Cincinnati "Skyline Chili"

It wasn't the 1st thing on our list, but it was definately near the top! Cincinnati's famous Skyline Chili, we didn't know what to expect... rumor was it has cinnamon AND chocolate in the recipe. For former Texans, born and raised in the south that might be sacrilege! We went to the old downtown location, 7th and Vine, natives say it's where you get the true "experience."  

It was a Friday and nearly every seat was taken, we found a table near the back in good view of the show. Just behind the counter was line of seasoned employees who ladled out  1 Ways to 5 Ways in portions that shouldn't have fit on the 6" oval plates, but did!

Our waitress Tabby was a walking, talking tour guide... the city may just have her "planted" to make sure tourists get the real flavor of Cincinnati!

It was a little hard, there were so many ways to enjoy the chili, but I decided on TWO coneys, I thought they were small!  

They start you off with a bowl of oyster crackers and if I had payed attention to the locals (that's a really good tip when you are someplace that you just aren't sure what to order) I'd have noticed that many started with the small bowl of chili and then got ONE coney! 

Jerry ordered the 5 Way... chili, spaghetti, cheese, onions and beans. I was too busy diving into my coneys to get any before pictures, sorry! I came home with a recipe for Cincinnati style chili, but after Googling a little, I found one that was leaked by an employee. Sunday afternoon I decided to try it out. The technique of simmering the hamburger in water for 30 minutes before adding the remaining ingredients is key to the texture that is distinctive to this chili. The spices are right on, this is  a very good knock off recipe that will satisfy our NEED for Cincinnati's most famous addiction!

Cincinnati "Skyline Chili" Click to Print! 
revised from About.com

1 quart cold water

2 lbs ground beef (I used lean ground beef)

2 cups crushed tomato

2 yellow onions, diced 

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa

1/4 cup chili powder

1 tsp cayenne

1 tsp ground cumin

2 tbsp cider vinegar

1 whole bay leaf

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp salt

Cooked spaghetti to serve chili over, optional

Add beef and water to a 4-quart pot. Bring to a simmer while stirring until the ground beef is in very small pieces. Simmer for 30 minutes and add all the rest of the ingredients. Simmer on low, uncovered, for 3 hours. Add water as needed if the chili becomes to thick. Refrigerate the chili overnight, and the next day remove the layer of fat from top before reheating and serving. Since I used lean hamburger, there wasn't any fat to remove. Makes 6 servings

The Cincinnati "Skyline" Chili Ordering Code

1-way: just the chili

2-way: chili served over spaghetti

3-way: chili, spaghetti, and grated Cheddar cheese

4-way: chili, spaghetti, cheese, and onions

5-way: chili, spaghetti, cheese, onions, and beans

All "ways" are served with oyster crackers.

Madison County, Arkansas

Friday we started off on a little jaunt over to Madison County. I had the bright idea that it would be fun to take my Mother and Father-in-law to a great little cafe at Hindsville called the Valley Inn. It's been there a long time, alongside old highway 412 about halfway between Fayetteville and Huntsville, Arkansas. I had taken my Mom there on several occasions, it's one of those places with local flavor... waitresses that knew the 75 residents of Hindsville by their first names. In fact, they probably knew what they were going to order before they even opened their mouths! Hindsville is an old town, built in the 1890's. Still standing are a row of stone buildings that house an Arvest Bank, an antique store and the Valley Inn. We told them we were going to a NEW place to eat, but not exactly where! I knew they would love the food, homemade plates of chicken and dressing, meatloaf or ham and sweet potatoes with sides of greens, fried okra or butter beans.

It was a beautiful, sunny day and it was fun as we drove along enjoying the rolling hills and pastures with happy cows up to their bellies in green grass. It's a good time to be a cow in Arkansas right now with all of the rain we've had this spring!

