When I first met Randy’s grandmother – Mimi to her grandchildren, Wanda Beth to everyone else – I was struck by how beautiful and young-looking she was. But pretty wasn’t all she was about. She was quick – both on her feet and with a joke – and she had a laugh that always made me smile.
I knew she loved Elvis – she was always singing along to him – but I didn’t hear her best Elvis story of all until I had known her for a few years.
It was a random afternoon, we were back home in Texas and she and I were looking through a closet of hers and chatting. I saw her pull out a piece of yellowed polyester material set with red, blue and turquoise stones. The cloth had not been cut very carefully but the beading was all intact. When I asked Mimi about the piece and where it came from, I never expected what came out of her mouth.
She was about 30 years old and in Las Vegas. She and friends were attending a dinner show with Elvis performing and of course, he had his Memphis Mafia surrounding the stage watching the crowd. While he was singing, Elvis picked her out of the crowd. He left the stage, singing a song, and walked up to Mimi and kissed her.
Did she fall a little more in love with Elvis? Of course. And I fell more in love with her as I pictured that young, pretty girl sitting in the audience.
She said she was wearing an all-white pantsuit with beading on the chest and around the collar like a necklace (yes, glitz & glam after my own heart) and she kept that outfit for as long as she could. It started aging and the white turned yellow so eventually she cut out the beaded section and threw away the rest of the outfit.
I was so excited by the story and wanted to help Mimi keep her memory of Elvis’ kiss intact. After looking at the piece, I realized we could turn it into a necklace for her. I had a seamstress cut it out carefully and add a tie in the back. The next time I visited, I presented it to her and knew she would be so excited. She loved it but she turned around and gave it right back to me. She wanted me to wear it and enjoy it.
I’m not sure if she realized how much I treasured that necklace. I don’t remember if I ever told her how many people stop me and comment when I wear it. And to every one of those people, I tell the Elvis-kiss story.
Mimi passed away almost a year ago and a couple of days after, I wore her necklace out while in San Francisco. As normal, someone stopped me and asked me about it. This time I couldn’t tell the story properly – I was too choked up. But I knew Mimi, and probably even Elvis too, were smiling down.
Here’s to pretty girls & rock-n-roll kisses – XXOO Brooke
I have gold-painted feather earrings and decorate with turkey feathers (thanks to Randy always collecting for me in the vineyards!)….. but I will have to throw a party just so I can have a reason to buy these gold-dipped and pink beauties as decorations! I am also on the hunt for feathered pens to use during our Lightning Wines tastings.
Randy and I were in Palm Springs recently for a mini-break and it was very easy to fall into that relaxed and oh-so-chic lifestyle. I thought I would share some of our favorite stops….
The Parker Hotel‘s tree-shaded paths, adult Lemonade Stand and croquet on the lawn.
Jake’s for great salads, the most colorful cakes and a constant spray of mist on the patio.
Pecan pie makes me think of my Dad. He grew award-winning pecans – 2nd place in the 2004 Texas State competition! – and started baking pies with them after I left home for college. He shared his favorite recipe with me a few years ago (although credit goes to Bobby Lee, the winner of the 1996 State Fair of Texas pie competition).
I can’t use those same homegrown pecans anymore and I have challenges with getting the pie to set properly (why is mine always so runny? I asked my Dad just that today and he seemed surprised that my pies don’t turn out as good as his), but I still make this pie when I’m missing home….
What? You don’t feel like baking? You don’t have to! Order up a pie from Goode Company, based in Houston, TX – it even comes in a pine gift box with the company’s slogan on it.
Favorite pairings with this recipe? My Dad would say vanilla bean ice-cream. I vote for a glass of cold milk!
Happy Baking! xxoo Brooke
TEXAS STATE FAIR PECAN PIE
PIE SHELL
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 stick plus 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon ice water
FILLING
1 1/2 cups pecan halves (51/2 ounces)
1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
3 tablespoons whole milk
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
In a food processor, pulse the flour with the sugar and salt. Add the butter and pulse until it is the size of small peas. Add the ice water and pulse until the pastry is evenly moistened. Turn it out onto a work surface and knead 2 or 3 times, just until it comes together. Form the pastry into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry 1/8 inch thick; transfer into a deep 10-inch glass pie plate and trim the overhang to 1/2 inch. Fold the edge of the pastry under and crimp the edges. Prick the bottom with a fork in a few places. Freeze for 30 minutes.
Line the pie shell with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until lightly browned around the edge. Remove the paper and weights and bake the shell for 15 minutes longer, or until it is lightly golden. Leave the oven on.
In a pie plate, toast the pecans for 8 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let cool.
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Add the brown sugar, granulated sugar, corn syrup, milk, flour, vanilla seeds and salt. Cook over moderate heat just until the mixture comes to a boil. Remove from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes.
