Texas Red - Chili Con Carne

Made some chili from my new bon appetit magazine subscription (thanks James and Maria). Although my senses were impaired because of a sinus infection, it still tasted pretty damn good. Romer can vouch for me, he ate some while we made our latest batch of beer. It needed a little more heat, perhaps a hotter chili would have helped. I also made Jalapeno-Cheddar Cornbread muffins (looks better than they tasted) Simpkins, this will help you get rid of all of those dried chilis in your pantry.....


Ingredients
•4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
•4 pounds well-trimmed boneless beef chuck (from about 5 pounds), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
•2 medium onions, chopped
•1 head of garlic (about 15 cloves), peeled, chopped
•1/2 cup ground ancho chiles
•2 tablespoons ground cumin
•1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
•1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
•1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
•1 12-ounce bottle dark beer
•1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
•2 teaspoons dried oregano
•2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
•2 tablespoons tomato paste
•3 tablespoons masa (corn tortilla mix)
•Coarsely grated sharp cheddar cheese
•Chopped green and/or red onion
•Chopped fresh cilantro
•Diced fresh tomatoes (optional)
•Sour cream (optional)
•ingredient info


Preparation

•Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add 1/3 of beef; sprinkle with salt. Cook until browned, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer beef to large bowl. Repeat 2 more times with 2 tablespoons oil and beef.
•Reduce heat to medium. Add 1 tablespoon oil and onions. Sauté until soft, 8 to 10 minutes. Add garlic; stir 2 minutes. Add ground anchos, cumin, allspice, cinnamon, and cloves; stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add beer; stir 1 minute, scraping up browned bits. Return beef and juices to pot. Add tomatoes with juice, 2 cups water, oregano, and 2 teaspoons coarse salt. Bring chili to boil. Reduce heat to low, cover with lid slightly ajar, and simmer gently until beef is just tender, 13/4 to 2 hours. Cool 1 hour, then chill uncovered until cold. Cover; chill overnight.
•Spoon fat from chili. Bring chili to simmer over medium heat. Stir in tomato paste. Sprinkle masa over; stir to blend. Simmer uncovered until thickened and beef is very tender, stirring often, and adding more water by 1/4 cupfuls if too thick, about 30 minutes.
•Divide chili among bowls. Top with garnishes and serve.


Read More http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2011/02/chili_con_carne#ixzz1CfWPzYZr

Orzo with Spinach and poached egg

What's that you say, you're tired of scrambled eggs and bacon? Sausage muffins and home fries are getting old? Well my friend, look no further. This was just something I cooked up on a whim that turned out pretty nice. I like cooking orzo so that it is like a "fake" risotto, but if you had some leftover risotto it would probably work great for this.

Ingredients (Makes 2 servings)

4 oz of Orzo pasta

tbls or so of butter

1/4 cup of shredded sharp cheddar

1/4 cup of grated parmesan

2tbls or so of feta crumbles

couple handfuls of fresh spinach

2 eggs

Green onion and Parsley for garnish.

Salt and pepper

1. Cook up your Orzo and poach your eggs.

2. To the cooked orzo add the butter, parm, cheddar, and spinach and cook for a couple minutes until the spinach is wilted, add a little pasta water if necessary to creamy it up.

3. Dish the orzo out on a plate, stick your poached egg on top, garnish with crumble feta, green onion, and parsley and you've got yourself a great start to the day, 370 calories for those counting those calories.

Fish Dinner

So, the other day I had some hankerin for some fried catfish. I strolled (drove) up to the local fish market to find that they had no catfish that day so the fish monger suggested tilapia or grouper. So I says, "how bout a little of both!" Alright, I got my fish, but what about a side item... Well my friends, a southern style dish deserves a souther style side so I went with Red Beans and Rice, vegetarian version of course. The fish and beans turned out pretty nice, if you've never fried grouper I would definitely recommend it; D-lecious. Served it all up with some homemade tartar sauce and a side of Jeff's Famous Cole Slaw.

For the Fish

I wasn't real sure what type of breading I wanted to do, so I soaked my fish in a mixture of buttermilk and hotsauce for 20 mins or so, then dredge them in flour that I seasoned with old bay. I also add just a little bit of cornmeal to the mix for some crunch. Pan fried them in a cast iron skillet.

