Cincinnati Style Chili

My recent pregnancy cravings have me searching for recipes that remind me of food I grew up eating. Being far from home can make that difficult. Fortunately as one of our wedding gifts I received a cook book with recipes of all of our friends and family. Our good friend Karie's contribution was "Cincy Style Chili," originally passed down from her Grandma Penny. If you have never had Cincy style chili it is a little bit different than what most people are used to. The chili is thinner than most chili's and includes ingredients such as cinnamon and chocolate. It is served over spaghetti noodles with piles of grated cheddar cheese.

Or you can eat it over hot dogs on buns with mustard and onions, known as coneys. I grew up with it and lately can't stop the cravings. Karie came to the rescue.

Ingredients:

2 lbs ground chuck

5 cups of water

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cumin

2 large onions diced fine

2 heavy Tbsps Worcestershire sauce

2 6 oz. cans of tomato paste

1 Tbsp chili powder

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp red pepper (optional)

1 tsp salt

1 heavy tsp vinegar

1 tsp allspice

1/2 tsp garlic powder 

2 tsp chocolate chips 

Cooking Directions:

Take 1/2 ground chuck and 1/2 of the water (2.5 cups) and place in tupperware container. Shake very well (Looks nasty, but gives the chili the "Skyline" consistency). Do the same with the other 1/2 water and beef and pour all into a large pot. Add all other ingredients to water and beef. Cook for 4 hours at a low slow boil uncovered.

Serve it up as a 3 way (Chili, spaghetti, and grated cheddar cheese), 4 way (+ diced onions or red beans), 5 way (+ diced onions and red beans) or have it coney style on a hot dog with bun. I also like oyster crackers and tobacco sauce to top mine off. 

Enjoy!!! Thanks Karie!!

A Tyler Florence Weekend

Don't write the guy off just because he sold himself out to the neighborhood-environment themed super chain Applebees. The food he makes on his show "Tyler's Ultimate" is legit, and I have proof. This weekend I attempted 2 of his recipes ...Homemade Fish & Chips and Shrimp Bisque.

Fish and Chips:

The elements that make this batter superior to others are the Rice Flour(instead of Wheat Flour), and Club Soda. Both ingredients make the batter light, airy, and crispy. I might be coating all my food in it from here on out.

The chips portion of the meal included homemade, twice fried french fries. The double dip method key. You fry the potatoes at 325 till the insides are nice and soft. Remove the fries and raise the temp of the oil to 375. Fry till they start to turn light brown and crisp. Apparently this is how they do it at most restaurants, who knew?

We also made a homemade tartar sauce, which is easier that you think. Don't be scurred. Just mix mayo with a few green herbs and chopped pickles.

Shrimp Bisque:

My first attempt not only at a bisque, but also a shrimp stock. Apparently those smelly shells you peel off the shrimp make a mighty tasty broth. And you know I love me a strong broth. I also got to cook with brandy and make fire rise from the pot. There is lots of butter and cream in this recipe, which makes it filling, you do not need much else to go with it, a lone bowl of soup is sometimes a meal in itself.

check out the pics and links to the recipes.

Fish&Chips

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/fish-and-chips-recipe/index.html

Shrimp Bisque

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/shrimp-bisque-recipe/index.html

The Best Chicken Sandwich

Yesterday I felt like being adventurous and decided to make baguettes for the first time. After this achievement I needed to do something to make a meal out of them. I found a great recipe on foodnetwork.com for a chicken sandwich by Michael Chiarello. It was delicious. 

The baguette recipe is from "The Good Housekeeping Cookbook."

For the baguettes you will need:

2 Cups warm water (105-115, you should use an instead read thermometer to check the temperature of the water as this is very important)

1 package active dry yeast

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon plus 1/4 teaspoon salt

about 5 cups all-purpose flour or bread flour

1 large egg white

1. In large bowl, combine warm water, yeast, and sug

ar; stir to dissolve. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon salt and 3 cups flour. Beat well with wooden spoon until smooth. Gradually stir in 1 1/2 cups flour to make soft dough.

2. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic (good workout), 6 to 8 minutes, working in enough of remaining 1/2 cup flour just to keep dough from sticking.

3. Shape dough into ball; place in greased large bowl (I us

e vegetable crisco), turning dough to grease the top as well as the bottom. Cover bowl with greased plastic wrap and let rise in warm place (80-85 degrees, I placed it in my oven) until do

ubled in volume, about 1 1/2 hours.

4. Grease two large cookie sheets. Punch down d

ough. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and cut in half. With rolling pin, roll each dough half into 18" by 7" rectangle. From a long side, with hands, roll up tightly, rolling dough back and forth to taper ends. 

Place each loaf on diagonal on one prepared cookie sheet. Cover loosely with greased plastic wrap and let rise in warm place until almost doubled, about 1 hour.

5. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees. With s

errated knife or single-edge razor blade, cut five 1/4-inch-deep diagonal slashes in top of each loaf. In small cup, beat egg white and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt; brush over loaves. Bake until well browned, 30-35 minutes, rotating cookie sheets between upper and lower oven racks halfway through baking. Transfer loaves to wire racks to cool. Makes 2 loaves, 8 slices each.

While your bread is baking you can start to prepare the Grilled Chicken Sandwich with Grilled Mushroom Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

Bread for Sandwiches (which we have made above) or

 4 mini ciabatta loves or 2 baguettes that you purchase

1/2 to 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil plus more for brushing bread

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 pound mixed fresh mushrooms such as shitake, morel, chanterelle, and domestic. ( I didn't have these options at the store closest to my house so I just bought crimini brown mushrooms)

2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme leaves, divided

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon minced shallot

2 tablespoons sherry vinegar ( I accidentally put in the entire shallot, still good, but your breath suffers)

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

3 to 4 cups arugula or watercress ( I used arugula)

Since I baked my own bread, I would cut each baguette into 4 pieces for sandwiches. Using the larger pieces for the center for serving. You can set

 aside the end pieces for use the next day. Or if you bought ciabatta cut each loaf in half along the length of the bread. Brush the inside of each half with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Set aside. If your baguettes just came out of the oven you can ignore this step.

This recipe recommends grilling your mushrooms, but I prefer to saute them in a pan. Feel free to do which ever you prefer. 

Leave the mushrooms whole, and toss in a bowl with 1/2 

cup of the olive oil, 1 teaspoon of the thyme, the garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. Immediately toss the mushrooms in the sa

ute pan and toss in the pan to cook them evenly for about 7 to 8 minutes.

In the same bowl you prepared the mushrooms in, add the shallot, 1/2 cup of olive oil, vinegar, parsley, the remaining 1 teaspoon thyme, and salt and pepper, to taste. Stir well. Let the mushrooms cool, finely chop, and add to the marinade bowl. Toss well. (This can be made up to a day in advance and kept covered and refrigerated.)

Sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of the chicken. Drizzle with a little olive oil. I grilled my chicken in a grill pan on the stove, but you can also use a grill outside. Cook for about 7 minutes turning once throughout the grilling. I also like to check the chicken before I pull it from the grill and make sure it is cooked all the way through. Remove to a plate.

In a bowl, toss the arugula with the mushroom vinaigrette mixture. Slice the chicken breasts crosswise at a 45 degree angle. Spoon the mushroo

ms on top of 4 slices of grilled bread and top with the chicken. Place remaining slices of bread on top and serve immediately. 

This was delicious and I think the only thing I would change is to add cheese next time, probably swiss or pepper jack.

Enjoy!!!

KOGI Korean Taco truck

Tonight we decided to check out a phenomenon that we have heard about around town. It is the Kogi Korean Taco truck. That is right. I used the word Korean and taco's in the same sentence and I am glad I did. These taco trucks have been traveling around LA to all of the hot spot bar scenes and delivering up Korean tacos. That means corn tortillas filled with short ribs and kimchi (my favorite choice). They also have spicy pork tacos, chicken tacos, and tofu tacos all with sauce and kimchi cabbage for the lovely price of $2.00. A great price during this economic down turn. I personally ate 4 tacos and it was the perfect dinner. The truck was parked at a local bar in Silverlake, 4100 bar. For those of you who need more to fill up on they also offer burritos. I heard that after the 4100 they were heading one truck to down town LA and the other to Venice. Try to catch up with them and enjoy!

kogibbq.com

Uncooked Oatmeal Cookies

This is a different kind of cookie recipe from my child hood. It does not actually require any baking. You just cook the ingredients on the stove and scoop onto wax paper. It is great for those weeknight sweet cravings when you don't have a lot of time, but need to satisfy your sweet tooth.

I used a double boiler, but you can cook on the stove you just need to work quickly.

Put together in pan and then over heat till all ingredients are melted and incorporated. Bring to a boil and then boil for only 1 minute.

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

1/2 cup milk

2 tablespoons Peanut butter (I recommend using a normal brand and not organic. My girlfriend once used the organic kind and the peanut butter is too oily and the cookies will not set up correctly.)

2 tablespoons baking cocoa

*Before you begin cooking rub a stick of butter around the top of the pan so it won't boil over.*

Remove from heat and then work quickly!!!

Already have wax paper laid out on your cookie sheets

Add to the mixture 1 teaspoon vanilla and 3 cups oatmeal.

Stir fast and then drop by spoonfuls on to the wax paper.

Let cool and set up and then enjoy!!!

I always think of my friend Karie when I make these cookies. Aahhh memories of cookie exchanges in San Francisco.

Enjoy!

