TartQueen's Kitchen

Chili.  A word that can stir up passions usually reserved for first love or politics.

There are as many recipes for chili as there are families in the Southwestern US.  In Texas, we make “Chili Con Carne” – basically a spicy meat stew with chiles, spices, lots of meat, and maybe some tomato.  But no beans.  That would be sacrilege.  In New Mexico and California, you can find green chili, “Chili Verde”, usually made with chicken or pork.  If one would like beans in their chili, you can go vegetarian.

The other well-known of chilis are:

a) “Cincinnati Chili”: made with a variety of Greek and Middle Eastern spices.  It was invented by a Greek Immigrant, Tom (Athanas) Kiradjieff, in 1922.  He originally used the chili at his hot dog stand.  When that didn’t work, he started to use it as a type of spaghetti sauce.  It is now one of Ohio’s most beloved foods.

b) “Springfield Style Chilli”: This Southern Illinois style ground-meat, with beans,  is very different from Texas chili.  The spelling supposedly comes from a disagreement between the owner of the Dew Chilli Parlor, Dew Brockman, and his sign painter.  Another legend has the spelling mimics the first four letters of “Illinois”.

c) “Chasen’s Chili” The owner of Chasens, Dave Chasen, made probably the most famous chili in California.  He kept the recipe a secret, trusting it to no one.  He always made it a week in advance and froze it, feeling that would make a better chili when it was reheated. The original Chasen’s opened in 1936 and closed in 1995.  The second version of Chasen’s closed permanently in 2000.

Like many other dishes that become loved over time, it was a dish made out of desperation and necessity.   There are many legends and stories about where chili originated and it is generally thought, by most historians, that the earliest versions of chili were made by the very poorest people.

“When they have to pay for their meat in the market, a very little is made to suffice for a family; this is generally into a kind of hash with nearly as many peppers as there are pieces of meat – this is all stewed together.” – C.J. Clopper, remarking on San Antonio Chili, 1926.

According to an old Southwestern American Indian legend and tale.   It is said that the first recipe for chili con carne was put on paper in the 17th century by a beautiful nun, Sister Mary of Agreda of Spain. She was mysteriously known to the Indians of the Southwest United States as “La Dama de Azul,” the lady in blue.  It is said that sister Mary wrote down the recipe for chili which called for venison or antelope meat, onions, tomatoes, and chile peppers.

On March 9, 1731, a group of sixteen families (56 persons) arrived from the Canary Islands at Bexar, the villa of San Fernando de Béxar (now know as the city of San Antonio). They had emigrated to Texas from the Spanish Canary Islands by order of King Philip V. of Spain. The King of Spain felt that colonization would help cement Spanish claims to the region and block France’s westward expansion from Louisiana.  These families founded San Antonio’s first civil government which became the first municipality in the Spanish province of Texas. According to historians, the women made a spicy “Spanish” stew that is similar to chili.

By the 19th Century, some Spanish priests were said to be wary of the passion inspired by chile peppers, assuming they were aphrodisiacs.  A few preached sermons against indulgence in a food which they said was almost as “hot as hell’s brimstone” and “Soup of the Devil.”  The priest’s warning probably contributed to the dish’s popularity.

In 1850, records were found by Everrette DeGolyer (1886-1956), a Dallas millionaire and a lover of chili, indicating that the first chili mix was concocted around 1850 by Texan adventurers and cowboys as a staple for hard times when traveling to and in the California gold fields and around Texas. Needing hot food, the trail cooks came up with a sort of stew. They pounded dried beef, fat, pepper, salt, and the chile peppers together into stackable rectangles which could be easily rehydrated with boiling water. This amounted to “brick chili” or “chili bricks” that could be boiled in pots along the trail. DeGolyer said that chili should be called “chili a la Americano” because the term chili is generic in Mexico and simply means a hot pepper. He believed that chili con carne began as the “pemmican of the Southwest.”

It is said that some trail cooks planted pepper seeds, oregano, and onions in mesquite patches (to protect them from foraging cattle) to use on future trail drives. It is thought that the chile peppers used in the earliest dishes were probably chilipiquín0, which grow wild on bushes in Texas, particularly the southern part of the state.

There was another group of Texans known as “Lavanderas,” or “Washerwoman,” that followed around the 19th-century armies of Texas making a stew of goat meat or venison, wild marjoram and chile peppers.

