And did I mention I got mine signed. Check it out...
Okay...enough. Now for the food...
Beef Chile with Ancho, Red Beans and Chocolate
This recipe made my Sunday and I am sure it will make yours too. The result of approximately four hours of love and mis en place is tender, flavorful morsels of shredded beef in a rich, deep and intense potage. My advice to anyone involved in this recipe is not to go into this with traditional expectations of a chili. In theory, this is a fantastic beef stew steeped in marvelous Mexican flavor.
Tyler begins by taking us to his school of thought on herbs and spices. He will only use fresh herbs and prefers to grind his own spices, which apparently includes chile powder. So, to begin I toasted ancho chili and ground it to create a powder. Next, simmering well-seasoned beef cubes in water took me back to days in culinary class, preparing stock for next day's class and kept me in anticipation of the next step. Adding onions garlic, and an assortment of spices and various chiles built upon the beef flavor. Chipotle peppers in adobo has to be one of the best-smelling things on the planet and for two hours it made my small apartment smell like heaven, as it married with the other wonders in my pot. The fact that this chili is more of a stew/thick soup is further proven by Tyler's choice of topping, grated cheese and saltine crackers. I assumed the thought behind this is to not only further thicken the stew but to add saltiness and heighten the flavor. The cool thing about Tyler's recipes, outside of his adorable rhetoric and sexy little side comments is that you get a real in to his personality and realize that the man is a very physical cook. For example, he instructs that the tomatoes to be added to the recipe be WHOLE tomatoes which you pour into a bowl and crush by hand before placing in the recipe. I'm sure it makes a difference. I added a little more garlic to my recipe and a bunch of chopped cilantro along with the chocolate in the last five minutes, omitting the saltine crackers and cheese.
I loved it. My roomate loved it. My Dad loved it and the idea. All in all, a very satisfying dish. Thanks,Chef. Looking forward to next week!!
June 16, 2003 - Recipe Two:
Coconut Bread with Pineapple Butter
The Cookbook is divided into these really nice sections so that you know exactly where to go if you want to cook a particular thing. I chose to work in the Weekend Brunch Section because I knew that the one thing I wanted to do this lovely June Saturday was hang out with my best friend and have something "yummy" to eat. So, I made the coconut bread with sweet pineapple butter. Now, I have been on the Food Network site a couple of times and the fan boards both for Tyler's Ultimate and Food 911 both seem to reflect the consensus that this is one of the most popular recipes for folks who have just bought the book and are thinking of the first thing they want to try. I opted to do the chili first. But this was a close second.
From start to finish I really liked this recipe. It was easy to follow, fun to make and it got me playing in the ethnic aisle at the supermarket, which is one of my favorite places. Basically, the story of this recipe is that Tyler discovered it on vacation in Australia. It's one of those things they offer as a "lagniappe" or freebie. That's pretty cool when you consider how rich and wonderful the bread actually is. One World - DEEEEEELICIOUS!!
The bread is full of flavor and unlike breads you eat and think, 'I want a nut' or something, it is so full of intense coconut and coconut flavor that you are completely satisifed. The butter is also nice. I chose to add cherries to mine to boost the brightness of the Golden Dole Pineapple I got from Iovine's at the Reading Terminal this weekend. But, I think it would work well with just the pineapple as well.
Gina (best friend and my personal food critic) loved it. And, she is VERY PICKY. My cousin came by a little later with his family. He was just scooping huge knifefulls of butter onto the bread, goin' "How bout if I have a little bread with my butter?" His wife made the classic Tyler reply when she bit into hers " THIS IS S*E*X*Y!!" And she doesn't even watch Tyler. Baby Jasmine (2) was also impressed. She stood there, nodding her head and dancing. Nuff said.