The Dishes of Marfa Shadows come to Austin

You might remember the trip that I took to Marfa several weeks ago.  We were wined and dined by John DeMers.  From taking us on a tour around Marfa to a drive along the US/Mexican border, John DeMers entertained us with stories of cooking, history, and culture.  I was lucky enough to spend three days with this Texas culinary giant, and I also got to sample some of his yummy eats including white bean bruschetta and Texas Peach-Biscotti Crumble.  Lucky for you, John Demers will be teaching a class at Central Market, on Sunday, June 27th, 6-9 pm.   You'll watch as he makes a number of signature dishes from his latest book, Marfa Shadows.

Dishes include:

• Terlingua White Bean Bruschetta;
• Texas Snapper with Pecan Butter; 
• Praline Sweet Potatoes;
• Shiner-braised Beef Short Ribs;
• Jalapeno-Cheese Polenta; and
• Texas Peach-Biscotti Crumble with Muscat Canelli Whipped Cream

While we're on the topic of Marfa, I'd like to give another thanks to all the sponsors and hosts of the wonderful trip as well as show off some of @windaddict's photos.

A BIG thank you to:

• Mike Micallef, Al Micallef, www.cfranch.com / www.filmwesttexas.com for the lovely dinner on the ranch.
• Padre's www.padresmarfa.com for the drinks
• Lisa and Jack Copeland www.austinstreetcafe.com for the fantastic brunch and tour of your hidden paradise of a home.
• Chinati Foundation www.chinati.org for the artisty tour
• Tom Schmidt and Pat Quinn for a wonderful dinner at Q Cafe + Wine Bar
• El Cosmico www.elcosmico.com for the Star Party
• Tom Rapp + Toshi Sakihara http://www.cochinealmarfa.com/ for the amazing dinner at Cochineal
• John Demers and Bright Sky Press for the amazing time
• and Monica Dana putting the amazing trip together

Looking handsome and oh, very Texan.

Omelets for breakfast.

Texas Peach-Biscotti Crumble with Muscat Canelli Whipped Cream

Dinner at Cochineal

Amazing date pudding at Cochineal.

Mischief in Marfa - Day 1.0

I was utterly delighted to be invited to join a four day weekend of fun in West Texas by Bright Sky Press.  John DeMers's latest book, Marfa Shadows, is set in the quaint and cute town of Marfa, TX.  The book features a chef in a mystery tale.  I won't give away the plot, so you'll just have to read about it yourself.  What better way than to get a good feel for the setting of the novel than to take a trip down to Marfa and explore the city.  Follow along for an amazingly relaxing weekend filled with great food and great company. A big thank you to Bright Sky Press, John Demers, and Mike Micallef for the wonderful first day of the trip.  6:20 am - I started my day fiddling with these two vehicles. Both prototypes: the Ford Escape Plug in Hybrid and the Ford Battery Electric Focus. I'll have a separate post just for these two vehicles.  I will add that I got 73.4 miles per gallon in the Escape with city driving. \ 9:00 am - We hit the road with Monica and Amber in a Ford Fiesta.  Amber is participating in the Ford Fiesta Movement, so a big thanks to Ford for the 7 hour ride to Marfa.  Monica and Amber are both from Houston, and they are active in social media. Since I slept in the car most of the way there, I don't have many photos.  I do have photos of the beautiful landscape to share though.  For lunch, we stopped at La Mexicana in Sonora, TX.  I'll leave my comments about it out. 5:00 pm - We arrive in Marfa to meet John DeMeres at the courthouse steps.  He takes us on a tour of several buildings (photos coming soon), and we prepare to go to dinner. 7:00 pm - We arrive at CF Ranch just north of Alpine, TX for an amazing dinner.  Mike Micallef, owner of Reata Restaurant in Alpine and Fort Worth, TX is already working hard to prepare dinner.  We're met also by his family and friends to join us for a wonderful meal where there is no cell-phone reception, no worries, and just good food.  You can see from the photos that the meal and the environment were phenomenal.  Yes, that horse is scratching his butt on a tree. Dinner was rib-eye steaks, salad, grilled asparagus, salad, cheesy grits, and chocolate cake.  The cheese grits were out of this world amazing.  They were creamy with texture, flavored with peppers, and some quality that just made your brain say, "This is the crack of the food world."  If I had a heart attack while eating those grits, I wouldbe very okay with that.  My doctor on the other hand, probably less so. The recipe for the orgasmic cheese grits is in the Reata Cookbook, available online. 9:30 pm - Marfa Lights - After good conversation, we pile into Laura's Tahoe for a ride back to Marfa.  Ironically, Laura was driving the same Hybrid Tahoe that I drove to the Renewable Energy Stampede.  It is dark by now, and the arrive to a very packed Marfa lights viewing site.  The Marfa Lights are highly unpredictable (and unexplained).  Luckily for us, we show up on a day that they seem to be active.  The lights were in red, yellow, and white.  They moved around in clusters.  Some moved around as if one light was orbiting the other.  Some moved slowly across, and some moved up and down.  For the nay sayers who think that they are merely vehicle lights in the distance, that explanation can be easily tossed out after seeing the behavior of the lights.  I can't tell you what makes the lights, but I can tell you that they are spooky, erratic, intriguing, and interesting.  Photos coming soon. 10:30 pm - We check out Padre's for a while. The company and environment were good, but I would advise to only order beer there. If you've been spoiled by high quality cocktails, you won't tolerate Padre's mixed drinks. 1:11 am Day 2 - I'm going to bed. See ya in the morning.