photo by andidigress

The best part about putting recipes into a blog is hearing back from people that either try them or see something out in the world that draws them back to the food.  So much more interesting that keeping the recipes in a file.  This is one of those recipes…

Ranch Style Beans are something you don’t (can’t) avoid in Texas.  My family loves them, I have loved them since the first time I had a bowl.  With jalapenos, on rice, whatever.  Trouble is, eating out of a can hasn’t been all that appealing for years.  Once you start making everything fresh, or leave college, cans just aren't as appealing.

A friend that read this blog mentioned that beans are sold in Styrofoam cups in south Texas.  I love the idea – a Big Gulp of beans.  It makes perfect sense – beans are easy to make and easy to serve.  A giant cup of beans sounds a little like an SNL skit, but I would buy one.  Sure, I've had plenty of beans as a side at one of our legendary BBQ spots, but I've never sought out a bowl of beans on their own.

This recipe is much more than a knock off of Ranch Style Beans.  Ranch beans are a common side on local tables, so its handy to have a good bean recipe.  More than handy - its critical.  If you're prepared with good recipes for ranch beans and Cuban frijoles negros, you pretty much have beans covered.

The original Ranch Style Beans use pinto, but I have found that its best to mix the pintos with red kidneys, so I keep both on hand.

These can be served over rice or on their own.  They're a simple and satisfying meal by themselves, even out of a Big Gulp cup.

Ranch Beans

1 lb dried pinto beans (or kidney)

3 onions (total), diced

1/4 cup red chili powder (I use Pendrey's Texas Red)

2 Tbsp salt

1 tsp brown sugar

1 tsp paprika

2 strips of bacon, diced

1 Tbsp oil

3 cloves garlic

1 large red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and diced

1 large green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and diced

1 tsp vinegar

Directions

1. Wash the beans and remove any rocks.  Soak overnight.


2. Rinse the beans and cover with water.  Make sure there are a couple inches of water above the surface of the beans.


3. Add 2 of the diced onions, chili, salt, sugar and paprika.  Bring to a boil, lower heat, and simmer for 2 hours.

1. After 2 hours, cook the bacon in a cast iron skillet.  Let the beans continue to simmer.

1. When the bacon is done to your liking, add the remaining onion, oil, garlic, and bell peppers.

1. When the onion has softened and turned translucent, use a ladle to transfer any extra broth from the beans to the skillet.  Take all the broth down to the surface of the beans.  Add the vinegar to the beans.


2. Boil off the broth from the skillet, until what remains is a thick gravy.


3. Add the gravy to the beans and serve immediately.  Garnish with cilantro, onions and Mexican oregano.

photo by Wha'ppen

As I've mentioned in other posts, I've spent a little time travelling New Mexico and southern Colorado in search of snow.  Before Frontier Airlines started shuttling folks into Denver for a song, that meant driving around New Mexico.  Besides going out of my way to hit Las Vegas (the other one), distance driving included stopping at truck stops, roadside stands and any spot that didn't look like a chain.  Especially in northern New Mexico, you can get some excellent green chili just about anywhere.  After all - this is pretty much where those beautiful green chilies come from.

If you can avoid the digs of the Truck Stop Women, what you'll find is chili made for locals and served to travelers - a perfect bowl of green.  Green chili is not anything like its Texas peer - lots of variety and, if you're lucky, lots of vegetables.  Green chili is a cheap meal that warms you up and gets you back on the road.

There have been times I have made this recipe for no reason other than I wanted to make some stock, but for the most part, this rolls out when the chilies appear in September.  The chili harvest in Hatch, New Mexico is a big event.  Local grocery stores will set up propane burners and roast them on the spot.  When I am feeling organized I will buy some for freezing.  Then I can have a steady stream of green chili well into winter.

Admittedly, this recipe assumes you have a source of excellent smoked chicken.  If not, its time to break out the big green egg and get to work.

Green chili with smoked chicken

3-4 slices of thick cut bacon, diced

2 small onions (about 2 cups)

3 cloves garlic

1 can fire roasted tomatoes

2 cups chicken stock

2 Tbsp masa harina

1/2 tsp white pepper

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

6-8 green chilis, roasted, stems and seeds removed

1 whole smoked chicken, skin and bones removed, diced

Directions

1. Cook the bacon in a medium sized pot over medium heat until the bacon is cooked (brown)


2. Add onions and garlic.  Cook until the onions begin to soften and become translucent.


3. Add the tomatoes, stock, masa, salt, pepper and chilies.   Bring to boil, lower heat to a soft simmer, cover and cook for 2 hours.


4. Uncover and cook for another 10 minutes.  Thicken with more masa harina or thin with water.


5. Add chicken and allow to rest for 10 minutes.  Serve hot.

photo by estebandid

I was really lucky at Thanksgiving this year…

I haven't had a Thanksgiving tradition, per se, in a long time.  Friends, family, friends of friends, pot lucks - Thanksgiving has been more about spending time with people than about tradition.  This year, I got to spend some time with great friends and have a fantastic meal.  Exceptional meal - perhaps the best lamb I have ever had.  Here's where the lucky part comes in - I was sent home with a huge quantity of leftovers.  Score.

There's a good chance others are dealing with large amounts of leftovers too.  Turkey sandwiches are great, but it seems like there are some interesting alternatives in the world of street food.

I chose empanadas, in part because its been a while since I made empanadas, but mostly because empanadas and meat pies need a considerable amount of protein.  This recipe would be great with any turkey meat, but I used dark meat from the legs.     

