving around them, rather than the other way around. They didn't use the self important names such as "Sun King" or "Swan King" without reason.
The Mirrored gallery at Herrin Chiemsee built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria 1878
Fifty two candelabras of gold and fifty two chandeliers provide support for 2500 wax candles.

From the Middle Ages to the age of Shakespeare, there are scattered references to occasional extra meals, called luncheon and nuntion or nuncheon.

Oh rats, rejoice! The world is grown to one vast drysaltery! So munch on, crunch on, take your nuncheon, Breakfast, supper, dinner, luncheon! Browning, Pied Piper of Hamelin.

Nuntion was eaten between dinner and supper, and peasants were sometimes guaranteed nuntions of ale and bread on those days they worked harvesting the fields in the lengthy days of late summer and autumn, when sunset and supper came many hours after noon and dinner. Luncheon seems to have been eaten between breakfast and dinner, when dinner was delayed. Luncheon was taken mainly by ladies and was not a large meal. It was more of a snack on those days when they had to wait for a late dinner due to the political or sporting affairs of their husbands. These late dinners became more and more common in the 1700s, due to new developments in culture and technology.

Capitalism, colonialism, and the industrial revolution were changing the British economy, many people had a lot more money to spend on things like light and food. The nobility and gentry became a class of leisure and began to spend more time in the cities where they had parties and entertainment night after night. They had, or at least most of them had, no more real work to do so they partied or socialized...they became socialites.

The middle class evolved at the same time, due to growth in mercantilism, trade, crafts and manufacturing. Rising wages led to more purchasing of goods, and the cycle revolved. I sometimes wonder if that cycle is turning in reverse today as real wages drop while manufacturing in both England and the United States has virtually ceased, and agriculture is industrialized. Our middle class is disappearing. Our agrarian class is gone.

Anyway, people then began to have more money, and in the cities at least, more goods were available, including candles and lamps. People began staying up later using better lighting, naturally there were things to do at night. The 1700s were a time of entertainment as well as enlightenment. Theaters and operas were suddenly available on a wider scale in cities like London and Paris, with most performances at night. In Shakespeare's time they had usually been in the day, in sunlight. Now they were in enclosed halls, illuminated by hundreds or thousands of candles and lamps.

The Municipal Theater in Bologana, Italy 1756

These were not just affairs for the upper class, either; middle and lower class people went in large numbers.

Today the middle class and lower classes stay at home, isolated in front of the TV eating industrially prepared, instantly reconstituted foods. Communal entertainment and eating is on the wane. Our Theaters are closed or closing.On occasion Americans go out to sporting events where they eat fast food, or to fast food restaurants where they watch more TV. As the middle class disappears, the concern for quality is replaced by cost.

As I pointed out earlier, with more artificial lighting, people in the cities began going to bed later and rising later in the morning. The clock and habits shifted forward. When you ate was relative to when you got up. In London, by the 1730s and 40s, the upper class nobles and gentry were dining at three or four in the afternoon, and by 1770 their dinner hour in London was four or five. In the 1790s the upper class was rising from bed around ten a.m. or noon, and then eating breakfast at an hour when their grandparents had eaten dinner. They then went for "morning walks" in the afternoon and greeted each other with "Good morning" until they ate their dinner at perhaps five or six p.m. Then it was "afternoon" until evening came with supper, sometime between nine p.m. and two a.m.! The rich, famous and fashionable did not go to bed until dawn. With their wealth and social standing, they were able to change the day to suit themselves.

Some upper-class individuals did get up earlier, children for instance and sometimes their mothers. By 1800 the dinner hour had been moved to six or seven. For early risers this meant a very long wait until dinner. Even those who arose at ten a.m. or noon had a wait of anywhere from six to nine hours. Ladies, tired of the wait, had established luncheon as a regular meal, not an occasional one, by about 1810. It was a light meal, of dainty sandwiches and cakes, held at noon or one or even later, but always between breakfast and dinner. Women, being domestic goddesses and inventors, lead the way with tea, biscuits and pastries as a refreshment to serve visitors during the long afternoons. Then ladies began taking tea and snacks of light sandwiches and cakes around four or five in the afternoon, regardless of whether or not they had visitors. At first they had this snack in relative seclusion but by the 1840s they had established afternoon tea as a regular meal in drawing rooms and parlors all over Britain.

All these changes occurred first in London and took years to affect even the upper classes in the country. The further away from London one went, the greater difference there was in meal times. The rural populace, however, long persisted in eating dinner at midday and supper in early evening. The middle and lower classes in Britain were quick to adopt this new meal when they could. Tea came to fill the same role that had once been met by lunch, filling in long hours before a late dinner. But tea never caught on in the US. The industrial revolution started later in the United States than Britain. In the United States there were vast fields which called out to new immigrants to be farmed. Most Americans lived on those farms until World War II. This is why many of the older customs of eating persisted in the US, to the confusion of many, including myself.

The Industrial revolution in Britain during the 1700s and 1800s had completely changed life. People began to work further from home, and the midday meal had to become something light, just whatever they could carry to work.
A 19th Century lunch pail.

