Super Bowl Six-Layer Dip

I’ve never been a big football fan, but for some strange reason, I’ve really gotten into it the past few weeks. And who have I been rooting for? None other than the Baltimore Ravens. Unfortunately, they lost their playoff game this past Saturday, which means I don’t really care about watching the Super Bowl for the game itself, but I’ll be tuned in to the commercials and eating good food during the game. Enter this dip for game time diversion.

Everyone loves seven-layer dip, but it usually involves ground beef, which I am obviously not cool with. And I’m kind of over meat substitutes (Trader Joe’s soy chorizo, I’m looking at you), so I just left out the seventh layer and made this a six-layer dip. Blasphemy, I know, but it’s tasty, I swear, and you’ll never miss that seventh layer.

Vegetarian Three-Bean Chili

I don’t know why people can’t make chili without meat. Seriously, what’s so hard about it? Something must be, because the very few versions of vegetarian chili I’ve had weren’t so great. They were basically a flavorless concoction of every vegetable known to man thrown into a pot – I’m sorry, but that’s not chili, it’s some sort of tasteless vegetable stew.

So because I can’t find chili that bears any semblance to the version that is loved by carnivores, I had to resort to making my own. The first version of this came about a few years ago, and, over the years, the list of ingredients has grown to include chipotle peppers and dark chocolate (to evoke the taste of a mole sauce). Don’t be daunted – this is seriously the easiest thing to make. Serve it with some jalapeno cheddar cornbread (recipe forthcoming) for a really easy and totally comforting meal – perfect for a cold and icy night like the one we’re having here in Baltimore.

Stuffed Poblanos

Simply put, I adore Mexican food. Sadly, though, there are few good Mexican joints in Baltimore. In fact, I’ve only had Mexican once in the 15 months I've lived in this city. Sad, indeed.

Back in NYC, there are tons of great Mexican places, and a few that my mom – a fellow Mexican food aficionado – and I particularly loved: