Recipe below. I usually double or triple the recipe. Tripling is usually due to the Doug factor.
Chili Con Carne -- Craig Claiborne, New York Times Cookbook, Harper and Row, 1961
3 Tablespoons butter or olive oil (I use Olive Oil, which makes this a core diet recipe! also - I never use 3 whole tablespoons per pound...that is pretty excessive)
1 large onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound chopped beef (I use ground turkey or chicken - healthier!)
3 cups water
1 and 1/3 cups tomatoes
1 green pepper, minced
1/2 tsp. celery seed
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 tsp. cumin seed
crushed 1 small bay leaf
2 Tablespoons chili powder
1/8 tsp. basil
1 and 1/2 tsp. salt (I never add this much, I do around half. The rest of the spices give it plenty of flavor!)
1. Heat the butter in a skillet, add the onion and garlic and saute until golden brown. Add the meat and brown. 2. Transfer the meat mixture to a large saucepan and add the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until the sauce is as thick as desired, or about three hours. If desired, add one can of kidney beans just before serving. (No transferring from skillet to saucepan here...I make the whole thing in a Dutch oven, which you can see in the picture. I'm naturally messy enough, so I have plenty to clean at the end of the day...no extra dishes for me, please!)
Dessert? Blueberry pie - I was dying to try out my new pie making skills. I used Leslie's pie crust recipe, but below is the recipe from Cooks Illustrated (the best $3 you'll spend each month). This is the filling I used.
Makes one 9-inch pie. Published July 1, 2008. From Cook's Illustrated.
Ingredients
| Foolproof Pie Dough (I used Leslie's pie crust recipe, but I have tried this one as well, and it was very good. The Vodka was an interesting experiment) | |
| 2 1/2 | cups unbleached all-purpose flour (12 1/2 ounces), plus more for work surface |
| 1 | teaspoon table salt |
| 2 | tablespoons sugar |
| 12 | tablespoons cold unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), cut into 1/4-inch slices |
| 1/2 | cup vegetable shortening , cold, cut into 4 pieces |
| 1/4 | cup vodka , cold (see note) |
| 1/4 | cup cold water |
| Blueberry Filling (I used this filling recipe) | |
| 6 | cups fresh blueberries (about 30 ounces) (see note) |
| 1 | Granny Smith apple , peeled and grated on large holes of box grater |
| 2 | teaspoons grated zest and 2 teaspoons juice from 1 lemon (This is too much lemon for me - I want to taste those blueberries! I used half the zest and juice and I thought it was perfect) |
| 3/4 | cup sugar (5 1/4 ounces) |
| 2 | tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca , ground (see note) |
| Pinch table salt | |
| 2 | tablespoons unsalted butter , cut into 1/4-inch pieces |
| 1 | large egg , lightly beaten with 1 teaspoon water |
Instructions
1. For The Pie Dough: Process 1 1/2 cups flour, salt, and sugar in food processor until combined, about two 1-second pulses. Add butter and shortening and process until homogenous dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 15 seconds; dough will resemble cottage cheese curds and there should be no uncoated flour. Scrape bowl with rubber spatula and redistribute dough evenly around processor blade. Add remaining cup flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl and mass of dough has been broken up, 4 to 6 quick pulses. Empty mixture into medium bowl.
2. Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together. Divide dough into 2 even balls and flatten each into 4-inch disk. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days.
3. Remove 1 disk of dough from refrigerator and roll out on generously floured (up to 1/4 cup) work surface to 12-inch circle, about 1/8 inch thick. Roll dough loosely around rolling pin and unroll into pie plate, leaving at least 1-inch overhang on each side. Working around circumference, ease dough into plate by gently lifting edge of dough with one hand while pressing into plate bottom with other hand. Leave dough that overhangs plate in place; refrigerate while preparing filling until dough is firm, about 30 minutes.
4. For The Filling: Adjust oven rack to lowest position, place rimmed baking sheet on oven rack, and heat oven to 400 degrees. Place 3 cups berries in medium saucepan and set over medium heat. Using potato masher, mash berries several times to release juices. Continue to cook, stirring frequently and mashing occasionally, until about half of berries have broken down and mixture is thickened and reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 8 minutes. Let cool slightly.
5. Place grated apple in clean kitchen towel and wring dry. Transfer apple to large bowl. Add cooked berries, remaining 3 cups uncooked berries, lemon zest, juice, sugar, tapioca, and salt; toss to combine. Transfer mixture to dough-lined pie plate and scatter butter pieces over filling.
6. Roll out second disk of dough on generously floured (up to 1/4 cup) work surface to 11-inch circle, about 1/8 inch thick. Using 1 1/4-inch round biscuit cutter, cut round from center of dough. Cut another 6 rounds from dough, 1 1/2 inches from edge of center hole and equally spaced around center hole (this is a pain - fork punctures around the top work fine for me! You just need to let the heat escape somehow or else the crust will burst off the top....trust me :-) ). Roll dough loosely around rolling pin and unroll over pie, leaving at least 1/2-inch overhang on each side.
7. Using kitchen shears, trim bottom layer of overhanging dough, leaving 1/2-inch overhang. Fold dough under itself so that edge of fold is flush with outer rim of pie plate. Flute edges using thumb and forefinger or press with tines of fork to seal. Brush top and edges of pie with egg mixture. If dough is very soft, chill in freezer for 10 minutes.
8. Place pie on heated baking sheet and bake 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue to bake until juices bubble and crust is deep golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes longer. Transfer pie to wire rack; cool to room temperature, at least 4 hours (I know it is hard, but waiting the full 4 hours will make it pie, not soup). Cut into wedges and serve.
No comments:
Post a Comment