Blustery Cleveland Night Chili

Thursday night, I'd planned chili for dinner as a nice welcome-home for J when she arrived from Vegas. Her plane was coming in late and I liked the idea of having something we could eat at dinner-time and I could reheat for J if she was hungry when she got home. I am ever so glad I did have chili in mind because the weather was atrocious and I really needed something warm and comforting. The wind was blowing like all the fiends of hell, rattling all the windows as though it wanted desperately in from the cold as much as I did. I tried macaroni in my chili, not something I'd ordinarily try, but a good choice nonetheless. Of course, my chili was chili mac by the time I was ready to eat some leftovers, but it was delicious chili mac. I am not a chili purist, just someone who likes yummy dinners. I mixed up a box of Jiffy corn muffin batter and poured it into a butter-slathered iron skillet to bake. It was perfect.

Blustery Cleveland Night Chili

1 lb. burger

1 onion, ch.

1/2 green pepper, ch.

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 can tomato soup (the condensed sort)

16 oz. can diced tomatoes

15 oz. can kidney beans, drained

2 tbsp. chili powder

A good shake of salt and a good grinding of pepper

15 oz. can beef broth

2/3 c. macaroni

Sour cream & shredded cheddar for garnish

Spray pot with cooking spray. Brown meat with onion & pepper. Add garlic, tomato soup, tomatoes. Add beans, chili, salt & pepper, broth. Bring to a boil. Add macaroni. Lower heat & simmer 10 minutes. Serve with garnish & hot cornbread.

The Candy Kitchen 2009 is Open!

Friday night, I played in the kitchen into the wee hours, baking Pie's birthday cake and making candy for my Art Gang Ohio buddies. For years, Pie wanted the same birthday cake as his brother, a 4-layer cake. 2 layers were white, 2 were chocolate. The chocolate ones had white icing and the white ones had chocolate icing. They invariably leaned at a scary angle and the white-iced layers had chocolate crumbs in the frosting most years. Two years ago, he decided he wanted pumpkin pie instead of cake, last year J made his cake in a 13x9 pan, this year, he decided he'd like to try my flourless chocolate cake for his birthday this year. I was delighted. I am rather picky about cake and this is my favorite of favorites. I happily went about purchase of the ingredients and fought off my wife's attempts to take on the task to help me out. This is my adaptation of the original recipe from the late, lamented Gourmet Magazine.

Chocolate Nemesis

2 sticks butter, cut into slices

12 oz. good bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (this was Ghirardelli)

5 eggs

1 c. sugar

7 tbsp. water

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Butter a round 10" cake pan and line bottom with parchment. Butter parchment. Melt the chocolate with the butter just until it can be stirred smooth. I do this in the microwave, but you can use a double boiler. Beat the eggs with 1/3 c. sugar on high speed until tripled in volume, about 5 minutes. Heat 2/3 c. sugar with the water over moderately low heat, stirring often, until sugar is dissolved. Pour into chocolate and mix well. Allow to cool 10 minutes, then pour gradually into the eggs, beating on medium speed until fully incorporated. Pour into cake pan. Place in roasting pan lined with a dish towel. Fill with boiling water until the level is 3/4 of the way up the sides of the cake pan. Bake until just set, 50-60 minutes. Allow to cool at least 2 hours. Loosen the edges of the cake with a knife and invert onto a cake stand. Remove parchment and decorate, if desire. I like to put raspberries along the edges and pile a bunch of them in the center. This is especially good with freshly whipped cream. I like mine unsweetened, with a hint of vanilla. You could also flavor it with the merest bit of orange or raspberry. It's also nice to sprinkle the whole shebang with powdered sugar.

While the cake was baking, I made treats for the gift bags I presented to the Art Gang Ohio gals. Every year at our Christmas tea, everyone brings wonderful gifts to exchange. Since most of my art is being made in the kitchen these days, and since my skill level with visual art is nowhere near that of my culinary ability or that of the other women in the group, I decided to give everyone candy. My idea was for them to take a rest for a cup of tea and a little snack during this busy season. Each bag contained a clementine (reminiscent of stockings from our childhoods), a little peanut brittle (which I gave my granddad every Christmas from the time I was tiny and now give my mom's partner), a couple packets of chamomile tea, a couple lemon drop tea spoons, a packet of cocoa, a candy cane (to stir the cocoa) and some homemade marshmallows. It was my first attempt at marshmallows and I was much-chagrined when I discovered, after the ingredients were already mixed, that my candy thermometer had the tip broken off sometime in the last year. Following my life coach's advice about cheesecake, I challenged myself with this question: "What will happen if they don't come out right? The ingredients will be wasted either way, so you might as well try it!" I just followed the time guideline and they turned out great! They are particularly delicious in Equal Exchange spicy hot cocoa (or your own cocoa spiked with cinnamon and chili). I used Martha Stewart's very simple recipe, which can be found here:

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/homemade-marshmallows

I think next time I make them, I'll try cutting out snowflakes or hearts. What fun!

