Kap & Mina's Sunday Afternoon Tailgate: Week 7

We're back after our bye week, which means that we are hungry for some good tailgating food. (Kap's been suffering withdrawal symptoms all week.)

This week, as the weather gets colder, we turn to a classic make-ahead staple--one that would actually go better with the Eagles-Cardinals match-up that will be taking place next week in the desert: chili.

However, being from the east coast, we plan on putting our own Yankee spin on this tried-and-true cowboy dish. So, don't expect beef and beans this week. . . .

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"Chili"



TOUCHDOWN CHESAPEAKE CHILI

While I love chili during Football season, my favorite dish from spending six years in Boston is a thick seafood chowdah'.  Combine the two, and we get this hearty stew, that pays homage to my parent's home in Maryland as well. 

- Mina

2 TBSP Butter
1/4 c. Scallions, chopped
1 c. Celery, chopped
1 lb. Medium Shrimp, peeled
1 c. Heavy Cream
1/2 c. Whole Milk
1 1/2 TBSP All-Purpose Flour (more, if needed for thickening)
Pinch Sea Salt
1 tsp. ground White Pepper
1 tsp. Celery Salt
1/2 tsp. Chili Powder
1/2 tsp. Old Bay Seasoning
1 lb. Lump Crab Meat
Pinch of Light Brown Sugar (if using canned crab meat)
2 eggs, hard cooked and sliced
1 c. White Rice, cooked
1 bottle of Beer (any lager is fine) 



Start white rice in rice cooker. Sauté scallions and celery in butter then add shrimp and beer, and cook until pink.

Combine the cream, milk and flour until smooth. Add salt, pepper, celery salt, chili powder and Old Bay to the soup.  

Cook over low heat until mixture thickens. Add additional flour, if necessary, to thicken. Gently stir in crab meat, and (if necessary) brown sugar. 

Serve over bed of white rice, garnished with hard boiled egg.  



NOTA BENE: This is not a great "leftover" chili to leave in your refrigerator. 'Best eat this, and serve it to your hungry fans on the day of the game! 

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CRAB-STUFFED CHILE RELLENOS

Okay, so I cheated on this one--big time. I didn't make chili--that spicy stew of peppers and beef. Instead, I stuffed my chili peppers with a number of delicious seafood ingredients that should pair well with the dish Mina is making.

- Kap 

• Brown Paper Bags
• 6 Poblano Chile Peppers
• 2 TBSP Butter
• 1 small Yellow Onion, sliced
• 1 small Blue Potato (you can use a regular Yukon Gold or Red Potato variety, if you can't find blue potatoes, but they aren't as fun)
• 4 oz. White Cheddar, shredded
• 3-4 medium Shrimp, peeled, deveined, cooked, and chopped
• 6 oz. can Lump Crab Meat, picked through for shells
• 4 oz. Philadelphia Garden Vegetable Cream Cheese, softened (you can use 1/3 less fat, if you want)
• Flour, for dredging
• 1 small container of Bisquick Shake n' Pour Pancake Mix
• 1 tsp. Cumin
• 1 TBSP Chili Powder
• Vegetable Oil, for frying
• Salt, to taste
• Black Bean Puree (recipe below)
• Coconut-Green Curry Sauce (recipe below)
• Scallions, chopped for garnish
• Hot Sauce, for garnish (optional)

Turn your broiler on high. Rub peppers with olive oil, place on a baking sheet, and blacken, turning them with tongs every few minutes until the skin of the peppers grows black and begins to crack.

Put each chili in its own brown bag, fold the tops down, and let the peppers "sweat" in the bag for 15 minutes. (This will allow them to cool down, and it will also make it easier for you to peel the skin off the peppers.)

Remove the skin from the peppers. (If you don't get all of the skin off, that's okay.)

Using a paring knife, carefully slice one side of the peppers lengthwise. Spoon out all of the seeds. (Be careful not to tear the pepper!)

In a small pan, melt the butter and add the sliced onion, cooking until the onion is well caramelized (about 10 min.).

Bring water to a boil in a small stock pan, and boil the potato for 5 minutes. Remove from water and pat dry. Shred the potato, using a cheese grater.

Combine the caramelized onion, shredded potato, shredded cheddar, chopped shrimp, crab meat, and cream cheese in a bowl. Stuff this mixture inside each chili, and then close the peppers up (securing with toothpicks, if need be).

Heat vegetable oil in a pan on the stove (1/4" up the side of the pan).

Roll each chili pepper in flour. 

Add water to the Bisquick mixture (following the directions on the container), add the cumin and chili powder, and shake vigorously. Dip each chili pepper in the batter and fry them in the oil (about 2 min. per side).

Season the rellenos with salt, to taste. Serve over black bean puree, top with coconut green-curry sauce. Garnish with chopped scallions.

Black Bean Puree

• 1 14 oz. can Black Beans, drained
• 2 TBSP Hot Sauce (I used Cholula Chili Garlic)
• Squirt of Lime Juice

In a food processor, mix black beans with hot sauce and lime. Heat through on the stovetop in a pan over medium heat.

Coconut-Green Curry Sauce

• 1 4 oz. jar Green Curry Paste
• 1 14 oz. can Coconut Milk

In a sauce pan, mix green curry paste and coconut milk. (Add milk or cream to the sauce, if necessary, to reach the desired consistency.) Heat through and serve.

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DRINK RECOMMENDATIONS: VOUVRAY
Chateau de Vouvray (Loire Valley, France, 2012)

Mina is making a seafood chili this week, and Kap has seafood in his chilis, but more to the point, Mina's is a cream-based chili, so the creamy notes of the Chateau De Valmer's Vouvray of 2012 pairs well with our unique takes on chili.  

- Kap & Mina

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EAGLES PREDICTION

Bye Week -- You've earned some rest, Eagles. Time to heal up before next week's match-up in Arizona.



MY RECORD: 4-2

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All recipes listed above come from our own imaginations unless otherwise indicated. If you try one of these recipes in your own kitchen, leave a comment below and tell us how it goes. And, of course, share your modifications, enhancements, improvements, etc.