Chili -- Slow Cooker Meal for a Pressure Cooker Day

You may wonder, what did the Blog Appetits have to eat while Mom was eating her way through the Fancy Food Show? They had chili. I made a huge batch on Saturday night and it kept us well fed for the duration.

This chili started life as a photo on the cover of the January/February issue of Cooking Light. Gary saw it and immediately began requesting chili. I didn’t use the magazine’s recipe, but I borrowed generously from its spicing. This makes a chili that’s somewhere between mild and medium. If you like it hotter, goose up the hot stuff.

Because my man wanted a slow meal with lots of different kinds of beans on a busy day, I used canned beans and made this in the pressure cooker. You can adapt it for regular cooking by making it in a large skillet and simmering until the mixture was cooked through and thickened. (You might need to add a bit more liquid.) You could probably adapt it to a slow cooker as well. Proceed through browning the meat, reduce the liquid to 1 ½ cups each of water and stock, put all ingredients but the corn meal in a slow cooker and cook on low or medium for 6-8 hours. About a half hour before serving, switch to high, uncover and add in the corn meal, giving it a good stir every now and then.

Turkey Chili with Four Types of Beans
Serves 6 - 8

1 ½ pounds ground turkey (I used 7 percent fat, labeled "lean.")
1 ½ tablespoons sweet paprika
3 tablespoons chopped garlic
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons grape seed or other vegetable oil
1 large onion, diced
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon chili powder
3 canned chipotle chiles, chopped
1 -15 ounce can of black beans
1-15 ounce can of small white beans, rinsed and drained
1-15 ounce can of adzuki beans (or pinto or kidney if adzuki are unavailable), rinsed and drained (The adzuki beans add a slight nuttiness to the dish.)
1-15 ounce can of garbanzo beans (chickpeas), rinsed and drained
2 cups chicken stock, homemade or purchase low-sodium
2 cups water
1-28 ounce can of diced tomatoes
¼ cup of corn meal

Toppings: plain yogurt or sour cream, chopped cilantro, lemon wedges, avocado slices, shredded cheese, fresh salsa, etc.

In a large bowl, mix paprika, garlic, 2 teaspoons of chili powder, 1 tsp of cumin, ½ teaspoon of dried oregano, black pepper and salt with ground turkey. Combine well.

Heat oil in a large pressure cooker. Working in batches if need be, brown the seasoned ground turkey mixture, breaking up the meat into clumps as it browns. Add the onion, 1 tablespoon cumin, 2 teaspoons oregano, 1 tablespoon chili powder, and chopped chipotles. Cook, stirring often, until the onion is softened. Add in drained beans, diced tomatoes with their juices, water and chicken stock. Stir well.

Place and lock lid on pressure cooker. Bring up to pressure and cook at high pressure for about five minutes. Open vent and allow steam to escape until all pressure is released. Take off lid.

Over medium heat, stir in the corn meal and cook until the chili is slightly thickened.

Serve with toppings as desired.

Soup -- Thai Chicken Curry Transformed

That Pim.
Thoughtful, dedicated, talented, well-traveled and a good Samaritan to boot. Oh, did I mention she can really cook? And blog? Check out Chez Pim for yourself.

I was one of her raffle helpers a few weeks ago for Menu for Hope II and she served us a wickedly good Thai curry noodle dish that has haunted me ever since. Thanks to Brett of In Praise of Sardines I now know we had khao soi, a northern Thai curry chicken and noodle dish. (The photo above shows the accompaniments Pim served with the curry.)

That dish inspired my own, much less authentic version of a Thai Chicken Curry. I very loosely adapted a recipe from Thai Table. I used Thai red curry paste, some chopped onions, bite-size pieces of chicken breast, fresh green beans sliced into thirds, small, round eggplants cut into chunks, cubes of tofu, a combination of light and regular coconut milk, and water to make a very spicy and soupy stew which I served over rice and later noodles. (Dear Reader, I confess I made a LOT of the Thai chicken curry.) It was good. It got better (and hotter) each day. After a few days, I wanted to change the taste profile, so I added a 28-ounce can of diced organic tomatoes with their juice, reheated the stew/soup and ladled into my soup bowl. I served whole grain flatbreads warmed on a griddle to eat alongside the my newly christened Thai Chicken Curry and Tomato Soup.

It was great. But it was not nearly as wonderful as Pim's.

Soup Thai Food

Vacation Condo Soup With Tomatoes, Vegetables, Sausage and Chicken

When the weather outside is frightful, a good soup can be delightful.

Never did that statement ring truer than over New Year’s weekend here in rainy California. To counteract the damp weather and to fill my in-laws’ freezer with something easy and good to eat during our recent visit, I made a batch of Vacation Condo Soup.

