i had the good fortune of attending another central market cooking school class this week - it featured the chef, author, and radio personality, john demers - and with a texas-inspired menu like white bean frito pie, texas snapper, praline sweet potatoes, and shiner-braised short ribs with jalapeno polenta, how could we resist?? - and after one amazing bite of that creamy kicked up polenta, my mom exclaimed 'i love grits' - which, for you northerners, is one of those hand in the air/hand on the bible statements that you have to make before you can hang out in the south - we definitely picked the right week to report to class
chef john openly and passionately expressed his love affair with all things texas - as he chopped and sauteed and flipped, he sipped on a shiner beer - a local favorite brewed in shiner, tx. - that he would later use to braise the beef (this is my kind of chef) - he told tales of a 14,000 mile roadtrip around the state, his search for the best bbq, the many colorful characters in terlingua and marfa, and his life near the border - he got so lost in his own words and animated storytelling - a true author - and it suddenly became more of a show than a class - and we were the willing (and salivating) audience
