Hudsons on the Bend Cooking School
by Joe Payton and Leslie Hall
Recently we got to attend Hudson's on the Bend's Cooking school at the home of Jeff Blank, owner of Hudson's on the Bend. As you enter Jeff's home, you immediately descended in the pool area overlooking Lake Travis. Attentive waiters kept wine and appetizers flowing freely. I anticipated an evening of slicing, chopping, and grilling, and came prepared to have my sleeves rolled up to my elbows.
After the chefs had prepped and we had sampled scrumptious appetizers all while taking in an amazing view of Lake Travis, we were ushered into stadium style seating that perched us in front of two witting, entertaining, and knowledgeable chefs. The two creative geniuses that made us both laugh and gasp were Robert Rhoades and Jeff Blank. The menu included: "deep sautéed" hot-n-crunchy shrimp; a glazed quail, prepared in a stovetop Cameron smoker (I want one!) over hickory chips, and served over a tossed baby spinach salad; and an herb butter grilled lobster tail sitting on grilled tenderloin of beef with a spicy cilantro and jalapeno hollandaise sauce.
