Chorizo and the Man

Much like celebrity deaths, good food blog posts come in threes. And so, here is the third and final recipe from my rebel high school reunion weekend. This one comes via Anne (who lives in Milwaukee) via her brother-in-law Pedro (who lives in Washington DC, but is from Puerto Rico) who picked this one up in Spain. Still with me? Good. Chorizo (Spanish, not Mexican),  hard sparkling cider, and an onion.  The good news is, we found the chorizo at my favorite gourmet market, Folgarelli's, and it included a mandatory trip to the best cidery (not to be confused with a cider mill) in Northern Michigan, Tandem Ciders. Located just North of the 45th Parallel, it is a terrific little place that uses local apples from a grove that specializes in antique varieties (which is not to say that they are old apples, just old seeds). Anyway, we served up this tasty treat with some pizza bianca (see What You Talkin' bout Pizza Bianca), but any good crusty bread will do. Have food, will travel.

Chico and the Man, NBC's 1974 answer to CBS' All in the Family. A unique storyline of a west-coast bigot named Ed (played by Jack Albertson) and the young Chicano Chico (played by Freddie Prinze) who shows him the sunny side of  Mexican (not Spanish) East LA. Set in an auto garage, not to be confused with a junkyard (that's another cantankerous old man/young man storyline), courtesy of Jame Komack- who brought us the endearing Courtship of Eddie's Father- after being inspired by a Cheech and Chong skit aptly titled "Pedro and the Man." In the first episode, Chico moves into an abandoned van on Ed's property - I guess we should be glad they didn't name the show "Chico and the Van". Anyway, the show was a hit until Prinze's untimely suicide in 1977. And sadly, the producer's felt the show must go on, and it did for a time but was never the same.


The Recipe:

12 oz Chorizo (if you didn't get the message - Spanish NOT Mexican)
1 large onion, sliced thin
1/2 bottle Cidre (Spanish, NOT Mexican sparkling cider)

Slice the chorizo about 1/8 inch thick (or thin as the case may be) on an angle. Saute in a large pan with the sliced onion until the onion is soft and the chorizo is lightly brown. Add the cidre and simmer a  loooong time until liquid is mostly reduced (30 minutes - hour). Serve with toothpicks and crusty bread. Buen Provecho.

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