The History of Beef Wellington

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!

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.

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

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

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

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..

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.