by Wilbur, Todd
9. While the eggrolls freeze prepare the avocado-ranch dipping sauce by combining all of the ingredients in a small bowl.
10. Preheat 6 to 10 cups oil (use the amount required by your fryer) to 375 degrees.
11. Deep fry the eggrolls in the hot oil for 12 to 15 minutes and remove to paper towels or a rack to drain for about 2 minutes.
12. Slice each eggroll diagonally lengthwise and arrange on a plate around a small bowl of the dipping sauce. Garnish the dipping sauce with the chopped tomato and onion.
• SERVES 3 TO 4 AS AN APPETIZER.
CHILI’S CHICKEN ENCHILADA SOUP
It’s an item that you won’t find on the menu at this national restaurant chain, but ask your server about the soups du jour and you’ll find this one is available every day of the week. This soup also happens to be one of Chili’s most raved-about items, and the subject of many a recipe search on the TSR website (www.TopSecretRecipes.com). Part of the secret in crafting your clone is the addition of masa harina—a corn flour that you’ll find in your supermarket near the other flours, or where all the Mexican foodstuffs are stashed.
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 Ib. of skinless chicken breast
fillets (approx. 3 fillets)
½ cup diced onion
1 clove garlic, pressed
4 cups chicken broth
I cup masa harina
3 cups water
I cup enchilada sauce
one 16-ounce box Velveeta, diced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon ground cumin
GARNISH
shredded Cheddar cheese
crumbled corn tortilla chips
salsa or pico de gallo
1. Add I tablespoon of oil to a large pot over medium heat. Add chicken breasts to pot and brown for 4 to 5 minutes per side. Set chicken aside.
2. Add onion and garlic to the pot and saute over medium heat for about 2 minutes, or until onion begins to become translucent. Add chicken broth.
3. Combine masa harina with 2 cups of water in a medium bowl and whisk until blended. Add masa mixture to pot with onion, garlic and broth.
4. Add remaining water, enchilada sauce, cheese and spices to pot and bring mixture to a boil.
5. Shred the chicken into small, bite-size pieces and add it to the pot. Reduce heat and simmer soup for 30 to 40 minutes or until thick.
6. Serve soup in cups or bowls, and garnish with shredded Cheddar cheese, crumbled corn tortilla chips, and a spoonful of your favorite salsa or pico de gallo.
• MAKES APPROXIMATELY 12 SERVINGS.
CHILI’S SOUTHWESTERN VEGETABLE SOUP
If you like soup that’s packed with veggies, that’s low in fat, and has some of that Southwestern za-za-zing to it, this is the soup for you. Just toss all the ingredients in a pot and simmer. Garnish with some shredded cheese and crumbled tortillas, and prepare to take the chill off.
6 cups chicken broth (Swanson is
best)
114.5-ounce can diced tomatoes,
with juice
1 cup water
1 cup canned dark red kidney
beans, with liquid
1 cup frozen yellow cut corn
1 cup frozen cut green beans
14-ounce con diced
green chilies
½ cup diced Spanish onion
½ cup tomato sauce
6 corn tortillas, minced
1 ½ teaspoons chili powder
dash garlic powder
GARNISH
1 cup grated CheddarlJack
cheese blend
1 cup crumbled corn tortilla chips
1. Combine all the soup ingredients in a large saucepan or soup pot over high heat. Be sure to mince the corn tortillas into small pieces with a sharp knife before adding them to the soup.
2. Bring soup to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the soup has thickened and tortilla pieces have mostly dissolved.
3. To serve soup ladle 1 ½ cups into a bowl. Sprinkle a heaping tablespoon of the grated Cheddar/Jack cheese blend over the top of the soup, and then a heaping tablespoon of crumbled corn tortilla chips over the cheese.
• MAKES 6 SERVINGS.
CHILI’S HONEY MUSTARD DRESSING
One of America’s favorite casual chains brings us a popular salad dressing that you can’t buy in stores. Instead, buy these six simple ingredients at a store and make your own version cheaply and quickly.
⅔ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup honey
2 tablespoons Grey Poupon Dijon
mustard
1 teaspoon white vinegar
pinch paprika
pinch salt
Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk until combined.
• MAKES I CUP
TIDBITS
Use low-fat mayo for a lighter version, but you already figured that out, huh?
CHILI’S GRILLED BABY BACK RIBS
MENU DESCRIPTION: “Full rock of ribs ‘double-basted’ w/BBQ sauce. Served w/cinnamon apples & homestyle fries.”
