Thanksgiving Recipies

Chili: End of the Road

The previous post was my exhaustive etude in the style of Chris Kimball of Cooks Illustrated (100 ways to cook a meatloaf).  But here is the short form from one that I respect most as a cook, BBQ Master, foodie, person: Gary Wivott: 

Hi Howard,

I don't really follow a recipe, just a bunch of toasted ground Mexican peppers and cumin, meat, little beer, corn meal to finish. If I'm going all out I use very coarse ground beef from the foreshank, the toughest most connective laden area of the cow.  Requires a three stage, two at the least, to break it down but the reward is a tongue coating richness evocative of the best slow cooked shank, oxtail or chunk o anything you have ever had.

enjoy,

Gary

Chili: Evolutionary Road

In honor of the Oscar's today, I will show my own Evolutionary Road on the way to evolving a recipe for chili con carne. Aware that I had clipped some articles years ago for chili, I tracked down my yellowed clippings of some winners of the  World Championship Chili Cookoffs (Rudy Valdez, Joe Stewart, and Bill Pfeiffer ). Also the recipe of Bob Coats in the Terlinga International Chili Championships. On these sites you can find the winners for the past 30+ years.

I then turned to some of my favorite books where I might find chili: Silver Palette Cookbook, Chili for a Crowd, page 130...., Bernard Clayton's great  Compete Book of Soups and Stews, where he has a whole chapter including 5 Chili recipes including the one from Lady Bird Johnson and the LBJ Library, and finally Clifford Wright's, Real Stew, a food scholar and great cook, including this   Wright's very good chili recipe as well.

After sifting through different ideas from these sources (don't go too crazy though or you will be like a dog chasing it's tail-or some equivalent Texas saying), I worked out what I wanted in my chili.  

I like richness, layering, complexity, umami, and medium heat.  For the meats I went to the relatively local Mexican market and had them grind pork shoulder and beef chucksteak coarsely.  For the chili's I used both fresh and dried powdered: ancho, guajillo, jalepeno, or anything else you may have around.  I used canned tomatoes (drained and squeezed through your fingers) and large cans of black beans (also drained).  I also like the sweetness added by ground cinnamon and allspice.  A square of baker's chocolate adds another element of depth.

Howard's Evolutionary Road Chili(A Synthesis):

Quantities are approximate, use your intuition, and taste early and often ( a Chicago tradition)

2 lbs  coarsely ground pork shoulder

2 lbs  coarsely ground beef chuck steak

6 cloves of garlic

4 jalepeno's

4 large white or Spanish onions diced

2 cups chili powder (mixture of ancho, guajillo, paprika, regular chili powder, smoked Spanish      chili powder-not too much, etc)

1/2 cup ground toasted cumin (can be toasted whole then ground in spice mill, or not)

1/4 cup ground toasted black pepper (or just from store ground is fine)

1/4 cup garlic powder

1/4 cup onion powder

2 T ground cinnamon

2 T ground allspice

4 T dried oregano (can use the Mexican oregano)

2 T dried thyme

2 T MSG (or not, but I like the flavors that it brings out)

2 28oz cans of tomatoes

2 large or 4 smaller cans of black beans

1 bottle good bodied beer like Sam Adams, or your favorite local microbeer

4 bay leaves

2 T or to taste sherry vinegar

1/2 cup dry vermouth

1/2 orange peel (1/2 orange)

4 dashes angostora bitters

1 piece baking or mexican chocolate (1/4 of the round discs you get of the mexican type)

4 T rendered lard from Chicharron in Mexican grocery store (comes in 2 quart tubs)

1/2 cup Masa Harina (Mexican corn flour)

1.In large Dutch oven (Le Creuset is great, or heavy bottomed stainlessd) over moderate + heat, melt 3 T of the lard and slowly carmelize the diced onions; after they begin to color lightly add 4 cloves of diced garlic and saute another 5 minutes.  Remove the onion, garlic saute from the pot.

2. Add 1 T of lard and the ground pork and beef.  Add about 1 T of salt and the black pepper.  Stir occasionaly as the meat browns.  After the meat is browned, with some spots a little crisped but not burned, spash some light vermouth in  to deglaze the bottom of the pot.  This can be done a couple of times, each time letting it all evaporate.

