Chili

I’ve won two chili cook-offs with this recipe. Although they were small contests, I don’t think there’s anyone who is going to deny that this is some damned amazing chili. By publishing the recipe, in some way, I feel like I’m giving away the family jewels. However, I believe in sharing the source and so, I will….

Diva’s Chili

• 1 splash olive oil
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1 large onion (white, yellow or red are all fine)
• 1 green bell pepper
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 jalapeño
• 1 habañero
• 1 handful crimini mushrooms
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 16 oz kidney beans
• 24 oz tomato sauce
• 3 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tbsp freshly chopped oregano
• 1 large tomato
• salt
• pepper

Method

Chop an onion and heat up a very large skillet. Add olive oil to skillet. Add onion and a pinch of salt. Stir and sweat until onion is translucent.

Chop bell peppers and toss into skillet. Chop garlic, jalapeño and habañero very finely and add to pan. Stir. Then add chopped mushrooms.

Stir in ground beef and add salt, pepper, garlic and 1 tbsp of chili powder. Brown mixture.

Drain kidney beans and add beans, tomato sauce, red wine and other ingredients except for tomato. Taste and add more spices if needed. Simmer for ten minutes and add chopped tomato. Simmer another fifteen minutes or so.

Cool and serve with a few strands of grated cheddar and maybe a dollop of sour cream. Buttered french bread is great with this too!

Cook + Prep Time: 45-60 min
Feeds: 6-8
Notes: This is really spicy. For those of you that like things milder, cut out the jalapeño, habañero and cut the chili powder down to about 2 tbsp. For those of you that like it hot, try adding in chipotles.

Grandma Abuela and Arroz con Pollo

Luisa Garcia, my "Grandma Abuela"

Despite the fact that both of her young daughters looked like pin-ups, even in Luisa’s wedding picture, she was a stern looking woman.

She moved to the United States from Spain during Spain’s war in Haiti in 1920. My great grandfather was avoiding the draft and moved to the U.S. in 1918. Once he had saved up enough money, he sent for her.

By the time I came around, in the early 70’s, Luisa was an old woman living on a farm in Fontana, California. For years, she and José had raised conejos at the “Rabbitree”. I think they retired and closed the farm in the late sixties. But when I was a child, they still raised enough poultry for themselves. She used to take me out to the chicken coup to see the gallinas.

I never remember her calling me by my first name. It was always niña. In fact, I also never remember her speaking a word of English.

Luisa and José's Wedding Picture

My first memories of Christmas Day were at Grandpa Abuelo and Grandma Abuela’s house. The old house was full of funny Spanish odds and ends –I remember a figurine of a bull with picadores sticking out and lots of dolls of Spanish beauties dancing the Flamenco.

Among the piles of food would be turron candy in round metal tins. But the most exciting thing would be the arroz con pollo. Abuela would make a recipe that had by then been in the family for generations.

When she passed on in the early eighties, my grandmother continued the tradition for the next fifteen years or so. And when Grandma passed on, my mom made Arroz every Christmas. Now I, too, make Arroz each year. I can’t imagine Christmas without it.

The 40 lb Turkey

In my life, four generations have made this meal—all were slightly different reflections the women who made it and their environments.

Getting the recipe for this on paper wasn’t easy. The old lady measured things by handfuls and timed things by when it looks about right. My mother stood over my grandmother measuring out the eyeballed amounts and trying to get it right. (Mom is not from the Spanish side of the family, so she didn’t grow up making this recipe, but she still makes a damned good rendition!)

Very important to note is that z in arroz is pronounced like the th in thought.

Ingredients

• 10 cloves of garlic
• Olive oil
• 1 lb chicken thighs or drumettes
• 1 lb pork roast cut into 1 inch cubes
• 2 green bell peppers
• 2 white onions
• Spanish red paprika
• Spanish cooking chorizo
• Bomba rice
• Saffron
• Bay Leaves

Instructions

In a large pan (I tend to use a turkey roaster pan over two burners), toast ten cloves of garlic in olive oil. Take the cloves out of the oil and set them aside. Remove the garlic and place in bowl for future use.

