Well, this was just fantastic.

Betsy and I went to a very fun birthday party a few weeks ago that was a fondue party – great idea for a party. A few people were in charge of bringing large quantities of cheese and everyone else brought booze or things to dip in the cheese.

The standard fondue recipe is normally based on Gruyere or some other swiss cheese mixed with white wine and cooked until melted and smooth. It’s very good, but also a bit on the pricey side.

So, I thought it would be fun to try to come up with a fondue-ish dish that’s a bit easier on the wallet but still delivers in the flavor department.

The secret: Port wine cheese.

The second secret: Stout.

Port Wine Cheese Fondue

Yield: Serves 8-10.

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

24 ounces port wine cheese
1 12 ounce stout beer
1/2 teaspoon fresh nutmeg, grated
Crusty bread for dipping

Helpful Equipment:
Microplane

Directions:

1) Pour stout into a medium pan and heat over medium heat.

2) Once stout is steaming, start whisking in port wine cheese in 3 batches. Once one batch is melted, add the next one.

3) Whisk the cheese regularly. It might look as if it is separating but eventually it will melt together with the stout and form a smooth dip.

4) Add nutmeg and turn heat down to medium-low.

5) Continue to simmer until fondue thickens, about 10 more minutes. Serve immediately with cubes of crusty bread. It reheats really well also.

Port Wine What?

Port wine cheese is not the most popular of cheeses and this is a huge travesty in my mind. Granted, it’s a bit on the processed side, but the ingredients aren’t all that bad.

It has things like cheddar cheese, cream, and yes… even port wine in it.

Really just two things.

Normally, you just eat it at room temperature because it’s spreadable, but I figured it would be just as good melted in a big pot.

I made a bunch of this, but you could easily half the recipe.

Just for cost comparison, 8 ounces of port wine cheese will run you about $4 while 8 ounces of Gruyere will run you about A MORTGAGE PAYMENT.

Processed.

Doing the Fondue

This can barely be called a recipe. Basically you just toss all the ingredients in a pot and whisk them until they are smooth and melted. Done.

I used a whole bottle of good stout. You’re saving some money on the cheese. Don’t use Miller Lite to make this.

Action shot!

Put this over medium heat and just start adding the port wine cheese in chunks until it’s melted.

A whisk helps to stir everything well.

As your port wine cheese melts, it will go through this phase where it looks like maybe it’s separating. Don’t fret. Just keep whisking and eventually it will combine with the stout and be smooth and delicious.

Melt and whisk and repeat.

The only other ingredient in this fondue besides cheese and beer is fresh nutmeg. It adds a nice, subtle spice flavor to the fondue.

I guess it’s optional, but if you happen to have some, grate it in.

Always good in fondue.

That’s pretty much all there is too it. Once your nutmeg is in, just keep simmering the cheese sauce until it’s the thickness that you want.

I simmered mine for probably ten minutes, whisking pretty regularly, and then called it good.

You can serve this with lots of stuff to dip, but cubes of good crusty bread were my personal favorite.

This makes a lot.

The nice thing about this fondue is that since you start with spreadable cheese, the fondue is actually useable even at room temperature.

This is not true for traditional fondue which turns into a big block of cheese if you take it off the burner for a few minutes.

Dip. Eat. Repeat.

I’m a huge fan of traditional fondue, but this was a really delicious (and cheap) alternative.

Even if you’re not a Wall Street Executive, now you too can enjoy the fun of dipping things in melted cheese!

Ain't nothin' but a corn dog...

When most people think about corn dogs, they think about county fairs. Or frozen food. Really those are the only two options for corn dogs in most people’s eyes.

But corn dogs actually are pretty easy to make on your own.

The thing that I normally don’t like about corn dogs is the breading. It’s usually really thick and accounts for like 70% of the corn dog. I wanted to flip that around and start with a nice big quarter pound hot dog and then use a slightly thinner cornmeal batter to make a really crispy crust.

It worked like a charm and I ended up with some rustic looking dogs that were crispy and meaty and really hit the spot!

Quarter Pound Corn Dogs

Yield: Serves 4.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

4 quarter pound beef hot dogs
1 1/2 Cups corn meal
2/3 Cups all-purpose flour, plus a big extra for coating dogs
1 12 ounce beer
1 Teaspoon baking powder
1 Teaspoon paprika
1 Teaspoon red pepper flakes (opt)
1 large egg
1 big pinch of salt and pepper
Oil for frying, probably two quarts

Helpful Equipment:
Deep Fry Thermometer

Directions:

1) Mix dry ingredients for batter in a large bowl. Stir in egg and beer and combine well.

2) Dust corn dogs in flour and knock off any extra flour. A light dusting of flour will help the batter stick.

3) Prepare fry station and heat oil to 350 degrees.

4) Pour batter into a tall glass for easy dipping.

5) Dip dog in and make sure it's coated evenly. Move it straight to the fryer.

6) Fry for 5-7 minutes until corn dog is golden brown.

7) Let drain for a few minutes on a towel, insert stick in one end, and serve with mustard, ketchup, and/or ranch.

Mixing the batter

I played around with this batter a bit until I got something that was thick, but not cakey at all. Buttermilk is the standard for corn dogs, but I substituted beer thinking that it would make my crust lighter and crispier.

Beer and corn play well together

Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Feel free to adjust the spices to your liking. I tried to make mine pretty spicy.

Lots of spices.

Then stir in your egg and your full bottle of beer. The final batter should be pretty thick, but not clumpy at all if that makes sense.

There’s a pretty wide range of consistencies that will work for this. The thicker your batter, the more crust you’ll have on your dog.

This was my finished batter.

Batter mixed

The Dogs

As you probably know, corn dogs are usually served on a stick. If you’re using thin wussy hot dogs, then you’ll need to use small skewers or something for this. Since my hot dogs were the big guys, I just used Popsicle sticks!

Also, when it comes to frying, professional corn dog stands have these little gidgets which hold the dog by the stick while it fries. I’m going to guess that you don’t have one of those and I definitely didn’t. I just fried my dogs without the stick and then inserted it at the end.

Worked like a charm.

Dogs and sticks

When you’re ready to make the corn dogs, lightly dust the hot dogs in flour to make sure they are really dry. The extra flour will help the batter stick to the hot dogs.

Shake off any extra flour and you should be left with a nice even coating.

Floured dogs.

I quickly realized a problem at this point. My bowl wasn’t big enough for my hot dogs!

Ideally you can dip your dog in the batter and then drop it straight into the fryer.

After some thinking, I realized I could just pour my batter in a big tall glass and then use that to dunk the dogs in.

Looks kind of funny but gets the job done!

Best I could come up with...

Once you dunk the dogs in the batter, stick them straight in the fryer and fry them at 350 degrees until they are a nice crispy brown, probably about 5-7 minutes. Cornmeal is pretty sturdy so it’s hard to burn these guys.

Use tongs to turn them a few times to make sure they are frying evenly.

When they come out of the fryer, let them drain on a paper towel and stick in the sticks for easy handling.

Put the stick in after the frying!

Let them cool for a minute or two and then get to work!

This was way more my style when it comes to corn dogs. Really nice, flavorful, crispy crust.

CHOMP.

In my opinion the only way to eat a corn dog is with really good mustard. Betsy hates mustard though so I served these with ketchup and ranch also.

I really loved how these turned out and one dog is pretty much a meal. They are big!

