Cow Girl Chili Recipe and Bloomingdale's First Rodeo

When you are married to a Texas A & M alumnus,  you learn to love rodeos, even when you are a Korean.  And you teach your four children Aggie's yells.  My husband and children were excited for months when they heard about the rodeo coming to our little town of Bloomingdale, Georgia.  Hey, it's a pretty big deal when the city is only 14 square miles with a population of 2,700.  This great event would have never happened if our good neighbor, Mr. Waller of Ottawa Farms , didn't host it.  Thank you so much, Mr. Waller! We had a fantastic time!

Recipe and photos featured in the Savannah Morning News 

COW GIRL CHILI RECIPE

2 tablespoons vegetable oil or corn oil

2 medium onions, chopped fine (about 2 cups)

1 colored bell pepper (red, orange, or yellow), cut into 1/2-inch cubes

6 medium cloves garlic, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 tablespoons)

1/4 cup chili powder

1 tablespoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

2 pounds 85 percent lean ground beef

2 (15-ounce) cans red kidney beans , drained and rinsed

1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, with juice

1 can (28 ounces) tomato puree

Kosher salt to taste

2 limes , cut into wedges

1. Heat oil in a large heavy-bottomed non-reactive Dutch oven over medium heat until simmering but not smoking a few minutes. Add onions, bell pepper, garlic, chili powder, cumin, coriander, pepper flakes, oregano, and cayenne; cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened and beginning to brown, about 5-6 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high and add half the beef; cook, breaking up pieces with wooden spoon, until no longer pink and just beginning to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add remaining beef and cook, breaking up pieces with wooden spoon, until no longer pink, 3 to 4 minutes.

2. Add beans, tomatoes, tomato puree, and 1/2 teaspoon salt; bring to boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour. Remove cover and continue to simmer 1 hour longer, stirring occasionally (if chili begins to stick to bottom of pot, stir in 1/2 cup water and continue to simmer), until beef is tender and chili is dark, rich, and slightly thickened. Adjust seasoning with additional salt. Serve with lime wedges and condiments if desired.

**Slow Cooker Option: At the end of step 1, transfer the cooked beef mixture to a slow cooker; add the rest of the ingredients as directed in step 2. Cook the chili on the high setting for four hours.

**At my church, this recipe is multiplied by 15 and served along with baked potatoes, cornbread and all the fixings!  Great Fall menu for a large crowd!

Henry's Fish En Croute and French Country Style White Beans

Food is an universal language.  I don't know how often I meet a stranger, then hear about his or her experience with Korean food.  That stranger now becomes a friend because we have shared the same flavor and spices of my birth country; food becomes the connection of shared experiences and hearts.   

Before I even met Henry Skipper, the CEO of the Mighty Eight Museum, I knew I would like him.  Any CEO who would humble himself to be in the place where the grunt work is done?  Yes, he would be alright with me.  And so he was.  Genuinely warm and sincere man, who can out-cook any seasoned chefs.  He looked quite natural in that white toque and his food, quite fabulous.  

Click here to read more about Henry Skipper on Miss Sophie's article on Savannah Morning News....  

 I have a theory — all men who like to cook are always fantastic cooks, and Henry Skipper proves my theory.

By day he serves as CEO of the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum, but when he gets home, he becomes a 
chef extraordinaire.....

Henry’s Fish En Croute
Recipe by Henry Skipper, CEO Mighty Eighth Museum
Used with permission
Serves 2

2 fish filets, approximately 1 pound (Salmon,
1 sheet of puff pastry, thawed
9 ounces of fresh spinach (steamed and drained)
2 shallots, minced
½ cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon flour
¼ cup sour cream
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 tablespoons butter
Pinch red pepper flakes
Kosher salt and pepper to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg with 1 tablespoon water

In a medium sauté pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add shallots and saute until soft (3-4) minutes

Stir in garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add flour to shallots and garlic and stir to combine. Slowly stir in white wine and reduce until almost evaporated. Add spinach, lemon juice, sour cream, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool.

Roll pastry out thin. Place 1 filet on pastry and spread spinach mixture on top. Place second filet on top of spinach and cover with pastry. Seal edges and brush with egg wash. Transfer to a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees until brown, 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Slice and serve.

Option: Top with your favorite seafood sauce.

Note: Henry’s favorite fish for this recipe is fresh local shad filets, but this recipes works well with any fish high in oil and of sufficient thickness to withstand the cooking time without drying out, such as fresh wild salmon.

