The Art of Eating In - Cathy Erway [163]
Oh, what the heck. Dating is dating, eating is eating, and if it was dull at times, then no matter. I certainly didn’t plan on starting a blog about not dating in New York. Someday I’d have to find the courage to do that home-cooked-dinner first date, too.
My cell phone dinged with a message from Keith.
“Is it on?” Jordan asked.
I gave her and Dan a thumbs-up.
The next week, I went on a date with the chili cook-off winner.
Coffee and Cigarettes Ladyfinger Sandwiches
This was part of the dessert course at the A Razor, A Shiny Knife dinner described in the first part of this chapter. It incorporates finely ground tobacco in the cookie batter for a spicy, zesty bite, and ground coffee in the frosting.
(MAKES ABOUT 24)
4 egg whites
4 egg yolks
⅓ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon vanilla
¾ cup flour
¼ cup extra finely ground tobacco (ground in a food processor)
1 stick butter, softened
About 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
¼ cup very finely ground coffee
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat the egg whites with an electric beater until stiff peaks form. Beat the yolks with the sugar and vanilla until paler in color and fluffy. Gradually add the flour until smoothly incorporated. Gently fold in the egg whites and the vanilla. Transfer batter to a piping bag (or plastic bag with a small corner snipped out) and pipe long, cigarlike fingers onto a well-greased cookie sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes or until just crisp around the edges. Transfer to a cooling rack.
Whisk the softened butter in a large bowl. Gradually whisk in the confectioners’ sugar, ½ cup or so at a time, along with the coffee. Transfer to a piping bag and pipe frosting onto the back of one of the cooled tobacco ladyfingers and press together with another cookie to make a sandwich. Repeat with the rest.
Four-Pepper Pulled-Pork Chili
This is a chili similar to the one I’d called “If I Hada Pepper” at the Chili Takedown in this chapter, but with fresh corn and pumpkin puree for a little more sweet to go with the spicy.
(SERVES 4-6)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2-3-pound piece of pork shoulder
Pork, chicken, or vegetable broth to cover (or substitute water)
2 large onions, roughly chopped
5 cloves garlic, chopped
About 1 teaspoon each of cumin, cayenne pepper, paprika, oregano, and chili powder
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup strong black coffee
1 6-ounce can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, crushed or blended in a food processor
1 24-ounce can whole peeled plum tomatoes with juice
4 strips bacon
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup pinto beans
1 cup fresh corn kernels
1 Anaheim or New Mexico chili, seeds removed and diced
2 sweet bell or Italian peppers, preferably red, orange, or yellow, diced
3-4 jalapeños, seeds removed and roughly chopped
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large, heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, heat the vegetable oil on high for 2 minutes. Pat down pork shoulder until very dry and place in pot. Let cook on each side about 2 minutes, until most of the surface has been lightly browned. Remove from heat. Scrape bottom of pot and deglaze with pork stock. Place the pork shoulder back in the pot, and add the onions, garlic, chili pepper, jalapeños, spices, and salt and pepper. Add the coffee, chipotles, tomatoes, and enough stock to just cover the meat. Bring to a boil. Line the top of the pork shoulder with the bacon strips. Cook, covered, for at least 2 hours.
When the pork has been braising for 2 hours, remove from oven. Carefully remove the shoulder and transfer it to a roasting rack that will sit on top of the open pot, to catch any juices that drip from it. Return shoulder, now on a rack on top of the pot, to oven and roast for another 15 minutes at the same temperature. Remove everything from oven, and set shoulder aside to cool completely. Blend the braising liquid in the pot with a hand blender, or by transferring it carefully to a