Chicken Chili... Just in time for Fall

One of my pet peeves is recipes that say they will take 30 minutes to cook but not only would it be impossible for a Top Chef to walk into the kitchen and get it done in 30 minutes, it gets every pot and gadget in the kitchen dirty. This makes you feel like a failure when it ends up taking over an hour to cook (not to mention another 1/2 hour to do the dishes). When you dissect the cooking times from even respected recipe sources, it's clear that the clock does not start when you walk into the kitchen; it starts after the ingredient list is assembled:  the onion is diced, garlic minced and chicken shredded.  Even then, there is sometimes fantasy timing. A couple of weeks ago there was a soup recipe in the Wall Street Journal "Slow Food Fast" column that claimed total time was 50 minutes.  When you added up just the cooking times, it was 56 minutes, not including the time to warm up pans or reheat the soup after after pureeing. You might not expect the WSJ to be experts on cooking, but you would at least think they could do the math.  

So enough of my rant.  How do I get dinner on the the table fast?  And without any many dishes?  One of my secrets is to use the freezer.  I freeze soups, stews, and the like in serving size amounts in 1 quart freezer zip bags.  I lay them flat to freeze, then they will stack pretty efficiently. To get dinner on the table in less than 15 minutes, I put the frozen bag into a large bowl of hot water until thawed (this takes maybe 10 minutes.. and you don't really get the bowl dirty), then empty the bag into a serving bowl and reheat a couple of minutes in the microwave.  Add some garnish (like avocado or sliced green onions) and it even seems special.  

Some things do freeze better than others.  I almost always have Lentil Soup in the freezer. Most vegetable soups are good (like Chicken Noodle or Minestrone), but some vegetables freeze better than others (carrots, winter squash, peppers, green beans, mushrooms, greens, onions are good, but broccoli, zucchini, and potatoes have texture issues).  Another trick is that if I am making something to just go into the freezer (as opposed to just freezing the last couple of servings of Beans and Greens when you realize that another day of eating beans will not improve your social standing) is to quickly cool down the pot of soup by putting it into the sink that is half filled with cold water and some ice.

Chicken Chili

The recipe that I adapted from Fine Cooking magazine called for store-bought rotisserie chicken, which I am sure would work just fine (but maybe not fine cooking when you learn what they inject the chickens with).  I usually start by boiling a cut up raw chicken with onions and carrots, essentially making broth, pulling out the chicken pieces as they get done, pulling the chicken off the bones, then put the bones back into the broth pot and cooking a while longer for broth. You could also start with left-over roasted chicken (maybe do a half recipe), or some left-over turkey.

Makes about 6 servings.

2 tablespoons oil
1 large onion, diced
4 - 5 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons oregano or Italian herb mix
1-2 jalapeno or other hot chiles, minced (optional, to taste)
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups shredded cooked chicken (chicken from ~ 4 pound chicken)
1 4 oz can green chiles
1 quart lower salt chicken broth
2 cans (15.5 oz) white beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups frozen corn
Salt to taste

Garnish (optional):  Shredded sharp cheddar cheese, avocado slices, sliced green onions, cilantro, lime wedges, sour cream or Greek or plain yogurt.

Heat oil in a large pot (5-6 quart).  Add the onion and cook until translucent (don’t brown). Add cumin, herbs, hot chiles, and garlic and cook until fragrant (just a minute or so).  Add the chicken, green chiles, broth, and 1 can of beans.  Bring to a low simmer and cook for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, mash the second can of beans – place in a small bowl and mash with a potato masher or fork. Add the mashed beans and corn to the chili.  As soon as it's back to a boil, it’s done.    Ladle into bowls and garnish as desired.

Succotash

Summer is supposed to be coming to an end, but the last week has been the hottest so far this summer... Not that hot compared to where lots of my friends live, but hot when you don't have air conditioning.  But I can't complain, because the ocean is not very far away and the water there is always cool.

Succotash is supposed to have lima beans in it (and they certainly could be added to the below recipe), but this mix of vegetables that has been serving me (and my house guests) well all summer.  And I'm still getting corn and zucchini farmers market.  It seems that often I have a nice mix of vegetables around, but not enough of any one thing to make a nice vegetable side.  So I just put them all together, and its the perfect accompaniment to whatever is coming off the grill.

Succotash

Don’t fret about the quantities, use whatever you have around.
This will feed about 4, scale as desired.

