Croxetti

Croxetti is a type of pasta consisting of flat medallion or coin-shaped pasta disks stamped by hand or machine with intricate patterns. Croxetti originated in Liguria, in Northern Italy along the border with France, during the middle ages. In the past they were made by local peasants and used by aristocratic families as a display of wealth and status. The family Coat of Arms was carved on one side and a sauce holding decorative symbol, usually cross (hence the name croxetti) was carved on the other. You roll out your pasta a little bit thicker than normal cut it with the disc and then press it between the two parts of the stamp. As you can see the stamp has the cutter built in. It's easy to make a few dozen for a family  meal but since I was making over 400 for a dinner for fifty I had to call in the peasants.

Chef Mimi

Chef Vivi

 


We had our croxetti stamp made for us with our Turtle "Coat of Arms" by Franco Casoni in Chiavera near Genoa. He also carves mermaids and figureheads for ships and wooden sculptures for churches and civic displays. http://www.francocasoni.it/  It is a pleasure to hold his little work of art in my hand while I am stamping out pasta discs.

 
We also have a croxetti stamp that we bought online (sorry, I have forgotten where) which has an ear of wheat on one side and a spiral on the reverse. The spiral reminds me of this camp Japanese horror flick translated as Spiral or Vortex. but it really holds the sauce which is the point of the design. My grand-daughters insisted it was not a ear of wheat but a Blue Bonnet cute - little Texan that they are.

  I did not tell them that the spiral reminded me of a Japanese horror flick.

Enjoy this short video of Pietro Picetti making croxeti stamps in Varese, Ligura, Italy
Recently we made chestnut flour croxetti in sugo d'anatrain (duck sauce) for Wedding Oak Winery in San Saba. The fifty diners I mentioned above sat down for four courses prepared by Chef Bubba Frank, Pastry Chef and owner, Mary Stanley and her peasants; and more importantly to taste the great wines made by this two year old Texas winery.

The barrel room at Wedding Oak Winery San Saba, Texas

We think they are on the road to success because they are focusing on grapes that are more appropriate for Texas climate. No cabernet or chardonnay there. Try my personal favorite,  Wedding Oak Bridal Veil, a crisp blend of trebbiano and vermentino.

Never heard of these grapes? Historical references to trebbiano were made by Pliny and Petrus de Crestenthiis in 1303 so it is an ancient ancient grape. Trebbiano was brought to California by Italian immigrants. So the key word here is Mediterranean, hot dry climate. Where is it hot and dry? Central Texas. Trebbiano is the second most widely planted grape in the world. It has good yields, but tends to make undistinguished wine. It can be fresh and fruity, but does not age well so it needs to be blended with something that has more character.

For a white grape, Vermentino never seems to lose its character. It thrives in the heat on the islands of Corsica and Sardinia. It has spread across southern France, where it is called Rolle; through Liguria, the Italian Riviera; Piedmont, which might be its origin; and Tuscany. It is beginning to thrive in the hot and dry climate of Texas. Vermentino contains the flavors and aromas of resin, herbs and something slightly evergreen. Ligurians adore it for their seafood and pesto (one of the reasons we made Ligurian croxetti to pair with this wine dinner). “Eh, chi non m’as postu frucchitta!” (Why? You didn’t give me the fork!)

Vermentino is delicious and reasonably priced and vermentino is easy for Texans to roll off the tongue. Its bright acidity and citrus flavors are perfect for summer alone or blended with the more abundantly available but less distinguished Trebbiano. So if you are near Brownwood or San Saba, Texas pick up a bottle of Bridal Veil at Wedding Oak Winery or try Vermentino by itself or in a blend instead of your usual chardonnay or pinot grigio.

Vermentino is commonly thought to be Spanish in origin. Although it is currently grown in several countries around the Mediterranean, its best known examples come from northern Italy (particularly in the region of Liguria) and the island of Sardinia, where the wines are crisp, citrusy and generally unoaked. It is also the most widely planted white grape on the island of Corsica, where high altitude and hot climate vineyards produce more full-bodied wines with heady floral aromas. On the French mainland (where the grape is known as Rolle), it is found in Côtes de Provence and, increasingly, in Languedoc. Although it makes excellent wine, for many years Vermentino was best known for producing table grapes. The grapes are large with a good sugar/acid balance, making them a perfect choice for sweet snacking. - See more at: http://www.tablascreek.com/vineyard_and_winemaking/grapes/vermentino#sthash.RhgLHSMz.dpuf

Balcones Whiskey Dinner February 12, 2011

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

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Oktoberfest at The Turtle Restaurant October 21, 2010

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

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

Tour de Vin

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.

Vote for The Turtle Restaurant Chefs Under Fire

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.

Real Ale Paired Beer Dinner March 11, 2010

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 Veldhuizen 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.

Blogger Made with Air! gives The Turtle Honorable Mention

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

Celebrate New Years Eve 2010 At The Turtle Restaurant

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

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

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.

Announcing The Turtle's Wine Exploration Dinners

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

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

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.