02 February

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February 20, 2023

Pedernales River Chili

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Pedernales River Chili

(a.k.a. LBJ Chili)

February: Presidents’ Day (third Monday in February)

We took a road trip to the Texas capitol city, Austin, one year. We used to just drive through it many times from San Antonio to Dallas when visiting Highlander’s cousin in North Texas. We finally stopped for a state staycation. 

While in Austin, among other tourist attractions, we wanted to see the Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ) Presidential Library and Museum on the campus of the University of Texas. Like the other presidential libraries and museums, LBJ’s had exhibits chronicling his life and career in public service. LBJ’s wife, Lady Bird, also had some displays of her campaign clothing and ball gowns and information about her accomplishments in the community and world as well. 

We ended up at the gift shop as all tourists seem to do. Islander browsed through the cookbooks and recipe postcards but was too cheap to buy anything. Besides, several of LBJ-related recipes are online for free. For this blog post, we prepared Pedernales River Chili in honor of the 36th president of the United States who grew up in the Hill Country where the river runs through it. Politics aside, try Pedernales River Chili today for Presidents’ Day!

Recipe

(Adapted from the LBJ Library)

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds chili meat (roughly cut or coarsely ground chuck steak)
  • Vegetable or other oil for frying
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • ½ teaspoon dried oregano
  • ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 2+ teaspoons chili powder or to taste
  • 1 can (10 ounces) diced tomatoes with green chilies
  • 1+ drops of hot sauce or to taste (optional)
  • 1 cup hot water
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Heat a little oil in a pan and brown the meat. Set aside to drain. In a pot, add a little oil and saute the onions with garlic. 

Stir in the meat. Season with oregano, cumin and chili powder.

Stir in the tomatoes. Season with hot sauce. Pour hot water and mix. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then cover and lower heat to simmer for about an hour until meat is tender. Skim off some fat on the top during cook time and stir. Ladle into bowls and serve hot.

Notes

  • We were fortunate to have visited all three presidential libraries and museums in Texas (LBJ, Bush 41 and Bush 43) and one in California (Reagan). We also visited the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza which chronicles the assassination of JFK. 
  • We halved the original recipe to feed the two of us with lots of leftovers to share with foodie friends.
  • Texas chili does not typically contain beans like other recipes.
  • Search our blog for other recipes associated with the U.S. presidents.

 

February 27, 2021

Strawberry Scones

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Strawberry Scones

February 27: National Strawberry Day

Chocolate-covered strawberries have been popular throughout the month of love. As February comes to a close, indulge in strawberry scones for a romantic teatime. Instead of fresh strawberries, which could get runny in a recipe sometimes, we used the freeze dried fruit. Smother the scones in more strawberry jam and clotted cream and these are also a delightful treat to eat on National Strawberry Day!

Recipe

(Adapted from TeaTime Magazine)

Ingredients

  • 2 cups flour, all purpose
  • ½ cup sugar + 1 tablespoon
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup dried strawberry bits (we used Trader Joe’s freeze dried strawberries) 
  • 4 tablespoons butter, cold, chopped into pieces
  • ¾ cup heavy whipping cream + 1-2 tablespoons
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

In a large mixing bow, combine the flour, ½ cup of sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in the cold butter and mix gently until it resembles coarse crumbs and peas.

Crush the strawberry bits into small pieces and add them to the flour mixture. Infuse the vanilla into ¾ cup heavy whipping cream. Stir in the whipped cream mixture into the flour mixture and bring dough together with hands until it sticks together. Place the ball of dough onto a floured surface and knead gently.

Pat and roll down to ¾ inch thick. Cut out shapes (use a 2- or 3-inch round cutter or heart-shaped cutter). Place on parchment paper lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Brush the tops with the remaining whipping cream. Sprinkle the remaining sugar on top. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 18-20 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack. May be served warm with clotted cream and strawberry jam.

Notes

  • The scone dough is pretty in pink. But after baking, it has a lighter hue to allow the strawberry speckles to sparkle.
  • Thanks to fellow baker Karen B. for gifting us with the dried strawberries.
  • National Strawberry Month is in May. Search our blog for more strawberry recipes.
  • Search our blog for more scones recipes under the Theme Menus.

 

February 15, 2021

Capellini al Pomodoro

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Capellini al Pomodoro

(a.k.a. Presidential Pasta)

February: Presidents’ Day (third Monday in February)

In 2021, Joseph R. Biden Jr. celebrated his first Presidents’ Day as the president of the United States. We Googled what some of his favorite foods were so we could cook them in observance of this national holiday. The Washington Post reported that capellini al pomodoro (angel hair pasta mixed in a tomato basil sauce) was his most requested dish when he went on speaking engagements for which he would earn up to $200,000US!!! Here are some headlines:

Eater.com: “Joe Biden just can’t get enough angel hair pasta”

TheWeek.com: “Joe Biden is contractually obligated to receive angel hair pomodoro at every paid speech”

Obviously, pasta pomodoro is the president’s comfort food. After all, his Italian-American wife, Dr. Jill Biden, cooked it for him throughout their marriage. So we cooked capellini al pomodoro, too, for a delicious dinner on Presidents’ Day.

Recipe

(Adapted from Delish.com)

Ingredients

  • 1 pound angel hair pasta
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 small yellow onion, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 4 medium tomatoes (around 4 cups), diced
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Pinch of red pepper flakes
  • 2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, chopped finely (plus more to garnish)
  • Grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Cook the pasta al dente or as directed on the package. Drain the hot cooked pasta but reserve about half a cup to make the tomato-basil sauce. Meanwhile, chop the onions and dice the tomatoes.

In a large pot, heat the olive oil. Sauté the onions and minced garlic until soft and fragrant. Mix in the tomatoes and stir to release the juices. Season with salt and pepper and a pinch of red pepper flakes.

Stir in the chopped basil. Reduce the heat, cover the pot and let the sauce simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the pasta and mix well. Pour a little bit of the reserved salted pasta water and stir to make a sauce (add more or less to taste). Stir again to coat the pasta with the sauce. Transfer to a serving dish. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese and garnish with extra chopped fresh basil leaves. Serve hot.

Notes

  • We halved the recipe to feed just the two of us.
  • Search our blog under the Theme Menus tab for other presidential and patriotic recipes.

 

 

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