Pike Place Stout Beef & Coffee Chili

After a long week, and a long weekend, on this very CHILLY day, we decided to make some CHILI. :) My dad had put up this recipe on his food blog a while ago, and I decided to try and replicate it. It turned out wonderfully smoky, spicy, and toasty warm. Just what we needed since our heater in our apartment isn't working - darn!

Pike Place Stout Beef & Coffee Chili
adapted from Dad's recipe


INGREDIENTS:

oil
1-1/2 onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb+ steak cut into ½” cubes (I used chuck)
1 can diced tomatoes
½ bottle dark beer (I used Pike Place Stout Extra Stout, Dad suggested a porter - probably would try with a Porter next time)
1/2 cup strong brewed coffee
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
beef broth (see directions for quantity)
3 TB brown sugar
3 TB chili powder (I used a mixture of chili powder, Ancho chili powder, and smoked paprika)
1 TB cumin
1 TB dried oregano
Cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes to taste (start with ¼ tsp) (Omitted - and it was plenty spicy!)
Salt and pepper
2 (15 ounce) cans kidney beans (or sub 1 can for pinto) [We are not eating a lot of beans right now, so I put in about 5 medium chopped parsnips instead - worked well, since they have a nice earthy texture and flavor]
1 (8oz) can chopped green chilies
2 fresh hot chili peppers, seeded and chopped



Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put some oil in big dutch oven and heat on stovetop to medium/medium-low. Add chopped onion and chopped peppers. Sauté briefly then add garlic and chopped meat. Mix well and season with salt and pepper. Put in oven for 1 hour uncovered. You brown the meat this way instead of on stove-top. And it's the most beautifully yummy smell you will ever smell.

After 1 hour, remove from oven to a burner on medium heat. Reduce oven temp to 300. Add the rest of the ingredients except for beef broth. Stir chili well and let it come back up to heat slowly. Add beef broth until amount of liquid is appropriate and consistency is how you want it. Cover pot and return to oven for at least 1 hour.

YUMMMMM!

Oven roasted veggies

 OK so pretend I'm writing this in the fall... 

 Or not, because you all know how much I love the fall. So it's not THAT weird for me to be posting this in December??

And you can make roasted veggies anytime! Not just in the fall!! 

 OK, so here's the recipe. :)

Chop up ANY root or other veggies.
Here are some ideas:

Carrots
Bell peppers
Potatoes (red, purple, yukon gold, sweet, etc.)
Onions (white or sweet are best)
Brussels sprouts (sliced in half)
Butternut squash
Leeks
Beets
Turnips
Parsnips
Hatch chili peppers
Etc
Etc
(Get the idea? Almost anything works!)

Toss chopped veggies with olive oil to coat, and salt and pepper. 

Roast in 375-425 degree oven (depends on the veggies you're using. Potatoes will take longer to cook.) I put them on a pan with foil so it's easy clean up - easy to make, easy to clean up - hmm, I like the sound of this!

Roast for 30-40 minutes. Brussels are best when they're getting brown and crispy, all other veggies taste great when they're tender. 

See? So forgiving, and SOO easy. Do this same method with broccoli (toss with Olive oil, S&P, roast till brown and crispy) and asparagus (same, just not as long in the oven). YUM! 

Christmas Rum Cake

We had a Christmas party for my MFT program, and were invited to bring our favorite holiday baked goods ... and the winner is - Rum Cake!! I remember having this growing up, as my Grandma would make this every Christmas eve. Not everyone would get as excited as I did about the Christmas Rum Cake... but I think Rose last night shared in my joy :) So, for Rose ... here's the recipe straight from the Duncan Hines site, since it's made with good ol' yellow cake.

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

1 package yellow cake mix (**)

1 (3 3/4-oz.) package Jell-O vanilla instant pudding and pie filling

4 eggs

1/2 cup cold water

1/2 cup Canola Oil

1/2 cup Bacardi dark rum (or any kind - I used a splash of Black Strap Rum, and the remainder Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum)

Glaze:

1 stick butter

1/4 cup water

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup Bacardi dark rum (again, any type is fine - I used all Cap'n Morgan)

** If using yellow cake mix with pudding already in the mix, omit the instant pudding, using 3 eggs instead of 4 and 1/3 cup oil instead of 1/2.

Glaze:

Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in water and sugar.

Boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly, and remove from heat.

Stir in rum.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Grease and flour 10-inch tube or 12-cup Bundt pan.

Sprinkle nuts over bottom of pan (optional)

Mix all cake ingredients together.

Pour batter over nuts.

Bake 1 hour.

Cool; invert onto serving plate. Prick top with fork (many many times!! This creates all sorts of little holes for the yummy glaze to soak into. Don't be shy!)

Spoon and brush glaze evenly over top and sides.

Eat up! I don't have a picture because this was gobbled up way too fast! But I'll make another one soon, I'm sure... :)