Mexican Chili

I substitute teach and I am off for the summer. Oddly enough, I had a very strong desire for chili and plenty of time to make it! The weather is a little warm for chili but I thought if it had a mexican twist it wouldn't seem out of season. I think mexican food tastes great year round! So I tweaked my chili recipe and this is what I came up with. My youngest daughter's boyfriend said it tasted like an orgasm of flavors in his mouth!

5 lbs. beef brisket cut up in 1 inch cubes fat trimmed
1/4 C oil
2 C chopped white onions
6 garlic cloves minced
2-3 T chili powder
2 T cumin
1/2 t cayenne pepper
2 t garlic powder
2 t oregano
2 t coriander or dried cilantro
2 T salt
2 heaping T adobo
2 green bell peppers seeded and chopped
2 bay leaves
6 cups chopped tomatoes with liquid
pepper
1/2 cup strong coffee
2 cans pinto beans (I used Bush's)
fresh cilantro for garnish

Heat oil in a flat bottomed pot until very hot but not smoking. Brown the brisket cubes in a single layer turning to brown all sides then remove to a plate. Repeat till all the cubes are browned. Then add the chopped onion, garlic and the seasonings with 1 T of salt and let saute over medium heat. Next add the bell peppers and then the tomatoes. Add the meat back in the pot. Now add the other 1T of salt and pepper.
Reduce the heat cover tightly and let simmer for 21/2 hours. Stir occasionally. Next add the coffee and adjust the seasonings to taste and let simmer for 1 more hour. Now add the beans and let warm through or get tender.

Toppings
crema (mexican sour cream)
sour cream
avocado
cilantro
tortilla chips
cheddar cheese

Berry Cobbler

Its Spring, which means its berry season! My ex-husband treated me to a trip to Costco yesterday and I loaded up on yummy ripe berries. I love this cobbler for its sweet simplicity and deliciousness.

After my rough week, where I discovered that Samantha's divorce, which began back in October is still not finalized and with her panning to get remarried in a week in Vegas, I felt that this could create some problems. After all, I don't want a polygamist for a daughter. So, after many stressful phone calls and then a quick one to my attorney asking him to take over and fix this, he assures me that with a little judge smooshing and a waiver, we will be good to go.

Samantha's first marriage fell apart quite quickly. I have to say I was not surprised since I had many misgivings that I expressed through motherly advise and was not taken. As a treat to herself for managing her way through a tough situation and finishing her masters in Biology, Samantha headed off to Europe for the summer. In Gibraltar Spain, she met the love of her life! She told me over the phone that he was exactly what I had always said I wanted for her. I was elated! His name is Tristan and he is a UK citizen with a lovely British accent. Needless to say, she did not come home except to get her things and start moving them back to Spain. She says she wants to take it slowly and see how it works out with them living together. I am dying to meet him and she can't wait as well, so they fly over for her birthday in Nov. He had been complaining of headaches but the doctor deemed them stress related as he is a successful attorney. After being here for just two days, he has a seizure where he is rushed to the emergency room and is diagnosed with a brain tumor. They fly out the next day to London where he has the tumor removed and undergoes a month of radiation treatment. They take a weekend trip to Paris where he proposes and she accepts! Never mind about slow, life is to be lived. They are back in the US on a massive road trip where Samantha is showing him our country. They decide to get married in Las Vegas and we are all flying out to be there with them! I am very excited!

Samantha being the scientist she is has researched Tristan's condition thoroughly and has him now following a very low carb diet to inhibit tumor growth. They have a blog and I would like her to post a link to in case anyone is interested in what they are doing. I will follow up on that.

Okay, now now it is time for dessert!

18 oz blackberries fresh
12 oz. raspberries  fresh
6 oz. blueberries fresh
1/2 cup sugar
2 t vanilla ( I use mexican vanilla, la vencedora)

In a 9x13 baking dish spread out berries evenly then sprinkle with sugar and vanilla. You can eyeball the berries and use as many as you want...just don't fill the dish full, only about half way and you will need more sugar if you use more berries and it also depends on the sweetness of the berries so taste them.

Topping
2 C flour
2 C sugar
1 1/2 stick of butter cold from the refrigerator
pinch of salt
Mix with fingers in a bowl until it resembles coarse meal
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
Add and use your hands to form a ball
wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate till cold
cinnamon and sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Take the topping out of the refrigerator and pull off large pieces and flatten into thick round disks in the palms of your hands. Lay on top of the berries. Continue until you cover the berries but don't worry about little gaps or overlapping. Dust the top of the dough with cinnamon and then sugar. Bake for about 45 min. until golden brown.

