Egg in the Hole

I was watching Pioneer Women a while back and she was making "egg in the hole's".  They a quite simple and so easy to make but taste sooooo good!  Basically all you do it make a hole in your bread by using a biscuit cutter, glass or anything you have that can be used to make a hole.  Then you add butter to a skillet add the bread with the hole and crack an egg then put it in the middle of the hole.  Add the circle you took out and place it to the skillet next to the bread, make sure there is enough butter. Season it with salt and pepper on both sides.  Flip the bread, you might need to add more butter then cook it to your liking (the egg).

My Grandmother Harvey used to make toast in the skillet and I loved it.  This brought me back to my Grandmother's toast with an egg added to it!

I have used wheat bread, Orowheat Oat Nut bread and Texas Toast... I love them all but I'll have to say I like the Texas Toast best!

melt butter and add bread then add the egg

 

 

Flip the bread and cook the way you like it and until the bread is browned

 

I like mine mostly done with a little bit of the yolk runny.

 

Bishop Arts District - Dallas, Tx - Oak Cliff

                                                     Bishop Arts District

The funny thing about the Bishop Arts District is that I have been eating in this area for years, like 20 years at least! People would say..... you're going to Oak Cliff to eat?  There are lots of good restaurants in Oak Cliff and not all are in the Bishop Arts District. We used to eat at several places like Vito's which was Italian, not sure why it closed because they had some great food!   Then Bishop Grill had some really good comfort food which was to die for!  You went through a line similar to a cafeteria but the dessert was first and not last like at Luby's!  They had glorious pie which I made sure to save room for!  The people who owned Bishop Grill retired and didn't want to sell their restaurant because of the great reputation they had and didn't want to loose.  Below under Emporium Pies I wrote a little more on Bishop Grill, I sure miss that place.  Gloria's used to be down the street from where it is today and it looked as if it had been an old Gas Station or something like that.  It's now down the road in a new renovated old Firehouse Station with much more space!

Since going for years at night after Vito's and Bishop Grill closed I didn't go back for a few years.  Then about 4 years ago I started having lunch with friends at like Hattie's which I posted about awhile back but I will probably copy and paste it to this since it's in the Bishop Arts area.  Anyway during the day it's quaint and fun with lots of cute shops but when I went in April it was super fun and hip.  The streets are lit up with stringed lights and it's crowded!  At lunch it's full but in the evening/weekend it's a hip hopping place. 

                                                 Jonathon's Oakcliff

I first heard of Jonathon's from a friend and then later saw it in D Magazine as having one of the best Brunch in Dallas.  I went for the first time  in April for my Birthday.  We went for dinner and I believe all of us but one got the Fried chicken and Waffles. My friend Yanelley got chicken salad which had chicken salad, romaine lettuce, blueberries and almonds, it was good too.  The Fried chicken and waffles is a MUST!  The waffle is fluffy and the chicken to me reminded me of Chick-fil-a's chicken which was perfect with the waffle.  It comes with gravy and maple syrup, I dipped my chicken in the gravy and the waffle in the syrup at first then started combing it all...... it was delicious! I believe it comes with the gravy on top but I got mine on the side and dipped my chicken in it..  Jonathon's Oakcliff is located at 1111 N Beckley Ave, Dallas, TX  75203 (about 1/4 mile from the Bishop Arts District)- phone is 214-946-2221.  Their website is http://www.jonathonsoakcliff.com/ which has their menu located on it so you glance at it before you go.  Jonathon's is just around the corner from the now famous Bishop Arts District in Oak Cliff.

Look at all the chicken!!  This was my dinner and I took half of it home!

 

 

 

Emporium Pies

 

 

I also kept hearing about this place called Emporium Pies which is located in the Bishop Arts District in Oak Cliff.  It happens to be located in a little house that one of my favorite restaurants, Bishop Grill first started in.  Bishop Grill would have a line out the door and you would have to wait for a table to open before you could order.  They eventually moved across the street to a building they renovated then later they closed because they retired!  Sad day.  They didn't want to sell the restaurant because they didn't want to loose their reputation.  Well Emporium Pies is in that same little house and guess what, it has a line out of the door!!  I guess when they say location, location, location  they are right because it brought me back to standing in line at Bishop Grill.  Emporium Pies website is http://emporiumpies.com/ and I believe they change up their pies seasonally.  When I went I got their Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie and it was delicious!  The crust was flaky and tender and the strawberry-Rhubarb was perfect then to top it off I had it alamode (ice cream)!  Oh and a cup of coffee, I was in heaven! 

 

 

Wish I had a piece right now!

 

 

Gloria's

 

Gloria's has Salvadorian-Latin food and Tex Mex.  The original restaurant used to be down the way from the Bishop Arts District and now it's right there in the mist of it. They renovated an old Fire Station and turned it into to a Gloria's.  There is now 15 Gloria's, all but 3 are in the DFW area, two are in Austin and there is now one in Houston.  They bring out their famous black beans when they bring out the chips and hot sauce.  I'm not a bean person but everyone seems to love them!  Gloria's website is http://www.gloriasrestaurants.com/index.php.  Their location in Rockwell has a beautiful view of Lake Ray Hubbard.  The address to the location in the Bishop Arts District is 600 N Bishop Ave, Dallas, Tx 75208- 214-942-1831.

The new location that opened in April in the Bishop Arts District

 

 Hattie's

 

Hattie's is located in the Bishop Arts District this place has some great food! Address is 418 Bishop Avenue Dallas, Texas 75208.  The whole Bishop Arts area has just boomed!    I get the Buttermilk Fried Chicken Salad oh it's so good!  They have a great burger too along with a really great menu!  The website has their menu http://www.zagat.com/r/hatties-dallas/menu  After lunch or dinner head over to Café Brazil for a great cup of coffee!

