What are you having for dinner? (wanna share your recipe?)

[bellbird]

Sauce I had made at the beginning of this year from last summer's harvest of tomatoes and zucchini, and then kept frozen.
Turns out I'd even put spices and curry leaves in it! Way to go February bellbird.

Fried off some beef mince which I mixed into the sauce, as well as some fresh silverbeet from the garden.

Served on some fresh red cabbage and steamed broccoli, with half an avocado on the side.

 

[Friday]

Buffalo Chocolate Chili
(Or beer, or espresso)
Any of the 3 add a nice depth of character, just -from experience- pick 1

- Olive Oil
- A few pounds of (chili grind / coarse ground) bison (or beef)
- Bacon chopped
- Onions chopped
- Celery chopped
- Garlic minced
- Ancho or Chipotle Peppers (mild, sweet, smokey) -OR- hot peppers (habañero, ghost, reaper, etc*.)
- Smoked Salt
- Smoked Paprika
- A teeny tiny itsy bitsy pinch of cumin -OR- a generous pinch of Ras el Hanout or Garam Masala. (Cumin is fierce overpowering, the Arab or Indian spice blends balance)
- Masa Harina (corn flour / few tablespoons for thickening) -OR- wheat flour / etc. -OR- skip this step entirely & cook down
- Fire Roasted Tomatoes
(Strained, diced, chopped, or whole, doesn’t matter, they disintegrate)
- Tomato Paste
- Chicken Stock
- Chocolate Shavings -or- A bottle of stout -or- A shot of espresso

(Optional) Beans **

* If using hot peppers I strongly suggest using a great big dollup of raisin or currant paste to balance spicy with sweet, and serving topped with goat cheese & crumbled bacon to cool & salt. Will still be melt your face off, but less like “why did I go to all this bother, when I could have just had a nice big bowl of battery acid?”

** I’ve spent most of my life up to my eyeballs in men & boys. Whom all seem to feel quite differently than I do about farting. To preserve my own sanity I don’t serve men beans if I have a choice in the matter. That said? If you need to stretch this meal -or find farting for hours on end hilarious- a few tins of black or red beans tastes just lovely.

1) Ring a pot with olive oil, crank the heat up to smoking, & brown meats with smoked salt.
2) Add onions, celery, garlic, cook until softened / translucent.
3) Dust heavily with masa harina & give a good stir to coat & start bonding with the fats
4) Add peppers, tomato (fire roasted & Paste), & smoked paprika / cumin / spices AND thin out a bit with chicken stock if it starts smoking. No one likes pepper smoke in their eyes, and more importantly, it lessens the flavor and makes the texture gritty :wtf: (one can always wear swimming goggles -so sexy- if burning peppers is the goal, like with molé, but that’s not the case here).
5) IF using beer, add now, so you can do #6 accurately.
6) Chicken stock to barely cover
7) IF using chocolate or espresso, add now.

Simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally.

 

[Friday]

Chili Mac

Scoop of macaroni
Scoop of water
Scoop of chili

Bring to boil, and simmer until pasta is cooked though.

 

[littleoc]

Scoop of water, hahahaha

 

[nursenurse]

Oh bloody hell, I think you have the absolute best recipe for chili here... I make chili frequently, always tastes different, always good, but his one takes the cake. Have you ever added any more than one of the three? Might be muddled in flavour, but coffee and beer don't sound too bad together. And a grating of chocolate cannot hurt anything.

 

[Friday]

@nursenurse ... it can work, swooning work... or it can go teeeerribly wrong.

If something goes sideways there’s almost always a fix that brings it back to OMFG that’s good (like adding BBQ sauce, cream soda, maple syrup, cinnamon, bay leaf, bone marrow, etc.) But the ways it decides to go wrong? I can never quite account for ahead of time, and have to fix on the fly. So unless I’m up for doctoring whatever went weird with the meats/sweets/smokes/brights/deeps/heats balance? I just make this chili a nice deep porter in winter or lively IPA in summer, this one coffee, that one chocolate, etc. Needlessly complicated annoys me.

 

[nursenurse]

There is nothing on this earth that either a dash or a tablespoon of hot sauce (Marie Sharp's for me) or an ounce or three or more of booze can't fix.

 

[Friday]

LMAO... I like your style.

