Italian? Malaysian? I've got it, Mexican?  

These were all answers I received when I asked my friends what they thought my favourite type of food was to cook.  They were somewhat shocked when I stated...American!  Don't get me wrong, I love to cook all of the above and over time I have been inspired by all of these foods as well as many others.  Alas, when I need to pull out a dish which I can make without thinking, it's dishes which I have discovered through American influences that are my go to recipes.

I know what you're thinking now, what kind of American dishes could possibly compete with classical Italian, French, Spanish dishes etc.?  Well, a hot creamy macaroni cheese can be heavenly.  A bread roll filled with succulent steak, topped with fried onions and melted cheese are the main ingredients for a satisfying Philly cheese steak sandwich.  Then there is the cajun influence which encourages yours truly to knock up an amazing jambalaya.  Yep, all of these may well have been influenced by immigrants landing on American shores but it is on these shores with which the dishes can now call home.

Whilst visiting the state of Michigan (in fact this is the only state I've visited in the U.S.) I was given a cookbook about the legendary dishes of this fair land.  During my many change of addresses, this book has been lost or lies sitting in a dust covered box somewhere, but there is one recipe from this book which has become a tried and trusted success.  In the book it was called Superbowl Chilli, but I'm more of a fan of the sport with a round football, so I prefer to call it World Cup Chilli.  It has been made during the last FIFA world cups and when the 2014 World Cup kicks off later this month, it will again be made by the bucket load.

World Cup Chilli

Ingredients

Rice Bran Oil (its one of the good oils)
750g Minced Beef 
750g Minced Pork
2 Large onions finely chopped
2 sticks of celery finely chopped
2 large peppers (capsicum) finely chopped
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp ground oregano
1 tbsp chilli powder
1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 bottle of beer/lager (you can drink the rest whilst making dinner) 
1 tin of canned tomatoes
1 tin of baked beens
1 tin of kidney beans
1 beef stock cube
Salt and Pepper


Construction
1, Heat the oil in a large 5ltr cooking pot or something of a similar size.
2, Fry the beef and pork mince until brown, don't worry if it sticks slightly to the bottom of the pan, this all adds to the flavour.
3, Pour the cooked meats from the pan into a bowl and put to one side. Now fry the onions until they go clear and slightly brown.
4, Add the celery and peppers to the cooked onion and continue to cook until the celery begins to soften.
5, Add all the spices to the onion, celery and pepper mix.  By cooking the spices now, you are releasing all their goodness.
6, Add the meat to the pan and mix together the spice vegetables and meats.
7, Pour in the beer/lager and cook until the liquid has evaporated.
8, Now add the tomatoes and beens to the pot and bring to the boil.
9, I like to crumble the stock cube straight into the pan at this point.
10, Allow the chilli to now cook on a low heat for about an hour, be careful to not let the sauce stick to the bottom of the pan. The sauce should be thick and delicious before serving.


And this my friends is how you make a chilli fit for a world cup match with your mates. There are two ways I serve this up; with steamed rice or made into delicious nachos!  

Having trawled the archives of my greymatter, I can now recall the first time I experienced the good old English Breakfast at one of my Dads favourite greasy spoons. I should point out at this stage, whilst growing up, builders and cafes were synonomous and when asking where the next building job was, the first question they asked would be about the location of the local cafe for their breakfast ritual. 

Although i had had many a fry up at home, it wasn't until my first cafe visit with Dad that I experienced the "floating breakfast". Dad and I both ordered the full works with a cup of tea. In a scene which would give Food Hygiene inspectors a heart attack today, the cafe owner carried out our breakfasts; two plates, two mugs and half a smoking cigarette. 

As the plates were put down, a feast revealed itself in front of me; eggs, bacon, sausage, baked beans, tomatoes, black pudding and fried bread, all to be covered with HP sauce. What makes it a floating breakfast? All of the above ingredients, floated on a thin layer of grease and when you tipped the plate, everything would slide from one side to another like passengers on an Irish Sea ferry crossing. 

I'm pretty sure the local mechanic used less grease, however, with little understanding of the effect on my arteries, I got stuck in.  Using my fork to make random kebabs of all the parts that made up the breakfast, I worked my way through the feast. After finishing the heart attack inducing meal and washed it down with sweet tea, dad and I sat back and enjoyed the ambiance of the greasy spoon.

In the good old days when knocking up a breakfast such as this, it would be common to drop a knob of lard into the pan before beginning to fry.  Alas, these days with the onset of the health conscious diet, using rice bran oil is much more sensible choice.  If you really want to be healthy, well healthier, you might want to grill the sausages, bacon etc., but then can you call it a fry up?  The key element to an english breakfast is the timing.  You don't want to start cooking eggs, toast etc., at the same time as throwing your sausages in the pan, as you'll have a half plate of cold food.  

A quick tip from my South African buddy is to throw your sausages into boiling water, which ensures they are quickly cooked throughout and you only need to fry for a few minutes afterwards to get that lovely fried look.   Oh and for the fried bread, save this until you've cooked everything else in the pan, add some more oil and let that bread soak up all those tasty juices.

This isn't the healthiest of meals, even if you reduce the amount of frying as above but life is all about moderation and this really is a great treat every now and again.  Unfortunately the demise of the greasy spoon, certainly in the UK, has meant you'll be hard pressed to find the atmosphere I experienced above, alas the enjoyment of a full english cooked at home can be just as satisfying (and probably less likely to cause cancer).

Before the front door had even opened, the delicious smells emanating from Nans kitchen were escaping through her letterbox. It may not have won a Michelin star but Nans apple pie always got five stars from me and it was this good old fashioned fayre which I grew up to enjoy.  I was very fortunate to have had four ladies of this generation in my life, two in my home town, one in Scotland and one in Wales, all of whom knew how to keep you well fed.

The knowledge of keeping a family fed on very little, was passed down to my mum and I will be forever thankful for never being hungry as a child. It amazes me to this day, how mum kept a family of five fed and watered day in, day out, with never the same meal served up in the same week.  

At the age of ten it was my turn to start learning the time honoured tradition of cooking for the family and my mum made sure that I was fully trained.  From spaghetti bolognese to the traditional Sunday roast, by the time I was in my teens, I was both helping out and taking over cooking duties at home.  To be domesticated is never a bad thing, especially when later in life you decide to move to the otherside of the world and fend for yourself.

I guess it only fitting that I now find myself married to a wonderful woman who was once an executive chef.  Not only am I continuing to cook family traditions but learning new and wonderful recipes from my wife and this part of the world.

So this blog is a nod to all that influence yours truly and I hope to pass on family favourites to you all.