 

 

Very quaint restaurant with some good food!

 

Café Brazil

 

Café Brazil is a great place to sit and drink a cup of coffee with friends because they are open late and in several locations they are open24 hours all week and some 24 hours on the weekends. If you are like my friends and I we are always getting kicked out of places because they close at 10:00 or 11:00 so we end up talking in the parking lot! Having a Café Brazil close is great!  I almost always get breakfast at Café Brazil and they serve all day!  Their website is http://cafebrazil.com/ the address to the one in the Bishop Arts District is 611 N Bishop Ave, Dallas TX - 214-946-7927.  This location is open till 11:00 p.m. during the week and 12:30 a.m. on the weekends.

 

                                                   Location in the Bishop Arts District

 

 

                                                           Hunky's

 

Hunky's is a hamburger joint which happens to be in the building that Bishop Grill used to be in.  They have good hamburgers, sandwiches, milk shakes, ice cream and more!  I have only eaten here once or twice and it's been several years ago.  When you walk in you feel like you are back in the 50's it's very quaint and their prices as I remember are good.  Hunky's website is http://www.hunkys.com/ 321 N Bishop Ave, Dallas, TX  75208. They have another location off Oak Lawn in Dallas.

 

                                                         Bishop Arts Location

 

 

 

 

 There are other great restaurants like Oddfellows, Tillman's Roadhouse, Eno's Pizza Tavern and more but I haven't been to any of those yet, I have heard they are all really good.  Here is a website with other restaurants in the area http://bishopartsdistrict.weebly.com/dine.html



Creamy Jalapeno Ranch Dip

Chuy's Mexican Restaurant has a Creamy Jalapeno Ranch Dip they will bring you at the table to go with chips, but you have to ask for it!  I started liking  Ranch dressing a couple of years ago, if it's homemade.  I still don't like the bottle stuff .  This dip basically starts out like your making ranch dressing but you add green chilies, jalapenos, cilantro, salt, garlic powder and lime juice.  You could easily use it for salad dressing, if it's too thick just add a little more milk.  Just make sure you put it in the fridge for at least an hour before serving so the flavors can mix.

I buy my ranch dressing dry mix at Sam's Club.  It comes in a plastic container and can be found over by the regular dressings.  The packets at the grocery store cost about $1.89 and makes 2 cups of dressing.  The container at Sam's is $7.98 which make 2 gallons!!  You only make the amount you want at a time.... like 1 1/2 Tbsp is what is in the little packet.

 

 

Ingredients

3/4 cup Hellman's Mayonnaise

3/4 cup milk

1 (1ounce) packet hidden valley ranch dressing mix

1 (4 ounce) can green chilies 

1/2 cup salsa verde I often get Herdez in the bottle 

1 jalapeno or more depending on your taste for hotness

3 Tbsp cilantro

1 tsp salt

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp lime juice

 

Add everything to a blender and mix until smooth.  Pour into a bowl and let sit for at least an hour before eating.    serve with chips



 

Texas Brisket

I love brisket and in the years past they always ran them on sale around Memorial Day, July 4th and Labor Day for like .99 lb but for the last 3 years I couldn't find them on sale until this year!  On Memorial Day they were $1.49 lb and then for July 4th again they are on sale for $1.49 lb!  I have bought several briskets in the last week, 10 to be exact!  These have been for things I am catering this last week and for a dinner we are doing at the Ronald McDonald House on Sunday, what a savings from the typical $2.99 lb!

I decided to look online for a recipe even though I had one I usually use.  I came across one of Paula Deen's called Texas Brisket!  I have now made 9 like this so far and each one has come out perfect and tender, I have 1 more to go!

You basically add a rub that you make and bake it uncovered for 1 hour at 350 degrees uncovered then cover it and turn the temperature down to 300 and cook it for 3 hours.  Comes out very tender!

Two of them I cooked at 225 degrees for 6 to 7 hours (covered it the whole time) over night because I needed to for time.  It turned out just the same, very tender and the flavor is great! 

Instead of adding a cup of beef broth I used 1 knors beef bouillon cube and water then I used the juice from the one before to make the next one, like I just added the brisket to the previous pan with juice in .

You do really need trim off the fat and there is usually a lot of it!  If you are smoking a brisket it just seems to melt into the brisket but baking it does a little but you to need to trim it or you end up with a lot of fat.  I think I cut off about 3 to 4 lbs of fat per brisket.  I do leave a little bit of fat but not much.

 

 

Here is seasoning which is very easy and fast to put together the recipe is below

 

 

 

Now to trim the fat :/

 

I like to cut a section like this then follow it down so I don't have to cut so much. 

 

That is a lot of fat!

 

add rub to the brisket, I did both sides most of the time but a couple of times I did just one side. Place in oven uncovered  at 350 degrees for 1 hour then turn oven down to 300 degrees and cover it.

 

So tender and has a great flavor without overpowering it!

 

This is one brisket shredded then chopped!

 

 

 

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons dry mustard
• 1 bay leaf, crushed (I didn't use the bay leaf)
• 4 pounds beef brisket, trimmed
• 1 1/2 cups beef stock

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Make a dry rub by combining chili powder, salt, garlic and onion powders, black pepper, sugar, dry mustard, and bay leaf. Season the raw brisket on both sides with the rub. Place in a roasting pan and roast, uncovered, for 1 hour.

Add beef stock and enough water to yield about 1/2 inch of liquid in the roasting pan. Lower oven to 300 degrees F, cover pan tightly and continue cooking for 3 hours, or until fork-tender.

Trim the fat and slice meat thinly across the grain. Top with juice from the pan.