Fall Weekend Tailgate

George Hirsch September 27, 2019

Celebrating Chef George's 25th Anniversary on PBS and Public Television stations,

Tune-in for all NEW SHOWS this October, check local listings.

Saying goodbye summer and welcoming “slow and low cooking” during Fall.

Forget the brats and sausages this weekend. Let's cook-up a dish..I'm talking a hearty, meaty dish with a spicy-kick that melts in your mouth and warms you up before the game. Here's one of my favorites. You can make it ahead of the tailgate. Try my Faux Pressure-Cooked Chili Recipe. In less than a couple hours, you'll be enjoying the warming comfort of the best chili that will keep you satisfied well past half-time. Don't forget- bring the toppings!

We have made the move from picnics to tailgates. Now that the season is in ful swing, here’s a great do ahead chili. The flavors only get better the next day. Tailgate season is in full swing

A favorite crowd pleaser is using whole meat as opposed to chop meat in a chili. There’s more to chew on, so to speak. However the real results achieved is the flavor and texture in this dish. I use a combo beef and pork version for the ultimate pleasure.

This recipe cooks quicker than just simmering on the stove. If you do not have a pressure cooker or slow cooker; none to fear. Use a cast iron pan such as Le Creuset.

Faux Pressure-Cooked Chili

Makes 8-10 servings

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2 pounds Chuck roast

2 pounds Boneless country-style pork ribs

Olive oil as need to sear meat

4 Tablespoons ground cumin

4 dried chilis, seeded and cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 onion, quartered

6 cloves garlic, halved

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped

2 1/2 cups chicken or beef broth

Heat the olive oil in a large cast iron pan over medium-high heat. Sear the pork in the hot oil until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Repeat by searing the beef.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Add pork back into pan with beef, along with the 4 Tablespoons cumin, dried chilis, quartered onion, garlic halves, and jalapeno pepper. Add broth, cover with a tight lid, and cook on high for 1 1/2 hours. If you do not have a very tight lid, cover with foil and then place the lid over foil. Do not open oven or peek inside the pan for 1 1/2 hours.

Remove meat from oven, Do Not remove cover. Allow to cool for thirty minutes.

Prepare sauce to add to meat.

For the Sauce & Finishing:

1 Tablespoon each oregano, cumin, chili powder

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, chopped

6 cloves garlic, chopped

4 cups crushed tomatoes

2 can pinto or red beans, rinsed

2 ounces Bittersweet Chocolate, melted

In a sauce pan heat olive oil, onions, garlic and cook until tender but do not brown. Add toasted spices and add tomatoes, chocolate and beans. Lower temperature and simmer for thirty minutes while meat is resting.

After thirty minutes, remove cover from meat and pour juices into sauce. Shred meat finely with two forks. Pour sauce into meat and cook an additional 1 to 1 1/2 hours to allow sauce and meat to blend.

Note:

Bring out the flavor by slow-toasting spices by slowly toasting powdered spices in a dry skillet over low heat before adding them to the chili.

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AS SEEN ON PUBLIC TELEVISION & CREATE TV- SEASON ONE
FEATURING CHEF GEORGE HIRSCH DEMONSTRATING HIS SAVORY COOKING, BAKING AND GRILLING RECIPES; WITH HIS EXPERT CULINARY TIPS & TECHNIQUES, ALONG WITH VISITS TO HIS INSPIRING HAMPTON LOCATIONS.

Brunswick Stew

George Hirsch September 20, 2019

Brunswick stew recipes vary greatly, but it’s usually a tomato based stew traditionally containing squirrel or rabbit. That's right squirrel! But, please feel free to use chicken - just a suggestion! Also - corn, lima beans or butter beans and vegetables are part of the stew pot mix.

The best Brunswick stew I’ve ever tasted was Georgia style; one of the regions in the U.S. which claims to have been created the stew. The key is - as with any good stew is long, slow cooking which produces a rich thick based pot of flavor.

I, along with most Georgia natives prefer to use a combination of chicken & pork. Starting with leftover grilled chicken and a puled pork is the fast track for the makings a great Brunswick.

Remember, cook low & slow.