If you have leftovers, you can reheat them in a 350 degree oven for a few minutes which keeps the breading nice and crispy.

]]> http://www.macheesmo.com/2011/02/quarter-pound-corn-dogs/feed/ 8 http://www.macheesmo.com/2011/01/chocolate-stout-cake/ http://www.macheesmo.com/2011/01/chocolate-stout-cake/#comments Thu, 27 Jan 2011 12:00:38 +0000 Nick http://www.macheesmo.com/?p=20341

I think my tallest cake ever.

So you guys all voted in a landslide victory last week for a beer-related cake of some sort and I would hate to disappoint you.

But let me just warn you. This recipe is evil. It’s easy to make given it’s crazy tallness and is, hands down, one of the richest things I’ve ever made. Trust me. That’s quite a statement. But seriously, packed into this delicious dark thing is a pound of butter, a pound of chocolate, a pint of cream, some sour cream, and almost two bottles of delicious oatmeal stout.

This cake, you see, is for professional chocolate lovers only.

Chocolate Stout Cake

Yield: Serves 10-12

Prep Time: 30 minutes + Frosting time

Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients:

2 Cups rich stout beer. I used an oatmeal stout.
1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter
1 1/2 Cups cocoa powder
4 Cups all-purpose flour
4 Cups sugar
1 Tablespoon baking soda
1 1/2 Teaspoons salt
4 large eggs
1 1/3 Cups sour cream
1 3 ounce bar chocolate (for optional garnish)

Frosting:
2 Cups heavy cream
1 pound bittersweet chocolate

Helpful Equipment:
- Digital Scale
- Wire Racks
- Round Cake Tins

Directions:

1) For frosting, combine scream and chocolate in a saucepan over low-medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, until cream and chocolate is smoothly combined. Don't boil the mixture, but it should be steaming hot.

2) Remove from heat and let cool in the fridge, stirring occasionally to keep it smooth, for 90-120 minutes.

3) For cakes, combine stout and butter in a sauce pan and put over low-medium heat until butter is melted.

4) Then whisk in cocoa powder. It's a lot of cocoa powder, so work slowly and make sure the mixture is nice and smooth. Remove from heat and let cool.

5) Whisk dry ingredients (sugar, flour, salt, baking soda) together.

6) Whisk eggs and sour cream in a large bowl. Once smooth, whisk in butter/stout/cocoa powder mixture. Again, whisk until smooth.

7) Whisk in dry ingredients in a few batches. Try not to overmix the batter, but make sure all the flour is incorporated.

8) Pour batter into three round cake tins that have been buttered and floured.

9) Bake for 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees.

10) Cool on a wire rack when the cakes are done. After a few minutes, remove cakes from tins and let cool completely.

11) Use a large knife to slice off the tops of the cakes, making them level.

12) Stake cakes with 1/4 of frosting in between each layer, using the last 1/2 to frost the top and around the sides of the cake.

13) Shave on some fresh chocolate if you want or just serve it up!

Adapted from a Bon Appetit recipe.

Making the Frosting

I was a bit skeptical of this frosting recipe. Only two ingredients? No powdered sugar? What’s the deal?

Well, the deal is that it’s really easy to make and very rich. The end frosting is super-thick and is about as choco-packed as a frosting can be.

To make it, just add the cream and chocolate to a medium saucepan and put it over fairly low heat.

A really simple frosting.

Cook this, stirring continuously, until the liquid is steaming (but definitely not boiling) and the cream and chocolate are completely incorporated in a nice smooth mix.

Nice and creamy.

Pour this into a bowl and move it to the fridge to chill out and harden slightly. It probably needs to chill for 90 minutes or so. Give it a stir every once in awhile just to keep it nice and smooth.

Easy breezy frosting though.

Making the cake

If you’ve never made a layered cake before, have no fear. I’ve only made like two in my life and I was able to get it right (with one small mess-up).

There’s only a few ingredients, but there are a lot of all of them!

A stout cake.

To start the batter, combine the stout and butter in a sauce pan over low heat. I realize this is a strange way to start a batter, but it works like a charm. So go with it.

Butter beer!

When the butter is melted whisk in all the cocoa powder until the mixture is smooth. It’ll be pretty thick because it’s a lot of cocoa powder. Once the cocoa powder is combined, turn off the heat to let it cool for a bit.

Meanwhile, whisk together the dry ingredients in a bowl (flour, sugar, salt, baking soda) and the eggs and sour cream in a very large bowl.

Once the sour cream and eggs are combined, slowly whisk in the warm chocolate stout mixture.

Once that and the egg mixture is thoroughly combined, whisk in the flour in a few batches. Try not to over-mix the batter but make sure there’s no flour showing.

This will be a thick and very rich batter.

If you’re me, have a spoonful of it before you proceed.

Pretty easy batter actually.

Baking the Cakes

You need three round cake tins to make these cakes. I only have two so I had to re-use one which is fine.

The key things to remember about baking these guys are:

1) Butter and flour the pans really well before you pour in the batter so the cakes don’t stick.

2) Weigh your batter with a scale if you can to make sure it’s evenly distributed.

3) Bake them at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

If you don’t have a scale, you can eyeball the cakes, but weighing the batter will ensure that each cake is the same. You’ll want to fill up the tins about 3/4 full.

If you care about even cakes...

When the cakes come out of the oven, cool them on a wire rack if you have some and once the pan is cool enough to touch (5 minutes maybe), carefully remove the cake out of the tin. I did this by flipping the tin onto a plate.

If you mess this up, it’s not a bit deal. Just do your best to get the cakes out cleanly. Using a butter knife to go around the edges really helps.

I kind of mutilated my first one…

OOPS!

Frosting the Cake

The important thing about frosting layered cakes is to slice off the top of each cake to get them as level as possible. I use a serrated bread knife for this which works like a charm.

The only other thing to remember about frosting the cakes is to make sure they are completely cool before frosting them.

Once the cakes are level and cool, slap on about 1/4 of the frosting per layer and go to town. That leaves 1/2 of the frosting for the edges and top.

Thick and heavy...

The layers should stack pretty evenly and the frosting holds everything together.

This is a pretty serious cake people.

Not shabby!

Finish the frosting by getting all the sides and top really well covered.

As an added touch, I shaved some fresh chocolate and sprinkled it on top. I figured that would distract from my sub-par frosting job.

BAM.

This was by far the most decadent thing I’ve ever made. It was rich and moist and completely out of this world chocolatey. I don’t even like chocolate, but I couldn’t stop eating it.

And seriously. It’s not that hard to make. It’s a way easier cake recipe than some I’ve seen.

If you want to seriously impress some people or just sabotage a few diets, this is the thing for you.

So we decided it would be a good idea to have a guy’s night mainly with the goal of making them jealous. I spent a few hours braising some pork butt to make some carnitas. I figured that would a good guy’s night dish. I was right.

I might be wrong, but I’m pretty sure the ladies were jealous of our carnitas.

Guy's only!

Before I get too far into the carnitas though, I also made up a batch of my new favorite salsa. It’s really simple, but very tasty.