We know highway 45 like the back of our hand, but when we got to where it joined the new 412 we turned right. After just a few miles, we knew we had went the wrong way. Just a spot in the road, it would be easy to miss. We turned around and went back, then realized that the familiar road had been bypassed by progress. In 2007 Highway 412 took a more direct route and left the quaint town of Hindsville. In the window of the Valley Inn was a For Sale sign. Sad for us and especially for the residents of this small community. For years they served delicious plate lunches or hamburger baskets, homemade rolls and pies to the hard working farmers or the lucky tourists passing by.

On that  fateful day when Mom and I needed a cup of coffee, but stayed when we realized they had homemade pie...Coconut Cream, Butterscotch with meringue piled so high it was sinful and Peanut Butter Pie. Not my choice, but Mom's favorite. We shared a piece that first visit to the Valley Inn.

Peanut Butter Pie
1 8-ounce package cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 12-ounce carton refrigerated whipped topping (Cool Whip)
2 graham cracker pie shells

Mix cream cheese, sugar, and peanut butter together. Fold in the Cool Whip, reserving enough to decorate the tops of two pies. Pour the mixture into the pie shells and chill several hours. Top each slice with a dab of Cool Whip.

Street Tacos

One of my favorite places to eat when we are in Texas is Taco Cabana. Once you get to the Dallas area, or anywhere south of Dallas... they are everywhere. It's a chain like Taco Bell, but the food is far superior. The difference? Well, they have real cooks in real kitchens making real Mexican food--by hand. That means they are chopping the cilantro, roasting the peppers, stirring the beans and making the tortillas everyday.

My love affair with Taco Cabana started on a balmy March day in 1996 when we had just moved to South Texas. It was icy in NW Arkansas when the movers came to pack us up, but a pleasant 80 degrees as we enjoyed our meal that night on the patio. Over the next 5 years we ate at nearly all of the famous Mexican restaurants in the San Antonio area. As memorable as they were, Taco Cabana is etched in my heart as a favorite!

They have street tacos on the menu now, and while we were in Texas I had them 3 times... they are THAT GOOD!  Little corn tortilla treats filled with seasoned chicken, brisket or pork and topped with a variety of fresh sauces, they are the perfect lunch, dinner or snack.  

I bought this great magazine at Sam's Club in Dallas while we were there and spent the trip home planning the recipes I'm going to make. Better Homes and Gardens publication Mexican is the real deal, authentic dishes from the many regions of Mexico. Inside the covers are the treasured recipes that are so hard to duplicate on your own. This weekend we tried the Beer Braised Chicken Verde, I took a shortcut and made the recipe with rotisserie chicken. The filling was delish, very much like the ones at Taco Cabana♥♥♥

Beer Braised Chicken Verde
1 tablespoon canola oil or vegetable oil

1 cup chopped onion (1 large)

5 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano or dried oregano, crushed

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 12 ounce bottle Mexican beer (such as Modelo Especial or Pacifico)

1 11 - 12 ounce can tomatillos, drained

2 4 - 4 1/2 ounce can diced green chile peppers

1 1/2 pounds chicken breast tenderloins

1. In a 4-quart Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; cook and stir for 3 minutes. Add butter, cumin, coriander, chili powder, oregano, and salt. Cook and stir until butter melts.

2. Add beer, tomatillos, and chile peppers. Bring to boiling. Add chicken. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, about 15 minutes or until chicken is tender and no longer pink, stirring every 5 minutes to break up the tomatillos. Using a slotted spoon, transfer chicken from the cooking liquid to a cutting board. Gently boil the cooking liquid, uncovered, about 10 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, using two forks, pull chicken apart into shreds.

3. Place chicken in a medium bowl. Add 1 cup of the reduced cooking juices; stir to moisten. Use chicken mixture as filling for quesadillas or tacos; pass the remaining cooking juices.

Print Recipe

Tacos el Pastor

1 medium peeled and cored fresh pineapple

8 dried pasilla and/or guajillo chile peppers

1/4 cup orange juice

1/4 cup vinegar

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoonsalt

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

2 pounds boneless pork loin, cut into 1/2-inch slices

16 6 inch corn tortillas

1 cup chopped onion (1 large)

Snipped fresh cilantro

Lime wedges

Bottled hot pepper sauce

1.Cut pineapple into 1/2-inch-thick slices, reserving juice; cover and refrigerate pineapple and reserved juice separately.

