Category Archives: Eating

Chomp it up.

Eating

Another chili recipe

This is hot, but tasty. I’ll cut back to one chipotle pepper next time.

Alton Brown’s Pressure Cooker Chili
3 pounds stew meat (beef, pork, and/or lamb)
2 teaspoons peanut oil
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 (12-ounce) bottle of beer, preferably a medium ale
1 (16-ounce) container salsa
30 tortilla chips
2 chipotle peppers canned in adobo sauce, chopped
1 tablespoon adobo sauce (from the chipotle peppers in adobo)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin

Place the meat in a large mixing bowl and toss with the peanut oil and salt. Set aside.

Heat a 6-quart heavy-bottomed pressure cooker over high heat until hot. Add the meat in 3 or 4 batches and brown on all sides, approximately 2 minutes per batch. Once each batch is browned, place the meat in a clean large bowl.

Once all of the meat is browned, add the beer to the cooker to deglaze the pot.
Scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Add the meat back to the pressure cooker along with the salsa, tortilla chips, chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, tomato paste, chili powder, and ground cumin and stir to combine. Lock the lid in place according to the manufacturer’s instructions. When the steam begins to hiss out of the cooker, reduce the heat to low, just enough to maintain a very weak whistle. Cook for 25 minutes. Remove from the heat and carefully release the steam. Serve immediately.

menu plan Monday

Menu Plan Monday: Now with recipes!

Monday: Crispy Garlic Chicken
This is a very easy recipe, and the end result is delicious. We rarely ever have it, though, because it has to marinate for at least four hours and I always forget to start it. But not today! I’m going to do it as soon as I’m finished here.

Crispy Garlic Chicken
1 egg yolk
6 cloves garlic, chopped
4 chicken breast halves
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons butter
1 cup dry bread crumbs
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon ground black pepper

In a glass dish, beat egg yolk with garlic. Place chicken in egg mixture, turning to coat. Cover dish and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Melt butter and pour into the bottom of a baking dish.

Mix together bread crumbs, Parmesan, parsley, garlic powder, salt and pepper, and coat chicken with mixture.

Place coated chicken in baking dish. Pour remaining egg mixture over chicken.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes on each side or until chicken is no longer pink.

Tuesday: Chicken Enchilada Soup
I love Cugino’s chicken enchilada soup mix. It’s pricey, though, so I only buy it when Big Lots has it in stock.

Wednesday: Hot Dogs
Because we’re fancy.

Thursday: Sweet Potato Risotto
This is another good recipe that I don’t think I’ve shared here. I have some frozen, cubed sweet potatoes in the freezer, which will speed the prep up a bit.

Sweet Potato Risotto
3 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 large onion, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
1 cup white wine
Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste

Bring stock to a simmer in a medium saucepan.

In a large stockpot, sauté onion, garlic and sweet potato until onion is translucent. Cover, turn heat down and cook five minutes.

Turn heat to medium high and add rice to sweet potato mixture. Stir to coat rice with oil. Add a little oil if needed.

Add wine to rice and stir until it’s absorbed.

Add stock to rice a half cup at a time, stirring until absorbed with each addition. This step will take about half an hour. Do not stop stirring.

Remove from heat and stir in Parmesan, salt and pepper.

Friday: Pizza
Someday I’ll make something other than pepperoni-and-pineapple pizza on Friday night. But not this week.

Eating

Our Thanksgiving menu

I love Thanksgiving. It’s all about food and family, without the pressure of the gift exchange. In years past, I’ve prepared my Thanksgiving menus at least a month in advance. I’d send a few menu options out to our guests (Rockford’s parents) and let them vote on which they’d like. (My father-in-law inevitably wanting to mix-and-match the offerings.)

This year, though, I had other things on my mind leading up to today’s festivities. As such, I didn’t prepare a menu at all. My mother-in-law and I tossed some ideas around earlier this week, and our menu sort of just shaped itself.

And here it is:

  • All natural, hormone-free turkey with hand-crafted gravy.
  • Traditional sage-sourdough stuffing.
  • Sweet potato souffle crowned with buttery-crisp pecans.
  • Pomme de terre cuite au four.
  • Buttery green peas.
  • Pear butter pumpkin pie.

    My sister-in-law apparently had no trouble coming up with a menu this year. She also apparently has a team of sous-chefs at her service. Over-achiever.