"Big Red" Chili with Brisket and Pinto Beans

There are days when you wake up feeling like a true, creative original.   When they strike, nothing you do will seem derivative or reek of cliché.  You are inspired!  You wake up to start your day by putting together an outfit for yourself that has that certain je nes c'est quoi communicating the one-of-a-kind energy you radiate.   That fantastic tune you hum while shaving won't even be anything you have heard before. Your making it up as you go!  Could a Grammy be in my future?   And, as you post away on Facebook and Twitter you won't even have to rely on Rumi or Oscar Wilde for the oh-so-clever yet drippingly poignant bon mots.   There will be no retweeting for you today! 

Best of all, if you are lucky enough to be at the farmer's market on one of these electric mornings you can't help it but  but be inspired to create all manner of unique flavor combinations when you discover some new and obtuse vegetable nobody else has even heard of yet.   Watermelon radishes?  Fingerlimes? Can I put bacon on or in it?  You won't even see the man selling Kale and you certainly won't be tempted to dump everything you find onto an artisan pizza or toss it with some variety of infant lettuce picked before it has a chance at a full life. That would be just  too cliché for you and jumping on food fads isn't for you.  Not today anyway.

Today, as you can see, I wasn't having one of these days.

No sirree.  Instead I awoke this cold rainy morning  and the first thing I thought was "today is a good day to make some chili."   (Did I hear you hipsters groan?)

I blog about it even though understand that the internet needs another chili recipe like Youtube needs another cute cat video or my kitchen needs another piece of All Clad.  (That casserole/brasier does looks pretty cool however!)    If you Google "chili recipe" you will get over 30 million hits.  Take your pick as I will bet you most of them are quite good and more than few of them could even be considered great.   Some may even be unique although this is an adjective I am not really looking for when I set out to make chili and this one isn't, even if I have to say it is pretty damn good and it certainly does the trick this rainy day.  Even if making it on one is cliché.


No matter. All of the adjectives I had set out to use to describe this chili sound cliché once I put them into sentances anyway. Yeah, it is spicy, but not too spicy.  Its multiple ingredients all simmer for hours to become one mighty fine entree serving up both a discernible complexity and a singular depth.  (Ha!) This is, after all, what a good chili is supposed to do, right?  All while being tomatoey.  And yes, the house does smell amazing while it cooks on the stove for hours.  Just seeing it here on the blog I could lick my screen.

I was thinking of titling this post "Texas Red Chili with Beans" because I do think it fun to see Texans foam at the mouth when you deign to suggest that chili should have beans in it.  I giggled with glee reading the fallout from The Barefoot Contessa featuring Devon Frederick's "award winning" Tex Mex Chili containing not only 2 cans of kidney beans but, gasp, basil instead of cilantro.     Where does Ina go from here? Manhattan Clam Chowder with cream?

Nonetheless, Texans inflicted Rick Perry on us for a few months recently so I think it only deserved that we get to question their judgement on other matters as well. We can put some beans in our chili if we want to Rick!  So, reluctantly I decided not to go there with this post as even now,this discussion seems, yes, cliché.  (Thanks Ina. )

Whatever it is, this chili is fantastic and all this dish's many clichés will apply to it.  The recipe comes from my most recent cookbook acquisition "Two Dudes One Pan" which was recommended to me by my good blogger-friend Nathan Hazard.  (He of The Table Set podcast fame which is a good listen by the way if you are not already a fan.)  The book itself is not new but its recipes are timeless (this means cliché but in a good way) and their preparation, being limited to one pan, is certainly appealing.  It's very rare that I thumb through a cookbook where just about every recipe calls out to my personal cooking aesthetic so you will be seeing more from it here soon.   

Or maybe I'll just be inspired by it...when I'm having one of those days.


Big Red Chili w/Brisket and Pinto Beans
Adapted from Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo's "Two Dudes One Pan"

 

 

Haiku: M. Jacques' Armagnac Chicken

Chicken in a pot

A meal everyone should know.

Dorie does many.

As far as they go,

"Les paresseux" is better.

Still, this was tasty.

Skin needed broiling.

"Admire the brown chicken!"

(Who was she kidding?)

M. Jacques' Armagnac Chicken
Recipe found here at New York Times

I never feel more like a cook than when I'm preparing a simple roasted chicken.   Its a good thing as  have never made a roasted chicken that I didn't like.  Some are better than others but all of them are good.  So, I was not surprised to find that this one was quite tasty even though I wished it looked a bit better.   A quick trip under the broiler saved the day as far as its 'curb appeal' goes otherwise I would not have brought it to the table.    (Did Dorie test this recipe? )

The armagnac is certainly a beguiling ingredient.  It gives this informal dish a somewhat curious elegant flavor.

