Chili Colorado, Second Attempt

6 California Chilies, 4 Ancho Chilies. This time I fried the chilies an appropriate amount (a few seconds per side), and omitted the oil, a mistake I made the first time around. Nice to not smoke the house out on a Sunday afternoon.

Two changes to the recipe. The first has to do with frying, and I'm sure it is no big deal. I fried the meat in the dutch oven in two batches. After I finished the second batch, I cut the flame and pressed the chili puree through a sieve. Once fully pressed, I returned the heat and cooked for five minutes.

The second change was to make a flour roux using about a tablespoon of flour to two cups of water. I ran the water completely out of the sauce last time, but the result was very little chili. I'm hoping to get a slightly thicker sauce this time, so we'll see how the consistency turns out.

The water was added at 3:50 p.m., and the heat kept high while the chili returned to a boil. I started simmering the sauce at 3:55, partially covered. The simmer was at medium low (4 or 5, back and forth). Simmered until 4:55, then added another half teaspoon of salt. Cut heat down to low. Sauce is rich and savory, of medium consistency. Very tasty.

chicken drums on the grill

Ode to the grilling season. My quest ought to be for perfect drums and wings, as a cheap and easy way to feed a dozen if necessary. I'm starting with a basic recipe today--the lemon/garlic/butter sauce.

First, brine chicken. 8 drums, covered with an eyeballed proportion of salt (1 cup per 1 gallon). and some red peppercorns. Brined for about 3 hours.

Basting sauce: 2 tbs butter; 2 garlic cloves; 1/2 meyer lemon. Good.

Pat chicken dry--right onto grill. Kind of seared at high heat, 4 minutes. The grill was not very hot tonight. 30 minutes total at about 350 degrees.

End product was good. Or good enough. They are, after all, drumsticks.

2009 Cotes du Rhone

According to Eric Asimov, the 2009 Cotes du Rhone vintage suffered from too hot a summer and thus too jammy a yield. The wines lack complexity--the earthy, herbal, or smoky character that has often accompanied cotes du rhone over the years.

I reviewed a Farmers' Market cotes du rhone earlier, and was quite surprised to find it fruit forward, but did not find it jammy. It lacked complexity, but for $10 a bottle, is a decently good buy. It had a long finish and nice balance with tannins, and as such I'll keep it on my recommended list. Would love to get some 2008 to compare it with.

Prohibition Cocktails

I've been searching for this, so I was glad to find the NY Times running an article on high-end non-alcoholic cocktails. I have my own "spritzer" soda recipes for the summer, but not much in the way of creative Prohibition Cocktails.

The key appears to be rose water, or hibiscus water, or some other kind of scented/flavored water.

Peirano Estate Petite Sirah

$12, DeKalb Farmer's Market

Peirano Estate Vineyards
Petite Sirah, 2009
Lodi, California

Elegant, kind of like a Humvee in terms of raw power, but not displeasing to the senses. Nothing petite about any petite sirah I've ever had. This one bears repeating, and goes well with steaks, strong fish, sauced meat, and chocolate.

Chili Colorado, First attempt

Followed Rick Bayless's recipe, with a few mistakes/variations/adaptations. For starters,

I heated oil in the dutch oven and used it to sear the chilies. Was not necessary, and smoked fiercely. Will not repeat. ALSO: I have to wonder if fire roasting fresh chilies might not produce a better tasting sauce.The chilies drive the sauce, obviously, and I can't help but think that fresh is better, in order to produce a meatier sauce. However, every recipe I have seen calls for dried, so, more research is in order.

I also roasted the chilies for too long. High heat, and a few seconds a chili is all that is called for. I probably did closer to a minute a side on most.

Once the chilies were soaking in a bowl, I followed the recipe pretty much down to the letter. Browned the beef for ten minutes, pureed the chilies, cumin, garlic, onion, and oregano, strained it, added it to the beef, fried for five minutes more, then added water and cut it down to a simmer. I became obsessively worried about the water content, and so I fried up beef trimmings and added fat. Given that I had to skim fat later, I don't know if this was necessary. I had no problem reducing the sauce, so I will likely omit the next time around.

Simmered for two hours rather than one. Skimmed fat, and am letting it settle now.

The result was delicious. A dark, savory chili, almost brown in complexion and rich in flavor. The chuck was perfect. It veritably dissolved in the mouth. Chunks could have been larger, but I do prefer the smaller morsels. The color changed noticeably during cooking, as the chili slowly reduced. I did add a little more water at one point, but simmered it for 2+ hours, so it mattered little. There was virtually no water left in it. It could have made four very small portions, but was better suited for two, with a little in the way of leftovers.

