Heavy Doody

Chipotle Snappers

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Spain) — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 03:37:00 +0000

Here is a delicious twist on the ol' jalapeno poppers. Choose your chilies wisely, as these can really kick your butt if you get hot ones.

Ingredients:

6 chipotle chilies
9 medium shrimp
1 cup cheddar/jack cheese blend
1/4 cup bacon crumbles
1/2 tablespoon butter
Kosher salt

Procedure:

Pre-heat the oven to 350°.

Quickly fry the shrimp in the butter. Be very careful not to over-cook, as they will end up in the oven for a bit later.

Cut the chipotles in half, from end-to-end. Remove the seeds and scrape the white stuff off the walls. Then lay them out on a baking sheet.

Season the chipotle shells with salt, then top with bacon crumbles, chopped shrimp and cheese.

Bake until cheese is melted (7-8 minutes).

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Moke Chicken

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Spain) — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 15:21:00 +0000

Ingredients:

6-7 lbs of boneless/skinless chicken thighs
2 cups soy sauce
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 cup red wine
2 tsp sesame oil
1/4 cup Sriracha hot sauce
2 tsp garlic powder

Method:

Combine everything but the chicken and mix well enough to dissolve the sugar and garlic powder. A blender works nicely.

Put the marinade and chicken in a bowl, and refrigerate overnight.

Strain the marinade into a pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer the marinade long enough to reduce by about 1/2.

Grill the chicken. Slice it up, then pour marinade over the top. Mix it all up, and serve on a bed of white rice.

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Shepherd's Pie

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Spain) — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 01:09:00 +0000

Ingredients:

3 lbs ground beef
16 oz mixed veggies
4 cups beef gravy
5 lbs potatoes
1 stick butter (room temp)
16 oz sour cream
1 lb grated sharp cheddar cheese
2 bulbs roasted garlic
1 tablespoon kosher salt

Method:

Scrub and peel (if desired) your potatoes. Cut them into 1/2” slices and add to water to boil until soft enough to mash.

While the potatoes are cooking, roast the garlic, and brown/drain the ground beef.

Stir the ground beef and mixed vegetables together in an enormous baking pan. I like the big aluminum ones. Mix the gravy in with the meat/veggie blend.

When your potatoes are done, drain the water, then put them back in the pot for mashing. Add the butter and garlic, and mash by hand.

Add the cheese, sour cream and salt, and mix well with an electric mixer, until smooth.

Spread the cheesy mashed potatoes evenly over the meat/veggie/gravy mix. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes.

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Baked Beans That Are Slightly Better Than the Best BBQ Beans On the Planet

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Spain) — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 21:56:00 +0000

This is a slightly-modified version Steven Raichlen's Best BBQ Beans On the Planet. For some amazing grilling recipes and techniques, check out his books: The BBQ Bible and How to Grill.

Ingredients:

1 pound bacon cut into 1/4-inch slivers and fried
1 can (15 ounces) black beans (drained, rinsed and air-dried)
1 can (15 ounces) dark red kidney beans (drained, rinsed and air-dried)
Bush’s Original Baked Beans (28 oz can + 15 oz can)
1 large sweet onion, finely chopped
½ anaheim chili (blistered, peeled and finely chopped)
½ poblano chili (blistered, peeled and finely chopped)
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups Sweet Baby Ray’s original barbecue sauce
1 ½ cups firmly packed light brown sugar
½ cup Dijon mustard

Method:

Stir everything up in a large turkey pan, cover in foil, and cook at 350° for 1 hour.

Variations:

These beans are pretty darn sweet. If they’re too sweet for you, try going with a neutral or spicy BBQ sauce, rather than Sweet Baby Ray’s.

If you like your beans spicy, go with a full anaheim and poblano chili. Combine with a spicy BBQ sauce (as noted above) to take it to the next level.

If you have access to a smoker, throw them in there with a little bit of pecan for about 30 minutes before moving them to the oven.

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Chipotle Shrimp Etouffee

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Spain) — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 06:36:00 +0000

A very simple Etouffee for those of us that are land-locked and have poor access to crawfish. Shrimp will do in a pinch.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs uncooked shimp
32 ounces clam juice
8 ounces chicken broth
2 sticks butter
1 cup flour
1 cup diced bell pepper
1 cup diced celery
2 cups diced yellow onion
4 cloves minced garlic
1 minced chipotle in adobo sauce
1/2 to 1 teaspoon Tony Chechere's creole seasoning
1 tablespoon minced parsley

Method:

Melt the butter. Add flour gradually, wisking all the way. Make a roux that matches the color of peanut butter.

