IsItEDible at the Gilroy Garlic Festival

Every July for the past 7 years I've said, I need to make my way down to the Gilroy Garlic Festival. Well, this year I finally made it! And I convinced my friend Sang to make the trek with me. We both took a day off from work thinking that we would beat the weekend crowds (which worked out nicely.)

Parking at the festival is free. Upon entering the festival site, you'll see the sign below. Walk down the trails (but stay on the trails...this is poison oak country) to the ticket booths where you can purchase an adult ticket for $12.



The first booth that caught our eye was one offering fried calamari ($7). Unfortunately, we both were famished and snarfed down the calamari before I managed to take a picture. The calamari was not overly-breaded and not to garlicky. It was the perfectway to ease into the festival. Next up, we stopped by a booth with the beer-battered garlic fries ($5) below. Notice the bits of garlic flecked across the fries. Yup, with one bite, we knew we were smack dab in garlic country. (Actually we realized that about 5 miles before entering Gilroy...you can literally smell the garlic in the air.)


The festival features all things garlic. There's a famous garlic cook-off that you might have seen on the Food Network. There's a Miss Gilroy Garlic pageant. There booth after booth with your typical fair/festival food with some adapting their menus to include more garlic-flavored offerings. There's also an "arts and crafts" area selling....well, arts and crafts.

Some are related to garlic...like this garlic man below.

And others are not so related to garlic, like this (anatomically correct) man below.

But back to the food. Below is the funnel cake that we partook of. Notice that this is not your typical funnel cake. It's layered with Bavarian cream, whipped cream, and chocolate ($6.50) .

And you can't go to the Gilroy Garlic Festival without sampling the garlic ice cream (free at the ConAgra booth). After all the garlic we had ingested, it tasted more like vanilla ice cream with a bit of a bite.


I'm not sure that this is a festival I would attend annually. But I definitely recommend that everyone try out this celebration of all things garlic at least once!

Green Rice

When I lived in St. Louis, we used to celebrate birthdays at one of three places: Olive Garden, Red Lobster, and Casa Gallardo Grill in the Galleria. All of these restuarants offered free carbs....breadstick at OG, cheddar cheese biscuits at RL, and tortillas at CGG. These were the best because they would serve the tortillas with honey butter, salsa, and mesquite grilled salsa. Being college students, we naturally stuffed ourselves on the free carbs and brought home our entrees to eat the next day.

At Casa Gallardo, they would serve the entrees with a cilantro rice that was utterly delicious (if you like the flavor of cilantro). Here's my recreation as adapted from a recipe in the Joy of Cooking.

GREEN RICE

2 cups cooked rice
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/2 cup cilantro, minced
1/2 cup green onion, minced
1 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons olive oil

1) Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2) In a large mixing bowl, combine the rice, garlic, cilantro, green onion, and milk. Stir until well combined.

3) Add salt and pepper to taste.

4) Stir in the beaten egg.

5) Drizzle the olive oil across the bottom of a shallow baking dish. Empty the rice mixture into the baking dish.

6) Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes.

Makes 4 side servings.

Ed's Note: I like the speckled look of this dish. But, if you want really green rice, then you can food process the garlic, green onion, cilantro, and milk. Add this to the rice and follow instructions from step 3 onward.

IsItEDible in Houston

"The stars at night are big and bright....deep in the heart of Texas."

Last month, I had the opportunity to spend a few days with my family and friends in Houston. Having spent most of my childhood in the Lone Star State, I always look forward to my trips home. My parents (both being amazing cooks) spend the weeks before my trips planning out my favorite dishes. On this visit, I pigged out on their Chinese chive cakes, pad Thai, basil pork, and fried shrimp po-boys. I LOVE my parents!

Being the glutton that I am, I also would often get together with my friends for a second lunch or second dinner. Here are some of the restaurant highlights that I think you should try out the next time you visit Houston.

Goode Company BBQ
5109 Kirby Dr
Houston, TX 77098
(713) 522-2530

In my mind, one can't get any more Texan than some good (or goode) ol Texas barbecue. The fine folks at Goode Company BBQ definitely satisfied my craving. For $9.95, you can get a two-meat combo dinner with your choice of two vegetables (jalapeno pinto beans, potato salad, cole slaw, jambalaya Texana, and Austin baked beans) and a slice of homemade jalapeno bread. Luckily, I went with a co-worker and between us we were able to taste the beef brisket, Czech sausage, pork ribs, and turkey breast. The standouts were definitely the Czech sausage which had a crisped casing with a juicy, savory center and the turkey breast which was remarkably moist and infused with a smoky flavor. I also really enjoyed the jambalaya.


