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The rich creaminess of green chili sauce makes it a great compliment to mac & cheese.  We added a good layer of green chili on bottom of the baking pan (about 2 cups) and made mac cheese as usual.

For the sauce, saute a two or three thinly sliced shallots in olive oil until caramelized in a small sauce pan.  Add 4-5 cloves of chopped garlic, two chopped jalapeno peppers, a couple tablespoons of tomato paste, and a few tablespoons of Garam Masala and cook a few minutes.  De-glaze pan with about a cup of white wine and cook over high heat for a few minutes.  Add a small can of tomatoes (without the juices) and some stock.  Blend and cook unit desired consistency is reached.

For the rice, cook basmati or something similar according to instructions.  Once finished, fold in the juice of 1 Tangelo (or another citrus fruit), most of the rind, and a healthy handful of chopped cilantro.

Season thick cut pork chops liberally with salt, pepper, and Garam Masala and saute over high heat until nicely browned.  Lower heat to medium and baste with butter until they are just cooked through.

For the beans: soak dried pintos over night.  In a medium pot, saute thinly sliced bacon over high heat.  Remove and saute finely chopped onion and jalapeno peppers in fat from bacon.  Add the bacon, the beans, and a few cups of water or stock to the pot.  Cook unit beans are soft and mash.  Add salt, pepper, and hot sauce to taste.

For the cabbage & avocado salad:  in a large bowl, whisk together the juice from 2-3 fresh limes, a few tablespoons of blood orange vinegar, and salt and pepper.  Slowly drizzle olive oil into the mixture while whisking until you reach desired consistency.  Add chopped cabbage and sliced avocado.

To finish: bake a flour or corn tortilla until slightly crispy.  Remove from the oven, add bean spread and top with cheese.  Bake until cheese is melted and golden.  Top with salad and serve.

D’Artagnan has these great duck legs confit and smoked duck breasts, which you can now find at most supermarkets.  And if not, order them online.  They are already cooked, so all you have to do is warm them up and you’ve saved some time.  I started this chili by scoring the skin of the breasts and cooking those over high heat in a large pot and then cooked the duck legs over lower heat.  Shred/chop all the meat, set aside, and reserve bones for a stock.

The fat rendered from warming the duck provides an ideal base for the chili. Create a paste out of 3-4 tablespoons of tomato paste, 3-4 tablespoons of chili powder, garam masala, and whatever other spices you have on hand and like in chili (cumin, nutmeg, etc).  Cook this paste in the duck fat until the mixture becomes slightly rusty in color.  Add a large can of whole peeled tomatoes, about 3/4 cup of bbq sauce, 1 or 2 canned chipotles, and a head of roasted garlic.  Cook for 20 minutes or so and puree with hand held blender.

Separately, saute the sausage over high heat, remove and add a mixture of chopped onions/shallots and peppers (we used poblano, jalepeno, and habanero this time) to the saute pan.

Add everything to the pot with a few cups of stock and simmer for a few hours (adjusting with stock and spice as necessary).

Garnish with some cheese and serve with a pickleback shot of Jameson.

Mr. Lucas Giokas prepares the picklebacks.