Once Upon a Time in Laura's Kitchen: Amaretto Lime Tres Leches

All the leches may have caused minor droopage and made it slightly less photogenic...

Since Laura was teaching me how to make the perfect Mexican Dinner with her Puerco and Veggie Pibil, the least I could do was help finish the night with the Perfect Mexican dessert-Tres Leches. As this was a special day (read: I've already written up normal tres leches and I needed more material), I decided to try a bold, new approach to the milky goodness. I would transform it with amaretto and lime.

Would my going off book pay off or would everyone be content to simply go into a meat coma after dinner?

Amaretto Lime Tres Leches
Adapted from Alton Brown
Previously seen in non Amaretto Lime form Here
Servings: 1 9"x13" Cake
Time: 3+ hours (inactive for 2+)

Spongy batter

Cake
Vegetable Oil
6 3/4 oz cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
4 oz unsalted butter, room temp
8 oz sugar
5 large eggs
1tbsp Amaretto
Juice of 1 lime
Zest of 2-3 limes

Find the lime zest!

Glaze
1 12 oz can evaporated milk
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup half-andphalf

Frosting
2 cups heavy whipping cream
8 oz sugar
1 tbsp Amaretto
Zest of 3 limes (about 1 tbsp)
Strawberries, Raspberries, Blackberries and Blueberries

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. Lightly oil and flour a 9"x13" metal baking pan.
3. Whisk the cake flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl (note: all measurements are by weight).
4. Beat the butter in a mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.
5. Slowly incorporate the sugar with the butter at low speed. 
6. Mix in the eggs one at a time until fully incorporated.
7. Add in the amaretto, lime juice and lime zest.
8. Gradually mix in the dry ingredients at low speed, taking care not to overmix.
9. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the toothpick test comes back clean.
10. Poke holes throughout the cake with a fork and let it cool.
11. Once cooled, whisk the glaze ingredients together in a bowl and pour it over the cake.
12. Refrigerate covered for at least 2 hours (the longer the better).
13. Make the frosting by whisking the whipping cream, sugar, amaretto and lime zest together at medium speed until peaks start to form. Then, ramp it up to high speed until it thickens.
14. Spread the whipped cream over the cake and top with berries.
15. Realize that the whipping cream really makes this cuatro leches and have your mind blown!

None of the other guests realized how close they were to not getting dessert as I debated diving in face first like a pie eating contest.

Tres leches truly is a marvel of the cake world. It's an incredibly simple cake to make, and it looks unbelievably unassuming. All that hidden milk (well, at least it's usually more hidden than you'll see below) somehow manages to transform it into a dessert like no other. In order to make this version, I took my previously used normal tres leches recipe and subbed amaretto for vanilla (at a slightly higher rate) and added in some lime zest and lime juice (but only use juice in the batter unless you want some ugly curdled whipped cream).

I had a sneaking suspicion that this may be packed with leches.

This tres leches was absolutely bursting with flavor (and milk...). The lime completely transformed it into a memorable dessert. I would say unfortunately the amaretto got lost in the mix, but it really didn't matter. This cake tasted incredible without really being able to notice the amaretto (although I'm sure it still contributed to the awesome). Double dousing the lime also led to an even more refreshing whipped cream topping. In a few short minutes, 3/4 of the cake were quickly decimated, which had me feeling quite good about its success, but then I received the greatest compliment ever as Blaine exclaimed "It has a Froot Loops aftertaste, and I mean that in a good way!" Yes, I had finally found the perfect dessert to get to the heart of everyone's inner six year old's love of fruity, sugary milk. Take that Alton Brown and your normal, boring Tres Leches!

I was proven correct. Welcome to tres leches soup! Toucan Sam would be proud.

Now that was one day of cooking, eating and enjoying tasty cocktails (compliments of our other former RA, Kevin) that will be hard to top anytime soon. Stay tuned later this week as Kevin (the non former RA) and I begin our journey into the mysterious world of the crock pot.

Kevin enjoys a delightfuly refreshing cocktail compliments of Kevin the RA. Now let's hope he knows as much about crock pot cooking as he does about looking super manly.