Carnitas

Yield: 1/2 pound per person

Prep Time: 30 minutes + marinade time

Total Time: 4 hours 40 minutes

Ingredients:

Boneless pork shoulder aka pork butt. I used a 3 pound cut for this post but just adjust it for however many people you are serving.
1 lime
Salt and pepper
2 Tablespoons canola oil
3-4 Mexican beers
Water
Assorted dried peppers (I used a mix of 2 ancho, 3 New Mexico, 7 arbol)
4 cloves garlic, sliced
2 bay leaves

Plus you'll want:
Flour or corn tortillas
Salsa (above or from a jar)
Red onion, sliced
Cojita cheese, crumbled
Cilantro (optional)
Black beans (optional)

Simple Salsa:
1 28 ounce can fire roasted tomatoes, drained
1/4 red onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 lime, juice only
2-3 jalapenos, seeded and chopped
Handful of cilantro (optional)
Salt and pepper

Helpful Equipment:
Blender

Directions:

1) To make salsa, roughly chop all your ingredients and add them to a blender or food processor. Pulse until it's chunky. Adjust flavors to fit your tastes.

2) Trim off some of the larger chunk of fats from the pork butt. Chop the butt into a few large chunks and add them to a bowl with salt, pepper, and the juice from one lime. Let this all marinade for an hour.

3) In a large dutch oven, heat a few tablespoons of neutral oil. Once hot, add pork chunks and sear well on all sides. Work in batches and don't crowd the pan. They will need 4 minutes per side to brown well.

4) Pour off the fat from the pork and reserve it for later. Don't wash the pot.

5) Add roasted dried peppers (roasted at 300 degrees for just 5 minutes) to the pot along with a cup of water. Use the water to scrape up all of the burned bits of pork in the pan. This is easy if you have it over high heat still. Then add all your other braising ingredients and bring to a simmer.

6) Add pork pieces back the pot. When liquid is simmering, cover, and put it in a 325 degree oven for 3 hours.

7) Remove your pork pieces from the pot after they braise and let them cool briefly. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees at this point.

8) Once your pork is cool enough to handle, pull it into strands with a few forks or your hands.

9) Add the pork to a baking dish. Pour the pork drippings from earlier over the shredded pork. Bake at 450 degrees for 10-15 minutes and the top of the pork will get nice and crispy.

10) Serve with warm tortillas and lots of toppings.

The Salsa

To make it, just roughly chop up all your ingredients and then add them to a blender or food processor. The fire roasted tomatoes give the whole thing a great, almost smoky flavor. Muir Glen makes a great version.

The fire roasted tomatoes are were it's at.

Blend this up until it’s a bit chunky or whatever consistency you are going for. This was about right for me.

Just add chips.

The important thing with salsa is to taste it on a chip as you go and adjust for flavors. Adjust for salt and pepper obviously but it also might need a bit more lime juice. It’s best if you can make this many hours before you need it because it’ll get better as it sits in the fridge. Also, it’ll get spicier so if you’re going to let it sit remember that’s gonna be hotter in a few hours.

The Carnitas

Ok. So there’s a lot of different ways to make carnitas, but the thing to remember is that it’s pretty hard to go wrong. If you want to be completely authentic, you need to actually braise the pork in lard which was a bit intense for me. Not because I’m scared but just because I don’t have the space for like a gallon of lard in my pantry. Plus it seems a bit excessive. If you’re interested though, here’s a good authentic recipe.

Instead of that, I braised my pork in a spicy beer liquid and then broiled it really hot once it was pulled to get it nice and crispy. I’m getting ahead of myself though.

Preparing the Butt

When you get your pork butt it’ll be large. Try to trim off some of the larger chunks of fat and then cut it into even pieces, four or five is ideal for a 3 pound butt. Then toss them in a bowl with a good pinch of salt and pepper and the juice from one lime. Rub this all in and let it sit for an hour at least, but the longer the better.

Nice lookin' butt.

One very important to making these work is to make sure you brown the meat nicely before you braise it. This actually goes for anytime you want to braise something. In a large dutch oven (or something oven and stovetop safe), heat a few tablespoons neutral oil. Once it’s hot add your pork pieces. Make sure they aren’t touching or overlapping. I had to do mine in two batches.

Let them sit (don’t fiddle!) for 4-5 minutes on each side. You want a really nice sear on each side. These were my pieces. Remember that these are basically raw on the inside. This is going to give the final product a lot of flavor though.

Browner the better.

In your pot, there will be lots of almost burned bits of pork and probably 1/2 cup of rendered pork fat. Pour off the fat and save it for later. We’ll need it in a few hours. It’ll look like this.

Oh… and don’t wash the pot!

Important.

If you have an assortment of dried peppers, they will give some great flavor to our braising liquid. I used a few that I had laying around. You can substitute 2 or 3 Tablespoons of your favorite chili powder if you want, but the whole chiles are cool.

If you use whole chiles, toast them in a 300 degree oven for about 5 minutes to activate all of their oils and flavors. Then you can add them right into the braising liquid.

This will smell spicy.

The Braising liquid

Braising the pork makes it incredibly tender and flavorful and is really the only way to go in my opinion. Take the pot that you used to brown the pork (you didn’t wash it did you?!)

Put the pot over high heat again and pour in about 1 Cup of warm water. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, scrape up all of those delicious pork bits. It should make a pretty dark liquid. Then add your pork pieces back into that liquid.

Add your beers, chiles, garlic, bay leaves, and enough water to just barely cover the pork. Should look something like this:

Do I have to tell you how this turned out?

Let this come to a simmer. Once it’s simmering, put on the lid and stick it in a 325 degree oven for about 3 hours. It’ll take that long for all of the fat in the pork to melt completely.

After a few hours, you can lift your pork pieces out with tongs. You’ll know you’re done because the pieces should almost fall apart just from lifting them out. They should be really tender.

After a few hours...

You’ll need to let these cool for a few minutes before you can handle them. Meanwhile, heat up your oven to 450.

Once your pork is cool, pull it into chunks using either your fingers or two forks. For guy’s night, I just used my hands because that’s the manly thing to do.

Add this to a baking dish.

It basically just falls apart.

Right now the pork is delicious, but it’s not as delicious as it could be. Ideally, we want to crisp it up a bit to make the texture even better.

Remember those pork drippings that were left over from browning the meat? Pour those over the pulled pork. Then add the dish into the oven.

After about 10 or 15 minutes, the pork will be crispy on the edges and just as tender.

Crispy and delicious.

Add this to a warm tortilla with your toppings of choice and you are ready for a meal.

The cojita is awesome.

If you’re curious what guys do when the ladies are out, I’ll let you in on a secret.

We try to take over the world.

Global Domination!

Dorky? Maybe. But whatever. We had fun (and I won). Plus we ate really well.

So take that ladies. Maybe next time we’ll invite you.

]]> http://www.macheesmo.com/2010/03/guys-night-carnitas/feed/ 13 http://www.macheesmo.com/2009/11/buffalo-chili/ http://www.macheesmo.com/2009/11/buffalo-chili/#comments Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:00:46 +0000 Nick http://www.macheesmo.com/?p=9282 Chili is always an intimidating thing for me to make due to people’s chili allegiances. Similar to ribs, people have serious beliefs on what chili should be: beans, no beans, beef only, etc. It can get a little crazy so I’m always a bit hesitant to make it for fear of causing a chili feud.

But it’s fall and it’s football season, and sometimes I just need chili. So for the last poll, I posted only chili recipes, and then ended up making one that wasn’t even an option to vote for: buffalo. Allow me to explain! First, beef won and for chilis buffalo and beef can be used pretty much interchangeably. Second, a commenter suggested I make buffalo instead of beef so it wasn’t really my idea to sabotage the poll (Hi Lauren!). Third, buffalo is delicious, inexpensive, and underrated so I wanted to use it.

