Whats everybody cooking for the beginning of the NFL season for those interested in this glorious day. I am not sure what I am going to make yet but its looking more like the snack route like homemade chicken/beef nachos, shrimp cocktail, artichoke dip and of course lots of beer!

Our neighbors invited us over for their daughter's birthday party. We don't really know them, but they put on quite a feast. Homemade nopalas salad/salsa, fantastic beans and rice, and amazing carnitas. The father also insisted on giving me a shot of a really nice tequila out of a very tall blue bottle. I'm guessing it was a reposado. Anyone have any idea which it might have been?

I'm smoking 2 pork shoulder tomorrow. I have them all rubbed and in the fridge ready to go.

We're canning some pickled green tomatoes tomorrow as well.

Could it have been Milagro Silver or Don Fulano Reposado or Corralejo Reposado?

I think it was Corralejo.

Making homemade chili. Its got some tomatoes, chunks of beef, 6 different chili peppers, a blend of chili seasonings, 2 style of beans, garlic, a pinch of star anise (to enhance the meat flavour). I will also finish the chili off with a couple teaspoons of some high quality bitter chocolate and stir it in the end to give the chili a nice sheen and it will also help complement the spiciness of the chili peppers.

Here is a picture of the final product.



Serve with cornbread and beer

Sounds great - nice presentation too. My pics would probably have a big chili drip on the napkin.

Just finished making something called Mujadarrah, I think. Red lentils, brown rice, onions, garlic, cumin & allspice cooked together, then topped with caramelized onions and lemon juice. I honestly had no idea anything made from vegetables could be so tasty.

Maybe it was the turkey broth.

Sounds good to me, John. We do similar stuff every once in awhile.

We recently made lentils a regular part of our diet. So versatile. One dish that's a hit with out picky kids is honey-baked lentils. There are quite a few variations out there.