Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili

Snowpacolypse/Thundersnow/Traffic Nightmare of 2011 left us at 1346 relatively unscathed... while others in the DC area were sitting in their cars for 13 hours and having babies on the Beltway, I took advantage of OPM's early dismissal for the federal government, made it home pretty quickly on the bus, and made some sweet potato and black been chili and cast-iron skillet cornbread with corn. Chili and cornbread... ain't nothin' wrong with that!
Colleen came over for some intense crafting (the results of which will be posted soon), we chowed down on this warming meal, and we topped if off with some "special" hot chocolate. No better way to spend this year's Thundersnow/Snowpacolypse/Traffic Nightmare.

Okra and Tomatos with Skillet Cornbread

Tonight's meal perfectly captures the transition from summer to fall we're experiencing here in DC... summer ingredients from the CSA (okra, tomatoes, corn on the cob, jalapeno) and a warming, earthy, autumnal hint from the red wine reduction compliment our warm, but not sweaty days and breezy, maybe-I-should-have-brought-a-sweater nights.

Okra and tomatoes are quick-stewed with red wine, onions, garlic, thyme and bay leaves, while the crispy skillet corn bread is kicked up a notch by fresh toasted corn and jalapeno, plus some grated cheddar cheese.

Skillet Cornbread!

Made this skillet cornbread to a) go alongside my butternut squash chili and b) utilize my pimpin' new cast iron skillet that Mike and Jamie gave me for my birthday.

(note: chiles added for artistic effect only)

It's kind of a semi-homemade trick, but amped up a little bit (plus, if the Washington Post approves of using the boxed mix, then I feel justified). I used 2 boxes of Jiffy cornbread mix, mixed in the requisite amount of milk and eggs, and then threw in some fresh CSA corn that I cut off the cobs and sauteed quickly in some butter (2 ears). I used the 10.5 inch skillet.

I used this method of skillet-baked cornbread: while you're preheating the oven, throw the skillet in there to heat up, too. When you're ready to put the batter in, take the skillet out, throw a tablespoon or two of butter in there so it melts and coats the bottom/sides of the pan, then top it off with the batter and shove it back in the oven. Makes the crust super crispy and delicious!

First Rhubarb of the Season

Made a cornbread-crusted strawberry rhubarb cobbler with rhubarb from the farmers' market (strawberries aren't quite out yet here- I got those at the Giant). Mmmm. Rather than follow the directions for the cornbread topping, I just used a box of Jiffy cornbread mix with an egg and a cup of leftover buttermilk that I wanted to use up. Worked out just fine!

Chipotle Tamale Pie

Made this chipotle tamale pie thingy for dinner because I needed to use up a can of chipotle in adobo I had opened... it was basically chili with a built-in cornbread top, but that's fine by me! We needed a break from root vegetables. 2.5 months of eating things that grow underground can get a little old.

I made a bunch of substitutions based on what I had in the house (and what I like): ground beef instead of turkey, yellow and orange peppers instead of green (green = gross), black beans instead of pinto. Plus I threw a handful frozen corn in, too.