Friday, February 21, 2014

Derek's Spring Book Sale

It's a new year! Time to clear out the old inventory to make way for the 2014s! Or something like that.

Derek has a new book coming out in the next few months, so he is putting his first two books on sale... at their lowest prices ever!


U.S. Residents Only




First, there's Colonnade: A Life In Columns, a chronicle of Derek's first two years living in New York City. The ups and downs, the boyfriend drama, 9/11 and lessons learned along the way. And it all ends with the launch of your favorite radio show: Derek and Romaine! Talk about a happy ending. Colonnade is also available now for the Kindle, Nook, and iPad.



Derek's second book is When Nightlife Falls. The fun begins when Derek buys his house in Westchester and struggles to hold onto his social life now that he is in the suburbs. Complicated matters as a handsome new stranger and the emotional entanglements that come along with it! Nightlife is also available for Kindle, Nook and iPad if you are digitally inclined.



So buy one, buy them both, all at a great low price! All for a limited time!



U.S. Residents Only






Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Manhattan Chili's Super Bowl Recipe

THE DEREK & ROMAINE RADIO RECIPE FOR SUPER BOWL CHILI
by Bruce Sterman
serves 6 – 8

A basic chili recipe to improvise on – ‘QUANTO BASTA’ (qb) in Italian cookbooks, meaning
“as much as you need.” This recipe can be a mild or hot as you want it to be
◊ 3 lbs meat total
o can be all beef or a mixture of ½ beef ½ pork
o can use turkey or chicken (preferably thigh meat)
 half (1 ½ lb) ground
 half (1 ½ lb) cut into ½” cubes
◊ 2 large yellow onions, peeled and coarsely chopped (about 4 cups)
◊ 6 medium garlic cloves, peeled and minced
◊ 2 to 3 tablespoons yellow cornmeal
◊ 2 cans (16 oz each) dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed (white beans if using poultry)
◊ 1 can Tomato Puree (28 ounces)
◊ 4 cups beef stock/beef broth (chicken broth if using poultry)
◊ 1 ½ cups hearty dry red wine (white wine if using poultry)

Basic Seasoning
◊ 2 teaspoons SEA salt
◊ 1 teaspoon Black pepper
◊ 2 tablespoons ground cumin
◊ 1 tablespoon dried oregano

Optional vegetables
◊ 3 large celery stalks, finely chopped
◊ 2 large sweet green peppers, stemmed, cored and diced
◊ 2 large sweet red peppers, stemmed, cored and diced
Spiciness* (Quanto Basta: as much as you need)

A. Mild chili
 1/3 cup ancho (mild) chile powder

B. Medium hot chili
 1/3 cup ancho (mild) chile powder
 1 teaspoon chipotle chile powder, or 1 teaspoon chipotle en adobo

C. Hot Hot chili
 1/3 cup ancho (mild) chile powder
 2 teaspoon chipotle powder, or to taste
 1 (7 oz) can “chipotle en adobo” pureed - add a little water when
pureeing (if available get La Morena brand)
*(IF you can’t find either kind of chile powder or chipotle en adobo, improvise
with fresh jalapeños (or roasted jalapeños). Put in at step #5.

Fun Toppings (in addition to sour cream, shredded cheese, diced red onion)
◊ Tortilla Chip crumble – buy a bag of chips that taste good, put in food processor
◊ Corn Bread Crumble - buy tasty corn bread and crumble
◊ Bacon Crumble – cook bacon to medium crispy, dice.


THE DEREK & ROMAINE RADIO RECIPE FOR SUPER BOWL CHILI
by Bruce Sterman
serves 6 – 8

2)PROCEDURE

1. Set a 4 ½- to 5-quart heavy flameproof casserole or Dutch oven over medium heat.
Add the beef, season with salt, and cook, uncovered, stirring often, until the meat is
evenly crumbled and has lost all pink color, about 20 minutes.

2. While meat is cooking slowly sprinkle in the cornmeal, stir until absorbed.

3. Add the onions and garlic, lower the heat slightly, and cook, stirring once or twice,
until very tender, about 20 minutes.

4. Stir in the chile powders (Ancho, Chipotle), cumin, oregano, and cook, stirring, for 5
minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, beef stock, and red wine and bring to a boil.

5. If you are going to add the fresh diced vegetables (celery, red and green bell pepper),
do so here. Cook, tossing and stirring, for about 5 minutes, or until the peppers are
lightly browned.

6. Lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour.

7. Taste the chili, correct the seasoning, cook until the meat is tender and the chili has
reduced (thickened) to your liking.

8. Stir in the kidney beans and simmer for another 5 minutes, or until heated through.

9. Cool the chili OVERNIGHT by
• putting in the fridge uncovered or use plastic wrap with holes poked in it, or
• on the window sill of a slightly opened window or
• on the table in your backyard.
• NEVER COMPLETELY COVER HOT CHILI – it will spoil if you do!!

10. Reheat to serving temperature and taste it! Now it when you adjust salt, pepper to to
make it hotter.



USEFUL DEFINITIONS:
Chile powder: ground chiles. Not to be confused with supermarket “chile powder” or”chili
powder” which is a pre-mixed blend of ground chiles, salt, pepper, cumin, onion
powder, garlic powder. To be avoided.

Chipotle: a jalapeño that is allowed to ripen (become red) and is then smoked.