Thai-Inspired Chili

This. This is really, really good. The photo of it… Not so much. ;)

My dad & I conceptualized the idea of a Thai-inspired chili recipe at least 4 years ago. The idea has been scribbled on a tattered piece of paper, hidden in a family recipe box, and we decided last night that it was finally time to make it come to life. The addition of red curry paste, fresh basil & cilantro, and a coconut drizzle to a pot of chili seemed like the perfect match - and it sure was!

I made enough for an army, so this recipe serves, like, 12 people. You will probably want to half it if you want to make it for a family of four - but I suggest you go ahead and just make a big pot of it so you have lots of leftovers. 

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. peanut oil
• 3 sweet onions, chopped
• 3 small bell peppers, chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced or minced
• 3 lbs ground pork
• 28 oz. can of whole, peeled tomatoes
• 2 cups sliced button mushrooms
• 22 oz. can of Sapporo beer
• 1 can tomato paste
• 4 oz. jar red curry paste
• 1 quart beef broth
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 4 cans red kidney beans, drained
• 1 red chili pepper, deseeded & chopped
• 1 cup fresh basil, chopped
• 1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1/4 tsp. turmeric
• Salt, to taste
• Coconut milk, to drizzle (optional, but suggested)

Directions:

Heat peanut oil over medium heat in a large pot. When the oil is hot, add onions, bell peppers, garlic, and pork until browned.

Add tomatoes, beer, tomato paste, red curry paste, beef broth, basil, cilantro, brown sugar, salt and turmeric. Mix well. 

Stir in 2 cans of kidney beans, mushrooms & chili pepper. Reduce heat & simmer for 1.5 hours.

Add 2 remaining cans of kidney beans & simmer for another 30 mins. Serve hot with a swirl of coconut milk.

Spicy BBQ Baby Back Ribs

Serves 4-6 

My mom found some delicious-looking organic baby back pork ribs yesterday at Native Sun in Jacksonville, FL, for me to make for a family dinner. I'd never cooked ribs before, so I researched some different cooking methods. I found a wonderful recipe on AllRecipes.com (link to original recipe below) that had rave reviews. I altered the sauce and cooking method, and got very lucky! The sauce turned out incredible (I will use it for different BBQ meats in the future), and the meat was literally falling off the bone. The garlic is a nice touch, and I'm going to double it next time! I cannot wait to make these yummy ribs again. :)

Ingredients:

Ribs:

• 4 pounds baby back pork ribs 
• 2/3 cup water 
• 1/3 cup Bragg apple cider vinegar 
• 6 large garlic cloves, barely chopped 
• 2 bay leaves 
• Freshly ground black pepper 

Barbeque Sauce:

• 1/2 cup Melinda's Jalapeño ketchup 
• 1/2 cup ketchup 
• 1 cup water 
• 1/2 cup Bragg apple cider vinegar 
• 1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce 
• 1/4 cup organic creamy yellow mustard 
• 4 tablespoons butter 
• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar 
• 1 teaspoon Sriracha pepper sauce 
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place ribs in two 10x15 inch roasting pans. Pour water and apple cider vinegar into a bowl, and stir. Sprinkle some freshly cracked black pepper over the ribs. Add the garlic and bay leaves to each of the pans. Pour diluted vinegar over ribs, and cover with foil. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. Baste the ribs with their juices. Reduce heat to 300 degrees F. Bake for 35 minutes more. 

In a medium saucepan, mix together jalepeño ketchup, ketchup, water, Bragg apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, butter, brown sugar, Sriracha pepper sauce, and sea salt; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer barbeque sauce for 2 hours. 

Place all ribs into one container, discarding cooking liquid and bay leaves, keeping garlic. Pour half of your BBQ sauce all over them. Cover and marinate for at least 2 hrs in the refrigerator. (I marinated for 3 hrs.) Take the ribs out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before you're ready to cook them to let them get to room temperature. 

Preheat grill for medium heat. 

Lightly oil preheated grill. Grill ribs (with garlic) over medium heat for 10 minutes, turning ribs once. Baste ribs generously with barbeque sauce, and grill 2 minutes. Turn ribs, baste again with barbeque sauce, and grill 2 minutes. 

Place ribs on a serving platter, and let rest for 5 minutes. Serve with extra BBQ sauce on the side for dipping. Garnish with grilled garlic.

Recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com

Sloppy #9

I rarely use a slow cooker, but I do think that using a slow cooker is the easiest way to make barbecue-like dishes without using a smoker. My boyfriend LOVES pulled pork, so I decided to get my slow cooker out, dust it off, and experiment with some fun spices yesterday! I was inspired by a recipe for Kilkenny Corned Beef that my mom & I made years ago to put on homemade Rueben sandwiches. I was also inspired by my favorite beer as of lately, Magic Hat #9. If you don't have all of the individual dry spices listed below, I'm sure that using a pre-made blend of pickling spices would do nicely. This recipe has an awesome savory-sweetness, and along with the spiciness of the Sriracha, it touches many different places on the palate. Serve with potato chips to make it an All-American meal! I made homemade potato chips with it last night & it was perfect.

Ingredients:

• 3.5-4 lb. Boston pork butt
• 1 bottle of Magic Hat #9 beer
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 med. sweet onion, sliced
• 1 whole Cardamom pod, slightly cracked
• 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
• 2 whole cloves
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cinnamon stick, broken into 3 pieces
• 1/4 tsp. ground Allspice
• 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup creamy yellow mustard
• 2 tbsp. Sriracha pepper sauce
• Kosher dill pickle slices
• Good seeded hamburger buns

Directions:

Place half of the sliced onion in the bottom of your slow cooker, along with the garlic. Set pork on top of onions & garlic. Pour the entire Magic Hat #9 beer over the pork. Mix together dry spices (cardamom, ginger, cloves, bay leaf, cinnamon stick, Allspice, salt, and pepper). Rub all over pork. Turn your slow cooker on high, cover, and cook for 4.5 hours. 

Remove pork from slow cooker, remove any hard pieces of spice (cardamom pod, cinnamon stick, bay leaf, cloves) and drain liquid. Replace the pork back into the slow cooker, and add brown sugar, mustard, and Sriracha sauce. Mix around in slow cooker. Cover and continue to cook on high for 1 hour.

Serve the meat on top of seeded hamburger buns, and top with sliced onions & dill pickle slices. Add more Sriracha to the sandwich for extra heat. The Sloppy #9 is delicious with Oven-baked Potato Chips. Enjoy!!

Wild Mushroom & Sage Pork Chops with Crispy Sage Leaves

For Christmas, my friend Barbara gave me a bottle of Harissa olive oil from a new place in Jacksonville, FL, called The Olive Oil Store. As soon as I opened the bottle, I knew there was something special about this new find. The olive oil is so fragrant and high-quality! Within a couple of days, I made a trip, myself, to The Olive Oil Store to explore, and after spending way too much time tasting almost every infused oil & vinegar they carry, I left with six 6 oz. bottles of olive oils & Balsamics - and a little tummy ache from consuming so much oil!

Later that evening, I chose to begin experimenting with the Wild Mushroom & Sage olive oil to marinate the pork chops in, and what better accompaniment than crispy sage leaves? This meal was a huge hit, and I can't wait to make it again! I paired the pork chops with a delicious salad - I'll post that recipe soon. I recommend making a simple, fresh salad along with this dish.

Ingredients:

• Thick-cut bone-in pork chops
• Wild Mushroom & Sage olive oil from The Olive Oil Store (or any other good-quality savory infused olive oil)
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Kosher Salt

Directions:

Place pork chops in a baking dish. Pat them dry with a paper towel. Generously drizzle with Wild Mushroom and Sage olive oil (or whatever infused oil you have), and sprinkle with salt & pepper. 

Cover, and let marinate for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Begin making crispy sage leaves (see recipe below for timing).

10 minutes before you are ready to cook the chops, move the baking rack to the second to the top position in the oven, and turn the broiler on high. Broiler should be ready after heating up for 10 minutes. Place pork chops on a broiling pan, and place in the oven. Broil the chops for 8 minutes (don't worry, there will probably be a little bit of smoke coming out of the oven). After 8 minutes, if the pork chops are beginning to brown nicely, turn them over & broil them for another 8 minutes. At this point, they should be nice & crispy on the outside, and perfectly moist on the inside. Use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature, just to be sure. The inside temp. should read 150 degrees. When the chops are finished cooking, let them sit for 5 minutes before serving. Top with crispy sage leaves (recipe below) and ENJOY! 

Crispy Sage Leaves 

Recipe from Poulet

The caption under this recipe reads, "Fried sage leaves are better than candy." Who wouldn't want to make these?!

You will need:

• 1 cup olive oil
• 16 fresh sage leaves
• Flaky salt for finishing

Directions:

Pour the olive oil into a large frying pan over very low heat. Lay the sage leaves in the pan with the oil. They will cook slowly as the oil warms, becoming crispy and delicious in 25-30 minutes. Remove them from the oil gently with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel. Sprinkle with flaky salt while still warm and serve.