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Boilermaker Chili+

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds ground beef 80% lean
  • 1 pound bulk hot Italian sausage
  • 2 (15 ounce) cans medium spiced Bush’s chili beans
  • 2 (15 ounce) can hot spiced Bush’s chili beans
  • 2 (28 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with juice
  • 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
  • 2 large yellow onions, chopped
  • 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
  • 1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped
  • 2 green jalapeno peppers, partially seeded and chopped
  • 3 strips of cooked bacon, finely chopped
  • 4 cubes beef bouillon
  • 1 cup beer
  • 1/3 cup chili powder
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce (green chile habanero)
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 Tbsp white sugar
  • 1 (10.5 ounce) bag corn chips such as Fritos(R)
  • 1 (8 ounce) package shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

  1. Heat a large (8-10 qt) stock pot over medium-high heat. Crumble the ground chuck and sausage into the hot pan, and cook until evenly browned. Drain off excess grease.
  2. Pour in the chili beans, spicy chili beans, diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Add the onion, bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, bacon bits, bouillon, and beer. Season with chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, oregano, cumin, hot pepper sauce, basil, pepper, cayenne, paprika, and sugar. Stir to blend, then cover and simmer over low heat for at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
  3. After 2 hours, taste, and adjust salt, pepper, and chili powder if necessary. The longer the chili simmers, the better it will taste. Remove from heat and serve, or refrigerate, and serve the next day.
  4. To serve, ladle into bowls, and top with corn chips and shredded Cheddar cheese.

This makes a LOT of chili. You could halve it and still have plenty.  This yields a pleasantly spicy chili, but could be made hotter as desired. You can modulate that by the amount of seeds retained from the jalapeno and the amount of cayenne and/or hot pepper sauce used.

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Seared Porterhouse with Oozing Maitre d’ Butter+

Total Time: 1 hr 5 min
Prep: 15 min
Inactive: 10 min
Cook: 40 min

Yield:
2 to 4 servings

Ingredients

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus 8 additional tablespoons, softened
1 cup minced shallots
Coarse sea salt
2 teaspoons green peppercorns
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice, plus a “few grates” lemon zest
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley leaves
2 porterhouse steak, about 2 1/2 pounds and about 2 1/2 inches thick
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Directions

Make the butter: In a medium saute pan, heat 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat, then add the shallots. Season with salt, to taste, and cook until they are translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer the shallots to a medium bowl. Add the green peppercorns, mustard, lemon juice, lemon zest and Worcestershire sauce. Whisk to blend so all of the flavors start to meld together. Use a fork to blend in the other 8 tablespoons of butter. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and stir in the parsley.

Roll the butter into a cylinder (like cookie dough) in plastic wrap or parchment pepper and refrigerate until ready to use.

Cook the steak: Heat a cast iron skillet large enough to hold the steak until it begins to visibly smoke. Use a kitchen towel to “blot” any excess moisture from both sides of the steak and season with salt and pepper. Shut the heat off underneath the skillet and use a pair of tongs to put the steak squarely in the pan. Raise the heat high and brown on the first side, 3 to 5 minutes. Resist the temptation to move it as it cooks. Lower the heat and cook for an additional 8 to 10 minutes. Turn it on its second side and brown for 3 to 5 minutes. Lower the heat and cook for an additional 8 to 10 minutes. Turn the steak on the edge with the fat “cap” and brown that for 3 to 5 minutes. Lower the heat and allow the steak to cook for an additional 3 to 5 minutes on each side. Slice the maitre d’ butter into1/2-inch rounds and set aside.

Testing for doneness: The simplest way to check for doneness is to make a small incision by the center bone in the thickest part of the steak. It should be a little less cooked than you would like to allow for “carry over” cooking and the “finishing” touch of running the steak under the broiler. For rare, a 2 1/2-inch porterhouse steak should take around 30 to 35 minutes to cook. Add about 4 minutes for medium-rare and 4 additional for medium. If using an instant-read thermometer, rare registers between 125 and 130 degrees F. For medium-rare, 130 to 135 degrees F and between 135 and 140 degrees F for medium.

Remove the steak from the pan to a cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes. Cut into slices and transfer the whole thing to a heatproof platter with the meat still arranged around each side of the center bone. Top the steak with a single layer of the butter slices, put it under the broiler until the butter softens, about 30 to 45 seconds. Serve immediately.

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Shrimp with Spicy Roasted Red Pepper Cream Sauce

8 oz spaghetti (or other pasta)

8 oz roasted red peppers, drained

4 oz 1/3-less-fat cream cheese

1/2 cup low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth

minced garlic to taste (1/4 cup?)

1 to 1-1/4 pounds peeled cooked shrimp

red pepper flakes to taste

cayenne pepper to taste

1/2 cup chopped parsley

grated parmesan cheese to taste (1/2 cup?)

 

Cook pasta to end coincident with cream sauce.

 

Place the red peppers, cream cheese, broth and garlic in a food processor and process until smooth, scraping down the sides as necessary. Pour mixture into a large skillet.

 

Cook sauce mixture over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring often, until thoroughly heated.

 

Add shrimp, crushed pepper flakes and cayenne and cook 3-5 minutes until thoroughly heated.

 

Remove from heat and pour over hot pasta. Sprinkle with parsley and parmesan and serve.

 

Serves 4.