2. Remove stems and seeds from chile peppers. Place peppers in a medium bowl and add enough boiling water to cover. Allow peppers to stand about 30 minutes or until soft; drain, discarding water.

3. In a food processor or blender combine chile peppers, any juice from the pineapple, the orange juice, vinegar, garlic, salt, cumin, and cloves. Cover and process or blend until nearly smooth.

4. In a 3-quart baking dish arrange pork slices in a single layer, overlapping slices as necessary. Pour chile pepper mixture over pork slices, spreading evenly. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 4 to 24 hours. Remove pork from marinade, discarding marinade. Stack tortillas and wrap in foil.

5. For a charcoal grill, place tortilla packet on the rack of an uncovered grill directly over medium coals. Place pork slices and pineapple slices on the grill rack alongside the foil packet directly over medium coals. Grill pork and pineapple slices for 6 to 7 minutes or until pork slices are slightly pink in the center and juices run clear (160 degrees F), turning once. Grill tortilla packet for 10 minutes, turning once. (For a gas grill, preheat grill. Reduce heat to medium. Grill tortilla packet, pork slices, and pineapple as directed above.)

6. Coarsely chop pork and pineapple and combine in a large bowl. Fill warm tortillas with pork and pineapple mixture. Sprinkle each taco with chopped onion and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges and, if desired, hot pepper sauce.
Print Recipe

Roasted Tomato Salsa ~Yes, this IS that great restaurant salsa recipe!

2 1/2 pounds roma tomatoes (about 15)

3 fresh jalapeno peppers

1 medium head garlic

1 teaspoon salt

2 medium white onions, finely chopped

2/3cup lightly packed cilantro leaves, snipped (1/4 cup)

4 teaspoons cider vinegar

Tortilla chips

1. Core the tomatoes. Place in one side of a 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Halve the jalapeno peppers. Remove stems and seeds. Place, cut side down, in the other side of baking pan with tomatoes. Peel away outer skin from garlic. Cut off the pointed top portion with a knife, leaving the bulb intact but exposing the individual cloves. Add to pan. Roast, uncovered, in a 450 degree F oven for 25 minutes or until tomatoes are soft and pepper skins are charred. Cool.

2. Remove tomato skins. Press to remove garlic paste from individual cloves of garlic. Place garlic, jalapeno peppers, and salt in a food processor bowl or blender container. Cover and process or blend with a few pulses until finely chopped. Add half of the tomatoes; cover and process or blend with a few pulses until coarsely chopped. Transfer to a large mixing bowl. Add remaining tomatoes to food processor bowl or blender container; cover and process or blend with a few pulses until coarsely chopped. Stir into tomato mixture in bowl.

3. Stir onions, cilantro, and vinegar into tomato mixture until combined. Cover and chill several hours to blend flavors. Serve with tortilla chips. Makes about 4 cups.

Print Recipe

Memphis Memories

We've been to 5 Bass Pro Shops now and it's definitely on our must-see list when there's one anywhere close to where we're traveling! Bass Pro at the Memphis Pyramid has topped them all!

The first night we went downtown to have dinner and could see the Pyramid in the distance. Even from blocks away it's huge! 

You really can't miss it as you cross the bridge from Arkansas to Tennessee, I could almost touch it! At 321 feet tall (about 32 stories) it’s considered to be the seventh largest pyramid in the world.  

The first thing you notice is the sheer size of the place, approximately 220,000 square feet.  Aside from the square footage on the first two floors, just look up and it's 28 stories to the top! 

You feel as if you are in a Cypress Swamp; there are huge ponds, towering Cypress trees and an 84,000-gallon alligator habitat.

The aquarium in the middle of the store is a 24,000 gallon aquarium that showcases native Tennessee fish.

A quick trip to the top on the tallest freestanding elevator in America, it's open on all 4 sides by glass panes! 