Buffalo chili really hit the spot.

Probably the best chili I've ever made.

This chili is spicy and has some intermediate elements to it like making your own chili powder. The final product is amazing though and you can of course take some short cuts if you want like using canned black beans or pre-packaged chili powder.

You can fret about getting chili perfect, but at the end of the day it’s probably going to be pretty darn good regardless of what you do.

Buffalo Chili

Yield: Serves 6.

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

Chili:
1/4 Cup olive oil
2 pounds buffalo (or beef) roast, trimmed of any large fat pieces and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
Salt, pepper, and a pinch of all-purpose flour
1 large red onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, crushed
4 Tablespoons chili powder (I made a blend of ancho and New Mexico chilis.)
1 Tablespoon ground cumin (roasted whole seeds are awesome)
1 bottle dark beer
2 Cups water (Bobby recommends chicken stock, but I think water makes the chili flavor really do all the talking.)
1 (28 ounce) can stewed, crushed tomatoes
4 chipotle peppers, diced (optional)
1 Tablespoon honey
1 Cup dried black beans or 2 Cups cooked
1 lime, juice only
Chips for dippin'

Cumin Cream:
1 Tablespoon toasted cumin seeds, crushed (you can use ground if that's all you have)
1 Cup sour cream or creme fraiche
Salt and pepper

Guacamole: (or avocado relish as Bobby calls it...)
2 avocados
1/2 red onion, diced
1 jalapeno, finely diced
Lime juice
Chopped cilantro
Salt and pepper

Helpful Equipment:
Spice Grinder

Directions:

1) Cut roast into cubes and toss it lightly with 1 Tablespoon of flour and salt and pepper.

2) Heat up oil over high heat in a large pan with a lid. Once your oil is hot, brown the meat in batches and let it brown nicely on all sides for just a few minutes. The goal here isn’t to cook the meat, it’s just to brown it a bit and get some flavors going in the pan.

3) After a few minutes, remove all meat and set it aside. Take your pan off the heat until you’re ready to make your chili so all the bits of flavor in the pan don’t actually burn. Don’t wash your pan though!

4) For chili powder, split each pepper in half (remove the seeds and stems) and roast in a 200 degree oven for about 30-40 minutes. Let them cool for a few minutes. Give the roasted peppers a whirl in your spice grinder.

5) Put the pan back on the stove with about 4 Tablespoons of oil. Add red onions and start to cook them down. After a few minutes add garlic. After another minute or so add all chili powders and cumin!

6) Add your full bottle of beer. Open a beer for you. You deserve it.

7) Stirring pretty steadily, let the beer cook down in your onions and chili for about 10 minutes. It should reduce by about half.

8) Add your buffalo/beef back to the mix and then add all your other ingredients except the beans. Give it a good stir and bring it to a simmer.

9) Let this cook down on low heat, covered, for about 45 minutes. Give it a stir every 15 minutes or so.
Note: If you look at Bobby’s original recipe it says to add 5 Cups of liquid. If I would have done that, I would’ve made buffalo soup. Basically, I’d recommend adding enough water to just barely cover your meat and veggies.

10) For the Creme Fraiche (you could substitute sour cream) stir in a Tablespoon or so of cumin and stick it back in the fridge until you need it.

11) For the “Avocado relish” also known as guacamole, mix everything up in a bowl!

12) Once chili has cooked for about 45 minutes, uncover it and add beans and continue to cook it for another 15 minutes or so until it is nice and thick.

13) Taste it! What does it need? More heat? More salt? Adjust it accordingly. Serve it with a big scoop of avocado and cumin cream with lots of chips for dipping!

From a Bobby Flay recipe.

If you just break this dish into parts, it isn’t all that hard.

Preparing the meat

A good 2 pound roast is the best for a dish like this. You want there to be some fat throughout the meat which will make your meat really tender as it cooks. Cut your roast into cubes and toss it lightly with flour and salt and pepper.

You don’t want the meat actually coated in flour. You just want it to kind of dry out the meat a bit. I used maybe 1 Tablespoon for the whole 2 pounds of meat. You shouldn’t even be able to see the flour on the meat. Hit it with a really good pinch of salt and pepper also.

Has some decent marbling on it.

Heat up your oil over high heat in a large pan with a lid. You’re going to make the chili all in one pan. Once your oil is hot, throw in all your meat and let it brown nicely on all sides for just a few minutes. The goal here isn’t to cook the meat, it’s just to brown it a bit and get some flavors going in the pan.

If you have little brown bits stuck to the pan, that’s a good thing! After a few minutes, remove all your meat and set it aside. Take your pan off the heat until you’re ready to make your chili so all the bits of flavor in the pan don’t actually burn. Don’t wash your pan though!

Pretty much rare.

Making the Chili Powder

I think making your own chili powder can add a lot of personality to the dish. For my version I used two different kinds of chiles: The New Mexico Chile and the Ancho Chile. Neither of them are particularly spicy, but they have some good flavor.

I love these guys like family.

To make the powder, you just need to dry these guys out a bit more. Split each pepper in half (remove the seeds and stems) and roast them in a 200 degree oven for about 30-40 minutes. Then let them cool for a few minutes. They should be very crunchy after that.

Then just give them a whirl in your spice grinder and you’ll have really flavorful chili powder!

Slightly different colors and flavors.

Obviously, you can make this earlier in the day or even days in advance if you are crunched for time. It will keep in an airtight container for awhile.

Other ingredients

It’s probably a good idea to get all your other ingredients ready as well before you start building the chili.

You'll want these guys also.

Not pictured are beans. I used some dry beans which I cooked according to the package (soaking the night before and boiling in slightly salted water.) You could definitely use canned though if you want. We’ll add in the beans at the very end of the chili.

Starting the chili

Remember that pan that you cooked the meat in? Get it back on the heat. You want there to be about 4 Tablespoons of oil in the pan so depending on how much oil your meat used and how much fat it gave off, you might need to add or remove some oil from the pan. I just kind of eyeballed it and ended up adding another Tablespoon of oil.

Next add your red onions and start to cook them down. After a few minutes add your garlic to the mix. Keep a close eye on this so it doesn’t burn. After another minute or so add all your chili powders and cumin! I also tossed in a bit of cayenne for some heat, but it might have been overkill!

This will make a dark and mysterious paste-like thing.

Intense flavors!

It will smell really strong which is awesome. Next, add your full bottle of beer. It will hiss and steam and smell even better.

Open a beer for you. You deserve it.

Cook it down

Stirring pretty steadily, let the beer cook down in your onions and chili for about 10 minutes. It should reduce by about half.

Adding everything else

Once it has cooked down a bit more, add your buffalo/beef back to the mix and then add all your other ingredients except the beans.

Give it a good stir and bring it to a simmer.

The simmer is on.

Let this cook down on low heat, covered, for about 45 minutes. Give it a stir every 15 minutes or so.

Note: If you look at Bobby’s original recipe it says to add 5 Cups of liquid. If I would have done that, I would’ve made buffalo soup. Basically, I’d recommend adding enough water to just barely cover your meat and veggies.

