Duke’s Kicked-Up Chili

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium red onion, diced
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 large red bell pepper, diced
1 Anaheim pepper, roasted and diced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 pounds lean ground beef
1 pounds pork sausage, casing removed
4 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
One 6-ounce can tomato paste
One 8-ounce cans tomato sauce
12 ounces dark beer or ale
One 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
One 10-ounce can Mexican-style diced tomatoes
Two 15-ounce cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
One 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
One 15-ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
Optional garnish: Shredded Cheddar, sour cream, chopped green onions

Directions

  1. Roast the Anaheim pepper. When cool remove/discard the seeds and dice. Set aside.
  2. Pan-fry the beef and sausage, breaking it up as it browns. Drain grease.
  3. Add the olive oil to a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat and saute the onions and red pepper until soft, about 4 minutes.
  4. Add the garlic and saute until just fragrant.
  5. Stir in the browned beef and sausage.
  6. Stir in the chili powder, cumin, paprika and cayenne pepper. Cook for about 2 minutes.
  7. Add the tomato paste, tomato sauce, and beer. Stir.
  8. Bring to a simmer, and then add the diced tomatoes and beans.
  9. Simmer on low for 2 (or more) hours, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
  10. Top with shredded cheese, sour cream and chopped green onions before serving.

Pie Crust Dough

Ingredients

3  cups all-purpose flour
2 ½ teaspoons Kosher salt  (reduce to 1 ¼ tsp if using table salt)
2  to 3 tablespoons sugar
20 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 ½ sticks)
1 ½ cup ice water

Directions

  1. Place flour, salt and sugar in a food processor and pulse several times. Add butter and pulse until mixture forms pea-sized clumps, about 20 seconds.
  2. Add 4 tablespoons of ice water to mixture and pulse until the dough just holds together. If it feels crumbly, add a bit more ice water.
  3. When the dough holds together when compressed in the palm of your hand, stop mixing.
  4. Divide dough and form into two equal-sized balls, then press each ball down to form a 5-inch disc.
  5. Wrap each disc in plastic and refrigerate for at least two hours and up to two days.
  6. When ready to roll out the dough, remove from refrigerator to sit at room temperature for up to ten minutes. This makes the dough easier to work with. Then, on a lightly floured surface roll out each disc into a 14-inch circle, approx. 1/8 inch thick.

Aunt Alice’s Sour Cream Apple Pie

Ingredients

Pie crust dough (Aunt Alice’s recipe is listed below)
1 cup sour cream
½ cup sugar
1 large egg
½ teaspoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 medium-large tart apples, peeled and thinly sliced.
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup finely chopped pecans

Directions

  1. Prepare pie crust dough.
  2. On a lightly floured surface roll out larger portion of pastry to 1/8-inch thick and 2 inches larger than pie pan. Arrange pastry in pan, leaving edges untrimmed. Heat oven to 375°.
  3. Beat together sour cream, sugar, egg, salt, vanilla and flour. Fold in apples, coating them with sour cream mixture. Spoon into prepared pie pan.
  4. Stir together brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle evenly over apple mixture, then add chopped nuts.
  5. Roll out remaining pastry to 10-inch diameter and cut into ¾ to 1-inch strips. Weave the strips on top of the pie to create a lattice. (Hint: Freeze the strips on a baking sheet for 30 minutes to make handling easier.) Trim the lattice strip edges. Press the edges of the bottom crust and lattice strips together and fold underneath, then crimp to make a decorate edge.
  6. Bake about 50 minutes until crust browns and apples are bubbling. (Cover lightly with foil if crust begins to overbrown.)

Char’s Raspberry Scones

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon table salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream
1 cup frozen raspberries

Directions

  1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
  2. Combine the flour, 1/2 cup of the sugar, baking powder, lemon zest, and salt in a large bowl and whisk to break up any lumps. Using a pastry blender or food processor to cut the butter into the flour mixture into pea-sized clumps.
  3. Pour in 3/4 cup of the cream and mix, shaping the dough into a somewhat sticky ball.
  4. Knead on a floured work surface until most of the remaining dry ingredients are incorporated and the dough just holds together (but don’t overwork it). Then, roughly form the dough into a rectangle. Roll the dough into an 8-by-10-inch rectangle (help shape the edges as necessary).
  5. Remove the raspberries from the freezer, and place them in a single layer over the lower two-thirds of the rectangle. Then, starting at the top section without the berries, fold the dough lengthwise into thirds, pressing on each layer as you fold it.
  6. Using your rolling pin, gently flatten the dough to a 1-inch-thickness. Then, using a sharp knife, slice the dough into 4 equal pieces. Cut those pieces diagonally, making 8 triangles.
  7. Transfer the scones to a lightly floured baking dish and place in the freezer for 5 minutes.
  8. Heat the oven to 400°. Remove the scones from the freezer and transfer to the prepared baking sheet, setting them 2 inches apart.
  9. Using the remaining tablespoon of cream, brush a thin layer over the tops of the scones. Sprinkle scones with the tablespoon of sugar. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Cool 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack.