For my next trick, I've been toying with over-complicating the humble Sloppy Joe.
It's not exactly what you think about when you think of haute cuisine so it's the perfect candidate for thinking way too much about.

Prior Art

A quick glance over prior art shows that the vast majority of the recipes out there are Ketchup based. I'm not going to turn my nose up at ketchup, it's probably the widest used condiment in the world, and it holds that title for a reason. I think we can do better.

bell pepper and onion are the next two on the commons list. I think that makes sense. I may char the pepper first to help bring out some flavors. I also want to make a side batch with some pablanos to see if there's merit in that approach.

Worcestershire sauce is a common thread, not going to mess with that one.

Chilli powder. This I can work with. I'm not going to go with the near tasteless pre-packaged powder that you get at the grocery store.

Sugar.... let's not and see? caramelization or carrots is the key here.

Mustard is common. I have a visceral reaction to the basic yellow stuff. I. Can't, Deal. Gonna go with mustard powder or perhaps some horseraddish?

Garlic. Go roasted or go home.

Meat. usually just plain old ground beef

These are the common ingredients in your run of the mill SloJoe. Here's where we have fun.

My Plan

Long roasted, fully caramelized, plum tomatoes fed through a ricer will be the canvas upon which we make our sauce. The reduced juice of some celery, carrot, leeks and onion will be our mirepoix concentrate to add some depth to the mix. fire roasted green pepper or poblano join the mix along with a few oven roasted garlic cloves. Onions will be slightly caramelized and added to the sauce. A good mix of dried toasted and ground ancho and pastilla chilies will make our chili powder. I'll look into the mustard/horseradish situation when I get there. Some Worcestershire sauce to round it all off with some butter, thyme, and some cumin to finish it off.

As for our meat. I am planning a semi-dry aged beef chuck that's got a coarse grind on it, with perhaps a bit of mince tossed in for texture variation.

Buns are a concern. I'm thinking Keiser, or hawaiian. I then gotta come up with a good cheese to pop on.