The main meal was still dinner, pushed to the evening hours after work, when they could get home for a full meal under the gas lights. People in the middle and lower class began to eat dinner in the evening like the kings and queens. But they did so due to the demands of their lifestyle which was much different from royalty. However, many of them retained the traditional dinner hour of noon or one on Sundays or Holidays, when they were home from work and had time to prepare the large meal of the day and because tradition persists when there is no pressing reason to change.

Luncheon as a regular daily meal developed later in the United States, by the 1900s. In the 1945 edition of Etiquette, Emily Post still referred to luncheon as "generally given by and for women, but it is not unusual, especially in summer places or in town on Saturday or Sunday, to include an equal number of men." She also referred to supper as "the most intimate meal there is...none but family or nearest friends are ever included." Only hash or cold meat were to be served at supper (left overs from dinner, no doubt); anything hot or complicated was served at dinner. In her first edition of Etiquette, in 1922, Post had seen no need to explain that. But by the 1945 edition, she had to explain that luncheon was an informal midday meal and supper an informal evening meal, while dinner was always formal, but could occur at midday or evening.

Later editions, such as the 1960 edition edited by Elizabeth Post, standardized the times and dropped all the old traditions of formality. Lunch was formal or informal, but always at midday, and everyone ate it whether male or female. Dinner was formal or informal, but always in the evening. Supper was an optional meal, thrown in during late night balls. Timing had become more important than ritual; ritual became an optional and personal choice. So much for the Etiquette mistresses. Most people rely upon a hodgepodge of ancestral traditions mitigated by newer customs which evolved in response to modern life to decide how and when to eat.

In our current century, we eat dinner any time from noon to midnight, and most people never have a supper. Like so many old rituals, once followed with iron-clad discipline, our meal times are now as fluid and changeable as the rest of our lives. Customs that persisted for centuries have disappeared in a few decades while new ones such as brunch take their place.
http://www.mysundaybrunch.com/
http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodfaq7.html
http://www.history-magazine.com/dinner2.html

Photography Show - Forgotten Places - Noel Kerns and Rob Fuel January 8, 1010

2009-12-17T10:14:00.019-06:00

Meet Noel Kerns and his fellow night photographer, Rob Fuel, for wine and cheese at The Turtle Enoteca, 510 Center Avenue, Brownwood, Texas, January 8, 2010 5:00pm - 6:00 pm. Night photography lecture at 8:00 pm in the candle room. Noel and Bob will talk about their techniques. If you want to learn more about night photography and how to make better use of lighting and filters - be here. The show will hang in the wine bar and candle room through March. All Photographs will be for sale.

Robert Feuille known as Rob Fuel, is a photographer with no home but Texas. Born and raised in the desert town of El Paso, he has always been captivated by photography, but this fascination really took hold in high school. In college, Robert trained as a photojournalist, working primarily with 35mm black and white film and relying on an old manual Canon with a fussy light meter.

After graduation, Robert jumped into the world of copywriting and advertising, working on personal photo projects and freelance photography in his free time. These freelance projects soon turned into commercial commissions for advertising. Shooting mostly in the digital 35mm format, Robert has photographed yachts, TV personalities, church services, cheese, livestock, realty, cars, people, and much more.

Robert has always been fascinated with the abandoned and the forgotten. The mark that humanity leaves on a place and the way that nature works to reclaim the land is a haunting and beautiful thing. And while nothing can quite match the feeling of re-exploring that which has been left to itself for so long, Robert works hard to approximate it in his photos.

Robert calls Austin home, but currently resides in El Paso while undergoing treatment for testicular cancer. He and his wife Aimee are the proud of parents of two cute little girls and one baby boy. Rob's Website: http://robertfuel.com/

We'll let Noel Kerns introduce himself :

I'm a Dallas-based photographer specializing in capturing Texas’ ghost towns, decommissioned military installations, and industrial abandonments at night. My background is in large-format, black & white photography, which has proven to be a perfect launching pad into the art of photographing our world in darkness.

I find night photography to be an interesting and addictive dichotomy; the purity and natural beauty of photographing under a bright, full moon, and at the opposite end of the spectrum, the creativity and power of the virtual blank canvas that is laid before me as I "light paint" an interior scene.

One of the things I enjoy most about photographing under a full moon are all the latent details, those things which reveal themselves only when you take the time to let the moonlight tell the story. I love the general sense of calm and tranquility in a peaceful night scene, as well as the eerie feeling one can get when looking at a decaying old ghost town under a full moon.

Light-painting is all about vision, or more specifically, "pre-vision", the ability to imagine the scene and lighting you want to create in the darkness, and to execute it in such a way as to match or surpass that imagination. The execution itself is an exercise in patience and control, imagination and experimentation, all the while drawing on your experience from previous shots to recreate your vision. To me, it's fascinating.

So two entirely different kinds of images, but both born of the same desire to express the emotions and feelings one gets when exploring these old, forgotten places.

So what do I do when I'm not taking pictures of old abandoned places? You can usually find me entertaining around the DFW area as a singer & acoustic guitarist.

Photography website: www.noelkernsphotography.com

Music website: www.noelkerns.com

Cancelled Luz de Estrella Wine Exploration Dinner January 21, 2010

2009-12-16T13:45:00.012-06:00

We are sorry to have to cancel this dinner. Linda has been ill and it seems that everyone is dieting as their New Year's Resolution. We will try this again later in the spring.

