Pico De Gallo by The Frio River

A fresh Pico De Gallo is a handy dish to have around.  Its simple and versatile.  When the summer tomatoes start showing up at the local market or in your garden Pico is just that much better.  I like the randomness of the chopped pieces; as well as, the variations of spice and flavor.  A fresh batch doesn't last long around our house.

This is our outdoor kitchen at our family camp on the Frio River.  Fixin food is comforting here.  Food tastes better here. The secret ingredient is the aroma of the river.  It has a soothing effect on the soul.  Food made with a relaxed soul is good for the digestion.

Pan Sauté Shrimp

This dish is not so much about the ingredients and measurements as it is about prep and method.  Like me...not so much about the grammar and punctuation as it is about the blog account and password that I own.  
Learn the proper application of heat & seasoning and just about anything will be fabulous.  In plain southern English - get the fixin part right and you're good to go.  Know your burner, your pan, and the time each ingredient needs to get right.  The more you do it the better you get at it.  Until then, know your fire extinguisher and Chinese delivery number.

Chili Pie

Thanks to my pals at Google I discovered that versions of this dish can be found all over.  Silly me.  I always thought the Brits had the patent on shepard's pie.  If you are sitting there snickering, and wondering what rock I've been living under, please just let me enjoy my new discovery.

For a day or two anyway.  Pretty please.

Cottage pie, shepard's pie, crofters' pie, pastel de papa, pastel de carne, and cowboy pie are some of the names for a dish made with leftover meat, a vegetable or two, and a potato crusted top.  I've been catching up on my Wikipedia research.  No way I can tackle the Russian name without buying some vowels.  After vodka my Russian annunciation is pitiful.  Looks like the Swedish, in their crofters' pie, mix in "neeps" which is a type of turnip.  Now that I would like to try.  Love a turnip.

I was a little short on minced lamb (true shepard's pie), so I reckon the dish I made fits the cowboy pie label the best.  Chili was common for the cowboys on the trail, and that is the leftover meat I used for this version.  Austin had done a pretty good number on the leftover game day chili, so extra ground beef was needed to complete this dish.  There was enough chili gravy to work with.   We were just a little lite on the beef.   Seasoned beef best described as taco meat was blended in with the chili for the meat part of the dish.

Game Day Chili

Google "Chili Recipe" and you will find - About 1,120,000 results (0.13 seconds)

Click on the related search link
 "Real Texas Chili Recipe" to find
-About 178,000 results (0.19 seconds) 
The blogoshpere needs another chili recipe
about as much as Matthew McConaughey
needs more hair.


However; hesitating to offer an opinion on 
an over worked topic isn't necessarily
one of my strong points.











Warning:  What you are about to read contains the opinions of a stubborn Texan, and do not necessarily
reflect the opinions and views of both the creators of The Foodie Spot.

Guacamole and Chips

A great starter, that's what I am.  Michelle is the finisher.  I open.  She closes.  We're a team.  There are exceptions of course.  For possible new clients, Michelle opens, I mettle, she closes.  I'm like the filling in a good cake.  Then there are the rocks in the drive way (see 2010 What Happened post).  I started, Michelle did mettle, now she reminds me that I need to finish.

I get started on things and then my mind begins to...

In the spirit of starting, here is a recipe for Guacamole.  One of my all time favorite starters.  Guacamole can also be a finisher.  I have been known to dive into the fridge for a late night guacamole nom nom session.  Guacamole is not only fun to say, but it's versatile.  It can be a starter, a finisher, in a salad, under an egg, over a chip, on a burger, and right beside a steak.

There is another thing about guacamole some people might not realize.  It is one of the few four syllable words that you can say real fast 5 times in row.

Guacamole, guacamole, guacamole, guacamole, guacamole.

See how easy that is. It also happens to be that easy to make.  Just be sure to pick some avocados that are a little soft, and some tomatoes that are a little extra ripe.  If you can't find soft avocados, put them in a brown paper bag for a day, or so they say.  I've never tried that.

