On Sunday we had our annual Chili Feed. I have regularly made some unique chilies to share with the group. Often I will get an award, something like chili with the most unique item, or the most like home cooking mom use to make. This year, I went simple. I made Macaroni and Cheese Chili. Recipe as follows
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 lb. ground beef
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 small yellow onion, diced
2 Tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. ground cumin
Kosher salt and black pepper
3 cups beef broth
1 (8-oz.) can tomato sauce
12 oz. large elbow macaroni
1 (15-oz.) can pinto beans, drained
1 1/2 cups grated cheddar, plus more for serving (about 6 oz.)
1 cup grated pepper jack cheese (about 4 oz.)
Cilantro, for serving
Hot sauce, to taste
Sour cream, for serving (optional)
Directions
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the ground beef, garlic, and onion. Season with the chili powder, cumin, and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until the beef is cooked through and browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the beef broth, tomato sauce, macaroni, and beans. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thick and the macaroni is al dente, 12 to 14 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat. Add the cheddar and pepper jack, and fold until the cheese is completely melted. Serve in bowls with cilantro, more cheddar, some hot sauce, and sour cream.
Sorry, I don't have the metric measurements.
I did not get any award this year. The competition was tough. But many of the people that sampled it said it was extremely good.
Next year I have a chili that is very unique. Involves apples. Looking to be the king of the hill next year.
Sounds delicious: how’s weather up in the Deep North?
Tropical Low 12U in the Coral Sea is already bringing lots of wet stuff. Might develop into a cyclone by the weekend. We're close to the beach, but safely far enough away from a tide surge. And we're out of the flood map. Plenty of Who Gives a Crap toilet paper 😊
Jeffrey Steingarten once opined that the best appetizers are miniaturized versions of already well-known foods, and as an example, posted a recipe for miniaturized BLT tarts.
I had this in mind when coming up with a dessert to bring for Christmas. Result: the invention of the Old Fashioned cocktail delivered as tarts.
Pastry: butter-based shortcrust cases baked in mini tart pans. Recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction
Filling 1: orange curd. Recipe from Martha Stewart
Filling 2: whiskey and bitter orange syrup, gelatinized. Recipe based on various YouTubers
Garnish: Luxardo cherry and a sprinkle of gold sanding sugar.
They were beautiful. They were delicious. They vanished shortly after their arrival.
I'm sure those used to catering for church events etc will know - do you have any good recipes that serve 10-15 people? Main courses and puddings please, and as easy as possible. Looking at recipes for a crowd seems to get you recipes for huge gatherings rather than something more in the middle.
@Pomona:
Will the food be served at your residence, or another location? Does that location have electricity, for cooking on site/keeping food warm there?
Are there dietary considerations?
Are there strict budgetary considerations?
Can it be pot-luck, or perhaps assigned pot-luck (asking people to contribute specific items, such as salads or desserts) or will it all be planned and prepared by you?
On a spectrum of rigid to experimental, where would most of the diners land?
As an example of why the latter question, for providing suggestions: Taco bars are increasingly popular in North America for small-group hosting. It's a buffet with Mexican-style tortillas (soft flatbreads) or taco shells, sauteed seasoned ground beef or chicken, shredded cheese, salsa, and chopped vegetables. It's a popular option for serving vegan/vegetarian/omnivore diets, and relatively inexpensive. But if your diners are unfamiliar with that kind of cuisine, it might not go over well.
Try googling with the phrase "potluck dinner" included. Most people in my experience show up to a potluck with a dish of the size and sort you describe--not one meant to feed EVERYBODY, just about 10 to 15.
Tomorrow's comestible, in the will of the Lord and if the sauce works. I have to assemble a few ingredients. Tropical paradises have good Asian Supermarkets. Beef in Black Bean Sauce
Felicity Cloake's take on piri piri chicken. A lot simpler than many recipes out there, but deliciously fresh and zingy. I used Scotch Bonnet rather than African, so you can scale the heat to taste.
Felicity Cloake's take on piri piri chicken. A lot simpler than many recipes out there, but deliciously fresh and zingy. I used Scotch Bonnet rather than African, so you can scale the heat to taste.
This is a South African staple, often called 'peri-peri' with origins in Luanda or Maputo, especially for chicken or prawns grilled over the coals. I see Felicity Cloake says you can also use guinea fowl but in that case you'd lose any subtle game bird flavours.
