Happy New Year to all you chileheads out there! Welcome to the first 2005 edition of The Heat!. As always,The Heat! is brought to you by Chef Jay and Chile-Pepper-Sauces.com.

Chef Jay's Ramblings!

Are there any more important things in the world than family and food? I can't think of any.

Lisa and I spent our New Year weekend in Atlanta. It was both a happy and sad time, filled with lots of food and family.

We spent the weekend with the family of Lisa's father. Her grandmother was the center of attention, but there were also many great aunts and great uncles, brothers, sisters, nieces, uncles and aunts(and probably some I am forgetting).

Unfortunately we had gathered in Atlanta from all parts of the country to honor the passing of John Jay, Lisa's grandfather.

John was a wonderful man that I only had the pleasure of meeting twice. But, he made me feel as if I were a member of the family from the moment we met. In fact, I asked Lisa to marry me at their home the very first night I was there, June 12, 2003.

John lived 92 years, served our country during WW II, married a wonderful woman Anne, and raised two sons. Tom, his eldest, is Lisa's father.

So, what does this have to do with cooking? or peppers? Not much, other than the fact that John and his family allowed me into their hearts and kitchen.

As the newest member of the family I was allowed to cook breakfast for the whole clan. I have told you before, my favorite breakfast is a jalapeno omelette. So, I cooked omelettes for the family on New Year's morning, jalapenos and all. It took some assistance from Lisa, her brother and his wife, but breakfast went off without a hitch.

The rest of the weekend was filled with food and memories. I heard of many stories about John and his life, and the family learned a little about me. I think I may be on my way to converting a few of them into chileheads, but they did make me feel like a member of the family.

I hope your New Year's was filled with as much love and eating as ours was.

Now, in this issue I will be sharing recipes from two ladies whose recipes I use constantly. I've got a great pot roast recipe from Chef Sharon Worster for you. But first, two recipes from Linda of Recipe Lovers.

Recipe-Lovers.com is a wonderful collection of recipes and cooking tips from the kitchens of chefs around the world. I'm going to share a crock pot chili recipe and a recipe for Buffalo chicken bites. Chili is a great meal for cold weather and is easy to make your own by adding your favorite peppers, spices and seasonings. This recipe is simple and you can let it cook unattended for hours and have a great meal when you return.

Crock Pot Chili Recipe

Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground beef
1/3 cup onion, chopped
1 can tomato soup
1/2 can water
1 can chili beans
1/2 teaspoon mustard
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
8 ounces cheddar cheese, grated
1 pint sour cream
1 stalk green onion, diced

Directions:
In a large skillet brown the ground beef.  Drain.  In a crock pot combine the ground beef, 1/3-cup onion, tomato soup, water, seasonings.  Mix well.  Let simmer for 3 to 4 hours in crock pot.  Serve with grated cheese, sour cream, and onions on top if desired.

In honor of the football season, Buffalo chicken bites are a great party food. Or, if you're at the game, make these ahead of time for a simple tailgating snack. Either way, you'll love them and you can make them as hot as you want!

Buffalo Chicken Recipe

Ingredients:
Cooking spray
1 pound chicken breasts, cooked & cut into bite-size chunks
1/2 cup Tabasco sauce
3 tablespoons melted, reduced-calorie margarine
2 teaspoons dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Celery sticks
Reduced-fat salad dressing

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350-degrees. Coat a baking dish with the cooking spray and
place the chicken bites in the dish. In a small bowl, combine Tabasco sauce,
margarine, parsley and garlic powder. Pour evenly over the chicken. Bake for 20
minutes. Put a toothpick in each piece of chicken and place on serving tray.
Serve with celery sticks and salad dressing.

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Chef Sharon Worster is the founder and co-proprietor of Personal Chefs Network. PCN is one of the largest organizations for personal chefs in the world. In addition to a nurturing environment for aspiring chefs, it provides "cutting edge educational materials for newbie Personal Chefs and a professional network where support is fanatical."

Sharon also sells a line of jewelry designed specifically for chefs and food lovers. TheJewelryKitchen.com has a long line of bracelets, earrings, pendants and other fun cheffing products.

Her recipe for Pot Roast is the very best I have ever used. The secret behind it is the marinade. In fact I use this same marinade often when grilling large pieces of meat in my barbecue pit. Either way, you will use this recipe again and again. I do.

Neno's Pot Roast Recipe

Ingredients:
3 pounds beef chuck roast
2 cups Allegro Marinade, Plain
3/4 cup Tamari soy sauce
1/2 cup Balsamic vinegar
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
water
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
2 potatoes
1 package baby carrots, uncooked
8 whole boiler onions, small

Directions:
- Marinate the roast overnight in a Hefty one-zip with Allegro, Tamari and Balsamic Vinegar. It can be marinated for up to 24 hours.
-Put pot roast in a non-stick pan sprayed with non-stick spray, reserving marinade. Braise until good and brown on all sides. You can add a little olive oil if needed. When all sides are a bit brown, add the reserve marinade to the pan and brown on all sides some more. This will darken the color of the meat.
-Put the onions in boiling water for about 15 minutes or so, then cool to be able to remove the outer layer. Leave the root on. When the roast is brown, place it in the crock pot, then add the veggies on top.
-To the marinade left in the pan, add water until pan is about half full, about 6 cups. Stir well to mix any brown particles left after braising the roast. Mix the cornstarch with a bit of cold water. Turn up the heat, add salt to taste and when it comes to a boil, slowly add the cornstarch mixture. Bring this to a slow boil until it thickens, then pour it over the roast and veggies.
-Slow cook 6-8 hours on low. Ready to eat!

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