Eat and drink at The Turtle Restaurant with award winning winemaker, Linda Armstrong. She has created an exciting and tasteful collection of wines, including Cabernet Sauvignon, and Chenin Blanc, together with masterful blends such as their oak-casked Merlot/Cabernet and their bold Big Bend Rojo, Big Bend Blush, and Big Bend Rose. So please come and enjoy the best Wine experience West Texas has to offer.

The beauty of West Texas," is what Linda Armstrong said drew them there. "I just fell in love with the area." She and her husband, Houston attorney John Armstrong, share a passion for wine. Linda started learning about grapes from her great-grandaddy. "My great-granddaddy in Brownwood used to have grapevines" Linda Armstrong said. He showed her how to prune grapes and make homemade wine. Linda and Her husband studied the vintner's art at Grayson County College in Dennison then bought their property near Marfa. Linda and John held their grand opening on July 8, 2006. The winery is located at 100 Starlight Way in Marfa. Phone number is (432) 729-3434.

More details will be posted as I have time -

Menu

Sea Scallops En Croute -
bacon leek duxelle, mache, maytag buerre blanc, wrapped in puff pastry

Bacon Wrapped Quail -
dijon-maple glazed on granny smith apple and celeriac slaw, raspberry vinaigrette

Steak Diane -
tournados of filet, garlic, shallots, demi-glaze, dijon mustard, new potato graninee, grench beans

Wine Exploration Dinner at The Turtle Restaurant
514 Center Avenue
Brownwood, Texas 76801
325-646-8200

January 21, 2010 7:00 pm reservations required

Celebrate New Years Eve 2010 At The Turtle Restaurant

2009-12-04T16:06:00.009-06:00

Oh Boy, our menu this year is going to be old school! See The History of Beef Wellington posted below.

Dinner will be served from 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm Reservations required. Call 325-646-8200 or reserve online enter the date December 31, 2009 and the number in your party. You will receive a confirmation. In the spirit of The Bakery and Chef Louis Szathmary, the evening is Three Courses Prix Fixe at $45.00 per person not including, drinks, dessert, alcohol and tip.

Bloody Mary Crab Cocktail
wild caught crab, tortilla strips, spicy tomato broth,
Tito's Vodka, pico de gallo

Winter Salad
rocket, toasted almonds, maytag bleu cheese, cranberries,
aged balsamic vinaigrette

Filet of Beef Wellington
wild mushroom duxelle, pate foie gras, puff pastry, perigourdine Sauce

Now a word about our sparking wine. We brought in a variety of sparkling wine, Cava from Spain, Champagne from France, and Prosecco from Italy for the New Year because, what kind of a New Year's celebration would it be without bubbles? Few people have heard of Cava. We think that is a shame as Spain produces many fine "champagnes" equal to the French and at a better price. So we have Champagne for the die hards, Cava for the adventurous, and Prosecco for the romantics at a wide range of price points so you can comfortably afford to try something new.

Rumor has it that there might be a live jazz duo as well.

The Turtle Enoteca will be opened from 5:00 until people leave or the law says close.

The Turtle Restaurant, 514 Center Ave, Brownwood, Texas 76801
325-646-8200

The History of Beef Wellington

2009-12-04T15:15:00.010-06:00

You have probably heard of Beef Wellington. There are many recipes which claim to be the "original recipe", Some including truffle paste, others using brioche or pastry dough instead of puff pastry. This famous dish had a resurgence in the 1960's because former President Nixon was quite fond of it. The White House served Beef Wellington based on a recipe from the early 19th Century at every state diner during his tenure.

At the end of the 18th century it was very popular to cook meat inside pastry shells, sometimes with a sauce much like pot pies, and often just wrapping the cut with vegetables in a basic pastry made with flour and water. This pastry would protect the meat from the extreme and hard to regulate heat from the period's kitchen appliances. All of which combined to produce a juicy and fragrant cut.

The origins of the basic recipe for Beef Wellington can be traced back to the kitchen of Arthur Wellesley, First Duke of Wellington. Wellesley is famous for having won the battle of Waterloo in 1815 against Napoleon. That first version of the dish was filled with truffle paste instead of duxelle mushrooms and the wrapping was normal pastry dough.

Several other sources mention that the dish might have gotten its name from the resemblance to a highly polished riding boot -- also called a wellington boot -- when taken out of the oven. Another theory is that Beef Wellington is of Irish origin. In "Irish Traditional Food," Theodora FitzGibbon uses Irish spelling for the recipe by calling the dish Steig Wellington. While this theory has never been confirmed, it still appears in various cookbooks as part of the history of Beef Wellington.

The first time we tasted Beef Wellington was right after we were married in the mid 1970s. Food fans who were in Chicago in the 1970s probably remember The Bakery, Louis Szathmary's restaurant, one of the very best restaurants in the city, whose specialty was Beef Wellington. The popularity of the Bakery was partly due to its moderate prices and casual attire. Chef Louis was friendly and accessible. He would check on every patron, warm and welcoming, part Santa Claus and part, well ... Chef Louis. The Bakery is where we learned to become comfortable with Fine Food. Julia Child and Chef Louis were both responsible for my learning to make puff pastry, mushroom duxelle, and Beef Wellington.

