The worst part about making chili, real fire house chili, is cook'n up those beans. I prefer black beens or dark kidneys as they don't get as mushy as those lighter beans that they make refried beans from. Lentils are a favorable substitute that I have done before. Anyhow, you typically have to start by soaking the beans, to both rinse them and get them started taking on water. Boil the water and let soak again over night. This could go on for about 2 to 3 days to get things done. Stir often to keep the thick bean broth generated from burning to the bottom of whatever your cook'n the beans in. Don't cook overnight, just let sit. You don't need midnight surprises that the fire department actually needs to come out and give you tips on your firehouse chili for. Don't pour off that brown water, its gonna contribute to the sauce! My ingredient list is simply added after the beans are done cook'n. They include ... Roma Tomatos They are thicker and meatier Aneheim Chilis Hot, but not overwhelming. Sorrano Chilis Hot and zingy. Habneros ( If you really want firehouse flavor ) Onions and lots of 'em. Paprika Chili Powder Cinnamon Not necessary, but you can experiment Cilantro Some people like to add some form of sugar, like molasses, etc., but I don't. Here are some tips ... 1.) Cut up Tomatoes, Onions and Peppers so they form long strips. Don't dice 'em. 2.) Go find some real earthy chili powder. New Mexico and California have some really nice varieties that range from a ocre red to more brownish and they have flavor that'll make your chili ... chili! 3.) Where's the beef? Oh, I don't put it in mine. But when I do, I like to do what I do with spaghetti sauce and add both beef and pork. Cut up something like stewing beef strips and center cut pork chops. 4.) My old friend balsamic vinegar can add an interesting change to your chili. 5.) OK so you don't like reall hard core chili - eh? Well, don't use the habneros and add celery to mellow things out. Use less chili powder. 6.) If your chili is really thick, make sure you drink alot. You can either thin it down before hand or afterwards ... it's your choice.

It's the seasonings that are different for one big pot than four little ones--as you know since you don't quadruple! For instance, when you double a recipe, you don't double the salt or it'll be too salty, but you do need to increase it. With spices, it can go the other way, where a half teaspoon is plenty for a small pot, but you need more than double for the same flavor in a bigger pot. (Don't ask me why--I don't know--it seems a lot like tuning a piano. You can't go by the math, you have to temper it.) With things you think will be too strong, you can start careful, taste just before you leave the house, and just when you get back, and adjust. I know that's not a good crockpotty thing to do, but the best way to know how it tastes is to taste it! Do you use salt? It doesn't take a lot, and your onions might have enough salt in them, but beef tastes bland and blah without at least a little salt. And, yes, celery could change it a lot! Celery has a lot of water and salt. Green peppers have a very distinct flavor and will totally change the flavor of a pot of chili. Carrots are sweet, as is corn. All are good, and I'd put them in too, but they can change the basic flavor. I might also add zucchini, which is just a bit wet and doesn't add a big flavor component. Rather than cooking down the veg in the chili, you might just want to steam or roast them to just tender and have them as additional mix-ins. Or have them cooked and ready, but just stir them into the chili as soon as you get home from church, so they're warm and have gotten a good coating of sauce, but haven't changed the base chili much. Or you could dish up in a couple of big oven safe bowls and do one with veg stirred in, and maybe a smaller one as is if you think there will be people who won't eat the veg, and put them in the oven to keep warm until you're ready to serve and let them meld that way. Since you're talking about tacos and hot dogs, why not get 100% corn tortillas? You can grill/toast them ahead of time and put them out as wrappers for whatever people want to put in them. If your guests aren't looking for a lot of starch/sweet you could even do that instead of the cornbread. Do heed the hot dog warnings! I had lovely fresh handmade top quality tasty hamburgers for Independence day and people flocked to the not so great hotdogs that one guest (with permission) brought to suit himself. Even people who imagine themselves as foodies love a good gristly nitrate-laden salty old hotdog! If you don't want to have hotdogs for everyone and change your whole menu from chili to chili dogs, you could get the miniatures, or cook and cut up some regular ones to be used as more mix-ins (and hold a couple whole ones back for the kids who just don't want the chili). I've been going through some of the same thing. I have a Celiac, a couple of pescatarians, a nut allergy, one who won't eat things where all the ingredients are mixed up in a pot, like a stew, and one who won't eat just about anything, and is allowed to bring his own (like the hotdogs) if it's not formal sit down. If it is formal sit down, he gets a baked potato (even if it's not on the menu--a hold over that everyone understands from one who was in very poor health for years before he died but could always eat a potato) and whatever else he's willing to deign to eat, and he can get his own dinner at home. :) Best of luck with the menu, and that it turns out easy after your good planning and organization, so you get to enjoy the day and the company.