 

 

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Spanish Potato and Spinach Tortilla with Red Pepper Sauce+

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup bottled roasted red bell peppers (about 3 ounces), rinsed and drained
  • 1 tablespoon dry-roasted almonds, coarsely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 8 ounces red potatoes (about 2 medium), cut into (1/8-inch-thick) slices
  • optional: add 1/2 c thinly sliced onions and 1/2 c thinly sliced mushrooms
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 tablespoons half-and-half
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 6 large eggs
  • 2 large egg whites
  • 2 cups baby spinach leaves
  • 1/2 – 1 cup shredded asiago or other dry cheese

Preparation

1. Preheat broiler to high.

2. Combine bell peppers, almonds, 1 tablespoon oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, red pepper, and garlic in a food processor; pulse until smooth. Set aside.

3. Combine the potatoes and 1 cup water in a skillet over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 4 minutes or until potatoes are just tender. Drain.  Don’t overcook because they will have a chance to brown later.

4. Combine half-and-half, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, black pepper, eggs, and egg whites in a medium bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Heat a 10-inch ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add potatoes to pan; sauté 4 minutes or until browned. Add spinach; sauté for 1 minute or until spinach wilts. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add egg mixture to pan; cover and cook for 4 minutes, gently shaking pan occasionally. Sprinkle the cheese on top and broil tortilla 4 minutes or until top is lightly browned and center is set. Cool slightly; serve with red pepper sauce.

Nutritional Information (doesn’t include the cheese which I added)

Amount per serving

  • Calories 246
  • Fat 16 g
  • Satfat 3.9 g
  • Monofat 8.6 g
  • Polyfat 2 g
  • Protein 13.3 g
  • Carbohydrate 13.1 g
  • Fiber 1.9 g
  • Cholesterol 282 mg
  • Iron 2.4 mg
  • Sodium 579 mg
  • Calcium 71 mg

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Duck Breasts with Blackberry-Port Sauce+

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 4 (6-ounce) boneless duck breast halves, skinned
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
  • 1 1/2 cups blackberries
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
  • 1/2 cup port or other sweet red wine
  • 3/4 cup unsalted chicken stock (such as Swanson)
  • 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

Preparation

1. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Sprinkle duck with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add duck to pan; cook 3 minutes or until browned. Turn duck over; cook 3 minutes or until desired degree of doneness. Remove duck from pan; let stand 5 minutes.

2. Add blackberries, shallots, and thyme to pan; sauté 2 minutes or until slightly softened. Add port; cook 1 minute or until syrupy. Add stock and any juices from duck; cook 5 minutes or until thickened and reduced to about 1/2 cup. Stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and vinegar. Cut duck across grain into thin slices; serve with sauce.

Nutritional Information

Amount per serving

  • Calories: 227
  • Fat: 7.6g
  • Saturated fat: 1.7g
  • Monounsaturated fat: 3.6g
  • Polyunsaturated fat: 1.1g
  • Protein: 20g
  • Carbohydrate: 11g
  • Fiber: 3g
  • Cholesterol: 71mg
  • Iron: 5mg
  • Sodium: 441mg
  • Calcium: 32mg
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Lamb Meatballs over Apricot Couscous+

Meatballs:

  • 1 lb ground lamb
  • 1/2 c bread crumbs
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 Tbsp Persian Lime Curry Rub spice mix from Oaktown Spice Shop

Couscous

  • 2 c chicken broth
  • 1 c Israeli couscous
  • 1/3 c dried apricots, chopped
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 2 Tbsp orange juice
  • 1/ tsp cinnamon
  • Bag of spinach leaves
  • 1/2 c cashew pieces

Preheat oven to 450.  Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with foil, set a wire rack on baking sheet and mist rack with cooking spray.  Combine meatball ingredients in a large bowl.  Mix gently but thoroughly with your hands.  Form 1 1/2″ balls; place on rack.  Bake meatballs until just cooked through – 12-14 minutes.

While meatballs are baking, toast Israeli couscous in 1 tsp oil over medium-high heat till popping and light brown.  Add chicken broth, bring to a boil, then cover and lower heat to simmer.  Mix apricots, olive oil, orange juice and cinnamon in a prep bowl; set aside.  When couscous is cooked (10-15 min), toss in apricot mixture and fluff couscous.

Place spinach in bottom of bowl, top with couscous, sprinkle with cashews; add meatballs (4-5) and serve.

Serves 4-6

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Barbecue Salmon and Snap Pea Slaw

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons dark sesame oil, divided
  • 3 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 (1/2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • 2 tablespoons lower-sodium soy sauce
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons ketchup
  • 2 teaspoons dark brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon sambal oelek (ground fresh chile paste, such as Huy Fong)
  • 4 (6-ounce) fresh or frozen sustainable salmon fillets (such as wild Alaskan), thawed
  • Cooking spray
  • 2 cups sugar snap peas, trimmed and thinly sliced crosswise
  • 1/2 cup grated radishes
  • 1/4 cup very thinly vertically sliced shallots
  • 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Preparation

1. Preheat the grill to high heat.

2. Combine 1 tablespoon oil, garlic, and ginger in a mini food processor; pulse until finely chopped. Add juice and next 4 ingredients (through chile paste); pulse to combine. Place salmon on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; brush tops of salmon with half of sauce. Grill 10 minutes; brush with remaining sauce. Grill an additional 10 minutes or until desired degree of doneness.

3. Combine peas, radishes, and shallots. Combine vinegar and remaining 1 tablespoon oil, stirring well; drizzle over pea mixture. Sprinkle with salt; toss. Serve with salmon.

Yield: serves 4 (1 fillet and 3/4 c slaw)

Nutritional Information

Amount per serving
  • Calories: 268
  • Fat: 11.4g
  • Protein: 27.8g
  • Carbohydrate: 12.7g
  • Fiber: 1.8g