Insert _____ possum/raccoon/squirrel joke here, if you must.
But don't laugh. A West Virginia hot dog has nothing to do with roadkill, and it's not simply a hot dog eaten in West Virginia either. It is a regional specialty with its own rules, legions of die-hard fans, even its own website. A true West Virginia hot dog is slathered in bean-less beef chili and topped with mustard, coleslaw and chopped onions, then quickly "steamed" in a microwave to soften the bun.
On a recent trip to Welch, WV (don't ask), I had a couple for lunch at a gas station/lunch counter/hunting supply shop near the town of Beckley. They were $1.29 for two, with creamy homemade slaw spooned out of a Tupperware container. The sweet gooeyness of the steamed bun reminded me of Chinese pork buns, cut by the acrid bit of the fresh white onions. I ate while perusing Polaroids of dead buck deer and other hunting trophies pined to the wall, and came out with a strange urge to learn how to use a shotgun.
Yes, I hate bbq, summer, and Memorial Day. I'm a terrible person.
Of course, I don't hate Memorial Day itself, what it represents, I hate that it signals the start of summer, my least favorite season. I hate summer the wayLost fans hated Nikki and Paolo (yes, everything I do comes back to television). Maybe even more.
Here are the 8 reasons I hate about Memorial Day and summer in general.
Earlier this week, Scott and I were sitting around, talking about what the week looked like for us and when we'd both be home for dinner. Once we realized we'd both be around on Wednesday, I started brainstorming out loud, ruminating on the pound of grass-finished ground beef I had in the fridge. I mentioned that I was thinking it would be good to scramble it with some veggies, maybe some beans and a can or two of tomatoes. Scott looked at me and said, "You do realize that you're talking about making chili, right?" I was momentarily crushed, as I realized that what I was considering wasn't at all original (silly in so many ways, I know). Once I got over my disappointment, I perked up, realizing that I could still take this pot of chili in any direction I wanted.
When I got home from work, I started chopping, sauting and stirring, cooking by feel without any sort of guide besides what I had in my kitchen. It turned out fantastically well and there was enough in the pot to feed us for two nights (I do love cooking once and eating twice)! I was particularly proud that I got the chard in there, because it meant that I got my nightly green vegetable in without using another pot or bowl.
Not only does chili have a high taste return on the fairly low preparation investment, especially if you prepare the day before in a slow cooker, but chili is something that can be perfectly adjusted to your and your guests' particular tastes. I like offering two kinds of chili to accommodate both carnivorous guests (though there always seems to be an argument about whether beef chili should be made with ground beef or steak) as well as vegetarians. Chili can be served as a dish by itself, or as an accompaniment to hot dogs, hamburgers, on French fries, or nachos.
In the last few days, we've talked about chicken wings and chili, queso and pizzas. However, our food choices have mostly been directed by our own personal likes and dislikes. Over at Ask.com, they've taken a more scientific approach towards Super Bowl food, tallying their search results in order to create a list of the Ten Most Popular Super Bowl Snacks. According to their study, here are most popular foods.
Chili
Pizza
Meatballs
Salsa
Ribs
Spinach dip
Wings
Guacamole
Quesadillas
Artichoke dip
Of these foods, what are you planning on serving at your Super Bowl party? (Personally, I'll take any excuse to eat guacamole, which is why I picked Slashfood Flickr pool member You Can Count on Me's picture of it to illustrate this post).
Mmmmm....cornbread. It's one of those foods that I absolutely love but I just don't make for some reason. I think I get into these ruts where I don't want to haul out all the mixing bowls and ingredients and bake.
Since we're doing healthy Super Bowl recipes today, I thought this would be worth posting about, because it's not only healthier than regular cornbread, it's also a comfort food (at least it is for me), especially when you team it with that Super Bowl staple, chili.
Though there are a a lot of different things for Super Bowl parties, there are a few that will, without a doubt, make an appearance at every Super Bowl party this weekend -- beer to drink, tortilla chips and salsa for snacking, and as a "main" dish, some sort of chili. If you're hosting a Super Bowl party and chili isn't on your menu, why are you depriving your guests?!?!
There are a lot of recipes out there for chili - heck, we have at least a dozen here on Slashfood - and a lot of opinions about what makes the "best" chili. Ground beef or steak? Beans or no beans? Tomato-base or beef stock? The reality is that chili is more of a technique combined with any permutation of meat and vegetables, rather than a specific recipe. Last weekend, I made a Steak Chili in my brand new slow cooker, and though I had several recipes nearby as reference, I ended up doing everything based on my personal tastes. Here's the step-by-step of what I did, along with suggestions and explanations so you can make your own.
After your chili has cooked for a good 1½ to 2 hours, it's ready to eat, but if you've waited that long, what's another day?!?! Letting chili cool down overnight, or at least for several hours and then re-heating it just before serving somehow makes the chili taste about five thousand times better, if that's possible. For a party, that's incredibly convenient, since you can make the chili at least one day in advance.
