> I, for one, am disappointed that the grump of one person has caused the well > of recipes to dry up. I'm here because I want to learn about peppers and > how to eat them (would love to be a left-over-nibbling mouse in the Hallowed > Halls of Doug). Being a certified ‘brown thumb', I doubt that any of your > advice on germination, virus, 10-24-36, etc will do me much good, but ‘I > tried this last night and it was really good' recipes are important. > Shuttling me away to a list of recipes at some web site is OK at times, but > I like the information straight from the horse's m-m-m.. fingers. [End rant > two, end rant all] OK, OK, I can take a hint. I'll risk the wrath of the Massachusetts Mangler and post a few of my receipes. I've made/made up all of these and they are staples in my kitchen. MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06 Title: Uncle Dirty Dave Drum's Prize Winning Chilli Categories: Chilli, Tex-mex, Beef Yield: 1 servings 4 lb Chilli grind round steak 4 ts Garlic powder * 1 lg Onion; chopped fine 4 ts Cocoa 1/2 ts Ground coriander (opt) ** 3 tb Kraft Beef Base 24 oz V8 (straight or picante) 1 ts Cayenne pepper 8 tb Chilli powder 4 ts Cumin 16 oz Can Red Gold diced tomatoes With chiles Or- 1 lg Tomato, diced w/juice and a 4 oz Can of Old El Paso or La Preferida green Chiles *** Strong coffee; opt'l 1/2 ts Brown sugar; opt'l * I use garlic powder (or granules) because they are pretty consistent as to taste and strength. I like fresh as much as the next guy. But, it's nice to use ingredients that are the same from batch to batch. ** This used to be 2 teaspoons of ground coriander (soapweed) but I was getting "strange taste" comments on judge's sheets until I cut this ingredient waaaay back. Now I win prizes with this receipe once again. *** Apropos of fresh ingredients - you can substitute Anaheim (aka New Mexico) chiles for the canned chiles. Processed New Mexican chiles are what is in the can anyway. The fresh chiles are fairly mild (low heat) and quite flavourful. Use a 12" cast iron Dutch Oven. Toss 4 lb. of chilli grind round steak into the pot and start browning it. Add 1 tsp. of garlic powder per pound of meat. While meat is browning chop a large onion reasonably fine. When ground round no longer shows pink add the diced onion and 1 tsp cocoa (Hershey's or Nestle') per pound of meat. Toss in 2 tsp ground coriander. Stir in 3 Tb. of Kraft Beef Base. (note: this is pretty salty - watch it) Add about half of a 48 oz. can of V8 (straight or picante') juice and 1 tsp. of cayenne pepper. Continue to simmer and stir. When onions are clear toss in 2 Tbs chilli powder per pound of meat. (I use Chilli Man, Mexene, or Gebhardt's) and 1 tsp cumin per pound of meat. Add the Red Gold diced tomatoe with chiles or a 4 oz. can of Old El Paso or La Preferida green chiles (chop and seed if you grabbed the whole peppers by mistake). Add the diced tomato and its juices. Continue to simmer and stir until onions are tender and completely transparent adding V8 juice as necessary. If you run out of V8 use either unsalted 'mater juice or strong coffee to add liquid. Total cooking time about 90 minutes. If you're cooking at home you can serve this batch at this point. See below for longer schedules and the "kicker". If you're on a 3 hour schedule - most cook offs are - turn off stove and let your pot marinate for about an hour. About 30 minutes before turn-in time relight the stove and bring the chilli back to a simmer. Taste carefully and critically. This is final adjustment time. If it's too salty try adding about 1/2 tsp of brown sugar. If the chilli has died or gone flat add 1 tsp chilli powder and 1/2 tsp cumin per pound of meat and simmer right up to time to put in judging cups. As evidence that any receipe is a living, breathing organism this one was revised and updated immediately after the Mount Auburn Volunteer Fire Department's Annual (1998) Chilli Cook-off. I didn't win (dammit) but second place isn't anything to sneeze at. It beats kissing your old maid aunt on the lips. Developed, revised, typed by Uncle Dirty Dave FROM: Uncle Dirty Dave's Kitchen MMMMM MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06 Title: Uncle Dirty Dave's Red Pork Chilli Categories: Pork, Chiles, Mine Yield: 6 servings 3 lb Fresh picnic shoulder Cubed in 1/2" cubes 1 cn Red Gold diced tomatoes W/chiles (or Ro-Tel) 1/2 c Water 1/4 ts Ground coriander 1/4 ts Garlic Granules 1 cn (4 Oz.) Old El Paso Chopped green chiles Salt and Pepper 2 md Bell peppers - cut into Strips or diced coarse 1 lg Onion - chopped 2 ts Chilli powder 1/2 ts Cumin In a 10 or 12 inch, well seasoned cast iron skillet heat the salt, pepper and garlic. Add the meat and stir around until all sides of the cubes are gray. Add 1/2 cup of water and continue to stir until all water is absorbed or cooked away. Let the meat fry in its own fat until it starts to brown. Add chopped onion and cook a few minutes longer. Add tomato sauce, chiles, pepper, coriander, cumin, chilli powder and more salt if needed. Reduce heat to simmer and cook covered 30 minutes or until meat is tender, stirring occasionally. Serve with Spanish rice or Cajun rice. Serves 4 to 6 Developed, tested and enthusiastically approved at Uncle Dirty Dave's Kitchen, Springfield, IL. It be GOOOOOOD stuff, Maynard. Format by Dave Drum - 19 August 98 FROM: Uncle Dirty Dave's Kitchen MMMMM MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06 Title: Alabama Picnic Chilli Categories: Chilli, Tested, Beef Yield: 10 servings 5 lb Coarse-ground beef 1 lg Onion, diced fairly fine 1/2 c Green bell pepper, diced 2 tb Beef base 1 tb Cocoa (Nestle or Hershey) 5 ts Powdered garlic granules 1 ts Ground cumin 48 oz Can tomato juice 5 tb Plus 3 ts chilli powder 1/2 ts Fresh black pepper Combine the beef base, tomato juice, chopped veggies, cocoa and 4 tespoons of powdered garlic in a dutch oven over a low (simmer) flame. Divide the hamburger into three more-or-less equal batches and brown it in a separate skillet. Add 1 teaspoon per batch of chilli powder. When browned and crumbled drain excess fat and add to dutch oven. Repeat until all ground beef is in the chilli pot. Add the black pepper to the chilli pot. Stir in 1 tablespoon per pound of meat of the chilli powder (5 Tb for this batch). Cover pot and let simmer, stirring once in a while. When the onions and peppers are cooked (about 1 1/2 hr) taste the pot. You will probably find that you'll need to add the remaining tablespoon of garlic powder and the teaspoon of ground cumin. You may also want to add an additional tablespoon of chilli powder at this time. Trust me on the garlic and cumin. It adds the final kick. Neysa tasted before and after and could not believe how much difference it made. Simmer for an additional 10 to 15 minutes and serve. For those desiring a hotter product add cayenne until your lips turn numb and your sinuses drain if you like. I made this batch extra-mild in deference to picnic attendees who don't handle heat real well. Sadly, Maya Houston thought it was still too hot after she tasted a spoonful. &^(= Format and receipe by Dave Drum - 18 August 98 FROM: Uncle Dirty Dave's Kitchen MMMMM ENJOY!!! -- Uncle Dirty Dave's Kitchens Home of Yaaaah Hoooo Aaahhh HOT Sauce & Hardin Cider