By The Numbers

     For Christmas I received a thoughtful gift, a book entitled 100 Foods to Stay Young.  It was an enjoyable read that highlighted 6 food categories, giving a thumbnail sketch of the foods that support the body's health, taking a holistic approach identifying the different aspects of health that are needed to safeguard vitality and youthfulness.

     In the introduction author Charlotte Watts states, "Good nutrition is the foundation of a youthful, vital body that is able to work to its full capacity.  The right foods are the key to staying young, inside and out.  The results show in how you look, in how you feel, and in the quality of life."

    Some of the items seems pretty obvious, like prunes, spinach, turkey, chicken, mackerel, Brussels sprouts and spices like ginger and cinnamon.  But there were also some surprises.  In the magic 100 list were things like pheasant, horseradish, flax, spelt, buckwheat, kiwi and dark chocolate.

     As we make our way through 2015 I will be highlighting some of them.  Let's see how many we can include in our diet to stay young!!!

Off Color

     There are some things that you just take for granted.  Like the color of familiar fruits and veggies for instance.  Corn is yellow, tomatoes are red and cauliflower is white, right?  But in today's kitchen it is not unusual to find some off colors that you might not expect.

     Stroll down the produce aisle of any market and you are liable to find purple potatoes, white asparagus and purple cauliflower.  But is is not unheard of to also come across some really different colors.  There is a variety of Brussels sprout aptly named Red Delicious and the Nero Tondo radish that has stunning black roots with a crispy milky white interior.  Also available is a red spring onion that is high in dietary fiber and low in calories and loaded with essential vitamins and minerals.  Consider the heirloom Green Zebra tomato that has been described as having a zingy flavor and is dark green with yellow stripes when ripe.

 



     And if you search hard you can also find blue corn, pink bananas and purple carrots!



Grandmom's Recipe

     Our host kindly sent along her recipe for the brisket she prepared at last Friday evening's pot luck supper.  It was the one her grandmother first used in Texas.  Here it is:

Grandmom's Brisket

Ingredients

4-6 lbs beef brisket

2 oz liquid Barbecue  Smoke (optional)

2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1/4 tsp (each) Seasoned salt, garlic powder and salt and pepper

Rub meat with spices and season with Worcestershire sauce (and liquid smoke if you want a smoky flavor).  Double wrap in foil with fat side up and marinate brisket overnight.  Put in oven (with foil) at 200 degrees for 8 hours.  Allow time to cool completely.  Pour off liquid but save for serving.  Slice and place in serving dish.  Cover with reserved liquid and refrigerate.  When ready to reheat, remove any fat that has come to the surface and bake, covered, for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Tough Love

     Last Friday I was at a wonderful pot luck dinner party. The hosts prepared the meat entree and served up a tasty and tender cut of brisket.  It was literally a melt in your mouth flavorful cut of meat that made my Istrian potato casserole pair well.

     But what exactly is brisket?  And what is the secret to preparing it?

     Brisket can be either beef or pork and is typically sold as a boneless cut, removed from under the first 5 ribs of the animal.  It is a tough cut of meat since those muscles are used to support 60% of the animal's body weight.  It is loaded with connective tissue.  

     Specifically, beef brisket is located between the fore shank and the plate of the steer.  A full size brisket can weigh between 8 and 12 pounds so is usually marketed in halves.  The first half or flat cut is known to butchers as "brisket-deckel-off" and is a leaner cut since most of the exterior fat has been removed.  This is the cut used in the preparation of corned beef.  The second half, called the point cut or thick cut, has more internal fat and connective tissue marbled throughout the meat and is not as commonly available.

     Both cuts are best suited for braising and slow cooking to dissolve all the connective tissue.  Low and slow brings out the flavor in this less expensive cut of meat.



Street Scene

     Here are some of my favorite street scenes from last weekend's Chili Quest in Galveston, Texas:

 





Lone Star State Standout

     This recipe is by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, Managing Culinary Director of Serious Eats.  He prefaces it with this note: "This makes for a moderately hot to hot chili. You can vary the heat by adding or removing the hot chilies and the canned chipotles."

