Cowboy Chili - Chunky Style

Nothing says party like a bowl of Cowboy Chili - Chunky Style. It's easy to make ahead for a crowd, but also makes a cozy solo bowl on a lap tray in front of your favorite movie. There are so many people, cities and states that claim to make the "Best Chili." For a brief time, a few years ago, I lived in Texas. I can tell you, Texas pride is alive and well. In fact, Texas is the only state that petitioned to have Chili be the state food, and won. There is a Terlingua song that includes the lyrics: If you know beans about chili, you know that chili has no beans. In Texas it's often called "A Bowl of Red".

However, I grew up in North Carolina where the best chili I ever had included many types of beans and three kinds of meat. Even the cut of the meat varied from city to city.Another style, called Cincinnati Chili, is mixed with warm spices including cloves and cocoa. It's often served over spaghetti or as a hotdog topping. When patrons order they say one of these:

Bowl: chili in a bowl
Two-way: Chili and spaghetti
Three-way: chili, spaghetti and cheese
Four-way: chili, spaghetti, cheese and onions
Five-way: chili, spaghetti, cheese, onions, and beans

The origins of chili have just as many varied claims, but most credit the cowboys and pioneers of Texas. As the case for a lot of stews, it probably began as a poor man's way of making the most of the meats, spices, herbs and dried products available. The chili recipe I've been making for years is a combination of my favorite bowls of chili across the United States and a recipe from a paperback book called "Cookery for Entertaining" by Marlene Sorosky.

I was given that book in North Carolina when I was in college and by the time I was married and had my first baby girl I had made almost every recipe in the book. The other day I saw it was selling on Amazon for $200.00. My copy is in pieces, held together with tape, and some recipes only legible to me and my memory. I've tweaked it a bit to fit my taste and to add some of the warm spices I love, including a little beer sometimes to keep it interesting.I hope you'll try it, and I know you'll love it. This is one of my most requested party foods. I highly recommend a nice slab of skillet corn bread to sop up the bottom of the bowl.

[Today's chili is one of the recipes included in our Let's Lunch bunch (a group of bloggers all over the world having a virtual lunch together.) So, you are in luck -- click on these other sites to see a whole world of Chili recipes and ideas, too. The recipe for my Cowboy Chili-Chunky Style can be found at the bottom of the page~]

Let's Lunch on Chili:

Zest Bakery -Charissa‘s Clean Out Refrigerator Night Cassoulet

Cowgirl Chef - Chicken Tinga Chili

Dreaming of Pots and Pans -Dave's Chili

Burnt-Out Baker - Vegetarian Chili

HapaMama - Chinese New Year Chili

GeoFooding - Hawaiian Chili

Spicebox Travels - Vegan Vaquero Chili

A Cook And Her Books - Full of Beans Chili

Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan - Keema Chili

RECIPE: Cowboy Chili - Chunky Style
(makes about 8 servings)

3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Onion, chopped
3 Garlic cloves, minced
2 lbs. Stew Beef, bite-size cubes
2 lbs. Sausage meat
1 can (28oz) Whole Tomatoes
1 can (6oz) Tomato paste
3 Tablespoons Chipotle Chili powder
2 Teaspoons Cumin
2 Teaspoons Dried Thyme
1 Tablespoon Cocoa Powder
1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
1 Tablespoon Sugar
*optional* 4 oz. Dark Beer or Ale
1 can (15oz) Organic Baked Beans
1 can (15oz) Kidney Beans
1 can (15oz) Pinto Beans

1) In a deep pot, heat the oil on Medium. Add the onions and garlic, cooking just until soft.

2) Add the beef and sausage and cook until all pink is gone. Stir and break up sausage to cook evenly.

3) Pour the whole tomatoes into a bowl and hand crush them, then add them to the meat in the pot, along with tomato paste, chipotle powder, cumin, thyme, cocoa, salt, sugar, baked beans and beer (if using.)

4) Stir, cover the pot, and simmer on low for about 2 hours. Stir occasionally and add a little water if needed.

5) Stir in the kidney beans and pinto beans and continue to cook for about another 30 minutes. The beef should be very tender.

This tastes even better the next day after the flavors have combined in the refrigerator. This also freezes really well and can be reheated til bubbly hot on the stove, or in the oven at 350F.

Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken Cherry Molé, Olé!

This is definitely a "throw it into the pot, job done" meal. The sauce is dark and warm, the chicken is fork tender, and clean-up is quick.

Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken Cherry Molé

Molé is one of those food terms, like confit, that has been generalized and now is more of a description than a true food. This Slow Cooker Chicken Cherry Molé is like the original form of a Molé in that it has many flavor building spices and ingredients, it contains chili pepper and chocolate, and it is dark and robust.

It is also EXTRA SIMPLE to make, and once you put it all into the Slow Cooker and stir, the only job you have is waiting to eat.

Molé (or mulli) means "sauce". The history of this concoction includes Spain and Mexico, with influences from Africa and beyond. Today, it is considered one of Mexico's culinary prides. In its most original form, a paste from blended and ground spices is made and cooked into a very fragrant and dark starter. To this is added many things, with every family having their own secret combination and traditional styles. Some of the ingredients include cilantro, nuts, sesame seeds, tortillas for thickeners, dried fruits and several different kinds of peppers.

For this labor and time friendly recipe, I have included dried cherries which pair well with the cocoa that is almost always in a Molé. The sauce is commonly served over turkey, chicken and sometimes pork.Rick Bayless, whom I obviously admire, serves one of the best Molés in his Frontera Grill in Chicago. If you ever get the opportunity, definitely try it.

In the meantime, pull out the Slow Cooker or Crock Pot and get ready for a very flavorful Mexican style chow down.Recipe: Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken Cherry Molé-Olé

1 onion, chopped
3 cups Tomato Sauce (or large can of seasoned tomatoes)
1 cup water or chicken stock
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup peanut butter
2 Tbls. honey
1/2 cup dried cherries, chopped
1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce (canned), chopped
3 Tbls. cocoa powder (unsweetened)
2 Tbls. chili powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. cumin
pinch of fresh grated nutmeg
2 lbs. Chicken breasts or combination with thighs (boneless)

1) In a Slow Cooker, add the onion, tomato sauce, garlic, peanut butter, honey, dried cherries and Chipotle chile. Stir together.

2) Stir in the cocoa powder, the chili powder, the cinnamon, cumin and nutmeg.

3) Put the chicken on top of this sauce, season with salt, close the lid and cook on low for about 5-6 hours.

4) When done, use 2 forks to pull the chicken into shreds and fold into sauce.

This is wonderful on a little slider bun, or served as an entree with rice, potatoes or polenta. Everyone will be wanting mo' Molé. :D

Cowboy Coffee Rubbed Brisket

Can't you just picture it: a cup of dark, rich coffee and a plate of fork tender Brisket on a slice of homemade bread? Here's a little help- You can't see the coffee? It's on the brisket, and it's one reason it taste so cowboy-good. Now, just add that coffee rub to a few more tasty seasonings and you'll have a smokey glaze that will cover your brisket and stick to your ribs.

Cowboy Coffee Rubbed Brisket

The coffee grounds create a campfire, barbecue-style crust on the meat that works in the oven or on a grill. Don't trim your brisket until after you've cooked it, because the fat keeps it moist and adds a ton of flavor. This is one of those meals that taste even better the next day, chilled or warmed on a sandwich. Cut the meat on the diagonal for easy slicing and don't be stingy, just pile it on. Life can be a tough ride some days, but your brisket doesn't have to be, right? Cover it with a spicy coffee rub, cook it long and low, and maybe you'll feel like singing under the stars, too. Yippee-Ki-YAy


Recipe: Coffee Rubbed Brisket

Coffee Rub~

1/4 cup Smoked Paprika
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1 Tbls. Ground Coffee
1 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

1) Mix all ingredients together well.
2) Rub all over a 3lb. Brisket and place it into a foil lined baking pan.
3) Cover the Brisket loosely with foil to enclose.
4) Bake in preheated 350F oven for 1 hour, then reduce heat to 300F and cook for about 2 more hours.
5) Remove the Brisket (it should be fork tender) to a plate and keep warm.
6) Pour the pan drippings into a sauce pot and add:For the Glaze~

2 Tbls. Honey
1 Tbls. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbls. Soy Sauce
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. chili powder
salt and pepper to taste.