Brunswick Stew

Recipe adapted from Grilling with Chef George Hirsch by George Hirsch with Marie Bianco

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3 cups pre grilled chicken/ pork

1 cup kielbasa or smoked sausage, chopped

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 cup sweet white onion, chopped

8 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

1 teaspoon each thyme, rosemary

2 cups red potatoes, washed and chopped

1 28-ounce can crushed plum tomatoes

2 ears fresh corn or 1 16-ounce can corn with juice

1 12-ounce can red beans, drained and rinsed

1 teaspoon hot sauce

1/4 teaspoon fresh graded nutmeg

Fresh ground black pepper

Preheat a large soup or stock pot.

Add olive oil, onion, garlic. Sauté till lightly brown. Place grilled meat and sausage in pot and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add thyme, rosemary, potatoes, corn, tomatoes, beans, hot sauce and nutmeg. Cover pot and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hrs., stirring occasionally.

Add fresh ground black pepper to taste.

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George Hirsch Living it UP
Recipes for a Healthy Active Life
Product Details
Hardcover: 240 pages; $24.95
Publisher: M. Evans and Company, Inc.; 2000
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0871319241
ISBN-13: 978-0871319241
Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches

Creative Cooking tips
Fast Easy recipes that allow for an active lifestyle
A 30-Day Menu Plan you can adapt throughout the year
Support and motivation for staying on a healthy eating & exercise routine
Tips for easy food shopping & eating healthy on the run

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Take Along Snack

George Hirsch September 2, 2019

Today there are so many prepackaged cereal snack bars available on the market, so it can make you dizzy trying to decide which one to pick. Yes, there are some good ones, but why not make your own?

Let’s begin by understanding this recipe I've created. Oats are the main body of the recipe, so that ingredient is the constant. Other than that, you can be creative with several substitutions based on your personal preference and ingredients you have on hand. If you don’t have dried blueberries but have dried apricots - fee free to substitute! Have sliced almonds, but no walnuts, no problem. OK, you get the idea.

My Oat Bars are perfect for take-along snack for traveling. You can also share your own snack bars at the office, bake sales, church socials, or your next tailgate.

Oat Bars

Makes 2 dozen bars

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2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup desiccated coconut (shredded & dried)

1/4 cup sunflower or pumpkin seeds, or mixed

1/4 cup pecans or walnuts, or mixed; chopped

2 Tablespoons honey

2 Tablespoons, maple syrup

2 Tablespoons butter or canola oil, plus enough to grease parchment

1/2 cup mixed dried fruit, raisins, blueberries and cranberries

2 large ripe bananas, mashed

1/4 cup applesauce

1 teaspoon cinnamon

pinch fresh grated nutmeg

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees.

Line a 9-inch-baking sheet pan with parchment paper allowing two inches to over lap sides of pan. Brush parchment paper with melted butter.

Spread oats, coconut, nuts and seeds on another baking pan and toast in oven just until very light brown, about 5 minutes, stirring once. Use caution not to over brown.

In a small saucepan, combine butter, honey, and maple syrup. Stir over low heat until warmed. In a separate large bowl, mix together toasted oats, coconut, seeds, dried fruit, mashed banana, applesauce, cinnamon and nutmeg. Pour butter mixture over and stir until well combined.

While mixture is warm, spread into lined parchment baking pan with a spatula. Bake until brown, 25 to 30 minutes, remove and allow to cool.

Lift parchment by grabbing the sides of paper and place on a cutting board. Cut into bars, about 1 1/2 inches by 3 inches.

For extra crisp bars, toast bars in oven. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees. Lay cut bars out on a clean baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake in a 300 degree oven until bars crisp, about 15-20 minutes.

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Plum Jam

George Hirsch August 25, 2019

Beach plum jelly has a virtually unknown taste except maybe in the Hamptons, Cape Cod, and along the Atlantic Coast. The art of making beach plum jelly, or any jams for that matter, has been revived recently, with more people wanting to use local fruits and have a condiment that's a notch above mass-produced jelly-in-a-jar. However, beach plums are fickle; some years, they are available, and other years, like this summer, they are plentiful to pick from their secret spots along the East Hampton dunes. That's if you are still fortunate to avoid poison ivy and ticks. A safer bet for me is to make Damson Plum Jam. Or, contact my favorite monks at Trappist Preserves for a mail-order jam solution.

Yes, you could say they use a production method of a higher authority. But, what I really love about Trappist Preserves is they use only the best seasonal fruits and make only a certain allotment based on the highest quality, not filling sales quotas. When the Kadota Fig Preserves, or Red Currant Jelly is gone that’s it. And, yes they do make a Damson Plum Jam!

A lesson learned from the late Fr Robert, “Ordinary, Obscure and Laborious” —the life of monks.

