The fall chill

Fall is here, and what better way to warm up from the chill in the air than a warm bowl a 'red chili.

Something about the month of October kicks off the chili craving in me. Football games. Early sun sets. The cool red/yellow autumn colors everywhere. Chili only seems appropriate in the summer when it's covering a hot dog. But here we are, a week away from halloween, prime chili time.

I've been wanting to make a really good red chili, but I usually go for the chili verde/pork varieties. But Saturdays are for BEEF, or at least that was the thought process this weekend. Follow to the end for recipe.


A few things to know:

> DO make this chili if you want to make something that will feed a bunch of people, or alternatively feed yo' lazy self for days.
> DO make this chili if you like to try throwing different things in a pot and seeing how they turn out. It's not always perfect, but sometimes it's the only way to learn what tastes good together. Learning is good mmmkay?
> DO make this chili if you like a little to a lot of spice in yourlife.










                               Peppas, Onions, Celery, Garlic                                                       Family Photo

 

After browning the beef and then cooking down the vegetables, it was time to throw this concoction together. In addition to chili powder, I tried using dried chilis, which turned out great. I put them in some boiling beef broth for about 5 minutes, then sliced them for the chili mixture. You can see them in the picture below. At left is the dried Ancho, in the right they are the small brownish red mixture on the right side of the pot.

             Dried Ancho Chilis                                                                             One big happy chili family              

 

 Pouring in some of the finest ale to kick this chili up a notch.

  

                Everything in the pot, time for a beer...                                          ....6 hours later

 

The following is the list of things I used. In some cases, I know how much of an ingredient I used. In others, I have no idea. Which is fantastic. For anyone who worries about the exact part of cooking, make chili. It's pretty forgiving. Worst thing that can happen is it will be too spicy, too salty, or just downright weird, but someone will eat it.

For the chili:

- 2 lbs. boneless chuck. This is good meat for chili as you can get it in chunks or chop it yourself. The longer you cook the chili, the more it breaks down. And the longer you cook the chili, the more beers you can drink
- 2 cans beans (small cans 14 oz). I used red kidney, but you can use whatever you want. Equal Opportunity Employer.
- 1 can diced tomatoes (big can 28 oz).
- 1 can fire roasted crushed tomatoes (small can)
- Some tomato paste (optional, but helps chili consistency make its middle to high school leap from soup to stew)
- 3 celery stalks
- 2 or 3 bell peppers. Again, use whatever color you like.
- 1 serrano pepper. Dem spicy ones.
- 2 yellow onions
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 dried ancho chiles (optional)

Seasonings to throw in:
- Chili powder might be a good idea. I used a mix of regular New Mexican red powder with a dark Ancho chile powder to give a more smoky taste. Be creative, and use liberally.

- Cumin: couple Tbsp
- Paprika: 1 Tbsp
- Garlic powder: 1 Tbsp
- Apple cider vinegar: This stuff adds a sweet vinegar flavor that you will love. Worth buying a bottle if you don't have it and start using it in salad dressings (if you make those, I don't) and marinades.
- Soy Sauce: A couple shakes of the bottle
- Cacao powder aka chocolate powder: Whole Foods tells me it's a Mayan superfood, so I kind of HAD TO GET IT. Use 1 Tbsp, chocolate helps thicken the chili and deepen the flavor. You don't have to do this.
- Half a beer. Drink other half. Open another one.
- Small amount of Beef broth. Maybe half a normal size box.
- Hot sauce: throw in as much as you want, just take it easy to start

 

meatballs of fire

After a great, unhealthy weekend in New York City, I had a craving for something comforting. Covering something in tomato sauce is often where my comfort lacking brain heads, so off I went to the store in a quest to procure MEATBALL ingredients.

I really like making meatballs as I've found they are ridiculously EASY to make, and much better than frozen ones (and I don't want to die after eating). Here's the quick list of what you need

- 1 pound ground beef. Go with something like 85/15 or 80/20 fat content. Reward yourself. This is comfort meatball day. You want juicy meatballs.
- 1 Jar of your favorite tomato sauce.
- 1 package of your favorite pasta.
- 1/2 red onion
- 1 egg
- some old bread or breadcrumbs. Or buy bread, and chop up a couple pieces.
- 1 bunch parsely. This adds some of that italian flavor you know, and makes you feel good seeing something that resembles a salad in your meatball.
- parmesan or romano cheese
- crushed red pepper if you like em hot
- Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder

Mix all of this in a large bowl. Or a little bowl if you want to lose half your meatballs. Use your judgement on the amount of cheese, you can always start mixing and then add more. They should look something like this.

 

Smush that meat mixture together into your desired ball size. Big or small is ok, just try to make sure they are uniform in size. This will help them all cook evenly. 

When you actually cook the meatballs, the easiest way is to pan fry them to brown the sides, and then finish in an oven at 350. Take the meatballs out, throw em in the sauce, mix together with the cooked pasta, and boom, you are done. Comforting, juicy meatballs, covered in sweet tomato perfection.

(No need to pull) Pork

With fall right around the corner, there's something instantly appealing about something warm and cooking all day. Maybe it's football. Maybe it's the slight chill in the air. Maybe it's because who doesn't like their house smelling like roast pork all day long.