Szathmaryism:

"I see no reason why the artists in the kitchen who are creating our daily bread should not be treated academically the way other artists are. To be a good chef, a good culinarian is to be an artist, and a scientist. Our skills are the perfect combination of creative, visual and performing arts at once."

Wine Enthusiast Magazine Names The Turtle Restaurant One Of The Nation's Most Wine-friendly Restaurants for 2009!

2009-12-04T13:52:00.007-06:00

The Turtle Restaurant is one of a select number of restaurants in North America to be honored with the Award of Distinction. It represents our dedication to delivering one of the nation's most wine-friendly experience to our patrons.

Wine Enthusiast's Annual Restaurant Awards magazine feature will appear in the upcoming February 2010 issue, which will be available the week of January 11th. The article will include a listing with The Turtle Restaurant having our contact information. The Turtle will also be listed for an entire year as one of the “Award Winning Restaurants” in Wine Enthusiast's fully searchable database

We'll tell you more as soon as we know more, but this is very exciting and kind of puts us on the U.S. wine map. People still make light of Texas wine but we are telling you now that it won't be long before central Texas is the new Napa Valley. Our wine bar showcases some of the best of Texas wineries. We also serve some of the lesser known varietals from the rest of the world in addition to cab, merlot and chardonnay.

Here's your chance to see Joel Melton and friends at The Regency Bridge.

2009-11-24T16:27:00.003-06:00

Saturday, November 28th Joel will be back at the White Wolf Trading Post by The Regency Suspension Bridge 14 miles NW of San Saba Texas on FM500 Playing all day and evening with Alton and Sue Watson come on out.

Alton and Sue Watson singing at the Regency Suspension Bridge in Regency Texas. Filmed by Joel Melton and Edited by T. Howard Maxwell for the film "There's Something in the Water".

Catching Up With Tom Bowden

2009-11-02T15:53:00.011-06:00

If you wondered where he is and what is happening with our crazy guy on a bike, you can read about and see Tom's pictures here. I tried to post some of his pictures but apparently they won't upload from his website. So far Tom has made it to Roy's Campground somewhere in Mississippi.

We hope you will join us to celebrate his safe and heroic return and to contribute to Lance Armstrong's stem cell fund raiser on November 17 - Real Ale Beer and real beef hotdogs for everyone who donates. Why wait? You can donate here.

As you read Tommy's journal you meet people who have benefited from stem cell research in other countries, ordinary people like you and me whom he met as he rode his bike across America. By "other countries", I mean these Americans had to travel to other countries in order to receive treatment because other countries are more advanced than we are in their methods of the applications of stem cell research which they supported. That's embarrassing. We're supposed to be a world leader. Stem Cell research saves lives.

Our First THANKSGIVING At The Turtle

2009-11-02T13:36:00.006-06:00

We've been opened almost 5 years and decided that since last year that number of families called to see if we would be opened on Thanksgiving, that we better accommodate our customers.

This is the menu: Chef Thomas' juicy melt-in-your-mouth prime rib or house smoked turkey. Dinner will start with our Windy Hill Mixed Green Salad. You'll choose three sides from of our list of traditional comfort dishes followed by a selection of traditional desserts. Home made milk and butter rolls will be on the table. Coffee and Tea included. Prime Rib Dinner is $36.00, Smoked Turkey is $27.00 Children under three are free. Reservations are required. Call 325-646-8200 or make them online. We'll be opened from 6:00pm - 9:00pm Not part of a big group? We'll have a community table for singles who want to dine with someone.

November 19th, 2009 Is The 5th Wine Exploration Dinner - With Alphonse Dotson Of Certenberg Vineyards

2009-11-02T12:44:00.011-06:00

Here's a really special event. We know Brownwood is a football town and we're pretty sure Brownwood is a wine lovers kind of place. Now football and wine go together and no one has proved it more than Alphonse Dotson. He was drafted by the National Football League's Green Bay Packers, but signed with the American Football League's Kansas City Chiefs. He played for the AFL's Miami Dolphins. From 1967-1970 he played for the AFL's Oakland Raiders Mr. Dotson has traveled a long and dusty road from professional football to Certenberg Vineyards in Voca, (population 50) Texas. Wine, yes, wine.

There's a lot more to this story but we'll let Mr. Dotson tell you that himself while you dine and taste Gotas de Oro. Alphonse and his wife Martha have until now, sold all of their grapes to Fall Creek Vineyard. Fall Creek is Texas' oldest vineyard. Ed Auler, owner of Fall Creek has called Dotson's grapes the best in Texas. Fall Creek wines made with Dotson’s grapes have won major awards. Well, now the time has some for The Certenberg Vineyards to make it's own wine. The Turtle Restaurant is proud to present the first bottling of Gotas de Oro or "Drops of Gold." this nectarous wine has a heady peach, apple, floral nose with a long finish to match. It is a perfect foil for many kinds of spicy world foods from Thai to Indian to Latin. For our dinner we are choosing Latin. It could also be a dessert all by itself and complements many cheeses and sweets.