In a heatproof bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Gradually whisk in the hot sugar mixture until thoroughly blended. Spread the toasted pecans in the bottom of the pie shell and pour the filling on top. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until the center is just barely set and the crust is golden brown. Transfer the pie to a rack to cool completely. Serve with unsweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
MAKE AHEAD
The pie can be baked up to 1 day ahead. Store, covered, at room temperature. The pie shell can be wrapped well and frozen for up to 1 month.
You probably know by now that the origin of our label came from Brooke’s desire to have a ‘rock star’ last name – and with BottleRock Napa Valley heating up the sound waves the last weekend in May, Lightning Wines decided to rock out this month! We are giving away two free tickets to the Saturday BottleRock festivities along with a special invite to our Lightning Release Party that same day.
Here’s how to enter:
1. Follow @lightningwines on Facebook.
2. Hit us up with a shout-out and use #lightningwinesrock.
3. The lucky winner will be announced May 12th.
My Texafornia-style is loving the whole look of cacti and succulents right now. The colors, the shapes and – for a black-thumb like me – the low maintenance required make these perfect for entertaining and decorating.
Now how do I convince R Lightning to convert a section in our home to a living succulent wall?
Yes, it’s fried.
Yep, it does make for a very brown, bland plate when you pile on the CFS, mashed potatoes, gravy and Texas toast.
And, yes, there is nothing remotely healthy about it.
But, it’s delicious and it’s home. As Larry McMurtry said (“In a Narrow Grave: Essays on Texas”), “Only a rank degenerate would drive 1,500 miles across Texas without eating a chicken fried steak.”
Want to enjoy it Texafornia-style? Pair it with Lightning Swansborough Vineyard Grenache. The black pepper in the wine and moderate acidity matches nicely with this heavy meal. But I don’t blame you if you decide you just need a cold beer with it.
Mama’s Recipe Given to me over the phone – and scribbled down – while I was living in Houston and homesick for her cooking.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds of top-round steak
1 1/2 cups of flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
garlic powder, to taste
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup of milk
Lard or vegetable oil for frying
Cream gravy, for serving
Cut the top-round steak into four pieces. Pound beef with a meat tenderizer until flattened and almost doubled in size. [Even better if you can get the butcher to do this for you.] Lightly season the meat on both sides with half of the salt and pepper.
Place flour in a large bowl and add the remaining salt, black pepper, and the garlic powder. In another large bowl, mix eggs with milk.
Take a piece of the tenderized beef and coat in flour. Dip the coated beef into the egg mixture and then dip back into the flour again. Repeat for each piece of beef.
In a large skillet, heat 1 inch of oil. Test the oil with a tiny pinch of flour – when it sizzles, you know it’s hot enough. Turn it down a couple of notches and take the pieces of coated beef and gently place into the skillet. There will be a lot of popping and hissing, so be careful. After about 3 or 4 minutes, or when the blood starts bubbling out of the top of the steak, with tongs gently turn over the steaks and cook for 5 more minutes.
Remove from skillet and drain on a paper-towel-lined plate. While cooking remaining steaks, you can keep cooked steaks warm in an oven set at 200 degrees.
When I first moved to Napa, I asked around about where to shop and eat – and where to find those hidden local gems. One of the first I places I heard about was Model Bakery. This bakery is the “go-to” for Napa Valley locals, with locations in Saint Helena and Napa.
The bakery’s English muffins are one of Model Bakery’s flagship products and owners Karen Mitchell and daughter, Sarah Mitchell Hansen, have set the bar very high. These are definitely Randy’s choice for breakfast – and he insists on picking them up for our out-of-town guests to make their morning that much more special.
WARNING! Once you try one of these goodies you’ll never want to buy store bought again. Luckily, Model Bakery not only ships, they also share their secrets. Check out the video below to learn how to make your own.
Randy’s favorite day of the year is Opening Day of baseball season. We decided to kick it off this weekend with hotdogs, beer, Lightning Rose’ and friends. The only thing missing will be the Houston Astros – but the A’s vs Giants game will keep us occupied!
This weekend is also Easter. Since we can’t be home in Texas, racing our nephews for Easter eggs, we will be celebrating with some of our “Napa family” over brunch. I look forward to catching up with good friends and soaking in the beautiful warm weather.
We hope your weekend is just as fun –
Happy Easter, Spring and Baseball Season to all of you!
For those of you who haven’t had an opportunity to visit Napa Valley or try our wines – we wanted to create a video just for you. A chance for you to learn a little bit about us, the decision that brought us from Texas to the Napa Valley and how Lightning Wines came to be. Enjoy the video and feel free to click over to the wine section of our website to learn more about our dedication for making serious wines for fun people.
When I first met Randy’s grandmother – Mimi to her grandchildren, Wanda Beth to everyone else – I was struck by how beautiful and young-looking she was. But pretty wasn’t all she was about. She was quick – both on her feet and with a joke – and she had a laugh that always made me smile.