By 1860, residents of the Texas prisons in the mid to late 1800s also lay claim to the creation of chili. They say that the Texas version of bread and water (or gruel) was a stew of the cheapest available ingredients (tough beef that was hacked fine and chiles and spices that was boiled in water to an edible consistency). The “prisoner’s plight” became a status symbol of the Texas prisons and the inmates used to rate jails on the quality of their chili. The Texas prison system made such good chili that freed inmates often wrote for the recipe, saying what they missed most after leaving was a really good bowl of chili.

In 1893,  Texas chili went national when Texas set up a San Antonio Chili Stand at the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago.

In 1895,  Lyman T. Davis of Corsicana, Texas made chili that he sold from the back of a wagon for five cents a bowl with all the crackers you wanted. He later opened a meat market where he sold his chili in brick form, using the brand name of Lyman’s Famous Home Made Chili. In 1921, he started to can chili in the back of his market and named it after his pet wolf, Kaiser Bill and called it Wolf Brand Chili (a picture of the wolf is still used on the label today).

By the 1880’s, San Antonio was a wide-open cattle, army, and railroad town.  At the center of all the activity were the “Chili Queens” selling their wares on the Plaza, feeding the cowboys, soldiers, and railway workers.  Even the tourists enjoyed the novelty of the Chili Queens.  It was a delicious, slightly exotic, homemade, cheap meal served from colorful carts for a dime.  By 1937, however, the era of the Chili Queens was over when the San Antonio Department of Health decreed that outside food stands had to be held to the same sanitation standards as restaurants.  The Chili Queens disappeared overnight.

(All historical references come from http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/Chili/ChiliHistory.htm. Text by Linda Stradley.)

There are many chili cook-offs all over the country (http://www.chilicookoff.com/).  The oldest and biggest of these is held in Terlingua, Texas every first weekend of November.  This year will be 46th annual.  It’s a wonderful mix of carnival, party, and really good food.

They type of chili made in cook-offs are quite different from chilis made at home.  In competition, a chili has to make a quick and lasting impression on judges who might be tasting dozens of chilis in a sitting.  They tend to be more highly spiced, hotter, and saltier.  Chili made at home tends to be quite a bit milder.  Depending on the recipe and cook.

The main component in chili, besides meat, is chili powder.  Legend is that two different men, DeWitt Clinton Pendry in Fort Worth and William Gebhardt in San Antonio, invented spice blends to sell to restaurants, and later to consumers.  This was a way to make chiles available year-round by drying and grinding them as opposed to them being available only seasonally.  There are dozens of different types of blended chili powders on the market.  You can also find single-ingredient chile powders, like Ancho or Chipotle.

Also, chili as we know it is not known in Mexico.  The recipe may have originated with the Spanish and been brought to Texas by the Mexican people already living here, but it is a purely American dish.  In effect, one of the original Tex-Mex recipes. In Mexico, chili is defined as “detestable food passing itself off as Mexican, sold in the US from Texas to New York”.

Now, to the recipe.

This is my own.  It came over many attempts of trial and error. It is a traditional Texas-style chili.  No beans.

Sahar’s Bowl of Red

3 lbs. beef chuck roast , cut into 1″ pieces -or- 3 lbs. beef chili grind

2 tbsp. vegetable oil

2 med. onions, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

4 tbsp. tomato paste

2 tbsp. chili powder (My preference is for San Antonio blend. But, use any style you like)

1 tbsp. ancho chile powder

1 tsp. cayenne pepper

2 tsp. Mexican oregano

2 tsp. ground cumin

1 tbsp. salt (use kosher or sea salt)

2 tsp. ground black pepper

2 tbsp. paprika

2 tbsp. light brown sugar

Beef Broth, as needed

1 15-oz. can tomatoes (I like Muir Glen Fire-Roasted Tomatoes)

2 tbsp. masa mixed with 2 tbsp. broth or water to make a slurry

The ingredients

The spices: Left, clockwise - chile powder, paprika, oregano, cayenne, ancho powder, cumin; Right, clockwise - brown sugar, pepper, salt

My personal preference, beef chuck cut into 1" pieces.

1.  Heat the oil in a stockpot over medium-high heat.  Add the meat and cook, stirring frequently, until it is no longer pink.

Browning the meat

Add the onion & garlic and continue cooking until the onions are soft.

Cooking the meat with the onions and garlic

2.  Add the tomato paste and cook until it is well blended with the meat, onions and garlic.

3.  Add the spices and mix in with the meat, onions, and garlic.  Cook until the spices begin to have a scent, about 1 – 2 minutes.

