Hot Chili for a Cold Day

Now that it is finally cold in NYC, it's time for some hearty food to curl up with. RFC makes a kick-ass rendition of chili that is something to look forward to after negotiating the brown slush of the streets and the windy walk from the subway.

Three Bean Turkey Chili
2 large cans crushed tomatoes
package (usually about 1/3 pound) ground turkey
olive oil
2 medium onions, diced
3 -4 cloves of garlic, minced
envelope chili seasoning (taco seasoning could work also)
1 bottle of dark beer
hot sauce
1 can each navy beans, kidney beans and black beans (drained and rinsed)
red pepper, diced
salt and pepper

Brown turkey, but don't drain the fat. Set aside. In a large pot, saute garlic until tranluscent. Turn off the heat and add the onion and stir (with no heat). Add the tomatoes, beans, seasoning and beer. Bring to a boil and simmer for about an hour. After an hour, add the red pepper and hot sauce, salt and pepper to taste.

**I believe this recipe originally comes from two of RFC's friends, one out in SLC and one in LI, so shout outs to them.

Sucker for Valentine's Day

You know what? I love Valentine's Day. I know it's commercial, but I love the little Valentine cards with Scooby Doo and kittens from the drugstore. I love Hershey's Kisses in red foil. I love conversation hearts that say Be Mine and Kiss Me. How can you have a problem with a holiday that practically begs you to eat chocolate? And I say this after many years of not having a special someone to be with on February 14th.

This year (and last, for that matter) I get to have an excuse to be especially lovey dovey. I have my very own, super sweetheart whom I made truffles for and I am here to tell you that you should give it a try too. It's not terribly hard, although it is a bit messy, and the satisfaction of presenting someone with a box of candy that you made yourself is undeniable. For ideas and recipes, check out this recent Sugar High Friday. You will definitely be inspired.


Happy Valentine's Day to RFC and also to my girlfriends who have always been my valentines during those boyless Februarys.

NYC Tart

Shredding the Nar *

I have turned a corner in my snowboarding ability. I can actually connect turns and make toe turns without bailing and falling down every time my board points down hill. If you have no idea what I am talking about, trust me, this is major! It makes all the sore muscles and banged up and bruised knees worth it. And it is all because of a recent trip to Salt Lake City and RFC's awesome friends who hooked us up, entertained us and gave us a place to rest our exhausted bodies at the end of the day (ginoromous thank yous to B., J., S., JM, and their friends).

RFC and I were up early Saturday morning after a late flight in and spent the day at Snowbird. I can not explain to you how much I have heard about this place from RFC. Unfortunately, Utah has not seen as much snow this year and the SLCers are a dissappointed bunch this season. But, compared to the sorry season here in the Northeast, the conditions were great. And the mountains were beautiful. J.'s friend gave me a private lesson and this is what really made a difference in my snowboarding. That first day ended with all of us relaxing in the heated pool at the resort followed by us gorging on plates of nachos as big as our heads at Porcupine. The next day we spent out at Solitude, where I was able get off the bunny slope and go down longer runs. While I was still falling quite a bit, I felt much more confident. Solitude lived up to its name and the quiet rides up on the ski lift gave me time to enjoy my surroundings.

Now, of course, the food. As I just mentioned, I have been hearing about the mountains in Utah since I started dating RFC. Another part of the SLC experience I have heard almost equally about is a Mexican restaurant called the Red Iguana. RFC likes this place so much that he almost didn't let me take him to a Mexican place here in NYC because he thought it would some how spoil his memory of the Mexican food he had in SLC.

Well, now that I have had the opportunity to eat there, I can say that it lived up to and beyond the hype. Coming from California, I swear by the taquerias, but this was a different kind of experience. The specialty here is the mole, and they have a number to choose from. We even got a little sampler plate of the varieties to try. I ordered the lomo de puerco en mole de almendras. It was pork loin stuffed with dried fruit in almond mole. I have never had anything like it before. It was so rich and I loved the sweet/savory mix. RFC ordered the mole poblano. It was equally excellant, shredded turkey smothered in mole flavored with peanuts, walnuts and almonds.

So the verdict on Utah? It was a great break from NYC. The mountains were beautiful, the people were fun, and the Mexican food was so good we took a doggy bag all the way home to New York.

Red Iguana
736 West North Temple
Salt Lake City, Utah
(801) 322-4834

*Any real snowboarder would say I wasn't actually doing this, considering I am barely off the bunny hill, but what the heck. It makes a great title.