Smoky Chili

This recipe is inspired by the chili that my Dad would make growing up. As far as I know, there was never an official recipe, so each batch would end up slightly different. This particular version uses chipotle and smoked paprika in lieu of chili powder to give an extra smokiness to the flavor.

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb. lean ground beef

1 15 oz. can dark kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 15 oz. can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
12 oz. dark beer

1 bay leaf
½ tsp. ground chipotle chile powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground smoked paprika
1 tsp. ground oregano

salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste

Instructions:

Heat a large dutch over over medium-high heat. Saute the onion and garlic until translucent, 2-3 minutes. Add the ground beef and cook until browned. Add the remainder of the ingredients and stir until the tomato paste is incorporated. Bring the chili to a boil, then turn the heat to low and cover. Simmer for at least an hour before serving.

Serving Suggestions:

Serve with one or more of the following:

• Corn Muffins
• Sour Cream
• Sharp Cheddar Cheese (cut into 1 cm cubes)

Easy Party Planning

Since we like to cook often Matt & I plan too big for parties & end up spending the whole day of the party making numerous dips. I remember one whole afternoon spend making bite size puff pastry shells & then filling them with 6 different stuffings. We end up with no time to relax before the party, though everyone always seems to love the food. For the wedding shower we through last night we decided to give ourselves a little break. Since the party was a game night we decided to create trays of finger food that we could get from the deli & salad bar of the local grocery store, giving people things they could snack on all evening.


This tray contained a nice sharp cheddar from Vermont, pickled asparagus, Italian salami, marinated mozzarella with fresh cherry tomatoes, and an olive mix.



This one had fennel sausage sliced by the deli, balsamic onions, sweet picante peppers, marinated artichoke hearts & herb de provence sausage.


The final try had a Hayley Farms' goat cheese with apricots, Spanish Serrano ham, wine and black pepper biscuits, wensleydale cheese with cranberries, chicken & pork pate with port, and a slice of Brillat-Savarin.

We just sliced a couple baguettes & everything was ready to go. I actually think this food went over better than all the dips we'd done in the past plus putting it all together was super easy.

The cookies we'd made the night before along with small tangerines were the perfect sweet.

Party Baking

Tonight we are hosting a couple shower for our friends Susi & Rob. They wanted something really laid back so we decided on a game night. For us this means lots of nice finger foods including a charcuterie tray, some nice cheeses, homemade pizza squares, olives and such. For sweets we made two different cookies.
The first is an almond bark cookie my mom served over Christmas that I loved. It is so easy to make.


Almond Bark Cookies

2 sticks unsalted butter
1/2 c sugar
1 box graham crackers
slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 375. Melt the butter & sugar together in a saucepan. Lay graham crackers out in a single layer on cookie sheets with sides. Sprinkle slivered almonds over the crackers. Drizzle the melted butter & sugar mixture over all the crackers. Bake for 8 to 9 minutes. Let cool on wax paper.

We didn't grease the pans or anything & some of our cookies stuck because of the caramelized sugar & butter, next time we'll put the silicone mat down.

The other cookie is a Chocolate & Sea Salt Cookie recipe we found on The Culinary Muse. We are currently addicted to chocolates with salt in them so this appealed to us immediately.

I took a chocolate tasting class from The Culinary Muse herself & she knows her chocolate! This recipe calls for 3 cups of dark chocolate so you know a chocolate lover wrote it. We couldn't find the Maldon salt the recipe called for anywhere in town (though it is available on Amazon & igourmet)
so we substituted this salt we found at Whole Foods & I think it worked just fine. I think maybe next time I'd cut back on the amount of walnuts as I found their flavor a little too strong but that's just me. Matt liked the texture they add.

We'll be serving the cookies in my favorite bowl, the pig bowl from Napa Style. Who could resist anything this little guy is offering?

Favorite things - indoor grilling

Last night's dinner made me think about how I always thought living in an apartment with no outdoor space limited your opportunities to grill until Matt introduced me to the joy of the grill pan. Yes, this doesn't give you the same flavor as grilling over charcoal or wood but it still has a lot of the healthy advantages of grilling & the flavor can be great. We have a big cast iron grill pan but its so heavy & so hard to clean I was never happy using it. Then we got our Calphalon Grill Pan which is non-stick & cleans up so much easier (it still takes a little scrubbing but nothing like the cast iron which we'll keep for camping).

We find it perfect for steak, chicken, burgers & vegetables. I can't imagine not having one now. At only $39.99 this pan has been worth a lot more than its price to us.

A good indoor grilled steak is even better with a great marinade & we love this one from Viansa Winery.

Its best when the steak has marinaded in it all day & takes on its rich red wine flavor. Plus when we run out we have to make a trip to Sonoma to get more, bummer.

Perfecting the Pizza

After many so-so tries & recently resorting to Pillsbury crust in the tube, Matt was inspired by pizza articles in both Food & Wine and Bon Appetite. Here's my little photo diary of the process. It takes some planning since the dough needs to rise overnight (and it makes enough for 4 pizzas) but this was probably one of the best pizzas we've ever made. Loved the raw tomato sauce too. Perfect pizza recipes from Food & Wine.

the night before

mix up the dough

into the fridge overnight

the day of

one pizza's worth resting for an hour

on to the sauce



add the topping & ready for the oven

the yummy results