Schlotzsky's -- Viva I'talia

In case you think I just go to fine dining events, think again! I was invited to a preview of the new Schlotzsky's menu items at their flagship store at 218 South Lamar.  This homegrown Austin chain welcomed local food and mom bloggers with open arms, and presented us with a huge amount of tasty new foods. And the new items are available in almost all locations, not just here in Austin!

The "funny name, serious sandwich" folks are now embracing their inner Italian food lover, with new pasta and even more specialty sandwiches. Here's a look at their Viva L'Italia menu.

The oven-baked pastas include Bayou Chicken, Chicken Pesto Carbonara (my favorite!), Tomato-Basil (vegetarian), and Sausage with Peppers and Goat Cheese (my very close next favorite!). They sprinkle cheese and breadcrumbs made from their signature sourdough buns on top and run them through the oven so they get nice and crispy on top, just like homemade, and if you're dining in at Schlotzsky's they're served in actual dishware, not disposable. These were impressive; you do not feel like you're dining at a "fast food" establishment.

The new sandwiches are all done on a tender ciabatta bun (as opposed to their signature muffalata-esque sourdough). My favorite was the Caprese, a vegetarian option (yes, me the pork-lover loved the vegetarian!). Stuffed with tomatoes, lettuce, mozzarella, and basil pesto this sandwich was absolutely packed with flavor. The other two (and still quite good) are the Sicilian with lots of meats, and the Tuscan, with turkey.

The Caprese

L to R: the Sicilian, the Tuscan and the Caprese

There's also a chicken alfredo pizza and Italian chopped salad if you're looking for something healthier. Plus, Schlotzsky's also does catering, and these new pasta dishes are certainly perfect for a crowd. A big grazie to the Schlotzsky's team for an outstanding evening, and for providing gift cards that I sponsored a giveaway on Instagram.  So if you need some fast casual food for lunch or dinner or have an event, head on over to Schlotzsky's for their new menu. #hoorayitaly

I was invited by Schlotzsky's to try their new menu items; I was not paid for my opinions or any social media posts. 

Catering options!

Summer Skillet Lasagna

It's hot. Whether you are in Austin or other warm climates, the summertime often means using the oven much less than at other times of the year. But what is a pasta-loving foodie like me supposed to do if I can't make mac and cheese or lasagna? Fortunately, I've come up with a good stove top skillet lasagna that minimizes some of the heat in the kitchen, and it's not real heavy so you won't feel weighed down in the hot weather. I use a premade tomato sauce, but if you are feeling industrious, make your own sauce with some fabulous summer tomatoes.

I started with fresh Italian chicken sausage, removed the casing, and crumbled it in the skillet, cooking all the way through. I am fortunate to have Central Market nearby, there's a ton of fresh-made sausages in the meat case, and again, I like a chicken sausage for this recipe, but pork or beef is fine too. And if you can't find a fresh chicken sausage, use a pre-cooked one that's been diced; saute it for a few minutes so the pieces crisp up a bit. Alternatively, if you are cooking vegetarian, get a couple portobello mushrooms, remove the stem and gills, cut into 1/2 inch strips, and then a 1/2 inch dice; saute in a little olive oil until lightly browned. Remove sausage/mushrooms from skillet. 

As the sausage cooks, I used a handy "y-peeler" to make zucchini ribbons. I find this works better than a conventional peeler, or you could use a mandoline slicer.

In the skillet, begin assembling your lasagna. First some sauce, then noodles, then zucchini, sausage, ricotta, and repeat the layers, topping it off with fresh mozzarella. 

I take an off-set spatula and spread the ricotta out into an even layer before adding the next layer.

Cover the skillet, and cook 20 - 25 minutes over medium-low heat (you want the sauce to be gently bubbling as it cooks); the cheese on top will be melty, the sauce will have filled the skillet, and the noodles should be tender. Remove the lid and turn off the heat.

Let it sit for a few minutes before cutting into it; serve with a generous sprinkling of fresh basil leaves. Once cooled completely, I cut the lasagna into single portions and freeze them for an easy meal later on. Enjoy and stay cool!

