Heat Wave Cooking

I wish I'd been able to spend more time with Duane while I was in town. Trips always go by too quickly, and somehow are over right when you're just getting into things. I definitely agree about Katie being a fabulous hostess- any visit to their house became an Event with themes and costumes and adventures in The Indian Room. In fact, it was at their house that I first decided zucchini may not be so bad... She melted cheese on top.

As for now, it's been hot- too hot to cook everyday. I still insist upon having a home cooked meal on the table (almost) every night, and much to the dismay of my poor husband, I do not consider microwaved nachos a meal. Midnight snack, maybe, but not dinner. (Especially when the tortilla chips are topped with St. Andre's brie and a dill pickle. Yeah. It's an uphill battle.) So what's a girl to do?

It's freezer time! Yes, I have jumped on the "freezer cooking" bandwagon. What's not to love- I've got a freezer full of convenient food, but it's all homemade and I know exactly what's in every single thing. I tweak it to my family's tastes and I can portion it into whatever sizes I want, from a big bag of pancakes (individually frozen between layers of waxed paper before being tossed in a Ziplock) ready to be heated up and slathered with peanut butter right before school, to homemade chili with roasted Anaheim peppers and both sausage and ground steak, because that's just how we roll. And all those organic eggs I bought for 99 cents a dozen? Quiche! (I just forgot to make sure I'd stocked up on foil bakeware before I got started. Oops!)

So now when I don't feel like cooking or it's too hot to have my kitchen turned into a sauna (or in this weather, a steam room), I just pull something out and heat it up. Tonight was super simple because I was running late getting home from work. I just pulled out a bag of chili and made chili dogs, threw together a compound butter for some corn on the cob, and sliced up a watermelon.

Here's my super simple chili recipe:

1 lb ground beef, preferably sirloin 
1 lb sausage (I like to find one with a bit of spice to it, a Cajun or Andouille), casings removed
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Anaheim chiles, roasted, skins and seeds removed, and diced
1 large can of tomatoes, either diced or crushed
1-2 cans of kidney or pinto beans, rinsed and drained
salt, pepper
seasonings to taste (cumin, cayenne. I usually start with 1 tsp each and adjust accordingly)

1. In a large pot, brown the onion with the sirloin and sausage. Drain off the fat. 

2. Add the garlic, chiles, and tomatoes and bring to a simmer.

3. Add the beans and season to taste. 

I love this recipe for it's versatility- it's so easy to substitute whatever I have. You can use hotter peppers (jalapeno, or for the truly brave, habanero. Just don't rub your eyes!) or substitute ground beef. Double or triple the recipe to feed a crowd or to freeze for later. Eat it with tortilla chips and a big dollop of sour cream,  or turn it into chili dogs. I usually make my big batch very mild for the picky eaters in my house and add the real spice to individual servings. And even though you can substitute ground beef, I really prefer the sirloin/ sausage mix. The sirloin is leaner than most hamburger so it balances out the additional fat from the sausage, while the sausage adds extra complexity and is a simple way to add seasonings. (Along that line of thinking, choose your sausage carefully. Obviously breakfast sausage is out, but I find Italian sausage doesn't quite work either.)

Chili-lime Butter

2 sticks salted butter, soft but not melted
juice and zest from one lime (my lime was fairly dry- you may only need half the juice)
1 tsp chili powder (today I used ancho chile powder for it's mild heat and smoky flavor, but if you want a bit more kick, use cayenne.)

1. Mix 'em up. It's that simple. Use a fork, a pastry cutter, the back of a spoon, or whatever seems to work best for you. Make it a cohesive mass- the more you mix, the better your butter will be. Taste it to be sure the flavors are balanced.

This will keep for a couple of weeks in the fridge. Just make sure it's wrapped tightly.

Besides topping the ubiquitous summertime corn on the cob, you can use this butter on a toasted piece of bread for a turkey sandwich, or spread it on a biscuit to eat with corn chowder. And you can switch up the flavors however you want; compound butters are one of the easiest ways to add extra pizazz to a dish. Just mix in whatever seasonings you have that will complement your dish, from spices to finely minced fresh herbs. (A dill and lemon butter is excellent atop grilled fish.) Get creative and use whatever you have on hand!


Kate