The lemon drop spoon recipe came from my friend, Sam, and they make great gifts with mugs & tea. They're also simple, if a smidge fiddly. I used hot pink plastic spoons, but you could play around with colors. One year, I'd like to get a bunch of old spoons from an antique store and use those, tying beautiful ribbons around the ends for presentation. I also want to play with other flavors, like orange and butterscotch.

Lemon Drop Tea Spoons

34 lemon drops, crushed (although I completely forgot this step this time and it just took a little longer than usual for them to melt)

2 tbsp. Karo syrup (any brand is fine, I just like Karo)

Line a jellyroll pan with wax paper and spray with cooking spray. In a small, heavy pan, mix the candy with the Karo over low heat. Cook, stirring often, until melted completely. Fill the bowl of each spoon with the mixture. (you could also just dip the spoons into the mixture for a different look and to eliminate the fiddly bit) Place with the handles on the rim of the jellyroll pan and the bowls of the spoonds level. Let harden. This makes 20-24 spoons. They are nice wrapped in cellophane and tied with pretty twist ties.

Clyde's Peanut Brittle

(Clyde was my granddaddy and he loved peanut brittle)

2 c. sugar

A little baking soda

1 c. peanuts

Grease a pizza pan or cookie sheet. Get a high-sided pan good and hot. Add the sugar and stir constantly until the sugar is all gone to syrup. It will look horrible & ruined for awhile. Keep stirring. Your arm will get tired. Keep stirring. All of a sudden, it will be a lush, golden syrup and you will smile. At this glorious moment, add the soda and nuts and stir it just a little more, until everything is well-mixed, and pour out onto the prepared pan to cool and harden. When it's fully hard, break into bits.

Breakfast for Dinner, Tex-Mex Style

Last night, after a hectic weekend which left me completely knackered and a late arrival home by J & Pie, I was happy to make a simple dinner. I'd planned to make refried beans and a salad with our migas, but completely forgot the beans and had J wrinkle up her nose at the idea of salad. So, we had this Tex-Mex tortilla and egg scramble with bacon for the sole accompaniment. Migas most closely resembles chilaquiles, but the chilaquiles we had at our friend Carla's outshine the dish I made last night by far. Perhaps it was my chicken-hearted omission of the jalapenos, perhaps Carla's superior cooking skills, perhaps these needed some black beans instead of bacon. Whatever the case, I wouldn't hesitate to make this again, but it was not the droolsome dish it could have been.

Migas

3 slices bacon

6 small corn tortillas, slightly dried out,

torn into smallish pieces

1/2 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 finely-chopped jalapeno

6 sliced plum tomatoes

1/2 tsp. cumin

4 eggs, lightly beaten

2/3 c. Monterey Jack, grated

Salt & pepper

Cook the bacon crisp and drain on paper towels. Wipe out skillet and heat the oil in it. Fry the tortilla pieces golden and drain on paper towels. Cook the onion, garlic & jalapeno about 5 minutes. Add bacon, tomatoes, cumin. Cook a few minutes. Add tortillas and stir. Add eggs, cheese, salt & pepper. Cook on medium-high until just set. Serves 3-4.

Wild Mango Queens Harvest Feast

Tonight, our Wild Mango Queens gathering was a "practice Thanksgiving," an idea gleaned from my dear friend Andi's family. Every year, the weekend before Thanksgiving, they invite all & sundry to an early Thanksgiving dinner. I am not sure how the tradition started, but I have always been utterly charmed by it. I figured it was as good a theme as any for the November Mangofest, so I requested that each guest bring either a favorite Thanksgiving dish or one they'd love to try. Not sure who was coming or what they would bring (I like the "luck" aspect of potluck & prefer not to dictate what people bring), I went with the information that I had, which was that one guest is a vegetarian. Considering that, and thinking ahead to future Thanksgiving gatherings with my veggie mama & stepdad, I decided to make several vegetarian-friendly dishes. A couple of my contributions were personal holiday favorites of mine. I made green bean casserole and cranberry sauce (using the recipes on the Campbell's soup can---with 2 cups of fresh, steamed green beans instead of the canned I usually use in deference to tradition---and the cranberry bag, respectively). I also did a vegetarian take on sausage-based stuffing, using Yves brand soy crumbles. I was unhappy that I couldn't find soy sausage crumbles or even sausage patties that weren't maple-flavored. I think the stuffing would have been better had I been able to do so. However, it was quite good anyway. I used this recipe: http://vegetarian.about.com/od/stuffingdressingrecipes/r/hazlenuts.htm and thought the hazelnuts worked particularly well. We started with Winter squash soup (recipe at: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Winter-Squash-Soup-with-Gruyere-Croutons-2997), a salad of mixed baby greens tossed with pear (red Anjou and Bosc) and apple (Winesap) chunks, walnuts, dried cranberries and gorgonzola (served with good extra-virgin olive oil and aged balsamic for drizzling) and egg knot rolls from the bakery. That alone would have been plenty, but in true Thanksgiving style, we moved on to another course of the dishes I had made and a yummy "chicken" mashed potato casserole (vegetarian, too) Kelly invented a few weeks ago when her cupboards were nearly bare. Course number 3 was the very most beautiful, a delicious pumpkin-gingerbread trifle Marcy brought. She says Paula Deen's recipe on the Food Network site ( http://foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/pumpkin-gingerbread-trifle-recipe/index.html ) is very nearly the same as the one her friend gave her several years ago. I may just have to try that for our family Thanksgiving this year. It was lots nicer than pumpkin pie or even pumpkin cheesecake.

