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Bruce Aidells' Cornbread Stuffing Mama Montgomery's Rice Stuffing Acorn Squash Stuffed with Cornbread and Spiced Cranberry Apple Chutney |
Allen Byers was a creature of habit. He made traditional stuffing, took a nap at the same time every day and was better at giving presents in June then he was at Christmas. Although I never would have dared suggest changing his nap time, one year I did work up the courage to suggest he try a stuffing recipe from his favorite cookbook, THE ALICE'S RESTAURANT COOKBOOK. Even though what the book proudly declared was Alice's favorite stuffing didn't call for any of the traditional ingredients, he let me talk him into trying it.
Unfortunately, four hours later when the turkey was cooked and we all sat down to dinner, the stuffing tasted, exactly as you would expect, a bit too much like turkey flavored chopped liver to make anyone at the table want more then a couple of bites.
But even so, Alan continued to love Alice's cookbook. When I asked him why, he told me that, besides containing several good recipes, it was the first cookbook he'd ever read that said that: Since the guests don't know what you're serving is supposed to taste like, you should always act as if it turned out just the way you wanted it to. Like most creatures of habit, Allen wasn't a big risk taker, so, this bit of hippie wisdom allowed him to attempt cooking things that he might otherwise never have dared. And for all I know, they all really did turn out just as perfectly as he always seemed to think that they did (except, of course, for the chicken liver stuffing).
Alice’s Famous Chili is really good, though.
Alice’s Famous Chili
In half an inch of olive oil, saute until soft: 3 chopped onions,
3 chopped green peppers, and 3 large cloves of finely chopped garlics. In another pan, brown 1 or 2 lbs of chopped beef. Drain the fat from the beef and add the beef to the onions and peppers.
Now add 1 or 2 cans of tonatoes and 1 can of tomato paste and 2 to 6 tbs of chili powder (you can always add more, so start off easy).
Add 1 tbs of sugar, a tiny bit of salt, pepper and paprika, 2 bay leaves, a tsp of cumin, a tsp of basil and a pinch of cayenne pepper.
Simmer all this for at least half an hour until it is good and thick. Then add 1 or 2 cans of kidney beans.
Serve this on rice and top it some chopped raw onions. (Makes 6 to 8 servings.)