Green Chile Stew with Pork

Meat and potatoes, New Mexico style

Green Chile Stew with Pork (aka Chile Verde) is one of the best-known dishes in New Mexico. And while it’s a meat-heavy dish, the flavor is all about the chilies.

Which makes sense, because green chilies—New Mexico’s largest agricultural crop—feature superb quality and flavor.

More about chilies later. Right now, all you really need to know is this: When the weather turns cold, nothing heats you up better than a steaming bowl of Green Chile Stew with Pork.

No-Churn Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream

Its pie-like flavor is no trick, just a (luscious) treat

This time of year, we love to use one of our favorite autumn ingredients: pumpkin. You know, the big orange squash people use to make pumpkin pie.

But man (and woman) cannot live by pie alone. We also need ice cream!

Which reminds us: A while back, we discovered a way to make ice cream without churning—and using no special equipment except our trusty stand mixer. It’s a quick and easy method that produces better ice cream than anything you’re likely to buy in a carton.

So of course, we couldn’t resist adapting it to make this terrific tasting No-Churn Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream. Just in time for Halloween. Boo!

Texas-Style Chili con Carne

Warm up with a meat-based classic

With autumnal equinox receding in the rear-view mirror here in the Northern Hemisphere, we’re entering a period of chilly (not to mention gloomy and rainy) weather. Which is good news, in a way. Because chilly season means chili season.

During the cooler months, we have chili frequently—at least once a week. And although we make chili using all sorts of ingredients (including a mean vegetarian Sweet Potato Chili with Black Beans), there’s something special about a chili that’s heavy on the meat.

And when it comes to meatiness, nothing beats Texas chili. It typically contains loads of meat and chilies—and not much else. Just the thing to take the chill off.

Italian Meat Sauce for Pasta

Brighten up your pasta with this zesty tomato sauce

Autumn is here in the Northern Hemisphere, and that means shorter days and cooler evenings. Time for comfort food, wouldn’t you say?

Fortunately, nothing is more comforting than a big plateful of pasta smothered in a rich tomato-based meat sauce. It’s a dish that kids and adults both like, and never tire of. Plus it’s fun to make.

With Columbus Day coming up in the US next Monday (October 13), we think it’s time to celebrate all things Italian. And what better way to do that than to cook up a big potful of meat sauce for pasta? Mamma mia, it’s good!

The Delmonico Cocktail

A taste of New York history

Delmonico’s restaurant opened for business in lower Manhattan in 1827—and forever changed the way we eat out in America. It was the first restaurant to introduce à la carte dining in the US. That was a major innovation at a time when most commercial eating establishments were inns or dining halls, where people ate whatever the house happened to be dishing up that day.

The Delmonico steak (a fancy cut from the short loin) was invented at the new restaurant. So too reportedly were Eggs Benedict, Baked Alaska, Lobster Newburg, and Chicken à la Keene (today known as Chicken à la King).

The Delmonico Cocktail was yet another of the restaurant’s inventions. Their house drink was a gin- and brandy-based concoction, livened up with both sweet and dry vermouth.

This sip of cocktail history still tastes great before dinner. Or as a nightcap after an evening at the theatre.