Remembering Childhood Comforts.

Happy childhood memories are few for me and they almost all seem to revolve around food in some way. No wonder really, as food is comforting in itself. It fools you into believing that all is right with the world, well for that moment at least; and later on, if need be, the memory of it can soothe an unpleasant moment in time. 

Take, for example, a thunderstorm brewing and suddenly taken back to a childhood memory. During such storms, I would put four chairs in a square formation, throw a large blanket over them and pretend to be camping outdoors. Some of you probably did the same thing, but called it “playing fort”.  I would have my favorite stuffed animals as company, a flashlight to light the interior, books to read and a large bowl of one of my grandmother's home cooked meals. It could be spaghetti and meatballs, shrimps in sauce over spaghetti, or one of her many delicious soups. Whatever it was, it was wonderful and I would always sneak out of my tent (between thunderclaps) to get a second bowl.

My grandmother's cooking was able to provide me with, not just comforting moments, but comforting memories to help me later on. One such dish was her Paste E Fagioli; a wonderful dish of beans, meat and pasta in a flavorful broth. The steam rising up from the bowl, so fantasy figures could be picked out, much like one would do when watching the clouds in the sky.  Problems are set aside momentarily while the senses take in the taste, texture, smell and overall good feel of the food being consumed.  Oh, the problems are still there, but now a calm has been reached.  The mind and body, instead of knee-jerk reacting, can deal in a more orderly manner; or that is what we hope for.

While Pasta e Fagioli (meaning pasta and beans) is a typically Italian soup, recipes can be found as far as the Alps, and stretching all through the Mediterranean.   Originally, the scarcity of meat made this a vegetarian meal with the starchiness of the beans, maybe potatoes too, giving a thicker consistency.  As cattle, pigs and sheep became more plentiful, additions of these meats elevated the quality of the soup.  Think of this recipe as an example of the story, “Stone Soup”; whatever is at hand can be placed in the pot, all combining for a delicious meal.  My grandmother made this soup in a large stock pot on the stovetop, but I have converted it for cooking in a crock pot.  The stovetop method took hours; stirring and checking to make sure nothing stuck to the bottom and burned.  The crock pot method still takes long hours of cooking, but “setting and forgetting” is less stressful.

 Pasta E Fagioli

 Ingredients:

2 lbs. lean ground beef

1 large onion, diced

3 medium carrots, peeled and diced

4 celery stalks, diced

1 (14 ½ oz.) can diced tomatoes

1 (15 oz.) can tomato puree

1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes

2 (16 oz.) cans white kidney beans (Great Northern), drained and rinsed

1 qts beef stock

3 tsp oregano

2 tsp ground black pepper

4 Tbsp. dried parsley

¼ tsp cayenne pepper flakes

8 oz. ditilini pasta, cooked before adding to the crock pot

Preparation:

In large skillet, brown meat till no pink shows; drain grease.

Spray 6-quart crock pot with non-stick spray. Mix together meat and all ingredients, except the pasta. Set on low heat and cook for 7 hours; add in pasta and cook another 15 minutes before serving. If desired, grated Parmesan cheese can be sprinkled on top of each serving.

Makes 12 - 14 servings.

Mary Cokenour

Eat Like a Real Local, Anywhere.

In my short lifetime (only 58, have plans to age 200), whenever I have traveled, it was always important to find local eateries to experience the food.  Why?  Basically, how would I learn about different cuisines, if all I ever ate was what I already knew about?  If I didn’t like it, seaweed salad for instance, then no loss to me if I never ate it again.  What if it was something absolutely amazing, soft shelled crab sandwich (yep, you eat the shell and all with this crab), and I missed out?  Alright, I hear, “Well if you never tried it, how could you ever miss it?”   While that might be a good point for those who are complacent, have no curiosity or spirit of adventure; it’s definitely not good enough for me. 

