If you’re looking for an alternative to a nice hot bowl of chili on a cool evening (or better yet, a hot summer’s evening) you might want to consider using something other than beef as the main ingredient.  In this case, I chose the American bison, or Buffalo, and I couldn’t be happier with the results. I’ve actually been dying to try it since I found that I could purchase bison at the base commissary.

While this is just a riff on my normal chili recipe, there are several ingredients that I omitted, both to be true to the bison itself and because I wasn’t sure that those additions would do any justice to the slightly gamy flavor of the meat.  In my opinion, I made the right choices.

We tried to keep the ingredients to something that native Americans might have had on hand if they had decided to make this dish.  since the primary crops of many tribes were beans, corn and squash, I used these things as the secondary cast in this production, with stellar results.

The end product is most definitely chili, but with an ever so slightly gamy back note and a deep, rich flavor that I doubt could ever be achieved using beef. It is, in my humble opinion, everything that chili should be, and If you can find buffalo or bison locally I urge you to try it, you won’t be disappointed.

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Popularity: 7% [?]

Let’s face it, sliders are fun.  you get all the flavor of a full-sized burger in an easily had held and extremely portable package that’s perfect for tailgating, game day parties or any other circumstance where you need to have a lot of food handy without the requirements of plates and flatware.  They’re also perfect for kids parties, since sometimes a full burger is too much for a little mouth to handle.  With sliders they can just go back for more if they’re still hungry.

This particular dish is a riff on two recipes.  The first was this recipe for Italian Turkey Sliders, written by the lovely and always charming Anne from short Order Mom.  The recipe made me want to jump in and make sliders and I’ve been trying to get around to it since I first saw her recipe.  The idea for the relish is my personal spin on a burger topping I saw Gordon Ramsay create on his BBC show Kitchen Nightmares.  His was for a beef burger, but I thought that the concept would make the perfect condiment for the turkey and I was not disappointed in the slightest.

Of course, fresh basil is out of season at the moment, but I’ve got a bunch of it in the freezer, thanks to this method from Kalyn’s Kitchen. Now I always have at least a semi-fresh supply of basil at my disposal, rather than having to run to the market and pay inflated prices for a few wilted leaves in a plastic package.   In this case, the garlic was by far the more inferior of the ingredients, but still totally serviceable noetheless. And if you’re not in posession of fresh or frozen basil, feel free to use dried basil, but only use half as much.  it will still be wonderful.

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Popularity: 2% [?]

Vegetarians avert your eyes.  Have your children leave the room, you don’t want them to see this.  For you it won’t be pretty.  However, for those of us who are dedicated omnivores (or in Dr. Biggles case, card carrying carnivores), it’s a dream on a bun, and I had to share it with the world at large.

Please excuse the fact that this really isn’t a recipe.  It’s more of a field assembly guide for the ultimate in meat based sandwiches. There will be no fluff, no cheese, no greens or sprouts.  Only bell peppers (or jalapeños, if you’re so inclined) are worthy of this carnivorous delight.

This sandwich was three days in the making. Was it worth it?  I think so.  Hopefully you will as well, but the only way you’ll ever know is if you try it for yourself.

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As a not so spicy compliment to my Asian Inspired wings, I offer up my wife’s lemon garlic chicken wings.  We came up with this recipe in the hopes that it would pick up on some of the flavors of Greek chicken, or at least Mediterranean cuisine, and I don’t think we were too far off. (There should have been honey in here somewhere, but it was close) 

To carry the Mediterranean feel a bit further, we paired it with some leftover tzatziki we had in the fridge from a few days earlier.  The result?  I can only call these wonderful and suggest you give them a try.  Really, I wish I had more to say on the subject, but honestly, I’m just wishing we had a few wings left right about now…

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Popularity: 3% [?]

It’s just about game time, and you’ve just got to have a few snacks hanging around, right? O.K. I have to admit that I won’t be watching the big game this year. I only know who’s playing because everyone is talking about it. That doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy a good hot wing every once-in-a-while though, and these wings are most definitely good.

To be honest, I wasn’t expecting these to be as hot as they were. I had originally made these for my wife and I, but she’s sensitive to capsicum, and these little bitty wings pack one heck of a punch in the spice department. I ended up eating all of them myself. Next time I’ll skip the garlic chili sauce so that she can enjoy them with me.

In any event, these really couldn’t be easier to put together, and the recipe can be doubled, tripled or quadrupled depending on the number of people you are serving and their appetites. I would suggest however, that you serve a milder version along side them for those guests who don’t have a love of blast-furnace heat.

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Popularity: 2% [?]