More Porn

Some more pics of the Cooking School. We hosted Paul Peterson of the Gage Hotel in Marathon, Texas. He is the ultimate renegade cowboy chef.

Well, I just HAD to do this:


Leg of Lamb.


Butternut Squash and Chorizo Soup with Fried Crawfish and Creme Fraiche.


Leg of Lamb with Savory Apple and Mushroom Bread Pudding.


Wine Poached Pears Stuffed with Quenelle of Gorgonzola and served with Orange Currant Biscotti and Wine Syrup.


rwj

Taleggio and leek focaccia. This does not have too many ingredients.

Stuart, you sound like Emperor Joseph II in Amadeus.

My food has EXACTLY the amount of ingredients called for; no more and no less.

rwj

[Jenise]

Love the sounds of that soup.

And the rare roast lamb--reminds me that I grew up with all lamb cooked well done, and even then I loved it. But what a revelation it was to finally taste lamb cooked just medium!

Robert,

My brother went to high school in Marathon, TX. I went to college in the neighboring town of Alpine, TX.

My brother and I spent many years working for my dad on a 30 section ranch 80 miles south of Marathon in the Big Bend country. Bordered on 2 sides by Big Nat'l Park, the ranch..."The Rosillos Mountain ranch" was eventually swallowed up by the national park service.

Back in the 70's and early 80's, the Gage Hotel was literal wreck. Someone came in the 90's, I believe and rebuilt the old hotel from the remnants of the 1920's buildings.

Dina and I toured the Big bend area shortly after we got married. We stayed @ the Gage. Overated hotel and restaurant in kind of moderno / 1920- ish fashion. If you don’t mind sharing a bath, communal phone and no television. We stayed one night then went on down to the park.

Richard

Stuart,

Are those saffron threads ?

What a delicious combo. I'm planning a carmelized onion, gorgonzola focaccia for this weekends forno. Your take sounds better.

Nope, those were actually leeks that got nice and crispy. We used the saffron in our risotto- I'll put up a pic when I'm back on my "main" computer.

This focaccia was very simple but packed with flavor.

My brother and I spent many years working for my dad on a 30 section ranch 80 miles south of Marathon in the Big Bend country. Bordered on 2 sides by Big Nat'l Park, the ranch..."The Rosillos Mountain ranch" was eventually swallowed up by the national park service. Richard

Richard, suspect that few here will realize that a 30 section ranch is a bit over 19,000 acres of dirt. Alpine is probably the ONLY town in Texas that I would love to visit, maybe live out my old age in.

Bob,

I used to consider retiring in Alpine, but you better get ready for a bit of isolation if you are used to having a decent grocery store, wine shop, airport or restaurants within easy driving distance.

Its 160 miles to the nearest major airport in Midland / Odessa. Same thing for a decent wine shop. The population of Alpine is about 7000 now I believe. And it’s the largest population center in a 150 mile radius in either direction. Most people out there don’t think anything of driving 150-300 miles for a day trip to ..well anywhere..El Paso, Midland / Odessa, San Angelo.

On the plus side, the weather is dry and the vistas are very nice w/ rocky desert mountains and endless grass plains ringing the town. Big Bend National park is a mere 80 miles south. The people are nice….or they were 25 yrs ago, LOL.

Richard

I had the pleasure of serving with a USAF Warrant Officer several years ago who was from Alpine. I believe his name was Duncan, and that was back in the mid 60's. He was from Alpine, and always sang the praises of Alpine, even their weather was the best in Texas. Neither hot, nor cold, and he actually believed that even though he was a trained weather forecaster, as was I. Still, it is beautiful country for all it's isolation. I could triple my current wine stock, and not run out before death overtakes me so I wouldn't much miss the wine store, just the shopping. Besides, I bet I could get someone to send me ESJ wines, and perhaps an occasional case of Tahbilk marsanne.