Once we got to the top, the lobby opens out to a beautiful restaurant called The Lookout at the Pyramid .

"Steam Punk" style décor with gears and metal sculpture, another impressive aquarium in the middle of the restaurant. 

I can't imagine how exciting it would be to dine there looking out onto the lights of Memphis!

Speechless, we just stood there taking in the magnificent views more than 300 feet above Memphis and the Mississippi River! The glass-floored observation decks are patterned after the Grand Canyon Skywalk. I have to say it was a little scary at first, then the Awesome Factor kicks in! 

  

 

No matter which direction you look, the view is spectacular!

One more video, I promise it's worth watching... Big Cypress Lodge, the first hotel inside a Bass Pro Shop! There are 103 rustic rooms and tree-house cabins inspired by vintage duck hunting camps. After watching this video, you may think you've been missing out on "rustic" accommodations!

Rendezvous BBQ Memphis

Memphis is a great place to visit, a trip to the iconic Charles Vergos Rendezvous was first on the list! It was everything we expected, aside from our rib dinners being out-of-this-world good, the place just oozed character! Sometimes it's the history behind a place like Rendezvous that elevates it to Stardom Status!

The restaurant has been designated as an All-American Icon by Nation's Restaurant News magazine, they don't just give that to everyone! In 1948 Charlie Vergos took an old coal chute from the wall of his smoky basement tavern in Downtown Memphis and created barbecue history. Over the years he served those famous bbq dry ribs to equally famous guests, including Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush and former Vice President Al Gore, many entertainers such as Bill Cosby, Justin Timberlake and Mick Jagger.

Charlie Vergos is gone now, he passed in 2010 but the city of Memphis owes him a great deal of gratitude for his stand to make the downtown area a destination. He refused to relocate the restaurant to the suburbs. 

"When others gave up on Downtown, he stood firm," said his son Nick Vergos, who co-owns the Rendezvous with his brother, John, and sister, Tina Jennings.

The son of Greek immigrants, Vergos was a World War II Army veteran who fought in the European theater. Later on, he was transferred to the Philippines in preparation for the planned invasion of Japan when the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki ended the war. When he came back to Memphis, he married Greek wife Tasia.  

In 1948 they opened his tavern and sandwich shop in the November 6 Alley, near where Rendezvous is now. 

Twenty years later, he moved the business to its present location. From tourists to locals, it's a favorite place to go for BBQ. 

I couldn't help but notice the wall of portraits on the backs of paper restaurant plates. One of the waiters has the gift and practices his talent on customers during breaks. That's the thing about a place like the Rendezvous, it's a stepping stone for others to realize their dreams!

Ki Yi Yippie Yippie Ay

I'm pretending I'm in Texas this morning... it's a typical Saturday and we've slept in a little. Coffee and paper, we had a bowl of cereal and now we're beginning to get hungry for some lunch. Lot of choices but only one if you want BBQ! Just a few miles up I-10 and Highway 80 north (exit 628) is Luling City Market! About an hour east of San Antonio, it's the best barbecue you will ever put in your mouth! We were lucky enough to share many meals here with good friends BW and Carol. I don't know if it was the company or the food, but this place remains in my memory as one of my favorites! Rough-around-the-edges, City Market offers few amenities. You have to fetch your meat the old-fashioned way, waiting in line. When you enter, the delicious smell hits you like a ton of bricks!

At the back of the dining room a swinging door leads into a shadowy, cave-like room illuminated by the glow of burning logs in pits. I can remember the first time we visited City Market, the anticipation I felt as we waited in line. Towards the back of the line we were visiting, laughing and taking in all of the "local flavor" of the place. But as we got close to the enclosed area, the pit, our moods changed. There was a reverence that came over us, just like the scene in Seinfeld when George realized he needed to order the soup in a very particular way.

