Chili

The first batch of the chili for this NFL season is ready to go! A batch of Hellfire Carnivore Red on the left and a batch of Omnivore Spicy Stew on the right.

Hellfire Carnivore Red

Ingredients

• 3 TBS unsalted butter
• 1.5 large onions, coarsely chopped
  
• 3 pounds beef chuck, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
  
• 5 tsp chopped garlic
  
• 4 TBS Penzey's Hot Chili Powder
  
• 4 TBS Penzey's Ground Ancho Chili Powder
  
• 1 TBS ground cumin
  
• 1.5 tsp salt
  
• 1/4 tsp white pepper
  
• 1.5 tsp black pepper (or to taste)
  
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
  
• 2 tsp TABASCO® brand Chipotle Pepper Sauce
  
• 1 tsp golden habanero sauce
  
• 4 tsp crushed Californian red pepper flakes
  
• 1 tsp crushed Indian red pepper flakes
  
• 2 tsp ground corriander
  
• 2 cups water
  
• 1 bottle (12 oz) Shiner Bock Beer
  

Directions Heat butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook until softened.

Add all the other ingredients. Stir to break up any lumps. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 3 hours or so, stirring occasionally. Add more beer or water if necessary. Adjust spices to taste.

Paul Thorn - You Might Be Wrong

Green Chile Chicken Soup

I've had a hankering for some good, spicy Green Chile Chicken Soup. Unfortunately, I'll just have to stare longingly at the recipe until August when I can acquire some freshly roasted green chiles. This recipe is just a general guideline I use, and as written it requires a decent sized stock pot. It will clear the sinuses up!


Ingredients

• 6 Quarts Water
• 1.5 tsp salt
• 1.5 tsp black pepper
• 6 skinned chicken breast halves
• 4 bay leaves
• 3 - 4 lbs roasted and peeled Hatch green chiles, chopped, with seeds
• 3 - 4 lbs red potatoes, 1/2" cubed
• 5 carrots, sliced 
• 5 stalks celery, sliced, with leaves
• 3 large sweet onions, diced
• 9 Serrano peppers, chopped (seed if desired)
• 3 Jalapeno peppers, chopped (seed if desired) 
• 3 14.5 oz cans no salt added diced tomatoes, undrained
• 3 cans Ro-Tel Extra Hot (or regular) Green Chiles and Tomatoes, undrained
• 1/2 cup medium barley
• 1 tsp habanero sauce
• 1.5 TBS crushed red pepper
• 1.5 TBS crushed chipotle pepper
• 2 tsp paprika
• freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions


1. Combine first 5 ingredients in a large stock pot. Bring to a boil, cook for 12 minutes. Remove from heat.
2. Remove chicken from broth, and remove chicken from bones, discarding bones. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces and return to broth. Discard bay leaves.
3. Add remaining ingredients to broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat heat and simmer for 45 minutes or until potato is done.

508 Park Saved!

508 Park Avenue, the old Warner Bros. building in Dallas, TX where Robert Johnson recorded, is being renovated as a . . . recording studio! It's great to see this important piece of Dallas real estate be saved and put back to use. Link to article in Dallas Observer

James McMurtry "Choctaw Bingo"

A Good Map

In my travels, I've found that there really is no substitute for a good map. A physical map. Something made of paper and ink. Something that doesn't rely on batteries, a power supply, an Internet connection, or a satellite. A GPS is handy in many situations, but if one wants to wander down country roads a detailed physical map is a must -- and a state road atlas is even better.

For Texas, the best one I've found is Mapsco The Roads of Texas (ISBN 13: 978 0 7625 6833 8). I picked up my copy locally at One Map Place in Carrolton, TX for $21.95. It can also be found at the publisher's site -- Universal Map. Oddly enough, there isn't currently a reasonable offering for it on Amazon. This spiral-bound pot of gold shows all the roads in Texas, from the interstates to the dirt roads that one might mistake for a tractor trail if not for the sign with the county road number. Best of all, it actually names all of them. It doesn't offer great detail in the urban areas, however. If you need detail for the suburbs of DFW or Houston, you'd be better served with a city-specific road atlas -- or put the old GPS to work.

The DeLorme Texas Atlas & Gazetteer is also quite good, and while it shows all the county roads, it doesn't name all of them (at least in my 2005 edition). I have also used DeLorme's New Mexico Atlas & Gazetteer with very good results.

Blind Lemon & Robert Johnson

Earlier this spring, Henry and I decided to take a trip to Blind Lemon Jefferson's grave site, in Wortham, TX on Highway 14. We also wandered around Richland-Chambers Lake a bit, and snaked our way through some little towns.

Entrance to cemetery


Grave & Marker

Historical Marker

 
Headstone

 
On the way back into town, we swung by 508 Park Avenue in Dallas. This is where Robert Johnson did his last recordings over two days, including "Hellhound on My Trail". This building, just a couple of blocks from Dallas city Hall, has long been on the target list of buildings that the City of Dallas would like to see torn down. Just last year, the Historic District was successfully enlarged just enough to include it, so hopefully that will save it from the wrecking ball for some time.


 

 
To finish off the road trip, we swung by Elbow Room for what might very well be the best pizza in Dallas and a couple of ice cold Shiner Bocks.