If you can get fresh African birds-eye chillies and want the flavours you'd get on a beach in Mozambique, this is the real scorcher of a recipe using limes from Getaway magazine in South Africa. It is quite brutal unless you're able to plunge into the ocean afterwards or down ice-cold beer.
Needed a hot meal in a hurry on a very cold day today. Potato, onion and garlic soup with red pepper flakes, and with Danish blue cheese stirred into it hit the spot beautifully.
I am not sure about Gemini as a recipe source, but its suggestion of Greek yoghurt with grated fresh ginger and black pepper is good with a baked potato, but really delicious with mashed sweet potato.
Tomorrow's comestible, in the will of the Lord and if the sauce works. I have to assemble a few ingredients. Tropical paradises have good Asian Supermarkets. Beef in Black Bean Sauce
I made this for the family and everyone loved it and had suggestions for the next time I make it. Normally, I follow the instructions as written the first time. Well, except I always double the sauce when making any kind of Asian food. Next time, I will add hot chili peppers and ginger. We do love our spicy foods!
My son-in-law does not like left-overs, but this recipe was so good, he ate them! Twice!
Shipmates from southern US states, I'm thinking of making Jambalaya. It has prawns (shrimps), so I worry that it might not last more than a day, or freeze well. What's your experience/recommendations?
Shipmates from southern US states, I'm thinking of making Jambalaya. It has prawns (shrimps), so I worry that it might not last more than a day, or freeze well. What's your experience/recommendations?
I’m Southern but not Louisianan, so don’t take my word as definitive. (That said, I have eaten and made a lot of jambalaya in my time. )
In my experience, shrimp (prawns) are not an expected ingredient in jambalaya; jambalaya with shrimp is the exception rather than the rule. I associate shrimp in jambalaya with restaurants trying to fancy it up. The “sine qua non meat” is andouille or a similar kind of sausage. There’s often chicken or pork too. Traditionally, I think, it was whatever the cook had at hand. All of which is to say, if it makes things easier for you, you can omit the shrimp without sacrificing authenticity.
That said, I totally get it if you want to include shrimp. If you do, I’d either plan on cooking an amount of shrimp that will leave no leftovers, and plan for the leftovers not to include any shrimp (or to cook more shrimp for the leftovers). Even if the shrimp doesn’t go bad in the fridge, it’ll get tough and leathery.
The other day I was reviewing a list of foods from the 50s that seem to have disappeared from the American palate. One was Beef Stroganoff. So, what does Mrs. Gramps make two days ago? Beef Stroganoff
This brings up an interesting question. What dish did you eat as a kid that is no longer around? And, if you have a recipe please share.
I used to like faggots - or 'ducks' as we called them. Don't see them nowadays. Never had tripe. Liver occasionally - which my mother would fry to the consistency of shoe leather. It was only much later I discovered how to cook it properly (lightly floured and shown a hot pan for a mere minute or two).
Mince pie, as in a shallow dish lined with pastry, filled with a mixture of mince, onions, carrots and leftover mash, topped with more pastry. Very filling.
As a child I spent my Sundays at my grandparents’ house (I went there for my bath!) and she always cooked meat pudding, which was beef mince and onions with a suet crust. I love a suet pudding.
My parents were Lancastrian so Lancashire hot pot was a regular feature of my childhood, cooked on the stove with mince, potatoes, carrots and onions. Modern recipes seem to have hot pot as a layered oven dish which is incorrect and somewhat bizarre as it was originally a poor person’s dish. I cook it on the stove, with mutton mince if I can get it, but I do add some decidedly un-traditional garlic and herbs, and cream at the end.
When I was a child hot pot was sometimes cooked with tinned corned beef and called corned beef hash.
(Tripe was also a feature at home and my Dad loved it; my mother served it with vinegar and onions. It was horrid.)
Corned beef fritters: mashed potato with bits of corned beef stirred into it then lightly fried. Served with cabbage and maybe baked beans.
Now that sounds good.
Though I think that corned beef is a different thing in the UK than in the US. Over here it is cold pressed shreds of beef that can come in a solid block in a can or in slices from the butcher. You can see the yellow fat holding the shreds together and it is salty. And delicious in fritters!
The only way that I have eaten tripe is in menudo, spicy soup/stew made of honeycomb tripe, hominy, and spicy beef broth with a pretty good kick. It's famous for being what cures you the morning after
Corned beef fritters: mashed potato with bits of corned beef stirred into it then lightly fried. Served with cabbage and maybe baked beans.
Interesting. The only place I ever encountered fritters was spam fritters in school dinners, and those were slices of spam deep-fried in batter. So to me fritters are something completely different to what you describe!