Summer Skillet Lasagna
 © South Austin Foodie 2013

approximately 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided use
8 ounces fresh chicken sausage, casings removed (or portobello mushrooms, diced)
24 ounces tomato/pasta sauce
6 full length (about 10 inches) no boil lasagna noodles, cut in half, making twelve 5" lengths
1 small zucchini, sliced lengthwise into ribbons
15 ounces low fat ricotta cheese
salt and pepper to taste
4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced about 1/4 inch thick
3 - 4 leaves fresh basil, sliced thinly 
Parmesan cheese, optional

-- In a 12" covered skillet, heat 1 - 2 teaspoons of olive oil over medium-low heat; add crumbled sausage (or mushrooms), and saute until lightly browned and sausage is cooked all the way through. Remove from skillet.
-- In the same skillet (with heat on lowest setting), add about 1 cup of tomato sauce to the bottom of the pan. Place 4 noodle strips down, followed by zucchini ribbons, about half the sausage, and about half the ricotta. Take a knife or offset spatula and smooth the ricotta into an even layer. 
-- Drizzle with a tablespoon of olive oil, a smidge of salt, and a grind or two of fresh black pepper; top with about a cup of sauce.
-- Now repeat: noodle, zucchini, remaining sausage and ricotta, olive oil, salt and pepper.
-- Add the final layer of noodles, the remaining sauce (make sure to cover all edges of the noodle with the sauce), and top with the mozzarella and a bit of Parmesan if desired. 
-- Put the lid on, and over medium heat, let it get all bubbly. Once it really starts simmering, turn down to medium-low, and give it 20-25 minutes, until the noodles are cooked through. Remove lid, turn off the heat, and give it at least 5 minutes before cutting. 
-- When serving, top with basil and Parmesan cheese. 

Two New Italian Eateries -- Patrizi's + Umami Mia

In the past two weeks, I have attended two soft openings for Italian places, one a trailer, and the other brick and mortar. Both had their high points and a few things to work on.

Patrizi's is a trailer adjacent to the Vortex Theater on Manor Road; it is run by Nic Patrizi, who also runs the Jalopy trailer downtown. He's very welcoming and passionate about his food, and is sourcing from local purveyors as much as possible, like Salt and Time, Milking, Antonelli's, and Coyote Farms.

His family ran the original Patrizi's in Beaumont for years until they closed, and he has all the family recipes. He's got a nice set up at the Vortex, with a covered seating area, and planter boxes for a garden.

On the trailer itself, he invited local artists to come and paint, and then he's framed them all, including the menu. I loved the eclecticness of the paintings! The one below is actually done by one of my very talented co-workers.

Our tasting started off with a perfectly dressed Italian salad, and some antipasti, which included garlic cloves, confited in olive oil, white anchovies, a giardineria puree, and some tasty bread. Nic then brought us the first pasta dish -- the pomodoro with meatballs. Let me be clear: the meatballs were AMAZING. Some of the best meatballs I have had anywhere. Tender and moist and flavorful, made from pork trimmings and beef. I am still thinking about those meatballs!

Next was the Roma tomato sauce with fresh made ricotta with lemon zest. It was a nice heaping mound of creamy ricotta.

And the third, cacio e pepe, just your basic, clean dish with Parmesan and lots of fresh black pepper.

Nic told us upfront that the pasta we were being served was not the pasta that he would be serving once the trailer opened. He just got a new pasta machine that he hadn't even taken out of the box yet; the pasta we had was certainly on the dense side, but I heard from other bloggers who went to the next night's tasting that the pasta was really good.

I have high hopes for Patrizi's! The hospitality was all-around great, there's parking (at least when the theater isn't in session), and recipes that grandma used to make. Will certainly go back for the meatballs and I spied carbonara on the menu too!

Then last week, it was the media tasting for Umami Mia, in the old Romeo's on Barton Springs. Fun, funky design, but a lot of concrete inside. Clean lines, little pops of color.