Meat after the spices and tomato paste are added

4.  Mix in the can of tomatoes, with their juice, and just enough beef broth to cover the meat.  Cover and bring to a boil.

After the tomatoes and broth are added

5.  Once the chili comes to a boil, uncover the pot, turn the heat down to low and simmer, stirring occasionally.  Cook until the meat is tender, about 1 to 1-1/2 hours.

After 30 minutes

After 1 hour

6.  At the end if the cooking time, add the masa slurry to the chili and blend in thoroughly.  Cook for about 5 more minutes to let the chili thicken slightly.  Taste for seasoning.

After about 1-1/2 hours and mixing in the masa.

7.  Serve with cornbread or corn tortillas.  If you want to sprinkle a few onions on top, go ahead.  But, no cheese.  Also, to make this as authentic as possible, DO NOT serve this with beans or rice.  If you do, don’t tell me about it.

The finished recipe. Yummy.

Chili, like most other soups and stews, is always better the next day.  This freezes well, too.

Enjoy!

One of the great things about living in Texas are the traditions of Mexico.  Of course, Texas was part of Mexico prior to the Texas Revolution of 1836.  But, even after the Texicans took over, most of the Mexican traditions that were here before stayed, thrived, and were & are loved.

Especially the food.

Here is one of my favorite recipes: Cajeta.  Goat’s milk caramel.  The word came from the Spanish phrase “al punto de cajeta”, which means a liquid thickened to the point at which a spoon drawn through the liquid reveals the bottom of the pot in which it is being cooked.

No doubt you’ve seen cajeta on shelves in the grocery, especially those that cater to the Hispanic market.  My favorite off-the-shelf brand is Coronado.  Cajeta can be used as an ice cream topping, in sweet recipes, over apples, on and in cakes, on churros (sweet fried dough), and even eaten straight out of the jar.

Admit it. We’ve all done it.

Now, to the nuts and bolts of the recipe.  The most important thing is patience.  This is not a quick recipe.  It takes about 2 – 3 hours to cook.  If you do a larger quantity (this recipe is easily doubled), it could take 4 – 5 hours.

The second most important thing is a heavy-bottomed saucepan.  This will help keep the milk from scorching as you slowly cook it down.  If you use a thin-bottomed saucepan, the likelihood of scorching increases expedentially and all your work will be wasted.

**********************

1 qt. goat’s milk (Do not use low fat)

1 c. brown sugar, packed (If you want a lighter colored cajeta, use white sugar)

2 tsp. vanilla extract (Do not use imitation vanilla. Yuk.)

1/2 tsp. salt (Use kosher or fine sea salt, not table salt)

1 tsp. baking soda dissolved in 1 tbsp. water

Cajeta Ingredients

Have a large bowl or a large baking dish nearby.   In a 3-quart saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the milk, sugar, salt, and vanilla.  Stir frequently until the mixture comes to a boil.  Remove the saucepan from the heat and place it in the bowl or baking dish.  Stir in the baking soda.  The mixture will foam up – a lot.  Hence the bowl or baking dish to contain the spill-over.

After adding the baking soda

What the baking soda basically does is change the chemical composition of the mixture to make it “softer”; i.e. to help keep it from sugaring up.

Keep stirring until the foaming subsides a bit.  If there is spill-over that has coated the outside and bottom of the saucepan, be sure to wipe it off before putting it back on the burner.  If you can, pour any milk that ran out of the saucepan back in.

After about 30 minutes over low heat

Continue cooking over low heat, stirring frequently.  You don’t want to walk away for too long or you run the risk of scorching the milk.

After about 1 hour

The whole process will take about 2 – 3 hours.  It seems like a very long time, but the end result, when everything is done properly, it’s worth your time.

After about 1 1/2 hours. Note how the milk is beginning to thicken.

The thickened cajeta after roughly 2 - 2 1/2 hours

When you have reached the point where the cajeta has thickened significantly, be sure to stir constantly to keep the mixture from burning.  Continue cooking until the cajeta has reached 220F on a candy thermometer or until it thickly coats the back of a spoon.

The finished cajeta

When the cajeta is done, pour the mixture into a bowl or measuring cup.  If there is a any cajeta that looks like it might be too dark (like it’s about to burn), don’t scrape it off into the cup.

