Penney’s Palate

Chili that I have made in the past has lacked flavor. In my search for a chili recipe tonight (I was craving chili since the weather here has turned cold, windy, and rainy), I wanted a recipe that included a lot of spices so that I could make sure that my chili didn’t turn out plain. I found a recipe with a little too many spices, so I reduced it down to my best judgment. The results were a spicy chili (spicy for me probably means mild to most) full of chili-flavor. Pinto beans instead of kidney beans were a first for me, but I thought that the pinto beans was a nice way of adding beans without making it seem quite so beany. Kidney beans are larger and a little rougher in texture, so you know that you’re eating a bean. I didn’t really notice the pinto beans in the chili. It made about 5 normal-sized servings, probably only 3 servings if you are eating chili by itself for a meal. Also, I like a nice meat-to-chili-to-bean ratio, but if you like your chili more meaty than saucy, the original recipe called for 3 lbs of ground beef. I felt that was a little bit too excessive for Tommy and I, who are perfectly happy to eat vegetarian meals.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pounds ground beef chuck
1 large onion, roughly chopped
1 green bell pepper, roughly chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced
4 tablespoons chile powder
1 tablespoons ground cumin
1 tablespoons ground coriander
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoons chopped thyme
1 teaspoons chopped oregano
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 cups low-sodium beef broth
One 15-ounce can pinto beans, drained
One 14-ounce can diced tomatoes with the juices
5 chipotle chiles in adobo, seeded and finely chopped
1 cup tomato sauce
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon cider vinegar

Preparation
Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add ground beef and cook just until brown, about 5 minutes. Add the onions and green pepper to the pot and cook until onions are translucent, about 8 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic, chile powder, cumin, coriander, sugar, thyme, oregano, black pepper and cayenne pepper and cook for 10 more minutes stirring occasionally.

Stir in the beef broth, pinto beans, diced tomatoes, chipotle chiles, tomato paste and vinegar. Bring to a simmer and cook for 90 minutes stirring occasionally.

Serve by itself or with additional chili necessities such as white rice, crackers, cheddar cheese, sour cream, fritos, etc. I plan on eating it a few ways since we have about 3 servings left over. YUM!

While driving home tonight I was a little bummed because I thought that we would have a boring dinner. I had 2 boneless pork chops in the fridge and I knew that we needed to do something with them tonight. Tommy suggested making a small serving of risotto to serve with the pork. So we gathered anything that we had here to make up our risotto ingredients. I picked out a simple recipe of pan-fried pork chops and modified it to accommodate the ingredients that we had. The pork turned out most excellent (I thought it would be boring and tasteless), and the risotto was a perfect complement to the pork. I heavily salted/peppered the pork and I think that that was part of what made the pork so tasty. I also got my pan temperature just right before starting (I typically get the oil too hot and then burn the first batch, but I didn’t have more than one batch tonight, so getting it just right the first time was of MUCHO importance). Tommy made the risotto, and although it varied slightly from our normal way of making risotto, it turned out pretty good.

Pan Fried Boneless Pork Chops
Serves 2

3 tbsp olive oil
4 small boneless pork chops 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick (I bought two thick chops and cut them in half)
Generous pinches of kosher salt
Pepper
3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups panko

Heat a pan with oil on medium heat. Put the cheese, eggs, and panko in three separate bowls. Generously salt and pepper the pork. Coat the pork in the parmesan cheese, ensuring good coating all around. Dip pork in egg and coat on both sides. Coat pork with the panko, ensuring good coating of the panko. Put in pan with the heated oil and fry on one side for 5-6 minutes. Turn over and fry for another 5-6 minutes or until middle of pork registers at 150 degrees (I did 5 minutes on each side and I also turned down the heat to medium low once I put the pork in the pan, time might vary based on pan and heat).

Tomato Risotto
Serves 2

1 tbsp butter
2 pearl onions (can substitute regular onion or shallot, whatever you have)
1/2 cup arborio rice
2/3 cup white wine
3 cups chicken broth (ours was low sodium, left over from the Melanie’s polenta that we made)
4 cherry tomatoes, quartered
3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan

Melt 1/2 tbsp butter in pan on medium heat. Add onions and cook for 2 minutes (do not let them turn brown). Add rice and heat until toasted. Add wine, stir, and let wine absorb into rice. When wine gets low, start adding stock about 2/3 cup at a time, letting each addition get absorbed before adding more. Continue until rice is a good eating consistency. Add tomatoes and last addition of stock. When finished, add remaining 1/2 tbsp butter and cheese. Serve immediately.

Earlier this week I made meatloaf. I wrote about it, but when I hit the post button something happened and I lost everything. So here is a brief version. I used Alton Brown’s recipe and I followed it EXACTLY, so I will just link to it instead of writing out what I did. Tommy mentioned that it would have been better if I had made some extra sauce (in addition to what gets smothered on the meatloaf while baking) because the bites that didn’t have any sauce on them were just okay. There were some unique flavors that I have never had in meatloaf before. Overall it was very tasty. I halved the recipe, and we had enough left to eat it with mashed potatoes and asparagus the next night.

Alton Brown’s Good Eats Meatloaf

I like risotto. My favorites are the standard way, and tomato risotto with zuchini. Tonight I veared away from the standard risotto with a Butternut Squash risotto.The butternut squash was a little too sweet for the risotto, but sage did an excellent job of cutting through the sweetness so that the squash wasn’t too overpowering.

Overall a pretty good meal (I served it with broccoli that was saute’d with toasted garlic). Next time I would use my butternut squash for a different application, perhaps butternut squash ravioli with brown butter sage sauce? Or soup.

Butternut Squash Risotto
(serves three)
5 cups chicken stock, kept on hot on medium heat
2 tbsp butter
1 shallot
1 garlic clove
1 cup arborio rice
1 cup white wine (this time it was Wine By Joe Pinot Gris, usually it is a Chardonnay)
Butternut squash (I used 1/2 of a 2.5 lb squash)
5 sage leaves, chiffonaded
1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Cut a butternut squash up into chunks, skin and seeds removed. Roast in the oven on 350 for 30-45 minutes until cooked (should be fairly soft). Mash up the cubes with a fork until most of the large chunks are gone. It is okay for a few chunks to remain.

Melt 1 tbsp of the butter in a large saute pan over medium head. Add shallot and garlic and cook for a few minutes (do not let the shallot turn brown). Add the arborio rice and toast. Add one cup of wine, give the rice a good stir, and then cook until most of the wine is gone (if rice starts sticking to the bottom of the pan, you have let too much liquid cook off). Add the chicken stock 2 ladle-fulls at a time, adding more when most of the liquid has evaporated. This process should take about 25-30 minutes. Make sure that you stir often (according to Rachel Ray, stirring helps the rice to release the starch, which makes the risotto rich and creamy). When you notice that you’re almost at the end of your chicken stock, taste the rice. Once it is al dente, add 2 more ladle-fulls of the chicken stock. During the last 3 minutes of cooking, add the butternut squash. During the last minute of cooking, add the remaining tablespoon of butter, the sage, and the cheese. Stir until melted. Serve immediately.