Spicy Cheeseburger Dip

How about some heart attack on a chip? No, no, no, it can’t be that bad, can it? I made this dip for the Super Bowl. I heard the Obamas were having burgers and wings. If the First Lady can take a day off from healthy eating, so can we. Everything in moderation, including moderation, Julia Child used to say.

I suppose you could use any kind of hot pepper for this dish. I used a jalapeno; it’s a bit hotter than a poblano according to the Scoville (heat) scale. The original recipe called for 1/2 pound of ground beef, but I bought the smallest package I could find and used most of it. The elderly dog got a bit to make aspirin balls. You know that trick, right? Stick an aspirin (or heartworm pill) inside a ball of ground beef. Down the hatch!

I must confess another use for this dip. Toast some bread. Heat up the dip in the microwave. Spread on bread. Add some hot sauce or pickled jalapenos. Slice and serve for the most decadent cheese sandwich ever. That’s just theory, of course!

Cheeseburger Dip

You’ll need a foiled-line baking pan, small bowl and plate or a sealable plastic bag, medium bowl and large saucepan.

• 1 jalapeno, cut in half, stem and seeds removed
• 1/2 pound block American cheese from the deli counter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1/2 pound sharp cheddar cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 3/4 pound ground beef
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 14 oz can diced tomatoes or tomatoes with chiles, drained
• 5 oz evaporated milk
• 1 tablespoon (or more) hot sauce
• 3 green onions, thinly sliced
• Optional: see ideas at the end of the recipe for variations involving mushrooms, green bell peppers, chipotle en adobo and smoked paprika, or horseradish.
  

Place jalapeno halves on a foil-lined baking sheet under the broiler or in the toaster oven, skin side up. Broil about 8 minutes. Transfer roasted jalapeno to a bowl and cover with a plate, or to a sealed plastic bag. Steam for 5-10 minutes. Peel off skin, chop finely and set aside.

Toss cheeses with cornstarch in a bowl until evenly coated.

Heat oil in saucepan over medium-high heat. Add ground beef and cook, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Drain off some of the fat. Add cumin and pepper flakes and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, jalapeno and evaporated milk and stir. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to low, and add cheese, all at once. Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until cheese is completely melted and sauce is smooth. Stir in hot sauce and green onions.Taste for seasoning. Add more hot sauce if it needs more kick.

Serve immediately with crackers, vegetables or tortilla chips.

Variation: If I make this again, I’m tempted to add sauteed sliced mushrooms. If you’re a bell pepper lover, sauteed sliced green bell pepper would add some extra flavor and color — this is starting to remind me of a strange liquid Philly cheese steak.

Variation: You could go a different way with the heat. You could add smokiness by subbing chopped chipotle en adobo for the jalapeno, and smoked paprika for the hot sauce. Or, instead of using jalapeno and hot sauce, you could use lots of horseradish instead, and I mean lots.

Original recipe: Gooey Cheeseburger Dip, Serious Eats

Smoky Spicy Fried Chickpeas

My favorite store-bought snack is Snyder’s Jalapeño Pretzel Pieces. They’re addictive, especially when you’re drinking beer. Imagine hand to bag to mouth over and over and you’ll get the picture.

As much as I love my jalapeño pretzels, I rather snack on something a bit healthier and homemade. That’s why I’m over the top excited to have finally made this recipe. I remember long ago seeing Michael Chiarello cooking fried chickpeas on a PBS cooking show. At the time I thought, huh, that’s easy enough and looks really tasty, but I never made them until this weekend while watching the NHL All-Star red carpet show that preceded the Skills Competition.

My house is always Canes crazy but last weekend Raleigh hosted the All-Star game so the whole area was hockey crazy. Downtown streets turned into a pedestrian-only zone with bands, beer garden, artisan tent, food vendors and all kinds of other activities. The highlight for us was the free and fantastic Three Doors Down show in the downtown amphitheater.

