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Tag Archive: Chili

Chili Lime Butternut Squash

Written on October 28, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Side Dish

It’s gotten to the time of year when I’m in denial that Summer’s gone. I’ve had a week full of midterm exams and now there’s talk of snow. SNOW. I’ve still got a marathon to run next month; I can’t begin to think about running across slippery pavement again. So I’m doing the totally normal thing about it all and going into denial.

When the seasons change I find so do our taste buds usually. I’ve started to like earthier tasting foods like cinnamon in banana quinoa bakes, nutmeg in mashed squash, and candy corn in just about everything else. This week though I’ve looked back to Summer for more spicy and bright flavors like the chili and lime on this squash. Maybe it’s a little “off” to put lime on squash but there isn’t exactly anything right about snow on Halloween and the butternut here has just a mellow enough flavor to highlight the seasonings.

Chili Lime Butternut Squash

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

Trunk(i.e. the part without seeds in the center) from a medium butternut squash
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon lime juice, plus more for finishing
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Method:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and line a baking tray.
Cut the squash down the middle into two semi-circle halves. Slice each half across into 1/2-inch wedges.
Toss the wedges with olive oil, lime juice, chili powder, and salt until covered.
Lay the wedges out in a single layer on the baking tray and roast for 40 minutes until a fork easily passes through.
Finish with an extra touch of lime juice.

As if I couldn’t be more confused, I’m listening to Bing Crosby Christmas music as I write this. What can I say? It’s been a long week and I’m starting to think Summer ain’t coming back.

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Black Bean Mole

Written on August 11, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Sauce

I spent this past weekend in Providence, one of my favorite cities around, and ran the inaugural Providence Rock N’ Roll half-marathon. The night before my friend and I went to Garden Grille Café, a vegetarian restaurant I can’t get enough of right on the edge of town. The special that night was cornmeal-crusted tempeh with a black bean mole sauce and roasted fingerling potatoes. There was nothing in that name I didn’t like so I got it and ate every last drop of sauce on that plate.

The mole was the best I ever had; it was also the first I ever had, but it was still incredibly good. Spicy, sweet, tangy—almost like a barbeque sauce but with a tantalizing bitterness. Of course I had to recreate it. Two days later I was making this in my own kitchen. I wasn’t sure if I had hit the nail on the head until I realized I was literally licking my food processor clean. At that point I figured it was pretty good.

This mole is about as untraditional as it comes. For one, you don’t cook it at all. It’s entirely made in the food processor. I also used spices instead of actual chilies because that’s what I had on hand. That makes this a super friendly recipe if it’s your first mole.

Black Bean Mole

Ingredients:

1/2 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
1 1/2 Tablespoons white vinegar
5 Tablespoons honey
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon cocoa powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon mustard seed
~1/4 cup water

Method:

Combine all of the ingredients except for the water into a food processor and blend until smooth.
Slowly add the water while blending until the sauce reaches a fluid yet thick consistency.
Heat up before serving. Scoop a generous amount over protein like tofu, tempeh, or chicken.

After dinner we went over to Wildflour and I ate one of these. It’s OK; I was carb-loading.

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Chili-Rubbed Sole With Sautéed Kale And Avocado

Written on February 21, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Entree

I’m a sucker for a sale. So when I saw sole on sale for 50% off at Whole Foods, my gut reaction was to buy it. Never mind that I hadn’t cooked/ate fish for probably half a year. It was on sale.

When I actually thought about how I wanted to eat it, fried and spicy seemed right. This dish has everything you could want: the fish is a soft; the avocado is creamy; the kale is a little tough and gives it all a bit of a bite. It felt like something you’d order at a restaurant.

Chili-Rubbed Sole With Sautéed Kale And Avocado

Ingredients(Makes 2 servings):

1/2lb sole(or other white fish)
1 tablespoon chili powder
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 bunch of kale, chopped
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 avocado
Lemon for serving

Cover one side of the fish with half of the chili powder and rub it in. Shake off the excess and do the same for the next side.

In the meantime, heat a large pan over medium-high heat with the oil.

Lay the fish in to cook. After about 90 seconds flip the first side over. Use a wide tool and be careful not to break the fillet.

Cook for another 90 seconds or so until the center is cooked through. Gently remove the fish from the pan to rest but not the oil.

When the fish is removed, add in the kale to sauté in the oil. This is a great time to use frozen kale for a cheap but nutritious option.

Sauté the kale until it’s soaked up the oil and reduced to about half the size. Season with 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

To plate, first make a bed of kale. Next add a piece of the fish fillet and season that with a sprinkle of the remaining salt. Cut the avocado in half and then into wedges and lay them down among the fish, serving with a wedge of lemon.

I really really hope this sale goes on for a while.

