Category Archives: Food

by Anthony Baker | December 13, 2010 · 6:20 pm

Making Winter Warm with Chili

I swear, I start a blog about living a life free (as much as possible) from paralyzing legalism, and now I might as well start a food critic/cooking show! What is happening to me? Before long, I will preaching about pepperoni, sermonizing about sirloin, or pontificating over pot roast. I need to go hunting for furry animals, or something….anything to get my masculinity back.

Oh, but wait! There is one thing I can do – MAKE CHILI!

With winter officially around the corner, but in all practicality now freezing our tails off, I felt the need to make a pot of chili. There are some things that a man should be able to make on a stove top that aren’t stuffing, cream of wheat, or pudding. A real man needs to know how to craft a pot of chili that can keep you alive in an ice storm. Real chili, mind you; not the watery beef-and-tomato chili-flavored soup that some try to pass off to unsuspecting desperadoes. So, if you want to make a respectable version of my chili, feel honored to have, for the first time ever, my recipe. Please try to send all thanks in the form of monetary contributions.

Brown two pounds of ground beef in an iron skillet, or preferably an iron kettle (good stuff, not the lean, cardboard type). While it is browning, add a little Worshtishire sauce and a little chopped onion, if you desire.

Brown one pound of boneless pork chops in extra virgin olive oil. When done, slice and dice into little cubes of pork chop joy.

(Optional – fry some bacon and chop it up into fine bits and add that, along with a tad of the grease)

When all the meat is done, start adding two (2) 15oz cans of tomato sauce, along with three (3) cans of Luck’s pinto beans. If you like kidney beans, and you are weird, then replace the pinto beans according to your lousy taste.

Add one cup of strong, black coffee. Yep, I said coffee.

Now, start adding all of the spices.

2 tablespoons Chili Powder (or maybe three)

1 teaspoon Ground Sage

1 teaspoon Crushed Rosemary

2 teaspoons Paparika

1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder

4 teaspoons Ground Roasted Cumin (powder)

1 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper (more or less to taste, depending on whether or not you like your tongue)

1-1 1/2 teaspoons of salt (don’t use sea salt, because that is just, well, not manly)

1/4 teaspoon (maybe a tad more) of Liquid Smoke.

1 tablespoon Oregeno

Being that I had to use what I had, and not everything I actually wanted (pastors cant always afford a fully-stocked fridge or spice cabinet), I didn’t have any onions, so I used a little onion salt. Keep in mind when you do that, you have to adjust the actual salt in the recipe. Also, I did not have any fresh garlic, which is why I used garlic powder, instead of 3-4 cloves (put through a garlic press). Ideally, I like to saute the onions and garlic together in an iron skillet, then add them to the beef and pork.

A final ingredient that really makes chili stand out, if you want something different, is about a half ounce of Lime Juice.

Well, there you have it. Just bring this collection of real chili ingredients to a boil, then let it simmer for a couple of hours on low heat. Have some to eat at that point, but the best will be after you let it sit overnight in the refrigerator.

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Filed under Chili, Christian Living, Food, General Observations, legalism, Uncategorized

by Anthony Baker | December 7, 2010 · 11:09 pm

Anthony’s Appetite #4

I HEAR BANJO MUSIC!!

Yours truly jammin' on the flat 5!

Where do you go to see a grown man in a suit playing a toy (but playable) banjo? The Cracker Barrel, of course.

By now you know how I feel about this place. I love the atmosphere. I love the coffee. I love playing checkers by a real, wood-burning fireplace. I also love a particular, Southern dish: beans and greens.

What are beans and greens? Well, let’s start with the bean part. If there is one bean that you just have to include in Southern cooking, it’s the pinto bean. I am not an expert in how to make them, though. What I do know is that there is an art to it. Cracker Barrel knows how to do ’em right. I have been to some restaurants than may have well just opened a can off the shelf. These have been slow-cooked with pork (not an Adventist dish) and can stand alone as a dish unto themselves.

Next, you’ve got the greens. What are the greens? We’re talking turnip greens, slow-cooked with pork ( yet another vegetable ruined by the anti-Kosher, anti-Pharisaical folks) until they are tender, meaty, and savory. For the unlearned, these are not collard greens, nor spinach.

Beans and Greens

Along with the beans and the greens come a side of chow-chow relish and a slice of onion. I put both in my beans, along with the cornbread. Of course, you get more than one piece of cornbread, so you can save one to eat with just butter.

Goooooooood stuff.

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Filed under Christian Living, Food, General Observations, legalism

by Anthony Baker | October 21, 2010 · 1:51 pm

Anthony’s Appetite #3 (The Purple Daisy Picnic Cafe)

I love BBQ. As a matter of fact, I think that when God told the Apostle Peter to eat the stuff that was on the sheet that was lowered down, BBQ sauce must have been included. It had to come from God as a thing ordained from Heaven. Consider the following words from Acts 10:11-13

He saw heaven opened and a certain container descending to him, like a great sheet let down by four corners on the earth, in which were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild animals, reptiles, and birds of the sky. A voice came to him, “Rise, Peter, kill and eat!”

