Greeked-Up Jalapeño Poppers

Today, I'm introducing you to a new ingredient called Pastourma. Pastourma, it is said, is where the origins of pastrami came from.

Pastourma is stronger than pastrami and upon tasting this thin sliced cured beef, one immediately tastes garlic, paprika and notes of cumin and fenugreek.

The origins of pastourma come from the Ottoman/Armenian cuisine but it has remained popular in Greek circles and no doubt brought back to mainland Greece from the Asia Minor Greeks.

Legend has it the best pastourma was made from camel but today it's mostly made of beef. Greeks will offer up thin slices of pastourma as part of an array of "mezedes", in omelets or use it as an ingredient (like I'm doing here today).

If you're curious to try pastourma, some Greek & Cypriot delis will carry it, Turkish, Armenian and Middle Eastern stores will also often sell this fabulously flavoured meat.

Today, I decided to "kick up" a roadhouse/pub classic, the Jalapeño Popper. For those not familiar with bar food here in Canada & the US, Jalapeño poppers are the spicy peppers that are filled with cheese, coated in a batter and then fried. An accompaniment of cool sour cream is also often served.

I've played around with the Jalapeño popper idea a few times and although the origins of this dish are Tex/Mex, my goal was to add a Greek twist to this favorite "bar food" of mine.

In Greece, we have our own cream cheese, commonly known as "katiki domikou". Here, the cream cheese is the vehicle that delivers the Greek flavours here...mashed Feta and tiny pieces of pastourma.

As a side, I serve up a cooling and refreshing Romesco Sauce, which fairs very well with this tasty snack/appetizer.

As for the batter, I found a good fish batter works best here and after seeing wonderful results from Kevin at Closet Cooking and Nina of My Easy Cooking...I'm chiming in to add that this batter recipe rocks!

So, go out & look for pastourma and if you like it, give these Greeked-up Jalapeño Poppers a go. You'll need some readily available tools in your kitchen and beyond hollowing the peppers, this ain't no sweat!

Greeked-Up Jalapeño Poppers

15-20 Jalapeno peppers
1/2 cup cream cheese, room temperature
1 slab of Greek feta cheese
3 slices of Pastourma, finely chopped

Batter
1 bottle beer
approx. 2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 large egg (lightly beaten) salt and pepper to taste
sunflower oil for frying

Tools
piping bag/or plastic bag
paring knife
cork screw

1. First, make your batter. Add the salt and baking powder to the flour in one bowl and beat an egg in another bowl and add the beer. Now gradually whisk the flour into the beer & egg until you get a thickish pancake-like batter. Set aside and prep your peppers.
2. Using a paring knife, cut off the stem part of the peppers and reserve them (you'll cap your peppers with these later). Now using a cork screw, stick it in the pepper and gently wiggle, ream and twist inside the peppers to hollow them out.
   
3. Get a small pot of water boiling and then throw the Jalapenos in for about 3 minutes and then blanche in cold water and then drain (you may skip this step if you like your peppers crunchy).
4. In a small bowl, add the cream cheese and Feta and mash together with a fork until one. Now add your finely chopped Pastourma and mix until incorporated. Now place the cheese filling in a piping bag or a plastic bag and simply snip a small hole in the bottom corner.
5. Now fill each Jalapeno with the cheese filling, to the point of where the cheese is just slightly exposed (this will be the glue to seal your peppers with the stem parts).
6. Now "glue" the stem part of the peppers back on.
7. Get your frying hot, to an approx. temperature of 360F. Dip your Jalapenos into the batter and then carefully drop into the hot oil. Fry until golden-brown (about 3-4 minutes) and then reserve on plate lined with paper towel.
8. Serve your Greeked-Up Jalapeno Poppers with a cool Romesco Sauce.
   

Jalapeno Cheddar Corn Bread

In my previous post, you all saw my Texas chili and one must have corn bread to along with the zesty chili. The mildly sweet bread contrasts with the heat of the Tex-Mex classic.

In this post, us here in the Americas can gloat for just this moment. Corn is native to the Americas and afterwards it was introduced to the rest of the world through European contact with the native Indians.