Other things you should know about Alphonse Dotson and proof he is an all round Renaissance man and a charming dinner companion: Mr. Dotson is on the board of the Texas Commission on the Arts. He studied Impressionistic Art with George Dureau and is (as we mentioned above) a former professional football player, teacher, and juvenile probation officer. Mr. Dotson is a cum laude graduate of Grambling College. In 2008, Saveur Magazine named Mr. Dotson as one of the Top 100 Most Interesting Personalities. Mr. Dotson served as President of the Texas Wine and Grape Growers Association in 2006 and 2007.

Sooo we can't think of any reason why everyone won't enjoy this event. Make your reservation now at The Turtle Restaurant by calling 325-646-8200 or online November 19th, 2009 7:00 pm

Our customer, Tom Bowden, 71 years old will ride his bicycle from Brownwood, Texas to St. Louis..

2009-09-24T22:24:00.007-05:00

down to Natchez, MS then back to Brownwood. The Trip begins October 4, 2008 and will last about 45 days. Tom is available for speeches and discussions on the subject of Adult Stem Cell Research (or your favorite conspiracy theory, Tom is the owner of the former Dallas Conspiracy Museum). Tom is riding to raise money for The Lance Armstrong foundation. On line donations can be made at http://www.livestrong.org/grassroots2009/ahimsa one cent per mile is $35.00, two cents per mile is $50.00. Let's make it worth the old man's time. You can view trip progress at the following site http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/ahimsa

The Turtle will celebrate Tom's safe return home with kosher hotdogs, home made buns and Texas' Real Ale Beer in the garden out back of the Enoteca on Tuesday, November 17, 2009 from 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm. Proceeds from hotdogs and beer will also be donated to Livestrong.org to honor Mr. Bowden's spectacular ride and safe return.

We'll soon be posting pictures of his riding rig. Mr. Bowden is proof that it's not how old you are, but how old you feel that counts. Some of our younger wine bar crew are going to ride with him part way to Oklahoma. If you are interested in riding along contact Tom at the the crazyguy web site listed above.

September 17, 2009 Our 4th Wine Exploration Dinner with Bluff Dale Vineyards

2009-08-31T12:09:00.009-05:00

David & Theresa Hayes make one of the few sweet white wines I will drink, Sweet Caramella. This golden wine has a heady floral bouquet with just enough citrus to balance the sweetness. The finish is what does me in on most sweet whites, no cloying finish there, just a saweeet snap! Great ice cold on the patio with apple pie for two or a good Texas cheddar made by our friends at Veldhuizen.

The veranda at the Bluff Dale Winery tasting room has a view of the beautiful vineyards and the Hill Country of Bluff Dale. It is located between Stephensville and Granbury on 377.

Menu

Cabernet Sauvignon - Beef Tournado
- green peppercorns, foccacio crouton

Chardonnay - Pan Seared Ahi Tuna
- Asian greens, wasabi cream, pickled ginger

White Cliff - Peking Duck Salad
- pulled duck, Asian vegetables, glass noodle, sweet sesame vinaigrette

Nexus - Rosemary Garlic Seared Pork Tenderloin
- roasted garlic whipped potatoes, french beans, mango chutney

Lenoir - Caramelized Peaches

For tasting notes visit Bluff Dale vineyards wine list.

Jazz on The Patio Sept 11 and Sept 26, 2009

2009-08-31T11:53:00.006-05:00

Enjoy a relaxed balmy evening on the new patio behind The Turtle Enoteca catching the groove of The Heartland Jazz Combo. The band will play two sets on Friday, September 11 and Saturday, September 26, 2009. There will be two shows each day starting at 7:00 pm and 9:00 pm. The Heartland Jazz Combo was founded in 2004 by Brownwoodians, Stephen Cox, Gannon Phillips, Mathew Ramirez and Kristopher Redus, with the mission to bring their love of Jazz music to the surrounding area. Since then the ensemble has played at local weddings, celebrations, and the Brownwood Reunion. Members of the band have performed and won awards in various jazz festivals including the Temple Jazz Festival, the North Texas Jazz Festival, the North Sea jazz festival in France, and for the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. The Combo plays a variety of jazz music styles including swing, be-bop, and latin styles such as the bossa nova and samba. They are excited about bringing life and music to downtown Brownwood, especially on September 11. As jazz great, Steve Toure says, "A musician is like a doctor, he's supposed to heal people and make them feel better."

Cover charge is $7.00 seating on the patio or $5.00 (bring your own blanket) on the grass in the Event Garden behind the Turtle Restaurant. Enoteca Menu or Brown Bag Picnic in the grass available. The Turtle Enoteca is located at 510 Center Avenue, Brownwood, Texas The Event Garden and Patio is directly behind the building. For reservations call 325-646-820.

Picture left to right: Stephen Cox, Gannon Phillips, Mathew Ramirez, Kristopher Redus

Photo Exhibit and Reception - Eric McNatt - The Character Project Sept 18-20, 2009 in the Turtle Enoteca

2009-08-27T16:00:00.010-05:00

The Turtle Enoteca is hanging Eric McNatt's Photos for viewing by the public in the wine bar during the city of Brownwood's Feels Like Home Festival. Eric McNatt is an Austin Texas native with roots in Brownwood.