We went to a New Years party, so  I asked Michelle "What are we bringing?"  Michelle bellowed from the sofa "YOU sure do make a nice guacamole."   Yep. I fell for it, so here you go.

Christmas Casserole - Helen White's Recipe

It's December 31?  You've got to be kidding me.  Seems like it was only yesterday that I was ripping open packages, assembling new gadgets, and searching for batteries.  Before the entire holiday season slips right by me, I have to share this recipe for the brunch casserole mom makes on Christmas day.  It's yum on steroids.  This casserole has been a Christmas day tradition for as long as I can remember.  Christmas stockings waiting or the smell of this casserole oozing out of the oven, not sure which makes me crazier.

Oyster Tacos & Getting Schooled by a Salty Dog

After a few days of devouring freshly shucked raw oysters we decided to change it up a bit with the ones we had left.  The weather outside wasn't exactly inviting for a patio shuck and snack party anyway.  Ever smash your knuckles on an frigid oyster shell when its about 35 outside?  Exactly.  Time to move into the warmth with this operation.

Raw oysters on the half shell are the best, but a not too distant second is a good fried one.  Since we're in Texas, might as well wrap some up in a corn tortilla.  Fried oysters, hot corn tortillas, shredded lettuce, and spicy dressing made for a great taco.

Shortbread Chocolate Chip Cookie - Molly's Recipe

And then there was one.  The shocking remains of my new all time favorite chocolate chip cookie.  A cruel ending to the 2010 cookiethon.  Before a picture could be snapped the damage had been done.  I'm left with a cookie, and the crumbly evidence scattered by the scavengers who saw, ate, and with chocolate smudged chins denied having eaten any.

Ginger Figgle Martini

The Ginger Figgle is a drink I learned from Top Chef Masters and Food & Wine magazine.  It is slightly spicy, slightly sweet, and very refreshing.  Why make one when you can make two?  Besides, there is simply no way I can slip past Michelle without an extra martini in tow.  There are several variations that we've experimented with over the summer. We've added a chunk of watermelon, mixed in a squeeze of lime, a squish of cantaloupe, and a drizzle of cranberry juice.  My favorite variation was the splash of watermelon on a warm summer afternoon.  The original version is just fine and dandy all on its own.  I showed this drink to the bartender at the Avia Hotel in The Woodlands, and for a spell anyway, it was featured on their martini list.

Tri Tip Roast Beef with Turmeric Spiced Rice & Broccoli

After a soup kick, it was high time for a hunk of beef.  Sitting all alone in the cold and dark of our fridge was a tri tip bottom sirloin.  I bought it at our local HEB with the intentions of grilling and smoking this cut.   It was a find for me because here in Texas you just don't see this cut very often at the super market.  Tri tip is more of a west coast thing, so it caught my eye.  The weather had other plans for my grill and off to mom's for her soup we went.  A few days later roast beef suddenly sounded good, and that is where I headed with this tri tip.  Dinner came together with a colorful turmeric spiced jasmine rice and pan sauteed broccoli.  The tri tip was tender and super juicy with big beef flavor.  When this cut appears again, it will be snagged without hesitation.

Panama Tex Chicken & Spinach Tortellini Soup

Michelle has been watching all this fun I've been having with The Foodie Spot blog (her idea for the name BTW), and decided to chime in with her own post.  She made this beautiful soup the other night on a whim.  Michelle dove into the fridge and pantry using what was on hand to create this dish.  She called it Panama Tex Chicken & Spinach Tortellini Soup.

Beef and Vegetable Soup - Mom's

Mom had us over for soup on Sunday which was a really cold night.  Man was her timing good.  The food blogger in me couldn't resist snapping a few pictures.  The first thing she said after seeing this picture was "OMG the plate doesn't match the bowl".  Her reaction reminded me of the time she asked "did he have clean underwear on" as the doctor stitched up my leg from a nasty spill on a bike.  A perspective only a mom could have.  It's not like I'm real "company" anyway.  Just a son mooching some of mom's good cooking.