One day the suits are sitting around a conference table taking in a pitch for TV ads filled with songs about baby back ribs and barbecue sauce. Soon after that Chili’s launches its campaign featuring choreographed cooks in the back kitchen banging on pots and pans and belting out a jazzy ode to the meaty entrée. Silly as it may seem, the tune was catchy, and the baby back ribs racked up big sales. Now you can sing your own tune as you re-create the Chili’s baby back experience without leaving the house. The flavor is found in the sauce, and the cooking secret is a slow-braising technique prior to grilling that will keep the meat juicy and tender like the original. And, hopefully, no one will see you dance.
SAUCE
1½ cups water
1 cup apple cider vinegar
½ cup tomato paste
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
⅔ cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon liquid hickory smoke
1 ½ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon paprika
4 racks baby back ribs
1. Make the barbecue sauce by combining all of the ingredients forthe sauce in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When it comes to a boil, reduce heat and simmer sauce, stirring often, for 45 to 60 minutes or until sauce is thick.
2. When you’re ready to make the ribs, preheat the oven to 275 degrees.
3. Brush sauce over the entire surface of each rack of ribs. Wrap each rack tightly in aluminum foil and arrange the packets on a baking sheet with the seam of the foil facing up. Bake for 2 to 2½ hours or until the meat on the ribs has pulled back from the cut ends of the bones by about ½ inch. When the ribs are just about done, preheat your barbecue grill to medium heat.
4. Remove the ribs from the foil (careful not to burn yourself—the liquid inside will be hot!) and grill them on the barbecue for 4 to 8 minutes per side or until the surface of the ribs is beginning to char Brush sauce on both sides of the ribs a few minutes before you remove them from the grill. Just be sure not to brush on the sauce too soon or it could burn.
5. Serve the ribs with extra sauce on the side and lots of napkins.
• MAKES 4 SERVINGS.
CHILI’S CHOCOLATE CHIP PARADISE PIE
MENU DESCRIPTION: “We start with a worm, chewy bar layered with chocolate chips, walnuts and coconut. Topped with vanilla ice cream and drizzled with hot fudge and caramel.”
One thing that makes this dessert special is the way it comes to your table sizzling in a cast-iron skillet just like fajitas. The chocolate chip cookie and graham cracker crust “pie” sits in a hot skillet on top of bubbling cinnamon butter. It’s topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and then finished with walnuts, chocolate and caramel syrup. If you’re a cloning perfectionist and want to present this dessert exactly like they do at the
restaurant, you’ll need a small skillet for each serving. Small cast-iron skillets are the best, but any 6 or 8-inch frying pan will do fine. You just have to be sure your pan is good and hot to get that authentic Chili’s “sizzle” when you lay in the goodies. If you’ve got a big crew to feed and don’t have enough skillets for each serving, you can add the cinnamon butter to individual serving plates, microwave the plates until the butter melts, then build each serving on the warm plates. It may not have the sizzle of the real thing, but it’ll still taste like paradise.
COOKIE LAYER
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ cup butter, softened ( I stick)
⅓ cup granulated sugar
1 egg
I tablespoon milk
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup shredded coconut
CRUST LAYER
6 tablespoons butter (¾ stick)
¼ cup sugar
1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs
1 ¼ cups semi-sweet chocolate
chips
½ cup chopped walnuts
CINNAMON BUTTER
½ cup butter, softened (I stick)
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
9 scoops vanilla ice cream
chocolate syrup
caramel syrup
6 tablespoons chopped walnuts
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
2. Combine the flour, baking soda and baking powder in a medium bowl.
3. In a separate large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Continue beating for about 30 seconds or until mixture turns lighter in color, Add the egg, milk, and vanilla and beat until smooth.
4. Slowly mix the dry mixture into the wet mixture. Beat until combined and then mix in the coconut flakes. Set this cookie dough aside for now.
5. Melt 6 tablespoons of butter in a medium bowl in the microwave on high for about 30 seconds. Add the sugar and stir well for 30 seconds. Add the graham cracker crumbs and stir. Press this mixture into the bottom of a 9x9-inch baking dish or pan.
6. Sprinkle the cup of chocolate chips evenly over the graham cracker crust.
7. Press the cookie dough into the dish, covering the chocolate chips. Use flour on your fingers to keep the soft dough from sticking.
8. Sprinkle the chopped walnuts over the dough. Use your fingers to press the nuts into the dough.
9. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until the edges of the “pie” become light brown.
10. Prepare the cinnamon butter by creaming together the butter, sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl with an electric mixer on high speed.
11. When you are ready to make your dessert, heat up a small skillet over medium heat. When the skillet is hot, remove it from the heat then add about I tablespoon of the cinnamon butter to the pan. It should quickly melt and sizzle. Slice the “pie” into 9 pieces and place one into the hot skillet. If the “pie” has cooled, you can reheat each slice by zapping it in the microwave for 30 to 40 seconds.
