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Art Valet 2B · Behind The Bar 4B • Mayoral Candidates 5B Saturday, August 15, 2015 • Page 1B
Leader lunches Parents share new lunch ideas, recipes
By Christina Martinez
christina@theleadernews. com
By Betsy Denson betsy@theleadernews.com It’s comforting to know that even restauranteurs experience the school lunch dilemma. Brina D’Amico of D’Amico’s Italian Market Café said that even though her girls all like different things they can all agree on Genoa salami and pasta in their lunches. She’s also a big fan of turkey rollups on tortillas, with cheese. Fresh fruit, veggies and water instead of juice are also staples, but she also allows for a little cheating. “Of course they love junk food as much as the next kid – and me,” she said. “They certainly get fruit snacks, cookies or chips.” One of her specialties is chicken nuggets from scratch. “My middle child has an egg allergy so I have found that coating the chicken pieces in sour cream works as a binder,” she said.
get soggy that way. I roll these up and cut them into smaller pinwheels or at least in half.” Other than that, she adds some type of fruit every day, and once in a while she’ll go to the trouble of making ants on a log with celery, peanut butter, and raisins or dried cranberries – otherwise known as Fire ants. Angela Pennington’s plan this year is to make weekly batches of tortilla rolls. “Just meat and cheese, or chicken with pesto – and freeze,” she said. “By lunch time they will thaw and still be nice and cold, and your mornings are easy.” Thanks to her mandolin slicer, Pennington sends thin slices of Granny Smith apples sprinkled with cinnamon, too. Megan Rasmussen’s kids also like the tortilla rollups. Rasmussen sends crackers with meat and cheese too that they can assemble themselves. “My oldest has also been known to take raw okra with blue cheese dressing to dip it in, but I know that isn’t normal,” she jokes.
D’Amico shares her recipe with Leader readers below. Leader parents also chimed in on what they serve their kids when regular sandwiches run their course. Reader Laurie Pitzer says that the toaster oven is her friend. “I’ll often lay a tortilla out, top it with cheese and leftover chicken or pieces of lunch meat,” she said. “If I have fresh spinach, I chop some up and throw it on top, or I’ll add black beans. I just put it on toast until the cheese melts. Then I either fold it in half or add a tortilla on top and cut it into fourths (or halves). I usually wrap it in foil, hoping it will stay fairly warm.” She’s also done the same thing with tortillas, pepperoni, and mozzarella cheese. “I will add a side of marinara or left over spaghetti sauce for dipping,” she said. “We’ve discovered it doesn’t
Chicken Nuggets by Brina D’Amico
Gr8 Plate Hospitality rolls into the neighborhood with two new ventures
1 lb organic chicken breast or tenders ¼ cup sour cream 1 cup seasoned bread crumbs (D’Amico’s recipe) ½-3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil •Trim any fat off chicken. Cut into 1 to 1 ½ inch cubes. •Coat in sour cream. •Put coated chicken pieces in seasoned bread crumbs. Pat to get a good coating. •Put ½ cup olive oil in large skillet. Heat on medium heat. •Fry chicken nuggets on
Lori Araiza sometimes includes make your own tacos, with shredded chicken, small tortillas and salsa/shredded cheese. “My kids also love chicken salad with crackers,” she said. Like Brina D’Amico, Araiza touts the simple pasta salad, with Italian dressing, small pepperonis and shredded parmesan cheese, along with crackers, carrots, grapes. A thermos is a key item for many parents. “My kids won’t eat sandwiches so it is a pre-warmed meal in a thermos every day for them,” said Laura Hatem. “Chicken noodle soup, spaghetti, chili and more, including leftovers are usually in rotation.” She and Laurie Pitzer both recommend the Thermos brand which they say is leak proof and lasts forever. “Expensive, but worth it,” said Pitzer. Araiza said that she sometimes uses recycled water or juice turn top bottles as a thermos – “only way to feel secure that they won’t leak,” she said.
medium heat until golden brown. Flip once. •Add additional oil as needed for each batch of frying. •Remove nuggets from pan and allow to drain on paper towels to remove excess oil. •Once cooled, I usually place them in a large zip lock bag, lay the bag flat (so they don’t stick to one another) and freeze. For lunches I put a few in the refrigerator the night before and pop in the microwave in the morning to get the chill off.