THOUGHTS: I would like to get the thick sauce that comes with chili colorado at Leruas. I suppose a roux could be concocted, and I wonder about working with my homemade chicken stock rather than water. What I must remember is that the chili sauce I made here is probably the purest form. Cumin, garlic, and onion provide their own thickening agent as well as a nice blend of flavors, but the heart is the chili. My use of chili california and one long, red hot pepper gave this chili its distinctive flavor. It stands beautifully on its own, and if added to some other elegant sides, this could be a dinner party recipe.

Steaks

First steaks of the year. Turned out brilliantly.

2 ribeyes; 1 new york strip, both about 1 inch thick.

Rub (more of a paste):

fresh chopped thyme
fresh chopped rosemary
fresh ground pepper (black, white, green peppercorns)
kosher salt
olive oil

Grilling:

heat grill, rub with olive oil.

650 degrees, sear 1 1/2 minutes per side
close dampers most of the way, cook 3 minutes per side; 350 to 400 degrees
total on clock was 10 minutes.

The result was what I might term medium, or on the medium side of medium rare. Still pink and juicy and warm throughout. The steaks did not curl, but uneven heat meant I had to move the steaks during searing. This slightly marred the grill marks. And I would like a slightly better crust, but I don't want to curl the steak or dry it out by over-searing.

Big green egg notes:
too much charcoal can dampen the fire, especially when it packs on down in small pieces. It took a long time to get the fire heated up.

UPDATE: Tried again one week later. One minute less on grill. Better, actually. Fire hotter, thanks to cleaning of grill.

Camille Cayran, Le Pas de la Beaume, Cotes du Rhone

$10, DeKalb Farmer's Market

Camille Cayran,
Le Pas de la Beaume,
Cotes du Rhone

14% alcohol wine, but not wearing a big hat, if you will. Cherries on the front end, but not particularly sweet. The tannins are supple and round, balancing the fruit well. 75% Grenache, so the fruit is forward, but in a French rather than California way.

Can handle meats to vegetables, strong to light flavors, although I'm not sure it would complement a steak so well.

Meat on the Bone

St. Louis Ribs (Maia's first) tonight. Here is the recipe for simple "Meat on the Bone"

Pull out ribs 30 minutes prior to cooking
Trim ribs and pull membrane.
Rub with paprika and sea salt
drizzle with oil
crack fresh ground pepper (red, white, black, and green is the current mixture).



Begin heating egg. Set for indirect heat, and add a pan of white wine (beer or apple juice works probably better). Put ribs directly into a rack while temperature is still low and mesquite is just beginning to smoke. Heat to 250 degrees, then close up and cook for 3-4 hours, preferably on the underside of that. (**next time, try wrapping in foil for the last hour of cooking; and then finishing on the grill.)

Today I began the cold smoke at 2:05 p.m. By 2:25 p.m. the temperature had reached 250 and I put on the damper. I have it open slightly more than I usually do, so will be checking quite frequently.

The temperature held quite steady, between 220-250 the whole time, stabilizing at 240. I pulled the ribs at 6:05 p.m. Nicely crusted, tender and juicy. Not fall off the bone, but tender and beautiful.

**Of interest. Second rack had to wait about an hour for serving. I wrapped it in foil and then put it back on the grill (200 degrees) for over half an hour. It came out softer than the first, having stewed in its own fat a bit. Impetus for trying out a foil wrapping after two and a half hours, followed by a finishing on the grill over direct heat after basting with bbq sauce.

Chili Colorado Recipe

From Jared's cookbook:

8-10 New Mexico chilies, California red chilies, anchos, or pasillas
2 cups boiling water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon flour
1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped
1/2 teaspoon whole or powdered cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
pinch oregano

Discard stems and seeds of chilies. Roast 4 minutes in skillet. You will smell them roasting, but don't let them burn. Transfer to bowl, cover with the 2 cups boiling water. Steep 10-15 minutes. Place chilies and 1/2 soaking water in blender. Reserve other half. Puree until smooth, thick consistency.

Heat oil for a few seconds in 1 quart saucepan. Add flour, garlic, and cumin and stir fry for 2 minutes. Paste should brown--when noticeably colored, remove from heat.

Strain the chili puree into the saucepan. (will probably need to press with a wooden spoon.) **Put the remainder of the liquid into the blender, then strain that liquid out too.

Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly, for about two minutes. Add salt and oregano, simmer half a minute more and taste. The sauce should savor richly of chili and be thick enough to nap a spoon heavily. It may also have bitter quality, which is not very attractive until paired with the food to be sauced.

