Hummus – Instant Pot Edition

Stuff I Cook

I finally succumbed to getting this Instant Pot out of FOMO. It seems like every kitchen in America has one. As usual, Amazon Prime remained complicit in my online shopping addiction,  by promising to deliver in 2 days if I placed my order in the next 3 hours…

Back when D and I were still in Cali, I made hummus from scratch. It was not very mainstream then.  It is really easy, but time consuming. With IP, the whole thing came out in less than 2 hours.

Put a bag of garbanzos in the IP and add 6 cups of water. Manually set IP to high then cook for 35 minutes.

I won’t get into technical details on how to operate your IP because there are so many models out there. Read the manual!

I also said that the whole thing is less than 2 hours. While cooking is only 35 min., the preheating takes a while, around 20 minutes. Then there’s the time on releasing the pressure. There is always an option for quick release, but I am a sissy when it comes to hissing sounds accompanied with sputtering of hot water, so I turn the whole thing off and let it release its angry pressure on its own, which is about 15 minutes.

While waiting for the beans to cook, assemble the rest of the ingredients in a food processor.

juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup tahini
3 cloves of garlic
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 cup of warm bean liquid

Tahini is a sauce made of ground up sesame seeds. I got a jar from Trader Joe’s. It can be used a salad dressing as well. I just realized that I resurrected a kitchen gadget lounging in my cabinet labelled “what was I thinking” —my Ninja!!!

Here’s the cooked garbanzos. A pound will yield almost 6 cups. You only need 3 for this recipe.

Drain and save half a cup and add to food processor. FYI, garbanzos (unsalted) are healthy for dogs. I give the rest of the beans to my pups, and they love it.

Blend until smooth, adding 1/2 cup of olive oil slowly.

This is the part when most people salt it. I am not a big fan of adding salt in anything. In this dish, I get the saltiness by adding tapenade.

Voila! Home-made, husband-approved  hummus.

 

Willie G’s

H-town (Houston)

For 35 years, Willie G’s has been a Houston institution for everything seafood. Billion Dollar Buyer Tilman Fertita breathed new life to it by relocating it to his Post Oak Hotel in Uptown Houston and transformed it into a world-class seafood restaurant.

This is the sight that greets you upon entry. Fresh seafood flown in from everywhere.
Between the hotel and its sister restaurant Mastro’s, 20,000 bottles! That is one HUGE wine list.
We chose a Spanish Tempranillo for today
Classic margarita was also pretty good

Now for the main eats…

Sea Bass Bites for appetizer
Blackened Dungeness Crab – very fresh and the spices are on point. Almost as good as those i get in San Francisco
Buttermilk Onion Strings and Shishito Peppers
King Crab Fried Rice
Filet Mignon – we all know whose entree this is

I have to take a moment to expound on the desserts. First off, they’re amazing. Second, they’re super cheap. Each of the dessert is ten bucks. Unthinkable considering how posh the whole place is.

French Market Beignets with Vanilla-Bean Caramel,Raspberry-Hibiscus, Hot Chocolate Sauce

These beignets are heavenly. It’s freshly made, came out piping hot and freshly powdered. All three sauces are awesome, but my favorite was the caramel.

Butterscotch Bread Pudding with Butterscotch Crème Brûlée, Candied Pretzels,
Dulce de Leche Ice Cream

These are big portions. We had to box half of each to take home. I will come back to this restaurant just for the desserts alone. I was invited to join them for brunch tomorrow and I am already seriously considering it since it was promised that desserts are available all day.

Once again, i’m grateful to be living in this city with such a vibrant restaurant scene. As it is, Houston is teeming with seafood restaurants already, but this is definitely a solid addition, and should rightfully take its usual place as one of the city’s finest.

Willie G’s. 1640 West Loop S, Houston, TX