Leave your comments in haiku for extra love!

Bourbon Time! The Horse's Neck Cocktail.

Am I too late to post a New Year's Resolution?  

I am going to do it but please don't hold my tardiness against me -- Its not like I resolved to be more timely in 2012, did I?  No, I certainly wouldn't do something as futile as that.   No, when it comes to resolutions I am much more sensible.  

I never used to be a NewYear's Resolution type.  I find it much too depressing when I can't hang onto them very long.  Why do we find the need to make them so challenging?

My attitude changed a couple of years ago when I finaly learned the secret to resolution success:  just make easier resolutions.    From now on there will be none of these impossible "lose 20 pounds" resolutions or "don't spend any more than $100 a month on clothes" resolutions for me.    

Why should we resolve to "run a mile on the treadmill every night after work for an entire year "when we can just as easily resolve to "eat one cupcake a week during 2012"?  

Clearly, a high success rate is all about setting realistic, easy to achieve goals.  If Tony Robbins is right and we have all the personal power to be a successful goal-smashing machines then I'm quite certain the one key factor affecting our success rate is simply to choose realistic goals.

You're welcome.    Do you think I should be a motivational speaker? It is so damn obvious I feel sort of foolish that it took me decades to figure it out.  

You must be thinking, "Hey, Sis Boom, so what did you resolve for yourself this New Year?"

Fair enough:

 I resolve to drink more cocktails in 2012.  

There.  See how easy it that is?  I bet you are filling silly for resolving in 2112 to save more money.  I'm quite sure I can handle this one.  You should feel free to use it if you have not yet thought of anything for yourself.

Yes, I am resolving to practice more mixology in 2012.  What?  Were you assuming I was pledging to consume a higher quantity of alcohol?   Nope.  I'm talking quality, people.   2011 was a lazy year for me when it came to getting creative at the bar and mixing up the drinks.  Unfortunately, more often than not when I felt the desire (um, need) to imbibe I would simply pop the cork off a bottle of chardonnay and call it a night.    What a waste.

It is pretty damn easy to bust out the mixing glass and conjure up a decent cocktail so there is no good excuse for defaulting to a glass of wine every night.   This cocktail, The Horse's Neck, is as easy it as it gets.  In fact, you have probably been drinking it for years.   Or something close to it.   Sort of.

There is no better marriage between liquor and mixer than there is when bourbon weds a good ginger ale.  Yeah, gin and tonic is god but if you have ever had a bourbon and ginger you know what I am saying.   And if you have experienced this mixture you nearly had a Horse's Neck for all you have to do to take the ordinary mixed drink and elevate it to cocktail status is add bitters and a distinctive garnish.  

The long, winding coil of a garnish is what supposedly gives this cocktail its name.   Originally intended to be a non alcoholic drink akin to a Shirley Temple, someone finally came to their senses around 1910 and poured some bourbon in it.   Perhaps they resolved in 1910 to drink more bourbon?

I hope all your resolutions for 2012 are as easy to achieve.  

The Horse's Neck Cocktail
Makes 1 drink

Haiku: Cauliflower Gratin with Bacon and Eggs

"Cauliflower Gratin" for French Friday's with Dorie: Haiku Version.

Oh cauliflower!

Formerly I showed no love.

Now you really rock.

What is in a name?

I think Dorie got this wrong.

"Gratin"? I think not. 

Not really a 'side'!

Make a chic lunch out of it.

Good for any meal.

My late French Fridays.

Some things may never change...sigh.

Any Haiku comments? 

Cauliflower Gratin

adapted from Dorie Greenspan

The Thing You Missed in 2011!

Like most of you today, I'm feeling somewhat reflective on the previous year.  We can hardly be blamed for feeling this way since the media inundates us this week each year with year-end roundups, death lists and several other segments each designed to have us looking back to wonder how it all passed so quickly.  

I tried not to treat today any differently from any other but I'm weak and I gave in to the ritual and took a brief look at the past year here at Sis. Boom. blog!

Food bloggers usually save their yearly roundups for their 'blogoversaries', their blog's birthday, and I am no exception.  This post, however,  is not  about the highlights.  Those annual reflection posts  are the times we sit back (with a glass of chardonnay if we do it right) and wax poetic on our interesting accomplishments, our  challenges, the new friends and cooking groups we made, and stuff like that there.  

To be different I thought I would take a look at the posts of 2011 that for some reason or another failed to get an audience.    I really can't tell you why some posts just went off into the ether but they do.   None of the posts below are posts I would have guessed would garner no love.  While some may have gotten a comment or three they actually hardly made a ripple in my blog stats.  

Perhaps it had to do with the timing of the post itself?  Or maybe they weren't written with enough SEO dohickeys in the text -- because I don't know how to do that.  (Truthfully, I don't want to worry about SEO anyway.  Bloggers don't have a chance against Epicurious and the others anymore.)

