Maui Chili

I am still on the luau wave!! A few months ago I was surfing the web and found a recipe for something called Maui Chili. It is a recipe created by a Maui native named Mickey Steinborn. He has a Hawaiian shirt website as well as a website for this chili. Check out his website at http://www.mauichili.com/ I read through the 3-1/4 page recipe (it is very entertaining) and decided that I HAD to try making this chili. I was thinking about the January 30 luau for the teachers at Winfield Elementary but I didn't want to make it for them without trying it myself first. I went shopping and bought most of the ingredients over the weekend. I did have some of the items in my pantry. I didn't use all the Hawaiian items he suggests because they weren't available at my local market. It would have been nice to be able to buy a Hawaiian pineapple or a Maui onion but I didn't have that option. I reduced the amounts of everything by 1/3 because I wasn't making 20 quarts of the stuff. I will give you the portions that I used so you don't have to take the time to do it yourself. I reduced the amount of all the spices because I couldn't bring myself to use 1/3 or 2/3 of a cup of chili powder or cayenne pepper. If you have the "guts" to do it, then please do and let me know how it turns out. In Mickey's recipe, he indicates that we should chop the whole jalapeno pepper and include the seeds but I didn't do that. He is right about the seeds adding the heat. I was afraid to add them but at the end when the sauce was a bit too mild, I added several dashes of Tabasco sauce to spice it up. I guess I should have gone ahead and added the seeds or more of the cayenne pepper. I'll work on adjusting the spices next time I try making this chili. Please go ahead and add the seeds if you like your chili hot. I really did buy and cut up a whole pineapple although it was from Costa Rica not Hawaii. I also bought, peeled and chopped fresh ginger root. I guess you could use the powdered stuff but it was a good excuse for me to try using the fresh kind. I put everything into a slow cooker on high for about 2 hours and switched it to low for another 4 hours. I cooked this chili for a total of about 6 hours in my slow cooker.

I had plenty of doubts that this chili would be any good. I almost decided not to make it but I forged ahead anyway. I didn't find any reviews from people who had actually tried the recipe and that made me even more nervous but believe me this chili is really amazing.

Maui Chili Recipe (reduced by 1/3)

2 lbs chicken breast
6 oz. beer
4 oz. water
2 large organic bell peppers (red, green, yellow or orange)
6 to 8 cloves garlic (crushed)
1-1/2 tablespoons fresh shredded ginger root
1 sweet onion
1/3 of a fresh pineapple (about 1 cup)
2 shredded organic carrots
2 green jalapeno peppers (chopped)
2 stalks of organic celery (chopped)
1 tablespoon basil
2 tablespoons oregano
1/2 tablespoon thyme
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon soy sauce (light)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 14-1/2 oz can whole peeled tomatoes
1 15 oz can stewed tomatoes (chopped)
1 6 oz can tomato paste
2 tablespoons honey
2 Bay leaves
2-4 tablespoons yellow corn meal
1 tablespoon olive oil

1. Put the olive oil into the slow cooker and let it heat up.
2. Add onions and other vegetables and pineapple.
3. Add all liquids.
4. Add chicken.
5. Add all spices.
6. Add all tomato ingredients.
7. Add honey.
8. Add yellow corn meal slowly throughout the cooking process to thicken the chili.

Don't be afraid to try this chili because of the ginger and pineapple. It has a really nice taste. The combination of ingredients sounds like it would be terrible but it blends well in the end and tastes fantastic. We especially enjoyed this chili over jasmine rice. B and I both thought that if we could have added peanuts it would have been a nice touch to give the chili a bit of crunch. It isn't recommended in the recipe or on the Maui Chili website but we thought it would be a nice addition. Of course, we can't because of D's allergy to peanuts. Too bad.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

Cuban Chicken

I am starting to think about the next teacher appreciation luncheon that I am hosting at my son's school on January 30. The theme of the luncheon is tropical and it is going to be a pseudo luau. I have a few leis to use as decorations and one of the teachers is lending me a coconut tree that she painted. It is amazing and almost life size "tree" that will serve as my decoration for the luncheon. I am trying to be economical in these times of job losses and housing market crashes but I have to be upbeat and fun, too. I decided that the theme was going to be a luau because it is so cold and wintry that I thought it would be fun to start looking ahead to summer. I am going to request a few fruit trays and definitely some tropical desserts. I am also going to offer this recipe to anyone who can't think of something to make but wants to make something tropical and fairly easy and inexpensive. The chicken is delicious. If you serve it over rice with some peas and carrots it is a very pretty dish also. I am sure the teachers will love it as much as my family did. The recipe comes from the June 17, 2008 issue of Woman's Day Magazine. I used only chicken drumsticks because I don't care for the thighs but go ahead and use both if you prefer.

Cuban Chicken
Serves 8

1 medium onion, thinly sliced
4 tsp chopped garlic (4 cloves)
8 each chicken drumsticks and thighs, skin removed (about 4-1/2 lbs)
1/4 cup each lime juice and orange juice
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
Chopped cilantro (optional)

1. Place onion and garlic in a 6-quart slow cooker. Arrange chicken on top.

2. Stir juices, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper in measuring cup; pour over chicken. Cook on low 5 to 8 hours until chicken is cooked through.

3. Serve chicken over rice; spoon juices with onions on top. Sprinkle with cilantro, if using.

This is a really good quick dish to liven up any cold winter's day.

The Creative Cook