Greek Lemon Chicken Soup

Evan called me this afternoon and wasn't feeling very well. So I decided to make some chicken soup. My "Good Houskeeping" cookbook has a recipe for Greek Style Lemon Chicken Soup (also none as avgolemono in Greece). I decided to try it. The prep time is fast (15 minutes).

Ingredients:

1 large skinless, boneless chicken breast half (6 ounces)

1 small onion, peeled and studded with 2 whole cloves ( I didn't have cloves so I skipped this part)

1 carrot, peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces

1 stalk celery, cut into 2-inch pieces (I bought the already cut carrots and celery, Mirapoix, from trader joe's)

2 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) chicken broth or you can dilute the "Better than Bouillon" chicken base in water

2 1/2 cups water

2/3 cup regular long-grain rice

3 large eggs

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 large lemons)

1 tablespoon butter, cut into pieces

1. In non reactive 3-quart saucepan(I love my Le Crueset pan), combine chicken, onion, carrot, celery, broth, and water; heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 10 minutes.

2. Remove chicken and vegetables from saucepan. (I poured over my strainer into a bowl, but you can also use a slotted spoon.) Discard the vegetables. When cool enough to handle, shred chicken into thin strips.

3. Meanwhile, add rice to simmering broth; heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until rice is tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

4. In a large bowl, with wire whisk, mix eggs and lemon juice until combined.

5. Slowly whisk 2 cups simmering broth into bowl with egg mixture, whisking constantly. Return broth mixture to saucepan; heat just to simmering, whisking constantly, until broth has slightly thickened, about 5 minutes (do not boil). Remove from heat and stir in  shredded chicken and butter. Makes about 7 cups of soup.

Evan and I loved this soup and it definitely helped his cold. I also served it with toasted french bread. Enjoy!

Chocolate Bread Pudding

Recently we headed over to our friend Janna's house for dinner. Our contribution to the meal was Chocolate Bread Pudding. I found a great recipe on www.foodnetwork.com by Wolfgang Puck. 

It is delicious and I highly recommend it(Personally I ate 5 of them in 3 days. Not proud of that, but it confirms that this recipe is worth while). 

One of the first things you will need to produce this recipe are individual ramekins. You can purchase them at most stores that sell bake ware. I purchased mine at Crate and Barrel for $1.95/piece. You only need 8 containers for this recipe. 

Then you will  need to set out bread the night before you would like to make this recipe. This allows the bread to dry out so that it will absorb the maximum amount of moisture. I cheated a little bit and took bread that I just bought and sliced into the oven on a low temperature. After about 30 minutes or so the bread was dry enough for me to proceed.

There are two parts to this recipe a custard and the soaking liquid for the bread.

The custard ingredients are as follows:

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate

1 1/2 ounces bitter chocolate

3 whole eggs

3 egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups half-and-half

The soaking liquid:

1 1/2 cups half-and half

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

8 1//2-inch thick slices brioche (I just used a loaf of the oroweat white bread from the grocery store)

Extras for garnish:

Powdered sugar

Unsweetened whipped cream

In a double boiler (or you can use a stainless steel bowl over a pot of boiling water) melt the 2 chocolates. In a large mixing bowl (I used my kitchen aid mixer) beat the whole eggs and the egg yolks. Gradually whisk in the sugar and beat until fluffy. Meanwhile in a small saucepan, bring the half-and-half to a rolling boil. Slowly whisk into the egg mixture. Then, whisk in the melted chocolate. Chill over ice and refrigerate, covered, until needed. (This should be prepared the day before so that the custard will thicken or you can do in the morning if you are making dessert for dinner in the evening.)

Then ready to prepare the pudding, combine the soaking liquid ingredients in a saucepan and heat until the cocoa is completely dissolved. Cut each slice of bread into 2-inch circles (16 circles, I used my biscuit cutters.) Arrange the circles of bread in 1 or 2 dishes with sides large enough to hold the circles in 1 layer. Pour the soaking liquid over and soak well, turning so that the bread absorbs as much liquid as possible. I also made extra bread circles and stacked some of the puddings with 3 layers of bread instead of 2.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 8 3/4 cup ramekins or custard  cups.

To prepare the pudding, spoon a layer of custard (about 2 ounces into the bottom of each of the 8 cups. Using a slotted spoon, remove a circle of bread and set in the custard. Spoon over a second layer of custard, a second circle of bread and top with a final layer of custard. Repeat this procedure, filling the remaining cups with custard and bread, and then arrange the cups in a large baking pan. Fill the pan with boiling water, halfway up the sides of the cups. Bake 30 minutes. Cool and refrigerate until needed.

Dust the puddings with sifted powdered sugar and pass a bowl of unsweetened whipped cream.

*Also if you like to make your own whipping cream, you can just purchase heavy cream at the grocery store and mix it up with a hand mixer or kitchen aid mixer. Do not over mix as it can easily become butter.*

Enjoy!!!