INDULGE
THE ART OF LIVING WELL
DECEMBER 2009 JANUARY 2010
G
The
Edge
of
Winter
HOME STYLE
INSIDE A
CAR LOVER’S
DREAM
GARAGE
BODY & SOUL
NEW WAYS
TO RELAX,
RESTORE AND
REJUVENATE
GOOD TASTE
LOCAL
INGREDIENTS
ENRICH
A HOLIDAY
CELEBRATION
WHAT WE DO
BEHIND THE
SCENES AT
THE FORT
WORTH
STOCK SHOW
AND RODEO
THE SEASON’S
SHARPEST
STYLES START
WITH CHIC
COATS AND
TALL BOOTS
Good Taste
THE OWNERS OF
ELLERBE FINE FOODS
BRING TOGETHER THEIR
FRIENDS AND FAMILY TO
SHARE AN EVENING OF
WINE AND LAUGHTER,
FOOD AND FELLOWSHIP.
Comfort and Joy
BY JUNE NAYLOR
H
Ellerbe Fine Foods
1501 W. Magnolia
Ave., Fort Worth
817-926-3663
www.ellerbefine
foods.com
50 INDULGEDFW.COM
osting the perfect holiday dinner party means
creating an evening that’s an honest reflection of
personal style. That’s why a recent, seasonal
feast at one of Fort Worth’s hottest restaurants
was such a success: The gathering of co-owner
and executive chef Molly McCook and co-owner
Richard King’s family and close friends captured
the low-key elegance these two share with clients and loved ones alike.
The two restaurateurs at Ellerbe Fine Foods, a
smash hit since its early-summer opening in the
Fairmount District, bring to the table ample
tasteful sensibilities gleaned from their blended
Louisiana and Texas heritage. Good buddies
since their childhood days in Shreveport, the
partners wound up putting roots down in Fort
Worth, with family and friends close by.
Richard, a TCU grad, talked Molly into opening a restaurant here rather than in Austin. They
renovated a 1920s gas station, infusing it with a
rural-yet-contemporary feel that suits their
farm-to-table approach. Natural light floods the
interior, illuminating walls painted a muted,
fresh green and woods that are washed in
creamy white. Small cut flowers spring from
vintage milk bottles on each table.
Molly’s ever-changing selection of goods
plucked from markets and regional purveyors
wind up in thoughtful treatments, a craft she
honed at culinary school in San Francisco and in
PHOTOS BY PAUL MOSELEY
howdy,
neighbor.
Ellerbe
executive
chef and
co-owner
Molly
McCook,
who
created
the evening’s
menu.
Tillman's Roadhouse
817 850 y'all
817 850 9255
2933 Crockett Street (at West 7th Street and University)
INDULGEDFW.COM 51
Good Taste
The table toasts with zinfandel and Châteauneuf-du-Pape before enjoying the main course, herb-crusted pork loin drizzled with a tart cranberry-citrus relish over dirty rice, with roasted winter vegetables and
haricots verts.
Event styling: Molly McCook,
Richard King and Lea Lewis, with
assistance from June Naylor
Food preparation: Executive chef
Molly McCook and sous chefs
Zachary Garner and Wade Goodmay
Makeup: L.B. Rosser
52 INDULGEDFW.COM
her tenure with such luminaries as the award-winning Suzanne Goin in Los Angeles. A regular clientele has been quick to build, with even Tuesday
nights — often a restaurant’s slowest — finding a
packed house.
Before the holidays ran away with them, Richard
and Molly took time out of a wildly busy schedule to
celebrate their good fortune with a handful of their
nearest and dearest. Their guests included Molly’s
sister, Lea Lewis, and her husband, Joby Lewis; Richard’s best buddy from TCU, Ben Wallace and his
wife, Sarah; Molly’s boyfriend, Trey Armstrong; and
their family friend Rae Lorimer. With their kids
stashed with baby sitters, the friends dressed up and
celebrated the coming of the holiday season and the
new year.
When it came to the table, Richard and Molly
combined new and old, blending family heirlooms
with recent acquisitions. Richard, Molly and Lea —
who works at Ellerbe as special-events coordinator
— went to their respective china cabinets to create a
table that mirrors the Ellerbe style. The white china
plates are Molly’s, the gold chargers are Lea’s and the
Waterford crystal flutes are from a collection Molly
and Lea started five years ago. The hand-blown Italian wineglasses were wedding presents that Lea and
Joby received; their rounded, contemporary design
offered smart contrast to the marine-blue cut-glass
goblets, used for water, from Molly and Lea’s maternal grandmother in Shreveport.
Molly cooked, Richard poured the wine, and everyone enjoyed the opportunity to relax over gorgeous gastronomy.
When their group of eight sat down together, they
raised glasses to the things that matter most, at the
holidays and all year long: Richard toasted “living
well and laughing often,” and Molly toasted everyone
at the table “for being a big part of why we’re here.”
