Beer Bacon Chocolate Chili - YUM!

Have you noticed how everyone's been posting fall comfort foods this week?  I think it's because in many parts of the country the weather has suddenly changed practically overnight, from summer to fall.  Here in the midwest it's been between the high 40s - mid 70s all week.  The wind's been blowing and the leaves are starting to turn yellow.

I love fall, so today when it was chilly and raining out, I decided to make a pot of chili.  Not just any chili but Beer Bacon Chocolate Chili. 

Over the summer I happened to connect with Renee on Linkedin, and read how she had been on The Today Show for this recipe she created.  I viewed the recipe and knew I had to try it just as soon as the hot temperatures broke.  Today was that day.

I followed Renee's recipe but made a few slight changes based upon ingredients that I had on hand. 

Oh my goodness, this chili is out of this world DELICIOUS!!! 

I typically make a sweet chili since I tend to love sweets.  However, this is a robust chili, I guess you'd say.  It's thick, meaty, and packed with flavor.  You can spice it up however you like and of course, as with any recipe, make the changes to suit your tastes.

Here's Renee's version, and in red, is how I changed it.  I've also added my photos that follow the directions.  Try the recipe below, you'll love it!

Beer Bacon Chocolate Chili

serves 4-6

recipe adapted from Renee of Eat, Live, Blog

Ingredients:

• 1/4 lb Bacon (chopped )

• 1.5 lb Sirloin tips (chopped into bite sized pieces) I used 1 3/4 lbs. sirloin steak, cut bite size
• 1 – poblano pepper (seeded and chopped) used 2 poblano's

• 1 – fresh Fresno pepper (seeded and chopped) Feel free to sub your favorite pepper didn't use
• 1 – large onion (chopped)
• 28 ounce Crushed tomatoes
• 28 ounce Diced Tomatoes
• 2- 14.5 oz of your choice beans such as cannelloni, kidney beans, black beans, etc…
• 1/4 cup chili powder (I recommend Penzey’s or Whole Foods)
• 1/4 cup brown sugar used dark brown

• 1- 12 ounce bottle dark beer (I use any of Dogfish Head varieties, but prefer the Indian Brown Ale or Chicory Stout) used Guinness Stout
• 1 ounce of unsweetened bakers chocolate chopped finely, I used, Vosges "Red Fire Bar
• Salt to taste

Directions:

• Brown the diced bacon in a large pot

• Once bacon is crispy, remove it from the pot with a slotted spoon and place it on a paper towel covered plate

• Add meat to the bacon drippings and brown well.

• You may need to drain the meat in the middle of browning.
• Once the meat is brown, remove it from the pan and set aside.
• Add the peppers to the pot and cook until they start to brown, approximately 3 minutes.

• Add onions to the peppers and continue to brown until the onions just start to become translucent.

• Add the meat and bacon to the onions and peppers and brown for an additional 5 – 8 minutes.
• Add the diced tomatoes to the mixture and stir well.
• Over medium-high cook until the mixture just starts to boil.
• Add the beans to the pot and cook until it just starts to boil again.

• Add the crushed tomatoes and cook, again, until it just starts to boil.
• Add the beer to the pot, mix well, and bring to a boil, allow to boil for 30 seconds

• Stir in the chili powder and brown sugar.
• When the mixture JUST starts to boil again, stir in shaved chocolate I put 3 broken squares, of the Vosges, into the pot.
• Bring to a slow boil and salt to taste. Make sure not to over-salt, as flavors will develop as the chili simmers.
• The thickness of your chili depends on your ingredients, if your chili is too thin, add a teaspoon of tomato paste, stir, test thickness and repeat if needed. my chili was plenty thick, just right
• Reduce heat to simmer, cover and let simmer (stirring occasionally) for approximately 2 hours.
• Ladle chili into a bowl and sprinkle with your favorite toppings such as diced onions, shredded cheese, or sour cream

This was so good, I didn't add a thing.  I could have eaten the entire pot but I refrained so I wouldn't end up sick. 

If you love chili you owe it to yourself to try this recipe.  It's amazing!  At least I think so.

ENJOY!

Warm Potato Salad!

With the weather getting warmer and everyone starting to BBQ and eat outdoors here's a nice side salad to serve with your meal.  Feel free to change up the ingredients.  If you're looking for more fat then add sour cream and butter.  However, for me the olive oil is just enough and although this has a bit of bacon in it I'd still consider it on the lighter side.