The cocktail menu was spectacular as were the drinks themselves! From left, we have Hibiscus Nectar Cosmo, Thyme Will Tell (I think) and the Blackberry Italian Soda, adult-style.

Once we were seated, the owners and chef introduced themselves and talked about the concept of umami -- that somewhat elusive fifth taste (along with salty, sweet, sour, and bitter). It's sort of hard to pinpoint WHAT umami is, but it's that savoriness, that flavor that just fills your mouth and makes you want more. It's found in foods that are high in glutamates, things like mushrooms, dairy (particularly cheeses), meats, nuts, and so on. Umami Mia wants their dishes to be an "umami bomb" in your mouth. They are also trying to source local, like Vital Farms Eggs and Johnson's Backyard Garden, and practice nose to tail butchering.

We started off with a roasted peppers and coppa salami appetizer, which had nice big shavings of Parmesan and white anchovies. This was a good dish! Great flavors, and you really can get the umami concept with this one.

Next up was the Italian Salad with large slivers of watermelon radishes, and hiding under there was some crispy pancetta, fried croutons, and a very light salad dressing; I would have liked a touch more of the dressing on it to bring everything together.  Love that they use sheet trays to serve some of the dishes.

The meatball sandwich with mission fig sauce and Gorgonzola cheese was a bit of a miss for us. For starters, ours came without the Gorgonzola, and the fig sauce was too sweet for this particular dish, though perhaps if it HAD had the salty cheese, it would have been a better balance. And while they're using oak to grill their meatballs, it just couldn't compare to the one I had the previous week at Patrizi's.

The pizzas were a little bit of a mixed bag. They are cooked for 4 - 5 minutes in an oven that runs about 600 degrees, and they will have a "slice window" for walk-up customers.  Their crusts are soft and a bit chewy. My hands-down favorite was the prosciutto and fig with Gorgonzola, with it's copious amounts of arugula. You really got the umami bomb flavors here, though I would have loved loved some extra Gorg on top to really kick the umami up! 

The mushroom pizza with shitakes, creminis, and caramelized onions might be a good option for the vegetarians, but it seemed a bit heavy. That's balsamic glaze drizzled across the top along with goat cheese.

Our table found the Mexican pizza to be a bit strange. Described as their house adobo sausage with corn, tomatoes, red onion, cilantro, lime, and queso fresco, there was WAY too much going on here, but not enough flavor, especially from the sausage to associate it with Mexican foods.

Now the pasta itself was really nice -- thin, uniform strips that easily twirled on your fork. But when I think of carbonara, I really want the pancetta, egg, and Parmesan to shine, so the pine nuts, lemon, and herbs were a bit of a different take on it for me. It was hard to find any pancetta in this dish, though it tasted good. I don't know if this is the actual serving size you would get if you ordered it; I think for the price ($16) I would be a bit disappointed in the portioning of this dish.

And finally, the desserts. It's almost better if we don't go there because these were both very strange. I am noticing they do not have desserts listed on the menu that's on their website, and these were not the desserts that were originally planned for our meal (Citrus Prosecco Jello with Poteet Strawberries and Pop Rocks). What they served was a tiramisu with matcha tea powder and I believe chestnuts or hazelnuts inside, and then a chocolate pot de creme with orange, malted milk balls, golden raisins and togarashi, a Japanese condiment of chile flakes.  The tiramisu seemed like heavy whipping cream with squishy nuts mixed in; the matcha flavor was pretty minimal and got lost with the dense mouthfeel of the cream. I am not a huge fan of chocolate and orange together, so that was strike one, but it had a granular texture for strike two; pot de creme should be silky smooth. I hate to say this, but someone is trying WAY too hard with the desserts. Maybe the matcha and togarashi are a nod to the Japanese researcher who scientifically discovered the taste of umami, but I was not a fan. And it's not to say that Italian-themed restaurants all have to serve standard tiramisu or cannolis, because they don't, but golden raisins (strike three), really?

The waitstaff at Umami Mia hustled throughout the night, and were very professional and friendly. There will be an outdoor bar, as well as an herb garden, and the aforementioned slice window -- lots of possibilities there on Barton Springs!

