Houston Cooks by Francine Spiering | 2019 | Figure 1 Publishing | Hardcover $ 33
Houston’s dining scene is a colorful culinary tapestry of local and international food traditions. Whether it’s barbecue, Southern comfort food, or fine dining, H-town is emerging as a foodie destination — there has never been a more exciting time to eat in the Bayou City. Houston Cooks is an exciting collection of eighty signature dishes from forty of the city’s leading restaurants.
I picked this one up at a farmers’ market in Houston … oh, about two or three years ago now, can’t have been long after it was published. Supporting local authors and business, new hometown-famous foods to try, AND sending a portion of proceeds to nonprofit pop-up grocery program Second Servings of Houston — nothing not to like about all that!
The book contains recipes for all kinds of foods, not just whatever you might be imagining when you hear “Houston”; some are fairly simple and have everyday ingredients; some expect more advanced techniques or require specialty groceries.
I do think it’s worth cautioning the potential reader that many of the recipes in this book are frankly super chef-y. What I mean by that is they call for expensive or unusual ingredients, demand lots of effort or time, or are just going to result in a ton of dirty dishes. That doesn’t mean that the recipes aren’t worth trying, just that you shouldn’t expect this cookbook to be the one you turn to for everyday unfussy dinners.
One recipe I tried called for baby heirloom carrots, with the note, “If you cannot find baby heirloom carrots, simply use regular rainbow carrots,” … LOL ain’t no way I could get my hands on either one of those options, but plain ol’ orange carrots worked just fine.
I bet you know by now that one of my comments for any given cookbook is going to be about the binding. This one is pretty good; I can’t tell if it’s true lay-flat, but the book does stay open to your chosen page with very little pressing required.
If you’re a foodie in the Bayou City, you need this book. Heck, I might be biased, but I think it’d be a fine addition to the bookshelf of an adventurous cook anywhere in Texas or on the Gulf Coast.
Crawfish rolls; citing Ryan Savoie of Saint Arnold Brewing Co.
I guess it doesn’t look like much, and I am frankly a little bit embarrassed about this being the first photo of this post (but I am committed to alphabetical order here LOL); anyway, as is often the case, the least photogenic of the dishes on this list also happens to be the yummiest.
Poblano and corn soup with lime crema; citing Brandi Key and Jorge Valencia of LMN Hospitality
Actually, this recipe also calls for (and includes instructions for) “lobster chorizo”, but I’m not working with a lobster budget, so plain ol’ soup just had to do. Tasted absolutely amazing, but to be honest it isn’t likely to appear in my kitchen again… for the very simple reason that it requires straining to remove all the bits of veg skin and that’s just a little too fussy for me.
Rigatoni alla vodka; citing Daniel Berg of B.B. Italiana Kitchen and Bar
Unbelievably decadent. I plan to make it again occasionally, but it’ll have to be very occasionally or my arteries might give up on me.
Spiced drinking chocolate; citing Annie Rupani of Cacao and Cardamom
Thick and decadent — yes, I’m using the word decadent again, but I can’t think of a better term that applies. This drink is very cardamom-y, though; as it turns out, this just isn’t my favorite flavor to combine with chocolate.
Summer squash in honey shallot cream sauce; citing Monica Pope of Sparrow Cookshop
The sauce is the true star of this recipe. I think it’d also be pretty good on just about any veg, and maybe even chicken or sausage.
Sweet corn bisque with crabmeat and crispy bacon; citing Matt Baum of Common Bond Café and Bakery
Tasty, but quite frankly a bit of a pain, because like with the poblano and corn soup listed above you have to strain the soup through fine mesh to remove all the tiny bits of corn kernel skin — and trust me, you really do, because I can tell you from experience the texture is very weird if you skip that step.
I also tried the following recipes and liked them well enough, but didn’t get good photos:
- Barolo-braised beef with heirloom carrots and charred cipollini onion; citing Maurizio Ferrarese of Ristorante Cavour
- Boudin mashed potatoes; citing Felix Florez and Jessica Desham Timmons of Cherry Block Craft Butcher and Seasonal Kitchen
If I were to get a little bee in my bonnet about doing some more stuff from cookbook again, I might also like to try:
- Avocado-harissa tartine; citing Jane Wild of The Dunlavy
- Benedict rancheros with corn tortillas; citing Hilda Ysusi of Broken Barrel
- Luscious lemon squares; citing Sara Brook of Dessert Gallery and Café
- Polpetti puccini; citing Lynette Hawkins of Giacomo’s Cibo e Vino
- Queso asado; citing Alex Padilla of The Original Ninfa’s on Navigation
- Stuffed zucchini blossoms with skordalia; citing William Wright of Helen Greek Food and Wine
Links:
- Second Servings of Houston
- Author’s website, Life in the Food Lane
- Author profile from Edible Houston
Publication information: Spiering, Francine. Houston Cooks. Vancouver, Canada: Figure 1 Publishing, 2019. Hardcover.
Source: Personal library.
Disclaimer: I am not compensated, monetarily or otherwise, for reviews of books or other products.
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