Think of it this way, you heard about Aunt So and So, never met her; saw photos, heard about how great she was.  Suddenly, you hear that she passed away and feel an emptiness inside; a sadness, not just for her passing, but that you missed out on meeting this wonderful person.  That’s what people should feel about life in general; don’t let it pass you by while you make excuses; or are afraid you won’t like an experience.  You never know definitely, if you hide in a cocoon indefinitely.

My initial experience with Southwestern and Mexican cuisines were, sadly, chain restaurants who supposedly offered up authentic recipes.  Imagine my surprise, moving to the Southwest, finally dining on the “real stuff”, and pondering what the chains were serving.  Even ingredients, such as chile peppers, refried beans, black beans and hominy were novelty items in the supermarkets’ “international aisle”.  That’s why, with the recipe I am giving, it contains Lima beans, not white pinto beans aka Great Northern beans; didn’t find those till I came out to Utah.  I also wanted a brighter color to break up the monotony of red and black beans mixed together in a red sauce.  Since an Amish favorite is “Barbecued Lima Beans”, I certainly thought they would be a delicious addition to my version of Southwestern Beans.  Served with roast beef, barbecued ribs or chicken; along with fluffy buttermilk biscuits or cornbread, this recipe is a perfect side dish.

Why wonder what you’re missing out on, go find out!

 

Southwestern Beans

 

Ingredients:

2 medium onions, chopped

2 large Jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced
1 (12 -16 oz.) package thick cut bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 tsp. ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. minced garlic
3 (15 oz.) cans red kidney beans
3 (16 oz.) cans butter beans aka Lima beans
2 (15 oz.) cans pinto beans
2 (15 oz.) cans black beans

(Beans – drain, do not rinse)

2 (18 oz.) bottles barbecue sauce (smoked hickory flavored)

Preparation:

Spray 6 quart crock pot with nonstick cooking spray.  Layer onions, Jalapenos, bacon, black pepper and garlic in bottom.

  
 

Add layers of beans separately; or mix beans together and then place inside crock pot.  Pour barbecue sauce overall; cover; set on low for 5 hours.

 

Makes 20 – one cup servings.

 

 Bonus Recipe – Baked Barbecue Chicken Leg Quarters

 Ingredients:

4 chicken leg quarters (leave skin on)

½ cup olive oil
1 Tbsp. salt
2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 (12 oz.) bottle brown sugar barbecue sauce

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 450F; line jelly roll pan with aluminum foil; spray foil with nonstick cooking spray.

Place chicken on pan, drizzle olive oil over all; sprinkle salt and pepper over all.  Roast for one hour; remove pan, brush on half bottle of barbecue sauce over chicken.  Place back in oven for 10 minutes; repeat.

Makes 4 servings.

Note: the high temperature will melt the fat on the chicken, leaving the skin crispy, yet sealing juices into the chicken.

Mary Cokenour

Heirloom Beans from the Anasazi.

Settlers of the Four Corners region discovered a wild bean growing amongst the ruins, but it was not until the 1950s that it was given a name.  Within an archaeological dig, of a cave in New Mexico, sealed clay pots gave forth a bounty, beans.  Carbon dating gave them the age of 1500 years, then again, carbon dating has been found not to be that accurate.  Since the ruin sites were attributed to the Anasazi (130 AD to 1200 AD), scholars played it safe and lowered the age to 750 years, or the last known sighting of the Puebloan people.  These beans were given the name, Anasazi, and planted to see if they were still viable; surprise is, they sprouted and grew!  Cultivation of the species continued and finally introduced to the American consumer in 1983; Adobe Milling in Dove Creek, Colorado is one of the largest distributors in the Southwest.