The Condiments

The condiments for this dish are optional, but I think they were a nice touch. For the Creme Fraiche, you could substitute sour cream, but just stir in a Tablespoon or so of cumin and stick it back in the fridge until you need it.

Meanwhile make this!

For the “Avocado relish” also known as guacamole, mix everything up in a bowl!

And this!

Once your chili has cooked for about 45 minutes, uncover it and add your beans and continue to cook it for another 15 minutes or so until it is nice and thick. And as with most things: Taste it! What does it need? More heat? More salt? Adjust it accordingly.

Serve it with a big scoop of avocado and cumin cream with lots of chips for dipping!

Some serious comfort food.

This is just one of those meals where you feel complete after eating it. It’s so perfect for a rainy day when you just want to curl up on the couch and eat some comfort food, but it’s equally good for pleasing a football watching crowd!

So while I’m no chili-officianado, I know what thing: This chili is good. And if you’re in need of some chili love, this recipe will provide it.

I was right to be excited. I was wrong to be worried.

As far as briskets go, I haven’t had too many braised ones actually. I usually eat them smoked, but that might change. Slow cooking a brisket for many hours in a rich Porter sauce makes for a really amazing fall dish.

No need for a knife!

It should go without saying that this lovely dish is not a weeknight afterthought meal. This is a meal you need to plan for, but don’t worry. It will pay back dividends for your planning.

The original recipe called for a 6-7 pound brisket and you could even get a much larger brisket if you ordered a full one from a butcher (probably in the 12 pound range). I just couldn’t justify cooking that amount of food when I’m basically cooking for two people (although a very helpful neighbor did stop by to help us put a dent in this on day one.)

I decided to pare down the recipe and use a 4 pound brisket and I think that was about as big as my kitchen equipment could handle. But if I had the right pans, I would make a larger version next time just because it turned out so perfectly wonderful and would be great leftovers for sandwiches and stuff.

Porter Braised Brisket

Yield: Serves 4-6.

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 6 hours + overnight rest

Ingredients:

1 4 pound brisket
2 Tablespoons olive oil (for browning the brisket)

Dry rub:
2 Teaspoons fresh ground pepper
2 Teaspoons dry mustard
2 Teaspoons fresh sage, minced
2 Teaspoons fresh thyme, minced
1 Tablespoon Kosher salt

Braising Liquid:
4 Cups chicken broth (homemade is best)
1 12-ounce bottle Porter beer (stout is cool too)
6 whole prunes (kind of strange, but works)
4 bay leaves
2 Teaspoons brown sugar

Veggies:
4 Cups sliced onions (about 3 medium onions)
6 whole garlic cloves, peeled
1 pound mushrooms, halved
1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon malt vinegar (I actually used red wine vinegar)

Helpful Equipment:
Heavy Iron Pan (or cast iron dutch oven)

Directions:

1) Make the dry rub by mixing together all the ingredients in a bowl. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Trim off some fat from the brisket.

2) Take spice rub and cover brisket with it on both sides.

3) In a large heavy roasting pan, heat a few Tablespoons of oil. When it is really hot, put the brisket in and sear it well on both sides. This should take about 5 minutes per side.

4) Once you pull the brisket out, add 2 Cups of chicken stock to the pan. Use a spatula to stir up any little burned bits stuck to the pan.

5) Once chicken stock is simmering, add prunes, brown sugar, bay leaf, and Porter. Bring that mixture to a boil.

6) Set brisket in this liquid, fat side up. Then layer all those sliced onions on top of the brisket with the garlic cloves! Cook this, covered, for one hour.

7) Take it out and you should see that the onions have turned translucent.

8) Turn the brisket over and push all of the onions into the braising liquid. Cook this uncovered for 30 minutes.

9) Add another cup of chicken broth, cover it and cook it for another 90 minutes.

10) Meanwhile, prepare mushrooms and carrots. You want pretty large pieces or they will just disintegrate.

11) After the 90 minutes, take the brisket out and add the other veggies and one more cup of chicken broth. Set the brisket back on top of the veggies so the veggies are mostly submerged in the braising liquid. Cook this for another 45 minutes with the lid on.

12) Let it cool at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, then let it sit in the fridge for at least 24 - 48 hours.

13) 24 – 48 hours later, get a spoon and gentle spoon off as much fat as you can. Don’t worry about getting all of it.

14) Lift the brisket out of the pot and put the pot with the sauce and veggies over high heat. You want it simmering nicely!

15) Slice the brisket against the grain. Lay out all the slices in a large baking dish.

16) Once the sauce and veggies has come to a simmer, very carefully pour it over the cold brisket slices. Cover this with foil and bake it for yet another 75 minutes at 350 degrees.

17) Finally. Once that baking is done, you can eat it up! Serve up a few slices with all the veggies and sauce.

Adapted from Bon Appétit Oct 2009.

Making the rub

Make the dry rub by mixing together all the ingredients in a bowl. Note that they amounts above are for the 4 pound brisket I had. Adjust if you are using a larger one. Also, now would be a good time to preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Here's the rub.

Preparing the brisket

Depending on where you get your brisket from and what size you get, you might need to trim off some fat from the brisket. The fatty side of the brisket should have an even layer of fat. Trim off any extra. Don’t worry too much about getting it perfect.

Then take your spice rub and cover your brisket with it on both sides. In a large heavy roasting pan (I used my cast iron pot which was only big enough for a 4 pound brisket), heat a few Tablespoons of oil. When it is really hot, put the brisket in and sear it well on both sides. Should take about 5 minutes per side.

Brown food tastes good.

Prepping the liquid

Once your pull your brisket out, add 2 Cups of chicken stock to the pan. It will hiss! Use a spatula to stir up any little burned bits stuck to the pan. That’s all flavor. Once your chicken stock is simmering, add your prunes, brown sugar, bay leaf, and Porter. Bring that mixture to a boil.

Preparing the braise

Next, set your brisket in this liquid, fat side up. Then layer all those sliced onions on top of the brisket with your garlic cloves! It’s okay if you lose a few onions into the liquid. Just get them all in the pot.

Lots of onions...

Cook this, covered, for one hour. Then take it out and you should see that the onions have turned translucent.

Brisket hiding under onions.

Turn the brisket over and push all of the onions into the braising liquid.

Cook this uncovered for 30 minutes. Then add another cup of chicken broth, cover it and cook it for another 90 minutes. This is the definition of slow cooking here people…

Meanwhile, prepare your mushrooms and carrots. You want pretty large pieces or they will just disintegrate.

More Veggies are needed.

After the 90 minutes, take the brisket out and add the other veggies and one more cup of chicken broth. Set the brisket back on top of the veggies so the veggies are mostly submerged in the braising liquid.

Cook this for another 45 minutes with the lid on.

After that, you should end up with a very tender piece of meat and a stew of veggies in a really rich sauce. It’ll look about like this:

After a long day of cooking...

Oh the waiting…

Here’s the hard part. This needs to sit in the fridge for at least 24 hours. I let mine sit for 48 hours. One note, make sure to let it cool at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before sticking it in your fridge.

After a day or two you’ll pull out something that looks much different. Don’t worry. All of the deliciousness is still intact.

Maybe not the most attractive photo. Deal with it.

There will be a decent layer of fat that has congealed on the surface. It’s not attractive and won’t really help your final cause. Get a spoon and gentle spoon off as much as you can. Don’t worry about getting all of it.