Vacation Condo Soup is what I make when I don’t have access to a full pantry, a stocked refrigerator and the batterie de cuisine is well, battered, or at best minimal. I have made versions of this in rental condos and “suite” hotel rooms with kitchens across the country. Since my in-laws don’t scratch cook much any more, this recipe was called for.

The soup is satisfying and really plays off the sweet fennel taste of the turkey sausage. It is rich tasting and crammed with vegetables, potatoes, chicken and the sausage. It is a meal in a bowl. My taste testers say this soup is too good just to have when you are on vacation.

Vacation Condo Soup Commando

It is always best if you can scope out your kitchen equipment before you have to shop, but sometimes that’s just not possible. Usually, you’ll have a big dull and/ or serrated knife, a paring knife, a small plastic cutting board, an assortment of pots and pans (including one big enough for a modest amount of soup or half package of spaghetti) and enough other equipment to get by if you keep it simple.

A few condos (usually those owned by individuals and not corporations or timeshares) have had small supplies of cooking oil and spices. More, but not all, have had salt and pepper.

So the plan is to limit knife work, boost flavors without having to spend a lot of money on herbs and spices and keep it easy (after all you are on vacation).

One tip: You can store your soup in the fridge in the pot it was made in with the lid on it. But if you think you might need the pot some other time during your stay, pick up some of those disposable plastic food storage containers during your supermarket foray.

Vacation Condo Soup or, Vegetable Soup with Sausage and Chicken

Makes about six one-and-a-half cup servings.

2 tablespoons of olive or other oil (or 4-6 pats of butter or margarine stolen from the breakfast buffet)
16-19 ounces of sweet Italian-style turkey sausage, sliced into ½ inch rounds, amount depends on package size. (Can’t find it in the market? Regular pork sweet Italian sausage will work, too. Want a spicy soup? Use hot Italian sausage instead.)
1 small or ½ medium yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced or chopped fine
2 medium russet potatoes, peeled (use that paring knife if there is no potato peeler) and cut into ¼ cubes
2- 14 to 16 ounce packages of frozen Italian vegetable assortment. (I recommend C&W’s seasoned Ultimate Tuscan with artichoke hearts, red bell peppers, yellow zucchini, soybeans, Italian green beans and spinach) Yes, of course you can use fresh veggies, that’s what I do at home, just figure on about 4 or more cups of trimmed, chopped vegetables.
2-14.5 ounce cans of diced Italian-style tomatoes with basil, oregano and garlic (I used DelMonte. If you can’t find the seasoned diced tomatoes, use the seasoned stewed.)
1-32 ounce box or can of chicken stock, preferably lower sodium
4-6 ounces of shredded, roasted or grilled chicken (I had leftover roast chicken from a restaurant meal the night before. No doggie bag? Look in the market’s prepared foods section for pre-cooked chicken breast. Or use 6-8 ounces of boneless, skinless raw chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces.)
Salt and pepper to taste (bring home some packets from a fast food restaurant or the breakfast buffet if your condo is bare).

Heat the oil or other fat in a three quart pot or larger. When the oil is hot, add the sliced turkey sausage. Sauté until browned on both sides. Remove the browned slices from pot (leaving the oil and drippings in the pot) and let drain on a paper towel-lined bowl or plate. (You may need to do this in batches if your pot is very narrow. Don’t crowd the pot or the slices will steam not brown.)

Add the chopped onions and sauté until softened and a bit golden, stirring up any sausage bits that might be stuck to the bottom on pan. Add garlic and sauté for a minute or so until just colored. Add potato cubes and mix thoroughly. Add frozen vegetables and sauté for a minute or two. Add the diced or stewed tomatoes with their juice. Stir well to combine.

Let simmer for a few minutes for tastes to combine. Add chicken stock. Stir to combine.
Return to simmer. Cover and let simmer for about 10 minutes. If using RAW chicken, add the bite size pieces now. Simmer an additional 10 minutes (20 minutes total), check potato cubes, if almost soft enough to eat, return browned sausage slices to pot and add in pre-cooked, shredded chicken. If the potato cubes have not yet softened sufficiently, cover and simmer, checking periodically until they are and then add sausage and pre-cooked chicken.

Cover pot and continue to simmer until potatoes, sausage and raw chicken (if using) are cooked through.

Taste and season as needed with salt and pepper. (Because of the pre-seasoned ingredients and the commercial chicken stock you may not need to add much, if any, salt.)

This soup is my first submission to Sweetnicks’ weekly antioxidant rich foods cooking round up. For flavorful recipes that are good for you, too, posted every Tuesday, check it out at Sweetnicks. I posted too late for this week’s ARF5-A-Day Roundup, but Sweetnicks assures me I’ll be in the wrap up next Tuesday.