You’ll end up with roughly 1 1/4 – 1 1/2 cups of cajeta.

Final yield

This will keep in the refrigerator, covered or in an airtight container, for about 2 – 3 weeks.  If it lasts that long.  Try not to eat it all sitting in front of the TV.

Enjoy!

Chicken.  For the last 60 years, it has been the most popular meat in America.  And no wonder.  It’s inexpensive, easy to prepare, and, most important of all, delicious.

Chicken hasn’t always been a food for the masses.  Up until World War II, chicken was primarily grown on small farms and were used, not for food, but for eggs.  Chicken was generally only cooked when the hens could no longer lay eggs or the roosters became too old.  Chicken has been called the “Gospel Bird” because Sunday was the most frequent day it was eaten.  The pastor or priest would come over to the house for Sunday dinner and would be offered the best piece.  After mass food production was developed during World War II, chicken became readily available to most Americans; inexpensive, and the most popular protein in America today.

Now from the history lesson to the cooking lesson…

I’ve said in many of my cooking classes that chicken is one of the great blank canvases of the culinary world.  And boneless, skinless chicken breast is the blankest of all canvases.  They have little flavor on their own, can be easily overcooked and dry, and, most important for many people, have little to no fat.  They are easily the most popular part of the chicken.

You can remedy most of the shortcomings of boneless, skinless chicken breast with a few simple steps.  Marinating them for several hours, or up to overnight, will help with flavor.  Using a little olive oil will add fat without ruining whatever diet you may be on.  But, if you overcook the chicken, all of the flavor you add won’t make a bit of difference.

So, here are some rather large boneless, skinless breasts.  They will vary in size depending on the brand (Tyson, etc.), whether the chicken was raised conventionally, or is organic or free range:

Trimmed boneless, skinless chicken breasts

You want to trim the breasts of any bone fragments (usually rib) , cartilage (from the keel bone) , and excess fat (usually found on the underside of the breast closest to the thigh and outer edge).

Now, a great way to add some flavor and moisture to the chicken is marinating.  In this illustration, I marinated the chicken in a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, garlic, and red pepper flakes.  But, you can use any flavor combination you like.

Another favorite in our house is a marinade of ground cumin, salt, and olive oil.  It’s Provençal. And it’s delicious.

Marinade & Chicken Breasts

I like to take a zip bag, usually a gallon size, put in the chicken and pour in the marinade.  Massage (for lack of a better word) the bag so the marinade completely coats the chicken.  Squeeze as much air out of the bag as you can, close it, and then place it in the refrigerator. (If you have a vacuum sealer, now is the time to use it.)  I like to marinate the chicken at least 8 hours.  Perfect for doing before you leave the house in the morning.

Be sure to thoroughly clean the counter and utensils when you’re done.  This will prevent cross contamination.

Chicken all ready to marinate

When you are ready to cook the chicken, preheat the oven to 350F.  Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with non-stick spray.  Place the breasts on the sheet, leaving space in between the breasts.  I also pour the extra marinade over the chicken.

Chicken ready to go into the oven

I do an initial baking time of 20 minutes.  After the initial cooking time, I use an instant read thermometer to check if the internal temperature is 140F.  (When you use the thermometer, insert  it into the thickest part of the breast.  Be sure not to touch the baking sheet.)  If it’s not, I’ll put the chicken back in the oven for 5-minute increments.  It’s rare that it takes longer than 30 minutes for chicken breasts to cook.  If you have hot spots in your oven, rotate the baking sheet halfway through the cooking time.

If the chicken breasts are cooked above 140F, they become dry.  And that is what you are trying to avoid.

140F. Correct temperature for juicy chicken breasts.

The minimum safe temperature for hot foods is 140F.  At that point most bacteria is dead.  However, most food safety sites recommend poultry be cooked to 165F to kill all salmonella.  If this is something that concerns you, cook the chicken to 165F.  The cooking time will increase to 30 – 45 minutes.  But, the chicken will be powdery dry.  It’s up to you.

Let the chicken rest for about 10 minutes once you’ve taken it out of the oven.  This will allow the juices to settle back into the meat.

Rested and juicy boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Dinner! Chicken Breast with Wild Rice and Edamame

During the warmer months (which in Texas is 8-9 months of the year), I’ll serve the chicken with just a large salad.  When the temperatures are cooler, I’ll serve it with a starch and a vegetable.

Hope this was helpful.  Enjoy.

Happy New Year to All!  I hope it’s happy and healthy.

