The Big Chili (23 page)

“And your answer is?”

“I'm interested,” I said. “And I can be there tomorrow morning.”

I looked at Mick across the room, and he
nodded.

(Imagined by Lilah Drake)

ANGELO'S GOURMET ITEMS:

1 8-ounce can Angelo's Gourmet tomato sauce

1 16-ounce can Angelo's Gourmet diced tomatoes

½ cup Angelo's Gourmet organic peanut butter

2 tablespoons Angelo's Gourmet chili sauce

1 15-ounce can pureed pumpkin

OTHER ITEMS:

1 tablespoon butter

1 yellow onion, diced

1 green bell pepper, chopped

2½ pounds lean ground beef

1 teaspoon cumin

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon fresh oregano

2 teaspoons Hungarian paprika

1 16-ounce can dark red kidney beans

1 16-ounce can light red kidney beans

Heat a tablespoon of real butter in a Dutch oven; when it is melted, add diced onions and peppers. Enjoy the aroma, and allow the vegetables to soften. Add ground beef and break up into pieces; allow to cook evenly. When it is brown, remove all excess grease with a turkey baster.

Now your meat is even leaner. Pour in the rest of the wet ingredients; sprinkle dry ingredients on top, and mix thoroughly. A wonderful smell should permeate the air. The longer it cooks, the better it will smell. Serve after the ingredients have simmered together for at least a half hour.

SERVING IDEAS:

Consider having some “sprinkling” toppings in bowls on the table; that way people can help themselves according to their tastes. Some ideas for toppings include:

shredded cheese

sour cream

raw onions, diced

thinly sliced limes

diced tomatoes

avocado

bacon bits

corn bread croutons

Enjoy with friends. Chili is all about companionship.

(Made for Britt and Terry)

3 cups flour

½ cup granulated sugar

5 teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon salt

¾ cup butter

1 egg

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet. (
Lilah's quick tip:
save butter wrappers in a box or bag in your fridge. When it's time to grease a pan, just slip one out and run it over the sheet—easy greasing with no mess!)

Combine all dry ingredients; gradually add softened butter. Finally, stir in the egg, milk, and vanilla extract. Mix until you have a stiff dough. Turn this out onto a floured surface and knead gently. Roll out the dough until it is about ½ inch thick. Then cut into eight even pieces and shape as you wish on a greased baking sheet. Bake for 15–20 minutes.

 

Options:
add fruit or nuts to the recipe according to your taste, or sprinkle finished scones with cinnamon for a delicious breakfast bread!

Traditional sides:
scones are traditionally served with strawberries or strawberry jam, clotted cream (or whipped cream), lemon curd, or butter.

(Made for Toby Atwater)

1 loaf of soft French bread (or 10 soft rolls)

8 large eggs

2 cups half-and-half

1 cup milk

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

Salt to taste

STREUSEL TOPPING (THIS CAN VARY, BUT HERE'S ONE OPTION):

2 sticks (1 pound) butter

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup corn syrup

1 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts)

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ teaspoon cloves

For streusel: soften butter, then mix in the remaining ingredients until the topping has a crumbly consistency.

Meanwhile, slice bread into twenty slices (or separate ten rolls) and lay out in buttered baking dish.

Blend all of the ingredients and pour them over the slices of bread, making sure that the wet mixture gets under and in between the slices, and that all of the bread is saturated.

Cover the mixture with tinfoil and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, spread the streusel mixture on top of the saturated, chilled bread, and bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees.

(As an alternative to the streusel topping, you can choose a fruit like raspberries or strawberries, and sprinkle them on before baking. Blueberries and apples are delicious options, as well.)

Serve with pats of butter and maple syrup.

Be ready for a delicious surprise to share with friends or family! Toby's five children love this recipe, but adults love it, too!

(Imagined by Lilah Drake)

ANGELO'S GOURMET ITEMS:

1 16-ounce can Angelo's Gourmet tomato sauce

1 16-ounce can Angelo's Gourmet diced tomatoes

1 Angelo's Gourmet taco seasoning packet

OTHER ITEMS:

1 white onion, diced

1 small green pepper, chopped

1 pound lean ground beef

1 16-ounce can kidney beans

¼ cup water

1 teaspoon chili powder

1⅓ cups uncooked instant rice

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Heat onion and pepper in a buttered pan; add ground beef and cook until brown; drain excess grease. Mix beef mixture with tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, taco seasoning, kidney beans, water, chili powder, and rice. Pour into a baking pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes; pull out partway and sprinkle on cheddar cheese. Slide back into oven and bake for another 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 more minutes.

Serve in individual bowls with dollops of sour cream on
top and tortilla chips tucked around the sides—they are perfect for dipping and scooping!

(Variation Four: Frittata with Red Peppers, Onions, and Potatoes)

1 large onion, diced

6 to 8 small red potatoes (about 12 ounces), diced

2 red peppers, diced

Dash pepper

Dash fresh thyme

Dash fresh oregano

8 eggs, beaten

4 ounces crumbled feta

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a frying pan, sauté onion, potatoes, and red peppers. Add pepper, thyme, and oregano to taste. Mix until vegetables are of a desired consistency.

Add the eggs to the pan and mix in vegetables; pour into greased baking pan and sprinkle feta over the top of the mixture.

Bake for 10–15 minutes, until the eggs are completely set, look golden brown, and pull away from the sides of the pan.

Let the frittata cool. Then slice and serve with any of these elegant options:

sliced fruit

crusty bread

green salad

baked, oiled pita chips

Friends and family will ask for this delicious option again and again, and the magic of it is that it makes a good breakfast, lunch, or dinner!

(Available at Cardelini's in Pine Haven, 444 Main Street)

½ cup bread crumbs (best from a dried loaf of Italian bread)

1 large eggplant, sliced

1 cup fresh shredded mozzarella

1 can Angelo's Gourmet diced tomatoes

1 can Angelo's Gourmet tomato sauce

1 teaspoon basil

1 teaspoon oregano

1 pinch garlic

Real Irish butter

Fresh grated parmesan cheese

Pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Set aside your bread crumbs in a wide, shallow bowl.

Cut the eggplant into 10–12 slices, making sure they are at least ½ inch thick. Rub both sides of each slice with melted butter, then dip into bread crumbs.

Lay the slices on a baking sheet and bake for about nine minutes, or until tender; slide out the sheet and sprinkle the eggplant slices with fresh mozzarella. Bake one minute more, or until cheese is nicely browned and melted.

While they bake, combine the tomatoes, basil, oregano, garlic, and sauce in a pot. (You can substitute fresh diced tomatoes for the Angelo's tomatoes, but Angelo's are as good as fresh.) Cook tomato mixture until it is almost boiling, then lower heat and cook for five more minutes. Lay out four bowls and pour sauce mixture evenly among them. Take baked eggplant slices and distribute them into the four bowls (you should be able to serve three slices of eggplant to each diner). Sprinkle with parmesan and fresh pepper.

As an alternative, serve the eggplant and sauce on sliced loaves of fresh Italian bread. The eggplant parmigiana sandwich is a favorite at
Cardelini's!

Looking for more?
Visit Penguin.com for more about this author and a complete list of their books.
Discover your next great read!