there are many reasons i wanted to go into business for myself, but one of the biggest reasons was my schedule. i detest living on someone else's schedule. while i'm a hard worker and work most of my waking hours, i want to work on what i want to work on, when i want to work on it. if that happens to be at eleven at night on a tuesday, so be it. it's on me. 

of course there are downsides. there is never anyone to cover for me, there is no "vacation" time and i work most holidays. but i do have control over my days off. so this sunday i scheduled myself off so i could actually ATTEND a party. 

naturally, i'm bringing some food (it is my bestie's house, i can't not contribute). and when she suggested i make chili, i knew exactly where to go searching for the perfect recipe... 

last year when i stopped working and was finalizing all my wedding planning, i went DEEP into chili recipes. i tried at least a dozen recipes and used wes and my mother as test subjects to hone in on the BEST chili. i was looking for a classic, go to chili you count on for events just like the super bowl. 

after flipping through pages of scribble recipe notes covered in oil droplets and sauce stains, i found just what i was looking for. the page with a large note at the bottom. "WES REALLY LIKES THIS ONE." winner, winner. 

super bowl chili
serves: 5-6
prep time: 20 minutes
active time: 40 minutes
inactive time: 2 hours
total time: 3 hours
ingredients: 1 lb ground beef. 2 tbs olive oil. 1 brown onion, diced. 1 bell pepper (your choice of color), diced. 1 jalapeno pepper, all but about 10 seeds removed, and small diced. 5 garlic cloves, minced. 1 chipotle pepper, seeds removed and small chopped. 1 tbs fresh chopped oregano. 1 tbs cumin. 1 tbs brown sugar. 1 bottle of beer (i used new castle but use what you like to drink). 1 14oz can diced tomatoes. 1 14 oz can kidney beans, rinsed. 1 14 oz can pinto beans, rinsed. 4 cups chicken stock. 1 tbs salt. .25 tbs ground pepper. 1 cup mexican blend cheese. handful of cilantro for garnish. lime wedges for garnish. 

in a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat until hot. add in the onion, jalapeno and bell pepper. 

season with one fourth of the salt and pepper and cook until the onions are translucent. about 7-10 minutes. 

press the veggie mixture to the sides of the pot. pat the ground beef dry and season the meat with half the remaining salt and pepper. turn up the heat to medium high. 

add the beef to the center of the pot and allow the meat to sear on one side before flipping it. about 5 minutes. 

allow the other side of the meat to sear before breaking it up with a wooden spoon. 

when you have broken up the meat, add in the garlic, oregano, brown sugar, cumin, chipotle and stir well tog combine. 

continue to cook the mixture, stirring every minute or so until the garlic is fragrant. about 2-3 minutes.

pour in the tomatoes. 

and the beer. 

bring the mixture to a simmer. allow it to cook down for about 5 minutes. 

add in the last of the salt and pepper, chicken stock and beans. 

stir well to combine and bring the chili to a boil. once boiling, reduce the heat till the liquid is gently simmering. simmer on low for 1-2 hours for the liquid to reduce a bit and the flavors to meld. 

serve hot, topped with cheese, lime and a couple of cilantro sprigs. 

xo, a

super bowl chili
serves: 5-6
prep time: 20 minutes
active time: 40 minutes
inactive time: 2 hours
total time: 3 hours
ingredients: 1 lb ground beef. 2 tbs olive oil. 1 brown onion, diced. 1 bell pepper (your choice of color), diced. 1 jalapeno pepper, all but about 10 seeds removed, and small diced. 5 garlic cloves, minced. 1 chipotle pepper, seeds removed and small chopped. 1 tbs fresh chopped oregano. 1 tbs cumin. 1 tbs brown sugar. 1 bottle of beer (i used new castle but use what you like to drink). 1 14oz can diced tomatoes. 1 14 oz can kidney beans, rinsed. 1 14 oz can pinto beans, rinsed. 4 cups chicken stock. 1 tbs salt. .25 tbs ground pepper. 1 cup mexican blend cheese. handful of cilantro for garnish. lime wedges for garnish.
in a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat until hot. add in the onion, jalapeno and bell pepper. season with one fourth of the salt and pepper and cook until the onions are translucent. about 7-10 minutes.
press the veggie mixture to the sides of the pot. pat the ground beef dry and season the meat with half the remaining salt and pepper. turn up the heat to medium high.
add the beef to the center of the pot and allow the meat to sear on one side before flipping it. about 5 minutes. allow the other side of the meat to sear before breaking it up with a wooden spoon.
when you have broken up the meat, add in the garlic, oregano, brown sugar, cumin, chipotle and stir well tog combine.
continue to cook the mixture, stirring every minute or so until the garlic is fragrant. about 2-3 minutes.
pour in the tomatoes.
and the beer.
bring the mixture to a simmer. allow it to cook down for about 5 minutes.
add in the last of the salt and pepper, chicken stock and beans.
stir well to combine and bring the chili to a boil. once boiling, reduce the heat till the liquid is gently simmering. simmer on low for 1-2 hours for the liquid to reduce a bit and the flavors to meld.
serve hot, topped with cheese, lime and a couple of cilantro sprigs. 

in the last thirty years, i have been lucky enough to acquire some amazing life long friends. until the last year, there has always been some built in network in my life. school, swimming, work and sorority all brought me strong, interesting, dynamic women.

but now that i am mostly self employed/doing contract work and most of my best girls are all over the world, i have found myself having to make new friends. and honestly, it's been way more fun than i expected. i've thrown caution to the wind and shown up to parties solo, gone on lady dates with girls i've only met once and have taken tons of yoga classes with new friends. and i've met a lot of really great people.

