Michael “Chef Mike” Smith has been making Junior League of Houston favorites for over 23 years. His cheer and easygoing Louisiana demeanor make him a favorite with everyone.

Here, we talk with Chef Mike about his favorite season – crawfish season – and share recipes for your own at-home boil.

When did you learn to cook?

My grandmother taught me to bake a cake from scratch when I was about 6 or 7. I was hooked.

Tell us about your grandmother.

Granny was a great lady. She lived in New Orleans and helped raise all of us. She cooked a huge feast for the whole family on Sundays in the summer.

What were the favorite things she cooked for you?

She made delicious smothered okra. Her pie was so good too. And great gumbo – usually with filé [sassafras powder] but sometimes okra.

What were some of your favorite memories of growing up in New Orleans?

Life was simple. If you wanted something, you made it. My older cousins and I would use scooping nets to get our own crawfish when I was 10 or 11. [We were] not able to run to the store to get everything like you can these days.

How often do you get back to your home city?

I try to go every Mardi Gras and maybe once a summer.

What makes a great crawfish boil?

Peak season is March, April, May and June. We usually cook about five to six sacks for 100 people. With the crawfish, you have to have corn, potatoes and andouille sausage. And Dos Equis beer. Beer just tastes better with spicy food. I like my crawfish pretty spicy, so I have to cut back on spice for guests. I invited all the League staff to my house for a big boil last year and definitely did cut back for them!

Cooking for a hundred people? That’s a party!

Oh, yes. That’s nothing in New Orleans. You’re in family mode and having a good time, so you’re happy to have anyone come.

Editor’s Note: Also, enjoy crawfish in this Crawfish Pie Filling. For something sweet after a crawfish boil, add this Praline Cheesecake.

Source: March 1, 2019, The Buzz Magazines, Mary Lee Wilkens

This year’s theme, Fire and Ice, was meant to reflect League members’ “fiery passion” for helping the community and the “shimmery brilliance” they leave behind in such efforts. It also made for some dramatic decor in the League’s famous ballroom and an array of dazzling dresses donned by guests who took the mood of the evening to heart.

Tiaras, tulle, fur, and plenty of sparkle filled the chic, wintry space transformed by glittering drapery, snowy white branches, and a performance by the League’s legendary, all-volunteer cast of singers, dancers, a cellist, and pianist. The ballroom was split into “fire” and “ice” sections, each with tables and chairs decked in red and gold or white and silver, respectively.

Before dinner—a meal of red wine-braised short ribs and beef tenderloin with chimichurri sauce followed by pecan balls with cinnamon ice cream and cayenne chocolate sauce from Tea Room chef Michael Smith—was a cocktail hour featuring fire and ice queen characters and a champagne-pouring aerialist. Guests bid on silent and live auction items like an eight-day getaway to a Mountain Village home in Telluride, an in-home private dinner for 10 with Eunice chef Drake Leonards, a three-night vacation to an ocean-view villa in Honduras, and a wall-mounted sculpture, “Frost,” by Houston artist Patrick Renner. Later, in the “ember room,” revelers sipped night caps and danced to live music from The Guzzlers.

All told, the Friday- and Saturday-night affair—ticketed at $500/person with tables starting at $5,000—raised $750,000 for continued funding of the League’s community program and volunteer initiatives. This year, more than 1,400 volunteers will serve over 100,000 hours through partnerships with local assistance and mentorship organizations.

Source: February 14, 2019, Houstonia Magazine, Abby Ledoux

At the Junior League of Houston, specifically, more than 78 percent of its members work full time. This year, the local nonprofit will contribute approximately $2 million in volunteer hours and direct financial support to the Houston community.

How did it all begin? The Junior League of Houston dates back to 1925 when a group of 12 forward-thinking women founded the organization.

Charity Ball 2019: Junior League kicks off three-night ‘Fire and Ice’ charity ball with red hot Preview Party

Since then, the Junior League of Houston’s encyclopedic list of community contributions range from assisting the Houston Museum of Natural Science with acquiring a Diplodocus dinosaur brain in 1962, to donating a gift of $60,000 to help revive Market Square Park in 1975. League volunteers have also trained in helping counsel abused women, rape victims and homeless mothers and children at Houston Area Women’s Center.