7) Stir to combine all ingredients well and heat on Med/High for about 10 minutes. It's ready when the sauce has thickened and glossy. Taste for seasoning.
8) Serve over /or with sliced Brisket.

Grilled Jalapeno & Honey BBQ Sauce (and a visit to Hillsborough Barbecue)

Fair warning: You are going to read some things in this post that will make you drool.

Recently, for my mom's 78th birthday, I visited Hillsborough Barbecue in North Carolina. We're talking Smoked Pork Martini with a Mable Bacon rim (from small batch bourbon infused with smoked pork on the premises.) How 'bout Fig Preserve Martini (my fav?) And, just about the time your lips are burning from the Hot and Smokey Margarita (hot sauce added to a glass that was rinsed in smokey scotch), they bring out the sweet Fried Catfish Bites. If you can still read this through the sweat on your screen, imagine the homestyle plates filled with BBQ pit Brisket (you can ask for "double meat"), the Sweet-Potato Salad and a choice of Red or White Cole Slaw surrounded by Hush Puppy balls. Now that you're so deep in it ya' can't see your face, you may as well have a bowl of Brunswick Stew (authentic with Rabbit, Chicken and Pork.) If you're ever within a day of Hillsborough, NC - you need to drive straight into this historic town and plop yourself down at a picnic table outside and ask for extra napkins.
Now, of course I didn't ask for their well guarded recipes, but I did manage to get a nice tip from their handsome Grill Master (David Stinson.) He told me a secret to one of their sauces was grilling the jalapenos before making the sauce. I took that and ran with it, folks. It turned my Country Style Pork Ribs Barbecue Sauce into something worth sharing with you. I hope you try the recipe, it's a little bit country (tomato base) and a little bit Rock & Roll (red wine vinegar and allspice) with a sweet kick (honey and grilled jalapeno.) If you're not really careful, just the smell will cause you to devour one of the sweet-hot barbecued ribs before you bring the plate to the table (shhhh.)
Recipe: Grilled Jalapeno & Honey BBQ Sauce
(makes enough for 4 large Country Style Pork Ribs)

1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 garlic cloves (minced)
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1/2 tsp. ground mustard
1/3 cup tomato paste
2 Tbls. Olive Oil
salt/pepper to taste
1 large (or 3 small) Jalapeno Peppers (grilled, chopped and keep the seeds in according to how hot you like it)1) Stir all ingredients into a saucepan on Med/High heat. Bring to a boil.
2) Reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes until thickened. Taste and adjust seasoning.
3) Spread on Ribs just before putting them into the oven, or in the last moments of grilling.
**I cooked my Country Style Pork Ribs in braising liquid for 45 minutes, drained and held them in the refrigerator over night and then basted them with sauce before putting them in a 400F oven for 25 minutes. This makes really fall-apart-tender ribs that can be prepared a day in advance or the same day.**
Do you have a favorite Barbecue Restaurant? I'd love to hear about it. Thanks for stopping by as always~

Authentic Cassoulet - Daring Cooks

I went on a culinary journey without even leaving my kitchen. I took 4 days to create an authentic Duck Confit, Pork Belly, Sausage Cassoulet (rhymes with Hoo-Ray!) I didn't spend every hour of those four days just cooking this, of course. In fact, I just did a little each day while cooking dinner or other food. At the end of the week - Voila, I had a giant pot of comforting Cassoulet for the weekend. For me, it was part of the monthly food blogging challenge called Daring Cooks. A chosen host submits a technique, recipe, cultural aspect of cooking and it is meant to encourage us brave cooks to stretch and grow (and this month was no exception.) Our January 2011 Challenge comes from Jenni of The Gingered Whisk and Lisa from Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives. They have challenged the Daring Cooks to learn how to make a confit and use it within the traditional French dish of Cassoulet. They have chosen a traditional recipe from Anthony Bourdain and Michael Ruhlman.