I love these losers as much as I love all my children, however, so I'm going to give them just on more chance at your adulation before I pack them in to dive into the new year with its new cooking adventures.  (Please do check out my authentic Chinese Chicken Salad post before you move into 2012 with me.    It is craving love too but  I disqualified it since its only been up two days.)

So without further explanation, these are the least viewed Sis. Boom. blog! posts of 2011:


Lamb Tagine with Chickpeas and Apricots 

I guess I was a bit confused over the rules for "Wordless Wednesdays" posts.  Can I help it if some dishes just give me a lot to say? This dish had me running at the mouse to tell you about my Aunt Christine and her bitter, angry fifth ex-husband and a lamb I once knew named Talulah.  (No relation to the tagine.)

Bison Burger

My husband brought home bison thinking it was French hamburger.  (Pronounced "beece- AWE").   The cabernet onions were the real takeaway from this one.

Thai Pork Lettuce Wraps


Frequent travel and hotel food had me craving these low cal wraps when I returned home.  I can usually count on low cal foods being traffic losers.

Rustic Swiss Chard Tart

This post had an embedded Christmas Present for all who read it.   Did you read it and get your gift?  Food Gawker rejected this photo!  

Rhubarb Parfait

An annual confection I make every year when rhubarb is in season.  These were packed up in mason jars for a picnic.    The topping is not just whipped cream and its absolutely worth the extra time when everyone gushes about it.

Mojito Melon Skewers

This dish teaches the lesson that sometimes it is the simplest of recipes that can have a disproportionate positive reaction by your guests.   I was kind of embarrassed at the attention these got when I brought them to an afternoon outdoor lunch.  

These came from from Matt Armandariz’ new book“On a Stick” which I reviewed here.   

Pastitsio


I don't know a lot about Greek food but if its as good as this I have some more culinary studying to do.  This post was an entry into a contest that was to net an actual trip to Greece.  Stay tuned!  (I just hope the contest isn't measuring traffic stats!)

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars

I brought these to a very non-American type picnic where they sat uneaten but not unappreciated.  The culinary culture clash was explained in the post...

Zinger Blended Iced Tea

Urbanite actually picked up this post about my favorite "cocktail" -- something I make and drink all year 'round since it is calorie free.   All two of their readers came over to read it.    I had writer's block that day but  my readers had "Sis Boom Block" and never came by to read this one.

Lime Marscapone Sorbet

I deviated from David Lebovitz' masterpiece on the art of the frozen dessert just ONCE in favor of this beaut from Nigel Slater and nobody came to read it.   Even still, it is one of my favorites even it confused me further on what the difference between sorbet and sherbet is supposed to be.

Honey Glazed Duck

The one French Fridays with Dorie post that got no love this past year.  I'm sure the fact that I was nearly a month late with it had nothing to do with it!

Happy New Years from Sis. Boom. blog!   The adventure continues....

Chinese Chicken Salad

My friend Mei-Ling came over for dinner not long ago and even though we hadn't seen each other in  years we were able to "pick it right up" as if it had only been days.   I always love it when that happens with the people in my life as i think it is a litmus test for choosing"family" from among friends.  I get such joy when someone passes the test  as not even all in my real family can pass it.  

When Mei-Ling and I get together we laugh and make lots of politically-incorrect fun of each other.  The kind that we alone are allowed with each other as sort of a secret handshake for admittance into our club of two.  Don't let anyone tell you it doesn't feel good every now and then have some fun at your own expense with someone you trust and the other night was certainly no exception.    

Mei-Ling and I met when we were 10 years old.  Her family had emigrated here from the People's Republic of China and our teacher, Miss Loomis, "assigned"  me to be her "class buddy" and to show her the ropes, if you will.  I would show her around the school,  make sure she knew which milk line to get in, and when it was time to come back in from recess.  I would have to pantomime my instructions to her as Mei-Ling did not know English yet and my Mandarin was still quite rusty.   (This should also explain to friends my preternatural talent for charades.)

Miss Loomis could not have known it (or could she?) but our mutual 'outsider status' would end up bonding us for life.  I would teach Mei-Ling the basic elementary school survival strategies she would need in our culturally homogenous burg and in exchange she would be my lifetime friend and foil.   Seeing how well she coped with being 'different' would eventually give me the courage to embrace it as well.

Mei-Ling was first introduced to me as "Mindy" because her mother decided to give her an "American name" so that she might fit in easier.    Evidently by becoming a "Mindy" this little brown skinned girl with narrow eyes, jet black-straight hair, and no ability to speak English would suddenly blend in with the other kids in our predominately white, upscale beach community -- as if by magic.   I always found the whole idea oddly hysterical and so did she for as soon as Mei-Ling could speak English she instructed everyone around her to stop using it.