Then lift your brisket out of your pot and put the pot with the sauce and veggies over high heat. You want it simmering nicely!

Meanwhile, slice your brisket against the grain. It will be really easy to slice if you do it while it’s cold. Then lay out all the slices in a large baking dish.

This is when I fell in love.

See all those little veins in each slice? Those are little veins of fat and as the brisket warms up, they will melt and make for a wonderfully tender finished product.

Once your sauce and veggies has come to a simmer, very carefully pour it over your cold brisket slices. It might be a tight fit depending on your pan size!

Somewhere in there is 4 pounds of brisket.

Cover this with foil and bake it for yet another 75 minutes at 350 degrees.

Finally. Once that baking is done, you can eat it up! Serve up a few slices with all the veggies and sauce. I can’t even explain in words how tender and flavorful this was.

Serve with a dark beer or red wine obviously.

Here’s the kind of cool thing about this dish. I made it on a Sunday morning and ate it on a Tuesday night. I watched football while it cooked. There really isn’t a lot of work involved with it. Just a lot of time. Then I just did the reheating step on Tuesday night and it made for a perfect weeknight dinner.

I mean this stuff was amazing. It was a great combination between a very tender steak and a delicious pot roast. I had it for leftovers in sandwich form and just sliced. It’s amazing no matter what.

I wish I had 4 more pounds of the stuff.

But that’s what this site is all about. I had never made chile rellenos before and honestly I was a bit scared. I mean, peppers are tender guys, especially after they have been roasted. And i just couldn’t imagine stuffing them with cheese and having that work. Turns out I had nothing really to worry about with these chile rellenos. They turned out awesome.

EAT ME.

You can use a lot of different peppers when making chile rellenos. The classic is the Hatch Green Chile, but you can use any large medium-spiced pepper. I chose poblanos just because I’m pretty familiar with them and they are large enough to fill and easy to find.

Poblano Chile Rellenos

Yield: Serves 4.

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

10 poblano peppers. Adjust the recipe accordingly if you use more ore less peppers
10 ounces of pepper jack or cheddar cheese
2 Cups of spinach, loosely chopped
1 Cup oil, for frying

Beer Batter (From Use Real Butter)
1 1/4 Cups flour (I actually used another 1/4 cup because I thought my batter was a bit runny.)
1 Teaspoon Kosher salt
4 eggs, separated into yolks and whites
1/2 Cup beer (save the rest for drinking)

Quick Salsa:
1 28 ounce can tomatoes. I used crushed and just strained out the liquid.
3 roasted jalepeno peppers, chopped fine
1 serrano pepper, fresh and chopped fine
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 scallions, chopped including greens
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
Pinch of oregano
1/4 cup loose cilantro, chopped
Salt and pepper

Helpful Equipment:
Deep Frying Thermometer
Cast Iron Skillet

Directions:

1) Pile the peppers onto a sheet pan and roast them at about 450 degrees for 25-35 minutes. Be sure to keep an eye on them and turn them every few minutes to ensure even charring.

2) Mix all of the salsa ingredients in a bowl while the peppers roast.

3) When the peppers are done roasting, cover them with plastic wrap or wrap them in a paper bag for 10 minutes to let them steam.

4) Clean the peppers: Run the pepper under cold water and peel off the skin. Make a small slit down one side of the pepper. Using your fingers, reach in and pull out all the seeds and extra pepper guts.

5) Grate the cheese and mix it in with the spinach.

6) Using your fingers, gently fill each pepper with the filling. You can stuff them pretty full, but make sure that you can close the pepper so the two open sides can touch.

7) Mix the egg yolks, salt, flour, and beer in a bowl.

8) In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until they have medium stiff peaks and then slowly fold the egg whites into the beer flour mixture. Try to keep as many of the bubbles as possible.

9) Using your favorite skillet, heat up about 1 cup of vegetable or canola oil. You want about 1/3 inch or so of oil in the pan. Get it hot and then lay in each pepper seam side down after you dip it in the batter. You can test that the oil is hot by flicking in a bit of the batter and seeing if it fries.

10) Fry in hot oil for about 4 minutes a side. Then scoop them out with a spatula onto a paper towel to cool and drain.

11) Top with a good helping of the salsa and enjoy!

Roasting the Peppers

Step one in this recipe, before we even get to the recipe, is to roast the peppers. I would assume about two or three peppers per person and just pile the peppers onto a sheet pan and roast them at about 450 degrees for 25-35 minutes. Be sure to keep an eye on them and turn them every few minutes to ensure even charring.

If I’m just roasting a few peppers, then I would roast them on my stove top like I did in this recipe. But for large jobs, the oven is faster.

Ready for the roaster boys?

Make a salsa

The chile rellenos are good but they really need some sort of salsa or sauce to top them off. There are a lot of options for this. You could use an enchilada sauce. You could make this awesome roasted pepper salsa. Or if you are tight on time you could just make a quick 10 minute salsa.

Basically, just mix all of these things up in a bowl while your peppers roast. Fast and delicious. Not the best salsa I’ve ever had, but it’s plenty good.

10 minute salsa is pretty solid.

When your peppers are done roasting, cover them with plastic wrap or wrap them in a paper bag for 10 minutes to let them steam. This will make them really easy to peel.

Notice the time travel. The below photo has my roasted jalepenos. But they are being chopped in the above photo. The Internet allows for things like that to happen. Sorry.

Lots of roasting happening here.

Cleaning the peppers

These guys are pretty easy to clean once you get the hang of it and don’t worry if you mess up one or two. Once they are dipped in batter they will be fine. These are the ideal steps to clean them though:

1) Run the pepper under cold water and peel off the skin.
2) make a small slit down one side of the pepper.
3) Using your fingers (they are the best tools here), reach in and pull out all the seeds and extra pepper guts.

Try to keep the stems on if you can as they will make for easier dipping later. As you can see though (bottom right) I lost a stem on one or two and they still worked out okay.

I messed up a few of these. No worries.

Filling the Peppers

Filling the peppers is pretty easy. Grate your cheese and mix it in with your spinach. Then, using your fingers yet again, gently fill each pepper with the filling. You can stuff them pretty full, but make sure that you can close the pepper so the two open sides can touch.

These look open, but I squished them closed before I dipped them in the beer batter.

And the pepper says, "Man I'm stuffed."

Making the batter

Mix your egg yolks, salt, flour, and beer in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk your egg whites until they have medium stiff peaks and then slowly fold your egg whites into your beer flour mixture. Try to keep as many of the bubbles as possible. You should end up with a pretty light batter.

Can't go wrong with Brooklyn.

Frying the peppers

Using your favorite skillet, heat up about 1/2 cup of vegetable or canola oil. You want about 1/3 inch or so of oil in the pan. Get it hot and then lay in each pepper after you dip it in the batter. You can test that the oil is hot by flicking in a bit of the batter and seeing if it fries.

Remember to lay the pepper with the seam side down. That will seal the whole thing closed.

No explosions please.

These should fry in hot oil for about 4 minutes a side. Then scoop them out with a spatula onto a paper towel to cool and drain.

Nice and crispy.

Top these bad boys with a good helping of the salsa and you are all set!

This was a tasty bite.

I was really worried about this recipe. I thought a lot could go wrong but in reality, it was a pretty forgiving recipe. I messed up a few peppers, but they still filled okay and fried just fine. I was also worried about the cheese not being melted when the pepper was fried perfectly, but that wasn’t a problem at all.

