Devil’s Dare Chili

THERE IS NOTHING better on a cold January weekend than a belly-warming bowl of chili. But not everyone can handle the same levels of heat. So when I make chili for my annual winter chili and ale fest for a bunch of guys from the neighborhood, I make a really big vat of it. After the initial base preparation, I separate the chili into three or four different crock pots to simmer for an afternoon…

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Sleepy Sunday Pork and Chicken Stew

SOMETIMES, ON A WET or wintry Sunday, I walk into the kitchen after my morning coffee and say, “this feels like the perfect day for a stew.” A good stew fills the house with rich savory scents that can warm up the most dismal day! A good stew is always somewhat unique, depending on what happens to be in the fridge and freezer at the time. But the keys are meat, potatoes, onions and carrots.…

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A Year of Transitions: Looking back on 2017

IT’S 1:30 AM on the first day of 2018 as I start to write this and think back on all the cool things that happened in 2017 (like this photo with my friends from Synapse Films). It was truly a year of transitions for me. The DVD of the Grateful Dead Farewell Concert at Soldier’s Field in Chicago is playing a few feet away on my big screen TV right now — watching that seemed…

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