Bruno is the wine guy

Spoiler Alert: Shawn Bruno is on the menu, for later.

The Bruno family is part of Port Arthur’s history. Did you fill up at Alamo Service Station? That was Roy Bruno’s place. Have you sipped Bruno & George wine? Shawn Bruno and his wife, Misha, own the winery in Sour Lake.

 

When a bunch of area birders invited me to a wine tasting at Carabba’s Italian Grill, I was psyched on many levels. I’d heard Shawn Bruno instructs some of these. It turns out he

 did not host that California Wine Tour, but he is expected back. He told me he plans to serve his Party of 9 tempranillo, a Spanish red wine, named in honor of his dad and his siblings, on July 29.

At the sans Bruno tasting, the restaurant was full of tables enjoying conversations and pairings such as Shrimp & Scallop watermelon Ceviche with Threadcount sauvignon blanc and Linguine & Grilled Shrimp with Gorgonzola Cream Sauce and Belle Glos Balade Pinot Noir. This cream sauce was a high point in my evening.

Amy, an even coordinator, kept the evening on point as area “celebrities” of religion, politics, law enforcement and society breezed passed tables.  This is a happening place. Lots of hugs and handshakes went down before the Parmesan Crusted chicken with Arugula came with Kendall Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay.

At the bird-lovers table, it turns out I was the only one who had never been to Alaska. One had even lived there. We spoke of moose being as common as squirrels, daylight all the time and bears catching salmon.

A new trick: We observed servers had their thumb in bottle indentations as they poured wine. Some may try this at home. Then the Grilled Pound Cake arrived with Decoy Merlot.

What a fun foodie evening.

Bruno reminded me that his winery features a birding trail, especially pleasant during spring and fall migration. That’s another story…

 

“Table for 51: Lessons Leaned from Sharing Meals Across America

” – Foodies, Shari Leid’s book is not focused on what she ate, but what she learned from her meal companions. I know we’re usually about every detail in the sauce, but her food notes may be simply “over eggs and toast” that the women shared their lives. It’s a travel memoir inspired by her own story. Abandoned as an infant in a cardboard box in South Korea, Japanese American parents raised her. He parents experienced being interred in camps during World War II. Her father believed she would not be accepted and Leid challenged herself to reshape beliefs. Her Texas stop was with Taylor, a photographer, at Kalimotxo happy hour in Austin. The author felt energized by the younger woman’s magnetic personality and the value of engaging with people of all generations.

 

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie who loves to meet new people through culinary experiences. Reach her via panews@panews.com

Peppers go with fish… and everything else

 

I love to get invited to a friend’s house in garden season. I found a basket of banana peppers on her counter and they made a great meal even better. I recall my dad grew these long yellow-green babies and called them wax peppers. Her gang goes with banana.

This family has a skill at frying fish, so I’m linking all the following topics in honor of these great cooks. The “Simple Pleasures” author though all grandmas had a garden in the back to harvest fresh ingredients for each meal. We’re all a lot of Culinary Thrill Seekers. 

Fish in a Jar – Something fishy for your hostess? I got a multi-pack of Tonnino that looked like a flight of fish, with little jars boxed like a row of gemstones. That pinkish fish glimmered in olive oil that raised the anticipation. I could imagine the pop of the gold lid and the release of aroma.

Tonnino has released the first-ever salmon in a jar. It’s wild-caught Alaskan salmon that also packs omega-3s and protein. Skip the fish prep with these jars. This brand has impressed me in the past and this new thing is another winner. I know you can create a variety of recipes with the contents, but my favorite plan is to simply pop it open and dish it onto a platter with cheeses, peppers and a loaf of bread. I’m transported.

Other options include on salads, in pasta or with grains or roasted vegetables. It also begs for a bagel with cream cheese or with avocado toast.

Get a bunch of these little jars to throw in picnic baskets. They also look stunning lined up on the pantry. www.tonnino.com.

                     Fry Some Fish – If you haven’t fried your fish in seasoned chickpea flour, maybe it’s just because you haven’t thought of it. But your gluten-free friends have, and they may already be using 41Grains brand, which is dryland farmed in Montana. My daughter and put a southern touch on their Fish Batter Mix and we were pretty proud of ourselves. www.41grains.com has videos on the farming technique and info on why they soak their lentils before frying them into crunchers to keep the oil content down. That was a pleasant surprise to read. “From our family’s farm to your family’s table” is the motto. I feel a little invested in their pride in developing an impressive line of products. They say the browning mix is a big hit. Not surprised.

