White Chili Recipe- "White Lightning" wins the 2011 Chili Cookoff!



2011 Champion- White Lightning

 Each year The Girlfriend and her friends have a Chili Cook Off.  This year I was lucky enough to be invited to enter a chili.  And guess what?  That's right!  The Polymouth's very own "White Lightning" won the 2011 Chili Cook Off!!!  Woo-hoo!  And along with it there is a killer trophy, which now will, as is customary, receive an addition of some sort before being put on the line again next fall.  There were 11 entries in all, and some very creative competition.  We had meaty chilies con carne, luscious vegetarian chilies, firery super spicy chilies, other wonderful white chilies, and another top contender was the delicious and exotic pumpkin chili. 

I've never really entered a cooking competition, even one as relaxed and friendly as this, so there were some butterflies and excitement that came along with entering.  Our entry was quite tasty, but it certainly wasn't easy.  Not that it was difficult, it just had several steps, and took most of the day to make.  As usual I had a general recipe in mind, but I was cooking "Iron-Style" and kept tweaking and adding ingredients up till the final moments before we left for the party.  There is no way to know exactly what the final recipe ended up being, but I will do my best to explain the process and steps that went into this tasty dish.

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Blackberry Flan (known as "Black Flan" for the 2011 Oscar Party)

I have a love-hate relationship with flan.  It never sounds good.  It is not something I would order after dinner.  And there is something about it that just looks... odd.  But every time I do venture out and give it a shot I'm always surprised just how tasty it is.  I mean off-the-charts-good.  I sit there with a look of confusion as to why I don't eat flan every day.  I should have by this point of my life realized that, despite all of my thoughts to the contrary, I like flan.

I think many other people have a similar reaction.  Hesitation at first, followed by bewilderment, and finished with cravings for more.  The problem is getting people to try the first bite.  Which can by quite an obstacle.  This is why serving flan at a party is a bold move, especially if you are straying from the deliciously traditional caramel custard. 

Black Swan section from the 100 Mile Hallway Mural

But when this years Oscar nominees were announced, I had a sinking feeling once I realized I had to do it: I had to make "Black Flan".  Not only was I going to try making a dish I wasn't sure I even liked, I was going to be making a dish I had never made before, and with a twist that could ruin the whole thing...  Gulp.  But that feeling seemed to fit right in line with the scary, uneasy, psychedelic nature of Natalie Portman's Oscar winning portrayal in Black Swan.  And much like the dancer in Black Swan, the dish had to straddle both traditional beauty and technique, with avant-garde danger and risk.  Ok, that's a bit dramatic, adding blackberries to custard ain't exactly a Warhol painting, but just go with the metaphor here will ya?

So after some practice and trying out a couple different recipes it came down to 3 basic steps:

1. Making Blackberry Simple Syrup
2. Making the Flan Custard
3. Baking and Serving

Really that's it.  There are a few steps in between, and a couple little tweaks for fun, but that is just about it.  So let's get going...

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Corvette Corn on The Cob

Here is a twist on an old favorite.  I originally came up with it as a dish to represent Bunny Lebowski at my Big Lebowski party.  It was later brought to my attention the Bunny wasn't actually driving a Corvette, but I liked the name so I kept it.  There are a few different options when it comes to cooking: grilling, roasting, or my favorite under the coals of a camp fire.  But here is how I rev up this classic...

1 Ear of corn
2 Tbsp of Butter
1 Tbsp Honey
1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1/8 tsp Kosher Salt
1/8 tsp Ground Black Pepper

1)  Break the ear of corn in two pieces, measure out foil pieces large enough to wrap the corn
2)  Mix butter, honey and spices in microwave safe dish, microwave for 10-20 seconds, stir to combine
3)  Drizzle the melted butter over the corn till covered and wrap in foil
4)  Cook how ever you choose (NOT in the microwave), grilled or roasted (in the oven at 350 degrees) should take around 30 minutes

Open foil and enjoy (careful, its HOT).  Obviously this recipe is fairly scalable, the above procedure will make 2, but you will probably want more than that so plan on at least doubling.  This corn is just racy enough I'm sure Bunny would love it (even after She's seen Karl Hungus)...

(Extra points to whoever can tell me what car Bunny was driving...)