The meats are cooked long and slow in a brick smoker that holds enough food to feed Luling plus the hundreds of visitors that come each day from far and wide. As you enter the pit, men take your order, cut and section the amount of meat you want, and assemble everything on a big sheet of pink butcher paper. They gather the edges of the paper together so it becomes a boat-like container that serves as both carrying device and eating surface. Once you get your paper-wrapped order of meat, you leave the pit and carry it back into the comfy pine-paneled dining room.Find a place to sit and join the citizens of Luling who are kept alive by the sauce and BBQ! John Wayne, Tommy Lee Jones and Dubya thought it was worth the trip!


Tender smoky brisket, succulent ribs that fall away from the bone or links that have been made the same way for 50 years...you can't go wrong if you choose a little of each. My favorite was the links, cut and placed on a slice of bread and doused with the orange BBQ sauce that Luling is famous for. No other sauce, anywhere tastes like this. First time users aren't sure, then BAM...you're hooked. You need the stuff for everything!

Sides are basic, white bread, pickles and onion...

Don't forget the sweet tea, or maybe Texas' favorite Big Red!

Besides having no plate for your meal, City Market deems all you need to enjoy this feast is a plastic knife, fork and spoon. They're right, the meat is so tender it cuts like butter!

Take a minute and soak up the relaxation this YouTube video will impart.

Just like being there, well almost!

A RE-RUN, too good not to share again!

Main Street Cafe- Hackett, Arkansas

The noon crowd that gathers at the Main Street Cafe in Hackett, Arkansas are hungry, hardworking folks. I looked around the room and saw the faces of middle America. The ones who live simple lives and like it, the ones who struggle to pay taxes and most likely the ones that Congressman Steve Womack talked about last week at the Town Hall meetings held for District 3.

We can't help but worry our future, it's apparent that Washington is clueless to what we face with higher prices for gas, groceries, utilities... the list goes on. Unlike government, these folks would be in sad shape if they didn't have the money to cover their debts. Miss a few payments to the bank and the farm that pays your bills is in jeopardy. Lord help us if we get sick, because health care plans are hard to pay for when your work is your cattle.

The cafe was full the day we visited. Friends and neighbors of the small community of Hackett, a town of roughly 800 people gather at the Main Street Cafe to talk politics, to exhange the news and share their worries and their joys. 

Most of them ordered the Blue Plate Special of fried catfish, fries and brown beans. Table by table, they left... off to an afternoon of hard work. Another day, another dollar.

Local Flavor

Daddy called it "Local Flavor," the Mom and Pop places that hide away in small towns along your trip. The one's that you might drive right by and miss out on a life experience if you judge the book by it's cover. I heard him say it over and over throughout my childhood. We visited many places just like the Main Street Cafe as we traveled to and from my Grandparents in another state.

Aunt B. and Uncle George had just such a place in mind to take us to when we visited last week. The town of Hackett, Arkansas had so much to offer that it's going to be a week of blogs! We got there early, just a few minutes before noon. The hometown hangout had a few tables taken, the choice tables were near the window air unit that was struggling in the River Valley heat. It was near 100 that day and we were glad to be inside with our head in the shade!

I started taking pictures and it wasn't long until a nice young man struck up a conversation. Come to find out he had just moved back to Hackett from Rogers, our stomping grounds. He had worked up here for a while and missed home.

Rural Hackett is farms and stone quarries, Fort Smith and Van Buren are close-by if you need to run to Target. It's not the middle of the boondocks, in fact it's only a few miles from "civilization." But for those who choose to live there, it's all about lifestyle. These are the people who choose to march to a different drum.

They go to high school ball games and church potlucks. They bake cakes and cookies to raise money for the senior class trip and they carry covered dishes when someone loses a loved one.

Hugs and Biscuits, the local convenience store sets right across the street from the cafe and if you live in Hackett, it's where you fill your tank and get your morning sausage biscuit. It's where you talk politics and no one gets their nose out of joint cause you're friends, in some cases you're lifetime friends. All those "Local Flavor" experiences taught me a valuable lesson in life. It taught me to never pass by the small places, or miss out on the simple pleasures in life. He didn't know that he taught me to never judge a book by it's cover, whether it was a place or a person.