“Simple Pleasures” – Reasons to hang out with cookbook author Jodi Moreno: Her grands came from Italy and she thought every grandma had a garden and dried pasta on the washing machine. She makes a tinned fish spread into a travel history with mustard, sourdough and appropriate pairings. Serves it right out of the cans… She’s into popcorn for dinner. Her cat’s in the picture.

Italy and Mexico figure into some of these simple foods full of beauty and flavor. I learned salsa macha, part of her tortilla and egg breakfast go-to, includes sesame seeds and peanuts. Her Poppy would request a thousand of his wife’s pancakes and Moreno now serves her version with a maple syrup and butter compound. Breakfast salad with butter lettuce and quinoa is also a breakfast for this woman. Pickle brine goes into potato salad and she roasts beans to make them crispy. While many of these dishes look old-country classic, some have just a few solid ingredients and call you home. In addition to “Simple Pleasures,” is the author of “More With Less.”

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie who keeps green onions going right outside her door. She wishes she had the same luck with peppers. Share with her via panews@panews.com

Grangel BBQ offers two styles of flavor

 

Welcome to Central Texas Flavor - I was a huge fan of Nick's Grocery for boudain and green onion sausage. Grangel  BBQ has moved in to the former site, and Mary Meaux has reported City Market in Luling was a model. That's another hot spot for me. I've been in love with with City Market since I saw singer Lyle Lovett's barbecue sauce thumbprint framed on the wall.

The Grangel family is settling in, so for now you get their food to go. I enjoyed a brisket/rib combo. Here's my highlights. Mario Jr. offered me some candied pecans while waiting. I noticed the cutest baskets they fashioned from cardboard soda boxes. They're for to-go cans. Then he presented us with both a mustard-based sauce and a more traditional sauce that folks around here are "more used to," as he said.

I loved meeting the family and I'll be back. If you miss Nick's, come see the Grangel gang.

CHIC FLICKS - Feel like firing up "Steel Magnolias" and serving up Truvy's Cuppa Cuppa Sorta cake? Or try this game: Sip an All Foam coffee drink while viewing "Clueless" every time you catch an outdated electronic device on screen.

Here’s another: You Can't Sit With Us is a spiced rum and Coke with cinnamon whiskey designed for consuming during "Mean Girls." Imbibe when you see a Coca-Cola product placement.

What's all this? Recipes and games from "The Ultimate Chick Flick Cookbook." Richard S. Sargent is crazy funny and wants readers to "Fall in Love with Over 60 Mouthwatering Recipes, Each Inspired by the Iconic Romantic Comedies You Adore." 

More than 60? That means it could take more than a year to get through this book, then you'll want to do it again. Recipes for food and drink go with each movie. Laugh, cry and consume. Here's a trailer: 

Recipes:

"The Devil Wears Prada" - Interesting Choice, a creamy corn chowder and Jarlesberg biscuits.

"When Harry Met Sally" - Two Please, a chef salad wrap with oil and vinegar dipping sauce on the side. 

Drinking Games: 

"Funny Girl" - Dry from Wet - When someone breaks into song.

"Little Women" - Black Tea Hot Toddy - When someone references marriage or engagement.

"Dirty Dancing" - I Carried a Watermelon - When we see a dance sequence. Rehearsals count. 

"Breakfast at Tiffany's" - Nine Lives - When we see Tiffany's department store, inside or out. 

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie enjoying summer fare from watermelon to a good grill. Share your foodie fun at darraghcastillo@icloud.com

Powerless? Let's get creative.

A friend posted a query. Do you say the lights went out? Or the power went out? 

We're a lights-out family and summer storms seem to find my grid. 

Also, I'm likely to switch on a light to find a candle, because the lights went out. Never works.

Today I'm sure young families feel a pinch when "power" is out, because that also means phones and tablets. How are people to amuse themselves? 

I love to sit outside but if it's still raining, you're out of luck. It's just dark and..... bedtime.

