Homestyle Chili

Sometimes the Southern blood start boiling and I need a little pick-me-up.  Chili is a warm dish that heats up your insides when the weather turns rotten.  Mine is a spicy, EASY, French-ish version.. I serve it with cornbread.  Ah-men.

Category: Stews, Ground Beef


Frenchman Rating/Comments:  8.5/10, "Really well done, a nice chili with not too much complications.  Loved the flavor of the green pepper in the chili."

Cost per Serving: €1.50 a serving, this recipes makes around 4 servings.

Ingredients

• 1 large can red beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 medium green pepper, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped fine
• 2-3 garlic cloves, smashed
• 2 nice tomatoes, chopped
• 1 medium can 'stewed tomatoes'
• 1 green hot pepper (serrano or jalapeno, depending on your guts)
• 2 tablespoons 'Raz Hanout', a spicy mix that can be bought in spice shops in Guillotière
• 1 tablespoon 'Garam Mazala'
• 300 grams steak haché (I just defrost frozen patties)

Equipment

• Simply, 8 qt stock pot 

Instructions

1. Begin by chopping the onion and heating up a bit of oil in the stock pot.  Toss in the onions and garlic and meat, cook until brown then pour in the stewed tomatoes.
2. Allow to simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes.
3. Add the vegetables, the green peppers, the red beans and the fresh tomatoes.  Salt and pepper, as well as add the seasoning.  Stir around.
4. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat for about 45 minutes.  Bring up to medium-high for the last 5 minutes.  Adjust seasonings if needed.
5. Serve with garnishes if desired; I served with cornbread, chopped cheese, yogurt sauce and fresh onions.

Southern Dinner.. Done Light!

We all love Southern dinners, southern food. The problem is our middles usually are the results from these such events.

Last night I decided to make a "healthy Southern dinner" and reduce the calories by 2/3.

My Menu for the evening:
"Fried" chicken (175 calories per serving)
Mashed "potatoes"(78 calories per serving)
Green beans (15 calories per serving)
Green Spinach Salad with Tomatoes and Vinaigrette (25 calories per serving)
Gallette de Pommes : French Apple Pastry (200 calories per serving)


Grand Total: 493 calories

My mom decided to compete and do a fattier version and see if anyone could taste the difference and which they preferred. Plus, southern food, as Paula Dean says, "Ain't good unless it got some fat in it!"

Her Menu:
Buttermilk Fried Chicken (480 calories per serving)
Buttermilk Biscuits (160 calories per serving)
Mashed Potatoes (200 calories per serving)
Chicken Gravy (75 calories per 2 tablespoon serving)
Corn on the Cob (78 calories per half ear of corn, with butter)
S'mores (140 calories per serving)

Grand Total of a Southern Feast: 1,133 calories

So. here are my recipes for each item... enough for 5 small stomachs or 3 big stomachs.

"Fried" chicken
1 whole cut up chicken (or two legs and two thighs)
2 cups corn flake cereal
1 cup bread crumbs
whatever seasonings you want, I chose: (onion powder, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder and some cayenne pepper)
2 eggs
1/2 milk or buttermilk

Step 1: I peeled the skin off of the legs. This is a delicious part, but in order to create a crispier crust the skin has to go. Think of it as... creating chicken armor. A crunchy seasoned chicken armor and to do that you gotta get rid of the skin.

Step 2: Whisk eggs, buttermilk, salt and some pepper into the eggs for the dip.

Step 3: Take a large plastic bag fill with the crunchy stuff and seasonings. Close tightly and take a hammer to IT!!! No, kidding.. I just rolling pinned it out. Roll roll rolll... crunch crunch... it's great for aggression. Keep going until you're either not pissed any more or it's in fine grain pieces.

Step 4: Open bag.

Step 5: Dip two pieces of chicken into awesome egg dip, roll around and roll around. Place in bag. Shake shake shake. Then use hands to press in the crunchy mixture. Repeat. Repeat. Until it's completely covered and all chicken pieces are done.

Step 5 1/2: Place chickens on venilated cooking thing. Basically like a wire rack over a dripping pan, tie air will create that extra crunch the chicken desires.

The finished product looks like this. Stick in fridge until ready to bake.

Step 6: BAKING! Bake in oven @ 375 degrees Fahrenheit for  35-60 minutes, or until the thermomator states "165-170". Then blast the heat on the broiler for 5 more minutes for extra crunch.

The FINAL product. SO good. And a final sprinkling of salt makes it better.

Now... the sides..

Mashed "Potatoes"
This was an interesting recipe I researched and researched. The first time I heard about it was from a vegetarian friend of mine at an old job. He mentioned how the taste was amazingly similar to mashed potatoes. I tested.. I inquired, "What is this?" The consistency was a little runnier.. but sure enough same flavor.

He smiled, "cauliflower."

Now those of you tied to a low carb diet- this is amazing stuff. Try it once, just for tasting sake.

This is enough for 2 people...

you'll need:
1 bag frozen cauliflower
1-2 tablespoons cream cheese
heavy whipping cream
couple pats of butter
pepper
salt
immersion blender, or a strong hand and a masher
imaaagination...

Step 1: Cook cauliflower for 8-10 minutes in salted boiling water.

Step 2: Strain and dry thoroughly with paper towels, or for the eco friendly folks, a washable clean dish towel.

Step 3: Add rest of ingredients and immerse the shit out of it. Wrr wrrr.

Step 4: Place in microwave until time to serve.

 

That's it. It's like 1/3 of the calories, awesome flavor and takes 10 minutes. Fresh. bye bye boxed potatoes.


Finally.. the lovely, fatty and flavorful.. but yet.... not. Dessert!

Galette aux Pommes (apple tart)

Ingredients... are as follows...
2 apples. I used gala, they are sweeeet.
2 tablespoons apple pie mix (ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg)
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 package of Phyllo dough
1 stick of butter (yes. one stick.)
preheat oven to 400 degrees..

Step 1: Cut up apples (I leave the skin on) into 1/2" chunks and put into bowl minus stems and seeds.

Step 2: Mix into the apples all the other stuff minus phyllo dough and butter.

Step 3, "the hard part": Lay out the phyllo dough two sheets at a time. Do like this:
 Two sheets, brush with enough butter till it's wet, two sheets, repeat, two sheets, repeat... until you are done buttering it up.

Step 4: Drop all of apple mixture into the center and fold one corner in, then another... it'll be like a really rough looking octagon in the end.

Step 5: Place galette onto a bake sheet toss about a tablespoon of brown sugar over the top and the rest of the butter and into the oven for only 12-20 minutes... depending on when it looks sufficiently crunchy and browned. Like the photo below...

Great served with a low fat soy ice cream or even a home whipped cream. YUM!