To watch one of my favorite vintage TV Segments from St Joseph’s Abbey, Spencer Ma.

Do You Know Your Jam?

- Jams are made from puréed fruit
- Jellies are made from fruit juice
- Marmalades include peel
- Conserves & preserves are made from whole fruit, and raisins and nuts may be added

Click for the complete guide to home canning

Jam is only as good as your fruit. Taste plums and adjust tartness vs. sweetness according to the ripeness of plums. If only using all ripe plums, peel, core, and chop one green apple instead of unripe plums to add natural pectin.

Beach or Damson Plum Jam

recipe by Chef George Hirsch | Makes about 6-8 250-ml jars

2 3/4 pounds very ripe Beach or Damson plums
1 cup water
1/4 pound unripe Beach or Damson plums; contains added natural pectin
Variable: 4-6 cups pure cane granulated sugar, depending on the sweetness of the plums and personal taste (you may also use a little honey and cut down on some sugar)
juice of 1/2 lemon
6 orange peels- about 2 inches x 1/4 inch, no whites

Wash the plums, add the water, and simmer the plums until the skins are soft. Allow to cool and remove the pits.

Optional~ if you do not want plum skins, strain plums through a sieve to remove skins. I prefer the texture and do not strain.

Combine plum puree, lemon juice, orange peel, and sugar in a heavy gauged sauce pot. Bring slowly to a boil, stirring occasionally with a long handle spoon until sugar dissolves. Continue to go frequently to prevent sticking or burning. Cook until the plum puree and sugar reach the jellying point of 220 degrees F. It takes about 20-30 minutes.
Remove from heat and pour the hot jam into sterile hot canning jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe the rims of jars with a dampened, clean paper towel, making sure the tops of the jars are clean so the lids seal. Adjust two-piece sterile metal canning lids. Place jars into a large pot with a filter on the bottom so jars do not have direct contact with the base. Cover the filled and closed jars with an inch or so of hot water and boil for 10 minutes.

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Gather 'Round the Grill Cookbook, Vintage (new)

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Old Fashioned Coffee Break

George Hirsch August 12, 2019

When actually was the first coffee break? Possibly in 12th or 13th century in Africa. But, the officially dedicated daily event in the US, the 1900s.

In 1952, a Pan-American Coffee Bureau ad campaign urged consumers, "Give yourself a Coffee-Break - and Get What Coffee Gives to You." (source, NPR)

The coffee break was and still is such an important part of everyday lifestyle and now our culture. For more than three and one half million people in the US, the very ritual of having a cup of coffee gives good reason to get together, talk and even gather your thoughts, even if for just 10 to 15 minutes. I look forward to a later afternoon coffee break everyday.

Whether you take your break mid-morning or mid-afternoon, pair that freshly brewed coffee with my old fashioned style sour cream coffee cake.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Makes a 9" Bundt Pan, about 10-12 slices

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For the Crumb Topping:

1/2 cup light brown sugar

6 Tablespoons sweet butter, softened

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Place the butter, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and vanilla in a bowl and crumble together with your fingers until it forms a crumb mixture. Add in the nuts. Reserve and mix cake batter.

For the Cake:

1/2 cup sweet butter, one stick softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, beaten

2 cups All-Purpose Flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup low fat plain yogurt

1/4 cup 2% milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon fresh grated orange rind

Grease and flour a tube, Bundt-style, or a regular-sized 9 1/2-inch baking pan.

Cream together the butter, sugar until light and fluffy. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Mix in eggs, vanilla and orange zest, one at a time. Scrape the sides of the bowl again.

In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, combine sour cream, yogurt and milk together. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture alternately in three stages with the sour cream, yogurt, and milk mixture; stirring and scraping the bowl with spatula after each addition. Mix until just blended. Do not over mix.

Place half the batter in the pan, and sprinkle with half the topping mixture. With the back of butter knife swirl the batter slightly to mix the crumb mixture slightly into the bottom of cake batter. Add remaining batter, then the crumb topping.

Bake coffee cake in a preheated 350°F oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the cake tests done. Cool for 15-20 minutes, and then remove from pan by placing a large plate over top of cake and invert pan. Tap the sides of cake pan to free cake from pan. Plate serving platter over the bottom and invert again. The crumb topping should be on the side up to serve. Allow to cool at least 2 hours (if you can) before slicing!

Cover cake once fully cooled.

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