Warm Potato Salad

 serves 4-6 people


1 package baby Yukon gold potatoes
½ bunch dill, finely chopped
2 strips of bacon
Olive Oil
Salt and pepper

Place water in bowl of the steamer and boil. Once boiling place washed potatoes into the steamer basket, cover and cook until potatoes are tender, approximately 10-15 minutes.

In the meantime, take the strips of bacon and place on a hot griddle and cover with grilling plates if you have them. Cook the bacon until it’s done but not too crispy.

When the potatoes are done, cut them in half and place into a large bowl. Add dill and enough olive oil to coat. Crumble bacon over the top and season with salt and pepper.

Toss and serve.

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for the FireWire Grilling Skewers a couple posts down.  The giveaway ends Friday!

Bacon Sashimi - who would have thought!

"Bacon Sashimi" - I just had sushi for dinner tonight but when I read this article i just had to share it.



Raw Materials
New bacon from La Quercia needs no heat

With bacon-flavored lollipops, cupcakes and cotton candy all but standard fare, we rue that a delicious ingredient has become mere ornament.

Thankfully, La Quercia's new Tamworth bacon is battling that trend by taking a minimalist approach to the popular meat. Salted, dried and smoked, it requires no time on the stove. That's right: This is raw bacon.

The secret is in the genes. Tamworth, known in pork circles as the bacon pig, has a long belly with a higher meat-to-fat ratio than most. The fat is sweet and far lighter than the mouth-coating kind you find on Berkshires, that other beloved breed. La Quercia worked with Ozark Mountain Pork's Russ Kremer (known as the "pope of pork") for four years to nail the product.

Of course, you can cook it, and chefs have jumped at the opportunity. At Vie in Chicago, Tamworth bacon sits atop wood-grilled foie gras and maple pound cake. Hawaii's Big Island steakhouse Monette's wraps bananas with the bacon and also uses it as a base for its homemade steak sauce. And at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania's Bricco, chef Jason Viscount serves Tamworth with seared scallops in leek vinaigrette.

The purest beauty of this bacon, though, is that you enjoy it without turning on the stove: Toast bread. Top with thinly sliced bacon. Pronounce it "bacon sashimi." Eat.

Interested in purchasing some of La Quercia Tamworth Country Cured Bacon?  You can buy it here.

What will they think of next?  Although it does sound good!

Note: There was no name listed as the author of this article.

Unorthodox Passover Dish!

Nowadays mixed marriages are very common.  So when I read this article I thought how perfect for those marriages celebrating Passover this coming April.  It's a great way to please both sides. Although I'm sure not everyone at the Passvoer table would agree with a Bacon Wrapped Matzo Ball!  I'm sure most would say," Oy Vey, a Bacon Wrapped Matzo Ball!  What are you Meshuga?  No treif at my table!"

I love both Matzo Balls and Bacon and think it sounds rather intriquing.  So I thought I'd share this article with you and the recipe for Bacon Wrapped Matzo Balls. 

Whether you're Jewish, Christian or another denomination you may want to try this!

http://www.npr.org/2011/03/12/134458738/matzo-balls-meet-bacon-at-top-chefs-restaurant?ps=cprs

Bacon, Maple Syrup and Coffee

There's nothing like some crispy bacon, pancakes with hot maple syrup and a piping hot cup of coffee for breakfast in the morning. Unfortunately I haven't had that in years just because if I start I'll never stop and the calories will just stick to my body.
















But what if you could have all that for virtually no calories at all? Sounds great doesn't it? Well now you can with Boca Java Maple Bacon Morning, a curiously efficient concoction that brings together syrup and bacon in roasted coffee form. Yes you heard that right - it's COFFEE!

Here's what the makers of this heavenly sounding coffee have to say about it:

Think of it as your three favorite food groups all in one place. (Feel free to add your fourth, whiskey, on your own time.) Just be prepared: from the moment you open the bag, your world will begin smelling of java, savory smoke and syrup, and it's going to be intoxicating. You might want to warn your neighbors.

In fact, once this stuff is brewing, that unmistakable potpourri of sweet, smoky coffee will only get more intense. Then, when you finally sip, you'll first detect a sugary (but not sticky) taste of syrup. After that, you'll get hit with a full-bodied, smoky flavor—that's the unmistakable taste of bacon, made all the more miraculous by the curious fact that no actual bacon's involved.

I don't know about the rest of you, but it would be nice to finally indulge in such a luscious meal without having to worry about the calories.

So where can you find Boca Java Maple Bacon Morning? Right here.