green chile fruit cake

Green Chile Fruitcake

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Before you go on to another recipe, stop and give this a try! This is not the famed “traveling fruitcake” recipe—the the mythical fruitcake that never spoils and is never eaten! Nope, this is a green chile fruit cake, new and improved, and sassier than ever. Read more great spicy cake recipes by Dave DeWitt here.

Ingredients

3 cups chopped pecans (about 12 ounces)
2 cups chopped candied pineapple (about 10 ounces)
3/4 cup chopped dried mangos
1/3 cup chopped candied orange peel (about 1 1/2 ounces)
1 3/4 cups plus 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 cup butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
5 eggs
1/2 cup green chile, roasted, peeled, stems and seeds removed, chopped
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon lemon extract
1 teaspoon banana extract
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
Powdered sugar

Instructions

Position the oven rack in lowest third of oven, and preheat to 250 degrees F. Grease and flour a 12-cup bundt pan.

In a large bowl, mix the pecans and fruits with 3 tablespoons flour. In another large bowl, cream the butter with the sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time. Stir in the green chile, vanilla, lemon and banana extracts. Sift the 1 3/4 cups flour with the baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the batter and stir until blended. Mix the fruit mixture into batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake until it turns golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 2 1/2 hours. Cool in the pan on a rack for about 15 minutes. When the 15 minutes is up, turn it out onto the rack to cool. Dust with powdered sugar.

Italian Sausage Sandwiches with a Greek Twist

Italian Sausage Sandwiches with a Greek Twist

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Sizzlin’ Sauces’ Mojo’s Tapenade blends Kalamata olives with sun dried tomatoes into a great spread that goes wonderfully with not just French bread but also burgers and dogs. If you want something sweeter, try the Razing Cane Garlic Relish. It’s sweet, sour, and has just a hint of habanero. Recently, Mark Masker snuck some of each into the Italian sausage sandwiches he was grilling up before a game for some friends and they loved it.

Ingredients

6 Italian sausage links
3 green bell peppers
6 bolillo rolls (cut open)
Sizzlin’ Sauces Mojo’s Tapenade and/or garlic spread
Gorgonzola cheese
Olive oil

Instructions

Heat your grill to medium high.
Gut the peppers, cut it them half, and place it and the sausages on the grate, close the lid, and turn the sausages in three to five minutes.
Close the lid and repeat the process until done.
You’ll want to turn the pepper halves once their color goes to a more olive green.
Once the peppers and sausage are done, remove them and slice the pepper halves into thirds.
Drizzle the cut open rolls with a little olive oil.
Spread either the tapenade or the garlic spread on each and place a sausage in the roll, then top it with gorgonzola cheese.

tomato bisque soup

Sun-Dried Tomato Bisque

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To make tomato concassé, place fresh tomatoes in boiling water for a few seconds to loosen the skins, then peel them, remove as many seeds as possible, and squeeze out the juice. Then dice them as finely as possible. Serve this intensely-flavored bisque with a good red wine and sourdough bread. Read Dave DeWitt’s entire spicy spring soup article here.

Ingredients

8 cups sun-dried tomatoes
Water to cover
2 5-inch sprigs young sage
2 6-inch sprigs fresh rosemary
1 small bunch thyme
1 small bunch Italian parsley
1 lemon, cut into 1/2-inch slices
4 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium red onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 serrano chiles, seeds and stems removed, minced
1/2 cup red wine
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 cups tomato concassé
Melted butter for garnish

Instructions

Add the sun-dried tomatoes to a large pot and cover with water. Turn the heat to medium. In a piece of cheesecloth, wrap the sage, rosemary, thyme, and parsley together and tie to make a bouquet garni. Add it to the water. Cover, reduce the heat, and simmer for 2 hours, adding water if necessary.

Heat the oil in a skillet and sauté the onion until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and lightly sauté. Reserve.

In a small saucepan, boil together the red wine and balsamic vinegar until it is reduced to 1/8 cup. Reserve.

When the sun-dried tomato mixture is done, remove the bouquet garni and the lemon slices. Add the reserved onion-garlic mixture, the reduced liquid, and the tomato concasée. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Remove from the heat and puree until smooth, then strain. To serve the bisque hot, add a dollop of sweet butter and swirl across the surface. To serve cold, top with a dollop of citrus créme fraiche.

elk burger

Spicy Elk Burgers

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This recipe was originally demonstrated on a Disc-It outdoor grill (think of a propane-powered wok on steroids), but you can grill these burgers as well. Read more about the Disc-It and burgers in Mark Masker’s article here.

Ingredients

1 lb. ground elk
1 lb. ground beef
1 package (8 links) of Peyton’s Chorizo (or brand of your choice)
Fri-B-Que Seasoning Rub– approximately 4 tablespoons
10-15 crackers, crumbled
4 eggs
2 tbsp. each of salt, pepper, and garlic
Cheese
Hamburger buns
Lettuce, tomatoes, and onions

Instructions

In a large bowl, mix the ground elk, ground beef, and ground chorizo thoroughly.

Add in the 4 eggs and crackers, and mix together in the bowl.

Add salt, pepper, garlic, and Fri-B-Que seasoning.

Form into 5-inch diameter patties, about ¼ inch thick.

Turn the DISC-IT (or grill) on medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of oil to the disc and wipe the surface of the cooking disc.

Add the patties to the disc and cook for 4-5 minutes per side. Lightly cover each side of the patties with additional Fri-B-Que seasoning.

Place the buns face down on the outer edge of the disc to toast the bun.
Add cheese to burger to melt. Serve with lettuce, tomatoes and onions.

Turkish Beef kebab

Turkish Beef Kebab – Adana Kebap

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There are over 30 varieties of Turkish kebabs which locals call “siskebabi,” “sis kebaps,” or “kebabi. Fish, vegetables, pork, beef, fruit, or fowl, are all put on wood or metal skewers and grilled over open flame or coals. Note: If you want to grill vegetables along with fish, chicken or small cubes of meat it’s best to parboil vegetables such as bell peppers, zucchini, carrots and other dense foods before skewering. Baby new potatoes can be scrubbed and par-boiled in skins or use canned whole potatoes. This recipe is courtesy of Rick Browne. Read more about favorite Superbowl Party dishes from chefs on the Burn! Blog here.

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef, or lamb
1 onion, chopped
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon oregano
4 large tomatoes, cut in half from top to bottom
4 green bell peppers, seeded, cut in half lengthwise
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped, fresh parsley
Turkish type pita bread
Olive oil

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl combine the beef, onion, pepper flakes, ground pepper, cumin, and oregano, and mix well. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator overnight.
Preheat charcoal or gas barbecue to 375˚F.
Shape the meat mixture into 8 to10 sausage-shaped pieces, about an inch thick and 4-inches long, then let cool in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
Place the meat lengthwise on the pre-greased skewers. Cook until you reach your desired degree of doneness, 4 to 5 minutes a side for medium rare.
Place the skewers on the grill. Cut both the tomatoes and the green peppers in half, brush with olive oil, season, and line the vegetables up next to the meat on the grill. Grill until both the peppers and tomatoes start to get char marks and are bubbling, turning once.
Warm the pitas by placing them on a cooler side of the grill and turning them frequently, do not burn them.
Remove the grilled meat from the skewers, sprinkle with parsley, and serve with the warmed pita bread as an appetizer.