Add onions, celery and bell peppers. Cook about 5 minutes.

Add garlic and chipotles and garlic. Cook 1 minute.

Gradually add clam juice, then chicken broth, stirring as you go.

Add creole seasoning and parsley. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes. Add shrimp and simmer for another 5 minutes, until shrimp is cooked.

Serve on a bed of white rice.

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Black Eyed Pea Casserole

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Spain) — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 02:14:00 +0000

Wow! This one is a real winner. Watch the video to see how it's done, or print it out and get your butt into the kitchen... Now! You don't want to pass this one up.

Ingredients:

1 lb chorizo sausage
3 cups black eyed peas
1 small yellow onion (diced)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 chipotle (minced) in adobe sauce
10 oz mild picante sauce
10 oz cream of mushroom soup
10 oz cream of chicken soup
10 oz mild enchilada sauce
2 tablespoons Emeril’s Essence
3 cups grated cheddar cheese
A few large handfuls of crushed tortilla chips

Method:

Brown the chorizo. Push it off to one side of the pan, and add the onions. If the pan is dry, add a little olive oil to coat the onions. Cook a few minutes, until translucent.

Push the onions off to the side of the pan, add more olive oil if needed, and cook the garlic and chipotles for 30 seconds.

Add the picante sauce, mushroom soup, chicken soup and enchilada sauce. Stir well, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Pour 1/2 the mixture into a baking dish. Spread half the cheese. Add the other half of the mixture, then spread the rest of the cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven, un-foil, and add the crushed tortilla chips. Return to oven for 5 more minutes.

Serve with extra crushed tortilla chips.

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Off-Season Tomato Sauce

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Spain) — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 01:11:00 +0000

I have a confession to make: I'm not a big fan of authentic Italian cuisine. Having sampled authentic Italian cooking in Rome and Florence, I've realized that my Americanized taste buds just need something more. I'm conditioned to over-seasoning, rather than appreciating the natural flavors that come from fine ingredients.

With that said, I also feel obligated to know something about authentic Italian cooking. Primarily for 2 reasons:

Most of our favorite Americanized dishes have roots in other cultures. In order to come up with my own spins on these dishes, it's important to me that I start from a traditional base.
Some traditional dishes (such as this tomato sauce) can serve as a strong base for other creations. While this may not be the world's most exciting tomato sauce, what happens when I turn it into Arrabiata? Stay tuned, and you'll see!

With that said, I give unto you, a reasonably authentic version of a Northern Italian tomato sauce. One that should serve you well when fresh tomatoes are not in season.

Ingredients:

1 lb pasta
1 lb canned San Marzano tomatoes
3/4 cup diced onion
1 tablespoon carrot (minced)
1 tablespoon celery (minced)
3 tablespoons Italian parsley (minced)
3 tablespoons fresh basil (minced)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Fresh ground black pepper
Parmigiano reggiano

Method:

You should be able to prepare the entire dish in the time it takes the pasta to cook.

While the salted pasta water is coming to a boil, heat the olive oil in a pan. Once it’s warmed up, add the mirepoix (onion, celery and carrots). Sauté until onions are translucent. Add parsley and garlic, and continue to sauté for another minute.

When the water starts boiling, add the pasta (I like linguini).

Crush the tomatoes (by hand) as you add them to the mix. Include the juice that the tomatoes are packed in. Add the basil. Bring to a boil, and add salt and pepper to taste.

Once the pasta and the sauce are finished to your liking, mix the two together and top with fresh grated parmigiano reggiano.

To learn more about authentic Northern Italian cooking, check out The Splendid Table.

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Pizza Napoletana Margherita

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Spain) — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 21:30:00 +0000

A nice compromise between uber-authentic, and actually being able to find ingredients in your home town. Other than the dough, this is about as authentic as you’ll find anywhere on this side of the pond.

Ingredients:

For the Dough:

4 cups sifted flour
1 package dry quick-rise yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon soft shortening
1 1/2 cups + 1/4 cup of warm water

For the Pie:

1 can San Marzano tomatoes
8-15 oz fresh buffalo mozzarella
Extra virgin olive oil (high quality)
Sea salt

Mix the yeast with 1/4 cup of water and set aside. Mix the dry ingredients together, then add shortening, water and yeast mixture. Mix, then knead for a minute or two. Set it in a bowl, and set that bowl in the sink with some warm water. Cover with a towel, and let it rise for 30 minutes. This should make 3-4 pies, depending on how thick you like them.

