Poutine! Last weekend I went up to Quebec City for the Winter Carnaval and no surprise, the Poutine craving is strong still this week. I brought back cheese curds (yes, you can bring cheese into the US from across the border) so made myself this awesome lunch.
Lunch
Here is another “Superbowl Weekend” food adventure: Hot Wings! Did you know that Americans eat 1.6 BILLION chicken wings on average, on Superbowl weekend? Crazy, right? These are with a homemade Berbere paste, which is an Ethiopian spice. Plus roasted peppers, onions, garlic and other spices. The wing sauce from that has a little bit of honey in it, so while they are spicy, they aren’t “blow your head off” spicy. The paste can also be used for meats (beef, pork, chicken or even fish) or a little bit could be put in a vinaigrette. Pleased with the result!
It’s Superbowl Sunday Weekend, so one of the very “traditional” things to make is Chili. This year, I am actually entering my chili in a Chili Cook off — first time that I have ever entered a “good contest” of any sort. I decided against a ground beef (hamburger style) Chili and instead minced 5 pounds a chuck beef myself (ok, I cheated by using the food processor). Lots of variations of peppers/chilis and my not-so-secret ingredient (espresso powder). It’s got a great, building heat and isn’t too overpowering. While I don’t think that it will win or even place, I am happy that I endeavored to make it. Yum.
Here’s another idea for a picnic, potluck, biergarten meetup or a quick dinner that will feed — well, I’m guessing this will easily feed 10 people as a snack, maybe 4-5 for dinner. I made a cheater version of this stomboli because I bought the pizza dough at Trader Joes, though it’s not actually difficult to make pizza dough. If you do cheat, this stromboli will be ready in under an hour. Can be eaten hot or at room temperature and can be made a day or two in advance, if needed. Easy-peasy!