For the Beans

I've been cooking a lot of beans for my vegetarian wife lately, so at xmas I acquired a pressure cooker. I par cooked my presoaked red kidney beans in the pressure cooker (about 5mins)to cut down on the cooking time. In a separate pot I cooked celery, onion, bell pepper, garlic, and a chipotle pepper together. I used the chipotle to add a little smokiness since I wasn't using any ham hock or anything. Then I added my beans with the cooking water and some salt and simmered for 45 mins or so. Served over white rice with some green onion, parsley, and a dash of tobasco.

Tartar Sauce

Mayo, Dijon, Lemon Juice, Relish, Capers, dash of tobasco, salt. Throw some of each in a bowl an stir, Voila! Tartar Sauce!

Cole Slaw

So, I love good homemade Cole Slaw. Not to toot my own horn, but I think I got it down pretty well. The Cole Slaw mix you get in the store is such a rip off and tastes like poop. Cole Slaw is cheap and easy to make and you will never buy the mix again. Follow a few simple rules and yours may turn out as tasty as mine.

1. Apple Cider Vinegar- If you want the tastiest Cole Slaw, you need to use Apple Cider Vinegar, not white vinegar, not red wine vinegar, Apple Cider only. Got it? Good.

2. Celery Seed- If you think you make good Cole Slaw and you don't use celery seed you are mistaken. Celery seed is a must, it gives it a little crunch, great flavor, and simply makes it taste like Cole Slaw. Use it!

My recipe is pretty simple, course I never really measure, I just add enough until it tastes how I like it, but I will try to estimate for all you folks out there in the Blogosphere.

Makes about 4 Servings

1/2 Head of Green Cabbage

1/4-1/2 Head of Red Cabbage

1 Carrot (grated)

1/2 Cup of Mayo

1-2 tbls of Apple Cider Vinegar

1- tbls of Sugar

1/2 tsp of Celery Seed

Salt and Pepper to taste

Half the head of cabbage, then cut into very thin shreds and mix with your carrot. I like to mix my "sauce" all together before I add it to the veggies. If you don't like it as creamy, use less mayo, if you like it creamier, add more. It's your world, I'm just livin in it. When you're happy with the "sauce" toss with the veggies to combine. Best made a day ahead to let everything come together. Enjoy!

Bacon Turkey Burgers

Decided to make some deluxe turkey burgers that turned out juicy and really tasty.  I used 99% lean ground turkey fried them in the iron skillet and finished them in the oven.  They turned out really flavorful and juicy...

Ingredients:

1/2 lb ground turkey (2 1/4 lb patties)
2 cloves of garlic
Parsley
1/4 Red onion
Chopped green olives
Bread crumbs
1 egg
salt
pepper
cayenne pepper
Gouda
Hickory smoked bacon

I combined the ground turkey, chopped garlic, parsley, chopped red onion, green olives, bread crumbs, egg, salt, pepper, and cayenne.  Cooked in the skillet and finished it in the oven with hickory smoked bacon and Gouda cheese melted over the top, put on a nice roll.  For the side I thinly sliced red potatoes, lightly seasoned and cooked them in the oven until they are almost crispy.

Pulled Pork Crock Pot Style

So it was way to cold to use the smoker with 6 inches of snow on the ground so I had to use the trusty crock pot again.  I used a dry rub with sliced onions and parsley, let it sit overnight and then added about 2-3 cups of water and some liquid smoke to give it some smokiness.  About 8 hours later it fell apart...


Ingredients:  Serves 6 (with some leftovers)

4 lbs of Boston Butt (pork shoulder)
1 red onion
Parsley
1 tablespoon of liquid smoke
garlic powder
cracked pepper
salt
ground mustard
cumin
paprika
cayenne pepper

Dry Rub:

Garlic powder
pepper
salt
ground mustard
cumin
paprika
cayenne pepper

Loose chop the onion and parsley and put on top of the pork.  Cook on low for 8-10 hours.  Shred the pork with two forks (should fall apart almost on its own).  Drain the liquid (great for other dishes later) and add the pulled pork back in the crock pot with a little juice and enjoy. 

Bacon Butter

Yeah. Thats right. Bacon Butter.

Ingredients:

1 stick of unsalted butter; room temp
3 strips bacon cooked and crumbled
2 scallions, sliced
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp honey
salt and pepper to taste

Process:

Add bacon to food processor and chop until consistency of bacon bits. Add all other ingredients and blend until combined. Keep at room temp for best spreadability.