But I sure don't mind a meal of cracking open my pantry go-to, smoked oysters, for a little "lights out" celebration. Candles made my little meal romantic. Good thing I had the following "seedy stuff" to add to my spread: 

Seedy Stuff - I just took a week to fully enjoy and empty a little bag of pumpkin seeds that were so nourishing I felt my skin glow every time a munched a few. Crazy? Maybe. Crazy good. Wholesale Nuts and Dried Fruit ships you farm-fresh walnuts, almonds and seeds. I also was nuts for their almonds and dried figs. These Calimyrna figs, grown in California, are each like a little artwork from plate to mouth. They remind me of dining in Bible times and went great with a little candlelight spread.

June is Alzheimer's & Brain Awareness Month and company founder Matthew Baron combined his own health journey  with a passion for clean snacks and sustainable packaging to promote some brain-boosting benefits: 

🧠 Walnuts — High in omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants that support memory and brain function
🌰 Almonds — Rich in vitamin E, which may help protect brain cells
🌻 Pumpkin and Sunflower Seeds — Packed with magnesium, zinc, and iron, essential for cognitive health

wholesalenutsanddriedfruit.com

Mushroom Homage - Do you think your friends would notice if your hummus was mushroom based and not a garbanzo concoction? Does chicken liver and porcini mousse call out to you? Have you ever thought of highlighting mushrooms in a sweet potato salad or granola? 

     Here's what Chad Hyatt thinks is a good snack for gathering shrooms: Mushroom Leathers. In "The Mushroom Hunter's Kitchen: A Culinary Homage to Wild and Cultivated Mushrooms," this seeker is telling a backstory in a beautiful and educational way. It's a beautiful book and fills you in on pickling, salting and other ways to enjoy your bounty. The Messy Drawer is the chapter of mushroom misfit recipes, where you'll find a treasure called Chili-Miso Glaze. There are 119 more in this guide that you should hunt down. 

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie up for creativity in the kitchen. Share your ideas with her at darraghcastillo@icloud.com

Find your spirit with friends, song and shrimp dip

 

An unexpected weeknight connection brought me such joy. Spirituality, friendship, fellowship and a peek at a turtle pond was part of the deal.

A friend of a friend invited me to the home of a neighbor I don’t know. Traveling Eucharist was the blessed occasion. People of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church brought a chalice and accoutrement to a home and celebrated with prayer. The host family made all feel welcome and I saw people I knew from around the county. They do it all the time! What a special way to unite and share good company.

Let us bless the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Spiritual Sounds – Pop by Museum of the Gulf Coast’s gift shop for “Hymns: Timeless Classics.” Opera singer Carol Wyatt was recently inducted into the museum’s music hall of fame. Hear her amazing voice uplifting listeners to “How Great Thou Art” and “It is So Sweet to Trust in Jesus.” It will be well with your soul. Here is just a small part of her background on the MOGC site:

 

In the seventies and eighties, she was one of the most sought-after mezzo-sopranos in Germany and other European countries. Carol Wyatt had extensive guest contracts with the Hamburg State Opera, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Opera Houses Cologne and Düsseldorf-Duisburg, she was a guest at the Munich State Opera, in Stuttgart, Mannheim, Karlsruhe, Hannover… For more than twenty years she was a principal soloist with the Deutsch Oper Berlin. 

 

Thanks for Shrimp, Jesus! – Let’s round this spiritual theme out with a peek from “The Fruit of the Spirit,” a 2001 cookbook I found on my mom’s shelves. I found a range of shrimp recipes in this book from Eastgate United Pentecostal Church in Vidor. Each one called for 2 cans of shrimp.

From there variations included:

* A pint of Kraft mayo, green onions and cream cheese

* Cream Cheese, mayo, garlic powder and Worcestershire sauce

* 1 can golden mushroom soup, cream cheese green onions

Times have changed, but I’d still eat these at a church party.

Bless us one and all.

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie wishing blessings. Share your foodie fun at darraghcastillo@icloud.com

Fun finds for entertaining pop up at estate, porch sales

 

I head straight to kitchens at estate sales. Tiny forks, colorful glass curios and sentimental travel souvenirs catch my eye. So when I got to a friend’s porch sale, I was tickled at the care one of her helpers took to transform dishes and glassware into a fun table setting to tempt shoppers. Mixing and matching is fun and you can’t beat the prices and fun finds at sales.

