PUMPKIN CARVING NIGHT: Beef and Pork Chili

Ever since I was a little kid, I have loved carving pumpkins. Every October we’d pick out pumpkins as a family and carve them with dad, while mom helped with clean up and roasting the seeds. Missing the tradition in college, Chris and I started having my family over for an annual pumpkin carving night in 2006, the fall after I graduated. This year I wanted to make a home-cooked dinner that could be prepared ahead of time and would be easy to serve to a group: chili and cornbread!

I found the following chili recipe on foodnetwork.com, and it was a homerun. It's packed with flavor and has the perfect kick of spice at the end of every bite. It has everything from bacon and beer, to bell peppers, beans, beef and pork. With a squeeze of lime, sour cream, cheddar cheese and green onions to top it off-- well it's over the top :) It was a crowd-pleaser at our house. Hope it is at yours!

PAT'S FAMOUS BEEF AND PORK CHILI

recipe from The Neelys, www.foodnetwork.com

serves 6-8

2 hours

Ingredients:

• 6 slices thick-cut applewood smoked bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 medium onions, finely chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon chipotle chili powder
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound 85 percent lean ground beef
• 1 pound ground pork
• 1 cup beer (recommended: Budweiser)
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (24-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (24-ounce) can diced tomatoes, with juice
• Lime wedges, for garnish
• Sour cream, for garnish
• Shredded Cheddar, for garnish
• Sliced scallions, for garnish

Method:

In large heavy-bottomed Dutch oven, cook the bacon over medium heat until lightly crisp, stirring occasionally. Once the bacon is browned, add the garlic, onions, bell peppers, chili powder, cumin, chipotle chili powder, oregano, and smoked paprika and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook until the vegetables are tender and seasonings are aromatic. Add the beef and break it up with a wooden spoon. Once beef is broken up and beginning to brown, add the pork. Break up with wooden spoon like the beef, and brown, until no longer pink, roughly 4 minutes. Stir in the beer and beans. Toss together, then add the crushed and diced tomatoes. Turn the heat down to low and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper, if necessary. Transfer the chili to serving bowls and garnish with lime wedges, sour cream, shredded cheese, and sliced scallions.

FALL DINNERS: Roasted Pork with Smoky Red Pepper Sauce

Another Saturday night in, another new recipe to try. Chris and I like pork every now and then and had chops in our freezer. Looking for inspiration for a new pork recipe, I went back to a recorded episode of "Giada at Home" that has been waiting for me on my DVR. With most of the ingredients already in the fridge and pantry, we decided to try her Roasted Pork with Smoky Red Pepper Sauce. It sounded like a good hearty dish for a rainy fall night, and let's be honest it- I was super excited to use my Cuisinart hand-blender for the first time.

I paired the pork dish with sweet potatoes to offset it's smoky, pepper flavors, which turned out to be a great compliment. I would definitely recommend it. I just baked the sweet potatoes straight on the metal rack in the oven, alongside the pork. For the vegetable, I made the Brussels blogged about in July.

What I learned:
- The red pepper sauce requires a good amount of salt and black pepper. I seasoned pretty conservatively while making the sauce (not sticking to her measurements), so we had to add it on the plate. More salt made a big difference in how much we enjoyed the pork.
-We used pork chops, because that's what we already had on hand. I would suggest following Giada's recommendation for using pork tenderloin, since thinner slices of meat would be a bit more moist, and tenderloin tends to be more flavorful in my experience. I'll do that next time :)
-I'm not a huge fan of parsley, so I skipped it as a garnish. While I didn't try it this time, I think basil would be a great alternative.

If you're looking to change up your pork routine and like bell peppers, this tasty dish has a unique smoky flavor I think you'll enjoy.


ROASTED PORK WITH SMOKY RED PEPPER SAUCE
recipe from Giada De Laurentiis, www.foodnetwork.com
serves 4-6

Ingredients:

Pork:

• 3 (1-pound) pork tenderloins, trimmed
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Sauce:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 medium red bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 medium yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 medium orange bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced into 1/2-inch pieces
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• Kosher salt for seasoning, plus 2 tablespoons
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/4 cups red wine, such as Syrah or Cabernet Sauvignon
• 2 1/2 tablespoons smoked paprika
• 1 (15-ounce) can tomato puree
• 1 dried bay leaf
• 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Method:

Pork: Put an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Rub 1 tablespoon of the oil over the pork and season with salt and pepper, to taste. In a large skillet or Dutch oven, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil over high heat. Add the pork and brown it on all sides, about 8 minutes. Transfer the pork to a 13 by 9 by 2-inch glass baking dish. Roast it until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the pork registers 165 degrees F, about 25 to 30 minutes. Allow the pork to rest for 10 minutes on a cutting board.

Sauce: In the same skillet used for the pork, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, peppers and garlic and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook, stirring frequently until softened, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the wine and cook for 2 minutes, scraping up the brown bits that cling to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Stir in the paprika, tomato puree and the bay leaf. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the sauce thickens, about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and transfer the mixture to a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth. Season with 2 tablespoons salt and pepper, to taste.

Slice the pork thinly and arrange on a platter. Spoon the sauce on top, garnish with chopped parsley and serve.

COMFORT FOOD, PART II: Coq Au Vin

Chris was sick last week, and I was being careful not to catch his bug or the germs my little second graders carry... so we settled into a weekend at home free of any plans. After large amounts of vitamin C and liquids, sleeping in, impromptu naps and lots of couch time, we were needing more than rest to feel better. We were craving a really good dinner.