The Junior League of Houston has been deeply rooted in the local community for decades. For a look back of some of the highlights from its inception to 1998, scroll through the photos above

Source: February 18, 2019, The Houston Chronicle, Marcy de Luna

Chaired by Tanya Merla Leiber in collaboration with assistant chairman Kenedy Hughes, underwriting chair Amanda Boffone, community partner chair Jaclyn Luke, and auction chair Taylor McDaniel, the evening kicked off with photos at a step-and-repeat as partygoers made their way to the courtyard, where a heated tent kept them warm, as hors d’oeuvres were passed and the chilled champagne flowed.

As background music by DJ London played, guests mingled and bid on silent auction items, from a “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” package with a morning meal at the Galleria luxury jewelry retailer for a party of 26, to a freshwater pearl necklace by Nacol & Co.

After the cocktail hour, attendees moved to the ballroom to enjoy the League’s legendary, all-member cast show, which featured singers, dancers, a cellist and a pianist. The toe-tapping 20-minute production included six numbers set to hit songs like “Hazy Shade of Winter” by The Bangles, “Hot Stuff” by Donna Summer and “Man! I Feel Like A Woman” by Shania Twain.

For dinner, a large buffet of fare was served, including chilled avocado and cucumber soup, sweet corn fritters, street tacos, tortilla-crusted jumbo shrimp, and chocolate mousse.

The chic soirée continued into the night as DJ London cranked out party tunes and guests stayed to enjoy nightcaps and dancing.

Much thought was put into the “Fire & Ice” theme, which inspired hot and cool couture including lots of red, blue and sequined outfits.

“When selecting a theme, we knew we wanted something that represented our membership and our generous Junior League supporters,” Leiber told the crowd. “We are forces of nature, who have a fiery passion to build a better community and leave behind a crystallizing brilliance on the lives that we touch.”

Thursday evening’s soirée, alone, raised $50,000, and there are still two nights to go as the gala continues through the weekend, with black-tie events on both Friday and Saturday night.

Proceeds support The Junior League of Houston’s mission. Since its inception in 1925, The League has served the city by developing the potential of women and improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. In 2018-19, more than 1,400 volunteers will contribute over 100,000 hours of service in the Houston community.

Enjoying the evening were: Mary Lee Wilkins, president Steph Magers, president-elect Jayne Sheehy Johnston, Anne Sears, Amy Dunn, Jennifer Howard, Amanda Boffone, Abbey Roberson, Mitra Woody, Michael Wishniewski, Danielle Betscher, Alissa LaVergne, Bobby Martin, Selby Bush, and Carolyn McCormick.

Source: February 8, 2019, The Houston Chronicle, Marcy de Luna

From Stop and Smell the Rosemary: “Chocolate is produced from the pods of the cacao tree, which are roasted and cracked open. The meat of the bean is processed into cocoa butter and chocolate liquor, a paste made from the nonfat solids, and then blended back together with sugar, vanilla, and milk.”

Milk chocolate has a lower cocoa content than semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, two types of dark chocolate, with semi-sweet containing more sugar. White chocolate does not contain cocoa bean paste, so while it is not a true chocolate, that distinction is irrelevant to fans!

For a decadent treat, I love the Over-the-Top Fudgy Brownies from Peace Meals, which combine semi-sweet and unsweetened chocolate with espresso. The recipe calls for Milky Way, but feel free to swap for Snickers, York Peppermint Patties or other chocolate candy.

If you love chocolate but are still clinging to New Year’s resolutions, the Chocolate Fondue Sauce, also from Peace Meals, is perfect paired with fruit or angel food cake. This is an easy, impressive substitute for store-bought chocolate covered strawberries. (You can also drizzle it over brownies.)