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Hot Honey Asian Chicken Marinade

Written on December 30, 2010 by Wannabe Chef in Entree

One of my parents’ favorite things to eat for dinner is chicken. It’s a nice, lean protein(because you know everyone’s always on a diet until the weekend) and it takes on flavors wonderfully. We like to keep things simple here, so a marinade is perfect; you just throw the chicken and sauce together in a bag in the morning and it’s ready to bake that night—no fuss!

This has a fun, savory flavor that’s not too abrasive but definitely not boring. It pairs perfectly with seasoned rice or steamed vegetables.

Hot Honey Asian Chicken Marinade

Ingredients:

1lb skinned and deboned chicken
3 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
3 tablespoons water
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

In a large Ziploc bag, combine the sesame oil, soy sauce, honey, vinegar, water, salt, chili powder, and black pepper. Add in the chicken and shake it so that the liquid mixture covers everything. Put the chicken and marinade in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours to rest.

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees. Bake the chicken for 45 minutes in the sauce until it has cooked through.

I love it when a recipe has extra sauce so that you can pour it all over your sides and make it feel like a complete dish. This makes plenty of extra, so pour it on thick and dig in.

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Baked Pork Chops With Spicy Peanut Glaze

Written on November 16, 2010 by Wannabe Chef in Entree

I love peanut butter. I really do. So when I heard about The National Peanut Board’s recipe contest, I knew I was going to participate. The only question was “what to make?” The recipes for this contest need to highlight both the versatility and health benefits of peanut butter. There are other restrictions about serving size and number of ingredients which you can read about here. I went with this recipe because it’s simple yet flavorful, and draws its character from a perfect pairing of peanuts and chili powder with a slight tang and saltiness to round it out.

Baked Pork Chops With Spicy Peanut Glaze

Ingredients(Makes 2 servings):

2 pork chops, fat trimmed
2 tablespoons cooking oil
2 tablespoons natural creamy peanut butter
2 1/2 tablespoons milk(or non-dairy substitute)
1/2 tablespoon white vinegar
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt(1/4 teaspoon if your peanut butter is already salted)

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees. Line a pan with aluminum foil, add in the pork chops, and drizzle with the cooking oil to coat. Make sure that the oil covers the whole pork chop to prevent burning. When the oven is preheated, put in the pork chops to bake for 30 minutes.

While the pork chops are cooking, combine the peanut butter, chili powder, vinegar, milk, and salt in a small dish. Whisk together to emulsify.

Once the pork chops have cooked for 30 minutes, take them out of the oven to put on the sauce. Evenly distribute the sauce between both chops and brush on in an even layer. Put the pork chops back in the oven for 10 more minutes to finish cooking and for the sauce to thicken.

Simple, yet flavorful—the sauce doesn’t take more than 5 minutes to put together, and can easily be used on any neutral-flavored protein(chicken, tofu). Pork just happened to be what I had around. Serve with light vegetables like a salad or other greens so that the peanut flavor really pops. And if you’re interested in entering the recipe contest, you don’t need to have a blog or anything; just head on over to their website for more info before November 19th.

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Beef Stir-Fry With Brown Sugar Glaze

Written on November 12, 2010 by Wannabe Chef in Entree

Let me tell you about my Veteran’s Day: I woke up at 7 to run; I went to Whole Foods before lunch which, if you think would be less crowded, you would be very very wrong; I was shocked at least twice with what’s been going on on Days Of Our Lives in my absence; and I cooked a lot. 2 out of 4 of the recipes I tried actually came out. I’m going to be happy because, if this were professional baseball, that’d be a good batting average. This was my lunch and my dinner. Why mess with a good thing? And this was really really good.

November 11th 006

Beef Stir-Fry With Brown Sugar Glaze

Ingredients(Makes 2 servings):

1/2lb stir fry beef strips
2 tablespoons sesame oil + more to drizzle
3-4 tablespoons flour(or cornstarch)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup water
1/2 tablespoon rice vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Leeks for garnish

Heat the sesame oil over a medium-high burner until it comes up to temperature. In the meantime, add the flour or cornstarch sparingly to the beef until coated. Set aside.

In a small bowl, add the brown sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, salt, chili powder, garlic powder, and water. Mix to dissolve the sugars.

Next, add the beef to the pan to cook. Keep stirring and tossing until all of the beef has browned.

Once the beef has browned on all sides, slowly pour in the cooking liquid. Continue to cook as the water evaporates off. Cook until the liquid forms a thick glaze that coats the beef.

Once the glaze has formed, remove the beef from the heat. Add a drizzle of sesame oil and toss to finish. Add leeks on top for an oniony flavor.

This was spicy and delicious. I needed this kitchen-win in my life to make me feel good, especially since dessert was 2(or maybe 3) very very flat cookies. Who would have thought the day would come where I could cook better than I bake? Oh well.

No complaining here.

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