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The chili was really really good. The recipe was one that included chipotles in adobo, so I knew it was going to be both smoky and spicy, which we enjoyed.
Some people like the meat to be in big chunks, but I wanted a "chili grind" so I just cut it up and threw it in the food processor for just a couple of quick pulses. We went with a 3:1 meat to beans ratio.
This was my first time making chili, which sounds very surprising for someone who cooks as much as I do. But my wife and daughter won't eat it, so normally I'd have to make something else for them. But last weekend it was just the IGlet and I eating, so we made a big pot of chili.
This weekend I'm going to try something new again, and make some homemade bagels.
New attempt today..
- Store bought croissant dough.
- Roll it out on a flat pan.
- Add a bit of pizza sauce over it ( see a pattern with my foods? :) )
- Some Italian seasoning sprinkled around
- Lay pre-cooked bacon and a bit of sliced lunch-meat type ham out on the sauce and some shredded mozzarella cheese on that.
- Gently roll it up, add more sauce + seasoning + cheese on top, and bake for about 35 minutes.
Pretty quick to setup and wasn't 1/2 bad. Going to try other meats next time.
Chili is absolutely a regional thing. I personally want my chili to be savory, salty, with a hint of spice, and I prefer no beans. Meat and sauce. Ground beef. Especially if it is going on a dog or a burger. Ohio likes it sweet, which I think of as a "coney chili" and they like it on Spaghetti. Some places it is almost like a soup, very liquid - others it is more of a sauce.
I've never heard of serving chili over elbow macaroni, but that does sound decent. On top of rice, on the other hand, that's a meal I'm happy to tuck into.
Not sure id say its 'over' the macaroni, its incorporated when you cook as a unit... the entire thing is considered the chili.
Sun Feb 20 2022 06:23:30 PM EST from IGnatius T Foobar"coney chili" or the kind you would use to top a hot dog is, at least for me, a completely different kind of chili than the kind you would put in a bowl and eat with a spoon. On a hot dog you want it very smooth and pourable, with the meat cut or ground very finely, and definitely no beans.
I've never heard of serving chili over elbow macaroni, but that does sound decent. On top of rice, on the other hand, that's a meal I'm happy to tuck into.
Just an update on the croissant/puff pastry trial from above: ( tried another one this last weekend, with a bit less roll so not as much dough in the center, and a bit more meat overall )
Bottom of the 'roll' just wont puff out, as there too much weight on it. And day 2, all puff is lost in the top too. Its just dough at that point. Not *bad* or anything, its just unless you are going to eat it right after its done, not so sure ts worth the extra cost over regular pizza dough ( or effort, if you make the pastry dough yourself )
I agree with you that chili on a hot dog should be smooth, purable, with the meat cut or ground, and no beans.
But - Coney chili is *sweeter* than a hot dog chili should be - and the meat tends to be almost a paste in Coney chili. It is a very *east* of the Mississippi thing. That is - by the way - where things *really* start to change. Potentially at Chicago... but Chicago is kind of an East Meets West blending point. Beyond there - it just gets progressively more East Coast the further you go.
It isn't worse or better to me - it is *different* and not what I generally want. Kind of like when you think you're about to take a drink a sprite and it is water. I want my chili, including on a dog or burger - to tend toward savory, not sweet.
Sun Feb 20 2022 18:23:30 EST from IGnatius T Foobar"coney chili" or the kind you would use to top a hot dog is, at least for me, a completely different kind of chili than the kind you would put in a bowl and eat with a spoon. On a hot dog you want it very smooth and pourable, with the meat cut or ground very finely, and definitely no beans.
I've never heard of serving chili over elbow macaroni, but that does sound decent. On top of rice, on the other hand, that's a meal I'm happy to tuck into.
Now it's late, just before midnight, and I feel like I'd love to have a plate of chili cheese fries right now :)
Dinner tonight was an easy weeknight regular that I call "vaguely mediterranean pasta". To serve four, cook a pound of pasta (fusilli works well) al dente.
While the pasta cooks, saute some minced or sliced garlic in olive oil, and then toss in a can of stewed tomatoes. Break up the tomatoes to the size you like, add whatever seasonings you like in addition to what was in the can (oregano is a must). Then throw in fresh spinach. Lots of it. Once it wilts, add in the pasta and a nice pile of crumbled feta cheese. Toss to combine.
If I have any shrimps around I'll cook those in a separate pan and add to the finished dish. It's optional, and my wife and daughter prefer the dish without them. Shrimp and feta, by the way, was declared by chef Michael Symon to be the only exception to the rule that you never combine fish and cheese.
To be fair, I've never had an NYC chili dog. But the Chili Dogs I've had on the East Coast, the Chili I've had on the East Coast - has all been *sweeter* than West Coast Chili...
And my experience with Chicago Dogs was, everyone swore they were the BEST dog ever... they had to be made with Vienna dogs, had to have celery salt, and the peppers and tomatoes... there was a special formula... and when I'd have one in Ohio or somewhere else on the East(ish) Coast and wasn't impressed - they would go, "Yeah, you've got to have one in Chicago..."