Artichoke Dip Lasagna

Last night's dinner was not remotely healthy, but man, was it good! The white lasagna I made reminded me of nothing so much as the artichoke dip I make every year for our tree-trimming party, the delicious artichoke dip I have to force myself every year to stop eating so I won't make myself sick. I actually have made myself sick on it, years ago when I first started making it. I exercised due caution with this lasagna and so should you. We ate it with bread to soak up all the fat. Ha ha! Oh, and add some salad! Italian dressing pairs well with this.

Artichoke Dip Lasagna

10 oz. frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

1 & 1/2 c. shredded Italian cheese blend

16 oz. ricotta

4 oz. chive & onion cream cheese

A good grinding of pepper

1 egg, lightly beaten

10 oz. alfredo sauce

14 oz. artichoke hearts, chopped

3 oz. shredded parmesan

1/8 c. mayonnaise

12 oven-ready lasagna noodles

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix spinach with 1 cup of the Italian cheese, ricotta, cream cheese, pepper and egg. Mix half the alfredo sauce with artichoke hearts, parmesan and mayonnaise. Spread the rest of the alfredo in the bottom of a 13x9 pan. Top with 3 lasagna noodles and 1/2 the spinach mixture. Repeat with 3 noodles and the rest of the spinach mixture. Top with 3 noodles and artichoke sauce. Bake 40 minutes. Sprinkle with mozzarella and bake another 5-7 minutes to melt cheese. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Friday Night Flank Steak

Last Friday night, it was just us grown folks for dinner, with Pie spending the weekend at his friend's house. I started marinating a flank steak in the morning and by evening, it was saturated with good flavor & ready to be broiled and accompanied by baked potatoes and a salad.

Marinated Flank Steak

1 medium onion, chopped

3 tsbp. olive oil

3 tbsp. lemon juice

3 tbsp. dry red wine

1 tsp. thyme

Salt & pepper

1 & 1/2 lb. flank steak, trimmed of fat

Mix everything but the flank steak in a ziploc bag. Add the flank steak & squish it around to make sure it gets coated nicely with the marinade. Marinate at least 2 hours, turning every so often to coat. Preheat broiler. Place steak on broiler rack and spread marinade on top. Broil to desired doneness, about 5 min/side for medium-rare.

Getting a Little Chile

Last night, I tried out a new pork chop dish and it turned out fantastic! We very nearly ordered pizza because I didn't get home until 8:30, but we decided to push forward with my planned meal, which was chile-rubbed pork chops, sweet potato hash, lima beans and applesauce. It's really quite simple, although the veggie chopping is a little time-consuming.

Chile-Rubbed Pork Chops

Hash:

3 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped ( I used white sweet potatoes, but I think orange ones would be more aesthetically pleasing)

1 parsnip, peeled and chopped

1 red pepper, seeds removed, diced

1 yellow pepper, seeds removed, diced

1 1/2 tbsp. olive oil

1/2 tsp. each salt & pepper

A handful of chopped fresh sage

2 tbsp. butter

Chops:

3 tbsp. chile powder

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. each salt, pepper, coriander, cumin

6 thinly-sliced boneless pork chops

2 tbsp. olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix all the hash ingredients except sage and butter in a baking pan (I used 13x9). Roast 1/2 hour. Meanwhile, mix first 7 pork chop ingredients into a thick paste. Spread on pork chops, covering both sides. Heat the 2 tbsp. olive oil in 2 skillets on medium-high heat. Sear pork chops on both sides. Cook, turning often, until cooked through, 10-12 minutes. Toss hash with sage and butter. Serves 3.