My Chili is Serious Business

There is no exact recipe or measurements in what I call Lester's Real Chili. That's just how I roll when I make chili: I have fun with it, layering the flavors throughout the cooking process. Making my own chili powder is the key that opens the door to big flavors. There are no beans or ground meats in this chili. It takes a while to cook, but it's worth it. I hope this gives you a base of ideas for your next chili pot. Call me or email if you have questions. I'm a Personal Chef – I can make this for your next party, or teach you to make your own, with hands on instruction.
Everyone loves my chili!

I start with an assortment of dried chilies that I pan roast. They will smell like chocolate when they are ready.
I break up the roasted dried chilies, including some of the seeds and put them in an electric grinder to create my chili powder. 

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For the meat, I use a chuck roast. I trim it, discarding most of the fat. Notice that the roast I used is well marbled, that's a good thing. I cut the roast into 1/4 inch cubes, leaving much of the marbled fat. I brown the beef in small batches. I like to have my meat as dry as possible when browning. If your pan fills with liquid while browning, drain it off. You do not want to steam your meat in the liquid. Reserve the liquid, you can use this later if you need to add more liquid to the chili.

 

Next, I saute diced onions, bell pepper, garlic and jalapenos until just soft. I add my browned meat, roasted poblanos, chili powder, cinnamon, smoked pasprika, chilpolte, canned San Marzano tomatoes, salt and pepper. I let this simmer, occasionally stirring, until the meat is tender (as much as 4 to 5 hours). At the half way point I taste, re-season and add dark brown sugar.  

 The last hour and a half of cooking, I add canned, drained hominy and several shots of tequila. 
The tequila creates a wonderful aroma with all the chili seasonings, but you can skip the alcohol if you prefer. Near the end, I stir in masa to thicken. The masa also adds a nice earthy flavor. 

We like to top our bowls of chili with cheese, diced avocado, onion and sour cream infused with lime zest.

Don't forget to make the corn bread.

 

Happy New Year

2010 was an inspiring year in food: More and more, I find increasing interest in and awareness of food – everything from food safety and nutrition to interest in different ethnic foods, local foods and farmers markets. This is matched by a new interest among those who want to learn how to cook and want to learn more about sustainable foods and local products.  These are inspiring developments and I believe they are more than just trends.  

I’ve been working on many new menu items for the upcoming year, keeping in mind good taste, good health, eating at least 5 fruits and vegetables a day and everything in moderation.

Now that winter has officially set in, I miss my local weekend farmers market, but some markets are starting to continue into the winter months and even year round. I plan to visit a few.

Coming up in warmer weather, I have the following two projects in the works. Call or email for details, I will be ready to add bookings very soon for:

I plan to continue leading folks on The Roslindale Farmers Market and Gourmet Ethnic Shopping tours.

Lester Teaches BBQ- A day-long group class on BBQ ribs and Southern sides.   I have a wealth of information to share, as anyone who’s had my BBQ will tell you.

Of course throughout the winter I’m still offering a wide variety of services, including weekly fresh service, parties of all types and cooking classes and parties.

Here’s a new dish that I created after being inspired from my annual December trip to Florida:  Guava and rum BBQ glazed ribs.  They are great, served with my traditional Cuban black beans and rice and fried plantains.



Having an excellent time

I've been cooking up a storm for a wide variety of parties and events.  One highlight  was teaching appetizers at a wine tasting party for a food group, The Kitchen Club in Attleboro. The wines we tasted were supplied by The Swirling Vine in Norton. Valerie did an excellent job describing the wines and matching them to the dishes I prepared and the artisan cheeses I supplied. I hope to see and work with The Kitchen Club and The Swirling Vine again. What a fantastic party.

Some other great items I've been cooking up for parties, Grilled sirloin steaks topped with gorgonzola butter, cedar plank roasted maple glazed salmon, panko and almond encrusted pork tenderloin medallions with a Dijon mustard sauce, pink peppercorn tuna tartars, truffle oil roasted broccoli, kale with cranberries, everyone is still loving my homemade hummus and the port wine poached fig goat cheese tarts.

I've been making time for some of my own food hobbies, preserving, canning and pickling, curing salmon for homemade Lox and smoking salmon. I'm now on a sausage making craze, inspired by the book Charcuterie by Ruhlman and Polcyn. I can't forget the Thanksgiving feast I prepared for 14 great friends and family, the 20lb organic turkey came out perfect and my oyster stuffing has become a tradition. 

Tofu

This past Sunday I had a great time in Attleboro teaching a group all about tofu, including several recipes, a couple that where my own, including my own Buffalo Tofu. Everyone likes my Buffalo tofu, even die hard meat eaters. It made me happy when those in attendance said they can't wait to hit the store to buy some tofu to cook for their own family. Everyone liked the dishes and most have never attempted to cook tofu on their own.

The non dairy tofu creme brulee was a big hit. It's always good to have something like that in your cooking arsenal. My goal in all classes I teach and demo is not just to teach a recipe, you can get that from television and cook books, but to teach and give you confidence using technics that can be used in many other dishes.

Suggestions for your Autumn Dinner Party

 Appetizer 

 Goat Cheese Tarts topped with port wine poached figs with a garnish of toasted walnuts, drizzled with a port reduction sauce. 

Soup

 Lester’s Curried Butternut Squash Soup

 Entrees 

Individual Beef Tenderloin Wellingtons with a Red Wine Shallot Sauce

Roasted Maple Glazed Whole Chicken Legs

Caramelized Roasted Wild Coho Salmon Filets

 Sides

Roasted Potatoes with Butter and Sage, Garnished with Sage Tattooed Yukon Gold Fingerlings  

Seared Brussels Sprouts in Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Fresh Garlic  

Oven Roasted Red and Yellow Beets

Kale with Cranberries