44. Learn how to cook 10 traditional American dishes (2.5/10) - Southern Style Sun Tea

In the lazy, hazy days of summer, when the mercury hits well over a hundred and its just to darn hot to even work let alone boil water, its time to make a cup of sun tea in the good old south.. Sun tea is basically brewing tea using nothing more than the natural energy of the sun and you know what, it really does actually taste that little bit better than the hot water kind...

Ingredients 
6-8 cups of water
4-6 tea bags

Directions:
Wash container thoroughly with warm water and anti-bacterial soap (to ensure no bacterial growth during brewing process). Fill container with cold water water, add tea bags, cover the container securely and place the container in the direct sunlight for at least two hours.

Taste periodically and once its to your personal liking, remove the tea bags, pour into glasses and serve over ice. Drink tea within a few hours to once again, avoid any bacterial growth.

Feel free to add a touch of lemon, lime, a couple of sprigs of mint or even a couple of crushed raspberries.. the end result? You've captured summer in a jar... delicious!

44. Learn how to cook 10 traditional American dishes (2.5/10) - Meat Loaf a la Drill Site Manager (DSM)

A couple of weeks ago I headed south... very south, to a town called Laredo, right on the Texas / Mexican border to shadow our most senior Drill Site Manager on site and learn as much as I possibly could about drilling operations. While there I got more than I bargained for... Every night while out on site the DSM cooked dinner for me... grilled steak and twice baked potatoes on night, meatloaf and mashed potato the next and finally burritos.. delish, who knew DSM's could be such wonderful cooks?!? However the real standout was the deliciously spicy and tomatoey meatloaf - my first taste ever of this very traditional American dish. Well I couldn't help but ask for the recipe so I could give it a go myself once back at home... 

On site with Chevron at H&P 227 in Liz field, Laredo, Texas

I'm only accepting this as a half credit as technically the recipe calls for 'cheating' by using a packet spice mix (don't get me wrong, I love packet mixes... but i want to learn how to make recipes from scratch, with ingredients that I could, realistically expect to be able to come across almost anywhere and therefore be able to make the dish whether in the States, Australia, Indonesia, Nigeria... anywhere our oily expat life could take us)

The not so traditional spice packet from McCormicks

Therefore I am going to try and make this dish again from scratch, with a different recipe, but I loved the unique story behind this dish soooo much and it was such a tasty meal, that I just had to blog about it... besides meatloaf is sooo stereotypically American that I'm sure to give this another try at some point without the help from McCormicks!!

The 'Official' ingredients for DSM Meatloaf

Ingredients: 

2  pounds minced meat

1  packet McCormick Meat Loaf Seasoning Mix

2  eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup ketchup 

1  jalapeno, diced and de-seeded 

1  onion, diced

2 teaspoons garlic

1 small can tomato sauce / paste

1/2 cup medium picante sauce (salsa)

a dash of Tabasco sauce

Directions: 

Mix the McCormick Meat Loaf Seasoning Mix, mince, beaten eggs, milk, bread crumbs, jalapeno, onion and garlic in a large bowl, until well blended.

The ingredients, mixed and ready to go into the cake tin

Place meat mixture into a 9x5 load pan, ensuring that it is packed into the pan tightly, top with ketchup, tomato sauce and picante sauce (add Tabasco if desired)

Ready for the Oven

Bake in 375 degree Fahrenheit over for approximately an hour or until cooked through. Serve with mashed potato and buttered green beans for a truly authentic DSM meat loaf experience.

The finished product, minus the mashed potato 

I must admit it wasn't as good as the one I had on site but still for something so simple and easy it was pretty damn delicious... now I completely understand why its such a staple meal for hardworking mothers and wives in the States... little prep time, few ingredients, hard to overcook... and tasty!! 

44. Learn how to cook 10 traditional American dishes (2/10) - Tailgate Chili

Ah does it get more authentically Texan than Chili? I would argue yes (fajitas, bar-b-que , chicken fried steak) however I would officially be WRONG! Would you believe that the Texas Legislature officially proclaimed chili as the official ‘state food’ of Texas in 1977 ‘in recognition of the fact that the only real ‘bowl of red’ is that prepared by Texans’ so I guess I’m overruled! So in honor of my adopted state I decided it was time to make chili, (the negative temperatures may of influenced my decision a little as well) however it is interesting to note that the addition of beans in chili is controversial at best in Texas as ‘If you know beans about chili, you know chili ain’t got no beans’ – if you’re a Texan chili purist you don’t add beans but I just had to… for nutritional value!!

Tailgate Chili

Ingredients

1kg mince beef

500g Italian sausage

3 cans chili beans, drained

1 can chili beans in spicy sauce

1 6 ounce can tomato paste

1 yellow onion, chopped

4 stalks celery, chopped

1 large green capsicum, chopped

1 large red capsicum, chopped

2 green chile peppers, seeded and chopped

3 pieces Canadian bacon, cooked and chopped

4 beef stock cubes

1 375ml bottle of beer

¼ cup of chili powder

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 tbsp dried oregano

2 tsps ground cumin

2 tsps Tobasco

1 tsps dried basil

1 tsp salt

1 tsps ground black pepper

1 tsps paprika

1 tsps white sugar

All the ingredients for the Chili - I like to use a rich beer like an American Amber for added flavour (Love Breckenridge Brewery Avalanche Ale) and I buy my tomatoes with the green chilli already added in... less chopping!! 

Directions

Heat a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Cook the sausage and the bacon, remove from pan and chop into small pieces. Crumble the ground beef (mince) into the hot pan and add the sausage. Cook until evenly browned. Drain off excess fat and liquid.

All the mincy sausagey goodness ready for the next step

Pour in the chili beans, spicy chili beans, diced tomato and tomato paste. Add the onion, celery, green and red capsicum, chile peppers, bacon bits, stock cubes and beer. Season with chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, oregano, cumin, Tabasco, basil, salt, peper, cayenne, paprika and sugar. Stir to blend, then cover and simmer over a low heat for at least two hours, stirring occasionally. 

Having added all the ingredients the next step is to wait... perhaps with a nice Avalanche Ale??

After 2 hours, taste and adjust the salt, pepper and chili powder as required and allow to simmer for another hour - remember the long the chili simmers, the better it will taste. Remove from heat and refrigerate for eating the next day (again it will intensify the taste!)

Ready to be thrown in the fridge overnight to intensify the flavour

Serve the chili with corn chips, a sprinkling of cheese and sour cream - Texans call this a Frito Pie (Frito-Lay is the brand of corn chips traditionally used) or scoop out a twice baked potato and replace the filling with chili. Perfect comfort food on a cold and chilly evening!! 

Bon Apettite!!