When it came to blending in I had it a lot easier than Mei-Ling even though I felt just as much an outsider to those around me.   Unlike Mei-Ling, however, my "individuality" wasn't so immediatly  obvious, even to me.   She would eventually figure it all out before I did and wait for me to share it with her; it would take a few more years before that would happen and she was patient.  

And then the real fun began!

Today she still teases me about about how slow I was to realize what should have been obvious to everyone around me the night in 5th grade I had to beg my parents to let me stay up and watch the "Liza With a Z" TV special on television.    Didn't all 10 year old boys want to see Liza Minnelli?  (It was choreographed by Fosse dammit.)  

She also enjoys teasing me about my cooking by pretending not to remember having ever eaten it.  It drives me crazy because her delivery is so good I can never tell if she means it or not.

"Mimi's Cafe makes the best onion soup I have ever had!" 

Words that cut like a knife until I figure out she is teasing me.

In return I tease her about her lack of curves and her heritage; purposely never quite understanding the differences between Asian cultures and cuisine.    

"Mei-Ling, can your mother make sushi as good as this?"

When she called to tell me she and her husband were coming to town to visit her mother over the holidays I insisted they drop by for lunch.  I told her I had taken a day class in authentic Mandarin Chinese cooking at the community college and I would love the chance to show off for her and her husband.    

I made this.

"Mindy" got the joke immediately as she saw her plate.   Which is why I love her.

You can make this recipe yourself or you can go out to just about any Chinese restaurant and buy it.  Its really not that bad.


Chi Dynasty's Chinese Chicken Salad
Adapted from LA Times; Culinary SOS. 

Oignons Aigre-Doux French Sweet and Sour Onions

 

Have you ever heard of anybody losing a friendship because the Christmas meal wasn't what it should have been?  Did all heck break loose at your house because somebody had the temerity to bring a side dish nobody really liked?   Perhaps you suffered through a great family schism which resulted from some overly dry Christmas cookies or a failed dessert?   

The truth is no meal is all that important so why do we panic and stress out.   You don't?   Then why do I? 

Is it because I want everything to be, um .... perfect?

Perfect.  Bah.  I have been listening around you these days and I am somewhat surprised to discover that the word doesn't actually mean anything anymore.  It seems as if the meaning of "perfect" has devolved and now is used as a simple acknowledgement instead of the adjective it once was.

Last week the girl at my dry cleaners asked me when I wanted to pick up my clothes. I told her Tuesday and she replied: "perfect."    Now I'm sure Tuesday is a great day but it is not as good as Saturday so it is clearly not "perfect".     

The very same day I ordered an iced tea at lunch and the waitress said, "perfect".    Soup or Salad?  "Salad".   "Perfect".   I wish these were isolated incidents but they aren't.    Have you noticed it too?  

It sounds as if "perfect" is the new "ok" and if this is the case it is going to be very liberating when it comes to planning menus and making entertainment choices. 

I wish I had realized this last week when I was asked to bring a side dish to the now-annual Table Set Christmas Party gathering in Los Angeles.   My friends Greg, Andy, and Nathan (they are the hosts of  the very entertaining The Table Set podcast) asked a few of their friends to join in the fun and bring a dish to their annual holiday party.    (You can join their podcast fun easily by subscribing on iTunes.)

Naturally, I wanted to bring "the perfect side dish" and I felt the pressure immediately.  When your favorite food bloggers ask you to bring a dish to an event attended by the rest of your favorite food bloggers it can  give you pause.  And boy did I pause!  (I hate it when I pause.)   

Then I remembered these "South of Francy" type sweet and sour pearl onions that graced our family's holiday table back in the day.   These really are perfect and I mean perfect in the old sense.  

Good hot or cold and everywhere in between.  Plate them or put them on a buffet (which is what we did at the Table Set party).  They are good with beef, lamb, chicken or fish and if I must say so, they were the perfect thing to serve next to the lovely turkey sandwich rolls with fig ketchup the Table Set boys had put out on the table.    These onions are gluten-free, vegan, and don't even contain nuts.    You can even make them the night before and if you use frozen onions they are even more easy, er, I mean perfect.   (And don't tell me that having one side dish out of the way the night before a holiday dinner isn't perfect.) 

My photos of this dish come courtesy of one of my favorite bloggers Josie of Daydreamer Desserts who was at the party as well and was a lot smarter than I was that night (She actually remembered to bring a camera!)  I have learned a lot about food photography and blogging from her these past few months.   You can check out the amazing Macrarons she brought to the party here.   She's promised to teach me how to make them in 2012 so stay tuned!

 Oignons Aigre-Doux