Mmmm, WHITE chili!

I managed a pretty tasty pantry chili the other day, but I'm also a fairly big fan of white chili.  Mild and creamy and not so heavy. . . yum.  I am totally drooling.

I wish I could embed the video for you, but I can't.  But I did type up the ingredients and directions - thank me later.

White Chicken Chili
4 bone in, skin on chicken breasts - 3 lbs
1 tbsp oil
salt & pepper
3 jalapenos, minced (keep one minced jalapeno set aside)
3 poblano chiles
3 anaheim chiles
2 onions
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp coriander
more salt (a tbsp or so, but start with a little and taste as you go if you're not a big salt fan)
1 can white cannelini beans
3 cups of chicken broth
3 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 raw jalapeno
1/4 c cilantro minced
4 chopped scallions


Heat oil over medium high til it just starts to shimmer and smoke.  Season chicken with s&p while you wait for oil to heat.  Sear chicken a few minutes on each side.
Remove stems, seeds and ribs from chiles.  Don't rub your eyes for the next several hours.  Seriously.
In a food processor, puree the onions, poblano and anaheim chiles til semi-smooth (you may need to do this in a couple of batches).
Take chicken out of pot and set aside.
Add the onion/chile blend to the pot with 2 minced jalapenos, garlic, cumin, coriander and salt.  Stir and put lid on top to allow veggies to sweat for 10 minutes or so.
Remove chicken skin and snack or throw away or give to starving dog at your feet.
Take one cup of the chile mixture, 1 cup of beans and 1 cup of chicken broth and puree in food processor til smooth to help thicken the chili.  Add back into pot.
Add 2 additional cups of chicken broth into the pot, and then nestle chicken in.  Turn up heat to high and let it come to a boil; reduce heat to medium and cover for 15-20 minutes until chicken reaches 160 degrees.
Remove chicken and set aside to cool and shred.
Add the beans to the pot and allow to cook for 10 more minutes.
Shred the chicken while you wait (use two forks if it's too hot) and add back into the pot.
Then add the lime juice, the third jalapeno, cilantro and scallions.
Serve with sour cream and more cilantro and scallions if desired.

You have GOT to be kidding me

A 12 course Christmas dinner, as prepared in 1896.
On a wood stove.
With 1896 ingredients and techniques.

INSANITY.

http://www.fannieslastsupper.com/

ICE CREAM!!

Yowza - I wonder if this recipe works as well for other flavors? Because if so, omg, get ready for ice cream people because South Beach doesn't really allow for it, but I think I'd have a blast making it which means I won't really be able to eat it and will need to give it away. I can make vanilla, and strawberry (and then Neapolitan!) and peppermint and banana and banana/caramel/chocolate and salted caramel and lavender and EVERYTHING I HAVE EVER WANTED. Even if it's just the chocolate, think about the swirls I could add of marshmallow fluff or chocolate chips or fudge or nuts or minty things or raspberries. . . .
I still really want to try a rose water and pistachio ice cream to be enjoyed after a nice Moroccan feast - does that sound weird? Well I'm not the only one, okay? I mean, I must have tried those flavors together somewhere. Turkish Delight maybe?
Hello summer!!

Easy Chocolate Ice Cream
Makes 1 quart

If you plan to store the ice cream for more than a few days, place plastic wrap directly on its surface before freezing.

1 teaspoon instant coffee or espresso powder
1 tablespoon hot water
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate , chopped fine
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch salt
1 1/4 cups heavy cream, cold

1. MELT CHOCOLATE BASE Combine coffee (or espresso) powder and hot water in small bowl. Let stand until coffee dissolves, about 5 minutes. Microwave chocolate, sweetened condensed milk, and coffee mixture in bowl, stirring every 10 seconds, until chocolate is melted, about 1 minute. Stir in vanilla and salt. Let cool.

2. MIX AND FREEZE With electric mixer on medium-high speed, whip cream to soft peaks, about 2 minutes. Whisk one-third of whipped cream into chocolate mixture. Fold remaining whipped cream into chocolate mixture until incorporated. Freeze in airtight container until firm, at least 6 hours or up to 2 weeks. Serve.
******************************************************************
And look, we can even pair wine with our ice cream! Hell to the yeah!
Feel like you want to show me up with WINE ICE CREAM? Well, it's too late for that because I already know.
Thanks The Kitchn! Their blog on this (linked above) is very helpful in Americanizing the dastardly British original.