1 - 2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
2 – 3 ears of corn, cut from the cob
2 – 3 small zucchini, cubed
1 red bell pepper, diced
½ an onion, diced
1 teaspoon fresh thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried) or other herbs as desired
Salt, pepper to taste

Optional:
Green beans (1 inch pieces)
Broccoli florets
Jalapeno or other hot pepper, minced
Kale or other greens

Melt butter (or heat oil) in a sauté pan.  Add all of the vegetables (except greens if using) and cook over medium heat until just cooked, 7 – 10 minutes.  Add greens (if using) the last minute of cooking.  Add thyme, salt, and pepper.

Bacon, Corn, and Chili Soup

I am not big on planning my meals ahead.  I go to the farmers market and buy what looks good, and generally figure out day by day what I'm going to cook.  I've written about this before, but one of the tricks to making this work is knowing good substitutions.  This week I had corn from the farmers market we had not managed to eat.  Soup sounded good (apologies to my friends in Phoenix, but "summer soup" is not an oxymoron in Coronado). I almost always have bacon in the freezer (you can just cut pieces off the frozen chunk, start cooking it slowly to thaw), and an onion,  But I did not have any milk or jalapeno peppers to make the corn soup I wanted. I did have coconut milk, and chipotle chili flakes. So I thinned the coconut milk with water (its very rich, more so than even half and half), used the chili flakes, and it came out very nice. 

There is a level of confidence and experience needed to pull off substitutions.  Google is also a good help for some things.  I find that onions, shallots, and leeks are pretty interchangeable, buttermilk can be faked with yogurt or milk with lemon juice or vinegar added.  Red peppers can substitute for tomatoes (for some dishes, its best to roast the peppers first).  I try to think through -- what will the texture / moisture or fat level / heat level / sweetness / color be like?  How different will the flavor be, and will the different flavor be different good or different in a bad way? Then just taste as you go along.  And remember that salt, acid (like lemon juice) and hot sauce can fix a lot of things that aren't quite right.

And now I have half a can of coconut milk to use up.  I have rum, but not any pineapple juice...

Bacon, Corn, and Chili Soup 

Serves 2 as main or 4 as appetizer

1 teaspoon olive oil
4 slices (about 4 oz) bacon, cut in ½ inch pieces
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 jalapeno chilies, minced or ¼ - ½ teaspoon chipotle chili flakes
Salt – about a ½ teaspoon or so to start
4 ears of corn, cut from the cob (or 4 cups of thawed, frozen corn)
1 cup of water
1 cup coconut milk
Black pepper, 3 or 4 good grinds
Hot sauce
Avocado or sour cream or yogurt to garnish, maybe a squeeze of lime
Chives or cilantro to garnish

In medium pot, cook the bacon in olive oil until crisp.  Remove bacon (but not the grease) from pan.  Add onions, garlic, and chilies to pan along with some salt.  Sauté until soft, 5 to 10 minutes.   Add corn from 3 of the ears along with the water, and cook for 5 minutes at a gentle boil.   Remove from heat, add milk, and blend with an immersion blender (or food processor if you like to do dishes).   Just blend a bit, still want some texture.

Add remaining corn and pepper.  Taste… add more salt and/or hot sauce as needed.  Heat back up to steaming (don’t boil) and serve with garnishes and reserved bacon.

Signs of Fall

People who live where it really gets cold talk about “loving four seasons”.   Phoenix has four seasons too, you just have to look a little a little harder since you don’t have things like snow to make a point of winter, or a bunch of leaves suddenly turning red because you had your first frost.   I will admit that fall is the hardest season to detect in Phoenix, but today it finally seemed like summer is behind us.  We have had some clues:  Halloween decorations are starting to show up in front yards, they are starting on the long process of putting Christmas lights up on Chandler (which they fortunately do not light until after Thanksgiving), but this was the first weekend we actually had the air conditioners off in the middle of the afternoon!    Which means that maybe we can actually start thinking about soups and stews… even if it still supposed to be back to the high 90’s next week.

Here is a very quick soup to make – it really only takes about a ½ hour, and its packed with protein and is a bit different. 

Chinese Chicken and Corn Soup

1 boneless skinless chicken breast
2 tablespoons dry sherry
½ teaspoon sesame oil
3 tablespoons cornstarch (divided)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon thinly shredded fresh ginger
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 quart chicken broth
1 package firm tofu (12 – 14 ounces), cut into ½ inch squares
1 ½ cups frozen corn
1 egg
½ cup thinly sliced green onions
A bit more sesame oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Slice breast crosswise into ½ inch strips.  In a small bowl, mix chicken with wine, sesame oil, and 1 tablespoon cornstarch.   In a medium pot, heat the oil over medium high heat, add the garlic and ginger, then add the chicken mixture.  Let cook for a while, stir (yes, this will stick to the pan*, use a sharp spatula). 

