Gracious Bowl on the Omnivore's Hundred

Some of you've already seen this meme, but we thought we'd see where the Gracious Bowl stands in terms of the Omnivore's Hundred, courtesy of the Very Good Taste blog. The Omnivore's Hundred is a list of things every "good omnivore" should try at least once in their life.

First of all, I can't believe scrapple didn't make the list. That stuff is the pariah of pork products, but it tastes so goooood... when you fry it up in a little flour, which means it should count for something!

Collectively, we've already nibbled and sipped our way through 79% of the list. While there was grumbling after a few of the 21 remaining items, the only one we both agreed we'd never eat (unless we find ourselves facing the apocalypse) was roadkill. Margaret was ashamed to admit she'd sampled head cheese (and never will again). She is from Louisiana, so...ya know...we'll let that one slide. I, for one, will never partake of head cheese. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre pretty much closed the door for me FOREVER on that one. I know I mentioned scrapple, but that's just different somehow.

What we've both eaten is in bold; what one of us has eaten is in orange; and what we'd probably never eat is crossed out.


1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile (does alligator count?)-Margaret
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp-Adrienne
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho (Proof here!)
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses-Margaret
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns (thx Cindy)
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras (thx José Andrés)
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese-Margaret
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper-Margaret-HOT!!!
27. Dulce de leche (thx be to Argentina!)
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda-Margaret
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi (we've had mango lassi, but not salted)
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar (yes, but not together--just wait til Xmas!)
37. Clotted cream tea (yes, it's great with fig jam!)
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O (thx most recently to Jen & Pete!)
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat-Margaret
42. Whole insects-Adrienne
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi (thx Hawaii)
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini (very, very dirty)
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst-Adrienne
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake

(yes, YES, yes, and yes!)
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost-Margaret
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu (no but something tells me I'd like it)
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong--Margaret
80. Bellini (frozen's good)
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash-Margaret
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam-Margaret
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa (harissa, but not rose)
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee-Margaret
100. Snake

How many of the 100 have you eaten? What didn't make the list, but should've?

Ancho Chili Con Carne

Some of you might already know that the Gracious Bowl got a little press recently. Lisa Jaffe Hubbell wrote an article featuring us in good company alongside Knox of the official Soup Swap site and Renee of Almost Foodies. It appeared in the December 2 USA Weekend Magazine, a Sunday insert in multiple papers across the country (equivalent to Parade).

We knew something was coming soon, having been interviewed back in November, but we figured it would be a little blurb. Since WashPost's weekly is Parade, we only saw the online version and not an actual printed copy. That is, until our friend Stacy sent us two magazines from Louisiana. Turns out the article covered nearly two-pages in full-color, complete with photos by Joe Foley of swappers last January at the DC Guesthouse!



Not only did this result in a lot more traffic to our site, but we started getting email requests for the ancho chili con carne recipe mentioned in the article.

Our friend Geoff Hartman was the force behind this highly coveted chili recipe. The sad news is that he passed away suddenly from cancer-related complications back in June. We'd talked with him about writing a guest post disclosing his secrets in adapting the Martha Stewart recipe for the swap, but we took time for granted and just never got around to it.

What we will say is that Geoff was a lot of things to a lot of people and--related to this site--he was a big lover of all things food, all things Martha, and all things Nigella. Despite a tiny city kitchen, he made it his personal mission to keep everyone--and especially his longtime partner, Joe--very well fed.

Not wanting to leave anyone out at the swap, his original intention was to make 12 quarts of soup: one batch for the carnivores and one batch for the vegetarians, but he ran out of time.

Fortunately, Geoff did tell us the base recipe he used for his ancho chili along with a brief explanation. So we made it again and adapted it here with a few changes. He's probably out there somewhere rolling his eyes and sighing at all this; not to mention our addition of black beans. We assure you--had he written this post--it would've been much funnier and much dirtier. Geoff's wicked sense of humor, big heart, and delicious cooking continue to be sorely missed.

Ancho Chili Con Carne
Serves 8-10

3 dried ancho chiles (or 3 fresh poblanos, roasted & peeled if you can't find ancho)
1-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 lbs boneless pork shoulder, finely chopped
2 lbs boneless chuck steak, 1/2 inch cubes
4 strips pork or turkey bacon, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp cumin
1 tsp red chili powder
1 Tbsp dried oregano
1 bay leaf
1 (28 oz) can whole peeled tomatoes, briefly pulsed in blender
24 oz beer (I like an amber beer)
1/2 lb beef neck bones
2 (15 oz) cans black beans, drained
1 Tbsp distilled white vinegar
2 oz dark chocolate, chopped
salt and pepper

Optional accompaniments:
sour cream
fresh cilantro
sliced avocado
extra sharp cheddar cheese
scallions
fresh tomato
tortilla chips
pickled jalapenos

1. Toast the dried chiles* in a skillet over medium heat, turning often, until fragrant and puffed up, 2 minutes. Cut in half; remove cores. Reserve seeds. Transfer chiles to a bowl; cover with boiling water. Set aside. *Alternately, if using fresh poblanos, roast them over an open flame or under a broiler until skin is charred. Place poblanos is a paper bag and let steam for about five minutes. Peel off black skin with your hands and remove seeds and cores.

2. Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat and working in batches, brown pork and beef until browned. Transfer meat to a plate as it is browned.

3. Meanwhile, put chiles and 1/2 cup soaking liquid into a blender; puree. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add bacon and cook until browned--remove bacon and save for later, then add onion and garlic to the bacon fat and cook, stirring often until softened, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in cumin, oregano, chili powder (if using), bay leaf, 1 teaspoon salt, and 2 tablespoons reserved chile seeds (more for heat, if desired). Cook 1 minute, add chile puree and raise heat to medium-high; cook, stirring for 2 minutes.

4. Return meat to pot. Add 2 teaspoons salt, tomatoes, beef bones, and beer. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low Simmer, stirring occasionally, 1 1/2 hours. Add strained and rinsed black beans and cook for another 30-45 minutes. Discard beef bones and bay leaf. Add vinegar and chocolate chunks and stir until chocolate is melted. Add the reserved bacon to your bowl at the end if you like it crispy, or toss it in the pot and stir if you like it softer.

5. Serve with any or all of these accompaniments: sour cream, fresh cilantro, sliced avocado, extra sharp cheddar cheese, scallions, fresh tomato, tortilla chips, pickled jalapenos.

Adapted from Martha Stewart

Roasted Pumpkin Soup

Well, folks... the kitchen is officially broken in. With the onset of fall, we've been doing lots of cooking with the bounty of rustic, autumnal produce stockpiled for the season. We're talking root vegetables, gourds, apples and pumpkins. Here's a quick peek at what else we've been making besides pumpkin soup.

Chicken over butternut squash risotto



Scallops over lambs lettuce, goat cheese, and roasted beets with a walnut vinaigrette



Homemade sweet potato gnocchi, criminis, and fava beans in a sage cream sauce




Chocolate croissant bread pudding...



...and pumpkin soup! People always seem daunted by working with pumpkins because of the skin and seeds. What they don't realize is that "skinning" a pumpkin is actually just like peeling any other vegetable. For this soup, I skinned a medium-sized pumpkin with a vegetable peeler and threw the whole thing in the oven for a little less than an hour and went to read the paper. It's not as easy as using canned pumpkin, but I wouldn't call it labor intensive either. Why not give it a try while pumpkins are on sale.

Roasted Pumpkin Soup
Serves 2-3

2 Tbsp butter or olive oil*
1-2lb pumpkin, skinned and seeds removed (or 1 can 15 oz. pumpkin puree)
1 large sweet onion, finely chopped
4 carrots, finely chopped
3 Tbsp honey
1/3 c light cream
4 c vegetable stock
1/4 to 1/3 c brown sugar
salt and pepper
cinnamon
nutmeg

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Rinse pumpkin and skin using a vegetable peeler. Poke a few holes in its flesh using a knife or fork. Place whole pumpkin on a small baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Massage with olive oil, salt, pepper and bake for about an hour until soft, checking once or twice to drizzle more oil as needed to prevent it from drying out.

2. Melt butter or olive oil in stockpot over medium-high heat. *Instead of butter or oil, I actually used reserved grease from three sweet Italian sausages I'd prepared earlier in the day. Add onions and carrots. Toss occasionally until they start to caramelize. In the meantime, remove pumpkin from oven, cut open, and scoop out seeds. Discard seeds, top and bottom.

3. Roughly cut up the pumpkin into 1-inch chunks and add to stockpot along with honey and vegetable stock.

4. Stir and season with nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about 45 minutes.

5. Puree with an immersion blender or in batches until smooth. Stir in cream. Season to taste with brown sugar, salt, and pepper. Serve.

Get your spoonful of Chad in Cincinnati

Chad, one of our friends and biggest fans in Cincinnati, emailed us this photo after he made one healthy, hearty meal of salmon, beans, and herbs! He's wearing our "get your spoonful" apron! We say DELICIOUS!

Site Recap

One of our readers, Mark, kindly informed us that he was having trouble finding our archived recipes. It looks like some months are coming up with broken links from the main page. We're looking into it. In the meantime, here are working links for some of those earlier recipes!

Parlez-vous French Onion Soup?

Sweet Potato Chowder

Butternut Squash & Pear Soup

Tomato Cheddar Soup

Italian White Bean Soup with Sausage

Chicken & Sausage Gumbo

Happy Holidays!

We're on a short break enjoying time with friends and family. We'll be back next week with a recipe from Margaret featuring white beans!

In other news, I've scored the ham bone from my family's Christmas dinner. It's in the freezer now, but soon that baby will be thawed out for some great stock and a future posting!

As always, thanks for reading and we wish you a safe, scrumptious holiday season!

Enough with the turkey

Yeah, yeah, yeah, we know. Everybody’s busy making or eating turkey soup now that Thanksgiving’s come and gone. We’ve been eating, sleeping, and dreaming turkey ourselves, so blogging it would be overkill. Maybe next week. Maybe next year. But we at the Gracious Bowl like to mix it up. That’s why we’ve given turkey the boot, so we can make way for pears. That’s right--PEARS! Stay tuned for Margaret’s upcoming post!