As a long time cook I am well aware that nearly nothing I make is a completely original creation. In most cases I probably couldn’t tell you what the original dish that inspired me was. It may have been something I saw in a cookbook, a magazine or on television several years ago. It may have been a dish I used to make when I cooked professionally, well over 20 years ago. Regardless, for some reason the concept of the dish stuck with me, and I feel compelled to revisit it at some later date with no real guidance at all save my memories of the flavor combinations. This dish is not one of those.

In this case, I know precisely what inspired me. When I saw Peter’s recipe for “Steak Sandwich, Greek Style” on his blog, Souvlaki for the Soul, I knew I would be doing something similar. The concept itself was simply brilliant. A simple and elegant combination of flavors that I could not begin to find fault with. Even though Peter’s “steak” was actually lamb, which is quite a luxury item here in Texas. ($8.99-$12.99 per pound), I was pretty certain I could come up with something along the same lines using beef, which we have in abundance around these parts (And can be found for less than $1.00 per pound, if you know where to look.).

The result? According to Mrs. Seat of her Pants, this was one of the best dishes of the year. I think I have to agree, really. In the end though, I owe the idea to Peter, who got the gears in my head spinning. It’s a very nice and very rare occasion to be able to give credit where it is due and I’m glad to be able to do so.

I, My wife and our stomachs thank you, mate!

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As much as I appreciate Texas Red Chili, it’s not what I crave when I’m in the mood for a bowl of chili.  The chili I crave is a variation of the chili my father used to make when I was young and even though it’s never won a competition, I’ve never had a single ladle-full come back from one, either. (The winner’s can’t usually say that, but I think around here the chili is simply graded on how quickly it destroys your taste buds.)

This chili recipe pays homage to my Native American ancestors, who grew beans, corn and squash when they were transplanted to the arid lands of Oklahoma.  They learned quickly from the already native peoples that these three crops grow well together, and are even considered to be the mothers of life by some tribes.  I’ve seen many variations of this particular recipe, but this is mine, with twists from my father’s original recipe throw in.  If you feel the need, you can call this a recipe for “chili beans”.  It really depends on where you’re from, I think.

The first step for creating a perfect chili is choosing the right meat.  I’ve used London Broil and Tri-Tip with success, but by far my favorite meat for this dish is a well marbled chuck roast, cut into 1/2 inch cubes.  Chuck will not only withstand the long cooking times involved, but also ads quite a lot of flavor to the dish, something a leaner cut of beef has a difficult time accomplishing. (For those who are about to scream in horror over the fact that the roast was cut on a wooden board, take heart.  three minutes after I was done cutting the board had been washed, sterilized with a bleach/water solution and resealed with mineral oil, good to go for chopping veggies.)

Just as important as the selection of meats is the searing of the chuck itself and the vessel that is used to cook the chili.  You absolutely must use a very heavy cast iron casserole or dutch oven, both because of the heat retention properties of the dutch oven itself and because the sear should leave bits on the bottom of the pot.  A nonstick pan does not collect these bits and flavor is lost.  Definitely not an ideal situation.  The heavy lid of a dutch oven helps as well, since it helps to hold in moisture when simmering for extremely long periods over very low heat.

This is not a terribly spicy chili.  It’s geared for flavor, not heat, which is what I prefer, and it means my wife can eat more of it as well, since she has a reaction to too much spice in her food.

The amounts given below are fairly loose.  If you’d like it hotter, add more chipotle or add some cayenne pepper.  Like it thicker?  Add a bit more Masa.  Like it thinner?  Leave out the Masa altogether.  In any case, give it a try, tweak to your liking and lemme know what you think.  I’ve been perfecting this recipe for the last 20 years, so for me it’s simply the best bowl of chili I’ve ever had, hands down.  I’ve also never heard anyone say they didn’t like it. (But I’m sure there are some out there who wouldn’t)

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What do you do with a lonely little piece of leftover chuck roast? You can always make a barbecue beef sammich, or just nibble it to death as a snack, but why not give it a bit of pride in its demise and turn it into something completely different and absolutely fabulous!…

But what would that be?

In this case, the inspiration came from my sister, who sent me a wonderful birthday gift, including plum sauce, sea salt, black bean garlic sauce, a couple sea salt grinders, the cutest outfit for Mr. seat of his Diaper, and a jar of oriental barbecue sauce.

A quick look in the crisper showed half of a bag of Italian salad greens, some arugula, shredded carrots, and my course was set. That lonely lil’ piece of leftover roast beef had a new destiny, and it was going Asian.

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Sometimes things just don’t go as planned, the other night was no exception. The plan was simple and I had high aspirations. I was going to introduce my wife to the epitome of cooking with wine, the extravaganza of culinary wonderment and simplicity that is beef bouguignon (beef burgundy). Not only would it be a wonderful dinner for a cold, rainy Texas night, but it was the perfect excuse to pull out my new casserole/dutch oven.

Unfortunately for me, that’s not the way things turned out. I don’t know if the cards were stacked against me, or if Elvis, Jimmy Hoffa and Robert Goulet got together and decided to play a prank on me. In any case, the dinner I planned was apparently not meant to be.

I was sure I had everything I needed. I’d been planning to make beef burgundy for weeks, and had stocked the ingredients well in advance. Here’s how it played out.

• I bounced excitedly into the kitchen to slice the beef… Not gonna happen, it was still frozen in the middle.
• I went to pull out the mushrooms… Ugh! Those were white mushrooms when I bought them, weren’t they?
• Fine, I can live without the mushrooms, I suppose. I’ll just grab the egg noodles… That I used last week for a pasta salad.