The White Chocolate Brownies from Stop and Smell the Rosemary are another unexpected twist on a dessert staple. Serve with homemade chocolate sauce, vanilla ice cream, fresh mint and berries for a restaurant-worthy finale to a meal.

Finally, hot chocolate is a great choice for a chilly night. While powdered mix is acceptable in a pinch, Peace Meals has easy recipes for both white and dark hot chocolate, so rich and creamy that no marshmallows are needed!

Treat your loves to the gift of chocolate this February – and include yourself on that list.

Source: February 1, 2019, The Buzz Magazines, Annie Schorfheide

The Junior League of Houston Fire & Ice Charity Ball is the League’s largest fundraiser, with proceeds this year being raised for the Junior League Community Program.  The ball features a variety of entertainment, silent auction, wine pull, hors d’oeuvres, and dinner.

There are three nights of the Fire & Ice Charity Ball. Thursday, February 7, 2019, through Saturday, February 9, 2019 at 7 pm at the League building at 1811 Briar Oaks Lane.  For tickets and more information on Junior League of Houston, log on to JLH.org.

Source: January 28, 2019, KHOU Channel 11, Great Day Houston Staff

For breakfast, I enjoy avocado toast with sea salt and olive oil; add a poached egg if you have time and need something more substantive. For lunch, you can rely on vegetables and hummus or a delicious salad, or even a grilled cheese and tomato soup if you are still craving comfort food. I enjoy spending more time on dinner, particularly when I know there will be leftovers for the rest of the week.

Simple bruschetta makes a great meatless appetizer; the Classic Bruschetta from Peace Meals hits all the right notes with juicy tomatoes and the crunch of rustic Italian bread. It can be changed according to your tastes. Peace Meals recommends trying it with goat cheese and peppercorns, chopped mushrooms and blue cheese, or figs and caramelized onions. If you have time over the weekend, it is fun to visit one of the farmers’ markets around town for colorful tomatoes, fresh bread and vegetables to use.

Hearty bruschetta and crostini is often enough paired with a simple arugula salad and balsamic vinaigrette, but sometimes, particularly in cold weather, I love to serve it with the Creamy Artichoke and Mushroom Penne from Stop and Smell the Rosemary. This one-skillet dish is easy to make and clean up and makes plenty for leftovers at my house, perfect with chicken and an easy salad the rest of the week. [The recipe notes that artichokes should be cut and cooked with stainless steel utensils.]

Meatless Monday is a simple way to reset your week, your month or your year. Just don’t forget dessert.

Source: January 1,2019, The Buzz Magazines, Claire Petree

One highlight every December is our book club’s Christmas party, where we take a break from reading and have a celebratory dinner with an ornament exchange. I love to try new recipes, and my book club friends are the perfect (willing) guinea pigs.

The Baked Artichoke Brie Spread from Peace Meals is warm and decadent, delicious on freshly sliced French bread, toast points or mini bell peppers. I’ve also made Artichoke Squares from The Star of Texas Cookbook – not the prettiest appetizer, but it doesn’t matter, as that is usually the first dish to be emptied.

Cheese Pockets from The Star of Texas Cookbook are another crowd favorite. There is something therapeutic about making these, and they freeze well. I set up a cooking assembly line and catch up on Netflix or Hallmark movies at the same time.

While I make a new recipe each year, I usually am asked to make French Onion Bread Pudding from Peace Meals. This recipe is easy to put together but feels like elegant comfort food. Between Junior League of Houston cookbooks, Pinterest and Instagram, I am never short on ideas!

Source: December 1,2018, The Buzz Magazines, Courtney Cook

“I inherited [Houston Junior League Cookbook] from my mother, who was not a member of the League, nor am I,” says Margery Anderson, a retired nurse. “Still, I know so many people who have this book. It was our guide to graciousness and good taste, even though the recipes are very down to earth.”

Houston Junior League Cookbook was the League’s first publication in 1968. After that came The Star of Texas Cookbook in 1983, Stop and Smell the Rosemary in 1996 and Peace Meals in 2008.

