 | Brian Bulot is manager of G&W Foods in Girard and has been in the Grocery Retail business for 27 years. For more information please call 620-724-4411. |
Food & Drink
2013-03-01 14:41:55
What are some hot & spicy food ideas?
Q-I need some help with an idea for a main dish for an event. What I would like is something that reflects our region, yet has a real kick. Do you have ideas for something hot, spicy, and filling?
A-There is a new trend in people wanting to incorporate more spice and heat into their dishes. This stems in part to a greater interest in the culinary pursuits as well as many new health benefits now associated with spicy foods. Whatever your reason for wanting dishes, that will blow your face off, you will have plenty of exciting choices.
People all over the world enjoy spicy foods and you can find a great many dishes that have evolved from the cultures that spawned them. Today, we have a huge variety of spices widely available so that you can take some of those dishes and adapt them with a regional twist and make them your own.
Maybe you do not want to go too far out of the box since it is for an event, but still want something HOT and memorable. One of my favorite spicy main dishes is chili because you can cook several pots and adjust the heat accordingly. For a regional twist, try venison! Here is one of my favorite recipes:
Venison Chili
This recipe makes a lot of chili...it will feed six really hungry guys, or a dozen or so with ordinary appetites.
Ingredients
3 pounds of cubed or coarse ground venison
3 tablespoons of butter
3 tablespoons cooking oil
3 cans of red kidney beans
1 and 1/2 cups tomato sauce
3/4 cup of tomato paste
1 can stewed tomatoes
6 cloves garlic, chopped
6 Jalapeno peppers, chopped *
1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped fine
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons Franks RedHot Louisiana Hot Sauce
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon oregano
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
*Remove the seeds for less heat.
Heat up a skillet and brown the venison in the butter and oil. A big secret to good tasting chili is to really brown the venison well. Add the onion and garlic to the browned venison and cook until softened. Drain well.
Put the venison, onion and garlic into a large crock pot ( 6 to 8 quarts). Add the remaining ingredients, mixing well. Cook on high for 2 hours, then turn down to low. Cook for another 6 to eight hours, stirring every once in a while. The homemade venison chili should be fairly thick. If not, cook on high with the cover off for another hour or so.
Serve the chili topped off with shredded cheese, sour cream and hot cornbread. It freezes well too, if any is left over--- but trust me, it is very unlikely that you will.
