If you are a guy, and you have a daughter, I am hoping you will agree with what I am about to say.
A father looks for qualities in a the husband of his daughter that are different than the qualities that the daughter might desire.
The last thing I am going to do is speak for my daughter.....she was smarter than me by the time she was 11, and truth be told...she scares me...LOL, since she has in fact taken over as "Family Leader."
With that said, a dad wants to make sure that the guy who takes his little girl away will be man enough to stand up for her when things gets tough.
Thanks to the Polish Christ.....I have that son in law.
The first thing fathers want to know is... will the guy who is going to marry his baby girl be willing to put their nose to the grindstone and make a living that will help support their family?
Mine does......and he's a mechanic.
A father is filled with joy & rapture when a blue collar, working thug joins the clan.
And btw.......my son in law is somewhere around 6 foot 200ish pounds, and if you talk any smack to my posse.....he'll take a wrench to ya.
So anyway, this last weekend I road tripped to Omaha to watch my 3 year old granddaughter dance at her year end recital.
The event took place at the Omaha Music Hall, and the place was packed to the rafters.
The price I had to pay to watch my little M-Rose dance in her 2 numbers was that I also had to sit through 25 other songs played in their entirety.
By the evenings end....I can say with confidence that I pretty much watched 72% of Omaha girls under the age of 12 Swan Laking across the stage.
The following day my son in law, and I guess I'll take this opportunity to introduce him....he goes by "J.R.", LOL....I mean what dad doesn't want his daughter to marry a 200# Mechanic named.....J.R.?
So the following afternoon J.R. bought tickets to take me to the Benson Brew Fest. We were on the slate to go check out a micro brew show that would be sampling 160 different beers.
But early that morning.....when the girls were busy doing things that girls do while boys watch TV, J.R. had the wisdom to say...."Let's find something to do, before we end up having to do something we don't wanna do."
The kid is learning.
Then he flipped through his I-Phone with a furrowed brow, but just for a second until he discovered.....
"I got it. The Nebraska Chili Festival is taking place down at the marina, where me and KiKi got married."
Even the girls liked this option.
Within moments the entire brood was out the door and on the river bank.
The chili festival was broken into 3 different divisions.
#1 - Salsa
#2 - Green
#3 - Red
I had my sight set on the green chili division, because that is what I have been playing with over the last year.
When dealing with the green (or verde) chili there seem to be 2 camps.....
Chicken or pork.
Polish Christ will tell you Klecko loves chicken.....but not 1/2 as much as pork. You get so much more flavor from it.
Anyways, I didn't count, but I'll bet their was 26 or 28 different green contestants (but 50 something for red).
J.R. and I swilled down Carona and sampled most of the green entries.
As this took place, I remembered back to the day I stood at this marina to give away my daughter.
That was one of the best days our family has had, but in another way...... for a father, it was the easily one of the worst.
J.R. will understand what I'm talking about if he ever has to hand over his little M-Rose to some other thug.
The following is a rough draft of what I have been playing with for my green chili. It is not perfected, and I am totally open to suggestions.
Good Night Omaha........
GREEN CHILI with PORK
3 lbs. pork butt, cubed small
2 lg. white onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic
1 tbsp oregano
1/2 tbsp cilantro
1 c. green chilies
1 jalapenos - chopped
flour
water
Salt & pepper
Dash of Green Tabasco
Olive Oil to saute
Cut away as much fat as possible from the pork and cut into cubes. Brown meat in olive oil. Remove from pan and sprinkle meat with the flour. Saute onions and garlic in frying pan. Add meat, oregano, cilantro and chilies to onion mixture and add water to cover. Simmer 2 to 3 hours. Add salt and pepper and Green Tabasco during last 1/2 hour.
Klecko. My man is also named J.R. Who knew?
ReplyDeleteThe one thing I can't figure out about your verde is how the heck can you make verde with 1/2 tsp of cilantro? 1/2 cup, at least, but I'm very California these days.
Roast or grill those chilies. And double the amount. Find some cactus in a can (you can actually get it in St. Paul at the Mexican groceries) and puree that and add it, too.
Add some star anise to the pork. Add some bay laurel. Add some cumin. Add some roasting liquid. Lots of people just add pre-made salsa, but you could make that too. Just be sure to add mostly green salsa.Or just use twice as many onions and some chicken stock and white wine.
Or maybe just puree a few cans of cactus and roast the pork in it. ...I'll bring the fresh stuff next time I come back to Minnesota....
Oh and brown the pork WITH the flour.
And triple the recipe!
And finish it with crema!
And make fresh corn tortillas!
Cactus?????? How intriguing. I have never heard of such a thing, that's why it is good to ask. Thanks a lot of stellar info Unknown....thanks for your feedback.
DeleteRoast the chilies. Two or three times as many of them. One cup of jalapenos. Also roasted. A half-cup of cilantro might be too much, start with a quarter cup.
ReplyDelete(And a little chocolate. Just a little. Maybe one square of a Ghirardelli Dark and Raspberry filled bar, especially with the pork.)
Chocolate? Why I never would of guessed.
DeleteIn order to be authentic, you need the Hatch green chiles, and roasted and peeled. I recommend smoking the pork, will give you way more authentic flavor. I am talking about a Colorado style green chile, way closer to Nebraska style. I wouldn't do chocolate, that's more for red. Your measurements seem a bit off as well, you don't have nearly enough seasoning. More cilantro, more jalapenos, you need some lime and honey, and lose the green Tabasco. Need help ? Call ! I have won chili cookoffs for my green chili !
ReplyDeleteLisa Zara...you are fab. Perhaps we'll have our own cook off one day huh?
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