UPDATE:

Rick Bayless's recipe is very similar. Three cloves garlic rather than one. No flour, and he calls for only using 1 cup of reserved chili water. 2 cups are added to the simmering meat mixture. I'm uncertain which to follow. I'm nervous about adding too much water, as usual. Whether or not it is the chili reserve water will depend on the relative heat of the chilies I use. UPDATE AGAIN: Bayless says to avoid reserve water because of its astringency--hence one cup.

The Immortal Zin

$10, DeKalb Farmer's Market

The Immortal Zin
102 year-old zinfadel vines
California, 2009

Very nice wine. a $15 bottle, marked down. Balanced with a long finish. The initial taste is thicket, with dark fruit, but decidedly dry as opposed to fruity. Definitely good for the money.

Ate it tonight with salmon. Balanced nicely.

Salmon in the Oven

Last night, took a wild sockeye salmon filet and broiled it with a lemon butter sauce. Not a pleasant return, frankly. Perhaps I broiled it long (and of course, I didn't record the time).

Tonight, I am trying to bake a salmon filet with a mayo-dijon-sea salt sauce.

Baked at 400 for about twenty-five minutes (time may be off). It worked quite well. Salmon was tender, and the sauce yielded a creamy crust. If baking, I would do this again.

Creamy Broccoli Soup

This is a straightforward application of a realsimple recipe,doubled, and made with our chicken-vegetable stock and water. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 bunch broccoli, forets roughly chopped and stems peeled and sliced.
1 large russet potato
sea salt
black pepper
2 ounces sharp white cheddar
2 cups vegetable broth

1. Heat the oil in a large dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and red pepper (if using) and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft, 4-6 minutes






2. Add the broth, broccoli, potato, 2 CUPS WATER, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simer, covered, until the vegetables are very tender, 18-20 minutes.





3. Blend ingredients. Return to dutch oven. Top servings with cheddar cheese. Croutons would be nice...

The Foot Soldier's Ward 8

Alright, experimenting with ward 8 recipes, thanks to the fact that no sugar syrup is available to make a proper whiskey sour. The first "Foot Soldier" recipe:

3 oz. whiskey
2 oz. lemon juice
2 oz. orange juice
1 teaspoon powdered sugar
maraschino juice

a disaster of a recipe. tasted dull and unbalanced. Not quite sweet, not quite sour, with an unpleasing aftertaste.

Second "Foot Soldier" recipe:

2 oz. whiskey
2 oz. lemon juice
2 oz. orange juice
1 teaspoon powdered sugar
splash grenadine

This one works, but isn't all that different from a ward 8. The proportions are worth noting, however. And I think this would take a better bourbon than Jim Beam, which is why this gets the "Foot Soldier" designation. Actually, I know it will. Must. Collect. Better. Bourbons.

Third "Foot Soldier" recipe:

3 oz. whiskey
2 oz. lemon juice
2 teaspoons powdered sugar
splash grenadine

This is the best one. I'm starting to think that the orange juice ward 8 may not be a sign of sophistication. This allows for a more naked whiskey, and even the Beam shines through. Imagine a serious whiskey. Of course, this is now differentiated from the whiskey sour only by its lack of sugar syrup and splash of grenadine.

Chicken Stock, Mondo Vegetable style

Thanks to a surfeit of leftover vegetables, including five rubbery carrots, a pile of green onions that couldn't make it into green onion cakes, and two full tins of celery and carrot leftovers, we have some serious vegetable-chicken stock coming up tonight. The picture here is intended to give some idea of how much vegetable went in. In both of my last stocks, one yogurt tin of vegetables was all we had to go in. In the first stock (if memory serves), I added more water. In the second, I reduced longer off of less water, and this produced the gelatin that made for a thicker chicken soup.


This time, I'm light on the bones, and so the stock will be a vegetable-chicken stock at best. The bones of one five pound roast is all I had to offer up. I did not rinse the carcass, which turned out to be a mistake. I pulled loads of scum and fat off the top. This is the most water I've put into a stock yet, as indicated to the left here.

Simmer took about one hour, although it was up and down given that the temperature was hard to regulate. (definitely in need of a new stockpot.)


After simmer, added ice. skimmed the last round of fat (one and one-half Kozicki mugs, by the way). The reduction is still going after addition of vegetables, but I'm guessing we're looking at two plus hours for this. It's already 10:30 and I'm reaching my stock tolerance, but I insist on getting more flavor out of the stock.

Of course, what I'm missing is any kind of serious aromatic. I briefly debated throwing in a handful of cilantro, but decided against it in the end. Two bay leafs will have to suffice.

UPDATE:

The stock turns out beautifully every time, no matter what. I do think that some serious spices might help (peppercorns, anise, cloves, real bay leaves, etc.), but this makes for a nice stock, light on the chicken flavor, big on vegetable flavor. And all my vegetable soups get this added savory richness.