last week i got so bold to invite a new friend over to my house to cook with me. marlene and i met at yas and she has too many jobs just like me. and just like me she has an alternative schedule that finds her free at noon on a tuesday. so last week we got together to cook up this delicious risotto. too bad we talked so much i didn't actually finish cooking. hopefully it left her wanting more? 

she may not have sampled any of this dish, but i promise it was delicious. i'm even considering using it as my entry for the first ever samuels family thanksgiving cook off. 

now keep in mind if you are going to make this dish, it is not hard, but it is labor intense. meaning, you need to be able to stand at the stove or near the stove for about an hour. mostly all you need to do is stand there and stir, but you need to stand there and stir. the good news is you can keep the rest of the bottle of white wine handy to sip as you stir. 

pumpkin risotto
serves: 4
prep time: 20 minutes
cook time: 1 hour
total time: 1 hour 20 minutes
ingredients: .5 lb pumpkin, pealed and diced (about 2 cups). 2 onions, diced. 3 garlic cloves, smashed. 2 tbs olive oil. 1 tsp nutmeg. 1 tsp salt. .5 tsp pepper. .75 c dry white wine. 1.5 c arborio rice (recommended, but you can sub other rice if it is all you have). 5 tbs butter. 7 c chicken stock. 1 c parmesan, grated. 3 tbs parsley, chopped. blender, food processor or emersion blender to puree pumpkin. 

start by combining half the onion, pumpkin, garlic and olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. season with half the salt, pepper and nutmeg. cook until the onions are translucent and starting to brown, about 5-7 minutes.
when the onions are translucent, pour in the wine, the rest of the salt, pepper and nutmeg and stir well to combine. continue to cook over medium heat until the liquid has evaporated and the pumpkin is tender. another 10 to 15 minutes. stir ever few minutes. 

while the pumpkin is cooking down, combine the remaining onion, rice and butter in a heavy pot. 

heat the mixture over medium high heat until the onions are translucent and the rice is toasted, stirring every few minutes. about 7-10 minutes.
as your rice is toasting, put your chicken stock in a pot and bring the stock to a slow simmer. you want the liquid to be hot when it goes into the rice mixture. 

once your rice is toasted, pour in 1 cup of chicken stock. simmer till the liquid is almost completely evaporated. about 2 minutes. 

once the liquid is almost evaporated, reduce the heat to medium and continue that process with three more cups of stock, one cup at a time. should take 5 to 7 minutes per cup at medium heat. 

somewhere in the process of adding the stock, your pumpkin will become tender. 

remove the pumpkin mix from the heat and place it in your blending device. blend till mostly smooth, with just a few small pieces still remaining for texture. 

after your 4 cups of stock have been absorbed, stir in the pumpkin puree. 

once the puree has been completely combined, once again add the stock one cup at a time until all the stock is absorbed.

remove the risotto from the heat and stir in half of the parmesan, most of the parsley and the remaining butter and stir until everything melts together. 

the rice should be tender with just the slightest bite to it and very creamy.

top with desired amount of cheese and a sprinkling of parsley and serve hot. 

xo, a

pumpkin risotto
serves: 4
prep time: 20 minutes
cook time: 1 hour
total time: 1 hour 20 minutes
ingredients: .5 lb pumpkin, pealed and diced (about 2 cups). 2 onions, diced. 3 garlic cloves, smashed. 2 tbs olive oil. 1 tsp nutmeg. 1 tsp salt. .5 tsp pepper. .75 c dry white wine. 1.5 c arborio rice (recommended, but you can sub other rice if it is all you have). 5 tbs butter. 7 c chicken stock. 1 c parmesan, grated. 3 tbs parsley, chopped. blender, food processor or emersion blender to puree pumpkin.
start by combining half the onion, pumpkin, garlic and olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. season with half the salt, pepper and nutmeg. cook until the onions are translucent and starting to brown, about 5-7 minutes.
when the onions are translucent, pour in the wine, the rest of the salt, pepper and nutmeg and stir well to combine. continue to cook over medium heat until the liquid has evaporated and the pumpkin is tender. another 10 to 15 minutes. stir ever few minutes.
while the pumpkin is cooking down, combine the remaining onion, rice and butter in a heavy pot. heat the mixture over medium high heat until the onions are translucent and the rice is toasted, stirring every few minutes. about 7-10 minutes.
as your rice is toasting, put your chicken stock in a pot and bring the stock to a slow simmer. you want the liquid to be hot when it goes into the rice mixture. once your rice is toasted, pour in 1 cup of chicken stock. simmer till the liquid is almost completely evaporated. about 2 minutes.
once the liquid is almost evaporated, reduce the heat to medium and continue that process with three more cups of stock, one cup at a time. should take 5 to 7 minutes per cup at medium heat.
somewhere in the process of adding the stock, your pumpkin will become tender. remove the pumpkin mix from the heat and place it in your blending device. blend till mostly smooth, with just a few small pieces still remaining for texture.
after your 4 cups of stock have been absorbed, stir in the pumpkin puree.
once the puree has been completely combined, once again add the stock one cup at a time until all the stock is absorbed.
remove the risotto from the heat and stir in half of the parmesan, most of the parsley and the remaining butter and stir until everything melts together. the rice should be tender with just the slightest bite to it and very creamy.
top with desired amount of cheese and a sprinkling of parsley and serve hot.