Once Upon a Time in Laura's Kitchen: Puerco (and Veggie) Pibil

Back in my young and impressionable college days, there was always one person I could count on to stock me up with free candy and pop culture, Laura the RA. Her guacamole was the stuff of legend, and her impressive DVD collection rivaled my own. In the 7 years since I finished college, she may have moved on from her RAdom, but she hasn't stopped buying our friendship with food and booze. This past weekend, she let me in on her most famous meal- Puerco Pibil a la Once Upon a Time in Mexico (a meal so good that Johnny Depp's character killed the chef who made the most perfect version of it ever).

Was Laura just using me to make the massive amounts of prep manageable? Would I be attacked by surprise banana leaf spiders? Could I butcher 5 lbs of raw pork butt without getting completely grossed out? or Would I have a delightful day of cooking, eating and Cards Against Humanity?

Puerco (or Arroz or Veggie) Pibil
From Once Upon a Time in Mexico
Servings: 8-10 (per type)
Time: 6+ hours (4 inactive)

Oh so many spices in one now destroyed coffee grinder

5 tbsp achiote seeds
2 tsp cumin seeds
8 whole allspice
1 tbsp whole black pepper
1/2 tsp cloves
3-4 habanero peppers (deveined and deseeded with gloves)
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup white vinegar
2 tbsp salt
10 garlic cloves
Juice of 5 lemons
2-3 splashes of good tequila
5 lbs pork butt or chicken breast, cut into 1-2" cubes
or assorted veggies (parsnips, purple potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots and mushrooms), chopped
Banana leaves, rinsed with the stems cut off.
Tortillas and/or rice

My aversion to touching raw meat, Laura's dull knives and 5 lbs of bone-in pork butt were about to put my butchering skills to the test.

Watch for spiders!

Pretty veggies!

1. Put on awesome Mexican music.
2. Preheat the oven to 325 F.
3. Grind the achiote seeds, cumin, allspice, whole black pepper and cloves together in a coffee grinder (and then never use for coffee again).
4. Combine the habanero peppers, orange juice, vinegar, salt, garlic with the ground spice mix in a blender until very smooth.
5. Add in the lemon juice and tequila (you can keep adding more to balance out the spice).
6. Start hating your friend Laura for her poor knives while attempting to butcher the meat and/or veggies.
7. Marinade the meat and/or veggies in large bowls for at least half an hour.
8. Cover the bottom of a 9"x13" glass baking pan with a banana leaf. Place another, extra long banana leaf going across the width of the pan (it should probably be about three times the width of the pan so you can later fold it over (like you would a letter). 
9. Pour the meat or veggies on top of the banana leaves. Fold the leaves over to cover.
10. Wrap tightly in aluminum foil so no steam can escape then cook for at least 4 hours.
11. Lazily lay on the couch and let the amazing smell take over your house while you try to fight the pibil-lust and successfully wait the 4 hours.
12. Spoon the amazingly tender, seasoned goodness on top of tortillas or rice and enjoy.

I've gotta admit, a little part of me that believes in a magic was really hoping I'd find whole bananas had grown when I opened it up.

Getting this dish to the oven may have taken a lot of hard work, but it was absolutely worth it. The finished product was perfection. Opening up those banana leaves was like Christmas for our senses of smell. The pork and chicken were masterfully spiced and beautifully tender. Whether on rice or inside of a warm tortilla, you couldn't go wrong.

Get in close to really smell the awesome.

The real surprise, though, might have been that the veggies were actually the best part. They drank up the spicy tequila mix much like our former college selves, and became super soft and tasty (special props to the potato members of the dish). Ideally, I'd say the best way to go about this meal would be to make two batches of the marinade, one for the pork and one for the veggies. My third and final taco (I would've had at least 12 if not for saving room for dessert) consisted of a pork and veggie combo that was far and away the best of the night.  Waiting paid off in the end as we were treated to a truly great dinner. In the future, I'd definitely like to fully test my patience by letting these cook for an entire day and then seeing if the taste-time continuum folded in on itself from becoming super saturated with deliciousness.

Notice the lack of juice because these awesome veggies absorbed all that amazing flavor (they really love tequila).

Stay tuned for the conclusion of Once Upon a Time in Laura's Kitchen: Amaretto Lime Tres Leches.

A Very Vegan Gluten-Free Christmas: Cucidatis

For our California Christmases, one tradition stands above all others- the sugar bomb known as the cucidati. A staple of our childhood ever since the St. Joseph's altars of our Catholic school days, these fig cookies joyously came back into our lives several years ago in one amazing holiday season that saw at least 3 batches being made and promptly enjoyed.