Almost Instant Sweet Wine Ice Cream
150ml sweet white wine , such as Orange Muscat and Flora
3 rounded tbsp caster sugar
284ml carton double cream
summer fruits to serve, such as blackberries , raspberries and redcurrants

1. Tip the wine and sugar into a bowl and whisk together. Gradually whisk in the cream until it starts to thicken and just hold its shape.
2. Pour into a rigid container and freeze until firm, about 3-4 hours. Serve in scoops with seasonal summer fruits splashed with a little more sweet wine.

461 kcalories (!!!!), protein 1g, carbohydrate 23g, fat 38 g (!!!!), saturated fat 21g (!!!!!), fibre 0g, salt 0.05 g

Blueberry Pie

No time like the present.

Blueberry Filling
6	cups fresh blueberries (about 30 ounces) (see note)
1	Granny Smith apple , peeled and grated on large holes of box grater
2	teaspoons grated zest and 2 teaspoons juice from 1 lemon
3/4	cup sugar (5 1/4 ounces)
2	tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca , ground (see note)
	Pinch table salt
2	tablespoons unsalted butter , cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1	large egg , lightly beaten with 1 teaspoon water

For The Filling: Adjust oven rack to lowest position, place rimmed baking sheet on oven rack, and heat oven to 400 degrees. Place 3 cups berries in medium saucepan and set over medium heat. Using potato masher, mash berries several times to release juices. Continue to cook, stirring frequently and mashing occasionally, until about half of berries have broken down and mixture is thickened and reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 8 minutes. Let cool slightly.

Place grated apple in clean kitchen towel and wring dry. Transfer apple to large bowl. Add cooked berries, remaining 3 cups uncooked berries, lemon zest, juice, sugar, tapioca, and salt; toss to combine. Transfer mixture to dough-lined pie plate and scatter butter pieces over filling.

Roll out second disk of dough on generously floured (up to 1/4 cup) work surface to 11-inch circle, about 1/8 inch thick. Using 1 1/4-inch round biscuit cutter, cut round from center of dough. Cut another 6 rounds from dough, 1 1/2 inches from edge of center hole and equally spaced around center hole. Roll dough loosely around rolling pin and unroll over pie, leaving at least 1/2-inch overhang on each side.

Using kitchen shears, trim bottom layer of overhanging dough, leaving 1/2-inch overhang. Fold dough under itself so that edge of fold is flush with outer rim of pie plate. Flute edges using thumb and forefinger or press with tines of fork to seal. Brush top and edges of pie with egg mixture. If dough is very soft, chill in freezer for 10 minutes.

Place pie on heated baking sheet and bake 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue to bake until juices bubble and crust is deep golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes longer. Transfer pie to wire rack; cool to room temperature, at least 4 hours. Cut into wedges and serve.

Pretty But Pasty Too much tapioca (or the wrong thickener, such as flour or cornstarch) results in a filling that holds its shape but tastes gluey and dull.	Fresh But Soupy With no thickener at all, there is plenty of fresh berry flavor, but the filling is loose and runny.

We used a 1 1/4-inch biscuit cutter to cut holes in the dough, but a spice-jar lid will also do the trick.

ON THE LOOSE Pie filling thickened without enough tapioca won't firm up. But too much tapioca leads to gumminess.	ALL FIRMED UP A little tapioca plus a grated apple created a juicy but sliceable filling.

Pie Crust

Oh fine - if you must. (I'll just say it one more time though. . . . )
I tend to trust that these clowns have done all the science and calorie crunching for me. Give it a whirl and then make me a pie please.

Foolproof Pie Dough
Vodka is essential to the texture of the crust and imparts no flavor—do not substitute. This dough will be moister and more supple than most standard pie doughs and will require more flour to roll out (up to 1/4 cup).

For one 9-inch Double-Crust Pie
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (12 1/2 ounces)
1 teaspoon table salt
2 tablespoons sugar
12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 cup chilled solid vegetable shortening , cut into 4 pieces
1/4 cup vodka , cold
1/4 cup cold water

1. Process 1 1/2 cups flour, salt, and sugar in food processor until combined, about 2 one-second pulses. Add butter and shortening and process until homogenous dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 15 seconds (dough will resemble cottage cheese curds and there should be no uncoated flour). Scrape bowl with rubber spatula and redistribute dough evenly around processor blade. Add remaining cup flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl and mass of dough has been broken up, 4 to 6 quick pulses. Empty mixture into medium bowl.

2. Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together. Divide dough into two even balls and flatten each into 4-inch disk. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days.



Step-by-Step: Key Steps to Foolproof Pie Dough


1. MAKE A FAT AND FLOUR PASTE: Completely blending part of the flour with all of the butter ensures a consistent amount of fat-coated flour in the final dough.
2. ADD MORE FLOUR: Pulsing in the final cup of flour ensures a consistent amount of uncoated flour in the final dough.


3. ADD WATER AND VODKA: Sprinkling with water and vodka ensures even distribution. No need to skimp—unlike water, vodka won't make the dough tough.

Hot & Sour Soup

While we're on the topic of soup, I remembered that I really want to try making Hot & Sour soup at home. I LOVE this stuff, but restaurants can be so hit or miss. Some are awesome, some kind of bleh. Cook's Illustrated was taunting me with their recipe but they can FORGET IT if they think they can get me to subscribe to them again just for this. The interwebs and I will defeat you ATK!!


Hot & Sour Soup
5 dried wood ear mushrooms
4 dried shiitake mushrooms
8 dried tiger lily buds
4 cups chicken stock
1/3 cup diced bamboo shoots
1/3 cup lean ground pork
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons water
1/2 (16 ounce) package firm tofu, cubed
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onion

Soak the dried mushrooms and tiger lily buds in warm water for 20 minutes. After trimming off any tough stems, slice the mushrooms. With the fingers, shred the tiger lily stems.
Place the mushrooms, tiger lily buds, stock, bamboo shoots, and shredded pork into a saucepan. Bring to a boil, and simmer for 10 minutes.
Stir in soy sauce, sugar, salt, white pepper, and vinegar. Combine cornstarch with 3 tablespoons water. Add a little of the hot soup to the cornstarch, and then return all to the pan. Heat to boiling, stirring. Add the bean curd, and cook 1 to 2 minutes.
Just before serving, turn off the heat. Stir the egg in gradually. Mix in sesame oil. Sprinkle each serving with scallions.

Several folks mention subbing out shiitakes and other mushrooms for the wood ears and tiger lilly buds, but I have confidence that I'll be able to find them out on Clement. There was also a lot of talk about adding more vinegar, using rice wine vinegar and no sugar, and upping the soy, plus dashes of Sriracha here and there. I'm sure I'll do plenty of doctoring to taste and post my notes here. Word on the street is that the egg makes it cloudy - one clever person waited until it was off the heat for a couple of minutes and then added the beaten egg and she says it makes the difference.

Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

I'm beginning to sound like a broken record. It seems I get all my recipe from three places, All Recipes, Food Network (and their website), and Cook's Illustrated/America's Test Kitchen.
This is no exception. For Thanksgiving, I was in charge of an appetizer. I've done stuffed mushrooms before, and the version printed in Number 95 looked delish. Fine it's been a long time since I've done stuffed mushrooms, but come on, they're mushrooms, with stuffing. I learned some tough lessons though by not following directions exactly. Learn with me people. . . .

Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms with Spinach and Goat Cheese
(the filling can be made in advance and kept in the fridge; just reheat it before stuffing the mushrooms)

10 small portobello mushrooms - Remove stems and chop. Also chop up two of the 10 mushrooms, so you're left with 8 to stuff and about 3 c of chopped mushrooms.
4 tbsp olive oil
salt
2 6 oz bags of baby spinach
bread for bread crumbs - I used some stale sourdough baguette I had around; use whatever you have (although the recipe calls for two slices of white sandwich bread, torn into quarters if you must know; you just want to end up with 1 1/2 c)
1-2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 medium onions, finely diced (approx 2 cups)
4 medium sized cloves of garlic (squish through a garlic press)
1/2 c dry sherry (I used Dry Sack)
2 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
4-5 oz goat cheese, crumbled
1/4 c ff half and half (recipe calls for heavy cream)
1 c walnuts, toasted (I used the Diamond walnuts that came already chopped to save myself some work)
2 tsp lemon juice
ground black pepper