This is a spicy recipe, so if you don't like spice, cut way back on the hot pepper.  I use the same chilies that I use in chili - in this case Texas Red. 

I decided to make the shells (rather than picking up the pre-made La Salteña) and I think it was a perfect match.  If you make these, I recommend the same path.  I served these with mango salsa.

Turkey & Ham empanadas

Filling:

3 Tbsp olive oil

2 medium onions, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 bay leaves

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp dried red chili

1 tsp hot red chili, cayenne or reshampatti

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp mexican oregano

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 cup chicken stock

1/2 cup white wine

1/2 cup green olives, sliced

1/2 cup raisins

1 1/2 cups cooked turkey, diced

1 cup cooked ham, diced

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a cast iron skillet over medium heat.


2. Sauté the onion, garlic and bay leaves until the onion begins to soften and become translucent.


3. Add all the spices and cook for two minutes.


4. Add stock and wine, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.


5. Add olives, raisins, turkey and ham.  Return to a boil and simmer on low heat for 10 minutes.


6. Remove from heat and remove bay leaves.  Allow to cool before finishing.


7. Finish using the recipe for finishing empanadas
   

photo by Darwin Bell

While I am no huge fan of Apple products, I do like my iPhone.  It’s a mostly useful device with some entirely useless applications.  Some time back I picked up an interesting app - Distant Shore.  I liked the company's other app, Koi Pond.  Distant Shore is a simple concept - you walk along a beach picking up shells.  Along the way you might find bottles with messages in them.  When you've collected 5 shells you get an empty bottle you can fill with any message you like.  Other users reply to your messages and you to theirs.  Simple idea.  Distant Shore is the kind of game a four-year-old can enjoy.  I know one and he loves picking up bottles and shells.

I send the same message every time; "what's the best street food where you are?"  Not everyone replies, and not every reply makes sense.  But in the replies come, from all over the world.  Its was from Distant Shore that I learned about "garbage plates".  Thanks - now I know how bad American food can get if you really try.

By far, the most enthusiastic responses, besides "hot dogs!", are about Xiao Long Bao.  The incredibly small number of users out there collecting virtual shells simply love soup dumplings.  I can't really blame them - they truly are amazing.

Thinking about soup dumplings got me thinking about an obvious fusion that would be wonderful - Gumbo Dumplings.  I make gumbo on a regular basis, so I know what happens to leftovers.  When chilled the gumbo becomes fairly gelatinous.  A perfect fit for these fantastic little packages.

Unless you have a dinner party that you're working on, I would recommend only making enough gumbo aspic to make the number of dumplings you plan in one sitting.  That said, these would be a huge hit at any dinner party, assuming you have the time and energy to make the gumbo.

Gumbo dumplings

2 cups gumbo

Frozen dumpling skins (get these at your local asian market)

Directions

1. Strain the solids out of the gumbo and put the liquid in a glass bowl.  Put in the refrigerator, in the crisper drawer, and allow to gel over night.


2. Dice the solids from the gumbo to a small/fine dice.  Store in the refrigerator overnight.


3. When ready to make the dumplings, put the skins out on a board.  Run a wet finger around the edge, making sure the entire skin has water on the edge.  Form the skin into a bowl (see picture above).


4. Into each skin, drop a bit of the sausage/chicken and a bit of the gumbo  liquid.  Don’t overfill.


5. Seal each dumpling with a little twist.  Make sure each dumpling is sealed tight.


6. Finish as you would Xiao Long Bao, but cook for just 8 minutes.

photo by Trevor H

The trend of food trucks using Twitter as a marketing and tracking tool is getting plenty of press.  Kogi BBQ in LA is the big winner - they have been mentioned throughout the press covering interweb trends.  The press is well deserved - it’s a creative use of technology and a good match for an entire new market.  Some of these trucks are serving food that is a vast departure from the standard taco trucks that lure workers off construction sites.

One of the trucks that garners local press is Kung Fu tacos in San Francisco.  The tacos that consistently make the news are their duck tacos, although not always with positive results.  I really don't believe this is how they prepare their duck, but this is how I do it.

This is my second and last of the duck season recipes.  Not that I am tired of duck, but I don't want to use up my small and valuable stash.  I had to experiment and learn with these, so I made a dent in the little corner of my freezer that is storing these little treasures.

These are a great weekend lunch.  Just start the marinating process first thing in the morning and they'll be ready to go by lunch time.  I add a leaf or two of cilantro, but the tacos are just as good without.

Don't underestimate the importance of good corn tortillas.  I live in a town high in tortilla density, and I can only find one good source (Fiesta).

Duck tacos

Skinless Duck breasts

Corn tortillas

Mango salsa

Brine:

1 cup water

1 cup orange juice

1/2 cup salt

10 black peppercorns

1 clove garlic, smashed

Marinade:

1/2 cup mirin rice wine

1/2 cup light soy sauce

1/2 cup strong brewed tea

2 Tbsp honey

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp ground red pepper

1/2 tsp ground clove

1 garlic clove, minced

Directions

1. Combine the brine in a bowl and brine the duck for 2 hours.


2. Rinse the duck in cold water and pat dry. 


3. Combine the marinade and marinate the duck for another 2 hours.


4. Heat some olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium heat.


5. Add the duck breasts and baste with the marinade. Cover and cook for 5 minutes.


6. Turn the breasts over, baste with more marinade, cover and cook for 5 minutes.


7. Remove from heat and let the cooked breasts rest, covered, for 10 minutes.

The marinade is a variation in the basic James Beard marinade.