I'm shocked to say that this was my first real crockpot cooking experience. Don't get me wrong, I've made plenty of slow simmering soups, stews, and meats, but always do it on the stove top. Something about crock pots always freaked me out...I never liked the idea of leaving something cooking when I'm gone. What if it dries out? What if I burn the house down? What if it doesn't actually cook?

So concerns aside, I gave this a shot. Mainly because I hurt my back this weekend, so I thought why not make it easier on myself. I'm writing to tell you, GO GET A BONELESS PORK SHOULDER/BUTT NOW! If you want to make something that
1) is awesome
2) requires minimal effort/expense
and,
3) produces leftovers times infinity

Look no further. Here's what you will need

- 4 to 5 lbs pork shoulder or pork butt. Stores use these terms interchangeable, but just look around. It should be cheap, this is no salsbury steak
- 2 or 3 yellow onions, sliced
- 5 cloves garlic, sliced
- Dry Rub for pork. For this you can use an assortment of things. In a bowl mix up a lot of salt with some paprika, garlic powder, oregano, chili powder, cumin. If you don't have this stuff, just buy a jar of barbecue seasoning, it will all be ok. Cover the pork in this concoction


1. Put onions and garlic in the crock pot. Set the pot heat to low. Pour in about 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar and 1/2 cup your favorite barbecue sauce. The apple cider vinegar gives the perfect flavor with pork, but if you don't have it any other kind of vinegar will help. Or do yourself a favor and buy apple cider vinegar and start putting it in marinades or on vegetables, it's amaze.

2. Put the pork in the pot. Close the lid. Stand back, and let the magic happen.


3.  Crack open a beer, go for a run, go to your friends house, whatever, just check back after about 9 or 10 hours. If you can't stand for food to cook that long, crank the thing up to high and it will be done in more like 5 or 6 hours.

You should now have molten hot pork swimming in its own juices. Poke it with a fork. Does it fall apart? You're done.

Take the pork out, shred it up with a fork, put it back in the juices and get yourself a roll. For civilized folk who would like vegetables with it, make your own or buy some cole slaw. This makes for a great sandwich topper.

For the slaw: Buy a package of shredded cabbage and carrots, or buy a head of cabbage and a few carrots and do it yourself. Get 1 red onion and 1 cucumber, slice them thinly. If you want it a little spicy, throw in a diced jalapeno or serrano pepper. For the dressing, get 4 or 5 limes and use the fresh juice. Add a little salt and you are done.

Smooth Chicks

I like chicks. Small chicks. Chunky chicks. Lots of chicks.

What I like most about chicks is the smooth, creamy, delectable spread they turn into with a few turns of a food processor. I was one of those skeptical people thinking why go through all of this to make something I can buy at the store for $3. But I was feeling primal and wanted to make something OF MY OWN. So I went to the store, and bought a few things:

1 can of chick peas (stores like to push the low sodium variety on you. Either will taste good, you're going to rinse them anyways)
1 jar of tahini sauce (it's this peanut buttery type of sauce, I could probably eat a jar of this on its own. I have no idea where it usually is in a grocery store, just ask a pleasant looking worker)
1 clove of garlic
1 lemon

Only other ingredient needed is olive oil and I already had that. Boom

So we're talking about it costing around $5-6, and the tahini will last you a while, assuming you don't start making hummus every day. I can tell you that it will better and taste far more fresh than the stuff you buy from the store, though it won't have those little puddles of garlic or red pepper in the middle (I'm working on that)

The possibilities for what you want to do with the hummus are endless
- Use it as a dip for fresh vegetables (i.e. carrots) or crackers
- Spread on any sandwich for a nice fresh add on
- Spread on fingers, lick them
- Throw in a tortilla with some black beans, vegetables, cheese, hot sauce, whatever else you might have in the fridge it will probably taste good

Wash chicks

Blend tahini, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil

Add in chicks, turn away as you pulse them into oblivion

Observe the beautifully smooth chicks you now have

Have any other ideas what to do with hummus? Other things to add in? Send them my way gdonheiser@gmail.com

A Fresh Start

Greetings interweb!

I write to you in hopes that you can help my desire to discuss and view foods made at home or found on the streets. I've become inspired to cook more, eat more naturally existing foods, and just all around try to eat fresh as much as possible. It's not that I won't be eating a Big Mac here or there, it's safe to say I will never give up that always euphoric followed by self deprecating part of my life. But when not mowing down a cheesy bomb of grease, I'm trying to find other ways to eat well. We all face time constraints, long days at work make it tough to have the energy to do much more than turn on the TV and throw something in the microwave. Frozen pizza? Sure. 3 day old leftovers? Doesn't smell weird, must be ok. Or maybe just go for the bag of chips.

But I've found ways to make the time you get home easier to handle. There's ways to make fresh food that can be used for lunch at work or for that dinner when you're too lazy to be more than 5 feet from the couch. And the best part is, after trying to cook more, you might just find that you like it. Much like going to the gym, reading the news, getting something done at work, or a new social encounter, cooking well can give you a great sense of satisfaction and self reliance.

If you already like cooking, then my hope is this blog might just give you some more ideas of things to try or new ways to make something. If not I hope you skip the frozen section and go for some fresh produce and give it a shot. Much like searching for new music, I'm always happy to have a trusted food friend tell me about a new place to try or recipe I should look into. It's time I pay it forward.