Another offal dish that was popular in the days of my youth, at least it was in our house, was sheep's brains. It is one of those dishes that disappeared after the horror of BSE/mad-cow disease. I believe that was because BSE & a sheep disease, 'scrapie', are closely related.
Brains are fiddly and messy to prepare, and I don't know exactly how my mother cooked it, but we ate it mashed with hard-boiled egg and served on toast.
I do wonder how come ox-tail is still readily available. I thought the tail bones, as a continuation of the spinal column, would be classed as 'high risk tissue'.
I still make the occasional ox-tail stew, but Mr RoS doesn't like meat that has fat or bones in it, and there's no-way ox-tail can be served in nice neat, fatless slices.
We've just had kidneys & mushroons for breakfast. One of the joys of passing through Tebay services is the proper butchers - we bought kidneys, a Herdwick mutton shank for the slow cooker, and last night was lamb leg steaks just fried with garlic & rosemary. Cheap it's not, but good it is!
we bought kidneys, a Herdwick mutton shank for the slow cooker,
Much envy over the mutton shank, haven't seen mutton for years, but you can keep the kidneys.
When my mother cooked a mixed grill my portion had to be cooked separately and before everyone else's. I always hated kidneys, even just the smell, I and couldn't even eat anything that had been cooked in the kidney-contaminated fat!
Pudding in a rag, which was a meat suet pudding cooked in a cloth. I hated it.
I went to a Lancashire pub last year and it had rag pudding on the menu. Since I'd never tried it, I ordered it and enjoyed it. I can imagine why you wouldn't like it, though.
Instant whip or angel delight were staples of my childhood, and that jelly that came in blocks. You can still get those, I think, but they're not common.
Comments
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 lb. ground beef
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 small yellow onion, diced
2 Tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. ground cumin
Kosher salt and black pepper
3 cups beef broth
1 (8-oz.) can tomato sauce
12 oz. large elbow macaroni
1 (15-oz.) can pinto beans, drained
1 1/2 cups grated cheddar, plus more for serving (about 6 oz.)
1 cup grated pepper jack cheese (about 4 oz.)
Cilantro, for serving
Hot sauce, to taste
Sour cream, for serving (optional)
Directions
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the ground beef, garlic, and onion. Season with the chili powder, cumin, and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until the beef is cooked through and browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the beef broth, tomato sauce, macaroni, and beans. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thick and the macaroni is al dente, 12 to 14 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat. Add the cheddar and pepper jack, and fold until the cheese is completely melted. Serve in bowls with cilantro, more cheddar, some hot sauce, and sour cream.
Sorry, I don't have the metric measurements.
I did not get any award this year. The competition was tough. But many of the people that sampled it said it was extremely good.
Next year I have a chili that is very unique. Involves apples. Looking to be the king of the hill next year.
Salmon Ravioli with Lemon Dill Sauce
Tropical Low 12U in the Coral Sea is already bringing lots of wet stuff. Might develop into a cyclone by the weekend. We're close to the beach, but safely far enough away from a tide surge. And we're out of the flood map. Plenty of Who Gives a Crap toilet paper 😊
Hot as Hades here & predicted up to 42 on Saturday (on the coast so heaven knows how Western Sydney will fare)
Send us some rain!
I had this in mind when coming up with a dessert to bring for Christmas. Result: the invention of the Old Fashioned cocktail delivered as tarts.
Pastry: butter-based shortcrust cases baked in mini tart pans. Recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction
Filling 1: orange curd. Recipe from Martha Stewart
Filling 2: whiskey and bitter orange syrup, gelatinized. Recipe based on various YouTubers
Garnish: Luxardo cherry and a sprinkle of gold sanding sugar.
They were beautiful. They were delicious. They vanished shortly after their arrival.
Will the food be served at your residence, or another location? Does that location have electricity, for cooking on site/keeping food warm there?
Are there dietary considerations?
Are there strict budgetary considerations?
Can it be pot-luck, or perhaps assigned pot-luck (asking people to contribute specific items, such as salads or desserts) or will it all be planned and prepared by you?
On a spectrum of rigid to experimental, where would most of the diners land?
As an example of why the latter question, for providing suggestions: Taco bars are increasingly popular in North America for small-group hosting. It's a buffet with Mexican-style tortillas (soft flatbreads) or taco shells, sauteed seasoned ground beef or chicken, shredded cheese, salsa, and chopped vegetables. It's a popular option for serving vegan/vegetarian/omnivore diets, and relatively inexpensive. But if your diners are unfamiliar with that kind of cuisine, it might not go over well.
