Visulaization

So, as promised, here are photos.

I couldn't remember when I was typing, but I double-checked, and it is a Woflgang Puck dutch oven.  Not that is necessarily indicative of quality, just what it is.

Here's the Cincinnati chili.  I did it a little different not adding onions, but using onion powder instead.  I also didn't add the vinegar that it calls for.  Everything else was as written.

The first time he made it, Dad put the chili in ceramic boats, and we cut the pasta and ate it almost like a loaf.  Mine wasn't that thick (I had to set the lid a bit off to get it to cook down.  Dutch ovens are great for keeping in the moisture.), but it turned out thick enough.

It's also traditional to top it with sharp or extra sharp cheddar, but we were out having used up the cheddar for the last time I made chili.  Instead I used Colby jack.  It added a nice smoothness to the recipe.

And I Was Doing So Well

So, I'm back after a gap.  I had wanted to get back to daily, but oh well.

And so I'm cooking dinner tonight.  I'm trying to do more.  Jennifer is eating meat less, and I'm okay with less, but I still like some.  And then as most who know me know that I'm a bit of a picky eater.  So it's nicer that I cook and do what I like.

I'm not going to go so far as make a separate pot of chili with beans (not technically chili if it has beans right?).  But I will add things.

But what I'm really enjoying is my cherry red dutch oven.  We got it at Marshall's one day and actually walked it home.  For those that don't know, a dutch oven is a cast iron cooking pot with a lid that are enameled.  The inside of mine is white, and the outside is a gorgeous red.  The really cool thing about the dutch oven is that there are these bumps on the lid that acts a condensation points for the moisture inside and so it can self-baste.

But I've been playing around with sauces and such.  I've made the basic chili that I like, and a pasta bolognese sauce.  I recently did a chili mac with rotini that turned out amazing.  And today I am making the deconstructed recipe for Cincinnati chili.

I can remember the Christmas that Mom bought the cookbook for Dad.  She had marked the recipe with a bookmark so that he would see it.  And when he unwrapped the book he was so excited he almost pulled the bookmark out before Mom could stop him.

It's not that hard of a recipe.  It's just getting the ingredients together.  And I don't use the onions or beans it calls for, so yay!

Can I say that the most dangerous thing about the dutch oven is that the handles are of a piece with the pot?  Get you some silicone gloves, or holy cow, that gets hot.

I'll be sure to add pictures later.