September 2013 Archives

After a steamy Houston summer, we're back in action and cooking things up in the RecipeHouse kitchen! Kicking us off for our September Chef Surpríse were duo Erin Smith, culinary director for Clumsy Butcher, and Patrick Feges, Underbelly line cook and the man behind Feges BBQ. As their first formal collaboration, the two were excited to deliver a five-course menu for a sold out house of guests, including Eric Sandler of CultureMap, with dishes that smack of their personal culinary styles.

Erin, for example, has a thing for purslane (her Twitter handle is @PurslaneErin), the sweet and tender green found all over our city ("It's almost offensive to buy it at the market"). She tossed them with watermelon two ways, buttery avocado, a bright and zesty dressing and salty Pure Luck feta for a perfect end-of-summer salad (pictured above).

For the main course, Patrick channeled his barbecue savvy to glam up his go-to: pork, demi-glace and grits. Pork belly received the royal treatment in his smoker (a first-time experiment), peach jam was cooked down for the demi and aggrodolce added extra richness to the grits. The dish was wonderfully balanced and each bite melted on the tongue.

This kind of experimentation and personal flare by seasoned chefs at RecipeHouse is one of the reasons we are so giddy to have Chef Surpríse back in commission. This season's lineup will knock your socks off, but sign up soon! Several of our monthly dinners have already sold out!

The Chef Surpríse series is held the first Monday of every month at RecipeHouse and features a rotation of Houston's hottest chefs. To learn more and sign up to attend upcoming dinners, visit our website.

New studies show that spending an extra 3 1/2 minutes at dinner with your family has a direct effect on obesity and health.  Early-on we learned that it takes thirty minutes for your stomach to communicate to your brain that it's full.  But in this fast food nation, we dont spend thirty minutes eating.  No wonder we consume too many calories!  One of the important aspects of the Recipe for Success Seed-to-Plate Nutrition Education is classes sitting down together to share the dish they have just prepared.  We are trying to instill an appreciation for the custom of shared meals.   American families now spend an average of just sixteen and a half minutes eating dinner together.  (That is if they sit down at all.)   But as The Wall Street Journal reports, closer to twenty minutes sharing a meal at the table, along with having a real conversation while you're at it, makes a real difference.  Watch the report and read more.

"Local charity Recipe for Success has revived its Chef Surprise dinner series for 2013 - 14. On the first Monday of every month, an all-star cast of Houston chefs will take turns preparing a three-course (or more) dinner for a group of no more than 20 diners at the charity's Montrose home.  To kick things off this month, Clumsy Butcher culinary director Erin Smith and Underbelly line cook (and budding barbecue pitmaster) Patrick Feges teamed up for a six-course affair that highlighted a variety of techniques, presentations and ingredients. ..."

Read Eric Sandler's full story in CultureMap here.

After a long break, Park Place Elementary's Recipe Garden beds have been taken over by weeds! But never fear! This fall, Seed-to-Plate Nutrition Education™ students are back in action and will have it cleaned up in no time. Not only that, these hard-working kiddos will plant autumn fruits and vegetables to use for delicious recipes in their S2P culinary classes.

Recipe for Success Foundation's Seed-to-Plate Nutrition Education™ programs provide elementary students with the knowledge skills to make healthy eating decisions for life. Learn how to bring Seed-to-Plate to your school or youth program here.

Join Recipe for Success Foundation and 2013 Dress for Dinner Chairs Leisa Holland Nelson and Laura Max Nelson in welcoming world-renowned Italian shoe designer Giuseppe Zanotti for a special fashion event at Saks Fifth Avenue all about dressing up your feet. We hope you can make it!

Learn more about our annual Dress for Dinner fundraising fashion series and purchase your tickets here.

Bravo to our generous sponsor Chipotle for shining a spotlight on the growing issue of overmedicated factory beef in their short film The Scarecrow.  Read the full story by Eliza Barclay in the salt.

To kick off the school year, fourth graders at Matthys Elementary took a tour of their Recipe Gardens with their S2P Instructor, Carrie Norton. After their visit, they planned out what they would plant in their garden this fall and then drew vibrant pictures of what their Dream Gardens would look like. Take a look!

What a happy vegetable farm!

Looks like these red pepper plants have a turtle friend.

What a brightly colored harvest you have, Kyla!

Recipe for Success Foundation's Seed-to-Plate Nutrition Education™ programs provide elementary students with the knowledge skills to make healthy eating decisions for life. Learn how to bring Seed-to-Plate to your school or youth program here.

We are delighted to learn that the venerable Scientific American has pulled their chair up to the table and begun a regular blog and column called "Food Matters."  In their first article, Patrick Mustain maintains that "It Is Not True That Kids Won't Eat Healthy Food: Why The New USDA School Food Guidelines Are Very Necessary."  We couldn't agree more . . .but read for yourself and let us know your thoughts on the new school lunch guidelines.

Our awesome partners at Chipotle Mexican Grill are running a flash fundraiser for us at their South Shepherd location in Montrose. The beauty of it? All YOU have to do is swing by for dinner and mention Recipe for Success Foundation. Then, THEY will donate 50% of proceeds from your order to benefit our Seed-to-Plate Nutrition Education™ programming. So pencil in a Chipotle night for Thursday, September 19, between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. and don't forget to tell all your friends to meet you there!

Learn more about our partnership with Chipotle here. See a map for the participating location here. 

"Some of Houston's most stylish women recently filled Kendra Scott Jewelry in Rice Village for Recipe for Success' Dress for Dinner Season V kickoff. The Austin-based jewelry designer was on hand, along with Dress for Dinner chairs Leisa Holland-Nelson and Laura Nelson. Partygoers enjoyed..."

Read the full story by Joy Sewing and view a photo slideshow in Chron.com's Fashion Diaries here.

In partnership with Greenling Houston, this fall Recipe for Success has launched a brand-spanking-new series of cooking classes at RecipeHouse! Led by our professionally trained chefs, each class utilizes seasonal produce from Greenling's Local Boxes and is designed to demonstrate just how easy it is to make fun and healthy meals at home.

On August 17, we held the first of the series, Kids in the Kitchen: A Parent & Me Cooking Class, which we're thrilled SOLD OUT and was tons of fun. Due to its overwhelming success, we've already scheduled two more classes this fall for adults. Classes are limited to 12, so hurry and reserve your spot to join us Wednesday, October 16, at 6pm!

Check out photos from the Kids in the Kitchen class here. View a calendar of upcoming RecipeHouse events and reserve your seats here!

"Shortly before the Labor Day change-of-season fashion switch, a bevy of style savvy women gathered at Kendra Scott in Rice Village for the launch of Recipe for Success' Dress for Dinner series and many were standouts in their summer looks.  With Leisa Holland-Nelson and daughter Laura Max Nelson at the helm, the goal for the fifth annual series of fundraising events is to fill each of the six gatherings to capacity.  And the enticements are there, including..."

Read the full story by Shelby Hodge at CultureMap here.