My favorite food? I think favorite foods change as a one matures and evolves from life experience.
As a child I recall visiting my grandparents in Plainview, Texas. The scent of sulfur from a match and the whoosh of the gas burner lighting, heralded the fragrance of biscuits, sausage, and fried eggs, over easy. A neighbor's clambake in Charleston, SC, when I had to stand on tippy-toes to see over the edge the table, provided my first experience salty-Atlantic smell of steamed clams and oysters.
As a teenager living in Florida, fresh-caught seafood, coleslaw and freshly squeezed lime was the food I enjoyed. I also discovered a revulsion for both turtle soup and grits.
As an adult, coffee at Cafe DuMonde, stands out as one of my favorite encounters with food.
The breeze from the delta, the cool morning, a soft sunrise, and fresh benigns dusted liberally with powdered sugar, still makes me smile. I believe food is always tied into social activities or memories of a special experience--this is what makes us include the food in family gatherings.
Turkey, of course is the celebrated food this time of year. Often the leftovers are served as grandmother sandwiches, soup, turkey ala King, the possibilities are seemingly endless. While the remaining teaspoon or two of leftover jellied cranberry sauce is swirled in cream cheese as a frosting atop chocolate brownies.
What is my favorite food? The food that is so scrumptious that I am forever hooked?
That is a very tough question. SoCal offers avocado, vegan, and array of designer foods. However, bowing to Texan days-- chili is one of my favorites. Served as an entree, topping a baked potato, or Baja-style on a garden salad with onions and cheddar cheese, I have a recipe especially for the crockpot (this is different from the Not-for-Sissies version featured in Lynx). And since I am a fan of (non-alcoholic) eggnog, I discovered an easy eggnog point cake recipe--both of which I will share.
Easy Eggnogg Pound Cake
1 (18.25 or 18.50 ounce) pkg. yellow cake mix
1 (4-serving size) pkg. instant vanilla pudding and pie filling mix
3/4 cup Boren EggNog
3/4 cup vegtable oil
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon round nutmeg
Powdered sugar (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In large bowl, combine, cake mix, pudding mix, Eggnogg and oil; beat on low speed until moistened. Add eggs and nutmeg; beat at medium-high speed 4 minutes. Pour into greased and floured 10-inch Bundt pan.
Bake 40 - 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan. Cool completely. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Store leftovers covered at room temperature.
Homestyle Chili
1 1/2 pounds ground beef (lowfat)
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped green pepper
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 cans (about 15 ounces each) dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained.
2 cans (15 ounces each) tomato sauce
1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
2 to 3 teaspoon chili powder
1 to 2 teaspoons dry hot mustard
3/4 dried basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 to 2 dried hot chili peppers
Cook and stir ground beef, onion, bell pepper and gRlic in large skillet until meat is browned and onion tender, drain.
Add beans, tomato sauce, tomatoes with juice, chili powder, mustard, basil, black pepper, and chili pepper. Mix well.
Spoon into crockpot, cover and cook on low 8 to 10 hours. Or 4 - t hours on high. Remove chili pepper before serving.
Remember all of my novels and novellas include my personal recipes.
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6 comments:
Copied both of your recipes. Everything sounded so good and I'd never dreamed of topping a baked potato with chili, sounds scrumptious! Thanks.
Chili and pound cake--comfort foods! Sounds yummy!
Great post. I think so many of us found it hard to pick one food because our tastes have changed over the year. Thanks for the recipes. Definitely going to try the chili.
Loved the use of egg nog to turn a plain yellow cake superlicious. This is a must try.
Geeta
Husband and daughter would agree with you that chili is one of the foods of the gods. He makes his with chunks of meat instead of ground beef. He makes baking powder biscuits to go with it, and laughs at me when I make some macaroni to add to mine. That's one of the reasons he used to like traveling to Texas for work--he'd eat his way around the restaurants, trying everyone's chilli, then recreating it when he got home.
And his grandmother used to make a pound cake that I got the recipe for from one of his aunts. it has, literally, a pound of butter, a pound of sugar, a pound of flour, etc. That's why it's called pound cake. Old-fashioned but very good!
Well, yum! Great recipes--and you are a bit of all over the world, aren't you, Connie. :)
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