This year, we had the added challenge of transitioning our favorite diabetic coma in convenient handheld form into a gluten-free treat. Would the cucidati successfully make this leap in desserty evolution, or would Christmas be ruined?

Cucidatis
Adapted from Food.com
Previously seen here in gluteny form
Servings: 12-16 thumbprint cookies
Time: 90 minutes (inactive for 45 of that)

2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour
3/4 tbsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegan veggie shortening
1/2 large egg substitute (Ener-G)
1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup soy milk + more for icing
Fig Jam
Powdered sugar
Almond extract
Colored sprinkles

What they normally look like without thumbprint intervention.

1. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl.
2. Stir in the sugar.
3. Cut in the shortening with a pastry blender or cut it into small pieces and mash into the flour mixture by hand until it resembles corn meal.
4. Beat the egg substitute, vanilla and soy milk together in a separate bowl.
5. Add the egg mixture to the flour in a stand mixer and mix for about 3 minutes until a soft dough forms.
6. Divide into two pieces and refrigerate in plastic wrap for 45 minutes.
7. Preheat the oven to 375 F.
8. Roll one piece of dough out at a time into 12" squares on a floured surface.
9. Get increasingly angry as the dough continually breaks apart.
10. Have your sister save Christmas by forming them into thumbprint cookies instead (make a small round cookie and press down on the center with your thumb).
11. Fill the thump print in with fig jam.
12. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes or until they begin to golden.
13. Let cool on a wire rack.
14. Mix soy milk with copious amounts of powdered sugar and ~1 tsp of almond extract (or really however much you want that almond finish. Just be careful. A little goes a long way). The end result should be smooth and fairly thick.
15. Ice the tops of each cucidati cookie and sprinkle with fun colors. Be sure to sprinkle them quickly before the icing dries and magnificently repels the sprinkles off.
16. Enjoy a minimum of 4 at a time and then curse the terrible sugar crash.

Literally everyone wanted to get their hands on them.

Initially, all hope seemed lost. Two attempts at making cucidatis proved unsuccessful, and our bodies were shaking with the need for sugar. Then, my sister got a truly inspired idea. These cucidatis didn't have to look like cucidatis, they simply had to taste like them! (I'm pretty sure we saw a light bulb magically appear.) By turning these into thumbprint cookies, we were able to stuff our mouths jam-packed with all the sugar our inner child ever desired. Now, I have just under a year to perfect these as a gluten-free dessert. My current thought is that the dough just isn't as well formed with the gluten-free all-purpose flour and other alternative flours need to be explored (with almond flour being the suspected savior). Unfortunately, this means I have batches upon batches of cucidatis to consume. I just hope I'm up to the challenge...

Lowercase "q" enjoys his first Christmas and his awesome new balcony yard

Our Very Vegan Gluten-Free Christmas surpassed all my initially skeptical expectations. We had several amazing days of fine meals, family, and Christmas classics (like The X-Files). Do we really have to wait all year for it to come again?

A Very Vegan Gluten-Free Christmas: Butterscotch Budino

Now that our bellies were properly stuffed with holiday cheer (and by that I mean Okra Gumbo and Heart of Palm "Crab" Cakes), it was time to move on to the true meaning of Christmas- Desserts! In proper old soulness, butterscotch has always been a favorite pudding (and hard candy) flavor for my sister and me. The chance to combine that with chunks of salt and cookies proved to be too much to resist (how happy must doctors be that we now like putting large chunks of salt with our already terrible desserts?). It was time to get cooking with some Christmas spirits (see what I did there!??!).

Butterscotch Budino
Adapted from Olives for Dinner
Servings: 6-8
Time: 20 minutes (plus cooling)

1/2 cup Earth Balance
3 tsp Ener-G
3 tbsp cornstarch
1 1/2 cups unsweetened soymilk, divided
1 cup soy creamer (So Delicious Coconut Creamer recommended)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 tbsp whiskey (Jameson's claims to be gluten-free)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Coarse Sea Salt, for serving
Gluten-free cookies

1. Melt the Earth Balance over low heat in a medium saucepan.
2. Mix 1 cup of the soymilk with the cornstarch and Ener-G in a separate bowl. Whisk well until all lumps are removed.
3. Add the milk mixture to the melted butter and whisk until well incorporated. Increase to medium-low heat.
4. In a separate bowl (or your same just used one), combine the remaining 1/2 cup soymilk, creamer and sugars until smooth. 
5. Add this to the saucepan, whisking frequently. Let the mixture come to a light boil then remove it from heat.
6. Stir in the whiskey and vanilla extract. Cover and cool in the fridge until ready to serve (I recommend at least 2 hours).
7. Debate what to do with the remaining bottle of whiskey while you wait for the for the budino to cool and set. It's a long 2 hours.
8. Serve with a cookie and a sprinkling of coarse sea salt distributed nicely throughout.