And now for the million steps. . . * cracks knuckles before proceeding *
Place spinach and 2 tbsp of water in a microwave safe bowl with a cover and nuke for 3 minutes (I had to do this in two batches, and just divided the water). Spinach should be wilted and half of what it was before. Keep covered for a minute before moving spinach to a colander. Once I had nuked both batches, I let the spinach sit in the colander to drain and cool off while I did the rest. If you're impatient, use the back of a spoon or spatula to smoosh excess liquid out of the spinach. If you're patient and the spinach cools off, you can squeeze it by hand. You really want to get as much liquid out as possible. Roughly chop, smoosh or squeeze again, and set aside.
Pulse bread in food processor until coarsely ground.
Heat 1 tbsp oil (and 1 tbsp of butter if you'd like; I just used some butter flavored Pam to impart a buttery flavor to my oil) over medium high until warm. Add bread crumbs, 1/4 tsp salt and cook, stirring frequently until lightly browned, 5-8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and wipe out skillet with a paper towel.
Add remaining tbsp oil back to pan and head over medium high until smoking. Add mushrooms to pan and let sit without stirring for 2 minutes. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally until lightly browned, 4-6 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
Add 1 tbsp butter and onions to skillet (I probably could've gotten away with more Pam here, but decided to go for the real deal) along with the onions. Cook 5-6 minutes until onions are light brown. Add garlic and cook til fragrant, only 30 seconds or so. Stir in sherry and cook til almost no liquid remains, just a couple of minutes. Reduce heat to low and stir in the mushrooms, spinach, thyme, goat cheese, half and half (or cream), and walnuts. Cook until cheese is melted and veggies are well coated. Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.

As for the mushrooms, preheat oven to 400; preheat baking sheet on center rake as well. Using a sharp knife, cut a crosshatch of shallow slits (about 1/4 inch deep) onto the top of the mushroom (not the gill side) about 1/2 inch apart.
Brush both sides of caps with remaining 2 tbsp olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Place mushrooms, gill side up onto preheated baking sheet. Roast until mushies have released some of their juices and have begun to brown around the edges, 10 minutes or so. Flip over and roast for another 10 minutes until juices have evaporated and caps are golden brown. Mine remained soggy and messy the entire time which was unfortunate. Remove mushies and preheat the broiler.

If you made the filling in advance, now is the time to reheat it. It doesn't have to be piping hot, but it should certainly be warm. Fill caps, top with bread crumbs and broil for a few minutes. Do NOT walk away from the oven at this point! Just hang out and watch to make sure you don't burn the tops. Serve immediately.

Again, be sure to get the small ones if you're doing this as an appetizer; if you get the big ones you'll end up with a big delicious flaccid mess. Look for the ones that are 4 inches across or so. If you use the large ones, these will still work as a knife and fork vegetarian meal, but not so much as an app. They're awesome so I highly recommend you make them.

Thanksgiving Salad

Those jerks over at America's Test Kitchen have done it again. Come up with some ridiculously easy "recipe" that can't even really be a recipe that I'm jealous I didn't come up with first because, well, DUH.
With one of my favorite meals of the year fast approaching, here's a healthier spin on a lot of similar flavors. Great for fall and I totally want it right now (but I have yummy steak and sweet potato leftovers, so I'll refrain).

Harvest Supper Salad with Smoked Turkey and Apples
Serves 4

2 teaspoons honey
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2/3 cup dried cherries or cranberries
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Table salt and ground black pepper
2 small heads red leaf lettuce or green leaf lettuce, torn into bite-sized pieces
2 cups shredded red cabbage
1 apple , cored and cut into 2-inch strips
4 thick slices smoked deli turkey , cut into 2-inch strips
1 1/2 cups crumbled blue cheese
1/3 cup slivered almonds , toasted (or lets be reasonable - a bag of the ready to go almonds from Diamond or whatever)

1. Whisk honey and vinegar in medium microwave-safe bowl. Add cherries, cover with plastic wrap, cut several steam vents in plastic, and microwave on high until cherries are plump, about 1 minute. Whisk in oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Cool dressing to room temperature.

2. Toss lettuce, cabbage, and apple with dressing in large bowl. Divide salad among individual plates and top each with portion of turkey, cheese, and nuts. Serve.