All the books celebrate good food while benefiting the Houston community. In 2018-19, the Junior League of Houston will contribute approximately $2 million in volunteer time and financial support to our community. Cookbook sales account for part of that.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Houston Junior League Cookbook and the 10th of Peace Meals. In celebration of the philanthropic and cultural influences of all four Junior League of Houston cookbooks, we are taking a look back at the generations of women who produced them, and what it took to create these historical records of food, family and friends.

Houston Junior League Cookbook

Though Houston Junior League Cookbook was published in 1968, it remains a first, and a classic. “It’s my go-to cookbook for anything,” says George Craig, whose mother Alice Craig – or Mrs. Douglas S. Craig, as she’s listed in the book – served on the first cookbook committee. Alice just recently passed away, but George says she loved cooking. “Growing up,” he says, “she found her love of cooking from her mother’s housekeepers. Then I learned to cook from my mom.”

Alice, along with a team of volunteers, home-tested each recipe submitted to the book by League members.

“I was part of the testing process, because when I was at UT, I’d come home and she’d say, ‘Well, we’ve got this to try and this to try,’” George says. “My favorite was the Crab Imperial. And my mother’s Peach Ice Cream was one of her favorites.”

The chair and co-chairs of the book are also gone, but Alafair Kane, listed in the book as Mrs. George V. Kane, Jr., fondly remembers serving on the committee with them all. “I remember being a busy gal cooking. And I loved it, I might add,” she says. “I had a growing family with three young children. While it was the practical thing to try to test recipes they would like – rice dishes and desserts – I did test some recipes they did not enjoy. Sometimes my children would see me in the kitchen working away and they’d say, ‘Not another Junior League recipe!’”

Alafair fondly remembers cookbook meetings. “We’d cook and bring things to the meetings to taste, and to hear everyone’s comments was quite humorous.”

The book took several years to make, as recipes were all handwritten or typed. “We took our time because we wanted to be sure everything was highly approved. And we were all pleased with the way it turned out.”

Anne Tucker, a former League president who married just as the book was released, calls it “the bible of how we learned to cook.” Her mother was a League member as the book was being produced, and many of her friends had contributed recipes. “There was a wave of weddings then, and this was the standard gift for a whole generation of us,” she says. “Thank goodness for this book! It presumes no knowledge on your part, but not in an offensive way.” Anne says that having cooks’ names below each recipe makes it more personal than its successors. “It was special because you knew the person who made it and maybe you’d eaten it in their house.

“I know that now nobody would get a can of tomato soup to baste with, but we did,” Anne says. “It’s old-style, and it has an economy of cost that the newer books don’t because they assume you can buy a lot of spices or an heirloom tomato.”

The Star of Texas Cookbook

After she was married for a while – and she had learned to cook – Anne found herself on the board of the League while The Star of Texas Cookbook, published in 1983, was being produced. “The first book was published by the League, not an outside publisher,” she says. “We just did it.” But for the new book, they hired Doubleday, which brought a level of sophistication.

“The presumption was that we would include names with recipes again, but Doubleday said no. That was a discussion highly fraught with great unhappiness,” Anne remembers. “We would have board meetings to talk about these things from 9 until 2:30, and the only reason they ended was because we had to go to carpool. We had lots of time to be fraught.”

Betty Cochran, chair of the new book, says it took almost six years to put together. “It was before computers,” she says. “We had meetings constantly Monday through Friday and sometimes on Sunday.” But that was a good thing, she says. “The first book was such a success that we had thousands and thousands of recipes submitted. They had hundreds.”

Betty, an accomplished cook, remembers home cooks hosting seated dinners and cocktail parties as recipe testing grounds. “They were more formal affairs [than more recent testing parties],” she says. The long production process didn’t daunt Betty. “The only thing that became problematic was the amount of space it took,” she says. “We bought a bigger house, and everything grew and grew. My children would say, ‘What is all this stuff?’ They knew it was Junior League.”

Peggy Roe was one of many volunteers who tested recipes for The Star of Texas. “I still had kids at home, and one morning I was making four biscuit recipes,” Peggy, now a nonprofit consultant, says. “I made the kids sit at the table until they had tried all of them.