When chicken is brown, add broth and bring to a boil.  Add the tofu and corn and return mixture to boil. 

In a small bowl, blend remaining 2 tablespoons cornstarch and ¼ cup water until smooth, add to soup and stir until it returns to a boil.  In the same small bowl, beat egg to blend, then pour slowly into soup, stirring to form thin strands.  Add green onions, a bit more sesame oil, salt and pepper to taste.  Serve immediately.

* original recipe recommends a non-stick pan, but I don’t have any non-stick pots (just my 10-inch sauté pan which is routinely used for eggs).

Yin and Yang

So, two recipes today.  Both are good for the soul, but in different ways.  By my logic, if you have this soup for dinner, you are entitled to these brownies for dessert. 

The soup is from the Moosewood Low-Fat cookbook, with a few changes.  I use chicken broth instead of vegetable (mostly because that’s what I have around). For spice, I use Chipotle chili flakes (Chipotle’s are dried smoked Jalapeño peppers) from Native Seed Search.  The original recipe calls for a hot green chili, or you can use plain red pepper flakes.  I think its best when you can taste the chili, but its not hot (and you can adjust to your taste).   You don’t really need to, but I like to finish the soup with just a little half and half.. I think it melds everything together nicely.  I also like to serve with yogurt, or you can serve with lime wedges and cilantro, but its good without the embellishments.

I have made these brownies for long time, they are from 1st cookbook I owned (and that would be the Good Housekeeping Illustrated cookbook). They are so easy I don’t know why you would ever make them from a mix!  They are full of good stuff (chocolate, walnuts, eggs... all quite healthy, plus butter, sugar and flour since it is desert).   The only trick is to “eat in moderation”.

Southwestern Corn and Potato Soup

Serves 3 to 4

1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ teaspoon Chipotle chili flakes (or red pepper flakes)
¼ teaspoon salt
3 cups chicken broth, might need a bit more
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 small or 1 large sweet potato (the orange kind), diced (about 2 cups)
½ red bell pepper, chipped
3 cups frozen corn kernels (about a 1 lb bag)
Salt and lemon or lime juice to taste
Optional – 2 tablespoons half and half
Serve with plain yogurt, cilantro and/or lime wedges.

In a medium-large saucepan, simmer the onions, garlic chili, and salt in 1 cup of broth for about 10 minutes (will almost be dry).  In a small bowl, mix the cumin with a tablespoon of broth, add to the onions and cook for a couple of minutes (this should be smelling very good). Add the sweet potatoes and remaining broth.  Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes, the potatoes should just start to be soft.  Add the corn and bell pepper, and cook for another 10 minutes.  All the vegetables should be tender.
With an immersion blender (blender thing on a stick), puree, but leave some chunks (or you can put half the soup in the food processor and puree).  Add a bit more broth if its too thick plus... optional -- just a bit of half and half.  Add some lemon or lime juice plus salt (if needed.. taste first).   Serve with yogurt, plus cilantro and/or lime wedges.

Fudgy Brownies

This makes a lot (think potluck).  You can easily cut in half and bake in a 6x10 or 8x8 baking pan.

1 cup butter
4 squares unsweetened chocolate
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups coarsely chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans)

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray 9 x 13” pan with Pam.  In large glass bowl, melt butter and chocolate in microwave, about 1 minute or a bit more (need to stir to see if the chocolate is melted). Stir sugar into chocolate-butter and stir.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating until well blended after the addition of each egg.  Add the flour, vanilla, and salt to the mixture and stir.  Add the chopped nuts to the mixture and stir to blend.  Pour batter into greased pan.  Bake for 30 – 35 minutes.

Potluck ... corn and bean salad

Roy had a "family favorites" potluck at work...  here is one of ours

Corn and Bean Salad

This has been popular with the whole family. It’s easy to throw together, and easily multiplied.  It also keeps well in the fridge.

Serves 4

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 ½ cups frozen corn, thawed under running water
1 small red bell pepper, chopped
3 green onions, chopped
½ jalapeño pepper, finely minced (optional)
¼ cup cilantro, minced
Juice from 1 large lime
¼ cup olive oil
½ teaspoon cumin
½ - 1 teaspoon mild chili powder
Salt and Pepper to taste

Put beans and vegetables in a bowl. Mix dressing ingredients in a small jar and mix with salad.  Note: there might be a bit much dressing, don’t use it all if you don’t want.