My Special

Today I served my first special at Padre's. In a town with few restaurants, I am told the special is a welcome change to the predictability of the regular menu. I got my inspiration from our new little fryer, and decided to try out the delicious suppli recipe that has been so popular with my friends. 

To make the best suppli (or risotto balls as they are also known) you must make the risotto a day ahead. Saute diced onion in olive oil until soft, add the dry arborio rice and stir until coated with oil. The first addition of liquid is white wine; here is where the stirring begins and doesn't end until the risotto is almost finished. Once the wine is absorbed, add a couple of ladles of simmering stock to the rice at a time and stir, stir, stir. This is what gives risotto it's creamy goodness. When the last portion of stock is added, stop stirring and let it rest. I've found that letting food rest is an important part of cooking - if I can't rest, at least the food can. While the risotto rested, I steamed the bunch of fresh kale that I brought back from Austin. I intended to eat half, and save half for the next day, but my body must have been craving it and I devoured the entire bowl without a second thought. I stirred some grated parmesan into the finished risotto and put it in the fridge. 

Forming the balls is the fun part of the process, and I quickly accomplished this step in the morning between interviewing our newest cook, Joel, and holding the first meeting of kitchen employees. I used a medium ice cream scoop to portion and form the balls, stuffing a small cube of mozzarella in the middle of each. Three bags of arborio resulted in about 60 balls, enough for the 30 portions I planned. Each ball is dipped in egg, rolled in breadcrumbs, then set aside until it's time for the fryer. 

To accompany the suppli, I decided on bread salad with roasted tomatoes and green beans. This is another dish that I've made numerous times; simple and fool-proof. Fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, and tomatoes are the holy trinity of summer in my mind, and white beans added some protein to this vegetarian meal. Perfect. I carefully gathered the necessary ingredients in Austin, and even managed to salvage enough fresh basil from my garden back home to complete both this dish and my favorite sauce for the suppli. Multiple refrigeration issues have plagued me like a constant humming in my ears since returning from my weekend away, so I shouldn't have been surprised to discover my precious basil frozen in the dorm-sized fridge in my casita. Knowing the local grocer did not carry such an exotic item (!), and dreading the time-sucking trip to Alpine during my already-too-busy-day, I turned to facebook. 

Facebook, have I told you lately that I love you? I immediately got details on whose garden had not quite dried up yet, and a nice offer from a lady in Alpine who was coming to town at 6am. I was getting hopeful. Eventually, Padre's own regular-guest bartender Rocky joined the virtual conversation with 'I've got lots', saving my ass once again. Rocky owned and operated one of Marfa's sweetest little restaurants called The Miniature Rooster, and must have known exactly what I was feeling, because he delivered a huge bag to me with a smile, expecting nothing in return. 

As the dinner hour drew near, everything was prepped and quality-tested. The special plate was rounded out with a slice of fresh cantaloupe and a smattering of marinated green olives, pure and simple -my favorite qualities of Italian food. I was a black olive girl until my first trip to Italy; the magnificent green olive bread from Forno, a bakery in the Campo dei Fiori piazza of Rome, turned me and I've never gone back. Gil stood by to make the other menu items, and we expected an easy shift as we discussed the post-Beatles careers of George Harrison and Paul McCartney. He told me of the coffee shop he's building, and how nice it was to feel passionate about your work. I understood exactly what he was talking about. We were both surprised when order after order of cheeseburgers filled the rail. We got slammed, and I found myself shouting out 'cheeburger cheeburger' like John Belushi in that great old SNL skit about the Greek restaurant. 'no Coke, Pepsi.' At Padre's, we say, 'no Coke, RC' 

With more than half of my special leftover for tomorrow's lunch crowd, I am wondering; do people really want something that is new and different, or would they rather have the same reliable cheeseburger? To be continued...