He has been living and working in New York as a photographer since 1996. He holds a degree from the California College of the Arts in San Francisco, where he graduated with distinction. To date, Eric's work has been published in The New York Times Style Magazine, ESPN -the magazine, Vogue, Entertainment Weekly, New York Magazine, Fortune, Wired, Interview, Paper, Flaunt, Spin, and People, as well as many others. His commercial clients range from A & E Entertainment, The History Channel, Sony/Columbia BMG, The USA Network, and EURO SCG to book projects for Galerie LeLong in New York City. He splits his time between his 1970's A-Frame deep in Ulster County, surrounded by trees and deer, and his East Village apartment with a garden view and old men arguing on the stoop.

Hours of Exhibit are: Friday September 18 5:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Saturday September 19 11:00 am - 10 pm
Reception 2:00 pm - 4:30 pm
Sunday September 20 Noon - 5:00 pm

This will be an opportunity to buy photos taken for the Project directly from the photographer and talk with him about his experiences photographing the citizens of Brownwood, Texas. Eric will be signing his book which will be available for sale. The framed photos in the exhibit itself will be sold through a silent auction.

And if these pictures have anything important to say to future generations, it’s this: I was here. I existed. I was young, I was happy, and someone cared enough about me in this world to take my picture.

- One Hour Photo

August 20, 2009 - Alamosa Wine Cellar Showcased at our 3rd Wine Exploration Dinner

2009-07-17T10:53:00.007-05:00

If you intended to go to July's wine Exploration Dinner you missed a good time, great food and some of the best wine the W.O.W. Wineries has to offer. It's going to be difficult to top July's experience but we'll give it our best effort. So...what's on our plate this month?

Amuse Bouche: pan seared sea scallop with braised leeks golden chanterelle mushrooms
Appetizer: beef carpaccio extra virgin oil, cracked pepper, lemon juice, capers
Salad: Windy Hill organic greens, anjou pears, candied walnuts, Pure Luck goat cheese, raspberry vinaigrette
Intermezzo: pear and grappa - sorbetto
Main course: dijon crusted lamb chops, wilted spinach and wild mushroom napoleon
Dessert: french apple tart

We will post the tasting notes for this dinner from Alamosa Wine Cellars soon. Watch this space!!!!!!!!

Meanwhile we serve Alamosa's Texacaia in The Turtle Enoteca - A blend of Sangiovese, Syrah and Tempranillo, Texacaia is our Super Texan! Pronounced: Tex-uh-ki-ya Look for the contributions from all three grapes: the cherry of Sangiovese, the blackberry and pepper from the Syrah and Tempranillo’s blueberry and leather. Great with a variety of foods…true to Sangiovese’s versatility, but try with Italian dishes with tomato and meat sauces or smoked pork with mushrooms.

Scissortail - Roussanne, Viognier, and Marsanne from Cherokee Creek Vineyards, High Valley Block, comprise this unique (for Texas) blend. A typical combination in the Rhone Valley, this wonderful wine reflects our limestone soils and sun drenched vineyards. It has a tribute to the Scissortail Flycatcher bird on the label…the latest in their Texas Icon series of wines.

El Guapo - Tempranillo Blueberries, juniper, chocolate and leather with rich fruit and supple tannins. This is ALamosa wine Cellar's most talked-about wine, written up in Wine Spectator, Gourmet, Saveur and others. Serve it with a grilled steak and portabellas, a rack of lamb, beef tenderloin or game. Follow up with flourless choclate cake or dark chocolate gelato and continue with the El Guapo for a perfect match.

So don't miss out make your reservation here. Fill in the date August 20, 2009 7:00 p.m. and indicate the number of guests. The cost is $65.00 per person. A round of tastings is included. Additional glasses of wine are $8.00 each. Oh.......and tell your friends!!

Meet Your Local Bird Banders - Public Presentation Saturday July 25 3:00 pm

2009-07-03T09:43:00.006-05:00

Every summer interns from various parts of the world visit our Gelateria and restaurant from the MAPS Program. I knew they were studying our bird population but never had a chance to interact with them or understand what it is that they do here other than catch birds in nets and band them. This year three young women are in Brownwood from the Institute for Bird Populations and they are going to present an informational program on the MAPS Program and birds found at Camp Bowie. Camp Bowie is one of 500 banding stations through out the US. monitored by the Institute for Bird Populations.

"The Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) Program was created by The Institute for Bird Populations in 1989. This program was designed to assess and monitor the vital rates and population dynamics of over 120 species of North American landbirds in order to provide critical conservation and management information on their populations through various publication. The MAPS Program utilizes constant-effort mist netting and banding at a continent-wide network of monitoring stations."

Read Stephanie's Blog Birdy Words and Whims for the gorgeous pictures and descriptions of our local birds or

Meet Your Local Bird Banders at:
The Turtle Restaurant
514 Center Ave
On Saturday July 25
Public Presentation 3:00PM

July 16, 2009 The Second Edition of Wine Exploration Dinners at The Turtle Restaurant: Red Caboose

2009-06-25T12:24:00.004-05:00

Mark your calendar on July 16, 2009 then climb aboard for the second edition of our Wine Exploration Dinner with Red Caboose Winery and their vintner Evan McKibben. Red Caboose Winery is the newest winery in the Northern Growing Region of Texas and the very first winery in Bosque County. Red Caboose uses the latest energy-saving technology: geothermal cooling and chilling, PV arrays for generating clean electricity and rainwater collection are only a few features that make Red Caboose green.