These guys may have been a bit of work, but they were really good. Give them a shot if you are looking for something a bit challenging. And awesome.

There are few dishes I find as comforting as fried chicken tenders and honey mustard. It’s a simple dish, quick to prepare and you really can’t mess it up. Fixing a proper batch of chicken fingers isn’t the most interesting thing to do though, so I’ve decided to change things up a bit… Namely, no more chicken tenders. I’m going to focus a little more on the mustards here. I’ll be preparing four small batches of mustard and to go with the mustard we’ll be frying up a plateful of dill pickle slices and putting together a couple of turkey sandwiches. Nothing too extravagant, just nice pairings for the mustard.

There are a lot of mustard recipes out there and they’re all pretty different. Understandably there is a wide range of flavor combinations ranging from spicy raspberry to champagne infused sparkling mustard. Not only that but some call for cooking your mustard on a stove top, others say you should let it sit in the fridge over night. Through a fair bit of trial and error I’ll share a couple of tips that I’ve come across as I’ve been making my own blends of mustards in the kitchen.

First off, don’t go trying to make a croc pot full of this stuff until you really find a good blend. Realistically, you probably aren’t going to be using more than 10 or 12 ounces within a month unless you’re a mustard fanatic. And besides, the homemade stuff really only keeps about a month.

So here’s what you’ll need to get started:

I rounded up five 1/2 oz containers of ground mustard, 1/2 oz of turmeric, a bag of flour and sugar, two bottles of vinegar – one is apple cider vinegar and the other is plain distilled vinegar, and a large honey bear. I also picked up a small container of mustard seeds and a Hefeweizen wheat beer.

My preferred method of preparing mustard is to use a small food processor to mix everything up in a timely manner and then I let the mustard sit for about an hour in the fridge to let all of the ingredients mingle a bit. I’m impatient so I haven’t tried cooking my mustards, I’m pretty happy with the outcome and I figure if it tastes good, don’t fix it.

The first batch of mustard I put together was a honey Hefeweizen mustard. Essentially it’s a tangy honey mustard with a wheat beer kick and a little extra heat. I start off with my dry ingredients, putting a whole container of ground mustard (just about one tablespoon) into the food processor with an equal amount of flour and two teaspoons of sugar. Next I add a generous squeeze of honey, about 1/3 cup.

Now for the beer. It’s really best to use flat beer if you’re going to be using a mixer or food processor like me, otherwise just be prepared to wait a few minutes for the head to die down after pouring… I add equal parts beer and cider vinegar to the mix, about 2-2.5 ounces. After that you can start mixing away. This recipe will give you a light tan, slightly yellow mustard that is going to be quite runny at first. Keep mixing until you see a consistent color and texture.

Take a taste and add more sugar or honey if that tail end of the mustard’s kick is too much for you. You can always add flour but if you end up with a mix of more than 60/40 flour to mustard powder you can start to taste the flour.

When you’re satisfied with the taste of the mustard just pour it in a bowl and throw it in the fridge for about an hour. This will allow the mustard to thicken up a little and the flavors will settle down a bit. After you pull the bowl out of the fridge you’ll notice the mustard will still be a little thinner than the store bought stuff, this is my personal taste – I think this works better for dipping and pouring. If you’d prefer a thicker mustard you can cut back on the beer and cider vinegar a bit. I happen to like the purportions right where they are, the beer gives the sweet mustard a little bit of bite and the cider vinegar delivers a kick right at the end.

If you like thicker, spicier or even sweeter mustards then I’ve got you covered there as well. The steps for preparing the next three batches will be exactly the same only the ingredients will be a bit different. The Balsamic and Primitivo mustard is really the only mustard that really needed to sit overnight to properly thicken up, all the others were good to go within an hour. Here’s what you need for each additional mustard batch:

Spicy Thick Yellow Mustard

1 1/2 tablespoon of mustard powder
1 1/2 tablespoon of sugar
6 tablespoons distilled vinegar
1 tablespoon of flour
1 teaspoon of turmeric
1/2 table spoon mustard seed

Mellow and Sweet Honey Mustard

3/4 cup of honey
3 tablespoons of vinegar
3 tablespoons of sugar
1/2 tablespoon of mustard powder
1 tablespoon of flour

Balsamic and Primitivo Mustard

1/2 tablespoon of mustard powder
2 1/2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons of Primitivo or Zinfandel wine
1 tablespoon of flour
3 tablespoons of sugar

The spicy mustard recipe will leave you with a very thick, very spicy, very yellow mustard that will go well with a burger and fries. The second recipe will give you a much more mellow, sweet honey mustard that is perfect for dipping without the heat or the kick of the Hefeweizen. The final recipe will need to sit over night for the flavors to blend and for the consistency to thicken up, don’t be alarmed if it’s really runny at first. The Balsamic and Primitivo mustard wouldn’t go too well with fried pickles so we put it on turkey sandwiches the next day.

The mustard ended up being a purple-maroon color, it went well with some turkey from the deli, lettuce, onions and a little mayo on whole grain bread. The flavor of the wine and Balsamic vinegar play nicely off of each other and really class up a turkey sandwich.

Prep time for each batch of mustard was about 10 minutes. It can be a little messy with all the ground mustard and flour moving around but by the time you’re done cleaning up and you’ve fixed something to dip in your mustard, it should be properly chilled.

Note from Nick: I found this all to be amazing. I’ve made homemade ketchup before, but it’s ridiculous I’ve never tried this given that mustard is my favorite. Once I get back state-side I’ll be experimenting with some of these. Thanks Corey!

These were our ingredients for this battle: Leeks and Lamb

The ingredients of choice.

So, once again, and I know this because we ate them together, I managed to make almost the exact same dish as my competitor. We both went for a lamb burger slider. This was the basic recipe I used:

Lamb Burger Sliders

- 2 pounds ground lamb
- 6 ounces feta
- 2-3 Tablespoons of rosemary and parsley, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- Salt and Pepper
- A few glugs of beer (I probably used about half of a beer). This keeps the burger nice and moist.

Now you could stuff the feta into the center of each burger, but I like to mix the feta in. That way as the feta melts, it provides extra moisture to every bite.

Adding feta makes it salty and juicy.

I also wanted to add a bunch of herbs to this burger. But let’s talk about one herb I wanted to add, but couldn’t find anywhere: MINT. I have two theories why I couldn’t find it in any of the three stores I checked: 1) Pete knew I was making burgers and tried to spite me by buying up all the mint in the entire Metro area or 2) We happened to be making these dishes on Kentucky Derby weekend. (Mint juleps anyone?)

Anyway, I did my best.

Adding other stuff except no mint!

I formed these into perfect 4 ounce patties because I like my mini-burgers (sliders) to be about half as large as a normal burger. Any smaller than that and I find that they get a bit dry. 4 ounces is perfect though.

For me, mini equals 4 ounces.

Since I was just making burgers, I thought I would kick it up a notch by making my own buns. I must say that these turned out fantastic and were possibly the best part of my dish. The recipe which I got courtesy of the Wild Yeast Blog, was pretty intense. It requires a preferment batch of dough and some interesting ingredients (molasses), but it is all worth it. They turned out beautifully.

Sweet buns, dude.

Now lets talk about the leeks. I had two things I wanted to do with these guys. First, I wanted to make some caramelized leeks to put on the burgers. Anytime you caramelize something, you need a lot of it. I used six leeks and cut them into fairly uniform matchsticks.