Every element of their dinner was simple but lovely, much like the Ellerbe aesthetic. Here’s what went
into making the dinner a model holiday gathering.
The menu
Menu for a winter
celebration
A passed appetizer plate:
Butternut squash-gruyère
baklava
The first course: A composed salad of tender
greens topped with warm
carnival squash, Deborah’s
Farmstead raclette, spiced
pecans, drizzled with honey
vinaigrette
Main course: Herb-crusted
pork loin, topped with a
cranberry-citrus relish; on
the side, roasted winter
vegetables beneath a scattering of brown butter
breadcrumbs, sautéed
haricots verts with caramelized onions, crispy
applewood-smoked bacon
and Dad’s dirty rice
For dessert: Croquembouche with crème anglaise
and warm chocolate sauce,
served with Javataza custom-blended coffee from
nearby Grandview, presented in individual presses
Wines
(Available at Ellerbe Fine
Foods)
I Trimbach Gewürztraminer “Gold Label” Cuvée des
Seigneurs de Ribeaupierre
2001 ($45)
I Joseph Swan Zinfandel
“Mancini Ranch” 2005
($31)
I L’Accent de la Roquette
Châteauneuf-du-Pape
2004 ($61)
I Gloria Ferrer Blanc
de Noirs NV ($17)
Good Taste
Atop a brilliant bed of greens dressed with honey vinaigrette sit
carnival squash, spicy pecans and Deborah’s Farmstead raclette,
a pungent, semi-firm cheese.
For dessert, guests
enjoyed a serving of
delightful cream-filled
croquembouche
accented with swirls
of spun sugar, crème
anglaise and warm
chocolate sauce.
THE FOOD AND WINE
For the appetizer, Molly prepared a savory baklava
filled with a delicate pairing of butternut squash and
gruyére. The feather-light diamonds, burnished gold
and crispy moments before in the oven, were passed
while everyone said their hellos and sipped Richard’s
white wine choice, the Trimbach Gewürztraminer
“Gold Label” Cuvée des Seigneurs de Ribeaupierre
2001. Molly particularly likes this appetizer, noting
that “you can make it ahead of time, then just pull it
out of the fridge and heat it just as guests arrive.”
The gewürztraminer, Richard points out, is “really
dry, with a hint of honey,” making it a good fit with
the baklava as well as Molly’s first course, a composed salad. The group sat down to the cool plate, a
brilliant bed of greens topped with warm carnival
squash — a pale, pumpkin-shaped yellow-green variety — and Deborah’s Farmstead raclette, which is a
raw, pungent, semi-firm cheese that acted as a good
foil for the spicy pecans and honey vinaigrette atop
the salad.
Revelry continued with the main course, herbcrusted pork loin that Molly served as a pair of slices,
each cut about 3⁄4-inch thick. The pork, drizzled with
a tart cranberry-citrus relish, rested atop her family’s
dirty rice, an earthy creation that played well against
roasted sweet potato and rutabaga wedges, just caramelized at the edges, with a scant scattering of
brown butter breadcrumbs on top. Adding color and
texture to the plate, sautéed haricots verts and onion
mixed with crispy applewood-smoked bacon.
Richard introduced two red wines, both natural
pairings with the pork and rice flavors: The Joseph
Swan Zinfandel “Mancini Ranch” 2005, with a surprisingly mellow effect that doesn’t overpower the
food; and L’Accent de la Roquette Châteauneuf-duPape 2004, another gentle wine but with a hint of
cherry that suits the combination of cranberry, roasted vegetable and bacon accents on the plate.
For dessert, Molly baked an impressive croquembouche, a golden creation that looks somewhat like a
pastry Christmas tree. A tower of cream-filled pastry
puffs, the stout cone is finished with fine swirls of
spun sugar.
“It’s something my mom and I started making
together when I was about 10,” she recalls. “We’d
have sugar strung all over the kitchen when we were
trying to make the angel hair. It would get on the dog,
everything.”
Individual croquembouche servings sat atop a
shallow pool of crème anglaise and warm chocolate
sauce, altogether an ideal match for Gloria Ferrer
Blanc de Noirs, glorious sparkling wine with a tinge
of rosé from its pinot noir origins. Like pale pink
diamonds in a glass, the wine is festivity in itself and
a perfect finish to an exquisite feast.
A savory
sauté
INDULGEDFW.COM 53
Good Taste
Ellerbe’s Signature Recipes
Herb-crusted pork loin
Serves 10 to 12
2 tablespoons thyme, chopped
and 1⁄2 bunch
2 tablespoons rosemary, chopped
and 1⁄2 bunch
2 tablespoons oregano, chopped
and 1⁄2 bunch
1 tablespoon cracked black pepper
1 boneless pork loin, approximately 3 pounds,
trimmed of all silver skin
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1
⁄4 cup cooking oil
1 onion, large dice
1 carrot, peeled and large dice
3 stalks of celery, large dice
1
⁄4 pound unsalted butter
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix all the chopped
herbs and pepper together. Pat the pork loin dry
and then press the herb mixture over the entire
loin. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least one
hour. When you are ready to cook the pork loin,
remove from the refrigerator and generously sprinkle with the kosher salt. Take a large sauté pan or
skillet, place over medium-high heat and add the
cooking oil. When the oil is hot, gently place the
pork loin in the pan. Brown all sides of the meat to a
deep brown, being careful not to splash the oil.
