Provender 101

I ambled over to the Pike Place Market late Friday afternoon to procure some dry Ancho and New Mexico peppers as Eric had a buzz on for some Big Red Chili. While I was at it, I acquired some thin-sliced tangy Soppressata for the home-made pizzas he was putting together for that evening's dinner.

The 'zas, involving various combinations of chicken, pesto, and salami in addition to the spicy Soppressata were every bit as delectable as you might imagine.

Saturday was chili day. Working more or less from recipe by M. Spieler (cookbook "Hot and Spicy"), dried chilis were soaked in hot beef stock and pureed, cubed beef browned, onions, garlic, and spices added to beef. Eventually, puree, tomatoes, and beer added and the conglomeration lovingly attended to for several hours.

Yowza.

We accompanied it with bok choi as I believe previously boosted here: steamed over ginger and citrus, dressed with garlic slices and crushed red pepper that had been toasted in olive oil, and then basted with soy.

I savored deep-fried garlic tang for hours.

We were a little more '50-ish here for Sunday (1950-ish, that is!). We baked a little ham, and in the meantime assembled scalloped potatoes with both Julia and Emeril looking over our shoulders. Sliced potatoes were pre-cooked in half-and-half (salt&p) on stovetop, while onions were sauteed and Comte (on hand, a major upgrade from "swiss cheese" or "monterey jack," as in some plebian recipes) grated. Layered in casserole, these ingredients baked to swoonable state at 350 in 30 minutes.

Add some steamed spinach and you could almost call it a meal.

It's a lot more fun to cook when there are several in the kitchen and others opinionated and curious about food.