12. Place a scoop of ice cream on top of the “pie.” Drizzle chocolate and caramel syrup over the dessert and then sprinkle about 2 teaspoons of chopped walnuts over the top. Repeat for the remaining ingredients and serve sizzling in the skillet.
• MAKES 9 DESSERTS.
CHILI’S MOLTEN CHOCOLATE CAKE
MENU DESCRIPTION: “Warm chocolote coke w/chocolate fudge filling. Topped wlvanilla ice cream under a crunchy chocolate shell.”
Get out your “easy” button forthis one. While the clone recipe for this top-requested Chili’s dessert is extremely simple to make—and can even be made days ahead of time—the resulting presentation is impressive. A chocolate fudge cake mix is all you need for the cake part of the recipe. The cake batter is poured into the large cups of a Texas-size muffin pan. When the cakes are done and cooled, invert them and cut a cylindrical chunk out of the bottom where the hot chocolate is loaded. Keep the cakes covered in the fridge until dessert time. To serve, nuke each cake for 45 seconds, plop a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top, thereby concealing the fudge compartment, and top it off with a little Smucker’s Magic Shell (a chocolate topping that hardens on ice cream). When your diners dig into the cake, a delicious hot fudge center oozes out of the warm chocolate cake, and you’re launched up to superhero status.
CAKE
1 18,25-ounce box chocolate
fudge or dark chocolate coke
mix
1⅓ cups water
½ cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 bottle Hershey hot fudge
topping
8 scoops vanilla ice cream
Smucker’s Magic Shell chocolate
topping
GARNISH
caramel sauce
1. Make cake batter following directions on the box and pour ½ cup of batter into the greased cups of a large (Texas-size) muffin pan. If your pan has six cups, bake the cakes in two batches of 4 cakes each. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick stuck into the center of one cake comes out clean. Turn all of the cakes out of the pan and let them cool.
2. The cakes will be served upside down, so you may have to slice a bit of the domed top off the cakes to help them lay flat when inverted. A serrated sandwich knife works best for this. After you’ve flipped over all of the cooled cakes, use a sharp paring knife to cut out a 1 ½-inch diameter cylindrical chunk in the center of the bottom (now the top) of each cake. The hole should be about 1½ inches deep. After slicing straight down into the cake in a circle, scoop out the chunk of cake with a teaspoon and discard the piece. Now you have a secret compartment to conceal the hot fudge pay-load.
3. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of fudge into each of the holes you’ve made in the cakes, then store the cakes in a sealed container in the refrigerator
4. When you’re ready to serve, drizzle caramel sauce on each serving plate. Heat one cake at a time in the microwave for 40 to 45 seconds on high, or until you see the fudge begin to bubble. Remove the cake from the microwave and let it rest for 30 seconds or so. Put the cake on the plate, then add a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. Pour a coating of Magic Shell chocolate topping over the ice cream and serve.
• MAKES 8 DESSERTS.
CLAIM JUMPER GARLIC CHEESE BREAD
Claim Jumper restaurants may only be found in the West, but the chain can claim national recognition for its delicious garlic cheese bread and toast. That’s because you can find boxed loaves of the stuff ready for baking in the frozen food section of your well-stocked local supermarket. The recipe is such a simple one though, that it doesn’t take much longer to make the cheesy goodness from scratch, and you save a few shekels to boot. Plus, it’s nice to use fresh bread—your choice of either Texas toast or your favorite French loaf. (The restaurant serves the Texas toast version, and the supermarket version is a French loaf.) All you have to do for a clone is mix together a few basic ingredients, spread it generously on the bread of your choice, and pop it in the oven.
SPREAD
½ cup butter (1 stick)
¾ cup shredded Cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
cheese
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
¼ teaspoon salt
dash ground black pepper
dash paprika
BREAD
12 slices Texas toast (thick-sliced
white bread) or I large
French bread loaf, sliced
through the middle
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Combine all ingredients for the spread in a small bowl.
3. Smear spread generously on one side of each slice of Texas toast or on the face of each half of French bread loaf.
4. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until cheese begins to brown and bubble. Cut each slice of Texas toast in half befo
re serving, as they do in the restaurant. For the French bread, slice it as thick as you like.
• MAKES ABOUT 12 SLICES TOAST OR TWO LARGE HALVES OF FRENCH BREAD.
CLAIM JUMPER FIRE-ROASTED ARTICHOKE
MENU DESCRIPTION: “Marinated Fire-Roosted Split Artichokes Served with Tomato Relish and Garlic Mayo.”
I’ve been searching for the chain restaurant with the best recipe for roasted artichokes, and I think I’ve found it. With roasted garlic mayonnaise and a delicious tomato relish on the side, Claim jumper takes the prize. This recipe is for just one artichoke, but feel free to add another if more than a couple hungry mouths are waiting. Just be sure to double up on the tomato relish.