For the Super Bowl, serve the chili straight from the slow cooker. The slow cooker may not be the most stylish thing to leave out on the buffet table, but it will ensure that the chili stays warm as it sits out all afternoon (or evening) long. Throw a ladle into the chili and let your guests help themselves. If you have large handled mugs (that you might use for cappuccino or soup), use those for serving. Having a handle will decrease the chance that mingling guests will spill the chili on your immaculate floor.
Chili alone is good, but with "toppings," it's even better. Shredded cheese, sour cream, chopped red onions and scallions, and diced avocado or guacamole are good things to set out as a "bar" to put on top of chili.
You may also want to serve chili with some sort of bread. The natural choice here is cornbread, but any thick, chewy bread is good, as are tortilla chips.
The only vegetables you really need for chili are onions and garlic for flavor, jalapenos for heat, and of course canned tomatoes to create the "gravy." However, I know that people like to add other vegetables either because they like particular vegetables, or they're trying to sneak some nutrition into their friends' and family's diets. Naturally, if you're making a vegetarian chili, additional vegetables like celery, carrots, and bell pepper make sense, but in a beef chili, why would you add carrots? Why?! You aren't fooling anyone.
Adding Vegetables to the Chili To the oil that's left in the pan you used to brown the meat, add 2 chopped medium onions, ½ to 1 whole head of smashed garlic cloves (depending on how much garlic you like), and 5-7 chopped fresh jalapenos. If you are adding other chopped vegetables, add them here, too. Cook for about 10 minutes to soften, then add to the beef in the crock.
Add 1 28 oz. can of whole tomatoes with the juice, crushing the tomatoes with your hands as you add them to the pot. Also add 3 cups of beef stock.
When it comes to the meat for your chili, you have a lot of options, and even options within options. Chili can be made with beef, poultry, or it can eschew meat altogether and go vegetarian. Turkey, chicken and vegetarian chilis are all fine, but I am a beef girl when it comes to chili.
A lot of people use ground beef for chili, which produces a very uniform, somewhat "fine" chili, but since ground beef cooks rather quickly, there is less of a reason to use a slow cooker. I prefer my chili a bit chunkier, so I buy a large piece of any of the less expensive, slightly tougher cuts of beef. Does that make me a cheapskate?!?! Maybe a little, but the reality is that the tougher cuts of beef are flavorful and hold up well during the slow cooking process that allows flavors to develop.
Preparing the Meat for Chili: I bought a 2 lb rump roast, partly because I love the word "rump," but mostly because that's a good cut to use for chili. Rinse the meat, pat dry, and cut into ½" cubes. Dredge the cubes in about ½ c flour that has been seasoned with salt and pepper and shake off as much of the excess flour as you can.
Heat 2-3 Tbsp canola oil over medium high heat and brown the coated beef on all sides. Set aside.
Chili is the consummate Super Bowl food. Hearty, meaty and spicy, it can be served in the same slow cooker you cooked it in (or you can cook it in another pot and keep it warm in a slow cooker for easy serving). Today's Food Porn Daily is a fantastic picture of chili in a shiny-handled pot by Sophiemostly. Lucky for us, Sophie includes a link to the recipe which she posted on her blog.
If you'd like to see your picture featured here, head over to the Slashfood group on Flickr and join us. Thanks to all of you have joined lately and have added your gorgeous images!
Last year I picked the 8 best school lunch items I remember from my school days (admittedly, a long time ago). But what about the lunches that a lot of kids hate? Here are my choices:
1. Mystery meat: What exactly was this? I'm trying to go through my mental Rolodex and I can't remember. Was it meatloaf? Salisbury steak? I'm not sure, but it just seemed to be this mass-produced glob of grayness topped with lame gravy. The days I saw that this was the lunch were the days I just had something to drink and maybe a bag of chips.
Yes, I know this is the second massive meat-laden burger in a row, but it's nowhere nearly as excessive as yesterday's. Today's Hamburger of the Day is the Ghetto Burger from Ann's Snack Bar in Atlanta, Ga. The Ghetto Burger is to burgers as a Katz's pastrami sandwich is to any other pastrami sandwich, that is to say some who dare call themselves gourmands wind up wrapping half of the thing to take home.
The Ghetto Burger, as you can probably make out is a double cheeseburgerwith bacon. I have ignored the the "salad" on top. But what of that errant pile oozing out of the right side of this megaburger? It's not ground beef, well, at least not ground beef from the patty, it's chili! Did I forget to mention that the whole thing gets a hearty shake of seasoned salt and left a Wall Street Journal reporter swooning?
Mmmmm....cornbread. It's one of those foods that I absolutely love but I just don't make for some reason. I think I get into these ruts where I don't want to haul out all the mixing bowls and ingredients and bake.
Last year I picked the 8
America's Most Hated Foods
Slashfood Ate (8): Ways to create the perfect cheese plate
A good trick for saving summer herbs for future use