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The Stranger's Sarsaparilla Pulled Pork Sammies

This inspiration for this recipe includes many of my favorite things: Pulled Pork, The Big Lebowski, Slow Cooking, Sam Elliott, Sarsaparilla, Sam Elliott's Mustache, and BBQ sauce.  Basically as I was putting The Big Lebowski Party together, I knew I had to come up with something referring to The Stranger (played by both Sam Elliott and his mustache) ordering a Sarsaparilla.  After poking around the Interwebs I found a couple delicious ideas, and came up with a recipe that took influence from a few different sources (a couple examples both here and here).  Since Sarsaparilla is more difficult to find than it is to spell (which ain't exactly easy), root beer was employed (but find a good root beer).

3 things are going to make this uber-tasty: good ingredients (pork, root beer, spices, and buns),  2 step cooking process (searing, then slow cooking), and time (they call it "slow" cooking for a reason).  So please don't skimp on any of these.  You can use any sort of rub, and BBQ sauce that you like, I'm just going to keep it very basic through these steps since it is a fairly involved process.

1 (2 lb) Pork Loin
1 (12 oz) can of Root Beer
1 (18 oz) Bottle of BBQ Sauce
2 bags of Dinner Rolls (Hawaiian Sweet Roll are great for this)
Salt and Pepper (or your preferred dry rub)

1)  Rub the Pork Loin with Salt and Pepper
2)  Sear the Pork Loin in a hot pan (lubricate with cooking oil, but be careful not to hit the smoke point and burn the oil, peanut or safflower oil have nice high smoke points, and you only need about a Tbsp), give it about 2 minutes on all 4 sides, try and move it to the hottest part of the pan to get the best sear
3)  Place the seared Pork in the slow cooker (if you don't have a slow cooker, get one, they are worth it and open up so many different recipes that you can not duplicate without one)
4)  Pour Root Beer over the Pork in the slow cooker (this is a good point to season with some more S&P if you wish).  Try to get as much of the pork into the root beer as possible
5)  Cover and walk away*.  Go do something.  Don't touch the cover, just leave it be.  The pork can sit in there for 5 hours to over a day (8 hours is just about perfect).  The more time you give it the more the pork will fall apart
6)  Using a couple forks "pull" the Pork apart (if it is fighting you too much, let it cook a while more)
7)  Add a bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce, stir in with the pork (it will be stringy and soft and as you stir it it will begin to look like the pulled pork you know and love).  You could serve now, but another hour or so will help the flavors blend
8)  Fill Buns with the pork mixture. 1 or 2 forkfuls should fill them just fine.  (if the sauce is still a bit loose let drain for a moment or two before you fill the bun)

They might need a moment to cool, but they are ready to serve (I actually like to add some Caramelized Onions too).  And they actually hold up alright even after they cool if you are serving at a party and they are going to sit out for a few hours (I doubt they will last that long).  I hope these little achievers would do Sioux City proud...

*walk away within reason- while I do from time to time leave my slow cooker unattended, don't leave it within reach of your dog, or plug it in the baby's crib (the point is to be patient and not open the slow cooker every few minutes).  Also, don't use your hairdryer in the shower...

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Iron-Style Beans

Here is the first of what I hope becomes many "Iron-Style" recipes posted here on the Polymouth.  "Iron-Style" meaning I basically just made something up, and it ended up good enough that I would like to make it again.  I usually eyeball ingredients when I'm in the kitchen, so be sure to taste often to make sure nothing is too out of whack, but I will try to estimate as close as possible.

A week or so ago the weather was nice enough to get the BBQ going.  So we got some sausages, grilled some corn on the cob and potatoes, and I came up with a twist on baked beans.  They are creamy, sweet, and with just the right amount of kick to keep things interesting.

Ingredients:
2, 15 oz. cans of Beans (I used Cannellini but Pinto, or Black Beans will work too)
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
2 Tbsp Vinegar (Apple Cider Preferred)
2 oz. Packet of Ranch Seasoning Mix
1-2 Tbsp Hot Horseradish
1/4 tsp Ground Cumin
Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Warm brown sugar and vinegar in a pot over medium high heat.  Once the sugar and vinegar are blended and smooth add both cans of beans.
2. After about 5 minutes add the ranch packet, horseradish (1 or 2 Tbsps depending on how much kick you want), and cumin and stir in evenly.
3. As soon as the mixture begins to boil it is ready, add salt and pepper if needed.

I plan on making this again for our next BBQ, I'm thinking of adding Bacon or Pancetta, and Garlic, and maybe some Italian Parsley for garnish.  This one is a work in progress, and any feedback is much appreciated.  Give it a shot and let me know how it goes....

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