After sputtering expletives and downing one or two glasses of the Gallo Twin Valley Hearty Burgundy that I’d picked up especially for this meal, I gathered myself together and hit the internet for some ideas I could use with the ingredients that were in my pantry.

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Vegetarians and vegans avert your eyes! This dish is a carnivore’s delight, and may cause squeamishness in those with different lifestyles.

Kelaguen (ke-la-gwen, also spelled as kelaquin and keliguen though I believe that the first spelling is correct) is a traditional dish of the Chamorro peoples of the Marianna Islands. Kelaguen is a method of cooking whereby the marinade cooks the meat, much like a Ceviche. (Yup, it’s raw beef!) I highly recommend knowing your butcher if you plan on making this dish, as you’ll want the freshest beef possible.

I was introduced to Kelaguen by my ex wife and our Guamanian next door neighbor in the early nineties, and have made it as often as possible ever since. The combination of beef (kåtne), citrus and peppers is wonderful to say the least. This is an Americanized version that was “toned down” for American palettes when our neighbor made it for us the first time. The more authentic recipes read like a who’s-who of spicy, and are generally made of meat that is nearly minced, but this is the version I was introduced to originally, and I’ve stayed faithful to it.

(Besides, cutting the meat in larger pieces makes it perfect for chopsticks!)

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I feel like I’m breaking some sort of oath with myself by releasing this recipe. I’ve guarded this one with my life on more than one occasion, refusing to allow the grail of roast preparation out of the confines of my own kitchen. For me this is something akin to letting a national secret slip into the wrong hands, but the decision has been made and there’s no going back now.

It’s probably guilt that’s motivating this decision. I’m not usually wont to be a recipe hog. Generally I’ll chat and give (and receive) recipe hints anywhere that I can. In the grocery store, at the checkout, at the bank, at dinner at someone’s house, or on the phone. But not this… This one is different.

This is, quite simply the best damned beef roast short of a standing rib roast that you’ll ever eat, and for the first time in my life, I’m going to spill the recipe.

“Please take note, Mr or Mrs Bond, this message will self destruct 10 seconds after completion and will not be repeated”

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As much as we as foodies love to try jazzin’ up our vittles with spices, sauces and other accompaniments, there are times when simple is just… Well. Better. Some foods just don’t require anything other than their own inherent goodness and a touch of salt and pepper to make them fantastic.

At our local market, the steak pictured above is called a “Family Steak.” I suppose the butchers felt that chuck was out of favor at the moment due to fat content or some such, and changed the name on the package. I’m here to tell you folks, it’s a chuck steak, and chuck doesn’t require much in the way of help from anyone to be wonderful.

Oh, I could have smothered this little gem with sautéed mushrooms or caramelized onions. It would’ve tasted incredible with a number of toppings or sauces. The point is, it’s simply not necessary, and not what Mrs. seat of her Pants or I were in the mood for at the moment. The red beans and rice on the side was more than enough to set off all the flavors the beef had to offer, and there are times when simpler is just better.

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A little late on my part, I know, but I thought I’d share what Mrs. seat of her Pants and I shared for our belated St. Patrick’s day meal.

Generally speaking, I go large for our St. Paddy’s day celebration. Corned Beef, Guinness for myself and Killian’s for the Mrs. (She’s not a fan of stout) and some good “Irish Movie” (whatever that is. I just tend to rent something I remember watching as a kid with my mother. Generally something like “The Silent Man” or “The bells of St. Mary”)

This year my wife had a bridal shower/wine tasting with a few friends (Italian friends… I nearly fell over, but I suppose it’s not a tradition for them, so they didn’t think about it.) She was compelled to go, and I wasn’t about to make a production out of the evening for myself. (I ended up making Ramen with frozen shrimp and broccoli, but that’s another story.)

Sunday came along with dreams of making all of the above mentioned, perhaps with some champ or other lovely old country side. Unfortunately, Mr. seat of his Diaper had plans of his own, most of which included keeping my wife and myself very busy tending to his needs rather than anything fancier than what I threw together.

A lot of folks would call this a New England Boiled Dinner. I beg to differ. This was the corned beef my mother made every St. Paddy’s day for the first 25 years of my life. Our home had precisely one cabbage lover, my father. He was summarily overruled in his request for corned beef and cabbage by his lovely (and extremely Irish/Cherokee) wife and two children right up until the day he moved out when I was 16. I’m hopeful that he managed to get his requested dinner on the following holidays before he passed away, but I wasn’t around by that point to find out.

I will concede that this isn’t the traditional Corned Beef and Cabbage served by most Irish American families, and so I’ve just dubbed it Corned Beef and Potatoes though really I just think of it as “Mom’s corned beef”. In any case, it’s something worth making more than once per year, and I usually get around to it about four times between one St. Paddy’s Day and the next, jut because I love the flavor, the memories and the simplicity of the entire affair.

Being a very old family dish, I have no recipe for this. I simply use the same method that my mother and her mother before her used, and I’ll detail it for you here.

*Note: You won’t find my usual “What I would have done differently…” section in regards to this post. I will never do anything differently with this dish, regardless of what the Dr. might tell me about sodium intake. Period.

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Beefy, cheesy goodness on a bun. With a little left over roast beef, some onions, garlic and cheese you can whip up this hearty and satisfying sandwich that’s guaranteed to crush those hunger pangs in just a few minutes.

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Beef and tomatoes go together just as perfectly as pork and apples. One of my favorite methods of preparing a Round Roast is braising, since the meat has little fat and tends to be tough without the proper love and attention paid to it.

To top it off, it just doesn’t get a lot easier than this. It’s almost a “Set it and forget it” kind of main dish, which is always great in my opinion. Read more…

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