Speaking of healthy, I do have at least one resolution I plan on keeping.  Avoiding national chain restaurants.

Taking a peek at the Eater website recently, I found myself reading a list of America’s most popular restaurants. Needless to say, they’re all chains.  Now, I know, to be fair, many Americans don’t necessarily have to opportunity to go to an independent fine-dining restaurant.  Olive Garden, Red Lobster, and Applebees will have to suffice.

I’m admittedly guilty of eating at Denny’s myself. When I was in college and drunk. However, I noticed it’s not on the list. But, here’s a helpful list of their biggest misses.

That being said, I have a few thoughts on chain restaurants.

First, they contribute to the dumbing down of the American palate. Bland flavors, indifferent cooking, mediocre food, and forced sameness have been accepted as the norm in the most popular American restaurants. In the Eater story, the author writes that Olive Garden has to sell their pasta soft because their average customer doesn’t like their pasta al-dente. What? Overcooked pasta is a crime against nature. Along with seafood served with cheese and over-dressed salads. Both of which Olive Garden is guilty.  Most chain restaurants don’t even fully cook the food on site.  It’s made in a factory, vacuum-packed, flash-frozen, and shipped to the restaurants for final assembly, reheating and microwaving.  So, with that, the freshness factor is gone as well.

Second, they contribute to the image that Americans are gluttons.  I’m sure we’ve all seen the commercials.  Never ending pasta, bottomless soup bowls, plates loaded with enough food to feed a family of four.

Does the average person really need to eat that much?  I’ve eaten in restaurants overseas.  I can tell you they don’t serve enough to keep you fed for a week.  The portion sizes are reasonable.  You walk away feeling satisfied, not stuffed like a Thanksgiving turkey.  Flat out, Americans eat way too much. Not just food, but the fat and sugar in the food.  As a country, and the West in general, we consume an average of 4000 calories per capita as compared to developing countries where about 2000 or fewer are consumed per capita (per USDA).

An excellent graph and photographic comparison from 2010, but it’s still very relevant.

Third, waste.  Too much waste is generated by these restaurants.  Over-ordering by management, waste generated at the source, customers sending back overloaded plates, and leftover food thrown away all contribute to the millions of pounds of food and millions of dollars wasted.

Are just chain restaurants guilty of these sins?  No.  I’ve eaten at Mom & Pop operations that serve steaks as big as manhole covers and vegetables so loaded with butter that I literally felt my cholesterol level going up while eating.

Restaurants, especially the national chains, are not going to change their portion sizes.  It’s seen as value for the money.  A great marketing tool.  That being said, there are a few things we as consumers can do to help with our overeating and the waste. If you know the restaurant you’re going to has huge portions, split them.  Skip the appetizer (most of those are the size of the main meal anyway).  Skip or split dessert.  Choose the healthier menu options. Go to restaurants that you know have reasonable portion sizes and enough choices to give you options.  Not everything has to have cheese or cream sauce.

Or, just cook at home.  You can control what goes into your food, the portion sizes, and, if you cook enough, you’ve got lunch for the next day.

A Merry Xmas to everyone.  Instead of the traditional dinner of turkey or goose this year, my husband Steve & I decided to go Tex-Mex. We figured, why not?  It’s one of the great Texas treats.  A decidedly guilty pleasure.

The ingredients:

Christmas dinner ingredients. The ultimate #2 Plate.

The end result.  Decadently yummy.

Finished Xmas Dinner.

And Sopapillas.

Sopapillas & Honey.

Needless to say, we’re very full.  And, I don’t have to cook for at least the next two days.  Happy Xmas indeed.

I’m from the South.  Or more accurately, Texas.  One of the things we love to eat here are biscuits.  Big. flaky, slightly crispy on the outside, soft on the inside biscuits. We eat them for breakfast with cream gravy & sausage, with stew, soup, and, with a little extra jam or honey, for dessert.  They’re a magical thing.

As  a bit of background, the word “biscuit” comes from the French words, “bis cuit”, meaning “twice baked”.  These are not, however.  That is, if they’re done properly. Biscuits fall under the heading of “quick breads”.  Meaning, breads that use baking powder and/or baking soda as a leavening as opposed to yeast.

