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.
I decided to make another concoction with the delicious Eliot’s Nut Butters. If you haven’t tried these “adult” peanut butters, they are really nice with some unique additions. My favorite is the Chipotle Honey, but this Espresso Nib Peanut Butter is also pretty yummy. So, take a guess — how many mini cookies do you think are in this cookie jar?
It’s getting to be Valentine’s Day and every year about this time, I go off on a little rant on how much I hate Valentine’s Day while at the same time making treat in the shapes of hearts and made with chocolate. It is also the anniversary of this here blog — Cup of Sugar :: Pinch of Salt turns 9 years old on Sunday. This is usually my excuse for making treat like these linzer cookies. This time with Passion Fruit and Red Wine Jelly filling. Different (especially the red wine) but delicious.
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.