I was very lucky to receive such wonderful gifts at my apt warming/birthday party a few weeks ago. And after staring at the cute kiwi-colored Le Creuset pot just sitting on the table, it was time to put it to use … and in the process use up some food lying around. And what better way to do that with a chili – stew type dish to warm up the cool Autumn nights. So that’s just what I did.

I call this a chili stew because it has the spicy flavor of a chili, but the veggies of a stew. Substitute any variety of beans, meat or veggies to your liking.

Katie’s Southwest Chili Stew

1 1/2 lb ground meat
1 1/2 large red onions, finely chopped (1 onion would be fine, I added extra from leftovers)
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and black pepper

Heat the oil in large heavy-duty pot over medium-high heat until it’s simmering hot, about 2 minutes. Add the beef, season with salt and pepper, and cook, until it loses its raw color. Add in the onion and garlic, and cook, stirring, until it begins to soften, around 3 minutes.

chili powder
chipotle powder
cumin
salt and black pepper

Reduce the heat to medium. Add the spices to your taste liking, and cook for 20 seconds.

15oz can of black beans, drained
15oz can of dark red kidney beans, drained
15oz can of butter beans, drained (not a normal choice, just in the pantry)
28oz can of crushed tomatoes
15 oz can of sliced mushrooms
8 small white potatoes, coarsely diced into bite-sized pieces
1 small lime, cut in half

Add the beans, tomatoes, mushrooms and potatoes to the pot and mix well. Squeeze in the lime juice and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. When stirring, make sure to get the bottom moved around or it might burn to the pot.

After 30 minutes, check the spice flavoring, and add more where desired. Continue to simmer until the potato pieces are fully cooked, about 15 more minutes.

Brasitas in Stamford (Latin Fusion Cuisine) was hosting a 6 Course Wine Tasting Dinner that I just couldn’t pass up. The wine sponsor was Casa Lapostolle – wines made using French wine making expertise and beautiful grapes grown in Chile. The highlight of the evening was all of the fabulous food. The wine was mostly good, but definitely secondary to the food. At least for me and my guest. While waiting for the dinner to start, we were served fresh salsa with sweet plantain chips. The sweet and spicy combination worked very well together. And then the real stuff started coming. Here’s what we enjoyed …

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Course #1
Roasted corn chowder garnished with a mini crab cake
Casa Lapostolle Sauvignon Blanc, Rapel Valley 2008

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Course #2
Pistachio-crusted goat cheese, baby arugula salad, poached pear, Julianne mango with star fruit vinaigrette
Casa Lapostolle Chardonnay, Casablanca Valley 2007

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Course #3
Pan seared striped bass filet over wild mushrooms, fava beans risotto, piquillo pepper-fennel creamy sauce
Casa Lapostolle Chardonnay, Cuvee Alexandre, Altalayas Vineyard 2006

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Course #4
Spiced duck breast, sun-dried apricot, Spanish port reduction and roasted green chile sweet potato puree Casa Lapostolle Merlot , Cuvee Alexandre , Colchagua Valley 2006

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Course #5
Grilled Angus Hanger steak, cotija cheese-scallions potato puree, sundried tomato, artichokes pebre sauce
Casa Lapostolle Syrah, Cuvee Alexandre, Colchagua Valley 2005

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Course #6
Mint Crème Brule

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Falernum is one of those mystery ingredients that, more often than not, stop you in your tracks when you’re looking for a new drink. Well, it did for me! According to my Wikipedia research, falernum is a sweet syrup used in tropical drinks and usually contains flavors of almond, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and lime, and sometimes vanilla or allspice.

So of course, I had to make my own :)

I plopped toasted cloves, allspice and nutmeg with sliced ginger and a lot of lime zest into some rum, and let that sit for 24 hours on the counter to let the flavors infuse. Next, I created a simple syrup (sugar and water) and combined with the (strained) infused rum into a bottle. Add a few drops of almond and vanilla extract, and let it sit another 24 hours. And then it’s ready to enjoy and add to desired drinks … which in my case, is a pom’tini.

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*Update 10/11*

It has been discovered that a shot of falernum in a small glass of ginger ale is very tasty!

In an effort to try something new (and tough) I decided to make some puff pastry and turn it into apple turnovers – to finish up the remaining apples. So I whipped up a block of pastry and a block of butter, then folded, rolled, folded, rolled … and folded and rolled a few more times. This created beautiful layers of butter and pastry that would later crisp up nicely in the oven. A simple mixture of apple, sugar, spices and butter cooked up to a yummy filling. Fold, crimp and bake … then enjoy delicious flakey apple turnovers.

Bacon has a tendency to make everything better, and let’s be honest here, bacon is great stuff. In fact, who doesn’t like bacon? There is one person I know who LOVES bacon more than anyone else I’ve met. So for his birthday, I took the opportunity to make him some homemade bacon and dazzle his taste buds.

The only tricky part is finding pork belly. And after visiting a few places, I luckily found some and got a 5 lb slab. I cut that in half so I could try two different flavors. The two most important ingredients are salt and sugar. Salt is the main ingredient, with the sugar added to offset some of the salt’s harshness, and to keep the pork belly moist and tender during the aging process. Other ingredients like pepper, thyme, garlic, brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, and bay leaves can be used in varying quantities to your desires and all add up to fabulous bacon flavor. So basically, you rub your chosen spice mixture all over the belly and place in giant Ziploc bags. Throw it in the fridge for 7 days making sure to turn every day. Once the meat is ready, run it under cold water to remove the rub mixture and then slightly pat dry. Now put it back in the fridge, uncovered, for 24 hours. Sounds gross? This process creates a sticky layer on the meat called pellicle which allows the smoke to attach to the meat better. Now you are ready to smoke! Fire up your smoker to 200 degrees and smoke for about 2.5 hours, or until the belly reaches 150F internal. The time needed depends on how much meat you have and how big your smoker is.

If you are like me and live in an apartment sans deck, you don’t get to use a smoker. Instead, place your belly, skin side up, on a rack in a pan – similar to a turkey roaster. Purchase some liquid smoke and mix with water, and place in the pan under the meat. Cover with foil and put in the oven and “bake” the same as the smoker. It might take a bit longer in the oven, and will most definitely make your apartment smell like sickening hickory smoke. But, you gotta do what you have to for yummy bacon! After its done smoking, use a sharp knife and cut off the skin. You can use the skin for other interesting recipes, or discard. Let the belly cool and then slice. It will stay about a week in the fridge, so I recommend slicing and freezing, so you can dole it out to yourself over a few months – if you can even last that long! Cook it up just like you would bacon from the store.