“That book was a really big part of our lives,” she says. “Some of us gained a lot of weight that year! We talked about it and about our recipes. And we knew then who submitted the recipes, so we could look at them and say, ‘Ohhhh…’

“I loved the idea that a bunch of housewives could create a cookbook that would sell and make money for charity.”

“The first book wasn’t conceived as a national effort,” Anne says, “but this one was, and it won all kinds of awards. The best ones were Denver’s and ours. But don’t get me wrong, Baton Rouge was no slouch.”

Stop and Smell the Rosemary

Roni Atnipp, chair of the 1996 Stop and Smell the Rosemary, says, “Every generation of League members wants to do their own book. And you get that, because things change and the way we eat changes.”

Roni, who used her experience at the League to launch a publishing consulting business, says the League’s board initially approached her to create a new cookbook, similar to the ones before. “I was like, ‘Huh, I wonder if we can do something else.’ At that point, 1994, there were only two leagues that had done big, beautiful cookbooks – Jackson, Miss., and the Junior League of St. Louis. That was it.

“So I called the chairmen of these books in the other Junior Leagues to learn about their projects, and I went to our board and made a little proposal to do a big, beautiful book, and they were like, ‘Alright, you want to do it, let’s do it.’ So I put together an amazing group of women who were really smart and super talented and had amazing taste. Every day we came up with the next step, and the next step, and the next step.”

Roni’s group launched an underwriting campaign and a recipe campaign. “We worked hard to do it right,” she says. “We tested and tested and tried. When we had too many tortilla soups, we had a tortilla soup cook-off.”

Stop and Smell the Rosemary’s original print run was 85,000, and they sold out in 10 months. “It was new and different and interesting,” Roni says. “Nobody else had done what we had done. These were the most talented women – three or four hundred volunteers – who worked hours and hours and hours, and it was really fun.”

Roni’s committee conceived a new version of “tasting parties,” where volunteers would make recipes and set them on a buffet at a party, and everyone there would sample them. “You wanted to come to a tasting party, you wanted to try a dish,” she says. “We had them in beautiful homes, and this group of girls would stay after and compile the data and what people liked and didn’t like. Then we would have another tasting party to get to the best recipe.”

Recipes came in handwritten, on note cards, on scraps of paper. “We took so much time to make sure all of them were written correctly. But at least in 1995 we had computers!”

How did such a huge project affect her family? “It was total chaos in my world,” Roni says. “I had three children then [now she has four]. I was juggling a lot, but that’s what Junior League volunteers do. We multitask to the nth degree. We stay up late, get up early, drag our kids around.

One of Roni’s favorite Stop and Smell the Rosemary recipes is Citrus Cranberry Relish. “It is literally the easiest, most delicious recipe for Thanksgiving,” she says. “I always double it because we want to eat it for a week after. I’m talking super easy and really, really good.”

Peace Meals

“I got called in and asked if I was interested in doing a cookbook and if I would put together a business analysis of a new book,” says Dena Prasher, chair of Peace Meals, published in 2008. “I had no idea how to do that. But I was interested, and I thought I could just sit down and figure it out.

“They did not ask me because I was a cook,” she says. “They asked me because I love projects, I love collaboration, I love creativity. So one of the first things I did was call Roni. She told me there would be times I would be hiding in my closet on the phone because my family would be so tired of me being on the phone. And she was right.

“It was a three-year commitment, all-consuming, and it was way more than 40 hours a week. I dragged my girls with me everywhere for tastings and photo shoots. It was a big part of all of our lives, not just mine. I changed clothes in the car a lot.”

Dena has since returned to a career in marketing, and she is proud that the book made the best use of her committee’s different strengths and talents. “We edited and edited and edited, because we shared the goal that if we had put so much into it, it darn well better be perfect.”