As with corn and wheat, beans are not indigenous to southwestern North America; they too were brought up from Mexico by Native tribes seeking trade, and Spanish explorers.  Anasazi beans fall under the botanical classification Phaseolus vulgaris which originated in Peru from a species simply referred to as “common beans”.  Other popular bean varieties stemming from the common beans include black, kidney, pinto, and navy beans.  Anasazi beans are a vibrant swirl of white and maroon coloring; being low fat, sweeter and mealier gives them a unique taste and texture that adds to any recipe.  Nutrition wise, they are high in protein and fiber; an excellent source of potassium, calcium, and iron; one cup has less cholesterol and calories than three ounces of beef.  Here is the really good news, remember that saying, “Beans, beans, good for your heart.  The more you eat, the more you *ahem* pass gas.”? They contain 75% less of the gas-causing carbohydrates compared to pinto beans! 

How to cook up Anasazi beans? I referred to two cookbooks, “Pueblo Indian Cookbook” by Phyllis Hughes (1972) and “Southwestern Indian Recipe Book” by Zora Getmansky Hesse (1973); it was not as easy as my cookbooks stated.  Two cups of beans went into a cooking pot, with enough cool water to cover and soaked overnight for 14 hours.  During soaking and cooking, do NOT add salt, vinegar or anything acidic, like tomatoes, or the beans will get tougher.  After draining, rinsing, just covering with more cool water, adding chopped onion, bacon, and a teaspoon of granulated garlic; they simmered on the stove for 4 hours…and remained as hard as when first purchased.  Let’s think logically about this, the Puebloans did not use a gas stove as I did, but they did cook using a wood fired adobe oven.  Nope, did not have one of those in the backyard, so back to the stove; I checked on them every hour for an additional 4 hours.  The result was not much better.

Cover beans with water, soak overnight.

Drained and Rinsed.

Add Bacon and Onions.

After 8 hours on stove top.

 

Instead of throwing out the beans in frustration, I decided to toss the entire mixture into a crock pot, put the setting on high and waited 4 more hours.  Yes, I have patience when I want to achieve a goal.  Eureka, the beans came out wonderfully; a semi-firm texture that had absorbed the flavors of both onion and bacon.  The water, with help from the bacon fat, had reduced down to a thickened sauce with a hint of garlic.  Seems the insulation of the crock pot acted in the same fashion as an earthenware pot within an adobe oven. Paired with the Pueblo bread I had made earlier in the day, it was a meal worth waiting for.   I am certainly enjoying my adventures into the world of Native American cuisines; who knows what will come next…mutton stew perhaps?

Mary Cokenour

 

 

Beans and Beef Doesn't Always Mean Chili.

There are too many times I stand and stare into the depths of the refrigerator and freezer wondering what to make for dinner. That's also how I come up with many of my spontaneous recipes; boredom, frustration and a "I wonder if..." attitude. Holding a two and a half pound package of stew beef (beef cubes) in my hand, I wondered what in the world to do with it. Not beef stew again, just did that two weeks ago; not chili, just not in the mood for it and then I would have to make a truly large batch to share with my mom-in-law which meant going out to the store for more meat. Too much effort! Then I remembered my Taste of Home winning recipe, "Beefy Barbecue Macaroni", but I didn't want to deal with the cheese sauce and wasn't in the mood for pasta. Sometimes I am just my own worst enemy, especially when it comes to cooking.

Still had no clue what to create, so decided to trim the stew beef cubes and maybe an idea would come to me.  Now stew beef is essentially all the bit and pieces the butchers cut off steaks and roasts; sometimes there is a good bit of meat left, so they package it up for consumers to buy and make recipes such as chili, beef stew, maybe even kabobs.  However you should always examine the beef before just throwing it into your pot, as many pieces may need to be trimmed of fat; some might be pure fat themselves.  If you don't want to deal with this process, then go ahead and purchase a nice lean roast and just cut it up yourself.  With the beef I had, I needed to cut only a little fat off, but I finally decided to use the crock pot and made them as uniform to one inch as I could.


Alright, kind of use that recipe I mentioned, but in the crock pot; but no cheese, what am I going to do without cheese?  Looking around the pantry I found cans of red kidney beans; well just because I was adding beans didn't make it chili, right?  These are the ingredients I finally centered on: barbecue sauce, the beans, tomatoes, red onion and green bell pepper.  I was going to make a barbecue sauce based beef stew, but without the traditional vegetables of carrots and potatoes.

