EclecticGuy

This is my favorite chili recipe. It is great on a cold, rainy autumn day with some cornbread and a bottle of Blue Moon.

Ingredients

• 2 tbls olive oil
• 2 medium onions
• 2 tbls garlic, crushed
• 2 red bell peppers
• 1 can of corn (drained)
• 2 large cans red kidney beans
• 2 butternut squash
• 2 cans chopped plum tomatoes
• 2 tbls cumin
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 4 tbls chili powder
• 2 tbls red pepper flakes
• 2 tbls oregano
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup red wine

Directions

Cut the necks off the squash, then cut each piece in half length-wise. Scoop out the seeds. Slice the squash in to 1/2″ wide strips lengthwise.

Peel the skin from … Continue Reading

I love Dutch Oven cooking! My “specialty” is Dutch Oven Cobbler. I’ve been making it since I was a Boy Scout back in the “70s” and I make it now with my son’s Boy Scout troop. Here is my recipe.

Ingredients

• 2 packages of yellow cake mix
• 1 stick of softened or melted butter (unsalted is best)
• 1/2 cup of vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 4 cans of fruit pie filling (apple, peach, cherry, blueberry, pear)

Preparation

Some people line their Dutch Oven with aluminum foil to make cleanup easier, but I am a purist and prefer to cook directly in a well-seasoned oven.

Pour the cans of fruit into … Continue Reading

Several months ago, I posted my favorite recipe for pizza dough (from the Frugal Gourmet). My youngest son, John loves stuffed crust pizza with the cheese stuffing so tonight I thought I would try an experiment. I made up a batch of the dough and when it was ready, pushed and pulled it into a disk about 4″ in diameter bigger than usual. The only cheese I had was grated mozzarella so I had to get creative. I warmed some up in the microwave for 10 seconds. It came out nice and pliable and a bit sticky. Now for the fun … Continue Reading

Many years ago, my favorite Chinese restaurant in Troy, NY (Plum Blossom, is it still there?) served Chicken with Pine Nuts. It was scrumptious and was my introduction to pine nuts! It was served on a lettuce leaf with a dollop of Hoisin sauce and rolled up. Over the years I worked on replicating the recipe. The “secret” was the rice wine. Do not use Japanese Sake, try to find an Asian market that carries a quality rice wine. Here is the recipe I came up with:

Chicken with Pine Nuts

Ingredients for 4

• 2 chicken breasts
• 1/2 cup pine … Continue Reading
  

I’ve had dinner 2 nights in a row at Oasis Grill in Pleasanton, CA. Great place! Both nights I had their Pumpkin Borani for an appetizer – a fantastic combination of flavors and textures. A quick Google turned up this recipe:

Pumpkin Borani

Adapted from Sadaf Shaghasi, Oasis Fusion Grille in Pleasanton.

• 1 small sugar pie pumpkin, seeds and strings removed, cut in 3/4 inch chunks (about 2 cups)
• 2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons good olive oil
• 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons sugar, or to taste
• Salt
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon Sambal Olek, (Thai chile paste) or red pepper flakes … Continue Reading
  

Of course the EclecticGuy likes to cook! Unfortunately, I don’t cook as often as I would like. But, I do manage to make my special thick crust pizza – it is about the only thing I make my kids ask for. The recipe originated from Jeff Smith’s “The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American” but I have tweaked it a bit over the years1.

While very easy to make, the recipe does take some time to allow the dough to rise twice.

Ingredients

• 2 packages of yeast (or I use 2 tablespoons of bulk yeast)
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 2 cups of warm (90o water)
• 1/2 … Continue Reading