Now for goodies to put in those plates and glasses:

Dar Baklava has passed the yummy test by me and three fellows with the proper background of rating these types of treats. They use 1/3 of the sugar and 1/6 of the syrup used in traditional baklava and it is still crispy, flaky and layered yum. It kind of tastes like gold and food of the gods. You wouldn’t know it was healthy and the site breaks down how you’re gonna love it like it’s an architectural rendering. There’s a nest and some layers and stuff like:

Pistachio Baklava – Snacklava, Walnut Baklava - Snacklava, to kid-friendly Mini Cookie Rings and a Nutlava Gift Box. Check out: www.darbaklava.com.

 

Ceremonial-Grade Score –  It won’t do to just tell you Bella Matcha Lavender Matcha Lemonade is good, refreshing and fancy as all get out served in a stemmed glass. Let me tell you what the makers say: Lavender Matcha Lemonade is more than a drink. It's a moment to pause, refresh, and reconnect. Made with organic Japanese ceremonial-grade matcha grown in Kagoshima, Japan, zesty lemon, and calming lavender, every sip is crafted to inspire clarity and balance.

Ceremonial grade is my go-to here. I feel royal. The clean profile has no artificial sweeteners or preservatives. You get filtered water, organic cane sugar, organic lemonade, and natural flavors. I just told you about one single thing in the line. For more, go to www.bellamatcha.com

 

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie soaking in summer flavors. Fizzy water with lime, anyone? darraghcastillo@icloud.com

Rind and Reads: Area restaurants trending in magazines

A longtime area favorite and a relative newbie are talk of the towns this week. The Schooner is in a coastal roundup Texas Highways good eats and Texas Monthly has listed Redbird BBQ high up in its always-anticipated barbecue list. Texas reads are noted below.

 

First, here’s a watermelon memo. I had the best watermelon of my life recently and couldn’t let it go. I remembered that you can get more eats from the rind and saved enough to try watermelon pickles. I impressed myself with the ease and success of this preparation. Basically, you cook up some vinegar, sugar and spices and pour them over the rinds. Okay, peeling the rinds was tough, but still worth the culinary thrill seeking of it all.

Now for the Texas reads:

 

Redbird BBQ in Port Neches has made the Texas Monthly has made the Top 50 BBQ Joints in Texas list and locals are pretty excited. Dubbed some of the best barbecue in Texas, Amir Jalali is giving the good stuff. The No. 4 ranking notes mention tender, glazed pork ribs for sweetness and glossy slices of wobbly brisket pleasantly salty and smoky. Here's a quote: The smoked koobideh sausage might be the most unusual link in this region known for its beef sausages. The Persian-inspired beef-and-onion mixture is flavored with saffron, mint, and turmeric. To bring it back home to southeast Texas, Jalali also adds some green onion before casing and smoking the sausage. Jalali’s father, Hamid Jalali, an Iranian immigrant, bakes pita to wrap each sausage in; the whole thing is topped with fresh Shirazi salad and a whipped sauce of yogurt and feta. It is truly singular in the Texas barbecue landscape.”

Raves of sides such as Caesar slaw, rolls with honey butter, beans and rice and roasted-garlic potato salad follow. Cheesy scalloped potatoes already have a spot in TM sides Hall of Fame.

"Reel Deals" - The June Texas Highways mentions some area hot spots we love in a roundup of 20 timeless coastal eateries. The Schooner in Nederland is noted for crabs. "Hardcore coastal road-road trippers will want to start at this easternmost seafood house owned by the Megas family since the 1950s for a plate of its legendary barbecue crab," the mention begins. Singaree Restaurant & Marina of Crystal Beach is called out for platters of Cajun seafood and the view of tugs, barges and fishing fleet. Take the Plunge is the header for a round up of good vibes at seafood stalwarts along the gulf. I wish I'd had this assignment. 

Texas Stats Baby - 6 Singing Mockingbirds, 5 Yellow Cactus Flowers, 3 Busy Oil Pumps and 2 Lowing Longhorns. Every Texas family wants their little star to learn the Lone Star State’s wonders. It’s adorable and on target. “Count on Texas: Baby’s First Book About the Lone Star State” is a thick, touchable read by Nicole LaRue from Gibbs Smith. Too soon to think stocking stuffers?

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie ready for summer flavors. Share your ideas at darraghcastillo@icloud.com