Cincinnati-Style Chili

here's one I want to try.


Cincinnati-Style Chili

Servings: 6-8


Ingredients:
1 (48 ounce) can tomato juice
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoon vinegar
1/4 teaspoon red pepper
5 bay leaves
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1 large onion, minced
2 pounds lean ground chuck

Directions:
Combine all ingredients except for meat in a medium stock pot. Heat thoroughly. Add raw meat by dropping it into pot by small amounts. Cook uncovered slowly for 2 hours.

Serve over Spaghetti. Top with grated cheddar cheese, diced onions, kidney beans, oyster crackers and hot sauce.

Tamale Pie

made this tonight, it's still cooling. i think it's gonna be good!

ps: turned out great!!!! patrick loved it!

Hot Tamale Pie

1 tablespoon olive oil 1 medium onion, finely chopped 1 medium yellow, red, or green bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 16-oz. can unsweetend tomato sauce 1 16-oz. can pinto beans, rinsed and drained 1 ear corn, kernels cut off the cob, or 3/4 cup thawed frozen corn 1 teaspoon chili powder 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt pinch of cayenne pepper 3 cups water 1 cup yellow stone-ground cornmeal 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion bell pepper, and garlic and cook until softened, 6 to 8 minutes.

Remove from the heat and stir in the tomato sauce, pinto beans, corn, chili powder, cumin, salt, and cayenne. Pour into an 8- by 8-inch glass baking dish.

Preheat oven to 350°. Boil the water, add the cornmeal, lemon juice, mustard, and salt in a large saucepan, and stir until mixed. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then immediately reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring often, until thickened, 3 to 5 minutes.

Spread the cooked cornmeal over the bean mixture. Bake for 30 minutes.

Cool for 10 minutes before serving. Makes 8-inch square pie.

Chinese Chicken Salad with Ramen Noodles

SERVES 4

Ingredients

For Salad

* 1 head napa cabbage, shredded or thinly sliced
* 4 green onions, thinly siced
* 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
* 1/4 cup cilantro
* 3 tablespoons toasted almonds, sliced
* 2 (3 ounce) packages uncooked oriental-flavor instant ramen noodles or chicken-flavored ramen noodles, crushed (save 1 seasoning mix packet for dressing)
* 2 cups chicken breasts, cooked and shredded or cubed

For Dressing

* 4 tablespoons sugar
* 1/4 cup sesame oil and 1/4 cup canola oil
* 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
* 6 tablespoons rice vinegar
* 1 teaspoon fresh gingerroot, minced (optional)

Directions

1
Combine salad ingredients in a large bowl.
2
Mix all dressing ingredients and 1 Ramen noodle seasoning packet and pour over salad.
3
Mix well.
4
Refrigerate overnight or several hours.

Chocolate Pudding

Note to self: make this

Silky Chocolate Pudding
Adapted from John Scharffenberger, via Wednesday Chef

Serves 6

1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 cups whole milk
6 ounces 62% semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used good quality semisweet chocolate chips; use 70% bittersweet if you want more of a dark chocolate kick)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Combine the cornstarch, sugar and salt in the top of a double boiler. Slowly whisk in the milk, scraping the bottom and sides with a heatproof spatula to incorporate the dry ingredients. Place over gently simmering water and stir occasionally, scraping the bottom and sides. Use a whisk as necessary should lumps begin to form. After 15 to 20 minutes, when the mixture begins to thicken and coats the back of the spoon, add the chocolate. Continue stirring for about 2 to 4 minutes, or until the pudding is smooth and thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.

2. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer (or skip this step if you’re a slacker like me who is absolutely certain that there is nary a lump her puddin’) into a serving bowl or into a large measuring cup with a spout and pour into individual serving dishes.

3. If you like pudding skin, pull plastic wrap over the top of the serving dish(es) before refrigerating. If you dislike pudding skin, place plastic wrap on top of the pudding and smooth it gently against the surface before refrigerating. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 3 days (ahem, good luck with that).