While the dough is rising, place a pizza stone in the oven, and preheat 500. When the dough is done rising, break off a chunk about the size of two handfuls, and put it on a piece of wax paper that is covered with a little bit of flour and cornmeal. Spread it out to make a shape that somewhat resembles a circle. Transfer that dough to the crust, and mbake the crust for 6 minutes.

Pull it out, and start topping! Using your hands, crush 3-4 tomatoes onto the dough. Season with sea salt. Top lightly with mozzarella, then drizzle with olive oil. Bake until the cheese is melted (another 3-4 minutes). Serve.

Variation: Try it with lightly smoked provelone cheese instead of mozzarella (as pictured above).

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Fresh Chipotle Salsa

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Spain) — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 01:34:00 +0000

Fresh salsa is always a favorite around the Doody house. Here are instructions and a video that demonstrate how I make my chipotle salsa.

Ingredients:

1 white onion
Tomatoes (2-3 times the amount of onion, in mass, keeping in mind you’ll be removing the seeds from the tomatoes
1 bunch fresh cilantro
2-4 dried chipotles (depending on desired heat level)
Juice from 1 1/2 to 2 fresh limes
Kosher salt
Fresh ground black pepper

Process:

Grind the dried chipotles in a coffee grinder until you have a fine powder.

Run the leaves of the cilantro through the food processor. Discard the stems. Run the onions through the food processor until diced. Remove 1/2 of the onion/cilantro blend, and set aside in a mixing bowl.

Remove the seeds from all but about 1/5 of the tomatoes, and cut them into a size that travels well through your food processor.

Squeeze the limes into the food processor. Add the ground chipotles, a few pinches of kosher salt, and the cut tomatoes. Blend well.

Pour the tomato mixture into the bowl of onions, add fresh ground black pepper (to taste), stir, and refrigerate for a few hours.

Serve with fresh, hot tortilla chips.

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Fettucini Alfredo

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Spain) — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 02:30:00 +0000

I’ve never been a fan of alfredo sauce. To me, it’s just plain boring. But, add a little chicken bullion and this otherwise authentic Italian pasta dish turns into a mountain of flavor.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup butter or margarine
2 cups heavy cream
3 cups grated Parmesan cheese
3 cloves minced garlic
2 teaspoons chicken bullion granules
1/4 teaspoon salt
Fresh ground black pepper
1 lb fresh Fettucini

While your pasta is cooking...

Melt the butter in a non-reactive pot. Add minced garlic, salt and chicken bullion, and cook for about a minute.

Gradually add milk and stir. Gradually add parmesan cheese, and stir to melt.

Add to pasta and top with fresh ground pepper and/or Italian parsley.

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How to Dice an Onion

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Spain) — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 03:10:00 +0000

There's no use crying over diced onions, but most of us do. I've tried everything known to man to eliminate this, including wearing ski goggles! Believe it or not, that didn't work.

The only way to reduce the tears shed, that I know of, is to get through the process as quickly as possible. The longer your eyes are exposed to the open onion, the more you will resemble my niece at the end of a chick flick.

Try the method in this video to get the job done quickly. Ignore my technique. I'm not a formally-trained chef and have no knife skills. But if you follow the same steps, you'll get the onion diced quickly.

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Angel Hair Pasta with Butter Garlic and Parmesan

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Spain) — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 02:17:00 +0000

This is quite possibly the easiest authentic Italian pasta dish known to man. If you’re in the mood for a quick Italian fix, it doesn’t get much faster than this.

Ingredients:

12 oz angel hair pasta
4 tablespoons butter
1 cup fresh grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.
3 fresh basil leaves (chopped)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

While your pasta is cooking, melt the butter in a large frying pan. Add the garlic and salt, and cook for about a minute. Turn the heat completely off and add the cooked pasta and Parmigiano Reggiano. Toss to coat. If it gets too gloopy, add a little pasta water to smooth it out.

Garnish with fresh-ground black pepper and fresh-chopped basil.

Serve with salt and additional Parmigiano Reggiano.

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Pulled Pork in Cookshack Smoker

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Spain) — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 22:42:00 +0000

Read the recipe or, better yet, watch the video. This is episode 1 of The Heavy Doody Show!

Ingredients:

Boston butt, bone-in
Your favorite BBQ rub (recipe for Boogie rub)
Yellow mustard
Cheap white bread
BBQ sauce (optional)

I use an electric Cookshack smoker for all my barbecuing, but use whatever you have available to you.

