Tonight is chili spagetti. Now my wife and I disagree about chili, but she grew up in Cincinnati where they enjoy Greek Skyline chili. It is tasty but I would never call it chili. Chili should have a purity law like beer in Germany. Beer is water, hops, barley and yeast according to German law. There are other brews but they are called something else, like hefeweisen. Likewise there are no beans in chili. A bowl of chili with a side of beans is fine. The chili tonight will not be pure as it will have beans but it is fine. It tastes great. I can live with that.
Tonight will be asparagus risotto using the chicken stock I made from boiling the chicken for shreaded meat for enchiladas.
Tonight we’re going to pick up hoagie sandwiches after a full day of yard work. We don’t have a locally owned/operated sandwich shop here so we’ll pick up from Fire House. The day was sunny/partly cloudy and a doable high of 83* The back porch is open and choice of adult beverages is available. Life is good in Gator Nation!
Pasta puttanesca tonight. Haven't made it in sometime as it is not one of my wife's favorites. I will tone down the anchovies and serve a rose of pinot on her behalf.
Tonight we’re having PF Chang’s Mongolian Beef and mixed vegetables over stir fried rice. Typical panhandle weather here today. High was 84*/feels like 92* No rain today. The back porch is open and the longnecks are iced down and the wine is chilled. Life is good in Gator Nation!
Tonight I’m going to be frying fresh catfish. Our sides will be cheese grits, coleslaw, and hush puppies. Another overcast day here today. The back porch Yeti is restocked and Ms. Jan’s wine is chilled. Life is good in Gator Nation!
IDK Lurk …I feel like classic Chile needs beans in it. As long as you don’t screw up the bean to beef ratio. And I prefer pinto & red beans over kidney myself. The casings on kidneys are just too coarse for me liking. Now, if we’re talking bowl o’ red I’m with you. Chuck, jalapeño & Poblano peppers and onion …that’s it. Hope you enjoyed it.
Using up the last of the meatballs I made with our Sunday Sauce a few weeks ago. Meatball subs with grilled onions, provolone cheese with a dusting of grated Romano. Potato chips and dill pickle spear with an iced down corona to wash it all down.
Have you ever used black beans in your chili? I’m sure you know they have a flavor that’s up a notch from any red beans—we prefer them over reds a lot. We add them along with the Canelli beans to White Chicken Chili, that’s a pot full of flavor. We also do black beans and rice with cut up venison smoked sausage as opposed to the red beans.
Tonight was leftovers. When it comes to chili I respet the Texas traditions where there is no beans in chili. I also respect the Reinheitsgebot where beer (bier) only has water, barley, yeast and hops. Coors is not beer.
For the past 30 or so years (not the last few of course) my wife and I have hosted a department and friends chili party and contest. The rule is “if you say it’s chili, then it’s chili.” I couldn’t begin to describe the variations
Tonight I’ll be grilling hamburger steaks from a freshly ground boneless chuck roast. Baked potatoes will be on the top rack. Inside we will have a freshly made Romaine salad topped with vine ripe tomatoes. Another wash/rinse/repeat weather day here today with regards to sunny/cloudy/rain/humidity—just panhandle doings. The longnecks are ice cold and Ms. Jan’s wine is chilled and the back porch is open. Life is good in Gator Nation!
Making tortilla soup tonight from a recipe my wife found on line. I am going to tweak it with some epazote instead of oregano.
To me chili does not have to be beef. Venison and goat (cabritto) chilis are two of my favorites. I grew up eating chili with beans. I will eat it and enjoy it. But I have spent some time in Texas and I consider Texas the birthplace of chili. It ain't a Mexican dish nor a New Mexican dish. Heck in Sante Fe they have this "chili" and fritos pie abomination. There is great food in New Mexico with a confluence of the Anglo whites, the Spanish and the indigenous. That is my hope. Fry bread is more indigenous and should be sought out if you want some authentic food. Getting it done right is a slog for an anglo.
In an effort to clean out the fridge before vacation we we went with taco salad tonight. And will probably do the same tomorrow to use all the vegetables.
I’ve tried black beans. Not my cup of tea. I’ll go with them when making Cuban pulled pork …it partners well with citrus. But otherwise, no. Love me some white chili though. But that’s an Oct thru March menu in our house.
Tonight I’ll be grilling chicken halves seasoned with coarse black pepper and Everglades Cactus Dust. Correct, Pat’s Homade on the last two turns. We will have a big pot of fresh green beans & new potatoes and bi-color cob corn for our sides. Hope all of y’all that still have the standard M-F week have a good weekend—we operate on a 6 Saturday’s and a Sunday format here. The longnecks are ice cold and Ms. Jan’s wine is chilled. Life is good in Gator Nation!
Chicken piccata tonight. The only thing I hate about it is that modern chicken breasts are too thick to pound to the proper thickness. I slice them in half first.
Lurker, great reference there to "Reinheitsgebot" the German Purity Law of 1516 requiring, as you said, beer to only be made of water, barley, yeast and hops. Got to salute the Germans for doing this. Classy. Becks has a note to this effect on their packages. I like Becks. It has character.
Lurk— I feel like this brand should be available in Gainesville. Check with your grocery stores and see if they carry Springer Mountain chickens-that’s all I buy here. Vacuum packed whole birds that run 3.0-3.5 lbs. They are always tender and not those 5+lb “fryers”.