Lovely fluffy, flaky, slightly crispy on the outside, biscuits

The most common problem when folks make biscuits is that they come out rather tough.  There are several reasons for this:

• Too much flour was used.  This happens when the flour is packed into the cup measure instead scooped (see below).  As a result, more milk must be used to get the correct consistency.  By then, the dough is too heavy to rise properly and has been overworked.
• The dough is overworked.  This makes a tough biscuit.  You’re not making a loaf of bread.  A light touch is necessary. (Also, see above.)
• Old baking powder was used.  Check the date on the can.  If it’s expired, throw it it out and buy fresh.
• The shortening or lard has been over mixed into the dry ingredients.  You want to have bits of shortening or lard visible.  As they melt in the heat of the oven, the bits melt and help to make the biscuits flaky.

Now, I’ve been using a recipe that I found, in all places, Texas Monthly Magazine.  From October 1984.  It’s a wonderful recipe.  It captures all that is good in a biscuit recipe: simplicity,  love, and deliciousness.

Here’s the basic recipe:

2 c. all-purpose flour (You can use whole-wheat if you like; but why would you want to?)

1 tbsp. baking powder (Be sure not to use baking soda. Otherwise, your biscuits will taste like soap.)

1 tsp. salt (I generally use kosher.)

1 tsp. sugar (I just use white.)

1/3 c. shortening, cut into small pieces (You can also use lard.  I will confess to using butter-flavored shortening occasionally.)

1/2 c. milk, more if needed (Whole milk, please. I’ve also used buttermilk.)

1/4 c. unsalted butter, melted (Yes, this is necessary.)

The recipe instructions from Texas Monthly begin with:

“Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.  Then walk out into the backyard and take slow, deep breaths for 15 minutes, cleansing your mind of all distracting thoughts.  Remember that you are merely the instrument through which the biscuits will find expression.”

Excellent advice.

Before I get to the nuts and bolts of the recipe, a tip: be sure to have your ingredients, especially the flour, shortening or lard, and milk, cold. If you can, chill the bowl, too.  This will help keep the shortening or lard from getting too soft as you mix.

Also, I don’t find it necessary to sift the flour.  I do what is called a scoop & sweep method: Take a large spoon, aerate the flour in the container, scoop the flour into your DRY cup measure (the one that looks like a scoop) and sweep off any extra.  Do not shake or  tap the cup to pack the flour; otherwise, you’ll end up with too much flour and a heavier biscuit.  You really don’t want that.

1.  Line a heavy baking sheet with foil.  Brush the bottom of the sheet with some of the melted butter.  Set aside.

2.   In a medium bowl, mix together the dry ingredients.  (I like to use my hands for this step.  But, you can use a fork.) Add in the shortening or lard.

Ready to incorporate the shortening

3.  With either your hands, a pastry cutter, or a fork, mix the shortening into the dry ingredients.   Do not make it a homogenous mixture.  You want to have pieces of shortening in the dough.  (The pieces of shortening will melt in the oven and create the layers.)  The mixture should look shaggy.

Pastry Cutter

mixing with the pastry cutter

Mixing with a fork

Mixing with hands

4.  Add in the milk (measured in a wet measure; the one that looks like a glass with a handle).  Again, with either your hands or a fork, toss the flour and milk together until just mixed.  The dry ingredients should be moistened, but not soggy.  Add in milk, if necessary, 1 tablespoon at a time, if there are still dry ingredients in the bowl.  Try not to over mix.  Again, the dough should look slightly shaggy.  Press the dough together in a slightly flattened ball shape.

lovely, slightly shaggy, biscuit dough

5.  At this point, let the dough rest in the fridge for about 15 minutes.  Have a lightly floured surface ready.  Take the dough and either press or roll it out to a ½” – ¾” thickness.

3/4" thickness.

6.  With a biscuit cutter, cookie cutter, or anything that comes to mind, cut out your biscuits.  Carefully press the remaining dough together and cut more biscuits.  You’ll inevitably end up with an oddball biscuit.  Embrace that.  You should have 6-8 biscuits depending on the size and thickness.

7.  Place the biscuits on the baking sheet at least 1” apart and brush the tops with butter.  You don’t want the sides touching; that’s just not right.  The slightly crispy outside is necessary.

Lovely old biscuit cutters from my great-grandmother.

Biscuits before baking. Already buttered up.

8.  Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes.  If you oven is anything like mine, you’ll have a hot spot.  Go ahead and halfway through the baking, turn the baking sheet.  You want the biscuits to be a light golden brown.

9.  Enjoy!

Lovely finished biscuits

Flaky, soft, slightly crispy biscuits. You want a slightly creamy colored inside.