The budino was incredibly rich and creamy. Whiskey and vanilla are always a winning combination for desserty goodness, which was only bolstered further by the always enjoyable surprise bursts from the salt crystals. Our store bought gluten-free cookie added some welcome and necessary texture to the dessert, but they definitely lagged behind in the flavor department (fortunately, we had previously made much more successful chocolate chip and brownie cookies). Our pudding course turned out to be incredibly successful (aside from some minor lumps that really only affected aesthetics) and the ultimate way to push ourselves that final inch into a proper holiday food coma. Like a good Christmas miracle, my mom even found a creative use for it the next morning at breakfast.

Our Christmas breakfast of waffles with apple compote, tofu scramble and rosemary roasted potatoes, or, as my mother saw it, the perfect vessel for the leftover budino (don't worry, she just put it on the waffles, but I fear what she'd have done had we not been there to judge).

Coming up, the final and most important entry in a Very Vegan Gluten-Free Christmas- our annual Cucidatis! Can they hold up in this harsh new gluten-free world?

A Very Vegan Gluten-Free Christmas: Okra Gumbo

I call this the faux-hawk plate

With our Heart of Palm "Crab" Cakes already delighting our bellies, we needed a proper dinner chock-ful of nostalgia to round out our Christmas Eve feast. For me, there is one dish that epitomizes home cooking with the power to send you back to your childhood and cure all of your woes- my grandmother's okra gumbo.

Maw Maw's okra gumbo transcends all other gumbos (and all other cooking from anyone's grandmother for that matter). It was more of a stew of greatness than a gumbo. The extremely thick okra base was perfect for anything from putting on top of rice, to making a sandwich in a buttery roll, to even dipping french fries in. Really, the only thing you should probably avoid doing is putting it on ice cream, but I wouldn't be surprised if that was also amazing (Now if you'll excuse me, I'm busy thinking about frying ice cream and smothering it in okra gumbo...). While I don't have her actual recipe, my mom and I have made a few gumbos in our day, and we were going to try our best to reach those seemingly unobtainable cajun heights.

Okra Gumbo
Adapted from motherly and sonly wisdom
Servings: 8-10
Time: Approximately 3-4 hours

Chop, chop, chop!

6 tbsp vegetable oil
6-8 tbsp gluten-free all-purpose flour
1 1/2 yellow onions, diced
2 green bell peppers, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 lb bags of frozen okra
6 cups water
3 Not Chick'n bouillon cubes
Cajun seasoning to taste
Cayenne pepper to taste
Tabasco to taste
Extra-long grain rice

It's always important to remember to get lots of shadows in your foodie pics.

1. Make your roux. Mix the flour and oil over medium heat, stirring frequently until it starts to smell nutty and becomes caramel colored. (The preferable holiday procedure is to have your mom who has hundreds of rouxs worth of experience make it while you dice the produce.)
2. Coat the onions, bell peppers and garlic in the roux. Let cook over medium-low heat for 7-10 minutes until the onions become translucent. Be careful not to burn the garlic.
3. Transfer to a large pot. Add the water and bring it to a boil. Stir frequently to avoid sticking to the bottom and burning.
4. Stir in the bouillon cubes and okra (the more you put, the thicker the final product will be) and return to a boil.
5. Lower the temp to a healthy simmer and let cook for at least two hours (you want the okra to start breaking down a little).
6. Season with cajun seasoning and cayenne pepper while cooking (and tabasco once in a bowl).
7. Serve with extra-long grain rice.
8. Relive awesome childhood food moments from grandmother's house.

Proper gumbo plating- smothered

We managed to come surprisingly close to the taste and joy of Maw Maw's famous okra gumbo. The three bags of okra gave it a great thickness and heartiness, but four probably would have been the proper number for true gumbo magic. Seconds were not an option for this gumbo, rather they were a demand of our stomaches, which were now suffering from a condition that can only be explained as "gumbo-lust". In the true gumbo spirit, it was even better the next day after it had more time to thicken up and the flavors had more time to come together. For more tasty fun with your gumbo, sprinkle in some gluten-free panko crumbs for a little crunch.