Let me tell you that this concoction of mine came out amazing.  The beef was so tender, it basically melted in the mouth; and absorbed the barbecue sauce flavor well.  The tomatoes did not break down into complete mush; the onion and peppers became very soft; usually green bell peppers are harsh in flavor, but they melded in perfectly.  The beans did not become too soft, or remain too firm; as Goldilocks would say, "They were just right".  The smell was intoxicating; the taste was just as equal.  This is the kind of meal you can enjoy as is, or with a side of mashed potatoes, rice, pasta or polenta.  I did not have to add lots of seasonings or even garlic as the bottled sauce I used had everything I needed - Jack Daniels Hickory Brown Sugar.  I didn't dredge the beef in the flour, then fry it; I didn't want to add anymore oil into this dish than the nonstick cooking spray added.  I also didn't want additional liquids like beef stock as I knew the beef and vegetables would exude their own moisture.  One thing I notice with recipes like this is that the home cook will add pasta to the pot; all well and good, but remember that pasta is like a sponge and will absorb all excess liquids.  I wanted a nice thick sauce with this meal, not anything watery, or so firm a fork would stand up straight in it.

Here's the recipe...

BBQ Beef Stew

Ingredients:

2 ½ lbs beef cubes; trimmed of fat and cut into 1 inch pieces

¼ cup flour
1 ½ cups chopped red onion
½ cup diced green bell pepper
1 cup red kidney beans
2 cups chopped tomatoes
1 (19 oz) bottle bbq sauce (hickory brown sugar)

Preparation:

Spray a 4 quart crock pot with nonstick cooking spray; set on low heat.  Spread beef cubes on bottom and sprinkle flour over all.  Spread other ingredients out in layers: onions, bell pepper, beans and tomatoes.  Pour bbq sauce on top; cover and cook for 8 hours.

Makes 8 servings.

Mary Cokenour

BBQ Beef Stew with Elbow Macaroni



BBQ Beef Stew with Mashed Potatoes
 

Saddle Up for the Bar D Chuckwagon.

 

Bar D Chuckwagon

8080 County Road 250

Durango, CO 81301

 

(970) 247-5753

 

 

                                               Website: http://www.bardchuckwagon.com

 

The easiest description I can give of Bar D Chuckwagon is FUN!!!  The atmosphere rustic and serene; the staff are so, so friendly; the cowboy food is hearty and filling; and the entertainment ranged anywhere to sentimental to fall on the floor funny.   The drive along Route 250 is beautiful; we saw two young Elk grazing, but unfortunately there is no real shoulder to pull off on to take photos.  To get to Route 250, make a turn onto 32nd Street in Durango (City Market side); follow to the 250 junction and turn to the left; keep on following the road till you see those welcoming gates to the Bar D; follow the paved road to the parking lot.

 

 

 

 

Once you park, head on over to the train station to purchase your tickets.  The price includes the meal and the show; the tickets have assigned table numbers, so the earlier you get there (it opens at 5:30pm), the closer to the stage you are).  There is a train ride for the children; also a wedding chapel for ceremonies.

As you continue walking around, you'll see the Record Shop where CDs and DVDs of the Bar D Wranglers can be purchased.  There are many more shops, and there is bound to be something that catches your eye; or your taste buds like at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Shop. 






The outside decor ranges from historic to simply fun.

The back area of the property contains the dining section with wooden, picnic style tables and benches; all with numbers that correspond with the tickets.  The kitchen area doubles as the stage once meals are done with.  The backdrop for the entire area is a beautiful forest and towering formations of stone.

 

 

 

Dinner begins at 7:30pm and Bar D is not chintzy with the food items; your cowboy plate is full.  For those with really large appetite, if there are extras available, they will be offered after everyone has gotten their firsts.  Lemonade, coffee and water are served in metal cups; remember this is a cowboy dinner and you're going rustic.  Choices in meat range from BBQ Beef, BBQ Chicken, Combo of both or Ribeye Steak; beans, baked potato, biscuit, applesauce and spiced cake are included too.  See, told you they were not cheap on the grub.

