Chilly, Chile, Chili - When its chilly get some chile and make some chili! - Here's a Recipe.

New Mexicans are very particular about their chile and no New Mexican worth their salsa would ever call our wonderful chile pepper chili. Chili is that Texas style bean and meat or lack of beans or lack of meat thick stew sort of concoction that you pour into a Fritos corn chip bag. Nothing wrong with chili but don't get it confused with chile.

As much as I love my traditional style of making chile and all the various chile sauces there are times when a big ol' bowl of hot steaming chili is just the ticket, add cornbread, avocado and sour cream and this is a bowl of winter heaven. 

Christo's Big Cowboy Chili

1 lb ground beef (or chicken or turkey)
1 large onion diced
3 cloves garlic minced
3 Tbs cumin powder
4 Tbs (use as much or as little as you want for level of heat desired) red chile powder (get it from New Mexico) 
1 small can tomato paste
2 cups water
salt and pepper to taste
1 lb dry of cooked kidney beans (I cooked a pound of dry beans in the pressure cooker you could use canned and it would probably work out to 2 quarts of beans) Make sure you have at least 3 cups of liquid with your beans
Avocado, sour cream and green onion for garnish

Brown the meat in a large skillet. When meat is brown add the onion and garlic and saute until soft. When the onion and garlic have softened then add the cumin and the chile powder and stir till everything is coated (if its not spicy enough add more red chile powder). When all of this is a nice deep red color then add the tomato paste and water. Simmer gently for 15 minutes. Add this mixture to your cooked beans and bean broth and simmer for 5 more minutes. Serve with your garnish and cornbread of you have it.

This is by far the easiest and tastiest chili you will ever have. No need to add any sugar as the onions add all the sweetness you need but if you do find that your particular can of tomato paste was extra acidy then add a squeeze of honey. Enjoy

A bowl of chili is a soothing, warming and an inexpensive way to bring lots of flavor and nutrition for you and your family, make some.

morel mushroom mousse in a puff pastry cup is the best

Morel mushroom season is here again at last and I am fortunate enough to be a contestant in the MarxFoods 3rd Annual Morel Mushroom Challenge. Without further ado here is my entry.

The recipe is easy:

Morel Mushroom Mousse

8-10 dried morel mushrooms

2 stalks of green onion

1/4 cup chopped parsley

4 oz butter

1/2 cup champagne

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup heavy cream

Reconstitute the dried mushrooms in the champagne. (reserve 2 mushrooms to slice and use as garnish) Saute mushrooms, onions and parsley in butter until soft. Add the champagne that mushrooms were reconstituted in and reduce until dry. Cool completely. In food processor, combine mushroom mixture, Parmesan cheese and salt until finely chopped. In a stand mixer whip the cream to stiff peaks then fold in the cooled mushroom mixture. Pipe mixture into tiny tart shells or onto crackers. Decorate with parsley leaf and discs of sauteed morel mushrooms. This mousse is equally good pipped onto some hot pasta for a new twist on the classic Alfredo.

Makes filling for one dozen 2-1/2 inch tarts, or tons of crackers or a few bowls of pasta.

Light, rich, flaky and delicious - so good with a nice cold glass of champagne but you could also enjoy these with a sparking cider or even a nice dry pale ale.

Wish me luck!

......and while my entry is morel mushroom mousse in a puff pastry cup I thought I would further entice you with the idea of having it in pasta.

Have you seen Migrating Feast?