Monday, January 26, 2009

Dinner is Chili Colorado


Actually, a very simple meal thanks to the genius of Bruce Aidells & Denis Kelly. The Complete Meat Cookbook gets a lot of use around here, whether it's Chili Colorado, the Lazy Way (see above) or Lisa's Lazy Potroast (hmm, something of a theme), or how to cook a tri-tip or make lamb with preserved lemons or a Cuban pork roast -- whenever the question arises "What am I going to do with this?", the meat book comes down off the shelf.

As in, what do I do with this 4# chuck roast that will utilize what's already in the kitchen (reminder to self: the chile powder is all gone, must visit Penzey's) and will require a minimum of effort (that's the "lazy" bit). This recipe fit the bill. Soak some ancho chiles and then throw them into the food processor with a bunch of onions, garlic, seasonings and beer. Dice the beef and then throw it all into a Dutch oven and bung it at 350°F for a couple of hours. Eat up some canned pinto beans and warm up some tortillas. Open a jar of salsa. Dinner (and probably more dinners until I'm sick of the sight of it, but still . . . ). Now if only I could remember which is chile and which is chili, and why!