3. Mix together the dried chili powders, the cumin, oregano,thyme, garlic powder, onion powder, cinnamon, and allspice.  Mix into to the meat and cook the dried spices briefly.  Add back the onion and garlic mixture, and mix well.

4. Drain the beans and the tomatoes, break the tomatoes up by squeezing them through your hands (or can used diced tomatoes).  Add to the rest of the ingredients in the dutch oven.  Add the bottle of beer.

5. Add about 3 cups of water and a one large or two small beef bouillon cubes (or beef, vegetable, or chicken stock)  Add several bay leaves, 3 dashes Angostora Bitters, sherry vinegar to taste, and a few dashes of Kecap Manis. Add the masa harina and the piece of chocolate. Simmer for 2 hours, making sure the beans don't stick and burn on the bottom of the Dutch oven. Add more stock as needed.

6. Note: now is the time to balance out the flavors: sweet, acid, umani, salt.  The salt should be just below the level of noticing it.  The umani comes from the Kecap Manis, a thick soy product at oriental grocery stores.  Can also come from dried porcini's, Marmite, Maggi, one anchovy, etc.  The sweet and sour balance comes from the sherry or red wine vinegar.  Looking for the high notes, without being like salad dressing.  Play around!

7.  Serve with steamed or toasted flour tortillas and the following condiments:  sharp chedder cheese, grated,  mexican crema rancherito or sour cream, 1" sliced green scallions, cilantro leaves, pickled red onions (Escabeche de Cebolla). 

8. Escabeche de Cebolla (from Rick Bayless's Authentic Mexican, page 50):

2 red onions  cut in half vertically, then cut into 1/4 " slices

1/2 tsp black peppercorns

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

4 cloves garlic peeled and halved

1/2 tsp salt

2/3 cup cider vinegar

parboil the sliced onion in a saucepan with salted water. Bring to boil, time for

one minute, remove and drain

coarsely gring the peppercorens and cumin, then add to the saucepan, along with the remaining ingredients.  Pour in just enough water to barely cover onions, bring to boil for 3 minutes, remove from heat and pour into a small, non corrosive bowl. Let cool. 

8. Ladle chili into a large soup bowl, invite guests to put on the condiments they want, and serve with the warm flour tortilla, and good local beer.  I served this with guacamole and chips, and my roasted tomatillo sausa as starters.  Goes well with limonada or margarita's.

9 Enjoy!!!

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

This is the first of many recipies from Mexican cuisine. My interest in Mexican food started with my parent's trips to Tasco, Mexico while growing up. This developed further with being allowed to work Fridays for several years in Rick Bayless's Frontera Grill Kitchen after many months of pestering. Along with Bayless's well worn Authentic Mexican (his first book) and his later one's, I also collected ideas from Diana Kennedy's books. This recipie is an amalgam from various of these influences, including Mark Miller's book on the Coyote Cafe.

Ingredients:
20 Tomatillo's husked
4 cloves garlic unpeeled
2 TBS olive oil
1 medium white onion, finely chopped
4 canned chilpotle peppers in adobo sauce
1 bunch chopped cilantro (about 1 cup)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 lime, juiced

Line a saute pan with foil and heat, put the tomatillos and the unpeeled garlic cloves in the pan, roast and turn till blackened some on the outside. Slip the peels off the garlic.

Put the tomatillo, garlic, olive oil and chilpotle peppers in a cuisinart and blend coarsely. Pour in mixing bowl and mix in the onion, cilantro, salt, and lime juice. May also add a pinch of ground allspice as a variation. Let flavors marry for an hour. If the salsa gets too solidified add some water to thin.

Serve with tortilla chips, pork, flank steak, or chicken. Also can use it as topping in tortillas made with the meats.

Notes:
Bayless does not use the onions or cilantro, so no raw ingredients, which lasts longer in the fridge. Kennedy omits the cilantro, but then cooks the sauce in a couple of TBS of olive oil, or lard. A good source of tasty smoky lard is a Mexican grocery store that cooks its own crispy pork skin, which renders the lard. I keep a half gallon plastic container of it in my freezer. I use it to add to black bean dishes, or when to saute items for a richer taste.