Apply a thin coating of mustard to one side of your butt. Get it on all 4 sides as well. Cover the mustard area with as much rub as you can pack on. Flip, and repeat the process on the other side of the meat.

Wrap the pork up in plastic wrap, and put it in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

Unwrap, and place in the smoker, along with 5 oz of wood (I like to combine hickory and pecan). Insert your probe thermometer, close the door, and set the smoker to 225°. I set the probe thermometer temperature to 199°, but you might like it less or more done. It's all a matter of personal taste.

Once your meat comes to temperature, remove from the smoker and double-wrap in foil immediately. If you're going to be eating in an hour or so, you're done. Let it sit for an hour. If you're not eating for a while longer than that, wrap the foil-wrapped butt in a beach towel and toss it in a cooler.

Pull your pork.

Serve on cheap white bread. I like to offer a wide variety of BBQ sauces for people to choose from, as well as extra rub for people to use.

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Roasted Garlic

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Spain) — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 20:13:00 +0000

One of my all-time favorite ways to season dishes is with garlic roasted in olive oil. The result is a garlicky paste that has many uses.

Ingredients:

Garlic
Extra virgin olive oil

This is a very simple process. Preheat the oven to 400°.

Leaving the root end of the garlic bulb in-tact, cut 1/4 to 1/3 off the other end. If you have any loose skin hanging off, remove it too.

Pour some extra virgin olive oil in a small baking dish. I'll typically try to eyeball a depth of about 1/16". Try to use a baking dish that's barely big enough to accommodate your garlic, so the olive oil has nowhere to run.

Drizzle some more olive oil over the top. Enough to thinly coat each bulb.

Cover the baking dish tightly with foil, and put it in the oven. We all know that "cooking times may vary", but that rule seems to apply more to roasted garlic than anything else. I've seen it take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour.

Check it after 30 minutes, then periodically if it's not done yet. You're testing for a moderately squishy feel.

Once it's done, remove it from the oven and let it set until it's cool enough to touch.

From there, the possibilities are endless...

Plunk 'em on a plate and let your guests squeeze it onto bread to create their own garlic bread.
Mash it up with a mortal and pestle and add to your favorite dish.
Come up with a new idea and tell me all about it!

Now, another option would be to use an actual garlic roaster. I have a Tagco Roasted Garlic Express Electric Roaster (pictured below), and I absolutely love it. Perfectly roasted garlic in 27 minutes. I'm not normally one to fill up cabinet space with "unitaskers", but this thing is a great exception. I really like the fact that it doesn't take up space in the oven when I'm cooking something.

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Sloppy Chicken

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Spain) — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 19:29:00 +0000

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated monterey jack cheese
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons Boogie Rub
1/2 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce

Liberally apply Boogie Rub to chicken, pat it in, then stack and wrap in saran wrap for 2 hours.

Once your chicken is done "getting happy", toss it onto the grill. A few minutes before the chicken is done, sautee the mushrooms in the butter, and heat your barbecue sauce up in the microwave.

When your chicken is done, slice it 3/4 of the way through, the short way. Top with grated cheddar and jack cheeses, dump the mushrooms on top of that, then pour your warmed-up barbecue sauce over the whole thing.

I like to serve this dish with a side of asparagus sauteed in garlic butter.

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Garlic Mashed Potatoes

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Spain) — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 07:03:00 +0000

Ingredients:

1 (10 lb) bag of potatoes
32 ounces sour cream
1/2 pint heavy whipping cream
3 bulbs roasted garlic
1 lb butter (room temperature)
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Process:

Scrub the potatoes clean. Feel free to peel them too, if that's your thing, but I like to leave the peels on.

Cut the potatoes into 3/4" slices, and boil, in a giant pot, until soft.

Put the potatoes back in the giant pot and mash by hand. Add the rest of the ingredients, then whip with an electric mixer. I like to leave them a little lumpy.

Serve with your favorite gravy, and fresh-ground black pepper.

Variations:

Adding a bag of thawed mixed veggies is a nice touch.

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Mixed Nuts

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Spain) — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 06:16:00 +0000

This isn't a recipe. It's a friendly reminder that we can mix things up a bit. We don't always have to eat pre-made products in their intended form.

Mixed nuts are an example where I like to change it up a bit.

I bought a can of mixed nuts (less than 50% peanuts), and added about 20% pistachios and 15% sunflower seeds. That's how I like 'em, but I'd encourage all of you to mix 'em up the way you like 'em.

