Sunday, November 25, 2007

Now We're Talking Turkey

The boyfriend and I traveled to Houston for the Thanksgiving holiday. In addition to catching up with his family there, we had time to sample the "legendary Tex-Mex" at Pappasito's Cantina. Kwesi worked here back in the day, and has always spoken highly of the food. He wasn't kidding! At his recommendation we ordered the chicken and spinach quesadillas and the beef fajitas. Both were absolutely delicious. The quesadilla was stuffed with big chunks of chicken, and the fresh spinach was just beginning to soften under the swathes of cotija and jack. The beef for the fajitas was perfectly cooked--medium rare--and the tortillas were literally hot off the press. They were being made just behind our table. We finished with the capirotada--a chocolate bread pudding served warm and topped with vanilla ice cream. The portions were definitely Texas-sized. We split these two meals and the dessert between three people and we were stuffed!
On the way home from Pappasito's we stopped to grab a few last minute ingredients for the holiday table and at the last minute I thought it would be fun to make a pie for dessert. Thanks to my mom for supplying the recipe as we drove to the market!

As we started home, we passed this sign for another Tex-Mex restaurant. I couldn't resist stopping to take a picture.

Once home, I got to work on the pie. We couldn't decide between the two Thanksgiving classics--should we make pumpkin pie? or pecan? What about one pie that combined the best of both?

The new Gourmet cookbook has a lovely recipe for a pie, with a creamy pumpkin layer hiding beneath a gooey pecan topping. The lemon zest in the pecan layer added an unusual but festive zing to the pie. After the traditional turkey, ham, sweet potatoes, dressing, and cranberry sauce we enjoyed a slice of the double-decker pie with cups of coffee.

I had been looking forward to warmer weather in Houston, but we must have brought Seattle's November with us. It was cold cold cold and windy, but absolutely clear and sunny. Kwesi and I took advantage and spent Thanksgiving morning just down the road at Brazos Bend State Park. I was surprised that it was open on the holiday, but it was a gorgeous day to explore. The park is known for its alligator population but they were hibernating under the mud. We did see plenty of hawks, a huge vulture and some water birds.


This is the view from the top of a lookout tower that was at the west side of Forty Acre Lake. After a short hike around the lake, and through the Hoot Hollow trail (seriously, who could resist?) we headed back to the house to the feast and family.


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