If you’re looking for a quick easy and highly flavored snack for the Super Bowl this weekend, this is the answer. I like things a bit spicy, so decrease the cayenne pepper if you’re not a chile head. Our Super Bowl spread will include these chickpeas plus a sinfully delicious-looking Gooey Cheeseburger Dip from Serious Eats. If you’re still looking for recipe ideas, check out this list from the Providence Journal of Super Bowl party recipes from newspaper food sections across the country.

Smoky Fried Chickpeas

You’ll need a colander, paper towels, large skillet – a deep one will help prevent splattering, slotted spoon and serving bowl.

• 1 large can chickpeas
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2-3 large garlic cloves, sliced
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1-2 lemons, zested into strips – I don’t think you can overdo the lemon because it will be countered by the heat
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme, divided
• 1 tsp smoked paprika – I used hot smoked paprika, but I’m sure sweet would be fine too
• 1 tsp coarse salt
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper

Drain chickpeas and place on a paper towel-lined colander to dry. This can be done well in advance; refrigerate the peas in a covered container until you’re ready to use them.

Heat 1 Tbsp oil in large pan. Add garlic slices and sauté until golden. Remove with a slotted spoon to a bowl.

Add ½ cup olive oil to the pan and heat until the oil bubbles up around a test chickpea. In batches, add lemon zest, thyme and chickpeas. I did mine in two batches. Fry each batch about 5 minutes, until chickpeas are crispy and brown. Remove chickpeas with a slotted spoon and drain in a colander lined with paper towels.

In a bowl toss chickpeas with the garlic, smoked paprika, salt and cayenne pepper, adding more spices or salt, if desired. Serve warm.

Adapted from: Food 52, Smoky Fried Chickpeas

Chipotle Beer Chili for a Blog’s Birthday

Happy Birthday to the Gusto! One year ago today I was in a blogging slump and started this second blog to get my mojo back. It worked! I even blog more here now, usually four times a week, than I do on my original Reid All About It blog.

I’m so grateful for all of you who come hear to read and comment and to those of you who share my posts on Twitter and Facebook. I get great pleasure from writing here, I’m so happy that others find my posts useful or interesting too.

Last year on January 12 I blogged about Saturday Night Football Chili. I didn’t give the recipe in the post, instead I wrote about the changes I made to the original Serious Eats recipe and provided a link.

I’ve tweaked that recipe since I posted it last year, changing the spices and adding a few additional ingredients. I think you’ll like it.

flickr photo by Shoshanah

 

Chipotle Beer Chili

• 2 pounds ground chuck — I’ve never made this with ground turkey or bison, but it probably works.
  
• 1 Tbsp canola oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 jalapeno, stemmed and chopped
• 2-3 (or more) garlic cloves, chopped
• 10 ounces doppelbock, porter or stout (and a few sips left over for the cook!) — I used Duck-Rabbit Porter.
• 1 Tbsp ground cumin
• 2 Tbsp chili powder
• 1 Tbsp smoked paprika – I used sweet smoked paprika since I have a lot of heat going on here.
  
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, minced – I added an extra teaspoon because it was already minced.
  
• 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes with juice
• 1-1/2 cups corn (thawed if frozen)
  
• 1 15-ounce can kidney beans, drained
• Salt and pepper
• Optional toppings – sour cream, sliced scallions, grated cheddar cheese, pickled jalapenos, chopped cilantro

Crumble up and cook the beef in your largest pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat until it’s no longer pink. I use a wooden spatula to stir and smoosh it around while it’s browning. Make sure you break up the meat into small crumbles, no large chunks. Remove the beef to a plate and, in a nod to your heart’s health, drain the fat.

Heat the canola oil in that same pot on medium-low to medium heat and add the onions, green bell pepper and jalapeno. Sauté, stirring often, until they soften. Add the garlic and sauté one minute more or until it starts to golden. A weird, perhaps, aside: When sautéeing garlic, I push the veggies to the sides of the pot, put the garlic in the middle, add a tiny bit of oil on top of it and sauté on low, so it gets golden but not burnt.

