Cornbread

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for the pan

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup yellow cornmeal

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup minus 1 tablespoon milk

1 tablespoon vinegar

2 large eggs

Directions

Make buttermilk – combine the milk and vinegar, let set for at least 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and position a rack in the middle.

Butter an 8- inch-square baking pan.

Melt the butter in the microwave in a microwave-safe dish in three 15-second intervals on high or in a small pan on the stove. Set it aside to cool.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a large bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and the eggs. Add the melted butter.

Add the flour-cornmeal mixture and stir just until combined.

Pour the batter into the pan.

Bake until the cornbread just begins to brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 18 to 23 minutes.

Cool for about 10 minutes before serving.

Braised Lamb Shanks

INGREDIENTS

2 lamb shanks

Salt

Dry Rub:

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 teaspoon ground dried hibiscus (jamaica)

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

Vegetable oil

1/8 teaspoon crumbled saffron

Juice of 1 lime, about 2 tablespoons

1 shallot, chopped

Zest of 1/2 fresh lime

Zest of 1/2 orange

A few thyme sprigs

1 fresh bay leaf

3 cups chicken broth

1 cup beef broth

1 tablespoon roughly chopped parsley, for garnish

1 tablespoon roughly chopped mint or dill, for garnish

PREPARATION

1.      Trim any excess fat from lamb shanks, remove membrane and season generously with salt.

2.      Mix together the cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, hibiscus, black pepper and turmeric. Sprinkle evenly over shanks and rub into meat. Let sit at room temperature at least an hour, or wrap in place (each shank separately) and refrigerate overnight, then bring to room temperature.

3.      Place saffron in a small bowl with lime juice and 1/4 cup warm water. Let steep for at least 10 minutes. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

4.      Place a Dutch oven or deep, heavy pot over medium-high heat and add oil to a depth of 1/2 inch. When oil is hot, add lamb shanks and fry until nicely browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.

5.      Carefully remove all but 2 tablespoons oil from Dutch oven. Add chopped shallot and cook over medium heat until softened and lightly colored, 8 to 10 minutes. Season with salt, then add lime zest, orange zest, thyme sprigs and bay leaves. Stir in saffron mixture. Lay in the lamb shanks and add the broth. Broth should come up about half way up the shanks. Bring to a boil, then turn off heat and cover pot.

6.      Transfer pot to oven and bake for 90 minutes, covered, until meat is tender when probed and beginning to fall from the bone. Remove lamb shanks to serving dish and keep warm.

7.      Strain braising juices through a fine-mesh sieve into fat separator, pressing with a spoon to obtain all the liquid (discard thyme, bay leaves and shallots). Skim fat by pouring into sauté pan, then taste and add salt if necessary. Reheat strained juices to reduce and spoon over lamb shanks.

8.      Combine parsley and mint and sprinkle over top.

Venison Chili - Named Best Chili 2017

Every year our neighborhood has a chili cook-off. This was my entry in 2017. Was selected as the top chili!

6 dried ancho chiles

2 dried pasilla chiles

2 or 3 canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce

4 slices bacon

4 pounds smoked venison sausage chopped into ¼ inch cubes

1 yellow onion diced

4 cloves garlic minced

1 tablespoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground allspice

Pinch of crushed cloves

1 cup strong brewed coffee

1 (12 ounce) can of dark Texan beer (porter or stout)

3 cups water plus water for rehydrating chiles

Salt and Pepper

1 Tablespoon corn meal

1. Remove stems and seeds from the dried anhco and pasilla chiles. In a dry cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat, cook chiles for 5 to 10 seconds on each side or until they begin to puff up a bit. Add enough water to cover the chiles, bring to simmer and then turn off the heat. Let the chiles soak for at least 30 minutes to get them soft and plumped. Drain and rinse the chiles.
2. Place rehydrated chiles, the chipotle chiles and one cup of water in a blender. Blend until a smooth puree forms. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. In a large pot, cook bacon over medium-low heat until crisp. Should take about 10 minutes. Transfer cooked bacon to paper towel to drain. Leave bacon grease in pot.
4. Add chopped venison sausage to pot and cook, occasionally stirring, unit meat is lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Remove meat from pot.
5. Add onion to pot and cook until translucent, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds more. Return meat to pot, crumble in bacon, add the cumin, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, coffee, beer and 2 cups water. Turn up the heat and bring to a boil.
6. Pour chile puree into pot. Bring to boil again and then reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for at least 1 ½ hours, stirring occasionally.
7. If chili dries out, add water. If chili is not thick enough, scoop out ¼ cup of the liquid, combine with corn meal, stir it up and add the mixture back to the pot.
8. Allow to cool and then place in storage jars. Place storage jars in refrigerator for 5 days or so to allow flavors to blend.
9. Reheat chili after the 5 days.