For you, I hope it encourages you to try something new also. This Cassoulet experience was particularly positive because all along the way we were creating separate dishes that could be a welcome addition to a culinary arsenal on their own:

Duck Confit
Duck Fat (incredible for french fries or potato casseroles)
White Northern Beans (cooked with Pork Back and herbs)
Sauteed Italian Sausages with Onions and Garlic Cassoulet Since making this Cassoulet felt like a little journey, I thought I'd give you the recipe like a travel journal. I've listed things as I did them each day. You can use it to follow along when you make this, or create your own way that matches your lifestyle. At the end, I'll include the recipe as given, also. My only regret is that I can't add Click-n-Sniff to this posting because the smells of browning duck, pork, sausages, onions, legumes and herbs along the way were like a daily aromatic amuse bouche for the whole family and had them excited about the weekend bounty they ultimately devoured.

Steps: Day 1-

1) I bought a whole duck, broke it down into leg/thighs, breasts, wings, carcass and fat trimmings.
2) Liberally rubbed Sea Salt all over the leg/thighs and covered with plastic on a plate and refrigerated over night.
3) Trimmed the 2 breasts and held in fridge for another use.
4) Saved carcass and wings for Duck Stock
5) Placed all fat into a deep sided skillet and rendered it for duck fat, cooled it and held in refrigerator.

Day 2 -

1) Placed the leg/thighs into a baking dish, nestled in a few twigs of thyme and rosemary and a couple cloves of garlic, then covered in melted duck fat.
2) Cooked in the oven 375F for 1 hour.
3) In a deep pot, placed 3 cups of dried Northern White beans and covered with water. I placed those in refrigerator for overnight. Day 3-

1) Drained beans and put them in a large pot with a bouquet garni (a tied selection of parsley and thyme), a bay leaf, a handful of pork rind and about 1 lb pork belly.
2) Heated the bean, etc. to a boil, then reduced to a simmer for 30 minutes, added a little salt/pepper, stirred things up and simmered for another 30 minutes til the beans were tender.
3) Removed the onions and herbs and threw those away. Removed the Pork Belly: cooled, wrapped and held in the refrigerator. Drained the beans: cooled and held the beans and the water separately for later. Removed the pork rind for using when browning the sausages.
4) In a skillet on Med/High, I heated a few ounces of duck fat til very hot and added the sausages to the pan. I browned the sausages, removed and held those on a paper plate while browning the onions, garlic and pork rind from the beans, in the same hot duck fat.
5) In a blender, I added the browned onions, garlic and another tablespoon of duck fat and pureed until smooth. 6) In a large iron pot I put it all together. I started with a bottom layer of slab bacon, latticed together. I added beans, then layered with Sausage (all along the way adding a few spoons of the puree.) I added more beans, then the Pork Belly...more beans, then the Duck Confit, and ended with beans.
The last step was to pour the reserved bean liquid into the pot, just covering the top layer of beans.
I put the whole pot into a preheated oven on 400F for one hour, then reduced the heat to 250F for 1/2 hour. I removed it, let it cool and refrigerated it overnight so all those individual meals would combine their flavors into one giant savory snuggly for my insides.

Day 4 - Cook and Eat Day :D

By now, everyone in the family knew what we were having for dinner, could say "cassoulet" and even helped set the dishes out; talk about excitement.

I preheated the oven to 375F and cooked the Cassoulet for one hour, reduced the temp to 200F and let it simmer for 1/2 hour.
I wish I had the time to tell you how it tasted.......JUST KIDDING, I mean don't you think you can almost taste it yourself by now? There was a warm hardy full-flavored meat in every bite. The sausage had a tiny bit of spice and heat, the duck had that fall apart texture with a little saltiness, the pork belly was so tender and almost sweet, and it was held together with the creamy white beans and pureed onions. Oh good Lord...oh good, Lord. We had two bowls each, and I had earlier scooped out a small casserole for freezing. When I can leave our son with something so good for dinner on the weekend, it makes for a guilt-free date night for my husband and I.
If you start this on a weekend, you could cut this process in half, I think. Or you could do a little each night like I did. I very much like recipes that contain recipes like this one. Here's the recipe as given to me, (from the travel channel Anthony Bourdain ), which I cut in half. Let me know if you've ever made something like this, or if you try one. Thank you for stopping by to read. Hope I made you hungry. :D

Meet the Little Meat Pie - Daring Bakers 4/10

This time, I really didn't think I would make the Daring Baker's Challenge. First of all, it was British (sorry, but I just haven't tried many British pastries that made me lick my lips for any reason except the great need for moisture.) Secondly, I read the recipe and it seemed that "Suet" was animal fat with the gross factor doubled. Thirdly, Daring Baker's is often a great excuse to cook another sweet, and why would I want SUET in that?
Well,meet the little meat pie that had my guests scraping their plates for the last tender crumbs.

