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From Traveler Bill's Test Kitchen – "Traveler Chili"
Fresh off the triumph of rekindling a memory from my youth, new hire at Traveler Bill Industries Buck Swenson, the head chef at the Test Kitchen at Traveler Bill Towers decided that he needed to kick his butt kissery to a whole new level by creating an homage to Alton Brown’s Pressure Cooker Chili, or as it is (predictably) known here Traveler Chili!
TRAVELER CHILI – Makes 8 servings
Serving Suggestion
The ingredients:
1 pound stew beef – cubed small (1/2 inch)
1 pound ground beef (or pork…or turkey)
3 tbsp oil- canola, vegetable or corn
3 small onions – diced
2 garlic cloves
1 large red bell pepper
2 bottles beer
1 can kidney beans
1 small can tomato paste
1 large can crushed tomatoes
1 chipotle pepper – adobo sauce to taste
1 large can whole tomatoes
-Juice reserved and crushed by hand
-You can use 2 cans diced tomatoes too
1 tbsp oregano
1 tbsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground coriander
½ tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground dried chipotle pepper
1 pound bag your favorite plain corn chips
kosher salt
black pepper to taste
In a large heavy stock pot heat the 1 tbsp oil over medium high heat. When the oil shimmers add ½ of the diced stew beef until browned. Remove the beef add another tbsp oil browning the rest of the diced beef. Remove and add the ground beef, cooking though and crumbling. Add the remaining oil to the pot over medium heat. Adding the onions, then peppers, sweating until transluscent with a pinch of salt and some black pepper.
Once they are at the desired consistency stir in the garlic, oregano, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, dried pepper another pinch of salt and a couple grinds of pepper untill the spices have been completely absorbed. Toss in the tomato paste and stir in 1 bottle of beer at the same time. Turn up the heat to high and add the beans and tomatoes. When the Traveler Chili starts to bubble crush ½ of the bag of chip and stir them in. Cover, lower the heat to medium low and stir occasionally for ½ an hour. Take this opportunity to drink the second bottle of beer and nosh on the remaining chips.
Chili under the microscope
Uncover the Traveler Chili and cook for another half hour. Serve over chips, Saltine Crackers, with a dollop of sour cream, grated cheddar, with some minced onions. If you’re from Cincinnati, feel free to serve over spaghetti. If you save to eat another day, feel free to add a little water as this chili thickens up considerably. It held up a spoon in the plastic container for a good minute…right up until I tried to take a photograph.
Thick, but not that thick.
If you have any requests or questions for Buck Swenson, please feel free to send them to Bmail@TravelerBill.com. We’ll see that he gets them.
Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine at Webster Hall in NYC
Last Saturday April 18, 2009 one of my favorite musical acts, Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine came to New York City’s Webster Hall. What follows is my attempt to wring a blog entry out of that concert.
The Toothsome Scalper (In Hat)
——–
The line for Webster Hall was down the block. We we’re right on the corner. A scalper with four (count them 4!) teeth was directing the position of the line while offering to buy tickets and sell them at below box office prices. When Matilda Dundee-Read asked how he could possibly make money doing that I suggested “Volume.”
Ahead of us in line were a motley gang of NY characters like the cargo pant’d baldo worrying about his pockets and the availablest dominatrix in NYC. They overheard my posit that perhaps the scalper was so eager to acquire tickets because he thought they were selling actual cheese.
Act I Natalie Gelman
The first act Natalie Gelman started the night with an acoustic set of covers (apparently Matilda has an encylopedic knowledge of songs) and originals.
-Sex and Candy
-Sweet July (an original)
-Living on a Prayer
It was at this point that I determined that she grimaces a lot.
-One Fine Day
Her biggest applause came when she announced her last song. It must really suck to be an opening act.
After the first act a bespectacled nerd accosted me to ask what time Richard was going on which turned into a single breathed accounting of all the times he’s seen them. Fortunately I had a sidekick to whom leaned in and asked “what was that honey?” Thus scraping a barnacle of boredom off the hull of my enjoyment.
Julia Nunes - Act II
Act 2 was a hipster girl named Julia Nunes playing a bass ukulele. Her first song was unusual in that she interspersed human beat boxing with the lyrics.
-Unk – orig
-Bye Bye Bye
-Unk – orig
-Build Me Up (lots of audience participation)
-Ice Ice Baby
-Unk – orig
Richard Cheese himself
Shortly thereafter arrived on stage was Lounge Against The Machine and to the opening to
-Airbag
was Richard Cheese himself. He said a couple times that this was the last New York appearance of LATM. I also heard from a nameless attendee that he’s said this before. I hope that the anonymous declaration is true.
-Closer (brought girls to the front.)
-Shake Ya Ass (id’d Bobby Ricotta on Piano)
-The Wall
-Brass Monkey (Walked through the crowd to the bar)
-Three’s Company theme
-Crazy Bitch
-Chop Suey
Richard Cheese Jacket 2
-announced Rachel Maddow in audience and changed coat
-Gin and Juice
-Shook Me All Night Long
-Smack that Ass
-Take Me Out to the Ball Game
-Me So Horny
-Don’t Cha (For the lesbians) Also sung as Bruce Springsteen, Michael McDonnell, George Takei and Bjork
-Happy Birthday
-Baby Got Back- (id’d Frank Feta on drums) (brought woman on stage to dance)
-Sponge Bob Square Pants theme
Radiohead’s Universe (id’d Charles Limburger bass)
-$5 Food Long (Yes…the Subway Ad)
Richard Cheese Coat 3
-The Killers – Somebody Told Me yith Julia Nunes and Natalie Gelman
RC then performed off the cuff duets with both ladies
-Natalie – Closing Time
-Julia – Free Fallin
-My Neck, My Back
-Summertime (Sublime’s version)
-Emperors Theme
-Get Down With the Sickness
-Creep
-Viva Las Vegas
Don’t forget, there’s no better way to celebrate Spring than to donate to the American Heart Association. Feel free to sponsor Bill in the 2009 Wall Street Heart Walk. A secure link is to the Left.
Wrath of Con – Pics from the Pre-Con
Here are a couple pics I took today.
The first is me being accosted by Adam West’s father dressed up as the Batman.
The second is me at my station handing out the tickets.