Battle of the Blackwater: Beef Chile Verde

The weak are meat, and the strong do eat.

Cloud Atlas

It's not every day that you have to feed 8 hungry dudes fresh off of a weekend playing music for the hordes at Bonaroo, but that's exactly what we had to do this week!  My brother is a band manager, and so I provided a stopping point for him and one of his bands on the way to and from Bonaroo.  My solution to all of these hungry people?  Throw a ton of beef and other goodies into the slow cooker for a delicious (and filling!) rendition of chile verde.  We paired it with some corn bread and it was a feast fit for an army.

What you need:

• 2.5-3lb Ground sirloin
• 3 tomatillos, diced
• 2 red bell peppers, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 jalepeno, finely diced
• 3 tomatoes, diced
• 1 red onion, diced
• 16 oz. jar green salsa
• 4 oz. can green chiles
• 1 can kidney beans (black beans would also be good, Kidney is just what I had on hand)
• 2 tsp cumin
• Salt to taste
•  Fresh cilantro (to taste, for serving)
• Shredded cheese (for serving)
• Your favorite cornbread recipe 

It really doesn't get much easier to make:  Just dice everything up, put the tomatoes and peppers in, put the ground sirloin, green chiles and beans in, sprinkle the salt and cumin over the meat, toss the rest of the veggies in, and then pour the salsa over the top of everything.

 Cook on low for 8-10 hours, giving it a good stirring about halfway through.  If things are looking too watery, you can thicken it up by adding some flour or cornmeal.  I ended up adding about 3 tbsp of cornmeal and a pinch of flour, which thickened it up to a nice consistency.

Spoon the chili over a slice of cornbread (or just crumble the cornbread in afterwards, whichever you prefer), sprinkle some cheese on top, and garnish with fresh cilantro.  This recipe served 9.

Summer Isles: Mango and Peach Tilapia Zoodles

Sorry doesn't make the noodles!

Mr. Ping, Kung Fu Panda

Noodles are great.  Noodles made of zucchini (and other squash)?  Even better, because you get to eat a ton of them and not feel bad!  I recently got a vegetable spiralizer and discovered zoodles, so I decided to take advantage of my new toy and make a really good, summer-inspired dinner.  If you don't have a spiralizer, you can either julienne the squash, or peel them into ribbons.

What you need:

• 3 large yellow squash spiralized
• 2 large zucchini spiralized
• 1 lb tilapia filets
• 4 tbsp peach hot sauce
• 1 cup frozen mango slices
• 1 cup frozen peach slices
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 6 tbsp vegetable broth
• 2 tbsp fresh cilantro

Be sure to let your frozen fruit thaw (at least mostly). Obviously you can just bypass this step by using fresh fruit.

Heat the spiraled vegetables in a skillet, just to get them warm.  Drain and place in a bowl.

Brush the tops of your tilapia filets with 1 tbsp of the peach hot sauce, place the filets on a greased baking sheet, and broil on high for 6 minutes on each side (12 minutes total), or until fish is cooked through and flaky.

While the fish cooks, combine broth, fruit, lime juice, and the remaining 3 tbsp of hot sauce in a blender and blend until you have a smooth and creamy sauce.

When fish is done, use a fork to flake the fish, and combine the zoodles, flaked fish, cilantro and sauce in a large bowl.  Stir well so the zoodles and fish are coated in the sauce and cilantro, and serve!

The recipe makes about 4 dinner servings or more appetizer servings. 

The Reach: Goat Cheese & Ratatouille Tart

Ratatouille.  It's like a stew, right? Why do they call it that?  If you're gonna name a food, you should give it a name that sounds delicious.  Ratatouille doesn't sound delicious.  It sounds like "rat" and "patootie."  Rat Patootie!  Which does not sound delicious.

Linguini, Ratatouille

This recipe comes from a wonderful cook book given to me by my boss at christmas, called Farmer & Chef Asheville.  The cook is a compilation of over 200 recipes from restaurants, bed & breakfasts, and farms around Asheville, NC.  Asheville is one of my favorite places in the world, and the recipes in the book are outstanding.  This particular recipe was contributed by A Bed of Roses Victorian Bed & Breakfast.  I highly recommend this cookbook to anyone who loves delicious recipes!  The recipe is slightly augmented here, but it came out beautifully!  The recipe for the tart actually only calls for 1 cup of ratatouille, so in making the tart, you also get lots of ratatouille to eat for other meals!