To begin, every potential Peace Meals recipe was given to two home cook volunteers. Most were submitted online; testers did not know whose recipe they were testing. Based on testers’ input, recipes went on (or didn’t) to tasting parties. “After the rounds and rounds of testing, the [cookbook] executive team made every single recipe in the book, just to make sure we hadn’t made an error in ingredients or cooking times or anything like that.”

Dena says her team worked to produce the best cookbook possible, not the best Junior League cookbook possible. “We wanted to brand and market it as Peace Meals, a great cookbook that happened to be created by Junior League volunteers.”

Dena often hears from people who say they make certain recipes from Peace Mealsover and over. “I love the Blueberry Pine Nut Coffee Cake,” she says. “I make it all the time for morning-after hostess gifts, and I bring it to the office. Usually people come to me and say, ‘I hate you! I ate the whole cake!’ I still make a lot of them.”

Was she pleased with the result of three years and hundreds of volunteers’ work? “There’s nothing I would do differently. Except make the type bigger! Ten years ago when people would say they wanted bigger type, I’d say, ‘What are you talking about?’ Now I get it.”

To order a special anniversary bundle, including “Houston Junior League Cookbook” and “Peace Meals,” along with a tote bag and a Texas-shaped bamboo cutting board, go to jlh.org(link is external); click on Support and then Books. Proceeds benefit the League’s community projects.

Source: November 1,2018, The Buzz Magazines, Andria Frankfort

But, the holidays are different! Planning, shopping, cooking, setting a beautiful table and spending time with my family and friends are my favorite things about November and December. I am fortunate that my family gets to celebrate it all. My husband is Jewish, and I am Episcopalian. Our daughters are being raised Episcopalian, but they are also being taught the Jewish traditions and holidays their father was raised with. Not only do we celebrate Advent and Christmas; we also celebrate Hanukkah.

We plan on celebrating the eight nights of Hanukkah once again by lighting the candles on our menorah, one passed down from my husband’s grandparents, and spending time with my husband’s parents and our closest friends. Traditionally I make the Herb Roasted Chicken from Stop and Smell the Rosemary on the first night. It is an easy and delicious recipe that pairs well with the traditional fried latkes with applesauce and sour cream.

During the time it takes the chicken to roast in the oven, I fry the latkes and set the table. We also have time to light the candles and play a few games of dreidel. Last year, a friend who spends time in Israel each year visiting her family introduced us to sufganiyot, a round doughnut filled with jelly or custard, fried, and topped with powdered sugar, popular in Israel during Hanukkah. I found them so scrumptious that I called my favorite bakery to place an order for our gathering the following night.

For Christmas, my family travels to my sister’s house. Although this year we have two children, including a baby, and all of our Christmas presents to load in the car, my husband and I wouldn’t miss Christmas with my sister, brother-in-law and 15-year-old niece for anything. My sister takes after our father – she loves to cook and loves Christmas.

We begin on Christmas Eve by baking Gingerbread Boys from the original Houston Junior League Cookbook. Not only are they tasty, but baking and decorating them is a fun, memorable activity we can share with our daughters. We let the cookies cool while we attend the early children’s mass at their Catholic church and go out to dinner. Afterwards, we eat a few of the tasty gingerbread boys while my brother-in-law reads ’Twas the Night Before Christmas as we admire the Christmas tree.

After my niece and my older daughter go to bed, my sister and I prepare the Savory Breakfast Strata from Stop and Smell the Rosemary while “the elves” get ready for Santa’s arrival. (The adults might also enjoy a Holiday Coffee from Peace Meals.) Our family likes to enjoy a big breakfast after the rush of gift opening on Christmas morning, and this egg casserole is a tasty favorite. You prepare it the night before and let it sit overnight in the refrigerator. We find it easy to pop the strata in the oven during the Christmas morning rush. For a special treat, we serve it with cinnamon rolls and freshly squeezed orange juice.

With Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and Christmas all around the corner, I am excited to show our girls the joy of the holidays. No matter the holiday, gathering with family and friends to share a meal makes for fantastic memories. We are lucky to celebrate more than once.

Source: November 1,2018, The Buzz Magazines, Sally Ann Schmidt