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Brown chicken until golden color in same oil. Place chicken on paper towel covered dish.

Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. Cube pork and brown in same oil.

Return chicken to pan with pork. Cover chicken and pork and let simmer until tender. Approximately 45 minutes.

Chop bell peppers and onion. Add to chicken/pork.

In a bowl, mix garlic, salt, pepper, and red paprika with two cups of water.

Pour the paprika mixture over the chicken/pork and let simmer for at least 30 minutes to allow the meat to soak up the flavors.

Boil chorizo for half hour. Take out and drain on paper towel. Cut chorizo lengthwise. Place under broiler until slightly crispy. Cut into small pieces and add to chicken/pork mixture.

Pour six cups of rice into the meat/oil/spices mixture. Swish the rice around so that it can soak up the flavorful oil mixture. Add twelve cups of water.

Add a few strings of saffron. Stir everything all around.

Cover and cook over low flame until rice is soft and tender. Besides the spices and tender meat, the most important thing in making good arroz is making sure the rice is cooked all the way through. Crunchy rice is not a good thing.

Time in the kitchen: about half a day
Feeds: about 10 —This makes amazing leftovers!

When I think of trout, I think of fishing trips at Lake Bridgeport with my dad and grandpa. There’s actually a lot you can do with trout. It’s a tasty and versatile fish which I think is highly under-rated. This dish is a delight treat! Steve, my guinea pig, licked his dish clean.

Ingredients

• 2 cleaned and butterflied trout
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
• 1 stalk celery
• 4 medium crimini or white mushrooms
• 2 strips thick-cut bacon
• 2 tbsp corn meal
• 1 lemon
• 2 tbsp fresh oregano
• 1 tbsp fresh rosemary
• salt
• pepper

Preparation

Pre-heat the oven to 400℉.

In a skillet, sweat the onion and celery with a little salt and olive oil. Add-in bacon, chopped mushrooms, and finely chopped rosemary and oregano. Sauteé the mixture. Remove from skillet by spooning into a bowl. Salt and pepper to taste.

Sprinkle corn meal on a plate and dredge the trout, skin-side, through the corn meal.

Add whatever corn meal is left into the sauteéd mixture and stir it up.

Open the trout and lay it in your skillet (heat off). Squeeze the lemon evenly over both sides of the meat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Scoop the veggie/bacon mixture onto one side of the trout. Fold the other side over it to close it up.

Stick the skillet into the oven and bake at 400℉ for about 15 minutes.

Prep time: 15-20 min
Cook time: 15 min
Serves: 2

Sorry I don’t have photos but this dish was so good, I’m sharing the recipe right away. This was a spicy fusion spin on miso chicken.

Ingredients

For the Chicken

• 1 lb chicken thighs (remove skin)
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• ground ginger powder
• garlic powder
• salt
• pepper

For the Sauce

• 4 tbsp red miso paste
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 tbsp dark molasses
• 2/3 cup soy sauce
• 1 bunch finely chopped scallions
• 2 tbsp grated chopped fresh ginger
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp Sriracha sauce (or to taste)
• 1 cup bourbon

Preparation

Heat oven to 350°F. Remove skin from chicken and cover each side with a generous sprinkling of salt, pepper, garlic powder and ground ginger. Heat the oil in a skillet, preferably cast iron. Brown the chicken on both sides. Place entire skillet into oven for about 45 minutes or until done in the middle (about 170°).

While chicken is baking, add all of the sauce ingredients except the bourbon to a bowl and whisk together until miso is completely dissolved.

When chicken is done, take the skillet out of the oven and move the chicken pieces to a plate. I placed them in the broiler with the heat off just to keep them warm. Deglaze the pan by placing it over high heat and then adding the whiskey. Lower it to medium and stir until all that lovely chicken juice begins to dissolve into the whiskey. Now stir in the rest of the sauce and simmer over medium for about ten minutes or until the scallions soften.

Plate the chicken and pour sauce over each piece. Garnish with a sprinkling of freshly grated ginger.

Cook time: about an hour

Prep time: about half an hour

Servings: four