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Green Butt Chili

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Spain) — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 03:20:00 +0000

This bowl of green is hotter than hell, but de-freakin'-licious!

Ingredients:

64 oz Sadie's Salsa
1 can (15 oz) diced tomatos
6 (13 oz) tubs of thawed chopped green chilies
16 chicken bullion cubes
1 large white onion (diced)
4 fresh chopped jalapenos
4 cloves garlic (minced)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cans black beans
1.25 lbs (cooked weight) pulled pork (Boston Butt)

Get your ingredients all layed out:

I didn't have any leftover pulled pork, so I put one in the smoker last night. Here's how it looked when it came out:

Foil that thing immediately. Get all your ingredients chopped/opened/blended while the butt rests.

Blend your green chilies up really well in a food processor or blender. The idea is to create a puree.

Add everything but the pork and black beans to a monsterous chili pot. Stir.

While that's coming to a light boil, pull your pork.

Once your pork is ready, add it to the chili and stir it up.

Reduce to a simmer and let it sit for 1.5 hours, stirring occasionally.

Do a quick-drain of your black beans. Don't bother rinsing or using a colander. Just turn 'em upside down with the removed lid on.

Simmer for another 1/2 hour.

Serve!

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Green Chili Sauce Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Spain) — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 02:53:00 +0000

This recipe is labed "Part 1" because it is a work in progress. I have begun a quest to come up with a green chili sauce that is good enough to compete with those made by restaurants such as Alberto's in Greeley, Colorado, and Santiago's, which is scattered throughout Colorado. This recipe doesn't even come close to matching what you'll find there, but, for my first attempt, it was pretty stinkin' good.

For those of you who aren't familiar with green chili sauce, it's a thin, gravy-like chili (made primarily from green chilies), which is typically served as the topping of a smothered burrito. These recipes usually contain pork, but for my first shot, I decided to keep it simple and go hippie with it.

26 ounces roasted green chilies (diced, frozen okay)
1/3 cup minced white onion
1 clove minced garlic
3 tablespoons Sadie's salsa
1 (14 oz) can chicken broth
1 fresh diced jalapeno with the seeds removed
2 tablespoons bacon grease
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Heat bacon grease to medium-low, and cook the onions, garlic and salt for about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

Puree your green chilies and the onion/garlic/salt/grease mixture. You want a really fine texture. To get the texture I wanted, I had to run it through the food processor, then the blender.

Once you're done blending it up, put the puree, and everything else, back into the pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer, and let it simmer until it's reduced until you're left with a gravy-like constancy. Stir as needed throughout the cooking process to keep it from burning to the bottom of the pan.

Serve over a bean and cheese burrito. Or, our family's favorite is to get a take-out taco pizza and smother it. We like it on Godfather's Taco Pizza.

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Hell Burgers

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Spain) — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 00:00:00 +0000

The ultimate hamburger for the spicy food fanatic.

2 lbs ground beef
1/4 cup Sriracha hot sauce
1/3 cup sauteed onions
4 oz can Hatch green chilies

Mix everything together and make your patties...

Cook on the grill (adding some pepper-jack cheese for the last minute or two, if desired), sprinkle on kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, and serve on buns (duh), and the rest of your favorite burger toppings.

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Spicy 16 Mexican Dip

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Spain) — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 04:53:00 +0000

I take the insulting of an entire culinary culture to a whole new level with the use of Velveeta in this tortilla chip dip gem.

1 (16 oz) block of Velveeta Pepper Jack *
1 (16 oz) jar Pace (hot) Picante Sauce **
1 (16 oz) can refried beans
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Cube the Velveeta, and dump everything in a pot.

Heat to melt, stirring frequently.

Garnish with fresh ground black pepper, and serve with store-bought tortilla chips.

Variations:

* Velveeta Pepper Jack is hard to find. If you can't locate any, Mexican Velveeta will do just fine.

** If you're a wuss, go ahead an use Pace Medium Picante Sauce. If you're such a wuss that you'd require the Mild version, go away. You have no business trying any recipe with the word "spicy" in it. If you're a male, you might as well change your name to Nancy.

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Refried Beans

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Spain) — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 21:44:00 +0000

Great-tasting refried beans. Put them in a burrito, on the side, or my personal favorite, on a tostada.

2 lbs pinto beans
3/4 cup bacon grease
1/2 onion (diced)
2 garlic cloves (minced)
1 can chicken broth
1 teaspoon fresh ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder

The night before cooking, dump the beans out on the table, and remove the broken beans and foliage. Rinse the beans in a colander, then put them in a pot, cover with at least 3" of water, and soak overnight.

