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\ J » BP® i Br 1 hi j ftjf BT | 1 «9BK JHv *aß HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL f tfpS|& * Come on in 'The food’s great, the mood’s friendly By CHARLOTTE PERKINS Journal Staff Writer Danny and Julie Evans’ new res taurant on Carroll Street, Leta’s on the Square, just opened last week, but that’s hard to believe once you’ve been there a while, though, because it feels like a place that’s been open for years - a little bit like that place “where everybody knows your name.” Evans, who says he’s always wanted to have a restaurant of his own, has thought of just about every thing, with the aim of giving his customers good choices: some fun foods, some upscale classics and some HI Hi t Journal/Charlotte Perkins Danny Evans, who takes a hands-on approach to the food at Leta’s, is shown here cooking up a pot of his award winning chili. 1i Praise of Pecans June Jackson, a native of Louisiana, has written In Praise of Pecans, Recipes and Recollections, a cookbook celebrating the pecan, which is the only tree nut native to our country, and a major Middle Georgia crop soon to be shaken and harvested. Her compendium of more than 100 recipes includes the use of pecans in all categories of cooking. Joumal/Chariotte Perkins Maria Murphy, manager. house specialties. It's a place you could take your in laws from Buckhead, but it’s also a place where you can just get a basket of chicken wings and a cold beer and have a long talk with old This hardcover book makes for good reading even for the non-cook, as Jackson’s history sec tion brings us from the pecan’s first documented appearance about 8,000 years ago, through the Native Americans’ use of the nut. Jackson has found delicious ways to improve our diets with the daily incorporation of nutritious “doses" of pecans - and their oil. The book is illustrated with color photographs by Watt Casey. You can meet the author, buy the book and have it signed at Lane Packing Saturday from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. or at Perry Book Store, on Carroll Street, Saturday from 2-4 p.m. Jackson will also be one of the spotlighted writers at the Colleen Nunn and Four Friends luncheon hosted at the Museum of Aviation on Thursday at 11:30 a.m., at the museum: Colleen Nunn and Four Friends luncheon. Recipe ol the Week Uptown Sweet Potato This is one of June Jackson’s recipes: simple, delicious and really good for you. 1 medium sweet potato or yam 1/2 teaspoon pecan oil or olive oil JP I h •« d'.-iJi ' J&t l . * , • . inti • friends. You’ll know you’re in downtown Perry when you see the Courthouse Classic Pizza on the lunch menu, and the Salmon on Carroll, and Downtown Ribeye on the dinner menu. You’ll know you’re in Danny Evans’ place when you see “Foy’s Filet” listed with Leta’s Surf and Turf. (Foy is his father’s name and his son’s name. The restaurant was named after his late mother.) Leta’s has a highly pol ished, well-stocked bar that will probably prove to be a Perry landmark for mak ing friends, arguing about politics or sports, or talking about the good old days. What about the food? It’s seriously good, but then Danny Evans is serious about good food. He loves to cook, he likes seeing people enjoying their food, and he’s got good cooks in his kitch en, with a variety of culinary styles. “One thing I wanted," he says, “is a place where a group of people can come and everybody can have the kind of food they want.” That was as important to him for the midday working crowd as for the going-out to-dinner crowd at night, so Leta’s undergoes a little personality change between lunch and dinner. If you go from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., the tables have Corona beer six packs filled with ketchup, mustard, Tabasco and more. You can get hamburgers, sandwiches of all kinds, pizza or a choice of hot dogs served “your way.” That mean's anything from plain old mustard and ketchup, to a kraut dog or a slaw dog. Or you can take it to the limit with the Scramble Dog, which, according to the menu, is “our all beef hot dog, served open faced, covered with Danny’s award winning chili. Topped with Hb’, ’-ML., .... i M "< -r. J ty l n. I ' J #| IKI - PP§ ! • i Joumal/Chariotte Perkins Geri Greenan is staying busy behind the bar at Leta’s, Perry’s newest restaurant. Cheddar cheese, chopped onion and oyster crackers.” Danny's Award Winning Chili is good all by itself. You can get a bowl of that, or you can get Leta’s French Onion Soup, which has a knockout beef broth with onions, bread crumbs and Provolone. You can have a regular salad or Jimmy’s Famous Salad, which is a direct descendant of the popular Angelo’s salad, cre ated by Jimmy Swiger, who is hard at work in the kitchen of Leta’s now, turning out a wild, but successful lunch combination of All-American Diner and Classic Italian. You want an Angus Burger or a Reuben, you’ve got it. You want stuffed mush rooms followed by Eggplant Parmigiana, you’ve got that, too. Lunches are in the $5 to $lO range. At dinner, the six packs of condiments have been whisked away. See LETA ’S, page 2B Sr . potato and pierce skin with a fork or sharp knife. Place on a basking pan or piece of oil bake for 50 minutes (longer for a larger potato) or until tender. Test for doneness by piercing skin at the widest spot for softness. Make a slash mark with knife tip and open as for a baked potato.. Mash ends toward middle to loosen flesh. Top with butter, cinnamon and pecans. Serve hot. A blue ribbon winner Congratulations to Casey Hitch of Kathleen, who won first place in the Eagle Brand Great Baking Bonanaza at the Georgia National Fair. Here's her winning recipe. There’ll be more fair winners to come. .4 '* « 1 teaspoon butter 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 2 tablespoons pecan pieces, toasted Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash sweet potato and dry wit paper towel. Rub oil over WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2007 ♦ 4 More on t/ie menu ” Creamy Fruit Parfait 1 can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk 12 ounces cool whip (divided 8 and 4) 6 ounce frozen juice concentrate, berry sun splash, thawed 1 1/2 cups blueberries 2 cups Amaretti cookies, crushed 2 cups strawberries, chopped 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract In a bowl, whisk together condensed milk, 8 ounces cool whip, and thawed juice. Spoon a thick layer into the bottom of 8 tall clear glasses. Add a thin layer of the cookies and top with the blueberries. Add another layer of cream. Then a layer of strawberries. Add the last layer of the cream mixture. Mix cool whip with vanilla extract, then spoon on top of glasses and garnish with a few cookie crumbs and a cou ple of pieces of fruit. Chill. 1B Jimmy Swiger, well known local chef, is hard at work in the kitchen of Leta’s on the Square. Journal/ Charlotte Perkins y