So please take both of these reviews with a grain of salt because they were both soft openings. Patrizi's and Umami Mia both have tons of potential and once they each have a couple months to shake things down, I will happily go back to both and try them again. And while they are both Italian, they have very different focal points, and should both do well.

Homemade pasta

I admit to being a carboholic. I would not do well on a strict low-carb diet. Good bread and especially pasta are amongst my comfort foods. Mac & cheese. Carbonara. Almost anything with pappardelle....you get the idea.

Throughout my foodie education, I have learned why some pastas are cheap and some are expensive, comparatively. Your nice dried artisan pastas are exuded through brass dyes, which give the pasta dough its shape, and often its rough, craggy texture. Look at your linguine next time! If it's a good quality one, you'll see and feel the roughness on what in inexpensive brands would be a smooth surface. The shaped pasta is then left to air dry -- and herein lies the key. All dried pasta really is is durum semolina flour and water. Through in an egg if you're making egg noodles. When pasta air dries, that semolina is left to ferment just a tiny bit, giving your cooked pasta a fuller-bodied flavor. The Italian brand Rustichella d'Abruzzo is a fantastic quality pasta, available in many different shapes, and found in places like CM & WF. Try for yourself!

So having experimented with various brands of dry pasta, I've now been trying to conquer making fresh pasta on my own. Getting there! The typical method is a mound of flour with a well made in the center; break an egg into it, and with a fork, start blending the flour and egg together until you get a dough. When I tried this last night, obviously my well wasn't big enough, as my egg promptly went running overboard, escaping its flour walls. Messy. It was a very stiff, unworkable dough with crunchy flour globs throughout. Yum. Not.

Then I remembered the adorable Jamie Oliver. On one of his shows from his "Jamie at Home" series, he literally made pasta in 3 minutes as the camera rolled the entire time. His trick -- the food processor! Flour, eggs, pinch of salt go in (maybe EVOO too, can't remember), and a nice malleable ball of dough comes out. He kneads it about 3 times, and then starts putting it through his hand-cranked pasta maker. The dough gets thinner and longer, and then he's cutting it by hand into fettucine or pappardelle strips. Into the salted, boiling water, and voila! Dinner.

My versions makes 2 decent servings of handcut noodles.

1 cup "00" flour (double zero flour.... regular AP is okay, but this has less gluten, making it a more tender dough)
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1 tsp olive oil

-- Put it all in the blender, and pulse a few times until dough begins to come together. (I used my mini-Cuisinart, and I think the motor is starting to go, so I didn't want to subject it to a big dough ball. Next time, I'd try it in the regular Cuisinart, though the motor on that one has also been a little wonky lately....)
-- Turn out onto countertop, and knead 3 - 5 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic.
-- Form ball, cover in plastic wrap, and let sit at room temp for 20 mintues. (Allows the glutens to rest, so it doesn't get tough.)
-- Get your pasta machine ready.... mine is "technically" for modeling clay, bought at Michael's with their 40% off coupons.... It was about $10. No pasta cutting attachment like for linguine or fettucine, but that's fine by me.
-- Start on the widest setting, and start cranking your dough through; I ususally do 2 - 3 passes on the wider settings.
-- Keep putting the dough through; as it stretches out, and if you are the only one making it, it's probably best to cut your long sheet in half.
-- Once you get it down to the lowest setting (or sometimes the second lowest), you're ready to cut it. I folded it in quarters, and trimmed my scraggily edges, and then into roughly half-inch wide strips. You may want to dust with cornmeal before you fold it, but immediately after cutting, you want to separate the strands so they don't stick.


-- Boil water, and salt it well (salt gives it flavor!). Add pasta -- it will be ready in about 2 minutes. Don't over cook it! Even just real simply, with good olive oil, salt, pepper, and real parmesan cheese -- it's worth the effort!

Next time, I will have to try the Jamie no-knead (relatively speaking), no resting time method and see how that compares. With my fresh pasta, I made a delicious and fairly easy dish with pancetta and fennel, from epicurious.com (click here for link). Salud!