Vanilla

Vanilla may mean boring, but nothing beats a really good scoop of vanilla ice cream sometimes. Especially if it's on top of a warm brownie, covered in hot fudge and caramel. Take whatever innuendo you'd like there.
Those geeks over at America's Test Kitchen have just turned my little vanilla world upside down with another one of their tastings. The brand that I've always sort of treated as my go to - it's got natural ingredients! There are vanilla specks! It must be the best! - was eliminated in the preliminaries! Sorry Breyer's.
Seems that I'm going to have to hunt down some Turkey Hill Vanilla Bean or Edy's Dreamery ice cream. These brands have never been on my radar before, so hopefully I can actually find them (and remember what they're called the two times a year I actually pick up ice cream).
And now I TOTALLY want one of those apple cinnamon caramel crisps where the ice cream melts and then there is this delicious soupy stuff with bits of chewy apple and crunchy granola topping. . . . mmmm.

Blueberry Pancakes

Few things make me jump around excitedly in the morning. Blueberry pancakes (or Burberry pancakes if you're lucky enough) are one of those things. I was thrilled that the beanheads over at America's Test Kitchen put a link to a video for perfect blueberry pancakes in today's email. (Beanheads because if they send me ONE MORE of those damn cook books I might burn their offices down).
So, with full credit to them for coming up with the recipe, and full credit to me for scribbling it down and typing it into my blog. . . and you know me - this recipe will not even closely resemble the original when I'm done making it. Between whole wheat flour, skim milk, Splenda and I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, I have no idea what these will be like once they're South Beached up. But as soon as I can try it, I'll be sure to let you know. Perhaps we'll do a side by side test comparison to see if they're tolerable in "diet" format. Those beanheads seem to be rubbing off on me.

Blueberry Pancakes

• Frozen blueberries - Seems they prefer Wyman's frozen blueberries based on their rigorous testing procedures, so I'll trust them, but whichever frozen blues you have are fine I'm sure.
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 c whole milk
• 2 c unbleached all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 egg
• 3 tbsp melted butter
• 1 tsp + of oil

Thaw, rinse and drain the berries on papertowels. Set aside.
Whisk the lemon juice into the milk and let sit to thicken.
In a bowl, combine the dry ingredients.
Whisk egg and melted butter into the milk mixture.
Pour the liquid into the dry and whisk - be sure not to overmix! Leaving some clumps of unmixed flour is not only okay, it's preferable to ensure that your cakes don't get rubbery.

Heat a nonstick skillet on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add 1 tsp of oil and try a small sacrificial pancake (1 heaping tbsp or so) to make sure the pan is ready.
Create cakes using heaping 1/4 c scoops of batter - the size of your pan will dictate how many you can fit, but you don't want them to touch. Once you see bubbles forming and it looks like the cake is firming up, sprinkle 1 tbsp of blueberries onto the cake. Flip when ready (approx 1 1/2 to 2 minutes per side, but it's more important to look for color and doneness than to rely on time alone, so keep an eye on them).

Serve with REAL Vermont maple syrup if you don't want to hear about it, or eat alone - given the butter and sugar in the batter, they don't actually need anything additional. Or so they say. Syrup I say!

Oh, and crispy bacon. Crispy bacon would be nice too. Or maybe turkey sausage - the patty kind because it's better. Yum!

Prosciutto wrapped asparagus

That reminds me. Prosciutto wrapped asparagus. Another stupid easy dish, but people request that I make it at potlucks, so there you have it.

Clean and snap (you know that trick, right? If you believe the folks at America's Test Kitchen - that's totally unnecessary and a waste of plenty of good asparagus - they'll tell you just to cut an inch or so off the ends. The controversy rages on.) a bunch of asparagus or two, depending on how big a batch you're making.
Get enough prosciutto for each asparagus spear. You can use one large piece two spears (just tear it in half) but that's just wrong. More bacon!
I put my clean asparagus in a shallow baking dish and toss with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and garlic powder. I let it marinate in there for a little while as I do something else. Drink some wine, wash a dish, stare out the window, make whatever else I'm making to bring to the party. . . whatever.
Then I wrap a piece (or a half, if you must) of prosciutto around the asparagus - kind of like a barber pole; starting at one end and wrapping diagonally to the other.
I put these on a baking sheet and chuck into a 450 degree oven until the prosciutto looks brown and crispy and delicious, and Bob's your uncle.

Be prepared to fight off the hordes.