Chili
So It was something I had been looking forward to all week long. After a long trek, over a day of preparation it finally got done and we ended up serving 3 people with enough chili to feed a small army. So I'm left with a bunch of leftovers. It's pretty good, maybe a bit to spicy for Shannon. I'm still working on it.
One of the changes this time around was adding some more peppers and also used a different chili powder. And I'm thinking I should change that all together. The one I used before was salt-free, this one has salt in it. But I'm really thinking I should go down further and actually grind my own dried peppers into a combination to use. So kind of to rework the spice mixture as a whole. We'll see.
Joseph was down doing laundry and so we finally broke out Ghost Pepper Salsa. I had bought it because I was stunned at seeing it at a local grocery store (I'd mention who, but I'm kind of pissed at them right now). So it has been in my cupboard for a while. So after chili and a bit of booze for me, we had maybe a spoonful total each (a few dips, a couple of small scoops). That was plenty. It really lingered. Now I am not sure what the amount that was in there. It didn't totally incapacitate me like the Big Daddy's hot sauce, but it certainly didn't leave a pleasant feeling.
This was cute when I opened it.
Chili, crumbled corn chips, shredded cheddar and sour cream
Moroccan-Style Chicken Sandwich (p59 September 2011 Bon Appétit)
So I started to follow the recipe, and decided I didn't really want to do it, so I ended up making it into a chicken salad. I mostly followed it, but swapped out some of the yogurt for some mayo and called it good. It was a bit strange. The slivered almonds really added some weirdness to the texture. The currents were the same way. It was nice to added to the flavor, but it was kind of odd. That being said, the sauce I added, and the yogurt and mayo it ended up clearly to wet. I finished it up today and it still had the same issue, too wet, slivered almonds, and odd tastes of currents (not sure if it is a good thing or not).
Pasta with Butcher Crick Tomatoes (sort of based on this) (actually going to go closer to this, this time)
So I had a a pile of tomatoes from Butcher Crick. So I chopped them up.
A pile of delicious tomatoesSo one of the main points here is the wide varieties of flavors from tomato to tomato. Some are sweeter, some are tarter, some are very acidic, some not as much. It was interesting to have such a good examples side by side to each other. All of these taste phenomenally better then anything that comes from the store. And that's probably the amount of time between picking and cutting. Anything in the store has been off the vine for a least a few days. Anyways, I cooked a little garlic, pepper, salt and red pepper flakes in olive oil and then added the tomatoes and cooked them until they were nearly breaking apart. Meanwhile the pasta was cooking in a pot and so I took the near finished pasta, and finished combining them in the pan. Topped with a little parmesan (the real kind, not the awful stuff) and it was finished.
Fresh tomato pastaSimple and delicious.
Shepherds Pie
So it was sort of based on the Alton Brown recipe. So, first off, I have to say that it shouldn't be as hard as it was to find extra lamb (bought 1 pound at the farmers market, bought the second at a store). So this was after not finding any at my main store, going to the upscale store, visiting the local other chain, and then visiting the branch on Ingersoll (usually have lamb products). I should of drained off a bit more of the lamb fat (there was a bit to much in there). Plus the added problem of not having enough potatoes. Anyways, the lamb kind of took over, but it was still delicious. And I really have to say that it took care of the chapped lips that I had. Clearly I am going to have to do this again, but this time around, I'm going to buy all the lamb I need from the market.
The whole Shepherds Pie (a bit of a mess)
The whole Shepherds Pie (a bit of a mess)Looks a bit better in the bowl