This is my favorite pork stew recipe: Huron County Pork Stew 2 pounds boneless pork butt or shoulder All-purpose flour, for dredging 4 slices bacon, coarsely chopped 12 small white onions, peeled 1 garlic clove, finely chopped 2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch slices 1/2 cup diced celery 4 Granny Smith apples (peeled and cored), diced 1-1/2 pounds russet potatoes, scrubbed and quartered 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage leaves or 1 teaspoon dried rubbed sage 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme 1 cup apple cider 1 cup chicken stock Salt and freshly ground black pepper Trim the pork of excess fat and cut into 3/4-inch cubes. Place the flour in a shallow bowl and dredge the pork cubes in the flour. Spread the pork cubes out on a board to allow flour to dry while you render the bacon. Place bacon in a Dutch oven or large, heavy saucepan over medium heat and saute until it begins to render its fat. Brown all the pork cubes on all sides, a few at a time. Remove pork from the pan and reserve. Remove all but 2 tablespoons bacon fat. Place the onions, garlic, carrots and celery in the pan and saute until the onions are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Return the pork to the pan and add the remaining ingredients. Bring the mixture to a simmer and simmer, loosely covered, for 1 hour or until the pork is tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve. Serve with hot cornbread or biscuits. Note: If you prefer a thicker sauce, whisk 1/2 cup of the sauce together with 1 or 2 tablespoons flour. Stir this mixture back into the Dutch oven and cook for an additional 7 to 10 minutes, or until sauce is thickened and the flour is cooked. Serves 6 Source: John Hadamuscin's Enchanted Evenings

Posted by foodonastump (My Page) on Thu, Mar 8, 12 at 7:57 I tried out this Pork Lo Mein recipe in an effort to find a good base for the Lo Mein for ARgirl wanted. I don't think this is what she was looking for, but it was really good nonetheless. Serves 4. Published September 1, 2008. From Cook's Illustrated. Ingredients 3tablespoons soy sauce 2tablespoons oyster sauce 2tablespoons hoisin sauce (see note) 1tablespoon toasted sesame oil 1/4teaspoon five-spice powder 1pound boneless country-style pork ribs , trimmed of surface fat and excess gristle and sliced crosswise into 1/8-inch pieces 1/4teaspoon liquid smoke (optional) 1/2cup low-sodium chicken broth 1teaspoon cornstarch 2medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 2 teaspoons) 2teaspoons grated fresh ginger 4 1/2teaspoons vegetable oil 4tablespoons Chinese rice cooking wine (Shao-Xing) or dry sherry 1/2pound shiitake mushrooms , stems trimmed, caps cut in halves or thirds (about 3 cups) 2bunches scallions , whites thinly sliced and greens cut into 1-inch pieces (about 2 cups) 1small head Napa or Chinese cabbage , halved, cored, and sliced crosswise into 1/2-inch strips (about 4 cups) 12ounces Chinese egg noodles (fresh) or 8 ounces dried linguine 1tablespon Asian chile garlic sauce Instructions 1. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in Dutch oven over high heat. 2. Whisk soy sauce, oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, and five-spice powder together in medium bowl. Place 3 tablespoons soy sauce mixture in large zipper-lock bag; add pork and liquid smoke, if using. Press out as much air as possible and seal bag, making sure that all pieces are coated with marinade. Refrigerate at least 15 minutes or up to 1 hour. Whisk broth and cornstarch into remaining soy sauce mixture in medium bowl. In separate small bowl, mix garlic and ginger with 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil; set aside. 3. Heat 1 teaspoon vegetable oil in 12-inch cast-iron or nonstick skillet over high heat until just smoking. Add half of pork in single layer, breaking up clumps with wooden spoon. Cook, without stirring, 1 minute. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons wine to skillet; cook, stirring constantly, until liquid is reduced and pork is well coated, 30 to 60 seconds. Transfer pork to medium bowl and repeat with remaining pork, 1 teaspoon oil, and remaining 2 tablespoons wine. Wipe skillet clean with paper towels. 