Sloppy Bozzies

Good evening! I would like to share with you tonight, or today, depending on your time zone, a childhood favorite of mine adapted for the particular circumstance of Iain and I being both under pacts of vegeterianism and, for him, an abstinence from high fructose corn syrup. Thuswise, this dish became an experiment for me in slow-cooking a hearty and manly all-vegetable dish. For these were the days of the MAN HOUSE, when Emily had left and we had yet to reconvene the Boshenke household in Chicago.

Iain taking over the keyboard for a minute here. This dish was a really fun collaboration, and I might actually say I enjoy it more than the original! My main contribution aside from sous chef/consultant was the pan-fried french fries, which is a lovely side I recommend coupling many-a-dish with. These are pretty different from the chips of my fish and chips recipe, so ready your taste buds!

Sloppy Bozzies

Ingredients
3 Tablespoons veggie oil
2 celery ribs
1 onion
1 bell pepper
6 garlic cloves
4 cups red and black beans
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon cumin
salt and pepper
1 Thai pepper
1/2 cup beer
1/2 cup ketchup (OH NO!! Iain had lenten vows of no high fructose corn syrup, and our ketchup had it in it. Here's what we substituted: 1 tomato diced, 1-2 tsp cider vinegar, several glubs Worchester, 2 Tablespoons corn meal, 1 Tablespoon tomato paste)

Music: Green Day, hehe

Procedure.


1. Finely dice celery, onion, and bell pepper, and garlic.
2. Cook over medium heat in an oiled wok or large skillet: onion, peppers, garlic, celery, beans, and salt and pepper! Have this going for 10-15 minutes, until onions are softened and nicely translucent.
3. Add beer, Worchester, and ketchup (or ketchup substitute mixture). Partially cover and simmer for 15 or so minutes, but if you have longer, let the heat be lower and cook it for longer. I think this dish would be even nicer if it had more time to soak in the flavor.

Pan-fried Garlicky Fries
Ingredients
About 1 1/2 russet potatoes per devourer (or 2 if the devourers are bottomless pits)
About as many cloves of garlic as there are potatoes
A couple sprigs worth of rosemary
About 3/4 cup canola oil (for 4 potatoes)
salt

Procedure:

1. Alright ladies and gents, the key to making these fries with maximum deliciousity is to properly season your oil first. About 1-2 hours before you begin frying, put your oil in a jar and add the garlic (minced) and rosemary (broken if fresh) and let it sit. Once in a while it helps to stir it, but the main idea is to let the oil soak up the garlicky and rosemary-y juices.

2. Proper fries procedure! This step is nearly identical to the chips of my fish and chips recipe. Cut up your potatoes into whatever shape you want and let them soak in a bowl of cold water for about ten minutes. Once the time is up, drain em and dry em!

3. Skillet time! Pour about a half cup of your oil into your skillet and set it to high heat. Make sure NOT to put in your garlic and rosemary with the oil - you do yourself no favors by burning these tasty morsels to a crisp! Add about 2 potatoes worth of the fries to the oil and let them sizzle! Keep a close eye on them, and check their undersides frequently. Once they're starting to turn a crispy golden brown, flip them using a spatula or your preferred flipping utensil. Let them go another few minutes, adding some garlic and rosemary right before you're ready to take them out.


4. THEY'RE BROWNED! TAKE THEM OUT!! TAKE THEM OUT!! Phew, that was close - that one looks a little blackened. Good thing you have me to keep an eye on you. Place them in a bowl or on a plate with a paper towel to absorb the runoff oil. Put the place somewhere warm, like inside an oven set to warm, perhaps. Add the rest of your oil and fry up the second batch. These will go faster than the first, so be ready to flip them faster, but still follow the same general procedure as above.


5. Aaaannd, that's it! You're done! Serve them up with some sloppy bozzies and enjoy!


I hope you enjoyed our joint post this evening (it was afternoon when we started it) as much as we enjoyed cooking it. Well, I guess that'll only happen if you cook it. So cook it! Tada! I'm hungry - I'm going to go make food now. Tata!