It's times like those when we're under the weather, have chilly weather or are just in a funk, comfort food is all that will do. Something that we always had as a kid, an all-time favorite splurge meal or food we only manage to eat every once in while are the only things we seem to want to eat. Lounging around, I could only think about a French dish my uncle recently reminded me of: the delicious French "Coq Au Vin".

I hadn't had this decadent chicken dinner since we spent Christmas in Paris in 2008, nor had I ever attempted to make it myself. With nothing to do but plan for, shop for and cook dinner for our night in, it was on...

Let me start the recipe-talk by saying that Coq Au Vin (and most French food for that matter) isn't something you try to make healthy. It calls for bacon, bone-in chicken, a little butter and oil. This is comfort food... Go for it! You don't eat it everyday :) I've adapted the recipe below based on the following things I learned while making Coq Au Vin:

-The breast meat wasn't nearly as flavorful as the legs. It also lacked moisture. In the future I'll use thighs and legs.
-I'm not a huge fan of small whole onions. I prefer caramelized, sliced onions. I've changed the recipe to double the sliced onion and skip the frozen small whole onions altogether.
-I paired the chicken dish with mashed Yukon gold potatoes, which I boiled in the leftover chicken stock for added flavor. The buttery texture of the potatoes (without having to add actual butter) and simple seasoning of salt and pepper were a perfect compliment!


COQ AU VIN (Chicken Cooked with Wine)
recipe adapted from Ina Garten, www.foodnetwork.com
serves 3-5

Ingredients:
nocoupons

• good olive oil (~2 tablespoons)
  
• 4 ounces good bacon or pancetta, diced
• ~4 thighs and 4 legs
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 pound carrots, cut diagonally in 1-inch pieces
• 1 yellow onions, sliced (double if desired-- I haven't tried it this way yet)
  
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
• 1/4 cup Cognac or good brandy
• 1/2 bottle (375 ml) good dry red wine such as Burgundy (I used a French Pinot Noir)
• 1 cup good chicken stock
• 10 fresh thyme sprig
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, divided
• 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 pound cremini mushrooms, stems removed and thickly sliced

Method:

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven. Add the bacon and cook over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove the bacon to a plate with a slotted spoon.

Meanwhile, lay the chicken out on paper towels and pat dry. Liberally sprinkle the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. When the bacon is removed, brown the chicken pieces in batches in a single layer for about 5 minutes, turning to brown evenly. Remove the chicken to the plate with the bacon and continue to brown until all the chicken is done. Set aside.

Add the carrots, onions, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper to the pan and cook over medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the Cognac and put the bacon, chicken, and any juices that collected on the plate into the pot. Add the wine, chicken stock, and thyme and bring to a simmer. Cover the pot with a tight fitting lid and place in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is just not pink. Remove from the oven and place on top of the stove.

Mash 1 tablespoon of butter and the flour together and stir into the stew. In a medium saute pan, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and cook the mushrooms over medium-low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, until browned. Add to the stew. Bring the stew to a simmer and cook for another 10 minutes. Season to taste. Serve hot (over those mashed Yukon gold potatoes I mentioned!).

My curious kitchen assistant

COMFORT FOOD, PART I: Blueberry Scones with Lemon Glaze

Food = Comfort. When I'm not sure what I can do for someone or even say to someone when the words aren't there, I cook or bake. In my family, it's just what we do... Food is our way to say "I'm thinking of you."

Recently, when I wanted to say just that, I went back to a delicious scone recipe I tried a year or two ago that I remembered to be fairly easy to make. The scones are a perfect combination of sweet and tart, with blueberries in the dough and a lemon glaze on top. Having a pastry blender makes this recipe a snap, but forks could work, as well. I chose to make many more scones than the recipe suggested by cutting the dough into more pieces, but you can choose to make larger scones if you like. For a great finishing touch and sweet crunch, I sprinkle raw sugar on the scones before baking. I hope you enjoy them-- or someone you care about does :)


BLUEBERRY SCONES WITH LEMON GLAZE
recipe adapted from Tyler Florence, www.foodnetwork.com
makes 8 large scones or 16 petite scones

Ingredients:
Blueberry Scones:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut in chunks
• 1 cup heavy cream, plus more for brushing the scones
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• raw sugar crystals for sprinkling
  

Lemon Glaze:

• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 1 lemon, zest finely grated
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Method:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Sift together the dry ingredients; the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Using 2 forks or a pastry blender, cut in the butter to coat the pieces with the flour. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center and pour in the heavy cream. Fold everything together just to incorporate; do not overwork the dough. Fold the blueberries into the batter. Take care not to mash or bruise the blueberries because their strong color will bleed into the dough.

Press the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle about 12 by 3 by 1 1/4 inches. Cut the rectangle in 1/2 then cut the pieces in 1/2 again, giving you 4 (3-inch) squares. Cut the squares in 1/2 on a diagonal to give you the classic triangle shape. Repeat for smaller scones.

Place the scones on an ungreased cookie sheet. Brush the tops with a little heavy cream and sprinkle with raw sugar crystals. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until beautiful and brown. Let the scones cool a bit before you apply the glaze.

Mix the lemon juice and confectioners' sugar together in a microwave-safe bowl. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the lemon zest and butter. Microwave it for 30 seconds on high. Whisk the glaze to smooth out any lumps, then drizzle the glaze over the top of the scones. Let it set a minute before serving.