Thursday, February 4, 2010

"Fatterday"

For whatever reason I'm pretty sure Drew only knows two days of the week. Well he only talks about two days. They are, Tuesday and Fatterday. Clearly he's trying to say Saturday, but the way it comes out is so much better and accurate! I know I have to go for a long run on Saturday mornings because after that, Saturday morphs into Fatterday. I think I'm going to go tomorrow this week since there is expected to be some serious snow accumulation by Saturday morning and I will be doing some equally serious eating given the weather forecast and the Superbowl!

I pulled from my archives for some great, snowy Fatterday food. Perfect for cozying up for the Superbowl this weekend or just to have something smelling good in the house while we get hit with another blizzard.

While I enjoyed this, I would like to say that I did not think the amount of effort was in proportion to the meal. You know what I mean? Sometimes if a recipe is super easy and quick and tastes good-enough, well, then I love it and its going in the rotation. But if it tastes good- enough but was a decent amount of work, then it's just so-so in my mind. There were a few key changes I would make to see that it is better next time and I will share these with you so that hopefully all your hard work pays off at the end!

Also, this dish was even better as leftovers - probably because the memory of making it was long gone and I could enjoy it without having to labor over it first! I had it heated with some tortilla chips like nachos. I know, so healthy. Such is Fatterday!

Chile Con Carne

6 poblano chiles
2 pounds boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
3 tbl flour
3 cups chopped onion
4 cloves minced garlic
2 cans diced tomatoes (do not drain)
1 cup beef broth
1 tbl dried oregano
1 tbl ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste
3 chipotle chiles (canned in adobo sauce) - in the mex section
cilantro and cheddar cheese for toppings

Preheat the broiler to high for poblanos.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Sprinkle the beef with salt and pepper, and then dredge in the 3 tablespoons of flour. Shake off the excess, and then add it to the pan. Sautee 5 minutes or until browned on all sides. You don't need to cook it to death, just brown it - it will cook more in the sauce later! Remove with a slotted spoon and let excess fat drain while you cook onions.






Add onions and garlic to pan and cook for 3 minutes or so before adding beef back in. Stir in the diced tomatoes, salt, pepper, oregano and cumin, and beef broth. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 45 minutes to an hour.


While thats simmering, throw the poblanos on a foil lined baking sheet. Put them in your preheated broiler for 8-10 minutes or until charred. When you take them out of the oven put them in a plastic bag and let them steam and soften. Let it stand for 15 minutes before you take them out, peel and chop them.


I thought the peel was a little difficult to remove (probably because I didnt let them good and charred enough) but in any case, I left the peel mostly on and rough chopped them. Add them in after the stew has been simmering for about half an hour, and then let it simmer another half hour (minimum).


After simmering and before serving, add in the 3 chopped chipotles. Scale back if you like less heat, but I thought the recipe lacked big flavor and really needed at least 3 chiles.

Garnish with cilantro and cheddar!

Hope everyone has a great time in the snow and that your superbowl plans are not ruined! I could care less who wins, I'm just celebrating the end of football season and the return of my husband!! :)

1 comment:

Rebecca Samson said...

"Fatterday" is hilarious!! It's a Drewism.