When I finally got around to one in Chicago - it just wasn't my groove. I mean - they're good... I had several over the week I was last in Chicago... but I'd rather have a West Coast chili dog... I'd rather have a "NY dog" of the sort that has kraut and Dijon mustard on it, too... I'd say that the NY Dog hands down beats the Chicago dog... and the Sonoran Dog too, while we're at it on regional takes.
But... it isn't fair of me to judge the Coney Dog based on Coney Dogs I've had until I try a genuine one from Coney Island. Maybe it is my favorite chili dog ever, and I just don't know it yet, because I've only had pale imitations.
My past experience tells me - it will not replace a Weinerschnitzle Chili Cheese Dog as my favorite of all time.
Corn Dogs also tend to have significant regional differences in texture and taste.
Tue Feb 22 2022 23:55:44 EST from IGnatius T FoobarAnd the funny thing is that I've never had a chili like that anywhere on Coney Island.
Now it's late, just before midnight, and I feel like I'd love to have a plate of chili cheese fries right now :)
Dinner tonight was an easy weeknight regular that I call "vaguely mediterranean pasta". To serve four, cook a pound of pasta (fusilli works well) al dente.
While the pasta cooks, saute some minced or sliced garlic in olive oil, and then toss in a can of stewed tomatoes. Break up the tomatoes to the size you like, add whatever seasonings you like in addition to what was in the can (oregano is a must). Then throw in fresh spinach. Lots of it. Once it wilts, add in the pasta and a nice pile of crumbled feta cheese. Toss to combine.
If I have any shrimps around I'll cook those in a separate pan and add to the finished dish. It's optional, and my wife and daughter prefer the dish without them. Shrimp and feta, by the way, was declared by chef Michael Symon to be the only exception to the rule that you never combine fish and cheese.
Old recipe i ran across at a pitch-n while i was working a small Sears surplus store during college ( i ran the receiving department, and did the actual unloading of trucks and stocking what we got.. fun times .) Woman brought some in. i had to have the recipe. Carried it around on a tattered piece of paper for 30+ years. now its in google docs and NextCloud, and in my backups.
If you like a different twist on a classic.. try it.
I have not made it for a long time now, but tonight i did notice that the 'base' material didnt go as far as it used to. I suspect boxes of cake mix are a bit 'lighter' than they used to be. Normally you would never notice it, but here, you do
__________________________________
1 pkg. yellow cake mix (reserve one cup)
2 Tbsp. of oil
Two 8 ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
4 eggs
1-1/2 cups milk
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
3 tsp. vanilla
~
Mix one egg with remaining yellow cake mix and oil. The mixture will be crumbly. Press into a 9x13 casserole three-fourths up the sides. In another bowl, mix together:
Two 8 ounce packages of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 cup of reserved cake mix.
Mix on medium speed. Slowly add:
1-1/2 cups milk
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
3 tsp. vanilla and mix until smooth
Pour onto crust and bake 40-50 minutes at 300 degrees until set.
Wife wanted LJS.. Weekend, the doors were locked. Today i ordered it online at 12:50 to pick up on way home at 330.
Web page hosed it and set it to 1pm She called for me 10 mins later since i was in a meeting " we have it ready, we will hold it", um, no, we dont want 2.5 hour old food. I went in to be sure they took food out of the trays and not a box they had stored under the counter.
I got chicken. Nearly inedible. Chewy, breading over cooked, tasted like a salt shaker..
Worse than they were last time i went ( few years ago.. )
Dont bother. Aside from me being used to my own formula cola drink and everything else tastes like pee water now, this just tastes like flat Pepsi.. Nitrogen, not a great idea after all.
Oh well, i gave them a shot.
( and why dont any of my local stores sell Jones cola anymore. just the stupid flavors . and root beer, but not cola anymore ? The 2 big companies pressuring the stores? )
Is that supposed to be Pepsi with nitrogen bubbles instead of carbon dioxide?
Nitrogen bubbles are smaller than CO2 bubbles, which is why nitrogen is used in the little ball that froths up a can of Guinness when you open it. I'm not sure how much difference it would make in a cola though.
Yes that is what they did. And it makes it garbage ( even if you like the Pepsi flavor.. )
Is that supposed to be Pepsi with nitrogen bubbles instead of carbon dioxide?
Nitrogen bubbles are smaller than CO2 bubbles, which is why nitrogen is used in the little ball that froths up a can of Guinness when you open it. I'm not sure how much difference it would make in a cola though.
I think its "cheesecake like substance" night. Last couple of store bought ones was too disappointing.. ( might have mentioned it before, donno. but its from a recipe i ran cross some 40 years ago from a coworker at the time, that includes cake mix along with the cream cheese. wonderful stuff.. )
Yes that is what they did. And it makes it garbage ( even if you like
the Pepsi flavor.. )
If given a choice I will select Pepsi over Coke, even though I like the taste of Coke better, simply because Coke is Woke.
That having been said ... you CANNOT make a rum-and-coke with Pepsi. For some reason it just doesn't work.