Corn in Europe simply has no taste. As my father puts it..."not even the pigs can eat this corn"! I've even given seeds to relatives to plant and still, the corn wasn't the same. Rejoice Americas, our corn rules the roost!

Before you Europeans get all fired up, you should know that the best pastas, corn flours and polentas use imported wheat and corn...from the Americas.

I'm submitting this entry for Weekend Herb Blogging, the last one for this year. This week it's being hosted by Astrid of Paulchen's Kitchen.

This cornbread is best I've made so far. I'm always up for trying new recipes but this one easy, not too sweet, a hint of heat from the Jalapenos and the cheddar on top gives almost a crunchy texture.

Once again, I've searched, found and enjoyed another Ina Garten creation. I followed her recipe "as is" but I would like to also add some fresh corn niblets in the summer.

The next time you make a bowl of chili, pair it with some jalapeno cheddar cornbread!

Three Alarm Texas Style Chili

I recently joined the thousands who have added a "slow cooker" to their arsenal of kitchen tools. For those not in the know, a slow cooker is a utensil that is a "plug in". It allows one to basically throw all the ingredients of a slow-cooking dish into the crockpot, close the lid, set to low and forget about until back home from work to find a comforting, delicious and tender meal ready to serve your family.

A slow cooker is an alternative to braising or the more traditional crockpot (or dutch oven) cooking done on your stove top or oven. I suspect the slowcooker saves one from using the oven all day and thus saving on electricity.

I was a little disappointed by the lack of inspired slow-cooker recipes out there (internet). Most are generic recipes that are provided by manufacturers of slow cookers and many of them are bland.

I've made two dishes so far and the first quick lesson I learned is that one does not need much water in the recipe. A slow cooker's lid is on during the whole cooking process which renders moisture from the meat and vegetables. As a rule of thumb, I think a 1/2 cup of liquid is suffice when slow cooking a family sized meal.

When I bought the slow cooker, I knew that Chili con Carne would be a natural for the slow cooker. As a blogger, I also knew that my chili would probably get lost amongst the parade of chili dishes also being prepared by others and adding to the loud din of chili on the internet.

Before I go further let me state that I've never stepped on Texas soil and nor have I had a Texan make me a chili before. Here in North America, chili has been eaten by the majority of people and it's a kitchen standard in many homes.

It's origins are no doubt from the US/Mexican border region and the food genre is commonly known as Tex-Mex...do not call chili Mexican.

To make my chili stand out, I went for the the Texas version which calls for real pieces of beef, not ground meat. I also cranked the heat up since it's cold outside. Food should be about contrasts, yin & yang. C-c-c-c-cold outside, H-h-h-hot food inside.

I intentionally made this chili spicy but you may certainly tone it down (you spineless jellyfish). I'm a fan of heat but be assured this chili won't blow your head off, espcially when you also have some cheddar cornbread to offset the heat.

Three Alarm Texas Style Chili

3 Tbsp. of sunflower oil
2 lbs. of top sirloin, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 large onion, rough dice
1/2 green bell pepper, rough dice
1/2 red bell pepper, rough dice
3 large cloves of garlic, smashed
2 - 16 oz. cans of tomatoes, chopped
1/3 cup of good chili powder
1 bay leaf
1 Tbsp. of ground cumin
1 tsp. of ground coriander
2 Tbsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 - 16oz cans of kidney beans (plus liquid)
2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

1. In a large skillet, add your oil and set the heat to high. Season your cubed meat with salt and pepper and brown the meat in batches under medium high heat. Reserve your beef.
2. In the same skillet, add some more oil and add your onions, garlic, bayleaf, peppers and saute under medium heat for about 10 minutes to soften. (You may add some water to help deglaze the beef drippings from the previous saute).
3. Into your slowcooker, add your diced/chopped cans of tomatoes, the beef, the sauteed vegetables, chili powder, kidney beans, oregano, coriander and chipotle peppers.
4. Set your slow cooker to low, cover with the lid and simmer for at least 5 hours. After, check the seasoning and adjust seasoning with salt. If the chili is too thin, uncover the slow cooker and allow to simmer in this manner, your chili will thicken.
5. Serve with some corn bread and stay warm with this very comforting meal.