We enjoy our fancy foods as much as the next person, but sometimes it's nice to get back to some good ol', warms your soul, chili and cornbread  basics! The recipe posted below lets you in on my very own chili creation! If you give it a try, let me know how it goes by commenting! 

Hearty Hardie Chili
Cook time: 2 Hours
Serves 10-12
 
Ingredients
3 pounds beef chili meat
2 pounds venison or chuck roast, medium dice
Canola oil
2 red bell peppers, diced
2 jalapeno peppers, minced
2 yellow onions, diced
4 teaspoons Mexican chili powder
2 teaspoons Ancho chili powder
2 teaspoons Chipotle chili powder
2 teaspoons whole cumin seeds
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons granulated garlic
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons hot paprika
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
¾ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 cups tomato sauce
6 ounces tomato paste
14.5 ounces petite diced tomatoes
12 ounces lager beer
1 cup beef stock
2 cans kidney beans, with juice

Optional Garnishes
Green onion, sweet onion, cheddar or jack cheese, sour cream, cilantro, pickled jalapeno…etc.
 
Brown the Meat: Add a small amount of oil to a heavy pot or Dutch oven (6 quart at least) over medium high heat. Add the meat in batches and brown. Do not crowd the pan. Allow juices to evaporate each batch and let the meat brown slightly to allow for more flavor. Transfer the meat to a large bowl.
 
Sauté Chilies & Aromatics: Add a small amount of oil to the same pan. Add the onions, bell peppers and jalapenos to the pan. Cook until vegetables just start to become translucent. Add garlic and cook for another minute.
Combine the meat and vegetables. Add all of the spices and cook for another minute to allow the spices to “bloom”.
 
Add the Remaining Ingredients—tomato products, beer, stock, and beans. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer and cook uncovered for an hour and a half.
 
I like to make this the day before I serve it. This allows all the flavors to meld together. Serve piping hot with the optional garnishes and cornbread. Enjoy!!

Hello fellow foodies! We hope your holiday season has been filled with lots of family, joy, and yummy things to eat! I enjoyed all of these things, along with getting to make them for a lot of other people. My team and I had the joy of catering for large Christmas parties of 100+, prepping cozy soul foods for client refrigerators, and even putting on an intimate family dinner in a client’s very own home. We couldn’t imagine wrapping up the Traveling Pan’s 2017 in a more heart-warming way.

This year, we’re going to turn up the fire under this Pan from a slow, steady simmer to a strong, bubbling boil! There will be all kinds of blogs, favorite recipes, handy tips, and fun ways for me and my clients to be even closer cooking compadres. So HEY, if you see something cool… share it! If you’ve got ideas for us, let us know! We live to serve! (Food, anyway.)
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Last night we decided to WING in the New Year with some homemade buffalo wings and, of course, some super lucky black eyed peas! 

This morning while watering my garden…an almost daily chore in this Texas heat, I noticed a large limb on my basil plant was bent over because it was so heavy with growth. Because I’m trying out Ina Garten’s “Weeknight Bolognese” tonight, it was the perfect opportunity to harvest the whole bunch! Even though I’ll only need ¼ cup, I can dry the rest for later. It’s a quick and easy process to dry herbs. I took some pictures of how I do it.

First you’ll want to carefully wash the basil with cold water. It’s easiest to do this while it’s still on the stem. Shake off as much water and gently slap the stems several times on a dry towel. This is the fun part…wrap the basil up in the towel and spin it around like you’re making a “rag tail” to pop someone with. This will actually “spin” the majority of the water off into the towel. (Who says cooking isn’t fun!?)

Next, lay the basil out on a dry towel—leaves still on the stems. Once dry, remove all of the leaves from the stem. Don’t let it lay out too long because the leaves will start to wilt pretty quickly.

Basil is a delicate herb that bruises easily. The best way to chop it is to stack it and roll it. Then you chop, chop, chop and have these nice “ribbons” of basil to use fresh or to dry. 

It rarely rains in Corpus Christi. In fact, we are in the middle of a serious drought with watering restrictions and so forth. That's why a plan to grill is always a safe, fail-proof plan--in fact, we probably fire up the grill for at least half of our dinners in the spring, summer and fall! It's so fun and keeps my kitchen from smelling like burgers, pork chops, steaks, so forth. (All awesome smells, but it's not like you'd go buy a steak-scented candle. Does that make sense?)

So, we didn't think twice when we went about planning a casual dinner party with friends from church. The menu was to be beef and chicken fajitas with all the toppings, homemade tangy guacamole, pinto beans that slowly simmered all day and cilantro-lime rice. We live in South Texas, therefore fajitas are always a solid dinner choice, and my girls cannot get enough of the cilantro-lime rice.

That was the plan. That was the ONLY plan.

When is began to sprinkle I brushed it off. It won't last long! However, when some actual drops began to appear I decided I might want to go ahead and get all of that marinating meat on the grill early and then let it rest in the oven until dinner.  So, that's just what I did. "Good idea, Melanie. You can totally outsmart Mother Nature and whatever weather plot she has to sabotage your dinner." I laughed to myself, and so did she.

 Then... it poured.

The fire went out twice, the meat cooked slowly and unevenly, and I was completely soaked! I had to recruit my youngest daughter, Bethany, to come hold an umbrella over myself and the grill so I could see what I was doing. I just knew the whole dinner was a bust! But, what can you do? I did the best I could with what I had to work with.

Thankfully, when we finally sat down to dinner, it appeared that everything might have actually come together! The meat had finished cooking in the oven and the accoutrements did their job of adding bold flavors and textures to the fajita tacos.  The beans had absorbed all the smoky flavor of the ham hocks and the brightness of the cilantro...the rice was nice and sticky...just like we like it!

Thinking about it now, it might have been the fajitas that brought us together with our friends around the table, but in the end, the food ended up mattering very little! (Yes, it's a real plus when it's delicious!) We had such a wonderful time talking, sharing, laughing and even singing with the guitar after dinner.

So...Rain or Shine, have your friends over for dinner--
You'll be glad you did--and so with they!

Melanie’s (Rainy Day) Pinto Beans

1 pound dried pinto beans, picked and washed

Cover with water.
Boil (rapid boil) for 2 minutes.
Turn off the heat and cover.
Soak for 1 hour.
Drain and Rinse the beans.

Add water to cover, again. 

Add to the pot:
One large onion, diced
Ham Hocks, Sausage, or Salt Pork (however much you want) 1 T. Chili Powder
1t. of ALL the following: Garlic Granules, Oregano, Cumin, Salt, Pepper

Bring to a boil and then Simmer on low heat covered until beans are tender.

Add Cilantro to taste.