It’s the kind of Seattle winter weather that makes us put on parkas and tire chains in order to entertain scoffing midwesterners. When Iris and I headed out this morning it was 23 degrees. To make myself feel better I checked the weather in Minneapolis, where it was -1.
So stew is the meal of the week, and last night I made one so good I took a picture of it. As you know, my dinner is notoriously camera shy, but check this out:
Here’s how it came together. It was a bit of a fridge-cleanout recipe, so substitute whatever you have on hand.
Toast, seed, and grind a dozen guajillo chiles. Stir in salt, minced garlic, and enough water to form a paste. Brown 2 pounds boneless pork shoulder, cubed. Remove the meat and set aside. Add diced onion and celery to the pan and cook until browned and softened. Add the chile powder mixture and cook a couple minutes. Add 2 cups chicken stock, 1/2 cup tomato juice, and the juice of half a lime. Simmer until pork is tender; adjust seasonings with salt and pepper. Meanwhile, saute some baby bok choy (or whatever greens are handy). Garnish the stew with the bok choy, some pinto beans (we had homemade in the freezer but canned would be fine), and scallions. Serve with lime wedges and hot sauce.
While the stew simmered, I thought about Anita and Cameron Crotty of Married with Dinner and their chili recipe. You know I don’t make a habit of criticizing other people’s recipes, but with chili it’s almost required. I mean, Mother Teresa used to go off on the most profane rants about the Dalai Lama’s chili (“yak shit” was the kindest term she used), and the Lama threw it right back.
Anyway, you’ll notice that the Crotty chili contains only 1 tablespoon of chile powder in the whole pot. It has as much *cinnamon* as chili. And it contains no cumin. A person who would put chile powder into a pot without ground cumin would send their kids to school on a 23-degree day without pants.
That’s the rant I was working on when I realized that I hadn’t put any cumin into my stew. Or chili. Or whatever. Which means there’s a significant chance that the Crotty chili is awesome. But you won’t hear me admit it.
Very interesting… serving the whole thing in one bowl, but with the beans on the side. On the side… of a bowl? Never would have crossed my mind if you had visited every one of the multiverses and asked all of my Bizarro counterparts.
I’m just learning chiles… still gun-shy after a bad experience involving my contact lenses…
Guajillos are really mild, enough so that I can put in a dozen and Iris won’t complain.
I stirred the beans and greens in right after taking a picture. I’m learning that sauteed greens in a stew or soup is one of my favorite things at the moment.
I just left a comment on the Married With Dinner entry too, but here’s the gist: I think theirs is a Cincinnati chili. The cinnamon is the big giveaway, followed by the high tomato content, the lack of cumin, and the small amount of chile powder for the amount of meat.
I’m a loser because I mis-transcribed the recipe. This is what I get for rushing to get a post up for a challenge meal.
There is a teaspoon of cumin in our chile, and it’s 1 teaspoon (not tablespoon) of cinnamon. :S
And just for the record, I know damned well what Cincinnati chili is. It’s runny, it’s made with ground beef, and it doesn’t have beans in it. It’s nothing like our chili.
But I am SO GLAD you sent a precious gem like ctate over to our site, and I look forward to many more thoughtful exchanges with him. :P
Not to tag-team, but…
Bok choy?
Sorry, son. You just lost yer chili-criticizing privileges. Hand over those dried peppers and we’ll see that they find a good home.
BOK BOK BOK.
I’m not sure what I mean by that, but assume it sounds very threatening.
-mamster, proudly serving up Shanghai-style chili since 2008
Oh, I also left something out of my recipe: I put in a small can of tomato juice along with the chicken stock.