Vacation Condo Soup is brought to you by the following Top 20 antioxidants – cooked artichoke hearts and russet potatoes. Honorable mention to the tomatoes, beans and other vegetables.

Soup

Fridge Clean-Out Soup -- Tomatoes, Carrots and Spinach with White Beans

Last week's soup wasn't my most successful at first, in fact it needed quite a bit of amendments before it was pronounced soup.

This was a fridge clean-out soup and it does demonstrate how flexibility saved the soup.

My key inspirations were 1 pint wrinkled cherry tomatoes and half a medium-sized bag of dried out peeled and shaped carrots. (Note: chop up the carrots first otherwise they take forever to soften.) I also had bought some Oxo Indian Herb and Spice bullion cubes which I thought I would give a try.

I sauteed a half chopped onion and two minced cloves of garlic in olive oil. Added the tomatoes and carrots. Let that brown a bit, then added about 8 cups of water and the bullion cube and then let it simmer until the carrots were soft. I then used my immersion blender to puree until relatively smooth.

I tasted it at this point and wasn't satisfied. (Actually, I thought, yikes, there are way too many carrots in this!) I then added a box of chopped frozen spinach from my freezer and a healthy dose of curry powder, a pinch of ground ginger and a good slug of my own Below the Belt Hot Sauce (see info on post below). Better, but not quite soup yet.

I drained and rinsed off a 15 oz can of large white beans, added them to the pot. The next taste was it! I seasoned everything with lots of sea salt and freshly ground pepper and called it soup.

It wasn't a pretty process, but it sure was a tasty soup!

FYI - The photo is not actually of my overstuffed fridge, which prompted this soup, but of my sister's after our Thanksgiving meal. But you get the idea.
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Resources:
Oxo, recipes and product info: http://www.oxo.co.uk
Below the Belt Hot Sauce: http://clickblogappetit.blogspot.com/2005/11/hot-stuff-at-farm-stand.html

Souper New Feature and Smoky Corn Soup

We here at Blog Appetit, in an attempt not to become BLOB Appetit, have been long making healthy, tasty, easy soups.

I thought it would be appropriate (as in why didn't I think of this before) to share my weekly creations with you. Most times they are not specific recipes, but more like fridge clean-out lists. Other times they are real recipes with measurements and everything. I hope to post these every week or two (since if I am being a good Blog Appetit I make a new batch every week instead of wolfing down grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch every day) and in the future have the foresight to actually have photos.


Last week's soup was great.

Smoky Corn Soup
In a large pot with a little olive oil, saute a small, chopped onion and a few minced garlic cloves and a small, chopped red bell pepper. Add stock or water (maybe 6 cups, you can always add more if it is getting too thick). Add a bag of frozen corn (hey, it's out of season and was in the freezer) and a 15 oz can of diced tomatoes with juice and then simmer.

Here's were you get the smoky part, add a generous teaspoon of smoked Spanish paprika. If you don't have that (and you should, it is marvelous), add some Wright's Hickory Liquid Smoke Flavoring. (Be cautious, maybe start with a dash, taste, and work your way up to a slug.) This tasty brew of hickory smoke flavor and I'm not looking to see what else is available in most supermarkets. I also added a pinch of ground cumin, a healthy lashing of ground black pepper and a generous couple of pinches of sea salt.

Let simmer until the corn has softened and correct the seasoning. Serve as is, or do what I did, which was to use an immersion blender to puree about half the soup to make it thicker and creamier. If you don't have an immersion blender, puree in batches in your blender or food processor, curse the mess it makes and go out and buy an immersion blender. (Just kidding.)

Since I hope to post a lot of soup recipes and because the wonderful world of Blogger does not allow for category archives, I've created a new "Blue Plate Special" link for you to view all those soup recipes I am sure I will be posting. Look to the right of this post and check it out by clicking on Blog Appetit Does Soup

Please note since it is actually set up as a separate blog any comments left here won't show up there and vice versa.

One of my food writing classmates was a chef with fabulous soup recipes. I will try to get some of those for you, too.

If you have a soup recipe to share, put the link in your comments or send me an email through the profile feature.

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Reource: The Spanish Table is my favorite resource for all things Iberian.
http://www.spanishtable.com

Check out the smoked paprika at http://www.spanishtable.com/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=TST&Category_Code=6882

Vietnam -- Soup with Lemon Grass

This vegetable stall is in Hanoi's December 19th market. The food is all fresh and beautifully arranged. The market is also housed indoors and a bit less rustic than the "Wet Market" in old town and much smaller and more manageable than the Central Market (which has many offerings other than food).

These incredible vegetables show up in much of the food in Vietnam. Even the herbs that you sprinkle on your soup are some how more full tasting and delicious than the herbs we are used to, even here in California.