At first Peter was not about to do this thing, for on that sheet (I think it was the first picnic sheet) were things formerly unclean, presumably including pork. God then says to Peter, “What God has cleansed, you must not call unclean.” Folks, let it be said,

“If to God you want to be true, eat everything with Barbeque.”

Alright, so I won’t get an “A” in biblical hermeneutics, but hopefully you get the point. BBQ must be ordained by God, so we must try to eat it everywhere we can to find the best to recommend. With that, here’s a suggestion.

The Purple Daisy Picnic Cafe

If you are ever at the foot of Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, TN (right next to the Incline Railway), stop by The Purple Daisy Picnic Cafe (thepurpledaisy.com). My wife and kids and I went there last week and left pretty happy. Let me tell you about some stuff we ate.

Q-Dog

Have you ever heard of a Q-Dog? Well, it was pretty dang good. It consisted of an all-beef, grilled hot-dog, covered with barbecued pork and slaw, with a pickle on the side. I loved it. The slaw was good, too (if you like coleslaw on a BBQ sandwich, you’d like it on the dog). The cost ($4.50) was a little more than a regular hot-dog, but i’twere the toppings that made the difference. You could eat it with a fork, but I preferred to man-handle it.

Now, speaking of just good-ol’ barbeque (I think it looks better spelled with a “q”), the sandwich was a lot better than the one I had not too long ago at Bones’ in East Brainerd (no offence, Bones’). The meat was tender and moist, with a good smoky flavor. My wife ordered a regular size one, and I got the last bite (for the blog’s sake).

For dessert, Valerie and I shared a banana pudding. Again, it was not like my granny in Alabama used to make, nor like the big-armed grannies at a few homecomings, but it was good. What made it a little different was that it seemed to be freshly prepared for the customer at the time of order. The reason I say this is because of how the actual pudding was at the bottom, but the vanilla wafers and whipped cream were on top. The whole thing couldn’t have been made too much earlier, because the wafers were even still crunchy. It was served cool, not warm. I prefer warm, but oh well.

Now just a couple of other things to mention. First, let me tell you about the baked beans. They were a dish to themselves – really.

Baked Beans with "Stuff"

As you can see from the picture, these weren’t your ordinary baked beans. They had “stuff” in them. A bowl of them thar’ beans and some cornbread and you’d be set, I’m tell’n ya’. How’s that for colloquial?

The atmosphere of The Purple Daisy Picnic Cafe was fun and unique, too. Just take a look at the table and chairs in the corner. There is seating inside and outside. They serve Coke (hallelujah!). But getting in and out of their parking can be a little tricky, depending on which way you exit the lot (FYI).

Well, that’s about it for this addition of Anthony’s Appetite. Who know’s where I’ll end up next. Until then, give this little locally-owned cafe a try. The even have a neat website if you want to plan your culinary adventure beforehand.

God Bless BBQ!

P.S. My only complaint was that there was no Brunswick stew. But you know, nothing wrong with doing only what you do best.

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Filed under Christian Living, Food, General Observations

Tagged as Barbecue, BBQ, Cooking, Food, Lookout Mountain

by Anthony Baker | October 9, 2010 · 12:15 am

Anthony’s Appetite #2

When I envisioned a blog written by a recovering legalist, I never had “food critic” in mind.

But guess what?

Of all the things I have written so far, I have had more responses to what I thought about food than anything else! Cool, huh? I eat for other people’s reading enjoyment. What could be better?

Last night was one of those nights where everything goes according to plan, just not your own. We ended up at a restuarant all the way out in East Brainerd (that’s a part of Chattanooga, for those of you who don’t know), which is a good 30 minutes or more from our house. Long story short, we decided to go to a place called Bones’ Smokehouse (9012 E Brainerd Rd). A friend of the family, Kimberly Cobb works there as a server (so go there and ask for her, but make sure you leave a good tip).

When it comes to BBQ places, I have just a couple of things that I always ask for, 1) a simple pork sandwich, and 2) a bowl of Brunswick stew. Now, sometimes I also like to eat chili, so in this case I ordered all three, just for my loyal reading audience.

Let me tell you what I thought.

First, the chili was really good. Of course, I make the best chili known to man, so if there’s a quality chili anywhere I like to know about it. This chili was pretty darn good, I must say. It was full of meat, both pulled pork and beef. There was not a lot of beans, but enough to let you know they were there. The flavor was rich and not tomato-y. As a matter of fact, there was a particular spice that I sensed that characterized the chili, but I just couldn’t put my finger on what it was (which will drive me crazy). As a whole, it was a more peppery chili (as in black pepper), but not a hot chili. I would definitely recommend it to anyone, and wouldn’t mind having more.