Balsamic Zucchini and Tomato Pizza

I have to say that my favorite thing to eat on Friday night is pizza. It feels like a treat at the end of a stressful work week.
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This week has been more trying than usual. I have had an allergic reaction to Advil according to Dr.Newton. My entire back has an itchy hot red raised rash that has now spread to my tummy and arms. It has been going on since Spring break. Last Saturday and Sunday I ended up spending a lost weekend in a benadryl induced coma. I have to admit the swelling went down and my skin was no longer hot but I was still itching violently. Saw the doctor again and this time he prescribes an anti-itch pill that after the second day I finally didn't feel like ripping my skin off. I am also halfheartedly trying to take off my winter padding that I use to keep me warm here in the tropics. You see I am going to Las Vegas for my birthday and Samantha' second wedding in less than a year. She is my oldest. I deserve pizza!

As I have mentioned before, I do not make my own dough as yeast and I do not get along, so I stopped by breadsmith on my way home today and picked up some fresh dough. I don't like conventional pizza ingredients so I am always experimenting with new ideas for toppings. This is one of my latest concoctions!

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees with pizza brick in the oven on the bottom rack.
Let your dough rest outside of the fridge.

Topping
3 zucchini sliced very thin (my zucchini were big you so you might need more than 3.)
2 C diced ripe tomatoes (I used Campari tomatoes...home grown would be amazing!)
1 1/2 t balsamic vinegar
4 cloves of garlic pressed
4-5 T basil leaves chopped or shredded
2 sprigs fresh rosemary chopped
1/4-1/2 C parmesan cheese grated
salt and pepper
red pepper flakes optional

Slice your zucchini very thin. Chop your tomatoes and put them in a bowl with the garlic and balsamic vinegar then add about 1/2 t salt. In a skillet drizzle 2 T of olive oil in the pan and let get hot on high heat. Add the zucchini and saute till lightly browned on both sides and add salt and pepper.Reduce heat to med. while cooking. You will want to do this in two batches. Now put it all together in the pan and add the tomato mixture, then let simmer for a minute or two and then turn off heat.

Roll out the dough on a floured surface and then put on the pizza brick. Prick the dough with a fork and set the timer for about 3 min. Open the oven door and spray olive oil on the dough and add 1/2 the rosemary and then sprinkle with salt. I use kosher salt. Set the timer for 4 min more to let the dough brown a bit. Take out the dough and put on the
counter and spread the vegetable mixture evenly. Sprinkle the top with basil leaves, the remaining rosemary and you can spray with olive oil if it is a bit dry. Add the red pepper flakes if you are using them and evenly sprinkle the cheese on top. Return to the oven to warm back up. Remove the pizza and eat!!!!

This was my piece...I was so hungry I was literally taking off tiny slices even before I could get a good photo!

Green eggs and Ham Biscuit

I was watching Iron Chef America very late the other night as I am an insufferable night owl and the secret ingredient was egg. I joined  the episode late and saw only the presentation to the judges. Bobby Flay had made green eggs and ham with a biscuit for one of his dishes. When he described the eggs as having been infused with basil I thought "wow, what a great idea that sounds delicious!" Not having seen the whole episode I had no idea how he did it but I thought I could make up my own version and yes it did turn out as delicious as they made it sound on TV.

First of all, I bought some little ham slices just the size of my biscuits and fried them up in a skillet.
Meanwhile I made some biscuits. You can use your own recipe but here is mine.

Biscuits
2 C flour
1 T baking powder
1 t salt
1 C whipping cream

Combine flour,baking powder and salt. Whip the whipping cream until soft peaks form and stir into flour mixture until blended. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth about 10 to 15 times. Roll dough out to about a 1/2 in thick and then cut with a 3 in biscuit cutter. Repeat with leftover dough. Place on baking sheet and bake at 450 degrees for about 12 min. or until lightly browned. It makes about 6.

Eggs
6 large eggs
1/3 C whipping cream
4 T pesto (my homemade recipe that I used is on my vegan pizza post just the non-vegan version)

In a bowl beat eggs with the cream and pesto. Heat up a nonstick skillet on med. heat and add 1 t butter to the pan. Coat the pan and when it sizzles add the eggs and scramble till done. Salt and pepper to taste.

Split open the biscuits and butter the inside slightly. Assemble the biscuit with 2 slices of ham and a pile of eggs.

