History of the Chili [Pepper]

What do you think of when you think about chili peppers?

Salsa

Does your mind jump to your favorite salsa at an authentic Tex Mex restaurant?

 Maybe you can't shake the idea of that awesome spicy #6 Thai curry you had for dinner last night, or the extra hot vindaloo you love at your favorite Indian spot. 

Vindaloo

After all, India is the top producer of chili peppers in the whole wide world!  

Cooking with Us: E1: Chicken-Stuffed Poblanos

Hi!

And welcome to the first video podcast for this site - Cooking with Us!

We were really excited to finally do our first podcast, and made one of our staple dishes - Poblano peppers stuffed with chicken, cooked with chipotles in adobo!

I definitely suggest changing the settings on the video to high resolution.

I'll put the recipe & transcript from the video itself below :)

Hope y'all enjoy!

Recipe:

You'll need (for Two People):

Slackerdom, Random thoughts on Chilies, Sushi, and Tasting Menus

Hi gang,
Sorry I've been such a slacker around these parts.  Well over a month ago I started another food-history post, this time about the chili pepper. I wrote a great introduction but then got halted in a phase I normally love: the extensive research phase.  And it isn't even like this particular research is difficult.

I have found myself in a strange slump, though when I think about it, it really isn't all that strange.

Chef Spotlight: Greg Biggers of Cafe des Architectes in Chicago

Chef Biggers
I'm super excited to share our first Chef Spotlight - and equally so because we are featuring culinary genius, Chef Greg Biggers, of Cafe des Architectes in Chicago.

Chef Greg Biggers

Theron and I fell in love with this restaurant a couple years ago - and met the chef not long after discovering it.  How that came about?  We ordered many appetizers and small plates and the chef wanted to know who was doing this crazy ordering - because, he said, that's the same way he likes to order!

For this article, my notes will be written to help explain people and phrases.

Without further adieu, let's meet Chef Biggers!

V: Can you tell us a little about your educational and working background in the food industry?

CG: I started washing dishes in Alabama where I was born and raised at 15. I have been in the kitchen ever since. I started my first cooking job at 18 and met my first real chef, Matthew Wood, who encouraged me to get out of Alabama and go to culinary school.

The History of Foie Gras

The History of foie gras, if you can believe it, and you probably can, is about as old and intriguing as that of caviar.

Sliced Foie Gras

The difference, however, comes with the fact that foie gras is a far more controversial delicacy than caviar.  It is something you either love or hate - and not just because of taste and texture, but because of animal right's groups citing animal cruelty. The common French method of gavage (the force-feeding of ducks to fatten their livers) has galvanized activists in very recent history to the point of getting foie gras sales banned in Chicago in 2006. Foie gras, however, is not a delicacy which fans could give up lightly, so it only took two years, and some very passionate chefs, for that ban to be repealed.  Even the mayor of Chicago at the time, Richard Daley, thought the ban was 'the silliest law' ever passed by the city council. That being said, there is a current ban in California on the sale of any foie gras made using the force-feeding method, and many other such laws around the world. Love it or hate it, it has been around for a long, long time, and I highly doubt it's going anywhere anytime soon. So let's dig in to the rich history of this very rich delicacy.

Home Cooking Heroes Spotlight: Georgette & Tommaso's Bacon-Wrapped Stuffed Fig Appetizer

Hi There!

For our second installment of Home Cooking Heroes I am very happy to introduce to you my cousin Georgette Jupe, and her long-time boyfriend, Tommaso.  Georgette grew up in the Southern US but has, since 2007, called Florence, Italy home.

Georgette & Tommaso

A few weeks ago, Georgette mentioned on her Facebook page that she and Tommaso were going to be making bacon-wrapped figs. That sounded really exciting to me - as anything bacon-wrapped has a high chance of being darn good, and figs are, in my mind, rather exotic.

New Years Eve Reservations - It's Time!

When I last posted about Christmas Dining reservations, I was also looking at New Year's reservations as well.  From that post to this, from a brief glance at Opentable.com, I am sorry to say that many places have already filled up.  Hence I implore you to make your New Year's rezzies as fast as you can!

The hubby and I, as I mentioned in my last post, went to Yoshi's for the 2 New Year's Eve's we spent  in Chicago.  It's a great restaurant in Boystown/Lakeview East, which has awesome food in general, a special menu for New Year's Eve, a band, and dancing.

New Year's 2011 @ Yoshi's Cafe

Home Cooking Heroes: Spotlight Peter Bunin's Scallops over Rice

Welcome to the first installment of "Home Cooking Heroes" where we talk to every day people with a knack for cooking up an awesome snack or full fledged meal in their own home kitchens.

To start out the series, I've asked my bestie to prepare a meal he made for me and my hubby a couple years ago - a meal that blew us away and was so indelible, I still find myself craving it to this day. The recipe is featured after the interview.

Without further adieu, I'd like to introduce the amazingly awesome and otherwise inestimable, Peter Bunin.

Have you found your Holiday Eatery? How about New Year's?

Yes... it's that time of year again... the time for setting up the tree (if you haven't already!) and stretching lights across your front porch...

Time for decking the halls,

and holiday cheer,
time to clean house for in-laws,
and then it's almost New Year!
Is your Turkey all basted?
Your pie stuffing gathered?
Have you reveled in carols
Till your vocal cords tattered?

Cold Weather Food: Chili

When the weather begins to turn cold, the idea of eating sushi becomes less appealing, and the desire for heartier, warmer fare ignites the imagination. When my sister and I were kids growing up in Texas, the first brisk day meant we were having chili for dinner. True, it also often meant we often had to wait till the end of November for any sign of cold weather, and that the days might still reach up toward 70; but in San Antonio, the nights would start to dip down to 40 or 50 degrees, and that meant Mom would be slaving over the stove to make sure all the flavors were on point for her particularly wonderful chili, which excited us to our core.

I remember, being 16 or so, and coming downstairs every few minutes to 'sample' the chili to make sure the flavors were just right. For my sis and I, 'right' meant tasting the beef, chili powder, and lots of heat from the jalapenos. Mom often made her chili almost too peppery-hot for herself because she knew that's how my sis, Ness, and I liked it.