We have had some beautiful sunny weather this October and some very chili nights, so in honor of the glorious weather and perfectly crisp fall nights we had some friends over for chili. I love this chili recipe from my friend Kylee's husband, Robby. It is always a hit and pretty easy to make too. It tastes great with cornbread and I've included a special butter recipe too because I love "fancy butter". The squash recipe is from Gourmet, but I needed a salad to serve with my chili so I added a few ingredients and it made a great salad. I made a bit extra of the vinaigrette to accommodate my salad and I thought it was missing something so I added honey to the dressing. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the rest of our beautiful October and maybe some chili too!
Autumn Squash Salad with Chili Vinaigrette 2 (1 1/2 - to 1 3/4-lb) acorn squash
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, or to taste
1 tablespoon honey
1 to 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh hot red chile, including seeds
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
cotija cheese
roasted pumpkin seeds
mixed greens
Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 450°F. Halve squash lengthwise, then cut off and discard stem ends. Scoop out seeds and cut squash lengthwise into 3/4-inch-wide wedges. Toss squash with black pepper, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 2 tablespoons oil in a bowl, then arrange, cut sides down, in 2 large shallow baking pans. Roast squash, switching position of pans halfway through roasting, until squash is tender and undersides of wedges are golden brown, 25 to 35 minutes.
While squash roasts, mince garlic and mash to a paste with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Transfer paste to a small bowl and whisk in lime juice, chile (to taste), cilantro, and remaining 1/4 cup oil and honey until combined. Transfer squash, browned sides up, to a platter and drizzle with vinaigrette.
Reserve some of the vinaigrette for the mixed greens and toss with pumpkin seeds. Serve on plates and add squash to the top with a sprinkle of cotija cheese.
Robby’s Awesome Chili 8 T vegetable oil
3 lbs. Stew meat
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 red bell peppers, diced
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
2 T light brown sugar
2 T chili powder
2 T cumin
2 tsp cayenne pepper
3 T cilantro, chopped
3 15 oz. Cans diced tomatoes, with juice
½ cup honey
½ cup prepared black coffee
½ cup bourbon
2 15 oz. Cans of black beans, drained
2 15 oz. Can kidney beans, drained
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Pour 4 T of oil into large stockpot and place over high heat for 2-3 minutes. Season meat with salt and pepper and brown in batches. About 5 minutes per batch. Set aside the browned meat.
Pour remaining oil into the pot and add the onion, garlic, bell peppers and jalapenos. Season the veggies with brown sugar, chili powder, cumin, cayenne, salt, pepper and cilantro
Add meat back into the pot along with tomatoes, honey, coffee, and bourbon. Add the beans, stir well, bring up to a simmer and then lower the heat. Let simmer for 3 hrs. or until the meat is very soft.
Cornbread Muffins with Sweet-Smoked Paprika Honey Butter1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 teaspoons hot smoked paprika
honey
1 garlic clove, chopped
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Pinch of salt
Blend butter, honey, paprika, garlic, sugar, and salt in processor until smooth. Wrap paprika butter in plastic, forming 1 1/2-inch-diameter log. Refrigerate butter until very cold, about 2 hours. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep refrigerated.)
Jiffy cornbread mix