Now I have to admit that we partially cheated on the gluten-freeness here (hey, Christmas is a time of forgiveness). We added some Field Roast Italian"sausage" to up the protein content (may the gluten-free gods have mercy on our souls). This proved to be the weakest part of the gumbo, though, so it can easily be skipped for the full gluten-free experience.

Stay tuned for the most important part of any proper Christmas celebration- the desserts!

A Very Vegan Gluten-Free Christmas: Heart of Palm "Crab" Cakes

Today's appetizers brought to you by the letter "N"!

This Christmas, I returned to the kitchen where it all started. As always, my sister refused to let me become complacent in my cooking skills. Following the "Very Vegan" Christmas challenge of 2011, my sister added a gluten-free constraint to this year's festivities. Initially my response was "God, you're the worst," but I was ready to take it head (or, more specifically, mouth) on (with only mild cheating).

Would I be able to overcome these culinary constraints and my adorable nephew who was hellbent on stealing my glasses and trapping us in the kitchen with his walker, or would I be found trying to drown my sorrows in the bottom of a glass of soy seasonal nog?


Heart of Palm "Crab" Cakes
Adapted from Olives for Dinner
Servings: 8-10 cakes
Time: 90 minutes (inactive for 60 of that)

Gluten-free sriracha and panko options

Crab Cakes
14 oz. can hearts of palm (whole)
1 tsp Cajun Seasoning (or Old Bay plus salt)
1/2 cup gluten-free panko crumbs
1/4+ cup chopped scallions
1/4+ cup frozen corn kernels
1/8+ cup minced roasted red peppers (gently squeezed dry)
Corn flour
Oil for pan frying

Sauce
Sriracha
Vegenaise
Cajun Seasoning

Seriously, the resemblance to actual crab cakes is uncanny. It even looks more real than the fake crab stuff they put in California rolls.

1. Pulse the heart of palm in a food processor ~ 3 times or mash it with a fork. Don't overdo it. You still want some chunks. 
2. Coat the heart of palm well with your cajun seasoning. Then mix in the panko crumbs, chopped scallions, frozen corn and minced roasted red pepper.
3. Sit in awe of how much this looks like crab.
4. Cover and let sit in the fridge for at least an hour.
5. Preheat your oven to 200-250 F.
6. Heat up oil (enough to cover the bottom of a pan) over medium heat (test with flour to see when it is ready).
7. Separate the mixture into equally sized round balls and gently flatten down with your palm.
8. Coat the entire cake in corn flour, making sure to remove any excess. Be careful because these will be very fragile.
9. Pan fry the crab cakes until golden (about 2-3 minutes per side).
10. Transfer finished cakes to a plate covered with paper towels to drain off excess oil.
11. Place drained crab cakes on a baking sheet and cover with aluminum foil in the oven to keep warm.
12. Mix the sauce by combining ~equal portions of sriracha and vegenaise with cajun seasoning to taste until smooth. 
13. Sit in awe of how awesome these taste.

Naked, freshly formed crab cakes (this one then fell apart 10 times on the way to frying).

Once I saw how awesome the crab cakes looked, I started to get excited, and biting into them only reinforced this. These tasted just like the real thing. The heart of palm gave it the perfect texture, while the cajun seasoning gave it just the right amount of kick and salt. Not to be forgotten, the corn, scallions and red pepper really helped round things out. These were fried to a nice crispness that wasn't overwhelmingly battered and really let us enjoy the tasty heart of palm center. 

The sauce reminded me of a spicier Cane's sauce, which means I reached one of my life's goals!

These delightful faux seafood discs (trademark pending) would've been fantastic on their own, but the sauce really helped bring things to another level. The vegenaise provided a nice, smooth and slightly thick sauce, while the sriracha and cajun seasoning added just the right amount of fiery excitement to the mix. It really managed to compliment the crab cakes without overpowering them.

And then it struck me. This would definitely look way fancier with a random "N" drizzled on it!

We were off to a surprisingly great start to our vegan gluten-free adventure. Our crab cakes were the perfect compliment to our main Louisiana course of okra gumbo, and lowercase "q" had only managed to steal my glasses once!