This looks perfect for summer evenings; I often do fish with a light tomato sauce and fennel but dill would make an interesting change.
Korma marinated Lamb Shoulder with Spinach Lentils
This is a South African staple, often called 'peri-peri' with origins in Luanda or Maputo, especially for chicken or prawns grilled over the coals. I see Felicity Cloake says you can also use guinea fowl but in that case you'd lose any subtle game bird flavours.
If you can get fresh African birds-eye chillies and want the flavours you'd get on a beach in Mozambique, this is the real scorcher of a recipe using limes from Getaway magazine in South Africa. It is quite brutal unless you're able to plunge into the ocean afterwards or down ice-cold beer.
Last night was more the Irish soul food - gammon and colcannon.
I made this for the family and everyone loved it and had suggestions for the next time I make it. Normally, I follow the instructions as written the first time. Well, except I always double the sauce when making any kind of Asian food. Next time, I will add hot chili peppers and ginger. We do love our spicy foods!
My son-in-law does not like left-overs, but this recipe was so good, he ate them! Twice!
In my experience, shrimp (prawns) are not an expected ingredient in jambalaya; jambalaya with shrimp is the exception rather than the rule. I associate shrimp in jambalaya with restaurants trying to fancy it up. The “sine qua non meat” is andouille or a similar kind of sausage. There’s often chicken or pork too. Traditionally, I think, it was whatever the cook had at hand. All of which is to say, if it makes things easier for you, you can omit the shrimp without sacrificing authenticity.
That said, I totally get it if you want to include shrimp. If you do, I’d either plan on cooking an amount of shrimp that will leave no leftovers, and plan for the leftovers not to include any shrimp (or to cook more shrimp for the leftovers). Even if the shrimp doesn’t go bad in the fridge, it’ll get tough and leathery.
Good luck! And please let us know how it goes.
This brings up an interesting question. What dish did you eat as a kid that is no longer around? And, if you have a recipe please share.
Now that sounds good.
Mince pie, as in a shallow dish lined with pastry, filled with a mixture of mince, onions, carrots and leftover mash, topped with more pastry. Very filling.
As a child I spent my Sundays at my grandparents’ house (I went there for my bath!) and she always cooked meat pudding, which was beef mince and onions with a suet crust. I love a suet pudding.
My parents were Lancastrian so Lancashire hot pot was a regular feature of my childhood, cooked on the stove with mince, potatoes, carrots and onions. Modern recipes seem to have hot pot as a layered oven dish which is incorrect and somewhat bizarre as it was originally a poor person’s dish. I cook it on the stove, with mutton mince if I can get it, but I do add some decidedly un-traditional garlic and herbs, and cream at the end.
When I was a child hot pot was sometimes cooked with tinned corned beef and called corned beef hash.
(Tripe was also a feature at home and my Dad loved it; my mother served it with vinegar and onions. It was horrid.)
Though I think that corned beef is a different thing in the UK than in the US. Over here it is cold pressed shreds of beef that can come in a solid block in a can or in slices from the butcher. You can see the yellow fat holding the shreds together and it is salty. And delicious in fritters!
Interesting. The only place I ever encountered fritters was spam fritters in school dinners, and those were slices of spam deep-fried in batter. So to me fritters are something completely different to what you describe!
Brains are fiddly and messy to prepare, and I don't know exactly how my mother cooked it, but we ate it mashed with hard-boiled egg and served on toast.
I do wonder how come ox-tail is still readily available. I thought the tail bones, as a continuation of the spinal column, would be classed as 'high risk tissue'.
I still make the occasional ox-tail stew, but Mr RoS doesn't like meat that has fat or bones in it, and there's no-way ox-tail can be served in nice neat, fatless slices.
Dyno-Rod will be coming to rod my arteries later.
Much envy over the mutton shank, haven't seen mutton for years, but you can keep the kidneys.
When my mother cooked a mixed grill my portion had to be cooked separately and before everyone else's. I always hated kidneys, even just the smell, I and couldn't even eat anything that had been cooked in the kidney-contaminated fat!
I went to a Lancashire pub last year and it had rag pudding on the menu. Since I'd never tried it, I ordered it and enjoyed it. I can imagine why you wouldn't like it, though.
Instant whip or angel delight were staples of my childhood, and that jelly that came in blocks. You can still get those, I think, but they're not common.