Green Chile Stew
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 4-5 hours

4 Lbs pork or beef cut into cubes
2 TBSP vegetable oil
1/2 Cup all-purpose flour, more if needed
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1 16oz tub mild green chilies, thawed
1 16oz tub hot green chilies, thawed
2 10 1/4oz cans of vegetable broth
1/2 Cup vegetable oil
3 TBSP pureed garlic
1 Medium white onion, diced
1 29oz can of diced tomatoes, with juice
1 Cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 TBSP kosher salt
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp fresh ground pepper

Heat 2 TBSP of vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Toss cubed meat in flour and pan sear until a nice brown color on all sides. About 3 minutes. Repeat this process until all the meat is browned. Set aside.

In a large stock pot, heat 1/2 cup vegetable oil over medium heat. Add diced onion and garlic to oil and cook until onion is tender. About 5 minutes.

Add 1 cup of flour slowly to help absorb all the oil. Stir continuously to keep flour from burning. When well combined, add both cans of  vegetable broth, stirring until all clumps are gone and base has a smooth and creamy consistency. Turn heat down to simmer.

Add both tubs of thawed chilies, diced tomatoes with juice and the meat. Mix well until everything is well combined. Cover stock pot with a lid or foil and let simmer for 4-5 hours, stirring occasionally. Serve hot with your favorite type of tortillas. Wine Pairing: Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Noir and Zinfandel. Beer Pairing: Your favorite Mexican beer or a nice IPA.

Urban Wine Walk.....

Had a great time this past Saturday enjoying the 4th annual urban wine walk in downtown Phoenix. What better way to spend an afternoon than checking out downtown valley restaurants and having a little wine and munchies at each little stop. The walk included about 15-20 different restaurants from the downtown area as well as Tempe.

We actually parked off 1st Ave and Camelback near the site of one of the participating restaurants, had a little wine and flat bread and then jumped on the light rail to continue our wine tasting trip. At $3.50 per person for an all day rail pass why not just ride and relax. If you haven't done so I highly recommend this as the way to see downtown. No traffic hassles and no high parking costs either.

Had to do some walking from our original stop to get to some of the tasting sites but I have to admit except for one site that was a little out of the way most of the others were grouped together so it made it really easy to go from place to place and just relax and enjoy yourself. All the participating sites seemed well prepared and very happy to have one and all come in and check out their places. For me it was a great way to see how much the Arizona Center has been revamped and worked over, as well as being able to check out some of the newer places around town that otherwise would take months to visit.

Have to say out of all the places we visited on Saturday that Maizie's Cafe is the place we will be returning to first to have an actual meal. If the artisan pizza bites we received as our snack while wine tasting is any indication of their menu it should be awesome. They are open for breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as happy hour from 3-6, Monday-Friday. Stay tuned for a full review coming soon.

Pics from the "Official 50th Blog Member Dinner"

After much delay, I finally have some of the pics from the dinner posted. It was a great evening spent in good company enjoying some great food and wine. The recipe for the game hen follows this post. Can't wait to do something like this again soon. Maybe for one of you.

The menu is set

Can't have dinner without a little wine

Brie cheese, grapes and crackers to start the night

Endive with Hot Bacon Vinaigrette

The finished meal

Chorizo Stuffed Cornish Game hen and grilled asparagus

Enough said I think

Lemon sorbet with fresh blackberry syrup

The "winner" Deni and I

Deni, Kristyn, and I after a successful dinner

One happy chef

Chorizo and Cornbread Stuffed Cornish Game Hens
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 1/2 hours(depending on size)

1 Lb hard chorizo sausage
1 Medium white onion, diced
1/2 Cup celery, diced
1/4 Cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 TBSP garlic, minced
2 Cups dry cornbread stuffing mix
1 Cup chicken stock
4 Each Cornish game hens, thawed

PREHEAT OVEN TO 350 DEGREES

Rinse thawed hens in cool water inside and out. Pat dry and season with salt and pepper both inside and out. Set aside.

Cook chorizo sausage in fry pan over medium heat until well cooked and crumbly. About 5 minutes. Drain excess grease from pan and return to burner.

In the same pan combine chorizo, onion, celery and garlic, cooking until vegetables have caramelized. About 10 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl combine caramelized vegetables, dry cornbread mix, chicken stock and cilantro, until well blended. Make sure your stuffing is moist but not wet.

Take about 3/4-1 cup stuffing mixture and place inside of hens, but do not over pack them, since the stuffing expands during cooking and may cause hens to explode. Cook stuffed hens until juices run clear and stuffing temperature reaches 165 degrees on a meat thermometer. Place remaining stuffing mixture into a buttered casserole dish and bake until heated through and lightly browned. Place into oven uncovered during the final 20 minutes of cooking the hens. Wine Pairings: Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel or Shiraz. Beer Pairings: Amber Ale or IPA. 

Dinner for my 50th follower..........

Tomorrow night(or should I say tonight)I will be making dinner for my official 50th follower and a friend. Since tonight's menu is a surprise I cannot say anything about it at this time, but check back soon because I will have pics and recipes posted shortly.