Pork Chops with Damiana Glaze, Carrot Bredie, & Asparagus

While staring at the empty glass that once contained my favorite margarita a thought occurred to me.  Damiana is a sweet distinctive liquor, so why not use it in a recipe other than a margarita.  So I lit the charcoal, seasoned some thick bone in pork chops, and made another margarita.

My game plan was to use some spice with zip to compliment the sweetness of the glaze I wanted to try.  The pork chops got a healthy dose of Spanish hot paprika, garlic salt, onion powder, and cayenne pepper.

King Ranch Chicken - McKenzie's

My 22 year old daughter McKenzie recently had us down to her new apartment for dinner.  She managed to get her guy Colby to bring home a Christmas tree so they are getting into full Holiday mode.  McKenzie is becoming quite the foodie herself.  As a former high school and competition cheerleader, Kenz is a caloric connoisseur.  Ever see a competition cheer team hit the complimentary breakfast buffet at an Embassy Suites?  Hungry girls camouflaged in fuzzy slippers and pretty printed jammies can leave a hotel GM re-evaluating their complimentary policies.  McKenzie parlayed efficient eating into efficient cooking, and we got a first hand look at a working college student's practical tasty dinner.

Colby and Kenz are headed to the Rose Bowl!!

Cabbage Rolls - Asian Spiced

For cabbage rolls with Asian flavor try this recipe.  I placed the finished rolls on a nest of julienne carrots, zucchini, onion and bean sprouts instead of noodles or rice.   It made for a lite and flavorful dish.  When the garlic, onions and ginger hit the saute pan, the house was aromafied attracting the occupants to the kitchen like politicians to a microphone.  It takes some prep (15 - 20 minutes) and cook time (45 - 50 minutes), so give yourself a couple of hours and a good bottle of wine.  You don't need to add much if any salt, because the mushroom soy and fish sauce brings a lot of salty goodness.

Southern Soul Cornbread & Rice Dressing

Of all the flavors that Thanksgiving dinner brings, Mom's cornbread dressing is the one I look forward to the most.  It's a southern dish taught by her great Aunt DeVerde & Auntie Carl from Ville Platte, LA.  It has some of my favorite things in it which explains part of the appeal too me.  Cornbread, rice, parsley, eggs, onion, and turkey stock make up the base dish.  However, the signature ingredient that gives this dish its real identity is the heart & soul of those that make it.  It's a dish that takes a lot of time to prepare.  Making dressing at the kitchen table, with family and friends the night before Thanksgiving is what truly makes the dressing special.

The Line Up for a double recipe

As a little girl, mom learned Big Momma's recipe known as "The Dressing" from her great Aunts.  The sisters would drink some coke & moonshine and argue as to whether or not the right amount of rice, or parsley, or onion was mixed in.  Two southern ladies razzing each other on cooking, parenting, and housekeeping skills.  It was a kitchen filled with southern personality.  By the evenings end and the smack talking over, the dressing was ready.

Tater Tot Casserole

When dad would take us out to the old A&W drive in, I always chose tater tots over french fries.  Tater tots were just more exciting too me.   If given the choice between fries and tots, I pic tots every time.  I think its that great contrast of crunchy outside and soft inside that I like.  Sometimes I whip through a Whataburger for a taquito breakfast in a pinch.  The cool thing about their meal deal is the "hash brown" is like a tater tot slab.  Tater tots for breakfast.  How cool is that?  James Coney Island and their chili cheese tater tots also hit the spot on occasion.

So Michelle tells me she is going to make tater tot casserole.  I perked up in a hurry.  Turns out that while attending Florida University she had this cook book called Six Ingredients or Less.  She would make that dish because A) she was on a tight budget, and B) it was the pinnacle of comfort food at college at 2:00am with the drink yourself sober munchies.

These days just 6 ingredients would cramp Michelle's style, but the essence of the comfort in this dish is not lost with her additions.  Being the foodie she is, things like fresh garlic and Marsala are in play.  She ends up with a refined comfort food dish.