This was like 6 leeks.

I sauteed these for about twenty minutes on medium heat in a few tablespoons of olive oil until most were browned nicely. Leeks don’t have as much liquid as onions and they don’t caramelize quite the same. They will burn easily if you take your eye off them.

Caramelizing and frying!

See the pot in the back? That’s filled with canola oil. I also had the idea to split up a leek and make a blooming leek! I’m sure most people have tried the awesome blooming onion appetizer that when deep-frired, opens like a flower. Then you can break off each delicious fried section.

I thought it might be possible to split a leek open so that it opens in the same way.

For the batter for this, I used a traditional beer batter:

Buttermilk Beer Batter

- 2 Cups Flour
- 1.5 Cups buttermilk
- 1.5 Cups beer (I used an IPA because that is what I happened to have.)
- Big pinch of salt
- Lemon zest (optional)

A good batter will most likely have both of these.

For the blooming leek I sliced it vertically into eighths, hoping it would kind of peel open. I also left a large section of green on it, which made it super easy to dip into the oil.

Blooming leek!

I was expecting this to be a pretty big FAIL, and it didn’t “bloom” perfectly, but it tasted okay. Tasted like fried leek which tastes pretty darn good. To serve it I cut off the green stem and people just kind of peeled off parts, like they would the onion variety.

Turned out okay!

But let’s get down to business: The burgers. We both decided to make burgers and they were both stellar. Here is something you don’t get to see often on food blog battles: an actual side by side photo of the two dishes:

Tough call.

I should also mention that Pete’s Lamb in a Slanket where really inventive and amazing. They were a really cool appetizer. No doubt about it. I didn’t take a photo of them, but I’m sure he has a few photos of them up on his post which you should obviously check out.

This battle was the exact reason why I wanted to start doing this. It was awesome to get to meet someone else who likes cooking and food as much as I do. We had a few beers and a few burgers and it was a great time.

So check out Pete’s post, and obviously, vote for your favorite!

Also, the polls close at noon EST tomorrow (Wednesday).

We’ll do something else on the real V-Day that doesn’t involve going out to a restaurant because that is pure madness in my mind.

I know that there are mixed feelings on Valentine’s Day and that is understandable. I’ve always sort of thought of it as a time to show thanks to those you care about. That could be a person that you are dating or married to, but could also be a roommate or you could just bring cookies into the office or something.

When I used to live in a group house we would occasionally have a big Valentine’s Day feast together and it was always a lot of fun. We would make multiple courses and really live it up.

I tried to replicate that this year except it was just for me and Betsy and our new cat Tipsy. It’s possible that I went a bit overboard for this meal. I wanted to test my skills at planning a full four course meal, cooking everything from scratch, and actually doing it all on time.

I think I more or less succeeded. Over the next four days I’m going to share each course that I made and at the end I’ll give a little wrap up on the way I planned the meal.

SO, let’s get started with the first course: Artichoke Fritters with a Green Goddess Dipping Sauce

Artichoke fritters. Excellent.

Fritters are delicious and not too terrible to make. I had to set up the frying station for a later course, so it wasn’t too much extra work. The only thing that made this recipe difficult was the pesky artichokes. I’m really not good at dealing with them. When Bets saw this recipe in the most recent Bon Appétit though, she let out a small yelp of excitement. So I knew they had to be on the menu.

Let’s start with the dipping sauce. The recipe called for a tangy green goddess dipping sauce. Sounded good to me.

Green Goddess Sauce
1/4 Cup chopped chives
1/4 Cup chopped parsley
1 Tablespoon chopped taragon (optional)
2 Teaspoons anchovy paste or 2 anchovy fillets (optional)
2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
3 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 Cup creme fraiche, sour cream, or Greek yogurt. I used the later.

This stuff is tangy!

You could make the sauce the day before if you wanted. It would keep fine.

Now on to the fritters. This is what you will need:

Fritters
1 Cup plus 2 Tablespoons flour
1/2 Teaspoon salt
3/4 cup lager
2 large eggs, separated. We’ll use the yolks and whites separately
3 Tablespoons Olive oil
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
Lemon zest from half a lemon
2-4 large artichokes (the original calls for 6 which seems like too much)

Don’t even get me started on how infuriating BA’s instructions can be sometimes. If I would have followed their recipe exactly, I think it would have been a failure. It’s not that they say anything blatantly wrong (although I think 6 artichokes would have been complete overkill here), they are just very vague about preparation sometimes which is super annoying.

Especially when you are dealing with what has to be the oddest vegetable out there – the artichoke. I’m not sure who figured out they could eat these things, but they must have been hungry.

Let’s deal with them. Do one artichoke at a time and when you are done with it quickly put the slices in a lemon water bath. Otherwise they will brown horribly. First slice the top off of the artichoke and then cut off the stem. Leave about 3/4 inch of the stem. Then cut off all of the hard external leaves. Leave about 2 or 3 layers of fairly soft leaves. Also peel the stem part with a vegetable peeler or knife. Basically whittle it down to nothing.

Then slice the artichoke in half and you will reveal the flower part of the thing. There is no easy way to do this but you have to get all of that stuff out. The easiest way that I have found is to get a paring knife and slide it all around the little fibers. You want to keep them mostly intact if possible. Then they should just sort of fall out. They won’t. But they should.

Like. WHAT?

Once you have it clean, set the choke on its top so its stem is facing straight up then slice it into 1/2 inch slices.

After a soak in lemon water.

Eventually you will end up with a bowl of artichoke slices. Unfortunately, you are not done. Now you have to cook these guys. Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a pan and then add your artichoke slices. Drain them first. Add about 1/2 cup of water and a good pinch of salt and pepper to the pan. Then cover and let simmer for about 10 minutes until the artichokes are very soft.

Done and sort of mushed up.

You will want to make the batter at least 30 minutes ahead as it will need to rest. Basically, just combine your flour, salt, egg yolks only, beer, and two Tablespoons olive oil in a boil. Whisk it up.

Batter is a go.

Then take whatever your favorite deep-frying pan is and fill it up a few inches deep with canola or peanut oil. Something neutral. You want to heat this to about 375.

While that is heating, take your egg whites – you saved them right? – and beat them until they are fluffy, but not dry or stiff. Then gently fold them into your batter along with the artichokes.

Everybody in the pool.

I always like to do a test run to make sure everything is good. Fold together your batter and then scoop about Tablespoon sized drops into the batter. Be careful not to spray hot oil everywhere.

This is a test.

Note the candy thermometer. They run like $6. If you are going through the trouble of making fritters from scratch – invest in one.

See that sauce in the back? That's for a different course. Betcha can't guess.

These guys only need a few minutes per side and then scoop them out onto a waiting paper towel to drain a bit. Serve while hot with the dipping sauce.

This was delicious.

This was the first course and they were very good. If only artichokes were a bit easier to work with. You could use the canned stuff maybe, but for this recipe, the fresh ones give a bunch more flavor I think. I think you could sub out the artichokes with Zucchini or something and still have very delicious fritters. A bit of a hassle no doubt, but they are delicious if you have the time.

We snacked on this leisurely while we watched the cat attempt to touch every square foot of carpet in our apartment at the same time. Crazy cat.

After this, you might want to check out the Second Course: Pear and Pecan Salad!