 

[blackemerald1]

So strictly speaking I had some falafel and dip for dinner but I made xmas fruit mince pies/tarts for dessert...

This is the easy way...

Preheat oven 200 C or 180 C. Fan Forced - do this first :)

1 x 410 gm jar of (your favourite brand ) fruit mince
1 x 410 gm can of apple slices in their own juice but strained very well
1 pkt of either sweet short crust pastry (ready rolled) or, puff pastry (ready rolled)

Half a cup of hot water from kitchen tap
A little bit of sugar for sprinkling on top

1 x 12 hole muffin tin - greased with olive oil spray or just oil...

Drink juice from can of apples... lol

For bottom of pies - find something in your kitchen that is about 1 - 2 cm larger than the diameter of the muffin holes to cut pastry with,

For top of pies - find something that is identical to the diameter of the muffin holes to cut pastry with,

Combine fruit mince and strained apples

Cut out pastry tops and bottoms

Line muffin holes with pastry bottoms, lol...

Put apple/fruit mince in holes *don't overfill

Gently lay lids on top

Prick tops of pies by stabbing with a knife or fork :)

With left over pastry cut out stupid shapes and press with a fork - lay them on top of the lids

Either give a milk and egg wash (1 egg combined with 1/4 cup of milk whisked & brushed onto pies) or,

Brush with a tiny bit of hot water
Sprinkle a tiny bit of sugar on top

Bake in a pre-heated oven till golden brown **Probably about 15 mins but check em frequently

Let cool for about 2 - 5 mins (but don't let get cold in muffin tin or you might not get them out very well)

Use the back of a blunt kitchen knife to un-stick pies edges from muffin tin holes if needed and then gently lift out with the blade.

Nice with cream, custard or on their own, hot or cold.
Freeze really well too.

 

[littleoc]

Thanks, I was actually looking for a recipe like that!!! I’m obsessed with mince, lol. Thanks!!

 

[VioletButterfly]

I can't remember if I already put this out here, but well, here you go. I did look and didn't see it, but sorry if its a repeat.

You can make this in the moment or cook pieces of it and then combine a couple of days out. I did this. I cooked the pasta and also the vege mix, placed into containers in the refrigerator, and then combined with a little bit of oil in a microwave dish. I added a little butter and put the top on the dish, and microwaved until heated through. I topped it with a bit of cheese and served with iced tea w/ lemon.

Ingredients:

• Olive oil (and, maybe a little butter?! :))
• 2 smallish sliced zucchini squash
• 2 smallish sliced summer squash
• 1 pint sliced grape tomatoes (can use other varieties, just beware of tomatoes that contain a lot of water as it can dilute the recipe)
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed, or garlic powder to your liking
• 1 small/medium onion, chopped, or onion powder to your liking
• 1/2 to 1 tsp. of dried Oregano or you can use mixed Italian herbs (I like the McCormick brand)
• Salt to taste
• Lemon pepper to taste or you can use the juice of 1/4 of a large lemon and ground pepper to taste
• Spaghetti or Farfalle pasta

Instructions:

In a large pot, bring water to a boil. Add salt and then add the pasta of your choice. Probably 4 servings should do. Cook until pasta is al dente, drain, and place into a dish with a bit of olive oil so that the pasta doesn't stick together while waiting for the vegetables.

In a large skillet or Dutch oven, heat up olive oil. Place one small piece of onion to the pan/pot. When it starts to crackle, add all of onion and lower the heat a bit until all is simmering. When the onion color starts to turn opaque, add in the garlic and simmer a minute or so. Then, add in the squash and tomatoes, and stir until squash and tomatoes are coated with oil/onion/garlic mixture. Cover and let simmer for about 10 minutes. If it looks dry, add a little water or stock. If it is burning, turn down the heat! :) At this point, add seasonings and continue to simmer until the vegetables are semi-soft or at the point where you like them. Check your seasonings and correct if necessary. Serve over pasta with a sprinkle of Parmesan or your favorite cheese. Mange!

Note: If you are using onion, garlic powders - use a piece of squash to gauge oil temperature and add the squash/tomatoes to the oil and coat. Let simmer a little while and then add the powers and seasonings. Add stock or water if needed and watch the heat. ... Proceed with the original instructions.

 

[littleoc]

@VioletButterfly I don't think I've seen that yet! Thank you!!