About This Recipe

Yield:                           6 to 8
Active Time:              45 minutes
Total Time:                3 hours

Real Texas Chili Con Carne

Ingredients

3 whole sweet fresh dried chilies like Costeno, New Mexico, or Choricero, 

     stems and seeds removed

2 small hot dried chilies like Arbol or Cascabel,

     stems and seeds removed

2 whole Chipotle dried chilies canned in adobo sauce, plus 2 Tbsp sauce,

     stems and seeds removed

3 whole rich fruity dried chilies like Ancho, Mulatto, Negro, or Pasilla,

     stems and seeds removed

2 quarts low sodium canned or homemade chicken broth

4 pounds beef chuck, trimmed of excess gristle and fat,

     cut into 2 inch chunks

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 large onion, finely diced

4 medium cloves garlic, grated on a microplane grater

1/2 tsp powdered cinnamon

1 Tbsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground allspice

2 tsp dried oregano

2 to 3 Tbsp masa

Procedures

1. Combine all chilies in a medium saucepan and add half of the chicken broth.  Simmer over medium-high heat until chilies are completely tender, about 15 minutes.  Transfer to a blender or hand blender and blend until completely smooth.

2. Heat oil in a large heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over high heat until smoking.  Season half of meat with salt and pepper and cook without moving until well-browned on bottom side, about 6 minutes.  Transfer meat to a large bowl and combine with remaining un-cooked half of meat and set aside.  Return Dutch oven to heat.  Add onions and cook, stirring frequently until translucent and softened, about 2 minutes.  Add garlic, cinnamon, cumin, allspice, and oregano, and cook, stirring constantly until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Add all meat back to pan along with chili puree and remaining quart chicken broth.  Stir to combine.

3. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce to simmer, cover, leaving lid just barely ajar and cook, stirring occasionally until meat is completely tender, 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Alternatively, stew can be cooked in a 200F to 250F oven with the lid of the Dutch oven slightly ajar.

4. Season liquid to taste with salt and pepper and whisk in masa in a slow steady stream until desired thickness is reached.  For best results, allow chili to cool overnight and reheat the next day to serve.

5. Serve, garnished with cilantro, chopped onions, scallions, grated cheese, avocado, and warm tortillas as desired.

Old School

     While at the chili quest in Galveston I learned that there are many, many variations on the theme.  Chili can be prepared in a seemingly endless variety of ways.  But one thing I learned is that an authentic Texas chili is made without tomatoes or beans.  Adding those items is paramount to treason and could get you hung.

     J. Kenjy Lopez-Alt, Managing Culinary Director of Serious Eats says, "Original chili was made with dried beef pounded together with suet and dried chilies into a sort of pemmican-like dry mix intended to last a long time and be quick and nutritious for cowboys to rehydrate and stew up out on the range."

     Today the meat of choice is a nice cut of beef chuck.  It makes a impressive stew meat and has great flavor, a good amount of fat and plenty of connective tissue that melts down to provide body for the dish.  Real Texas chili is made from big chunks of chuck and requires plenty of slow stewing.

     And real Texas chili cookers wouldn't dare use any dried chili spices either!  To achieve the complex flavor that is sweet, hot, smoky and rich and fruity all at the same time it is necessary to use a combination of different chile peppers.  Peppers like Anaheim, Cascabels, Chipotle and Ancho are simmered and then blended together to give just the right flavor.  (Unauthorized versions also incorporate some spices like cumin, cinnamon, allspice and dried oregano and may throw in some diced onion and minced garlic.)

     But the best Texas chili requires only 3 simple elements: beef, chilies and time.  The cooking process cannot be hurried.  It is low and slow in a big pot with the lid slightly open either over a campfire or in a 200F oven for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.  And to intensify the flavor of the chili, permit it to cool overnight in the refrigerator, then re-heat the next day and sprinkle with cilantro, sliced scallions and maybe some shredded cheese.

 

    Tomorrow:  The recipe for Real Texas Chili...