The Glass Castle

Author: Jeanette Walls

Dinner Prepared by: Chelsea

Great book club meeting this past Sunday. Jessie, you were missed! Jeanette Walls is an amazing woman. She's an inspiration for the way she recalls her ridiculous childhood in an upbeat way. How frustrating it is to the reader to see her continue to forgive her parents when it feels like they are unworthy of forgiveness. While her relationship with her father was somewhat endearing, he soon lost my respect with his booze-getting tactics and the way he used his daughter as a pawn in a pool game. There are no words to describe my feelings toward her mother. Selfish doesn't cut it.

My reasons for making chili for last night's book club are three-fold:

It's sort of the poor man's stew- which is appropriate for the way Jeanette grew up (not to mention how they ate beans and tomatos out of the can on occassion.

I found myself feeling cold while reading that book numerous times

I had a crap-load of stew meat to use up.

Emeril's Chili
Recipe from FootNetwork.com, compliments of Mr. Lagasse himself (P.S. I like his knives.)


Ingredients

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups chopped white onions
Salt
Cayenne Pepper
2 lbs stew meat
1 Tablespoon chili powder
2 Teaspoons ground cumin
Crushed Red Pepper
Teaspoons Dried Oregano
2 Tablespoons chopped garlic
3 Cups Crushed Tomatoes
1/4 Cup Tomate paste
2 Cups Beef Stock
1 Cup Canned Dark Red Kidney Beans
2 Tablespoons masa flour
4 Tablespoons water
Cheddar Cheese
Sour Cream
Jalapenos (optional)


Directions

In large saucepan, heat the vegetable oil. When the oil is hot, add the onions and saute for 3-5 minutes, or until the vegetables start to wilt. Season with salt and cayenne. Stir in the stew meat, chili powder, cumin, crushed red pepper, and oregano. Brown the meat for 5-6 minutes. Stir in the garlic, tomatoes, tomato paste, beef stock and beans. Bring the liquid to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer the liquid, uncovered for 1 hour, stirring occassionally or until the beef is tender. Skim off the fat occassionally. Mix the masa and water together. Slowly stir in the masa slurry and continue to cook for 30 mintues. Reseason with salt and cayenne. (I didn't have a large enough pot to cook this in, so did it in the crockpot and added the beans in later so they didn't get mushy!)


Trader Joe's Cornbread Mix
Yummmm! :)