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French Country Style White Beans 
Recipe by Henry Skipper, CEO Mighty Eight Museum
Serves 4

This recipe should be combined with roasted or grilled pork, Chicken, Lamb or Wild Game. The meat can be served over the beans

1 package of dried Porcini mushrooms, soaked in 2 cups of water
32 ounces chicken stock or broth
1 cube of Knor concentrated chicken stock
5-6 tablespoons butter, divided
1-2 packages shitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
3 small bunches green onions, green & white parts, chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon parsley
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
2 cans great Northern Beans, drained and rinsed well
2-3 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil

1. Drain porcini mushrooms, reserving the liquid and discard mushrooms

2. In a stock pot, combine chicken stock, Knor concentrated stock cube and 1 ½ cups of liquid from the dried porcini mushrooms and reduce until slightly thickened, approximately 10-15 minutes

3. In a medium non-stick skillet, melt the butter. Add the shitake mushrooms and sauté for 2-3 minutes.  Add the onions, jalapeno pepper and garlic and cook for 1 minute. Gently stir in beans, parsley and reduced liquid, bring to a simmer and remove from heat.  Taste for salt & pepper (Henry prefers truffle salt.) Transfer to a warm platter. Top with meat of your choice, spread fresh diced tomatoes on top and drizzle with olive oil.

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Crispy Pea Cakes with Avocado Aioli

 As some of you may know, I have been taking recipe photos for Miss Sophie, who is a weekly food columnist for Savannah Morning Newspaper.  It has been such an enriching experience for me to have a dear friend whom I can freely talk about food/recipe/life/faith with.  As we talk about our next recipe project and/or dream of a cookbook one day, we become like giddy school girls.  

Miss Sophie's article on peas this week is especially good.  Her story is always laced with personal experiences you might hear from your favorite aunt, rocking the heat away on the front porch while sipping on a tall glass of  overly sweetened iced tea.    

 Top: Pink Eyes, Dixie Lees Bottom: Zippers

 Beautiful green mixure is tossed in Panko bread crumbs

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Crispy Pea Cakes

Makes 8 small cakes

2 cups cooked peas(black-eyed, Pink-eyed, Zippers, Dixie Lees); left-overs are great for this recipe
1/4 cup red bell pepper, finely diced

1/4 cup onion, finely diced

3 tablespoons canola oil, divided 

1 garlic clove, grated 

1 1/3 cup Panko bread crumbs, divided (use only 1/3 cup for pea cake mixture)
1/2 lime, zested and juiced (Save the other half for aioli)
2 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

2 eggs

Heat 1 tablespoon of canola oil in a medium-high heat and sauté onion and red bell pepper.  Transfer to a large bowl and cool.  

Drain cooked peas well.  Pat dry with paper towel.  Put the peas in the food processor and pulse 4-5 times in a quick interval.  Do not over process.  You want the mixture to be somewhat chunky but mashed.  Add peas to onion and red bell pepper mixture.  Add garlic, 1/3 cup of Panko, and the remaining ingredients.  Combine well.  Mixture will be a little wet but it will cook and get firm.  

Divide and make into 8 cakes.  Roll the cakes in 1 cup of Panko bread crumbs.  Using the same frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of oil to medium-high heat and cook 4 cakes until the crust is golden brown and cake is firm about 2-3 minutes on each side.  Add the remaining oil and repeat.  

Serve hot with Avocado aioli.  

Avocado Aioli

1 avocado, ripe but firm, pitted, and peeled, diced

1/3 cup mayonnaise, Hellman's
1/2 lime, zested and juiced

1/2 clove of garlic, grated
1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Whirl all the ingredients in a food processor until smooth.  Add more salt to taste. Refrigerate until needed.  

Three Bean Casserole

Looking for a great baked bean casserole recipe for your 4th of July celebration meal? Well, look no more. This three bean casserole will make your friends and families beg for the recipe. My dearest friend who is now a missionary in Philippines gave this recipe to me years ago and I am so grateful that I have it. Because this is the best tasting baked beans, ever. So thanks to Barbara, now you will have this wonderful recipe, too!


Start with a can of Bush's Baked Beans and add your favorite colors. Here I added some Black Beans and Great Northern White Beans.


Finely mince slices of bacon.


Brown bacon until crisp, drain the fat and add finely minced onion. Add Worcestershire mixture and add to beans.

After baking, top is caramelized a bit and comes this beautiful, glorious dish. Perfect accompaniment with any barbecue meats!

Three Bean Casserole

4 Slices of lean bacon, finely minced
1 Medium Onion, finely minced
1/4 Cup of dark brown sugar
1/2 Cup of ketchup
2 Tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
1 can, 16 oz of any type of white beans, rinsed and drained

1 can, 16 oz of any type of dark beans (Black, Red Kidney, rinsed and drained)
1 can, 28 oz of Bush's Original Baked Beans, DO NOT DRAIN

Preheat oven at 350 degrees F.

Cook bacon until crisp. Drain fat, except 2 tablespoon reserved in pan with the cooked bacon. Add minced onions and saute for 5-7 minutes.

Combine cooked bacon, onion, brown sugar, ketchup, Worcestershire and three beans together in a oven proof casserole dish. Gently mix.

Bake for 45 minutes to one hour, uncovered.

Note: to make this dish heartier, you can add 1/2 to 1 pound of cooked ground beef.