Evan will be presenting his Cabernet 07, winner of a Grand Star and Gold medals in the 2009 Lone Star International Wine Competition and his Merlot 06, a silver winner at the 2009 Dallas Morning New Wine Competition. Plus, we will be making something desserty with his sweet Blanc du Bois. For reservations go to www.theturtlerestaurant.com and enter July 16, 2009 7:00 pm on the reservation form.

Menu

Panzanella

Pan Seared Chilean Sea Bass - parpadelle, farm vegetables, lemon, capers

Asian Greens - bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, daiko, pine nuts, sweet sesame vinaigrette

Steak Au Poivre - chateau potatoes, baby carrots

Red Caboose Cheesecake

The first four courses will be served with 2oz tastings of Tempranillo Syrah blend, Viognier, Blanc du Bosque and their gold medal Cabernet Sauvignon.

$65.00 per person additional glasses of wine $10.00 each

Chicken Purses and Hearses Too

2009-06-25T10:42:00.000-05:00

On the 21st of June, we hosted Wine Enthusiast writer Lisa Rogak and State of Texas Wine Marketing Director, Bobbie Champion as they toured the Way Out Wineries in our neck of the woods. I suffer a little fear and trepidation when meeting the unknown. I was the kid who worried about flunking out of kindergarten before the first day. I wondered, "will we meet their expectations? Will we be good enough?" We are self conscious knowing we are new at this wine gig. Our wine storage room is unfinished with boxes on the floor and my grandchildrens' toys strewn about. So my staff and I waited anxiously, ready or not, for their arrival.

We laid out a spread from our Enoteca menu on the bar including all of our pizzas, Al Diavalo, Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese, Quattro Fromaggi, Mellanzanna, Prosciutto and Rocket, Margarita and held our breath as they tasted each one, chose their wines and declared their favorites. As they explored our food, I tried to explore our guests. Lisa is effervescent, overflowing with ideas and bizarre interests like funerary museums. She is someone who loads her hearse with musical instruments - the accordion and double bass. Michelle, my head waitress, coveted Lisa's rubber chicken purse. This lead to the discovery that Lisa is a fan of the hilarious Wallace and Gromit cartoons, owning a Shaun the Sheep purse as well. We gave Bobbie and Lisa the Grand Tour of the property, I wished we had more time and lived next door.

Announcing The Turtle's Wine Exploration Dinners

2009-04-28T14:15:00.000-05:00

On June 18th, 2009 at 7:00pm The Turtle Restaurant will have the first in it's series of Wine Exploration Dinners featuring W.O.W. (Way Out Wineries), a group of wineries located here in central Texas. We invite you to have dinner with Barking Rocks' vintner, Tiberia. He is going to release his 2005 cabernet sauvignon made with grapes from the high plains. With this wine in mind our Chef, Thomas Vezina, has created a special menu for the evening consisting of

Amuse Bouche - Beef Tenderloin, mushroom deuxelle in cabernet sauce
Terrine of Lamb
Windy Hill Organics Greens, apples, walnuts, gorgonzola, raspberry vinaigrette
Veal Osso Bucco
Gateau Noix walnut tart from St Paul de Vence

The cost is $65.00 per person and includes two glasses of "to be released" Barking Rocks Cabernet. Reservations may be had by calling The Turtle Restaurant 325-646-8200 or on line at the website http://www.theturtlerestaurant.com/ choose the date June 18, 2009. Tiberia will be on hand to discuss his wines and take orders.

The Turtle Enoteca serves other Barking Rocks wines by the taste, glass and bottle including 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - Quail Ridge high plains grapes - A plum nose and wonderful berry toasted oak flavors with a great tannin structure.

2004 Sangiovese - Newsom grapes Bright and rich with notes of raspberry and spice. 2007 Lone Star International Wine Competition medal.

Little Red Wine in Hood 90% Syrah, 10% Blanc du Bois. Friendly, light bodied wine with subtle hints of white pepper and cherry.

2005 Viognier - Comanche, TX grapes Complex and full bodied white wine with notes of oak, anise and tangerine.

We hope you will join us for dinner or in our wine bar.

Take A Road Trip Through The North Hill Country

2008-06-30T20:21:00.000-05:00

The New York Times recently named the Texas Hill Country as the number-one place to visit.

"Traveling this summer may sound like a cruel joke: airlines are getting worse, gas prices are creeping toward $5 a gallon and the euro continues to go up, up, up. It's almost enough to make you stay home." The northern rim of the Hill County is even closer to home. Food writer Claudia Alarcon described her North Hill Country Road trip in the summer issue of Edible Austin as being "full of undiscovered food and adventure treasures."

We would like to invite you, dear readers, to explore Coleman, Santa Anna, Brownwood, Rising Star, Comanche, Dublin this summer. There is something for everyone from Lake Brownwood to a wine tasting tour of the wineries in the region. Instead of going to Italy this summer, go to Brownwood, home of the Turtle Gelateria maker of superb artisan gelato (Italian ice cream) and sorbettos. Everyone knows about Dr. Pepper Dublin but they also need to discover some of the world's best hard cheeses, hand made by the Veldhuizen family. Stay in a Tipi at Star of Texas Bed and Breakfast or cuddle in one of their darling cottages.

