|
For my NICSA entry, I decided to do something a little bit...unintended by the Chairman. Specifically, since I'm in college and on a budget, I'd do what every other college student does - use cheap, lovely alcohol, and get creative with it. To begin, we will make an infused wine which will go into a (vegetarian) chili. The wine we will be infusing? The cheapest bottle present in my local Fiesta.  The infusion? About half a bag of dried guajillo peppers, stems removed, halved along lengthwise.   Let them soak for a few hours. Not really a big deal how long they soak exactly. I sealed this and put it in the fridge while it soaked.  While our peppers are soaking, we can begin preparations for the rest of the chili. For beans, I used a pound each of black, pinto, and red beans. Just go ahead and wash and soak them, for a few hours at least.   Once our beans are soaked, drain most of the excess liquid. (We will need a bit of it remaining, however.) Add a large can of peeled tomatoes - using fresh ones is really quite not worth it in chili.  Now, we begin the best part of chili - the peppers. Do note that I made a pretty big mistake in my cooking, and failed to wear gloves. The quantity of pepper I chopped in this recipe will very painfully inflame your hands if you fail to wear gloves.   (forgot to take one of the fully chopped peppers...) I dry-roasted the peppers in an iron skillet, in small batches, adding to the chili pot afterwards. This step fills the room with irritating vapors and smoke, please ventilate the area if at all possible. Seriously, it burns.  Next, I chopped up a big old head of garlic and a few small onions, warmed these up in some oil, then added them to the pot.  Once those peppers are done soaking, pull them out and pour the wine into the chili. Then, chop the peppers and save them for later - we have something special planned.  In the most embarrassing part of this - yes, you need some fake meat. This is what was easily available. I warmed these up in the skillet with some oil as well.  If you use fake sausage like this, try to get it in medium-sized chunks in the pan.  Add some spices. I opted for cumin, oregano, and basil. (The basil is unconventional but I like it.)  That's starting to look like chili! Now, for our next dish, which will be far boozier. Chop up a head of bokchoi, a daikon, a big scallion, some ginger, and a bundle of culantro. Halve some dried dates. Put all of the above into a pot.     Now, we need some liquid to stew these in, don't you think? Well, given the theme, there was only one real option.  Add about 10 oz of each to the pot. Let it simmer for a...while. We're looking for reduced-down greens, not crunchy blanched ones. Now, while your food cooks, sit back, have the rest of that enormous can of PBR, and watch some anime. Special thanks to Smoking Crow for recommending Girls und Panzer.  After a few hours, it should be time to start making the cornbread for your chili. I follow a pretty simple recipe, which I have been asked not to share, as it's a family recipe. So: make that batter, and add to it some of the chopped wine-soaked guajillo.  I use the "greased up skillet" method of cornbread manufacture.  Mmmmmmmmmmmmm...  Let's check on the veggies.  Looks done to me. (forgot to grab an image of the done chili pot, oops) Plate. Our beverage today will be plain milk, and longing for a real job and income, so I can buy nice gin.  I hope you enjoyed my NICSA entry! americong fucked around with this message at 02:04 on Jul 7, 2014 |
#
?
Jul 7, 2014 01:42
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 6, 2024 15:22 |
|
|
Nice. How did soaking the dried peppers in red wine work out for you? The corn bread looks really good too, mine always sticks to the skillet no matter what I do. I hope you like Girls und Panzer, I remember it being good.
|
|
#
?
Jul 7, 2014 08:30
|
|
|
Cranberry Jam posted:Nice. How did soaking the dried peppers in red wine work out for you? The corn bread looks really good too, mine always sticks to the skillet no matter what I do. The soaking actually made them very moderate in flavor, soft and easily bitten through - so ideal for inclusion in cornbread. How generous are you when greasing your pan? I pour multiple tablespoons of corn oil into the pan and rub it all along the sides and bottom using a paper towel. I also let the cornbread sit for a few minutes after removal from the oven.
|
|
#
?
Jul 7, 2014 09:06
|
|
|
Use of Alcohol as a solvent? Very nice. Multiple courses re-using ingredients? Savvy and thematic. Drinking milk and watching anime? loving creepy!  Great job, Goon Sir. Even if you don't win, we'll up your tonic game and then it doesn't matter how much you spend on gin (it always matters).
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2014 17:39
|
|
|
Vegetable Melange posted:Use of Alcohol as a solvent? Very nice. Multiple courses re-using ingredients? Savvy and thematic. Drinking milk and watching anime? loving creepy! I wasn't aware that the tonic mattered that much, past that you use something other than plain soda water. This seems like an obvious area for improvement, on basic inspection.
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2014 06:36
|
|
|
Why haven't I ever thought to make corn bread with peppers mixed in? It seems like such an obvious and delicious idea in hindsight that I'm kind of ashamed of having never done it.
|
|
#
?
Jul 16, 2014 04:22
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 6, 2024 15:22 |
|
|
Third Murderer posted:Why haven't I ever thought to make corn bread with peppers mixed in? It seems like such an obvious and delicious idea in hindsight that I'm kind of ashamed of having never done it. It's pretty common, but usually done with boring fresh jalapenos. I think that's gross, though, so I picked something with a little more flavor.
|
|
#
?
Jul 16, 2014 04:52
|
|