Chili is a funny thing. Everybody’s got a recipe and no two are alike. Some focus on the chilies. Some on the meat. Some have beans. Some don’t. Some are closer to Mex. Some are definitely Tex. Some taste like spaghetti sauce with a bit of grocery store pre-fab mystery chili powder thrown in. Some I get. Some I don’t. This black bean chili is one I get. I hope you get it too.
chicken gumbo with okra
A bowl full of chicken gumbo. Over rice or not. Runny like a soup or nice and thick like a stew. It all works. There are two types of gumbo. Those made with a roux and those that aren’t. This is the latter. It’s lighter and heavy on the vegetables. As healthy as a gumbo gets I guess. But it’s still damn tasty.
Making a roux takes time. It’s time well spent when you’re looking for that rich, focus on the chicken and sausage kind of gumbo. Can’t beat it for that flashy cajun, explode in your mouth meal.
salmon with rice noodles
Fish and rice noodles isn’t something that just pops into your head when you’re thinking about what to make for dinner. At least it doesn’t pop into mine very often. Don’t know why. When I do think of it this is one I like. Salmon with rice noodles. It makes a fast, yet elegant weeknight meal.
indian restaurant spice mix
This Indian restaurant spice mix is a blend of key Indian spices that gives restaurant curries that big blast of flavour. It’s one of the ways restaurants are able to crank out curries in no time.
This is about easy. Easy and fast. No measuring a ton of spices every time you make a curry. This is the baseline. The signature blend.
bacon jam
Someday I’ll type not quite nigella bacon jam and won’t get a hit. It keeps me up at night. An internet treasure gone forever. That’s why I’m posting my minor tweak on that recipe. It’s very close to the original. Certainly I can’t take any credit for this recipe. I’m just following along here.
chicken with creole cream sauce and green chili mash
Chicken with creole cream sauce on a bed of green chili, garlic mashed potatoes. It takes a rustic cajun dish up a couple big notches.
It goes from down and dirty stew to dinner party. Don’t get me wrong. I love a creole chicken stew. It’s comfort food with spice. But sometimes upscale is the way to go.
braised leeks with parmesan
Make braised leeks with parmesan. Be a trend setter. Dare to be different. Leeks gets a bum rap. They are the ignored vegetable. Shunned. They’re not an onion, not a scallion, not a shallot. What are they then? “Hmm… They’re big. I’m not really sure. I hear they are good in soup. I think you can put it in a stew? Maybe? I don’t know… What do you do with them?”
indian restaurant curry base
If you want to learn how to make Indian restaurant curries at home this is the place to start.