Fluffy Raspberry Cream Cheesecake

Its spring break and my youngest, Scarlet, wants to make some kind of yummy dessert. She likes to make desserts but rarely eats them and leaves it up to me to eat the whole thing.  We have some raspberries that are ready to go bad so I figure whatever we make we should incorporate those raspberries. We settled on making this dessert and yes I ate almost the whole thing on my own, Alexandra who flew in from NYC helped out with a piece or two.

2 8 oz. packages of cream cheese
1 t vanilla
1/2 C sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
1 1/2 C whipping cream
1/2 C powdered sugar
11/2 C fresh raspberries crushed and soaked in 1/4 C chambord liqueur

Crust
1 pkg oreo's without centers crushed
2 T sugar
1/4 C butter melted
In a spring form pan place a piece of parchment paper.You can butter it to make it stick. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into the bottom and part way up the sides of a spring form pan. Bake at 350 for 8 min. Put in the freezer and let cool down completely

Filling
With a mixer beat the softened cream cheese then add the vanilla, sugar, and lemon zest and set aside. Beat the whipping cream into stiff whipped cream adding the powdered sugar while beating. Fold the whipped cream and raspberry mixture into the cream cheese mixture and pour into the crust and and refrigerate until firm. It will never be as firm as regular cheese cake.

This dessert is light and fluffy and will hold its shape for a short amount of time so serve immediately!
You can make it with a graham cracker crust instead of the oreos and I think I prefer it that way but this is how Scarlet wanted it and I do think it looks pretty this way.

Giant Soft Peanut Butter Cookies

There is this bakery in Austin Texas called Texas French Bread and they have delicious cookies that I am trying to imitate. My ultimate favorite is their molasses cookie which I am still working on. My second favorite is the peanut butter cookie and by george I think I've got it! I don't eat their chocolate chip because mine are a million times better and we call them cowboy cookies. I will be posting that recipe at a later date with their story...they are amazing! They make a decent sugar cookie but mine are just a smidge better.

Now for that peanut butter cookie...first of all it is big and I love big cookies, in fact my daughters make fun of me all the time teasing me about the ever growing size of my cookies. You can tell when I get tired of baking because the cookies become enormous in my effort to just get finished. The peanut butter cookie's edges are airy so when you take a bite your mouth goes cush as you bite down. The centers are chewy and delicious. And as for most peanut butter cookies they taste more peanut buttery when they have cooled down completely.

1/4 C butter barely softened
1/4 C coconut oil
1/2 C sugar
1 C light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 C peanut butter (I used skippy natural super chunk)
1 t vanilla
1 1/4 C flour
3/4 t baking soda
1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Blend butter and oil then add sugars. Add peanut butter and beat till smooth. Add the egg then the vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture. Refrigerate the dough till cool covered in plastic wrap. Spoon the dough onto the cookie sheet and shape the edges with your fingers. Smash down the dough with a fork in a crisscross fashion until they are the height you want them. Make them kind of thick and big!
Bake them for about 12 min. unless you made them small and then only about 10 min. Let them cool on a wooden table or cutting board to assure softness.

Butternut Squash in Sage butter with Pasta

It is so fun to have different vegetables to eat in different seasons. Now that winter is almost over I will soon have to say goodbye to butternut squash until next year. Of course I love butternut squash just roasted in the oven in olive oil with salt, pepper and garlic but then I feel obliged to figure out  things to go with it. I wanted to come up with a one pot meal if you will and this is how the recipe came about.

1 squash peeled and cubed (the way I cube it, which seems the easiest for me, is to slice it first then peel around the edges.
1 med. onion roughly chopped
3 T olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic minced
1/2 stick butter
6-8 medium to large sage leaves chopped (reserve a little for sprinkling on top)
1/2-3/4 c white wine
1/2 box thin spaghetti (I used Barilla plus)

Bring a pot of salted water up to a boil.
Pour olive oil in the skillet and let it get very hot but not smoking.  Add the squash in a single layer as best as possible and let brown then turn to other side and let it brown. Add the onion and saute. Salt and pepper. Add the butter and let brown a bit then add the garlic and sage. Pour in the wine and let reduce. Put the pasta in the water to cook as the instructions on the box tell you. Turn off the squash and add another Tablespoon of butter and the reserved bit of sage.The squash should be tender by now but with more of a bite to it than if you had roasted it.Taste to see if it needs more salt and pepper then add the drained cooked pasta and toss to coat the pasta evenly with the butternut squash and sauce. Taste again for seasoning.