Recipe: Douglas' Christmas Chili

Friends recently asked for the recipe to my Christmas Chili that I make each year for our annual Cookie Party Open House. I have never really written down the recipe, as I tend to wing it each year. I have made it enough that I sort of "know" what goes in it. That said, since I typed it up for our friends, I figured I might as well share it with you, as well. The recipe scales up nicely. I regularly make 20 quarts for our party, as seen in the photo.

Douglas' Christmas Chili

2 Tbls Olive Oil
1 Large onion
4-5 cloves garlic
1 lb ground turkey
1 - 12oz package Jimmy Dean Pork Sausage

Finely chop onions and garlic (I use a food processor) then saute until lightly browned in the olive oil
Add turkey and sausage and brown until no sign of pink

Add 1/2 cup red/white wine

Cook until wine is absorbed

(Here is where it goes a bit by look and feel. Add more sauce and beans if you want to make more chili and then adjust the spices accordingly)

Add 5-6 14oz cans of your favorite plain tomato sauce. I get Hunts from Costco, which we always keep around the house.

Add 4-5 cans of black beans

Spoon up the meat, sauce and beans mixture and look at the ratio between the 3. You want to get a good mixture of all three in each spoonful.

If needed, add more black beans

Add splash of vinegar (under a tsp, probably. I have used everything from apple cider to balsamic, It just adds a little "tang" to the final taste.

Spices:
(again, taste this as you add the spices until you get taste you like)

5-6 Tbls Chili powder (not mexican chili powder, but the traditional one with cumin, etc included)
2 Tbls Dried Basil
3 Tbls Oregano
PInch Red pepper flakes
Small pinch cayenne pepper
1 tsp Black pepper

Bring pot up to boil and then turn down to low simmer

Typically, it will cook down by about 1/3. The longer you simmer it, the better it tastes. It also tastes better the second day when you reheat it. (SMILE)

I serve this with extra sharp cheddar cheese. Some people like chopped onions on it.

I usually eat this by itself the first day, then have it over some sort of pasta the next and then chili dogs after that. It freezes well so make as much as you want and then store it away in meal-sized containers for a quick dinners.

FOOD: Alt-Malted Milk Balls: The Splendid Table Recipe Box

I am a sucker for malt, especially chocolate and malt so I think I will have to make a batch of this even though my Christmas Cookie baking is over. The fact that they are so simple to make, makes it even more attractive. I wish I would have heard about them sooner. I would have made some for my annual cookie party and maybe even as gifts.

I regularly make malted milk and malted hot chocolate using the steamer on my espresso machine and I imagine this would go well with that, too. I am not sure where I developed my loved for malt flavoring, but it must have been something in my childhood -- perhaps malted milk balls -- as the smell and taste of malt always takes me back to my days growing up in north central Ohio.

If I decide to make these any time soon, I will be sure to grab some photos and perhaps some taste-testing comments from my friends and family.

On another note, if you don't listen to The Splendid Table with Lynne Rossetto Kasper, you are missing out on great food talk every week. I never have time to listen on radio, so I get the show automatically via podcast...and so can you!

For links to more recipes I find on the 'net, visit my Google Reader Shared items - All Shared Items or Just Recipes

Alt-Malted Milk Balls: The Splendid Table Recipe Box
from splendidtable.publicradio.org

Recipe for Alt-Malted Milk Balls from The Splendid Table's Recipe Box, an extensive compilation of cooking, baking, and entertaining recipes from American Public Media's The Splendid Table. Hosted by Lynne Rossetto Kasper, The Splendid Table is public radio's culinary, culture, and lifestyle program that celebrates food and its ability to touch our lives and feed the souls of everyone.

Read the entire article

In the kitchen: Banana-Oatmeal Cookies

I made these tonight and liked them quite a bit.

Recipe from Bakespace.com

Great change-up from my typical Oatmeal Chocolate Chip.

I used 3 extra ripe bananas we had in the freezer, so the banana flavor was pretty good.

These are very light and "cakey". When I made the bigger sized ones, my wife described them as muffin tops. I will make this for my annual Holiday Open House instead of my standard oatmeal chocolate chip.

More photos on my Flickr account

Elsewhere Online: 50 Awesome Crockpot Recipes to Keep You Warm (and Full!)

I am always on teh lookout fo rnew recipes and a little time with StumbleUpon introduced me to this blog post. As Winter approaches, crock pot recipes for hearty foods become even more attractive. Of course, Summer is a great time to use your crockpot, too, since it doesn't heat up the house.

50 Awesome Crockpot Recipes to Keep You Warm (and Full!)
by Maricar on September 17th, 2007

Hot-CiderWith the fall season comes cool weather, school (homework, games, music lessons, carpooling, etc.), thoughts about the holidays, and football. With all the things that are going on, I have even less time to slave away at the kitchen stove to prepare the family meal. But not to worry. Crockpots to the rescue!

(Continues)

(Via Keeping the Castle.)

Elsewhere Online: Leonardo Romanelli's Pasta e Ceci: An Illustrated Recipe

I am always on the lookout for new recipes, especially for Italian food, since Rosanne is Siciliano. (SMILE) I love Italian food, too though, and soups especially so this recipes for Pasta and Ceci (Chickpea) Soup fits the bill nicely.

Even more, this recipe is illustrated, so you can easily follow along and make it yourself.

Leonardo Romanelli's Pasta e Ceci: An Illustrated Recipe

There are many variations on pasta e ceci, pasta and chickpea soup, and Leonardo's is both easy and quick, once you have the cooked chickpeas. In other words, it's a...

(Via Italian Cuisine.)

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