We wouldn’t normally walk out of a town with brochures and maps, but we couldn’t help ourselves this time around. We’re not really into hanging onto this and that; most of our souvenirs are gifts. When we left Hawaii just a few weeks ago, our bags were just as heavy as when we first arrived, although the amazing experiences don’t weigh anything.
Daylight savings time has us falling back and the sun is setting earlier. Days are getting darker, nights are getting colder and we’re moving through Fall quickly, on our way to Winter. The change of seasons and weather provides us the opportunity to cook different dishes in order to keep our bodies warm and even capitalize on different foods that are in season. One food that you can make all year round is chili, but there’s something special about having a warm bowl on a cold night.
We’ve presented loads of different recipes on the blog, in different forms. Sometimes we use recipe cards; sometimes we don’t. Sometimes we use lots and lots of work; sometimes we don’t. One thing we always want to do is include lots of delicious pictures, but this time around, we’re going to use these pictures as the recipe.
During (nearly) every stage of the cooking process, we’re going to show you a picture and only provide a brief description as to what is going on. Since we’re not baking, precise measurements aren’t as important, and since we’re making chili, there aren’t any complex techniques. Plus, the most important thing to remember is that this is YOUR chili, and you should adjust the seasoning to make your mouth and tummy happy. (If you want to throw some serious heat in there, go for it!)
Ingredients you’ll need:
Step 1: Caramelize onions and garlic in a stockpot.
Before you read any further, skip all the way to the comment section below and leave your answer to the question, is a hot dog a sandwich? Then, when you’re finished reading, go back to your comment and reply to it… if you changed your mind or feel any differently about the matter.
This all started when an old teacher of mine presented the question on Facebook as a result of a discussion that began in his English class. This individual teaches just outside of New York City, in New Jersey, so you’d imagine that everyone he knows is relatively familiar with high-quality sandwiches. (New York and New Jersey have some of the best sandwiches… period!) Without sharing too many opinions, Facebook was clearly divided. People were getting particularly picky with naming conventions, essentially stating that anything with its own name (burger) isn’t a sandwich. Others were quite clear that anything between two slices of bread was, in fact, a sandwich. Someone even went far enough to provide Webster’s definition of sandwich, which states a: two or more slices of bread or a split roll having a filling in between; b: one slice of bread covered with food. Clearly, the folk at Webster’s are big fans of open-faced sandwiches.
After over 80 comments, someone stated that Rutt’s Hut (one of the most iconic hot dog eateries in the country, founded in 1928) doesn’t list hot dogs under the sandwich section. This idea led to the teacher physically going to Rutt’s Hut and recording the man himself give his two cents. The verdict: the hinge of the bun makes it one piece of bread, so he doesn’t consider it to be a sandwich. Still, he sounded very understanding of those that did.
Throwing my own opinions aside from the start, I decided to take this to some heavyweights in the world of sandwiches, since the teacher took it to a heavyweight in the world of hot dogs. Not only did I get clear-cut answers from both of these gentlemen, but one of them seemed fed up with the question, as if he was sick and tired of answering it over and over again. Hopefully, this prevents people from asking him… as long as they see this first.
Eric Greenspan, also known as Chef Greeny, is an LA-based celebrity chef who has made countless appearances as a competitor and judge on Food Network. Since we’ve seen nearly every episode of everything ever on Food Network (the good stuff), we’d go as far as saying Greeny is arguably the greatest competitor in the history of Cutthroat Kitchen. His resume doesn’t need anything else, but we’d love to let you know that he is the king of grilled cheese. We’ve had his grilled cheeses many times over on Melrose Ave. When I asked Greeny his thoughts on the matter, he got right to the point. “I’m saying yes. Stuff between bread. End of story.”
Jeff Mauro, who is the host of Food Network’s The Kitchen and Sandwich King, is a self-proclaimed professional combiner of meat, cheese, and bread. While Jeff didn’t attend Le Cordon Bleu like Greeny, he strong-armed his love for sandwiches and used that force to win the 7th season of the Food Network Star competition. Jeff went on to defend the need for a sandwich only show and now appears in Subway ads. This guy, who is extremely likable and charismatic, has made a living from sandwiches. Taking all of that into consideration, are we surprised by what Jeff had to say? Not really, he agreed with Greeny and even stated, “End of story for the love of God.”
After presenting all that information, we only have one question for anyone who denies that a hot dog is a sandwich. If you’re clinging on to the one piece of hinging bread argument, what happens when the bun tears in half? Stay hungry and fit!
Last week’s pics for bro’s bday
We know, we know. Years ago, we told you to stick to a high-quality product from a reputable company and use it as an anchor in your diet so that you can make sure you get enough protein without taking in too many calories. Well, years have passed and you’ve made progress, but at this point, you sure could use some relief from that same morning protein smoothie that you have. Luckily, Optimum Nutrition has perfect timing and a new product that is exactly what you might be looking for.
Well… actually, they have two new products. Whey & Oats has a larger serving size with more calories and protein than the Greek Yogurt Protein Smoothie, but neither of these products are high in the sugar/carb or fat departments. They walk that fine line of trying to fill you up in the morning so you’re not reaching for snacks all day without leaving you so stuffed and weighed down that you just want to go back to bed.
Of course we know what you’re thinking! After all these years, we have a pretty good idea what you’re looking for…Summer recipes on (nearly) the last day of Summer… isn’t it?! Really?! Well… don’t fret too much. It’s an idea you probably haven’t had before but what if some delicious Summer-inspired recipes could be replicated inside your home. Sure, it might be too cool or too windy to fire up the grill, but you don’t need to! After all, when you use your noggin, we all know that anything is possible.
Hot Dogs can (and often do) sketch a lot of people out. We’ve all heard the horror stories about what exactly is in that hot dog, but instead of opting for a Hot Dog in a Bun, turn things a lot fresher and a little more fun with this healthier sausage based twist. Honestly, there’s only one thing you’ll need since it is the base of this concept and that is…Sausage.
Now, we’re pretty darn particular when it comes to grocery store sausage offerings so we’re going with Al Fresco’s for a few reasons.
1. You can’t find it in every grocery, so it’s just a touch on the higher end. (Which is a good thing!)
2. It is easy to remove the “casing” from the sausage, which we’re going to do to help cook it.
3. It tastes good! That means… flavor and texture. It basically makes your mouth dance a little.
Here is the “recipe” for this dish, which is going to be more of a “how-to” since we want you to do the hard part!
We had a friend in town!
Hungry and I have birthdays just four days apart. Hungry went really above and beyond to make my day(s) special and made sure to include everything that would make me happy: delicious Italian dinner, massage, board games, and family time. For Hungry’s birthday, we kept it low key: played video games, went out to a casual (but delicious) Peruvian dinner, and exchanged cool presents. Very grateful to everyone for their love!
Sneaking happy selfies in
We had a great Labor Day at our cousins’ rented condo right on Malibu beach!
We’ve been settling into the new home before we go on vacation…yes, that is a homemade smoothie bowl!