2. In a large baking dish or jelly roll pan, place the
vegetables and the herb bunches down the center.
Rest the browned loin on the vegetables and herbs.
Place the butter on top of the loin and bake until a
thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the
loin reads 145 degrees (this will give you a medium
pork loin; if you prefer medium-well, cook the loin to
155 degrees). Remove the roast from the oven and
let it cool for 10 minutes before slicing.
Cranberry and citrus relish
Serves 10 to 12
1 12-ounce bag cranberries
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
6 oranges
1
⁄2 teaspoon salt
1
⁄2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1. In a heavy saucepan, add cranberries, sugar and water. Bring
to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally. When the
cranberries begin to pop, remove from heat, strain and discard
the liquid. Refrigerate.
2. Using a paring knife, carefully peel the oranges, making sure
to remove all of the rind. Hold the oranges over a mixing bowl
and carefully cut out each segment, making sure to reserve
any juice. Once the cooked cranberries have cooled, gently fold
them into the orange segments along with the salt and vanilla.
Add the reserved orange juice so that the relish is the consistency of cranberry sauce. The relish can be made a day ahead
and refrigerated until ready to serve.
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Good Taste
1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Defrost the
phyllo dough according to the directions on
the box. Cut the butternut squash in half,
separating the top from the larger round
bottom. Peel the top with a potato peeler and
cut into 1⁄4-inch thick slices lengthwise. Toss
the squash slices with olive oil, salt, pepper
and thyme. In two batches, place the squash
on a cookie sheet and roast for 15 minutes,
then flip and continue to bake for an additional five minutes or until the edges begin to
brown. Remove the squash from the oven and
allow it to cool completely before assembling
the baklava.
2. Before baklava assembly, heat oven to 400
degrees and make sure that you have all of
your ingredients out and easily accessible.
Lay a piece of plastic wrap and a damp towel
over the phyllo sheets while you are working
Roasted butternut
squash and prosciutto
baklava with gruyère
and pecans
Makes 36 pieces
1
⁄2 box phyllo dough (1-pound
box)
1 butternut squash
3 tablespoons olive oil
3
⁄4 teaspoon salt
1
⁄4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh picked thyme
1
⁄4 pound unsalted butter, melted
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
1
⁄4 pound grated gruyère cheese
8 thin slices prosciutto
2 tablespoons crushed pecans
to keep them from drying out. On a greased
cookie sheet, place one sheet of phyllo down
and brush with melted butter, working your way
from the edges to the center. Repeat this step
three more times so that you have four layers
of phyllo with butter between each.
3. Take your cooled squash and place a single
layer over the phyllo stack and sprinkle with
parsley. Place another sheet of phyllo directly
over the squash and brush with butter. Repeat
this two more times for a total of three layers.
Sprinkle the top layer with parsley and place
two more buttered layers down.
4. Top this with a buttered layer of phyllo sprinkled with the cheese and parsley. Place another sheet of phyllo directly over the cheese
and brush with butter. Repeat this two more
times for a total of three layers. Sprinkle the
top layer with parsley and place two more
buttered layers down.
5. Place a single layer of prosciutto on the
phyllo. Place another layer of phyllo directly
over the prosciutto and brush with butter.
Repeat this two more times for a total of
three layers. Sprinkle the third layer with half
of the crushed pecans and place two more
buttered layers down. Sprinkle the top layer
with the remaining crushed pecans.
6. With a sharp knife, carefully cut the baklava into 18 large squares, making six columns
and three rows. Next, go back and cut each
square diagonally into two triangles. Bake the
baklava for about 25 minutes or until the top
is a dark golden brown. Remove and allow to
cool on the cookie sheet. With a sharp knife,
go back over your cuts making sure that each
piece is separate. The baklava can be made
up to one day in advance. Allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container
in the refrigerator. Reheat for five minutes in
a 350-degree oven.
Shop local
This holiday-inspired
menu includes fresh,
locally grown foods,
including:
I Butternut squash,
carnival squash and
peppers from Carter
Farm, available
at the Cowtown
Farmers Market,
3821 Southwest
Blvd., www.cow
townfarmersmarket
.com
I Greens, green
beans, “candy”
onions and peppers
from Scott Farm,
also at the Cowtown
Farmers Market
I Raclette from
Deborah’s Farmstead
Cheese, which
can be ordered via
e-mail at
cheeseplease@
deborahsfarm.com
I Pecans from
Vending Nut Co.,
2222 Montgomery
St., Fort Worth
I Oranges from the
Rio Grande Valley,
available at most
grocery stores
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