Chili with onions and cheese, Brunswick Stew, and a pulled-pork sandwich

Secondly, the Brunswick stew was absolutely divine (humanly speaking, sense I am not convinced Divinity eats Brunswick stew). Just like the chili, there was nothing watery about this stuff. It was stocked full of veggies like corn, peas, green beans, celery, chunky tomatoes, and those little lima beans. The meat was good, smoked, pulled pork that was as tender as butter on a biscuit. Overall, however, it was the smoky flavor that brought it all together into a taste combination that would make you want to close your eyes and say a simple “thank you” to God for taste buds. Personally, it brought back childhood memories of cold mornings and the cozy smell of a warm fireplace. Good, good stuff.

Thirdly, there was the sandwich. Didn’t like it. Enough said. Nothing special in the flavor department and a little dry. Considering the rest of the food, maybe they were having a bad day.

For dessert, I asked for banana pudding. Frankly, it was not really up to the standards of home-made, but it was alright. When it comes to banana pudding, unless a granny makes it, or it is part of a homecoming dinner at an old-fashioned Baptist church, you might as well forget about finding perfection at any price.

All-in-all, the best tasting food came in bowls.

Thankfully, they serve Coke! What’s even better, they use the small crunchy kind of ice you can munch on all day long. That’s good stuff, too.

Anthony’s Appetite

OK, so here’s something different…..food…..the kind I eat.

Well, I won’t say that it is all that I eat. What I will say is that over the last week or so I have had a few culinary delights that I would like to share – not literally, of course.

If I had a seperate blog, I might just become a food critic. That would be fun. The only problem is that my weight would get completely out of hand, my cholesterol would go through the roof, and my bank account would be depleted. Being Andrew Zimmer must be fun.

I love coffee. I love coffee. Did I say I love coffee? If I had the choice to just sit down and have a cup of coffee and shoot the breeze for a while, it would NOT be at Starbucks. Why? Too dang expensive and the only black coffee they ever sell (usually) is Pike’s Peak. I hate that stuff. It’s just too bold – and they say it’s medium. No, for just a good cup of coffee in a relaxed friendly atmostphere, just go to Cracker Barrel. That’s right, that over-priced, country-style tourist trap that sells pretty good home-cooked-like food. I love Cracker Barrel. Their coffee is not intense, but smooth and always predictable. Besides, you get FREE REFILLS!

Coffee at Cracker Barrel

Now, when it comes to dessert, I have a favorite to which nothing can compare. I have even driven all the way from Kentucky just to have a slice. What is it? It is the closest thing to pie perfection that could ever be created. It is LEMON ICE BOX PIE from The Country Place Restaurant. Folks, don’t let anyone fool you, there is no substitute for this to-die-for dessert of the gods. As a matter of fact, the last pastor’s breakfast for Hamilton County Baptists was held at The Country Place Restaurant. I did not order bacon and eggs, nor biscuits and gravy, I ordered a cup of coffee (free refills) and LEMON ICE BOX PIE! I love the creamy, heavy texture, and the graham cracker crumb crust. The topping is substantial and a perfect complement to the filling which is, I think, loaded with Eagle Brand milk. Sweet, creamy, and lemony. You HAVE to have coffee with it.

Lemon Ice Box Pie at The Country Place

If you want to go to some place a little out of the way, but different, why don’t you try Flavors of Italy. This is a neat little place in Soddy Daisy, Tn. It is family-owned and the husband, which is the main chef, is literally from Italy (they even go back there every year). Eating at this little restaurant (www.flavorsofitaly.org) is like eating at their house. They have menu, but the real menu us the one they bring and place on a stand next to your table – written on a dry-erase board. Everything is prepared fresh daily. There are things that are on the menu that you won’t get at Olive Garden or Provino’s. Valerie and I went there for lunch the other day, and man, what a dessert we had!

Italian Cream Cake at Flavors of Italy

Flavors of Italy has a wonderful Italian Cream cake that literally “takes the cake.” Drizzled with raspberry sauce and garnished with raspberries and a little sprig of some kind of of flower, the presentation was lovely. This cake was tall, generous, home-made, well presented and very, very good. What’s even better, it was only about $5. Well worth it. And oh, I would seriously recommend the Italian espresso. I could have drunk several of those – no bite, smooth, rich, and wonderful without sugar. It all looked so good I couldn’t wait to eat before I took the picture.

What a Dilly

Of course, you may be thinking that all I eat is desserts. Well, both of the ones I have just mentioned are better than the “real” food that I had at the Piccadilly. I was forced by my wife to buy a “dilly meal.” Let me tell you something, the food wouldn’t have been so bad if the coffee cups had been clean (which is why I ended up getting a foam cup); if the coffee had been worth drinking; if the booth backs had not been dirty; and if the percentage of elderly to youth had been less than 95-5. I did not get a dessert, because that would have cost too much. I did get to try one of the kid’s chocolate pudding, the kind that is supposed to look like mud under the gummy worms. Fruity chocolate – yum.

I think that nothing is better than home-made cornbread.