Rosemary Lamb Veggie Pudding Pie

April 2010 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Esther of The Lilac Kitchen. She challenged everyone to make a traditional British pudding using, if possible, a very traditional British ingredient: suet.
Finding suet was a chore for my neighborhood. I had to practically beg a butcher to hold on to some of this fat for me. He was more than willing to take an order for several pounds of it, but told me the small amount I needed usually ends up in the bottom of the garbage at the end of his day. Sheesh! Ultimately, I got to work with it and also made several pies with the alternate choice of Crisco. I've used Crisco for many pastry goods and it does make a flaky crust. The suet (which I rendered, then saved and it had a lard-like feel to it) worked well, too.

The filling was left up to our own imagination and research, so I created a Lamb and Veggie filling that was accented with fresh rosemary. It was earthy and fragrant, very satisfying and so delicious my husband actually sighed while eating.

I have a real love for individual servings and I figured everyone would enjoy having more of the pastry too. I made these in ramekins and coffee cups. They worked beautifully and I could serve what was needed and save a few in the refrigerator to re-steam when someone else was ready to eat. What a great luncheon dish, huh?
Traditionally, these are made in large ceramic bowls and they look fabulous, but I liked the convenience and having my own little pastry pie.



PUDDING CRUST RECIPE:
12 oz. Self Rising flour (I used AP w/ Baking powder and salt)
6 oz. suet or suet substitute (could be butter or Crisco)
pinch of salt and pepper
little less than a cup of water or milk

1. Mix the flour and suet together
2. Season the flour and suet with salt/pepper (or spices for sweet)
3. Add the water a TBL at a time as you mix. Stop when dough leaves the sides of bowl clean. Don't over handle the dough as it will make a tough pastry.
4. Reserve some dough for the tops, roll the rest out and cut to fit inside your container.
5. Butter the inside of your container well, and place the pastry dough around the inside and make sure to leave a lip above the top.
6. Add your filling.
7. Roll the remaining dough and cut shapes to make tops. Dampen the edges with water, place the top on and roll the extra lip over the top and seal. (I used a fork to create and good seal)
8. Seal well and cover with a top of parchment, and a sheet of foil (pleated for expansion) Secure with string (mine were small enough to remove with tongs and strings weren't needed), and place in a steamer over boiling water.
Steaming can be up to 5 hours (with my small ones it was 2 hours). There is a lot of leeway with steaming, but it's hard to over-steam. One way to tell it is cooked is when the pastry changes color - goes from white to sort of light golden brown. If not used right away- put in refrigerator and re-steam for about an hour for serving.

ROSEMARY LAMB and VEGGIE FILLING:

1 lb. lamb shoulder (cut into cubes)
2 carrots chopped
2 ears of fresh corn (cut off the cob)
1/2 cup fresh mushrooms (quartered)
1 small onion rough chopped
several sprigs of fresh rosemary
salt/pepper
2 Tbls. flour (for thickening)
1 cup Vegetable stock (or water or beef stock)

In a large oven proof skillet, brown the lamb cupbes in a little olive oil.
Remove and hold. Add onions, carrots, salt and pepper (to taste) and cook on low/med for about 5 minutes. Stir in flour and cook for about 2 minutes. Add stock and stir to combine. Return the lamb, add corn, mushrooms and rosemary. Fold together, cover and cook in oven on 325F for 1 hour.
Remove the rosemary sprigs, stir to combine flavors and let cool before using as a filling in the pastry.
Steam these for two hours. Remove foil and gently pull pastry from the edges of the ramekins or cups. You may need to use a knife to run around the inside of the cups. Turn upside down onto plate.

You'll love the simple, elegant look of these individual meat meals. The British call them puddings, but I didn't say that to my guests until after they had tasted them and like them. We're so conditioned to our own little vocabularies that even when I told them later, it was met with grimaces. But, the spoons returned to digging out the goodies. Tally ho!