What you need:

     For the ratatouille

• 2 Leeks, white parts only, sliced
• 3 cloves crushed garlic
• 2 bunches green onions, sliced
• 1/2 cup chives, diced
• 1/4 cup rosemary
• 1 green bell pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp Italian herb mix
• 4 large tomatoes, coarsely chopped
• 2 zucchini, sliced
• 1 eggplant, diced
• 3 tbsp parsley
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper

     For the tart crust:

• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup cold water

     For the tart filling:

• 4 large eggs
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup ratatouille
• 4 oz. goat cheese

To make the ratatouille, start by heating the oil and garlic over medium-high heat in a large sauce pan.  Next, add in the leeks, green onions, onion, and green pepper, and cook until tender.  

Next, add in the chives, red pepper, and rosemary, cooking for approximately a minute.

Add in the tomatoes, stir, and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.  Next, add in the zucchini and eggplant and simmer uncovered for an additional 15 minutes.  

After 15 minutes, remove from heat, add salt, pepper, and parsley, and stir.  

Got the ratatouille made?  Great!  Move on to the tart crust.  For the crust, whisk together the flour, salt, and sugar.  Next, add in the shortening and butter and mix everything until you have a breadcrumb consistency.  Now add in the water and continue to mix.  It should be a damp, crumbly mixture.  

Add the dough to a lightly floured surface and roll it out into a 10 1/2 - 11" circle.  Grease the bottom of a pie pan, and then put your rolled crust into the pan, rolling the ends over the edges of the pan.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes, pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees, pierce a few holes in the bottom of the crust, and put the pan in the freezer for ten minutes.

After 10 minutes, take a piece of foil large enough to fit over the crust, oil one side, and then place the foil, oil side down, over the crust.  Use pie weights, beans, or rice to weigh the foil down, and bake the crust for 10 minutes.

Now you're ready to finish the tart!  After removing the crust from the oven, whisk together the egg, salt, and heavy cream.  Add the ratatouille to the pie plate.

Next, crumble the goat cheese over the ratatouille.  

Then pour the egg mixture over everything.  Return the dish to the oven and cook for 40 minutes.

Voila!  The finished product serves about 6.  Enjoy!

House Baratheon: Venison Gnocchi with Kale

In the world I see... you are stalking elk through the damp canyon forests around the ruins of Rockefeller Center. You'll wear leather clothes that will last you the rest of your life. You'll climb the wrist-thick kudzu vines that wrap the Sears Tower. And when you look down, you'll see tiny figures pounding corn, laying strips of venison on the empty car pool lane of some abandoned superhighway.

Tyler Durden, Fight Club.

Awhile back, I acquired several delicious, less common meats, one of which was the yak  I made sambussas out of.  Today's recipe was made with the second of the interesting meats: Venison.  It was incredibly simple to make, delicious, and filling.  If you don't have access to venison, ground bison or lean ground beef would work just as well.  I split the dish into four servings, but it could go farther if you served it with some sides.

What you need:

• 1 lb. ground venison
• 2 bunches Lacinato Kale, torn into pieces, stems removed
• 1 medium sized yellow onion, diced
• 1 lb. Whole Wheat Gnocchi
• 6 oz. can Tomato Paste
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• Salt and pepper, to taste

To begin, season the meat with cumin, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper and let sit while you get everything else going.  If I'm being honest, I probably used more cumin and red pepper than 1 tsp each, but 1 tsp will give you a nice flavor, so you can go with that or add more, whichever is to your liking.  Next, cook the gnocchi according to the directions on the package.  Once it is cooked, drain, toss in 1 tbsp olive oil, and set aside.

Next, heat remaining oil and garlic over medium high heat in a large skillet or wok.  When the garlic is fragrant, add the onions, cooking until they are translucent.  Once your onions are translucent, add the ground meat and tomato paste to the skillet.

Once the meat has browned, add in the kale.  You will have to add the kale bit by bit because it takes up so much room at first, but once it starts to wilt, you can fit everything.

Once all of your kale is stirred in and wilted, pour the gnocchi in, stir everything up, and then enjoy!