While I took lots of market and vegetable photos during my visit to Vietnam last summer, I kept forgetting to take a picture of lemon grass to illustrate my "faux" pho recipe. So here's just a food photo I like and a recipe I hope you'll enjoy.

Asian Noodle Soup

About Eight Servings

This soup came about after my husband came back from his first trip to Vietnam. He asked me to cook “something” with lemon grass, a traditional Vietnamese flavor. I began to experiment with the citrusy, woody stalks, looking for a way to enjoy its fresh taste in a clean, vibrant, low-calorie way. A trip to the local produce store inspired this soup, which I nicknamed “faux pho,” after the Vietnamese noodle soup. Most pho soups are beef based, but my favorite was a lighter seafood and vegetable version. (If you can’t find lemon grass, add the extra lime juice, the soup is still wonderful.) Don’t forget to add the toppings to the individual bowls, they really make the dish special.

Soup Stock
· 4 cups low-sodium or homemade chicken stock or light vegetable broth
· 4 - 6 cups water (depending on how thin or thick you want your soup)
· Fresh ginger root, the size of a walnut, peeled and cut into thin slices
· 2 stalks of fresh lemon grass (do not substitute dried), trimmed with root end cut off, outer leaves peeled off and darker top stems discarded, leaving two approximately 8 - to - 10 inch stalks. Slice each stalk into half lengthwise creating four half stalks.

“Hard” Vegetables
· 1/4 cup chopped shallot or red onion
· 1 large red bell pepper, cut into ½ inch to ¾ inch dice
· 3 cups of chopped Asian (such as bok choy, baby bok choy, Napa cabbage) or green cabbage. (I used baby bok choy, saving the green leafy part for use later in the recipe and just using the white stalks for this part.)
· 8 to 12 fresh or reconstituted dried shitake mushrooms or 8-12 medium large white button mushrooms stemmed and cut into quarters. (I think the flavor and texture of the fresh shitake are really special in this soup. To use dried, soak in hot water for 30 minutes until soft.)
· 2 large carrots, cut into thin slices

Greens
· 3 cups of Asian greens or spinach leaves, chopped. (I used the tops of the baby bok choy here as well as pea sprouts, which look like miniature spinach leaves with a long thin stem. Produce and specialty markets have a variety of Asian greens such as pea sprouts and mizuna.)

Seasonings
· 4 tablespoons of Vietnamese or Thai fish sauce (sometimes labeled nam pla or nuoc mam), available in large supermarkets and specialty stores. If you don’t have it, see soy sauce.
· 2 tablespoons of soy sauce. If you are not using fish sauce, increase to 4 tablespoons
· Juice of ½ of a fresh lime. If you are not using lemon grass, increase to juice of a whole lime
· Fresh small hot red pepper (such as Thai, serrano or jalapeno), cut into thin rings, optional

The Noodles
1/2 pound of dried rice noodles

Look in the Asian or regular market for dried rice noodles about the width of fettuccine noodles (about ¼” wide). In Vietnamese they are called banh pho, but often they are packaged for Thai dishes as pad Thai noodles. If you can’t find rice noodles, fresh fettuccine is a good alternative. Cook before using.

Toppings
· Bean sprouts
· Chopped mixed herbs – basil, cilantro and mint (mandatory)
· Lime wedges
· Hot sauce, chili paste or other red pepper based sauce
· Hoisin sauce (optional – but I really enjoy it)
· Chopped green onions

Preparation
Combine soup stock ingredients and simmer for a half hour or until the mixture has picked up the lemon grass and ginger taste.

Add hard vegetables and simmer until almost soft. Add the greens and simmer two to five minutes until they begin to soften. Add seasonings, stir well and cook until greens are cooked through. Discard lemon grass stalks and ginger slices before serving.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and put in the rice noodles. Cook for about five minutes and drain. Rinse in cold water.

To serve, add a portion of the noodles to the bowl before adding the hot soup, which will warm the noodles through. Ladle soup into bowl, top with a handful of bean sprouts and about ¼ cup of chopped mixed herbs. Pass the other toppings so every one can season to taste. A small spoonful of the hot chili paste or hoisin sauce will flavor a big bowl of soup, so add condiments a bit at a time.

Note: The chopped herbs are an important component to the taste of this soup and the bean sprouts add a very satisfying crunch. I urge you not to skip them.

Make it a Meal – Make it more substantial by trying one or both of these options.

1. Add small cubes of firm tofu after the hard veggies have been cooking a few minutes. Try about 4 to 6 ounces if using the shrimp below, or use 8 ounces if just using the tofu.

2. Add in some peeled, deveined shrimp. Add after the greens have simmered a minute or so. Simmer soup just until shrimp are pink and barely cooked through. The shrimp will continue cooking in the hot broth and will toughen if overcooked. Use about a half pound if using the tofu. If not, try a pound or so.

(Originally Posted 1-Dec 2005)