I like how riled up people get about their food. Well ... maybe riled is too harsh a word. Passionate. I like how passionate people are about their food, especially in defending their geographical favorites. They talk in detail, usually with either arms or voices raised (sometimes both), and you can feel how strongly they long for a dish RIGHT THERE while you are talking.
Last night I attended a chili cook-off and, other then burgers and bbq, chili seems easily prone to these types of geographic rivalries. I love watching Guy Fieri's "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" on the Food Network. He discovers some of the hidden gems around our country, including some excellent chili locales. Check it out.
Of course, an in-house chili contest means (1) it's more intimate, (2) there's more egos and (3) the champion is crowing even more about his -- sorry girls, it was a he who won -- chili crown.
Being from Texas, I like Texas chili the best. Last night's winner was closely akin to ours: not too sweet, with beans and beef. An excellent Mexican cornbread soaked up the right proportion of liquid to solids. Here's the link to Tyler Florence's Texas Chili: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/tylers-texas-chili-recipe2/index.html.
Every state/city does contests and rankings though. The Washingtonian issued their "Best of Washington 2009" recently. Looking through the pages, I can certainly understand some favorites. Naturally, I focused on the burger section. Not sure I agree with all of them but I will say one restaurant which I used to like -- Sonoma -- I will no longer be going to in order to get burgers. One, the beef pattie has gotten smaller but the price is still the small. De-valuization. I don't like it. Two, even though I requested the meat well-done, this one was charred beyond recognition. Three, the lettuce was double the size of my burger. Awkward. Four, I got chewed out by the hostess who was in jeans and a cut-off top. Yes. Me, the customer, got chewed out by the hostess. Never going to go there again.
Otherwise, this weekend I think I'm going to try some receipes at home. I'll let you know how those turn out. This one is one of my favorites from Paula Deen. The total costs of the ingredients is about $20, but the food will last you all week.
BAKED SPAGHETTI
Ingredients:
8 ounces uncooked angel hair pasta
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 1/2 teaspoons Paula Deen’s House Seasoning
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons Paula Deen’s Seasoned Salt
1 1/2 teaspoons Paula Deen’s Sweet Italian Herb Blend
2 cups tomato sauce
1 cup water
2 cups canned diced tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
1/2 cup diced onion
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese
2 small bay leaves
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a stockpot, combine the tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, onions, peppers, garlic, parsley, seasoning mixtures, sugar, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil over high heat, and then reduce the heat and let simmer, covered, for 1 hour. Crumble the ground beef in a large skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until fully cooked, with no pink color remaining. Drain the fat from the meat, and then add the ground beef to the stockpot. Simmer for 20 more minutes. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Cover the bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch pan with sauce. Add a layer of pasta and then a little less than 1/2 of each cheese; repeat the layers, ending with the sauce. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Top the casserole with the remaining cheese, return it to the oven, and continue to cook until the cheese is melted and bubbly, about 5 more minutes. Cut into squares before serving.
Yield: 10 servings
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
Ease of preparation: easy
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