I made a large batch of chili con carne on Sunday, with some leftover lamb and pork. The beans were the red kind, kidney shaped but smaller. Not the small 'chili' beans, one size down from kidney beans, these were even smaller than that. I've not seen them before. I also have taken on using Jeera seed and grinding as needed as like many things the flavour lasts better than pre-ground.
I could not find Madeline Kamman in the public library here. So if I wanted to try some recipes I'd have to buy one of her books. I see it's French cooking. I also see that she lived in the USA.
I find French cooking to have lots of ingredients and is usually quite complicated and time consuming. I'm a little scared of French cooking...Did she dumb down her French recipes for us here in North America? Make them reasonable simple?
What you've listed here looks simple. Sometimes very simple recipes can taste quite good...
I've switched to smaller beans for chilli. I put about 9 oz of beans in my chilli and find more small ones better than fewer big ones. I've also been adding coco and molasses. Just 2 teaspoons of each, the molasses adds a nice sweetness and a slightly smokey flavour.
I find the key to a good chilli is making the powder yourself. Quite easy and yet makes a big difference.
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Purchase the early (pre-1985) books written by Jacques Pepin. Personal chef of Charles de Gaulle, President of France. JP move to America, was severely injured in an auto accident, and, because of his back injuries, became a teacher and author instead of a restaurant chef
i have several of his books
one time they went up to a duck farm in Connecticut which sold pet ducks. They bought a couple, broke the duck's necks and threw them in the trunk of their vehicle (Peugot perhaps?). The other customers were screaming about the inhumane treatment.
he tells interesting stories.
i also love his book about cooking with his grand-daughter.
She fell under the radar, a great friend and my biggest mentor. She ran the best restaurant Boston has ever seen and was a good friend of JP. IMNSHO of course.
Lots of Jacques Pepin books at the public library! I'll check it out Mark, thanks.
I'm not sure that I want to buy anything right now. They're closing schools in S Korea, Japan and Italy. England is talking about it....so as a supply teacher I'm thinking I may have to go a while without a pay cheque so I'm closing the wallet for a while....
Try toasting the seeds in a dry fry pan (till they smoke a little) then grind them.....adds a nice depth.
That sounds great Cal. (I am typing this on my phone in a dark room and can't read what I type, so I hope it isn't nonsense.)
I love lamb in chili, it gives an almost"game" flavor. do you think those beans are the ones called "small red beans", or maybe adzuki beans? For something bigger I am a fan of pinto beans. And freshly roasted and ground cumin is the way to go.
Having moved to Montreal I have been trying some local delicacies. Of course that starts with bagels and smoked meat, but Montrealers also have an enthusiastic and long standing fondness for certain other fast foods. Everybody knows about poutine. So a while ago I was walking down rue Charlevoix, in Point St Charles, a very working class neighborhood where you could almost afford a house these days, and I saw a little place on a corner called Paul Patates. Yes, that means Paul Potatoes, which means fries and poutine and hotdogs. They were closed (Sunday) but I vowed to return, and I did.
Montreal steamies! Actually you can order your hotdog "vapeur" (steamed) or grilled, or Michigan. I got vapeur plus a cheeseburger plus twice-fried fries, and a biere d'epinette (house made spruce beer).
Montreal steamies! Actually you can order your hotdog "vapeur" (steamed) or grilled, or Michigan. I got vapeur plus a cheeseburger plus twice-fried fries, and a biere d'epinette (house made spruce beer).
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Pardon my lateness, just catching up. For grilled meats I really like harissa, a North African chili paste. Mixing it with a bit of tomato paste ups the umami and cuts the heat. The best harissa, IME, is Tunisian and labeled "du Bon Cap". Some is very spicy, some not at all, do taste first. All of these pastes that come in tins have one problem: you probably won't use it all before it goes bad. Heat some oil in a small pan until it is quite hot, you want a few mm in the bottom of the pan. Pour/scoop your paste into the oil, stir to combine, make sure it boils, cover and remove from heat, let cool. When cool put in clean, dry jar with airtight lid. The oil will separate and float on top, preventing spoilage, and you can use a spoonful any time for a couple of months.
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Cooked "Peposo dell'Impruneta" and served it over polenta. Italian cooking from the epoch BEFORE tomatoes were available in Italy. We both thoroughly enjoyed the dish but perhaps the 2010 Brunello also contributed to the evening's pleasurable amusements.
Fascinating, I want to look that up. The "Columbian Exchange" altered cuisines globally over several centuries. The social and genetic histories of tomatoes are absolutely amazing, right up there with corn and potatoes. For centuries many Italians believed tomatoes were poisonous.
Yes that would make my hotdogs a special occasion!
I pointed Google Translate (Italian --> English) to this website
Peposo dell'Impruneta una ricetta toscana legata al Brunelleschi
The peposo dell'Impruneta is a typical Tuscan recipe based on veal and little else; the meat is cooked in wine for many hours together with garlic and black peppercorns and once ready it is served accompanied by slices of toasted bread.
The history of the Impruneta peposo is closely linked to the construction of the Florence Cathedral; Impruneta is a village nestled in the Florentine hills precisely in the area that goes from Florence to Siena, then in the heart of Chianti. This village is known for the production of terracotta and it seems that the merit of this recipe goes to the workers of the kilns (the kilns precisely) who used to leave a terracotta pan in the corner of the kiln with meat immersed in Chianti wine and flavored with lots of black pepper garlic.
Yes, but what does Brunelleschi {builder of the Florence Cathedral -MJ} have to do with all this? The sources of the time narrate that when Brunelleschi took over the project for the construction of the Florence Cathedral he found himself in serious difficulty in the management of the workers. In fact, during the lunch break, these used to stop in the taverns to eat a bite that was regularly washed down with a good Chianti, which is why they always went back to work a little tipsy. So what did Brunelleschi do? He gave orders to the kilns to bring directly into the construction site some jars containing the peposo and the wine that would have been brought to the scaffolding directly by the winches used to transport the material; in this way the workers avoided wasting time with the various descents and ascents and the work could have proceeded at a completely different pace. We can therefore say that Brunelleschi deserves credit for having created the first "company canteen"! (source: TeladoioFirenze )
A separate historical note (which to say the true story always willingly) we can say that the peposo dell'Impruneta is the essence of Tuscan cuisine; it is made with the poor cuts of beef and it is its slow cooking that, allowing the meat to become very tender, makes this dish so delicious that it has become one of the best known and appreciated dishes by lovers of traditional cuisine. As for the recipe on the net, there are also variants that include the use of onions, carrots and tomatoes; it is certainly an evolution of the traditional one because we have to consider that the tomato arrived in Italy in the mid 1500s and therefore subsequently after the beginning of the works of the Florence Cathedral {completed 1436 -MJ}. This does not mean, however, that even in this variant it will certainly be very good.
Peposo dell'Impruneta una ricetta toscana legata al Brunelleschi
The peposo dell'Impruneta is a typical Tuscan recipe based on veal and little else; the meat is cooked in wine for many hours together with garlic and black peppercorns and once ready it is served accompanied by slices of toasted bread.
The history of the Impruneta peposo is closely linked to the construction of the Florence Cathedral; Impruneta is a village nestled in the Florentine hills precisely in the area that goes from Florence to Siena, then in the heart of Chianti. This village is known for the production of terracotta and it seems that the merit of this recipe goes to the workers of the kilns (the kilns precisely) who used to leave a terracotta pan in the corner of the kiln with meat immersed in Chianti wine and flavored with lots of black pepper garlic.
Yes, but what does Brunelleschi {builder of the Florence Cathedral -MJ} have to do with all this? The sources of the time narrate that when Brunelleschi took over the project for the construction of the Florence Cathedral he found himself in serious difficulty in the management of the workers. In fact, during the lunch break, these used to stop in the taverns to eat a bite that was regularly washed down with a good Chianti, which is why they always went back to work a little tipsy. So what did Brunelleschi do? He gave orders to the kilns to bring directly into the construction site some jars containing the peposo and the wine that would have been brought to the scaffolding directly by the winches used to transport the material; in this way the workers avoided wasting time with the various descents and ascents and the work could have proceeded at a completely different pace. We can therefore say that Brunelleschi deserves credit for having created the first "company canteen"! (source: TeladoioFirenze )
A separate historical note (which to say the true story always willingly) we can say that the peposo dell'Impruneta is the essence of Tuscan cuisine; it is made with the poor cuts of beef and it is its slow cooking that, allowing the meat to become very tender, makes this dish so delicious that it has become one of the best known and appreciated dishes by lovers of traditional cuisine. As for the recipe on the net, there are also variants that include the use of onions, carrots and tomatoes; it is certainly an evolution of the traditional one because we have to consider that the tomato arrived in Italy in the mid 1500s and therefore subsequently after the beginning of the works of the Florence Cathedral {completed 1436 -MJ}. This does not mean, however, that even in this variant it will certainly be very good.
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