4. Return skillet to high heat, add 1 teaspoon vegetable oil, and heat until just smoking. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until light golden brown, 4 to 6 minutes. Add scallions and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until scallions are wilted, 2 to 3 minutes longer; transfer vegetables to bowl with pork. 5. Add remaining teaspoon vegetable oil and cabbage to now-empty skillet; cook, stirring occasionally, until spotty brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Clear center of skillet; add garlic-ginger mixture and cook, mashing mixture with spoon, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir garlic mixture into cabbage; return pork-vegetable mixture and chicken broth-soy mixture to skillet; simmer until thickened and ingredients are well incorporated, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove skillet from heat. 6. While cabbage is cooking, stir noodles into boiling water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until noodles are tender, 3 to 4 minutes for fresh Chinese noodles or 10 minutes for dried linguine. Drain noodles and transfer back to Dutch oven; add cooked stir-fry mixture and garlic-chili sauce, tossing noodles constantly, until sauce coats noodles. Serve immediately. o RE: Cookalong #42 ---------- PORK clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings Posted by jude31 (My Page) on Thu, Mar 8, 12 at 16:30 I tried this recipe, recently, from "Savoring Time in the Kitchen". It is so good and again I couldn't print the picture. I am so sorry, because it looked mouth-watering good. I just have to learn what I'm not doing or doing wrong. jude Pork Schnitzel with Lemon Caper Butter This is a very tasty recipe that I found in our local newspaper. It had achieved the recognition of being one of the top 25 recipes that the newspaper had tested and reviewed in 2011. It's an adaptation of a recipe from the Gourmet Today cookbook. Since pork tenderloin is our favorite cut of pork, I'm always looking for new ways to serve it. This was...delicious! The salty flavor of the capers pairs so well with the breaded schnitzel. It was also a fairly easy dinner to put together and the cooking time is quick. I served it with a simple salad on the side. Enjoy! Pork Schnitzel with Lemon Caper Butter Adapted from Gourmet Today Printable Recipe Note: I cut the recipe in half and only used 1 egg Makes 4 servings 1 ½ pounds pork tenderloin, slice into 1-inch-thick rounds 6 tablespoons cup unsalted butter (divided in half) 3 tablespoons olive oil (divided) 2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and patted dry 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice Salt and freshly ground black pepper 3 eggs 1 ½ cups fine dry bread crumbs 6 tablespoons vegetable oil (about) (divided) Garnish: 1 ½ teaspoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley Lemon wedges Line 1 baking sheet with waxed paper and another baking sheet with paper toweling. Pound pork tenderloin rounds between two sheets of plastic wrap to ¼-inch thickness. Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line a baking sheet with wax paper. In a small saucepan, melt 3 tablespoons butter. Stir in capers, lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Remove from heat and cover loosely to keep warm. Pat pork rounds dry and season with salt and pepper. In a shallow bowl or pie plate, beat eggs with ¼ teaspoon salt. Put bread crumbs in another pie plate or shallow bowl. Dip pork rounds in egg mixture, one at a time, allowing excess to drip off, then dredge in bread crumbs and place on wax-paper-lined baking sheet. In a non-stick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil with 1 tablespoon butter over medium-high heat until foam subsides. Add 2 to 3 pieces of pork, without crowding meat, and cook, turning once, until golden and just cooked through, about 1 minute per side. Transfer cooked rounds to paper-towel-lined baking sheet and keep warm in preheated oven. Cook remaining pork pieces in the same way, adding 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter for each batch. Serve pork drizzled with caper butter and sprinkled with parsley and lemon wedges on the side. o RE: Cookalong #42 ---------- PORK clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings Posted by chase (My Page) on Fri, Mar 9, 12 at 15:31 FOAS, Pork Lo Mein recipe reminded me of this one. It makes a great meat dish for a Chinese style meal. Serve with rice, steamed broccoli with almonds or vegetable Lo Mein. Sweet and Sour Pork 1/2 cup salad oil 1 clove garlic 2 green peppers, quartered 1 1/2 to 2 lbs pork tenderloin, cubed 2 eggs 3 TBSP flour 1 tsp salt pinch pepper 1 cup chicken broth 1 can pineapple chunks, drained 1 TBSP corn starch 3 tsp soya sauce 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup white vinegar 1 TBSP molasses Parboil peppers for 5 minutes. Saute garlic in oil. In separate bowl, beat flour, eggs and seasonings. Dip the pork in the mixture and brown in the oil. Pour off excess oil add broth, pineapple and peppers. Cover and simmer 20 minutes. Blend remaining ingredients. Add to pork. Stir until thick. o RE: Cookalong #42 ---------- PORK clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings Posted by ruthanna (My Page) on Sat, Mar 10, 12 at 9:36 Here's one I forgot to post. You can brown sliced onions along with the pork if you want a lower sodium alternative but I like the flavor of the onion soup mix. CITY CHICKEN 1 1/2 lbs. pork cubes 1/2 cup flour 1/4 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. garlic powder 1/4 tsp. pepper 2 Tbs. butter 2 tbs. vegetable oil 1 envelope dried onion soup mix 2 cups chicken broth or water, or 1 cup of each Thread pork on small wooden skewers. Combine flour, salt, pepper and garlic powder; roll kabobs in flour mixture until coated. In large skillet, heat butter and oil over medium heat. Brown kabobs, turning frequently; drain excess oil. Sprinkle with soup mix. Add broth and/or water. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 1 hour or until tender. If desired, thicken pan juices. Photobucket o RE: Cookalong #42 ---------- PORK clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings Posted by wizardnm (My Page) on Mon, Mar 12, 12 at 13:01 Many good recipes on this thread with pork and they really show how versatile pork is. Ruthanna's City Chicken is calling my name...along with all the other recipes. I agree with Chase...pork is my favorite meat. I just drew a name..... your turn ****************** Annie1992 ******************* The next Cookalong subject is your choice. Just post it here and I will set up the next thread. Nancy o RE: Cookalong #42 ---------- PORK clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings Posted by ruthanna (My Page) on Mon, Mar 12, 12 at 17:18 Well, we now know the next Cookalong ingredient won't be Jell-O. LOL o RE: Cookalong #42 ---------- PORK clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings Posted by annie1992 (My Page) on Mon, Mar 12, 12 at 17:38 Nope, and not olives either, or veal! (grin) I'm thinking, I'll get back to you as soon as I check the other cookalong threads and see which ingredients we've already used. Annie o I'm back..... clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings Posted by annie1992 (My Page) on Mon, Mar 12, 12 at 17:56 OK, I've decided. My ingredient is cheap, 19 cents a pound at the local grocery right now. It's readily available and I think terribly under utilized and I like it. So, my choice is cabbage! Cooked, raw, in cole slaw, with corned beef for St. Patrick's Day, baked, sauteed, cabbage soup, stuffed cabbage, you name it. Ready? Set? Discuss. Annie o RE: Cookalong #42 ---------- PORK clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings Posted by wizardnm (My Page) on Mon, Mar 12, 12 at 18:10 Cabbage it is! Thanks to all who contributed to the pork Cookalong. Other pork recipes can be added to this thread.. Nancy Here is a link that might be useful: Cookalong #43 ----- CABBAGE! o RE: Cookalong #42 ---------- PORK clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings Posted by foodonastump (My Page) on Mon, Mar 12, 12 at 18:26 Just coming back to give a thumbs up and thanks to Sharon for the Sweet and Sour Pork. We liked! o RE: Cookalong #42 ---------- PORK clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings Posted by chase (My Page) on Mon, Mar 12, 12 at 18:45 Glad you enjoyed FOAS.....good with shrimp too! Cabbage.....thud! Does sauerkraut count?