The next day, strain the beans in the colander, put them back in the pot, and add fresh water to cover to at least 3". Bring to a boil, then reduce. Simmer for 1.5 - 2.5 hours, or until the beans are very soft. Stir occasionally.

While the beans are simmering, simmer the chicken broth to reduce to 1/2 cup. If you had to cook up some bacon to get your bacon grease, deglaze the bacon pan with the broth, then start the reduction simmer.

Once the beans are done, put them in a colander to drain.

Heat up the bacon grease in a large cast iron pan, and cook the onions and salt for 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the cumin and chili powder, and cook for another 30 seconds. Add your beans, and and smash 'em up with a potato masher. Fry that stuff up for 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently.

Enjoy. :)

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Graham Cracker Break-Aways

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Spain) — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 13:58:00 +0000

A delicious holiday treat submitted by Emily the Wonderneice.

12 Honey Grahams, broken in half (24 squares)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chunks 1/2 cup Pecans, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350°F. Arrange graham squares in single layer in 15x10x1-inch baking pan.

Place butter and sugar in medium saucepan. Bring to boil on medium heat; cook 2 min. Pour over grahams; immediately spread to completely cover all grahams.

Bake 6 to 8 min. or until sugar mixture is lightly browned and bubbly. Sprinkle with chocolate chunks. Bake an additional 1 to 2 min. or until chocolate is melted. Remove from oven; immediately spread chocolate over grahams. Sprinkle with pecans; press lightly into chocolate with back of spoon. Cool completely before breaking into squares to serve.

Variations to try: Not a pecan fan? Try topping with peanuts or crushed Butterfingers... Better yet, come up with something original and submit your idea as a comment here!

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Southwest Pork Chop Rub

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Spain) — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 04:00:00 +0000

Combine and mix together the following ingredients for an excellent rub to use on grilled pork chops.

1 Tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon Tony Chachere’s
¼ teaspoon Morton’s Hot Salt
½ teaspoon garlic powder

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Kickass Chili

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Spain) — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 03:29:00 +0000

Ready for an awesome bowl of red? Give this recipe a shot. You will not be disappointed. My apologies to any and all Texans out there, in advance. I know this is far from authentic, but it's very good.

4 pounds ground beef
4 cups chopped yellow onions
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons Emeril's Southwest Essence
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons minced garlic
4 (12-ounce) bottles dark beer
2 (28-ounce) cans whole tomatoes, crushed
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon dark brown sugar
1 ounce (1 square) unsweetened chocolate
5 (15-ounce) cans mixed beans, drained and rinsed
5 chicken bullion cubes
1 tablespoon ground chipotles
2 teaspoons Morton's Hot Salt
1 teaspoon Hickory Smoked Salt

Start by browning 4 lbs of red meat. Some people like chili meat, some like steak, some like hamburger. Use whatever you want. My personal favorite is ground bison, which I'm using here.

While that's browning, get all your ingredients pre-measured, and layed out.

If you have the time and patience, you can rehydrate the chipotles in the crushed tomatos overnight. I prefer to take the easy way out and just blend them up in a coffee grinder. Whatever you do, don't use a normal food processor or chopper. It won't get fine enough, and you'll feel like you're eating sand.

Once the meat is browned and drained (draining isn't usually necessary with buffalo or game meats), add the following:

Chopped yellow onions
Chipotles
Chili powder
Ground cumin
Cayenne
Ground cinnamon
Dried oregano
Crushed red pepper
Bay leaf
Chicken bullion cubes
Hickory smoked salt

Cook until the onions soften up a bit.

Add 2 tablespoons of fresh minced garlic. Cook for a minute or two.

Add 4 bottles of dark beer, cook until foam subsides.

Add:

Crushed tomatos
Tomato paste
Kosher salt
Dark brown sugar
Unsweetened chocolate

Stir well and bring to a boil, stiring as you go. Some of that stuff (like the chocolate) can easily burn to the bottom of the pot. Reduce to a simmer, and cook for at least an hour, stirring once in a while.

While that's going on, prepare your beans (optional for Texans). 4 15oz cans should be about perfect. The type of beans doesn't really matter much. Let's face it, the chili covers any flavor the beans might bring. To be festive, I like to mix 4 different kinds. Today I used black beans, red beans, great northerns, and pintos.

Rinse and dry.

Add the beans to the chili, and simmer for an additional 30 minutes.

Serve with grated cheese or a plunk of sour cream in the middle.

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