House of Pies
3112 Kirby Dr
Houston, TX 77093
(713) 528-3816

I actually didn't start eating here until my return trips from college. As their name implies, House of Pies is known for their pies. My friends (and other Houstonians) affectionately referred to the Kirby location as the "House of Guys" because of the late-night clientele. However, on this visit at least, it seemed to me like the customer base had diversified. My favorites is the coconut cream pie (one slice for $3.25), a pie crust filled with coconut custard and topped off with whipped cream and coconut flakes. If your sweet tooth is aching for a more Southern treat, then try the Texas pecan pie (one slice for $3.03) featuring Texas-size pecan halves. I brought home an entire sweet potato pie (made with Louisiana yams and real cream) for only $8.50.

But there is more to the House of Pies than just pies. They also serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner and are open 24 hours. After a night out, my buddies J, F, and K decided to have a midnight snack. Ok, it was really a midnight pig-out because 3 of us ended up ordering country fried steak and eggs breakfasts. For those of you who have never heard of country fried steak, it's a piece of tender beef that is battered and breaded (like fried chicken) and then deep fried. Usually it's served with a heaping helping of cream gravy. For ONLY $6.75, you get a 1/3 pound slab of country fried steak, two eggs, potatoes, and a biscuit/toast.


Luby's
1727 Old Spanish Trail
Houston, TX 77054
(713) 797-0078

Luby's is a cafeteria chain wth multiple locations in Houston. I had my second helping of chicken fried steak here for $8.49 with two sides and a roll. The version at Luby's isn't quite as large as the one at House of Pies, but it's obvious that the quality of the beef is better. Definitely try the fried okra!

What are some of your favorite places to eat in Houston?

Fried Okra

Okra was one of those foods I hated when I was a kid. There was just something wierd about this slimy vegetable than reminded me of alien intestings. But then one day I learned about the marvels of deep fried okra which made all of the slime magically disappear. My first taste of fried okra was a Wyatt's Cafeteria, one of the many a la carte chains that were popular in Houston. These places were similar to your school cafeteria (but much tastier).

The basic premise at these cafeterias is that you grab a tray, a set of silverware, and then procede through the serving line pointing at the salad, entree, side dishes and dessert that you wanted. My favorites were always the teriyaki grilled chicken, the chicken fried steak with cream gravy, and the Texas toast (a 1 inch thick piece of bread slathered with butter on both sides and then pan fried until nice and crispy). And then, one fateful day my mom ordered fried okra. Feeling unusually adventurous, I popped one of these little buggers in my mouth and thus began my long standing love affair with fried okra.

This is a variation on a recipe from another cafeteria chain, Luby's, that recently released the Luby's Recipes & Memories Cookbook.

FRIED OKRA

2 cups flour
2 cups water
1 tablespoon hot sauce
2 cups saltine crackers, finely crushed
12 oz frozen okra, individually cut
canola oil for frying

1) In a large bowl, whisk the flour, water, and hot sauce together. Place the crushed crackers in a separate large bowl.

2) Add a handful of okra to the flour mixture and toss to coat evenly. Let stand fifteen seconds.

3) Using a slotted spoon, remove okra and dredge in the cracker crumbs until well coated.

4) Remove okra to a large baking sheet. Repeat this process with remaining okra.

5) Fill a skillet halfway with canola oil. Heat oil to 350 degrees.

6) Carefully place a portion of okra in hot oil. Do not overcrowd. Deep fry the okra for about 2 to 3 minutes or until it turns golden brown, stirring occassionally.

7) Remove okra from oil and place on a paper towel-lined plate. Repeat with remaining okra.

Makes 6-8 side servings.

Pan-Fried Cheeseburger

I love a good burger. Growing up in Houston, I was raised on McDonald's, Burger King, Whataburger, Dairy Queen, and Wendy's. There is something about their advertisements and their food that just works its way into your memories.

Remember that commercial "two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun?" Or Mel Tillis saying "It's not just a burger. It's a Whataburger." And of course, Clara Peller with her famous refrain "Where's the beef?"

The food folks who wrote The New Best Recipe have an amazingly simple recipe that allows the flavors of the beef to shine through. My adaptation of their recipe changes up some of the measurements to my taste and also includes worcestershire sauce because I like the subtle depth it gives to the burger.

PAN-FRIED CHEESEBURGER

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons worcestershire

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

4 slices of cheese

4 hamburger buns, toasted

1) In a large bowl, mix together the beef with the salt, worcestershire, and pepper. Use your hands to gently mix it all until just incorporated.

2) Divide the meat into 4 equal portions. Roll one portion into a loose ball. Press the ball down into a 3/4 inch thick patty. Using your thumb, press down in the center of the patty to form a 1/4 inch deep well.

3) Repeat with the other 3 portions.

4) Heat a cast iron skillet on medium high heat. When the pan is hot, place the 4 patties in the pan, with the wells face up.

5) Flip once based on "done" you like your burgers (3 minutes per side for rare, 4 minutes per side for medium, and 5 minutes per side for well-done).

6) If you are adding cheese, place on top of the patty and cover the pan with a lid for the last 20 seconds of cooking.

Ed's Note: If you like, you might also add in 2 tablespoons diced shallots in with the beef mixture.