I was inspired to start the Mexican Series by Alden Griffith of Fernet Branca fame, to have a salsa to spread on his seared chicken livers (not just in jest, actually a recipie in Bayless's book: Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen for a use of the salsa with the livers), while sipping a Fernet Branca cocktail, or when he is in his adventuresome mood, 100% FB shots.

Enjoy

Cocktail of the Week: The Alden Bitters

To launch the cocktail of the week area of my blog, I would like to dedicate this to Alden Griffith (whose connections are well know to Howard's End, with his stints as artisinal bread and tart maker). Last summer on a warm night in June, we all took a post prandial stroll to the beach, carrying with us some libations, to settle fully satisfied midsections. Alden settled on a prized bottle of bitters, with the youthful bravado of adventure and invincibility. This is a drink using such same Bitters.

The source of this is Eric Felten, who writes a How's Your Drink in the weekend Wall Street Journal. One of my favorite sources as well as a favorite section of the weekend edition. His name for the drink is Fanciulli Cocktail. At my establishment, I will rename it the Alden Bitters:

1 1/2 oz Bourboon
3/4 oz Sweet Vermouth
1/4 oz Fernet-Branca

Sit with ice and strain into a stemmed cocktail glass. Or serve it on the rocks in an Old-Fashioned glass. For the sweet vermouth, a big, bold vermouth such as Punt e Mes or Vya is the the best bet up against Fernet-Brance



Yes the Fernet-Branca is the bottle now reserved for Alden in a special place.

Happy New Year 2009!! My Four Favorite Food Groups

To toast the New Year of 2009 I am now confessing my four favorite food groups of all time. These also work so well together, let the tastes bounce around.

Cognac
Go to your local wine store that carries cognac and ask for the proprietor's favorite French Cognac under $50. I have gone to Howard's Wine Cellar





Chocolate
Get a big 5 Kg block of the best chocolate, Callibaut or Vahlrona, or Sharffenberges
Get the bittersweet
Chip off a generous piece to have with the other food groups.




Coffee
I like the dark and medium roasts of Metropolis Coffee in Chicago, named the best in Chicago. Brew in your favorite way.




Cigar
I love the rich taste of a good cigar. I like the shorter, thicker ones. Although it is very hard to find a cigar friendly setting for this. Maybe warmer weather, outside.


Enjoy all,

Chef Howard

Howard's End Master Supreme Mashed Potatoes Plus

These are some of the most requested at Howard's End, causing a full scale riot when taken off the menu (for one day only)!
Although replicated by some of the great chef's around the world such as Joel Robuchon, they are rarely equalled considering the well worn patina and native yeasts in the air, well developed over the past 30 years. Well, enough of this chatter for now.

Ingredients:
Russet potatoes-peeled and quartered
Celery Root-peeled and cut into chunks about 3" square
Parsnips-peeled and cut in 2" pieces of about equal size
Roasted garlic (pureed with a little whole milk or cream)
Heavy whipping cream
Best Unsalted butter you can get
Salt and Pepper

You can vary the proportion of the potatoes to the other root vegetables. I do it from 3/4 to 1/2 potatoes. I boil all the ingredients one by one in the same salted water. I start with the parsnips, then the celery root, and then the potatoes. Can be scooped up with a chinese strainer (at asian stores about 6" in diameter).

The parsnips and celery root can be mashed in the cuisinart (make sure they are boiled to a soft point). But the potatoes should be riced in a ricer, so they don't become glue. Or an old fashioned mashed can be used. You can add some cream and butter to each ingredient being mashed to help the process.

Then I put all the mashed ingredient in my Kitchen Aid mixer and mix gently, adding the roasted garlic puree, more cream, butter, and salt and pepper to taste.

Variation: Can also add grated Parmesan Reggiano cheese to the mix. Also sometimes I have used buttermilk to cut through the richness some.

For a simpler, less layered effect, one could do it just with the potatoes. Or just one of the root vegetable.

Bon Appetit!!