This recipe for Texas Chili is from Saveur Magazine. I’ve been interested in trying one of the “no-beans” chilis but generally they look a bit sad to me. I didn’t want to make a version that left me thinking “I should have added in a can of pinto beans”. This one attracted me as straight-forward to make and interesting. I can’t get chile pequín here so I used a large chopped up chipotle in adobo and a couple of tablespoons of the sauce. Our sweet paprika is smoked so that added to the smoky flavour.

I simmered it gently for four hours, not two (luckily I prepared it the day before!) and then reheated it quickly for lunch.

• Serves 6

• 4 lbs. beef chuck, trimmed and cut into 1⁄2″ cubes
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 4 tbsp. canola oil
• 5 medium onions, chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 6-oz. cans tomato paste
• 4 tbsp. dried oregano
• 3 tbsp. chili powder
• 4 tsp. ground chile pequín or cayenne pepper
• 1 tbsp. sweet paprika
• 1 tbsp. Tabasco
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 4 tbsp. masa harina

1. Season beef with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a 6-qt. pot over high heat. Working in 4 batches, brown beef, about 3 minutes per batch. Using a slotted spoon, transfer beef to a plate.
2. Add onions and garlic; cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Return beef to pot; stir in tomato paste. Cook, stirring frequently and scraping bottom of pot with a wooden spoon, until tomato paste is caramelized, about 12 minutes. Add oregano, chili powder, chile pequín, paprika, Tabasco, and cumin; cook, stirring frequently, for 1 minute.
3. Add 5 cups water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer, stirring occasionally, until meat is tender, about 2 hours. Stir in masa harina; season with salt. Simmer, stirring, until thickened, about 5 minutes.

I served the chili with green onions, cheddar cheese and a dollop of sour cream on top. On the side we had corn bread but that was a little bit weird. I think just a big piece of crusty white bread would be better.

The best margaritas, in my opinion, are the simplest.

Juice a few limes and measure the resulting juice.

Measure out the same amount of tequila and either Triple Sec or Cointreau. Add a shot of Rose’s Lime Juice. Mix well (or shake in a shaker over ice) and serve ice cold.

For flavored Margaritas, substitute the Rose’s with any other fruity syrup or pureed fruit.

Perfect.

I’ve never been very fond of corn bread. It’s not something I disliked, not on a par with broccoli, certainly! I just didn’t see any real point to it: dry and boring. I was astounded to find out that rich and creamy polenta was the same thing: what a much better use of corn meal.

But then when making American-style dinners for people, it seemed like I should offer corn bread: it’s so quintessentially American and the ingredients are readily available in Europe (unlike corn tortillas!)

The El Paso Chile Company’s Texas Border Cookbook has a couple of different cornbread recipes which I remember working my way through when we lived in Dorking, so Connor was probably too little to even try a bite!

That’s when I discovered their double corn spoon bread with chiles and cheese and fell in love. I’ve been making it for dinner parties ever since.

This makes a very large batch but I’ve found the leftovers are great for lunch the next day: quickly grilled and served with lots of butter. They don’t do cream-style corn in Spain but I just used tinned corn and a bit of cream and it turns out just fine. Maybe even nicer.

6 long green chiles
8 eggs, well beaten
2 16-ounce cans cream-style corn
2 cups (8 ounces) grated medium-sharp cheddar cheese or Monterey Jack cheese or a combination of both
1 ½ cups yellow cornmeal, preferably stone-ground.
2 4-ounce jars chopped roasted red peppers, rinsed and drained.
⅔ cup cultured buttermilk
1/2 cup sugar
5 pickled jalapeño chiles, stemmed and minced (about ⅓ cup)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

In the open flame of a gas burner or under a preheated broiler, roast the long green chiles, turning them, until they are lightly but evenly charred. Steam the chiles in a paper bag, or in a bowl, covered with a plate, until cool. Rub away the burned peel. Stem and seed the chiles and coarsely chop them. There should be about 1 cup.

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 375&#176 F.

Butter a 10- to 12-cup shallow casserole dish.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream-style corn, and cheese. Stir in the cornmeal, green chiles, red peppers, and buttermilk. Add the sugar, jalapeños, baking powder, salt, and baking soda and mix well. Transfer the batter to the baking dish.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until puffed and just barely set in the center. Serve hot or warm.