Month: August 2026

A bottle for the weekend. (Brockhaus Images)

A Bottle for Saturday and Roast Chicken

August 23, 2026 / [email protected] / 0 Comments

The weekend is here, and a roast chicken is part of it. On Wednesday morning I liberally sprinkled salt and pepper on a chicken, stuffed some thyme and garlic under its skin, and put it in the refrigerator, uncovered. It would stay there, brining, for about 40 hours.

Some of you might have, upon reading the above, thought of Judy Rodgers. Yes, I based my prep method on her beloved recipe, which you can find in one of my favorite collections of recipes, “The Zuni Café Cookbook.” I was not to make the bread salad this time, for various reasons, but if you have never enjoyed this dish I urge you to try it — either make it yourself, or get a table at the San Francisco restaurant.

A perfect way to roast a chicken. (Brockhaus Images)

What I had in mind for my chicken was to enjoy it over a few days and meals, the first one being a dinner of roast chicken, baked spaghetti squash, and a beet and chèvre salad. On the next day I would boil potatoes I had sliced, then add some green beans to the water for about three minutes at the end of the process. I also sautéed green bell peppers. I put all of the warm vegetables into a large bowl and covered it loosely while I pulled the leftover chicken into suitably sized pieces.

Cast-iron bird: Crisp skin, tender meat. (Brockhaus Images)

To the warm vegetables I added salt, black pepper, some red wine vinegar, thinly sliced shallots, and olive oil. Finally, the chicken went in. That mixture was gently tossed, then tasted for seasoning. More salt. Plated it in a bowl, and topped with a few dollops of chèvre. Comforting, wonderful acid from the vinegar, crisp beans, and melting-sensation potatoes.

A light-golden hue in the glass: The 2023 Rhys Vineyards Mt. Pajaro Chenin Blanc has a lot going for it. (Brockhaus Images)

To the bottle of wine, which I paired with both dishes. It was a chenin blanc, from Rhys Vineyards, the 2023 to be exact, fruit from Mt. Pajaro Vineyard. This is a stellar example of domestic chenin blanc, full of gravelly minerality and ocean influence — Mt. Pajaro, about 8 miles from the Monterey Bay, is Rhys’ sole vineyard in the southern region of the Santa Cruz Mountains, and the soil profile of the 18-acre vineyard has had a profound effect on this wine. Brown and black shale and sandstone, plus shallow topsoil, have produced concentrated fruit and a wine with thrilling tension. The vineyard lies between 717 and 980 feet above sea level.

I am working on a longer, more in-depth piece on Rhys, because these wines are impressing me and they deserve attention.

The wine spent 12 months in oak — 100 percent neutral barrels — and six months in stainless steel; whole cluster was used. The clone here is 982, and Rhys farms .94 acres of chenin blanc in the vineyard, which is mainly planted to pinot noir and chardonnay. On the palate, I appreciated the combination of wet stone and paraffin, along with lemon and pear. You can find this wine for around $60, and I’d love to taste this vintage five years from now.

Mt. Pajaro Vineyard was planted by Rhys in 2014 and 2015. (Rhys Vineyards)

Here’s a look at a few other things I have cooked lately, including a banana bread into which I swirled a mixture of chocolate and peanut butter; picadillo tacos; two-egg pasta with a long-simmered Bolognese made of beef and pork; and king oyster mushrooms.

A bread made with five overripe bananas, sour cream, and a few eggs. (Brockhaus Images)

A touch of chocolate and peanut butter … (Brockhaus Images)

Sautéed corn, radish, Good Mother Stallard beans, and queso fresco are all here. (Brockhaus Images)

Flour, egg, and olive oil: pasta of irregular shape but wonderful texture. (Brockhaus Images)

Beef and pork a good Bolognese make. (Brockhaus Images)

I found these at a local Asian grocer. (Brockhaus Images)

Score the mushrooms and the sauce permeates them in grand manner. (Brockhaus Images)

Carlo Luján uncorks a bottle tableside at Tony's. (Andrew Hemingway)

Carlos Luján Has the Wine List at Tony’s in Great Form

August 8, 2026 / [email protected] / 0 Comments

I have enjoyed many meals at Tony’s, one of my favorite places in Houston. Tony Vallone first opened the doors to his restaurant on April 1, 1965, and it is now serving guests in its third location. A small group of longtime diners has taken a majority stake in the iconic restaurant and a renovation is underway. I look forward to seeing its new look when I am next in Houston, and ordering white bolognese rigatoni and lamb.

I always take pleasure in leafing through the wine list at Tony’s, and here’s a look at the man now in charge of it. His name is Carlos Luján, and he’s the subject of the latest Wine Talk, which you can read here.

Making a tomato, asparagus, and chèvre tart took my thoughts away from troubling issues, at least for a while.

Beans, Asparagus, Tomatoes, Chèvre: A Bit of Cooking

August 3, 2026 / [email protected] / 0 Comments

I recently became a Rancho Gordo Bean Club member, and the day I received the note admitting me to the institution was a good one. My initial shipment arrived shortly thereafter, and the selection pleased me.

I chose to open the bag of San Franciscano first; I had never cooked with this bean, and was curious about its flavor, consistency, and utility. It’s a Mexican heirloom bean that hails from Puebla and Hidalgo, its color is beautiful, and it is, as I found, versatile.

A striped bean — lilac and black — that has a beautiful and complex flavor with nutty notes and a hint of cocoa.

I’ll skip the primer here about prepping beans for cooking, as I am confident most people who cook know about rinsing and sorting. I will, however, state that giving my fresh beans a pre-soak has become a habit, mainly because doing so reduces cooking time. Rinse them in cold water, discard any debris, and soak them for several hours; if you decide to do this overnight, put your soaking beans in the refrigerator. (If, however, you don’t have time for a soak, don’t fret and read on.)

I tend to start the process on a weekend morning and cook the same day. As I wrote, you can skip the soak and simply bring the beans to a hard boil for 15 minutes, then simmer until done. Exceptions to this: larger beans — chickpeas, large lima, gigante, and cannellini, among others, or older beans (more than, say, two years old) — which a pre-soak benefits in several ways, including helping to prevent their skins from breaking during cooking.

I also cooked some baby lima beans that I received from Rancho Gordo in my premiere shipment.

When you are ready to cook your beans, do this: chop a carrot or two, and an onion, and sauté them in a little olive oil in the pot you are using. Celery and garlic are also good in this mix. Add the beans, and water to cover — I follow the 2-inch rule, meaning, 2 inches of water above the beans. Bring to a hard boil for 10 to 15 minutes, then simmer, covered, until done. You can use the lid as a regulator to adjust the simmer. I like a long and slow cook, as I’ve found that allows the broth to fully develop its flavors. No rush.

I sometimes cook a full pound of beans, depending on how I plan to use them, and often cook half a bag. Either way, salt them only after they are done, and use moderation; the beans will gradually soak up the salt, so their flavor will change in stages. You can always add more salt later.

Now you decide how to eat your beans. A good move is to add them to meals throughout the week. Tacos, soups, stews … the options are infinite. The San Franciscanos were excellent served on the side of a turkey burger, and I also used some in a stew I made that included tomatoes and celery.

Cooking relaxes me, helps quiet thoughts about concerns and discordant happenings, things troubling me and over which I hold no control. War, corruption, venality on the part of FIFA’s leadership, aging parents, the DOJ’s cruise to sycophancy and criminality. On the day I first opened the San Franciscano beans I began a sourdough starter and baked a few loaves of bread.