I can’t remember how this recipe developed.  It started with Newman’s Salsa, which is really good, and something I read in the newspaper.  The story talked about making some kind of stew.  Very easy. 

Get a big pot. Put in two 16 oz. jars (if you can find that size) of Newman’s Medium Salsa (“Hot” if you like it that way, or “Mild” if you like it that way). Put in two cans of black beans (same size cans as the salsa); put in two cans of corn (also the same size); mix it up and simmer on low.

Ground either 2 lbs. of ground beef or 2 lbs. of chicken, whichever you prefer for meat.  I guess you could use fish if you prefer that or tofu if you’re a veggie.  Once cooked, pour it into the pot, stir and heat for 10 minutes or so.  It’s ready.
 
The best way to serve this is with some garnish.  So.  Chop up some cilantro.  Put out some sour cream.  Pour chips into a bowl.  Fill a bowl with grated cheese.

Serve.

The mixture is cheaten’ chili.  You can win competitions with it. I have.  But the best part is using all the different garnishes to give it some additional texture.  My favorite is to crunch some chips on top, add cilantro and cheese.  My wife is a sour cream freak, so she loads that up. Make it the way you like it.
 
Everyone will love you. 

When you think of Wrigley Field in Chicago, you don’t think of cell phones and appetizers.  You think of baseball and the Cubs.  That’s why it’s weird that this Italian concoction sticks with me.

This event happened at the advent of the cell phone revolution.  It must have been around the spring of 2001, give or take a year or two.  My brothers and I were sitting outside the stadium after taking in a Cubs game, at a small Italian bistro, watching the street life. We ordered an appetizer we saw at another table.  Waiting for it to arrive, we began taking note of people walking, standing or driving cars while talking on their phones, a fairly new thing at the time.

Cracking jokes about people blah blahing into their phones, standing on top of the building next door, bumping into walkers while chatting obliviously, we dug into our bread.  The waiter came out, mixed some olive oil and fresh baked garlic, into some grated parmesan cheese. He mashed it all up.  The bread was steaming.  We dipped it into the mixture.  Heaven!
 
We pounded the first round of food and beverage, and asked the waiter for more.  We ate and drank, and mocked people who appeared molded to their cell phones, as the evening slipped away.

The dish itself is the essence of simplicity, recreated here for you on “Meals We Steal.” 
Buy a fresh loaf of Italian bread, fresh garlic, olive oil and grated parmesan cheese, if you don’t already have those ingredients at home.  Warm the bread.  You can bake the garlic or microwave it (put some water over it to moisten it).  Cook it just enough to soften it.  
 
Peel the garlic after it is heated.  Put it in a bowl, pour in some olive oil, mix in the cheese, mash it together, dip in the bread and enjoy.  It will be hard to stop eating, so yomight want to buy enough to feed an army.  You can astound your friends with this appetizer next time the Cubs go to the World Series.  Make sure to bring your cell phone.