Georgia Peach Chili with Southern Biscuits for “Gone With the Wind”

 

In an effort to keep up with our easy and (somewhat) healthy at-home recipes, we decided to make a hearty chili featuring fresh peaches along with homemade biscuits and mint juleps.

GEORGIA PEACH CHILI – serves 6-8 bowls

Ingredients:

2 lbs. of your favorite chili meat (turkey, beef, or veggie “meat” are all acceptable)

3 cans of red beans

2-3 peaches

2 small jalapenos

2 cloves of garlic

1 large can of diced tomatoes

4 oz. cream cheese

chili powder

red pepper flakes

Montreal steak seasoning (substitute with salt and pepper if you do not have on hand)

Olive oil

1/4 cup bourbon (or whiskey)

Also needed: medium to large crockpot

 

Directions:

Dice up your peaches, jalapenos, and garlic and mix them all together in a large bowl with the bourbon.  Place to the side for later.

Heat a large pan with 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil on medium heat

Once pan is hot place your meat or “meat” in pan while sprinkling in 2 tablespoons of chili powder and 1 tablespoon of Montreal steak seasoning making sure to stir meat consistently until it is browned.

Bring your meat to low heat and then rinse beans and place them into the crockpot with 1 tablespoon of oil and your can of tomatoes.

Set the crockpot to medium heat and stir cooked meat into the crockpot.

Take out another large pan and set to medium heat adding your peach mixture.

Cook your peach mixture for approximately 6-10 minutes until the mixture is cooked through.

Add peach mixture into the crockpot along with the cream cheese and stir.

Add a sprinkle of red pepper flakes and leave the chili cooking on low heat for approximately 2-4 hours returning regularly to stir.

Add chili powder to taste throughout the cooking process.

Serve hot and remember that chili always tastes better the next day!

 

SOUTHERN-STYLE BISCUITS

We decided to go simple and authentic and went with the following buttermilk biscuit recipe to go with our chili:

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/buttermilk-biscuits-10000001673191/

 

• 6 cl Bourbon whiskey
• 4 fresh mint sprigs
• 1 teaspoon powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons water

In a highball glass gently muddle the mint, sugar and water.
Fill the glass with cracked ice, add Bourbon and stir well until the glass is frost.
Garnish with a mint spring.

Garlic-Saffron Seafood Soup w/Instant Ramen for “You Can’t Take It With You”

Since a critical scene in “You Can’t Take it With You” features a stuffy, rich family and an eccentric, middle-class family coming together for an impromptu dinner party , we decided to do our take on a high-low family dinner combining some high-quality ingredients with some ingredients that are more likely to be found in a college dorm room:

Garlic-Saffrom Seafood Soup w/Instant Ramen – (Serves 2)

Ingredients:

1 bulb of garlic

2 frozen tilapia filets (or another flaky whitefish) – defrost before cooking

6-8 pieces of shrimp

2 packets of Top Ramen instant noodle soup (you will not be using the flavor packets)

1/4 cream of whole milk

1/2 cup of frozen corn

1 quart organic vegetable broth

pinch of saffron

dash of black pepper

Directions:

First roast the bulb of garlic in your oven.

When garlic is fully cooked, pour vegetable broth into a large soup pot and add the saffron.

Bring to a boil.

While broth is cooking, take roasted garlic clove and place in a blender with the cream/milk and liquify.

Once the broth reaches a boil, stir your milk mixture into the pot and bring the heat down to a low-medium temperature.

Place fish and shrimp into pot to cook for approximately three minutes and stir.  The fish will break up into chunks during the stirring process.

Add ramen noodles and corn and let simmer until both corn and noodles are fully cooked (approximately 3-5 minutes).

Sprinkle on the black pepper.

Take off of heat and let cool before serving in a large soup bowl.

Champagne cocktail

The beverage for your high-low meal should be a glass of your favorite brut champagne with a splash of fruit punch.

 

 

 

Fish and Chips for “Cavalcade”

To better enjoy this British retrospective, we thought that we would make Britain’s official food: Fish and Chips!

Chips:

• 2-3 medium potatoes, skin-on, cut into French strips
• 2 teaspoons canola oil
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the potatoes in a medium bowl. Whisk together the canola oil, paprika, salt, pepper toss with the potatoes to evenly coat. Place the potatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast until the potatoes are tender and starting to brown, 40 to 45 minutes.

Fish:

1 1/2 lbs. Cod