Stay tuned for more delicious holiday adventures that we can pretend are 100% healthy because they don't contain gluten or animal products! That totally cancels out frying. Totally...

Pumpkin Chili and the Great Football Rib Adventure

Chili: the "it has a great personality" of foods

Perhaps I wanted to keep the pumpkin winning streak going following Pumpkin Cookie Cake and Pumpkin Chai Muffins, or perhaps I was jonesing for a fix after Starbucks' annual inexplicable post-Halloween removal of pumpkin spice lattes (It should be considered a crime against humanity, dammit!). Either way, when Sacha invited people over for some Sunday football, I knew I wanted to find a way to incorporate pumpkin. Since manly men hitting each other repeatedly is not really a desserty affair (although, I like to think it was the original failed pitch of Cupcake Wars), I decided I had to find a way to combine it with hearty meat. This pumpkin chili was the perfect call for a lazy "autumn" day (yeah, we don't really have seasons here in Houston). 

Pumpkin Chili
Adapted from All Recipes
Servings: 8-10
Time: 2+ hours

Even Owlie got in on the pumpkin fun. Not pictured: the mess he made on my table after drinking a beer his size.

Your kitchen will already smell good at this point

1 bottle pumpkin beer (I used Sam Adams Harvest Pumpkin)
2 lbs ground beef
Olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
1  1/2 green bell peppers, diced
2-3 jalapenos, minced and seeded
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 15 oz cans kidney beans, drained
1 28 oz can peeled and dice tomatoes in juices
20 oz tomato juice (about half a big can)
15 oz canned pureed pumpkin
1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 tbsp chili powder
1/4 cup white sugar
Salt to taste
Sriracha to taste
Fritos
Glorious, heaping amounts of football

Getting there but still needs some more reducing

1. Brown the beef in a large pot with a few ounces of pumpkin beer.
2. At the same time, sauté the onion, green bell pepper, jalapenos and garlic in a small amount of olive oil and a few more ounces of the beer. Let cook until the onions become translucent and the veggies become fragrant.
3. Drain the beef and add the veggies into the large pot. 
4. Mix in the drained kidney beans, tomato juice, pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, chili powder, sugar and remaining beer.
5. Let simmer for 1-2 hours until well reduced (you want chunky not overly soupy). Season with salt and sriracha to your liking.
6. Scoop into a bowl and top with awesomely crunchy Fritos. 
7. Enjoy with large amounts of football, beer, ribs and lounging.

Now properly chunkilicious and ready for football

This recipe had me more frightened than most. The original recipe seemed like it would be far too bland and did not seem to emphasize the pumpkin nearly enough, so I improvised. I upped the amount of pumpkin and cooked everything in pumpkin beer to hammer home everyone's favorite human head sized vegetable (Be careful what pumpkin beer you choose. I recommend using a more subdued one that isn't overly spiced). Something had to balance the smooth pumpkin, so I threw in chili standard jalapenos, which were conspicuously absent from the initial recipe, and added some always welcome sriracha to give just the right amount of heat. The result was an incredibly memorable dish that just screamed fall. It was perfect comfort food for a lazy weekend that filled stomachs with happiness and made our eyelids feel properly heavy.

I guess the chili was a hit...

The day did not end with pumpkin chili. Football fans also stuffed themselves silly with two kinds of guac (including my take) and salsa. Most importantly though, they got to eat Sacha's amazing ribs (which were so good they deserved their own sentence) to help them ease the pain of another Texans' loss (everyone should just come to their senses and be a Saints fan).

Carefully crafted and adapted from the Legendary Laura the RA recipe. Her guac was the first time I knew what love was.

Sacha's Smoked Rib Shack

Sacha tends to his ribs with even more care than he will show to his children one day. 

As much as my ego loves attention and delusions of culinary grandeur, I have to admit that my amazingly glorious pumpkin chili (like I said-ego) came in a distant second to Sacha's ridiculously smokey, tender, juicy and all around phenomenal ribs. Years of dedication and long hours consulting finally paid off by training Sacha to wake up super early and be productive. These ribs that were started at 6 am exploded with flavor that stole everyone's attention. We were so enamored with them, that we did not even realize the game we were watching had ended.

The sauced variety was just the right amount of messy.

The large bits of pepper really brought the rub to another level.

Look at that glorious layer of smoke. If only you could smell it and see it fall off the bone.