Cavatore Italian Restaurant ready for football season For The Leader With Cavatore now offering gourmet pizzas, the Italian restaurant is now ready to welcome in the wagons for the upcoming football and sports seasons. “Our facility would enjoy for the local high school sport teams to have film viewing parties in one of our semi-private dining rooms,” event coordinator Hayley Huckleberry said. “Cavatore offers catering to Houston and most of the surrounding areas, as well as delivery to the Greater Heights area. If a film viewing party has piqued your interest these are a couple of options Cavatore’s suggest: -Buffet style dining with three different pasta options to choose from. -Pizza party style, where you choose 15 preselected pizzas and they serve them to each
table. -Delivery of 30 pizzas to the location that you are viewing sport films before game. Parties at Cavatore are not subject to just High School sports teams. Local high school teams are welcome, as well as sports fanatics. If you plan on having a big game watch party, Cavatore is ready for all sports fans alike or your next dinner with the family. Film viewing parties are welcomed Monday through Thursday evenings. Contact Hayley Hacker for more information and to book your next party. High School film parties will not require a deposit. Contact Hayley at 713-8696622. Cavatore is located at 2120 Ella Blvd.
Mike McElroy has worked in kitchens all across the U.S., but found himself in the right place, at the exact right time. While grilling up steaks for his pop-up at Sassafras, McElroy was also working at Black Hill meats – a family ranch that also specializes in quality meats. Friends and owners of Sassafras had told McElroy that they’d like to host a steak night for their customers. “I thought a steak night would be great and I had access to all of these great meats,” McElroy said. “It really gave me a chance to create my own pop-up with my wife.” Steak night was a hit, but it also was the only time McElroy had his hands in the chef position. When a sous chef position opened up with Paul’s Kitchen, McElroy interviewed with the owner and operator of Gr8 Plate Hospitality, Paul Miller, for a couple of hours. At the end of it, Miller didn’t find a sous chef, but an executive chef for the newest project to the company, The Rolling Kitchen food truck. “When you do a brick and mortar restaurant, if something happens in the community, something changes or there is construction, you just have to deal with what you got,” Miller said. “There’s different marketing ways around it, but after watching the movie ‘Chef ’ and other successful trucks, we thought why not. If it doesn’t go well at the bar you’re at, we can pack up and find the business.” Finding the people is something that excites Miller, but what excited Miller even more than McElroy’s shared vision for a food truck was McElroy’s will to succeed. “He wants to be successful, which means he will be,” Miller said. Before joining the Gr8 Plate hospitality group, McElroy had already started his own research for a food truck and the requirements to get permitted with the city. Miller said the project could have taken over a year, but McElroy got it done faster than anyone ever would have. Miller sees something in
McElroy and has plans for him in his company down the road. “There is a goal to have more than one truck if the truck does well,” Miller said. “We don’t want an over kill, but if the following is there, the goal is to setup a brick and mortar. There’s definitely a goal and timeline. Let’s see how long it takes Mike to Photos by Christina Martinez get there.” At the top, Executive Chef of
The Menu
After running away as a young boy, McElroy found himself working as a dish washer at a young age. He found himself living off of French Fry Poboy’s and other classics that you could find on the streets of New Orleans for a few quarters and dimes. The Rolling Kitchen menu includes the following:
The Rolling Kitchen Mike McElroy handing a hungry Sassafras patron his boudin ball menu option. Above, another menu option from The Rolling Kitchen, the french fry Poboy.
-Boudin Balls -Shrimp Etouffee -French Fry Poboy -Varied meat option Poboys See Rolling, P. 3B
C avat o r e i ta l i a n r e s ta u r a n t
Plan the next big game with us!
Pizza Party? Buffet Dining? or Delivery?
Our facility offers exclusive party rooms equiped with big screen TVs and all your party needs.
2120 Ella Boulevard • (713) 869-6622
www.Cavatores.com
Come enjoy LUNCH
@ Harold’s
Tuesday-Friday 11-4pm It’s Terrace time! Complimentary appetizer & non- alcoholic beverage with purchase of any lunch entree!
350 W. 19th St.,Houston, TX 77008 713.360.6204 | Haroldsheights.com
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