Add the beer and let it reduce while scraping the bottom of the pan to release any cooked bits clinging to the bottom. Then add the browned beef, cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika, brown sugar, chipotles, tomatoes, corn and beans, and stir to mix. Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and let it simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper. Add your choice of toppings and serve with cornbread.

Original recipe: Beef and Dark Beer Chili, Serious Eats

Spicy Stuffed Jalapenos

My guy loves jalapenos, especially pickled jalapenos. He snacks on them right from the jar. No daytrip to the beach is complete without pickled jalapenos and boiled peanuts. I’m guessing this is a southern thing because I never had a boiled peanut before my first visit to Ocean Isle Beach a few years ago. I have to admit, now I too love pickled jalapenos.

For the Superbowl he was going to make his usual grilled jalapenos stuffed with cheese and topped with bacon, but he found this recipe in an email from BJ’s Wholesale Club and decided to make them instead. They were much more delicious and satisfying than the usual grilled jalapenos.

If you want to take your tailgating to a new level, add Spicy Cheeseburger Dip to the menu. Now all you need is the best bowl of chili ever, and you’re ready for the game!

Guy Fieri’s Italian Stuffed Jalapenos

• 15 jalapenos, cut in half, seeded and deveined
• 1 Tbsp canola oil (or olive oil)
• 2# mild Italian sausage, casings removed (we used hot Italian sausage to make it extra spicy)
• ¼ cup minced red onion
• ¼ cup minced red bell pepper
• 3 Tbsp minced garlic
• 2 cup mascarpone or cream cheese (we used cream cheese)
• ¼ cup grated Parmesan
• ½ cup shredded mozzarella
• Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 with the rack in the middle. Roast jalapenos on a sheet pan for 10 minutes. Remove and let cool. Turn broiler to medium.

Heat oil in a pan. Add sausage and cook for 5-7 minutes. Add onions, peppers and garlic and cook to soften, about 5 minutes. Remove to a bowl. Cool to room temperature, then add cream cheese and Parmesan. Mix thoroughly and season with s&p.

Place about 1 tbsp of sausage mixture into each jalapeno and top with ½ tsp of mozzarella cheese. Broil until cheese melts.

If you make these with hot Italian sausage like we did, they will be spicy hot, maybe too hot for some, so know your audience when deciding on hot, mild or a mix of sausages.

Original recipe: Guy Fieri’s Italian Stuffed Jalapenos

Saturday Night Football Chili

There was one consolation on Saturday night when the Eagles lost their playoff bid – the chili I made during the Jets-Bengals game.

I grew up in Massachusetts, so I’m a Patriots fan, although I don’t like Tom Brady. I also have an affection for the Redskins based on living in the DC area for 25 years, and a slight allegiance to the Raiders since I lived in California for a while and one of my favorite pizza pubs is in my brother’s old neighborhood in Oakland. Nowadays I’m also cheering for the Panthers since I’m here in North Carolina. But my boyfriend grew up in southern New Jersey and is the loudest and most enthusiastic football fan in my life so I’ve become an Eagles fan by default. I have a lot of loyalties.

We’ve had chili many times this season but this version is by far the best. I made some changes to the recipe.

• Didn’t have the cumin and coriander seeds in his kitchen (my kitchen is a different story), so skipped that step and added cumin powder instead along with chili powder;
• Added a few cloves of garlic to the onion/pepper mix;
• Used one green bell pepper instead of two red;
• Doubled the chipotle pepper;
• Used Sierra Nevada Porter since I had it on hand as my dark beer;
• And topped my bowl with pickled jalapeno in addition to the garnishes listed.

During the game there were many refill trips back to the pot and unanimous consent that the chili was awesome. I think I found a winner.

Recipe – Serious Eats