Play Clay

Haven't made this yet...but I want to and I will. Found it on a cute blog.

PlayClay

Squeeze, roll, cut, press, model, and play with this super soft homemade playclay that is a delight to touch. There are many commercial playdoughs and homemade recipes that are too hard and stiff for the smallest hands to manipulate, but this one is great!

Materials:

2 cups water

1 cup salt

food colouring*

4 tsp. cream of tartar

4 tbsp. oil

2 cups flour*

Method:

- Combine water, salt, cream of tartar and food colouring (.5 tsp for pastel colour and 1.5 tbsp for vivid colour) in a large saucepan.

- Cook on low heat and stir. As the mixture heats up, stir in the oil and then the flour slowly.

- Keep Stirring the mixture until it starts looking dry and pulling away from the pan. Remove from heat and pinch a piece between two fingers. If it is not sticky, it is done. Otherwise, continue stirring over low heat.

- Place the dough on counter and knead until smooth. Children will enjoy kneading the warm dough when it cools enough for them, too!

- When finished playing, store playclay in an airtight container or plastic bag to re-use again and again. Do not refrigerate.

* For children who cannot tolerate gluten or food colouring, you may subsitute rice flour for flour and use natural beet (red), spinach (green) or carrot (orange) juice for colour.

Vegetable Pot Pie

This is very very very tasty. The changes I made when I made it tonight was:

halved the recipe
made the dough the day before and refrigerated
would have added tofu if I had it - or chicken or turkey or ham or beef
omitted the fennel, saffron, whole onions, asparagus and parsley
subbed dry sherry for the pernod and earth balance for the butter in the filling
added frozen corn and peas ('cause that's what I had)
turned up the oven to 375 on convect and cooked it for 45 min

It came out grrrrrrrrrrrrreat!

Ingredients

nocoupons

• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks)
• 2 cups sliced yellow onions (2 onions)
• 1 fennel bulb, top and core removed, thinly sliced crosswise
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 cups good chicken stock
• 1 tablespoon Pernod
• Pinch saffron threads
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 1/2 cups large-diced potatoes (1/2 pound)
• 1 1/2 cups asparagus tips
• 1 1/2 cups peeled, 3/4-inch-diced carrots (4 carrots)
• 1 1/2 cups peeled, 3/4-inch-diced butternut squash
• 1 1/2 cups frozen small whole onions (1/2 pound)
• 1/2 cup minced flat-leaf parsley

For the pastry:

nocoupons

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 1/4 pound cold unsalted butter, diced
• 1/2 to 2/3 cup ice water
• 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
• Flaked sea salt and cracked black pepper

Directions

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions and fennel and saute until translucent, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the flour, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 3 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Slowly add the stock, Pernod, saffron, salt, and pepper, and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the heavy cream and season to taste. The sauce should be highly seasoned.

Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water for 10 minutes. Lift out with a sieve. Add the asparagus, carrots, and squash to the pot and cook in the boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain well. Add the potatoes, mixed vegetables, onions, and parsley to the sauce and mix well.

For the pastry, mix the flour, salt, and baking powder in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add the shortening and butter and mix quickly with your fingers until each piece is coated with flour. Pulse 10 times, or until the fat is the size of peas. With the motor running, add the ice water; process only enough to moisten the dough and have it just come together. Dump the dough out onto a floured board and knead quickly into a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic and allow it to rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Divide the filling equally among 4 ovenproof bowls. Divide the dough into quarters and roll each piece into an 8-inch circle. Brush the outside edges of each bowl with the egg wash, then place the dough on top. Trim the circle to 1/2-inch larger than the top of the bowl. Crimp the dough to fold over the sides, pressing it to make it stick. Brush the dough with egg wash and make 3 slits in the top. Sprinkle with sea salt and cracked pepper. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour, or until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling hot.