Everyone has their own ideas about chili. A wide variety of dishes fall under the general heading of “chili.” Some think this dish should be only beef slow cooked in chili sauce. Others use a wide variety of meats—chicken, pork, turkey—in their chili. Still others say that it should include beans as well. Vegetarians get rid of the meat all together and still call it “chili.”
Karl’s Quick Beef Chili with Beans
Filed under Beans, Beef, California Fusion, Main Dishes, Sauces and Spices, Stews
Before I left home for the first time, I sat down with my mother’s recipe box and wrote down my favorite dishes. I had a hankering for chili this week end. I dug out my mother’s recipe and I was amazed to find that her “chili” did not actually include any chili! Continue reading
Filed under Beans, Beef, Main Dishes, Stews
Many times, the inspiration for one of my Sunday dinners is a food challenge by the family. Other times, I look for an untried world cuisine to make my own variation of a traditional dish. This week, I started with a bottle of hot sauce.
Karl’s Lemon Chicken Habanero
with Sautéed Spinach and Fingerling Potatoes
Filed under California Fusion, Chicken, Main Dishes, Potatoes, Poultry, Side Dishes, Vegetables
I am making salmon for son-in-law Chris’ birthday dinner. My first thought was to make colcannon—potatoes and cabbage—to go with it. Chris, who is limiting his intake of simple carbohydrates—like starchy potatoes—suggested using yams and herbs instead. This is very much a California Fusion recipe.
Karl’s Colcannon California
Filed under California Fusion, Side Dishes, Starches, Vegan, Vegetarian
This is more of a California Fusion revamp of the original, rather than a traditional colcannon. Potatoes are the staple of the traditional Irish diet and colcannon was, most likely, mostly potatoes with a little bit of vegetable added in—usually cabbage. Jan is always pushing me to add more high fiber vegetables and to cut back on the simple starches—i.e. potatoes—so mine is now about a 50/50 ratio of potato to veg. I also doubt that chicken broth or garlic were readily available in a humble traditional Irish cottage.
Karl’s Colcannon III
Filed under California Fusion, Holidays, Potatoes, Side Dishes, Vegetables, Vegetarian
Eilene is having some friends over. I decided to make their favorite Mac & Cheese. When she and her friends make this for themselves they, of course, use the “orange stuff in a box.” This is just starch, fat, and chemicals, not a meal.
Karl’s Mac & Cheese with Bacon & Leek
Filed under California Fusion, Casserole, Main Dishes, Pasta, Pork
I am making a Goan Dinner this Sunday. For those of my diners that are avoiding simple carbs, like rice, I wanted to provide a more complex carbohydrate option. I looked at several recipes, but many of them seemed more generally Indian, rather than Goan. I freely adapted from one of the Goan recipes to create my own.
Karl’s Goan Urad Dal
Filed under Beans, Side Dishes, Starches, Vegan, Vegetarian
If no one has given me a challenge for a Sunday meal, I am left to find one for myself. I keep track of everyone who has “liked” one of my dishes and—when I have time—I run through their sites looking for inspiration and ideas. One such site is Linda Creation, which introduced me to Goan cuisine.
Karl’s Goan Jeera Rice
Filed under Rice, Side Dishes, Starches, Vegan, Vegetarian
Jan has asked me to make a chili for a potluck with her new half-brother. The last time I made chili, I made a pot with beans and it was pretty hood, but I knew I could do better. Instead of ground beef I would use beef chuck and some rib meat. Last time, I also used canned broth as my braising liquid, this time I would braise pieces of marinated beef—to tenderness—and then use the braising liquid to re-hydrate and cook the beans.
Karl’s Chili California con Carne Suprimo
Filed under Beans, Beef, California Fusion, Main Dishes, Stews
Jan, my wife, is an anthropologist at SJSU. When she can, she arranges for her students to do “real world” projects for their assignments. This semester, she will be and her students will be part of a team, organized by NUMU Los Gatos, interviewing relocated American Indians who live in the South Bay—having moved to the city from various reservations in the 1950s, ‘60s, and 70s—if they are not recorded now their stories will soon be lost to history.
Karl’s Ham and Beans for a Crowd
Filed under Beans, Main Dishes, Pork
karllueck
Miriam
Jabberwocky Stew 