You don't have to go to Hollywood to visit the site of a movie. The independent flick, World Without Waves, was shot on the Colorado River half way between Brownwood and San Saba at the Regency Suspension Bridge, also the inspiration for a new CD titled "The Gospel According to Regency" by Joel Melton. Not sure of an exact release date yet, but be sure to sign up for the newsletter and you'll be one of the first to know. The original song "Leroy in Valle Hermoso", written by Joel, is being made into a movie short film. The Producer, Troy Campbell of Collection Agency Films, has enlisted the help of many of Austin's finest in film to accomplish a fleshed out and exciting version of the song that will be worthy of entering film festivals. The lead will be played by longtime Austin singer/songwriter extrodonare, Beaver Nelson. A small but pivitol roll of 'The Priest' will be played by Austin's own songwriter/singer/composer/performer/Italian cooking instructor...Michael Fracasso. You won't go hungry or become bored when you travel a little bit closer to home this summer

The Keifer Pear

2008-06-29T16:12:00.000-05:00

As you walk around your neighborhood in October you may have noticed fence line or alley trees loaded with large heavy hard pears. You reach up and pick one as the tree limbs are breaking under their load. You take a bite. It’s gritty, sweet but not too. The texture resembles a potato more than a pear. It is a Keiffer Pear though some think it is far from pearish. “... I doubt the Keiffer is nearer being a pear than a mule is being a horse. I think the quince is the father of one and the jackass the other.” (from the Annual Report of the Ohio State Board of Agriculture 1895) Actually the parents were not mules nor horses but the oriental Sand Pear and the european Bartlett with the help of accidental midwife Peter Keiffer.

Mr. Keiffer was an Alsacian who had worked for twelve years in the garden of the King of France before immigrating to the United States. In 1853 he planted a small nursery in Roxborough near Philadelphia. Keiffer imported much of his stock from the Belgian nursery Van Houten including Chinese Sand Pear seed. He sold saplings of the Sand Pear as an ornamental. Keiffer also grew Bartlett Pears. One day he noticed a seedling with unusual foliage so he saved it.

The Sand Pear has large beautiful flowers, almost inedible “sandy” fruit but is hardy and fire blight resistant. This made it a perfect mate for the weak but buttery european Bartlett. The seedling which Keiffer saved produced pear tasty enough that he gave them away to friends. Thirteen years later Peter Keiffer entered his new pear in the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition of 1876 where one of the judges, a nursery man by the name of William Parry, paid Keiffer for a few graftings. Mr. Parry recognized the commercial value of Keiffer’s pear. The reason the Ohioan Aggie quoted above disparaged the Keiffer was on account of how prolific it was - which he feared would lower pear prices, and the fact that it was fire blight resistant so it grew in Gulf states which might take away market share from northern growers of fancy older european pears like the Bartlett. He was more interested in protecting his market than introducing new fruits to the world.

Peter Keiffer died in 1890 but his pear lived on, though in this modern age the Keiffer is rarely seen in the grocery store. Many productive 90 year old pears stand next to farm house ruins.
American Heirloom Pears are extremely rare 19th and 20th century pears of American origin including the Keiffer. The Keiffer pear we found in our alley is on the Southwest Regis-Tree of endangered or rare fruits and nuts, and listed on Slow Food USA’s Ark of Taste as one of 28 rare varieties of pears. “The Ark of Taste seeks, first and foremost, to save an economic, social and cultural heritage - a universe of animal breeds, fruit and vegetables, cured meats, cheese, cereals, pastas, cakes and confectionery.” As Michael Pollan, author of Botany of Desire says, “Slow Food recognizes that the best place to preserve biological and cultural diversity is not in museums, or zoos but, as it were, on our plates: by finding new markets for precious-but-obscure foodstuffs.” This attention to food is not the gourmet-driven pursuit of a culinary elite, but a grass-roots movement to save that which is most precious to us all—the unassailable pleasure of food grown with respect for the earth, and for the people who grow and eat it.

Last fall, our egg and honey supplier, Nouvella Newman, brought me two bushels full of Keiffer Pears which grew on her ranch. The tree was planted when the ranch was first homesteaded - right after Parry's nursery went into the Keifer Pear mail order business. Nouvella had so many pears she didn’t know what to do with them and was feeding them to her livestock. She wondered what I could make with them suggesting that we could make jam. I could feel the sandy texture in my mouth and while the fruit was sweet it was bland. I kept thinking potato or jicama, then I recalled a recipe from Bernard Clayton’s 1978 classic cookbook, Bread’s Of France, which used pears. The recipe produces a marvelous slightly sweet bread that goes especially well with cheeses, or toasted and buttered with jam. The freshly ground black pepper adds just the right amount of zip, hardly noticeable but important.

Because fruit flys had started to attack the pears we turned them into puree, froze the puree in bread batch portions and put Pepper Pear French Toast on our brunch menu. I form the bread into two pound coronas so our french toast is presented in two beautiful wedges. It will be several more months before we run out of Keiffer Pear Puree and then we will anticipate fall.