A final word about ovens.  They all cook differently, so when you see an oven temperature in a recipe, it is based on the oven where the recipe was tested & developed.  You know whether your oven cooks hot, cool, or is perfectly calibrated.  So, adjust the temperature if needed to achieve biscuit success.

I caught this little gem of an article on the Huffington Post food page this morning. The Worst Fast Food of 2011.

Now, to me, this kind of food just reinforces the notion not only here but around the world that Americans are fat, lazy, don’t care about food, and are frankly, gluttons.  I mean, who really needs to eat a pocket of dough filled with enough cheese to feed a family of 4?

Looking at the actors in those commercials, I can guarantee they don’t eat at those places on a regular basis.  They probably even go to the gym on occasion.

Does the rest of the world have this kind of diet?  Frankly, no.  But, with the proliferation of American fast food around the world (in fact, my husband & I saw a McDonalds in the middle of Amman, Jordan this last summer), people are certainly getting hip to our ways.  Too bad for them.  Believe me, the local indigenous foods are so much better.

I my travels, I have seen tourists go into American fast-food restaurants.  It’s all I could do not to yank them out by their fanny-packs.

I’ll admit to eating the occasional take-out pizza or cheeseburger.  I do feel better about doing that (and not a little smug) because I don’t eat from one of the national chains, but from local restaurants.  But, does that make my diet any better?  Probably not.

But, the cynic in me wonders if all this calorie, sugar, fat, and chemically laden fast food is targeted at the people who need it the least: lower-income families.  Look at the deals these “restaurants” shout at you through the TV; $3.99 combo meals, $9.99 buckets of fried chicken, 64-oz sugar-filled drinks. The list is endless.

For a rather sobering look at the hunger and obesity situation in the US, go to the website of the Food Research & Action Center, frac.org. In many cases, obesity is not because people have too much to eat, it’s because they have too little.

So, when someone who’s living paycheck-to-paycheck, on government assistance, or practically no income at all, has to feed their family, what are they going to do?  They’re going to gravitate towards the cheapest, most filling, calorie-laden way to feed their family.  Because, honestly, they don’t know when their next meal is coming in some cases.  This could also be said for their grocery store choices as well (i.e. Hamburger Helper, frozen pizza, boxed macaroni).

I realize here I’m painting with a broad brush.  Not all low-income families live and eat this way and certainly not all of them are overweight or obese.  Some busy families eat fast food simply because they just don’t have the time to cook

I suppose for some wonk it begs the question, is there any good fast food?  Why, yes.  Yes there is.  Go to your local food truck and try out the fast food there.  Barring that, buy stuff to make sandwiches and take those to work instead.  Or some of last night’s leftovers.  That’s what I do with my husband.

Want to help?

1. The Sustainable Foods Center  (http://www.sustainablefoodcenter.org/) has a program called the “Happy Kitchen” that teaches lower-income families how to cook in inexpensive, healthy ways.
2. The Capital Area Food Bank (http://www.austinfoodbank.org/) is another wonderful organization that helps to combat hunger in the Austin area.
3. The Green Corn Project (http://www.greencornproject.org) helps families learn how to grow their own organic gardens

Almost forget to tell you.  To leave a comment, please click on the word bubble next to the blog header.

Welcome to my website and blog.  I hope we’ll all be happy together.

If you’ve read my bio, then you know I’m a (mostly) self-taught cook.  I never went to culinary school, but I have plenty of practice and real-world experience in the kitchen.  I have had the opportunity to work with great local as well as world-renowned chefs and cookbook authors.  I’ve learned lessons from each and every one of them.  Both good and bad.

I’ll really only post when I have something to say.  I’ll share my musings on food, the politics of food, food people, restaurants, cookbooks, recipe development, etc.

I won’t get into debates about who has the best cheeseburger, pork belly, wine list, etc..  Food is a very subjective thing.  Everyone has their opinion.  What I think is good may be sawdust for someone else.  Opposing opinions are fine; just don’t expect me to get into a fight about it.

Please give me feedback.  That’s how I learn.  If you feel the need to criticize, fine.  But, please do it constructively.  Any comments I deem to be rude or offensive will be removed and the poster runs the risk of being blocked.

I also like photography. So, expect lots of pictures.

Again, welcome.  I hope we can all have some fun together.

Sahar

Fresh Sea Scallops. Borough Market, South Bank, London. June 2011.