Curts New Years Eve Chili Recipes

CURT'S NEW YEAR'S EVE CHILI

Steps:

• Fry bacon in a heavy pot.
• Remove and reserve bacon.
• Brown the meat and garlic in the bacon fat. For best results, move to a cast iron skillet.
• Saute onions in stock pot until soft.
• Add the meat, bacon, chilis, spices, sauces, jalapenos, beer, tomatoes and paste.
• Simmer for two hours.
• Add remaining ingredients during cooking, as you check and stir.
• Make sure last ingredients are added with at least one hour of cooking time remaining.
• For best results, allow chili to sit in the refrigerator for 24 hours to give the spices a chance to intensify. It is ok to serve off the stove (suggest a bread bowl!), but it is almost always better as leftovers.
• Caution: freezing and reheating will effect the quality. It will still be good, but not the same.

EASY BAKED PARSNIP CHIPS/CRISPS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F Use a mandoline or a vegetable peeler to make long strips of parsnip in very thin slices (about 1-millimetre thick).
• Brush the strips lightly with vegetable oil and place them in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Top with another piece of parchment paper and another baking sheet and bake for 7 minutes or until chips are lightly brown and cooked through.
• Cool on baking sheet and season with salt to taste.

CURT'S SUPER BOWL CHILI 2014

Steps:

• Fry one pound of bacon in each of two skillets or pots. Have a 3rd pot ready. One of them should be "the big pot" (I use a lobster pot, with lid).
• Remove the bacon, and pour about 1/3 of the grease from each of the two skillets into the third.
• In each of the three skillets, brown three pounds of the ground meats (beef in two of them, turkey in the third). The garlic cloves should be mixed in while the ground beef is cooking.
• While meats are browning is a good time to begin measuring the dry ingredients into a bowl or two. Mix the dry ingredients together.
• As the meats finish browning, add the smaller pots into the bigger pot. It doesn't hurt to begin mixing in some of the dry ingredients and the chopped peppers into the big pot as you add meats, as this will help to disperse the ingredients in the big pot.
• Also consider adding SOME of the tomatoes and paste in between layers. Save the beer for last, however.
• After one of the pots is "done", begin browning the stew beef, and add to the big pot when done.
• When you have another pot done, begin sauteeing the onions.
• Add sauteed onions, and then at least two of the beers (you may find your pot is full at this point, and if you need to split things up, make sure you have mixed the ingredients well prior to dividing). Add the third beer up to an hour after cooking has begun to replace some of the cook off.
• Cook on low for up to 5 hours, stirring occasionally, to prevent stuff from getting stuck to the bottom.
• Serve with whatever you like with chili (cheese, onions, sour cream).

NEW YEAR'S EVE FONDUE

Steps:

• Allow cheese to stand at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes, which will help it melt more quickly and evenly.
• Heat the broiler. Set the rack about 4 inches below the broiler.
• Cut the crusts off the slices of bread. Cut each bread slice into 4 equal strips.
• Wrap one bread strip halfway around one grape and poke a long metal skewer through the bread and grape so that the skewer is pushed through both ends of the bread strip with the grape in the middle. Repeat with remaining bread and grapes.
• Place all 16 skewers on a large baking sheet. Broil for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the bread is browned and crisp, turning once halfway through broiling. Set aside,.
• In a small saucepan, bring water and shallot to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, until the shallots are tender, about 2 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix the arrowroot with one ounce of the champagne. Pour the remaining champagne into the saucepan with the shallot. Whisk the arrowroot and champagne mixture into the saucepan. Continue to cook and whisk until the mixture is thickened, about 30 seconds.
• Reduce the heat to low and all the Jarlsberg, whisking constantly until the cheese is melted.
• Add the pecorino and continue whisking until melted.
• Repeat with the brie.
• Season to taste with salt and a pinch of cayenne.
• Pour the mixture into a fondue pot and serve with the skewered bread and grapes for dipping. (Or whatever else you like to dip in a cheese fondue).

NEW YEAR'S EVE LATKES

Steps:

• Get out your food processor or sturdy hand grater and using the finest grating holes, shred the potatoes.
• You want them to be so fine that they are mushy.
• Grate your onions in the same manner and mix them with the potatoes.
• Set the shredded potatoes& onions into a mesh strainer set over a bowl and squeeze out all the water you can.
• Don't worry if the potatoes start turning pink or brown- that is just a reaction to the air.
• Dump potato mixture into a bowl and sprinkle with baking powder; mix well.
• Sprinkle in a little flour- a spoonful at a time, mixing the flour into the mixture until your potatoes stick together enough to form a thin patty- they will seem a bit dry (don't be tempted to add an egg - it isn't necessary in this version).
• You don't want too much flour, so try not to add too much.
• Heat a large skillet (to about medium or medium-high) and add about 3-4 Tbsp of oil to the pan- or enough to coat the bottom of the pan well for frying (you will need to add a little more per batch as the oil disappears).
• Form thin patties about 2-3 inches in diameter and slide them into the oil.
• Don't crowd the pan- you should only make a few at a time.
• Fry a few minutes per side until golden brown(adjust heat as needed to keep oil from splattering).
• Remove to a paper towel lined plate using a slotted spoon to drain.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Serve warm with sour cream and smoked salmon on the side, if desired.
• NOTE: If you prefer more texture to your latkes, shred on a larger hole.