 

 

Bar D Wranglers

 

Matt Palmer and Richard Lee Cody
 

Gary Cook and Joel Racheff
 

Bar D Wranglers are the entertainment for the evening and they are, not just very talented, but absolutely wonderfully fun to listen to.  The Western songs vary from sentimental to hilarious; for instance, their updated version of "Ghost Riders in the Sky" to "Low Riders in the Sky".  At any moment I was expecting Gabriel Iglesias to walk on stage yelling, "Martin!!!" 

 

 



Cy Scarborough
 

One of the original founders and owners of the Bar D came out on stage to sing about opossums; Cy Scarborough started this Chuckwagon rolling along in 1969.  He helped to end the evening with a patriotic medley of the United States, and it was hard not to stand, put your hand over your heart and sing along.








If you're visiting Durango, whether spending a few days, overnight, or going home the same day; make sure to plan for an evening at Bar D Chuckwagon.  Get along little doggies.

Mary Cokenour


 

  

Chili that knows how to Party.

When Bill moved in with us in May, one of the first things he asked me was, "Mom, do you still make that great Chili? You mean the one with the sirloin beef cubes; yeppers and better than ever, I told him. But the summer time heat was moving in, and making chili was not on my list of things to do for the season.

That was until this past weekend when I was in the mood for chili; roast beef had been on sale at City Market and I got to working on cutting it up into pieces for the crock pot. The only problem, I didn't want to use as many beans as I normally do, and didn't want it to be too monotone in coloring. I was in a great, happy mood and wanted colorful food to go with the mood. I cut back on the beans and added bright colors from whole kernel corn, and red and green bell peppers.

Another change I made was to use medium heat chile peppers, but mild New Mexico chili powder. I wanted the heat to come from the peppers themselves, but the rich smokiness of the chili powder. This combo made my mouth hot, but not burn; and the flavors of the ingredients came through. See, one thing I don't believe in is making your food burn your mouth to the point where you cannot taste anything. Might as well just eat raw habanero or ghost chiles and get it over with. Of course, you can adjust the type of chile peppers and chili powder you use when making this recipe because it is what makes you happy that matters the most.

I served Cornbread with the chili, but instead of the conventional oven method, I baked it in a cast iron skillet. The adjustments for this are: preheat oven to 425F, but place the skillet (which should already have been preseasoned)in the oven at the start of the preheating. When ready, carefully take out the skillet and coat the bottom and sides with a generous amount of butter. Pour in the batter (don't worry about the butter you see coming up the sides of the batter) and bake for 20 minutes. Cut into eight wedges and serve with the chili.

...and here's the recipe for Fiesta Chili.

Fiesta Chili

Ingredients:

2 ½ lbs roast beef cut into ½ inch pieces; trim off fat
½ cup flour
1 cup beef stock
2 cups whole kernel corn
1 cup diced mixture of red and green bell peppers
½ cup diced chile peppers (medium heat)
2 ½ cups diced tomatoes
1 cup diced onions
4 Tbsp New Mexico chili powder (mild heat)
2 Tbsp cumin
1 Tbsp minced garlic
2 cans (15 oz) black beans; drained and rinsed
2 cans (15 oz) pinto beans; drained and rinsed

Note: if using dried beans instead, soak overnight in salted water and place into crock pot with remaining ingredients for the total 7 hour cooking time.

Preparation:

Set 6 quart crock pot on low. Toss beef pieces with flour; place into crock pot and pour beef stock over. Mix together remaining ingredients, except the beans (see Note), and spread evenly into crock pot. Cover and let cook for 4 hours; add beans to crock pot, mix thoroughly, cover and let cook another 4 hours.

Serve with sour cream, shredded Mexican Mix cheese and cornbread.

Makes 8 servings.

Mary Cokenour