Weeks 14 & 15 = A Tale of Two Dinners

So, yes, I am waaaaaay behind on posting results, but what can I say? If it comes down to writing blog post or getting Christmas stuff done, Christmas wins. It has a deadline. Luckily, it kinda works for me because Weeks 14 & 15 ended up having something in common - deep-fried food!

Most of the time, I try to avoid frying anything other than an egg. I hate how the oil splatters all over. And I almost always burn myself trying to drop dough into the pan. And all that for food that probably isn't all that good for you. Why bother?

But in Week 14, I had the best idea ever for Dallas @ Philadelphia - Philly Rellenos! Brilliant! For a split second, I considered just stuffing the poblanos and baking them in the oven, but then I read a recipe for Chilies Rellenos Autenticos on All Recipes. It looked easy enough, and the word "autenticos" got me hooked. What the heck? I'll give it a shot.

Honestly, it was easy. Still kind of messy, but easy. I used filet mignon and provolone cheese, plus a little Merkt's cheese spread for the filling.

I know what you're thinking. Why would you smother an expensive cut like filet with cheese? I guess I was hoping the filet would save it if the whole thing turned out disgusting.

It was silly of me to worry. This is maybe the best meal of the season.

Of course, the beer helps.

Hold that thought. I should say, "Beer helps most of the time." Nothing could save the dish I made for Week 15 - Salmon Tartare on Navajo Fry Bread.

It looks pretty, doesn't it? Too bad it tastes like ass.

In my defense, Seattle @ Arizona is a tough food match-up. I thought about making salmon chimichangas, but that sounded gross. And I briefly considered fish tacos, but I guess I was kind of over Tex Mex. Plus I've always wanted to try fry bread. I've never eaten it or made it, but a few years ago my sister-in-law Barb cooked a Christmas dinner that included a dish to represent her parents and mine. For my dad, she made some sort of Choctaw bread.  I can't remember what it was called, but I guess that idea has always been in the back of my mind.

I should have known better. Barb is a way better cook than I am.

I followed the easiest fry bread recipe I could find. Not that any are particular difficult, but like I said, frying intimidates me. Worse, this is basically baking, right? So that means getting all the measurements just right, not forgetting ingredients, not "overworking" the dough or whatever.

Fuck it. It was a nightmare. The dough stuck to my hands. I couldn't get in the hot oil without burning myself. And then this happened...

Like Big Bird said, "One of these things is not like the other..."

Worse, the fry bread was AWFUL. It basically had no flavor. My best guess is that I pulled at the dough too much (is that vaguely dirty?), making it chewy rather than...well, rather than whatever it is supposed to be.

Oh my god. What if how I made it is how it is supposed to taste? That's a really sad thought.

Fortunately, the salmon tartare from Bon Appetit was awesome.

Unfortunately, I couldn't really enjoy it. Partly because it was on the fry bread, but mostly because I was convinced we would die of food poisoning.

Here's to better luck in Week 16.

VA

Week 13 = Lobster Tacos

I seriously considered making lobster sushi for the NE v. SD game. It's easy and kind of snacky, and Rob and I were not sure if we'd be home for dinner, so that seemed like a good idea.

But then I looked up San Diego foods, just to see if they were known for Asian cuisine, but then I saw the words "fish tacos" on the Wikipedia page.

Fish is good. Lobster is better.

And tacos are the best!

Aren't they pretty?

I honestly thought I had come up with something new, but Google proved me wrong. Of the thousands of results, I made lobster tacos with avocado salsa from MyRecipes.com. Added bonus? California is known for avocados!

The recipe is really easy. The only thing was I couldn't find pre-cooked lobster, so I had to buy fresh lobster tail and grill it.

My life is so hard.

Week 12 = Heaven Must Be Covered in Green Chili

KC v. Denver turned into "burnt ends" green chili.

First, I write "burnt ends" because I didn't really do them right. I just couldn't see myself spending 10 hours cooking a brisket on the grill just so I could toss the majority of it. Instead, I found a slow cooker recipe on FabulousFods.com. And since I had a some bbq rub from some other meal, I figured this would be way easier.

That's the brisket swimming in the green chili from a recipe I found on DenverGreenChili.com. I didn't bother with the liquid smoke or with slicing the brisket up and putting the ends back in for another 5 hours.

I guess that means a took a short cut on this short cut  - which makes me the laziest cook on the planet. Well, not the laziest. I mean, I did cut up the brisket. That has to count for something, right?

It looks kinda dry in the picture, but it was actually very juicy.

By the way, does any one knows what happened to La Preferida cans of green chillies? I can find them online but not at Jewel. I looked in every aisle and came up with nothing. What's up with that? And to be honest, I didn't have the foggiest idea of how to substitute for them, so I just bought up a bunch of serrano, jalapeno, and poblano peppers, hoping for the best. I was really relieved to learn that green chillies are simply any green peppers you want to cut up and use in your dish.

Yeah - I now know that's pretty stupid. Whatever.

Here's the pretty picture of the finished product:

Wait! I almost forgot. I used smoked sharp cheddar from Wisconsin. That made up for the lack of smoke overall. The meal was ultimately very good. And it was awesome for lunch the next day. And the next. And for breakfast on Wednesday. If I made this again, I would add the liquid smoke and maybe roast the tomatillos, just because that's delicious in all ways.