Next up: chili. Is it a soup? Is it okay to make when you are from the land of chile, as we are? What are its core components? Does it belong on this blog? After discussing these existential questions with my brother last night, I decided to invite him to submit a recipe of his own. My mom, brother, and I all hold "Michigan Chili" - ground beef, kidney beans, tomatoes, and ground chile, named by my Michigander mother - in the highest esteem. ( My grandma even made me a special batch to welcome me back to Michigan this summer!) As a result, however, we need to move outside our chili comfort zones. So even if it might be pushing the conception of soup a little far, we decided it would be an appropriate project for this blog.
After our rousing conversation, which provided no concrete answers, Nathaniel gamely jumped into the chili challenge, and provided the first of our three recipes. As well as the title for this post: Chili of Opportunity. Please note in what follows the EXTREME importance of vigilantly monitoring the burner temperature.
NATHANIEL'S OPPORTUNISTIC CHILI
Some people have a special recipe for chili, with specific ingredients, but I find it to be a great meal of opportunity. It comes out differently every time if you use what is on hand. Here is my chili of opportunity:
First, I put the following into a pot:
3 stalks of organic celery, roughly chopped
½ red bell pepper that was found in the back of the fridge from an unknown
previous meal
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 lb. ground bison
olive oil
3 stalks of organic celery, roughly chopped
½ red bell pepper that was found in the back of the fridge from an unknown
previous meal
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 lb. ground bison
olive oil
I usually would put an onion as well, but we didn’t have one.
My stove has a number of settings on the burners: Lo, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Hi, and Power Boil. Now, I’m not sure if Hi equates to High on an electric stove, or if Power Boil does. Which means, where is “medium”? Is it at 3.5? 4? I’m not sure. There are some questions the world is not ready for. I turned the burner on to 3.5. But then I became impatient due to a lack of sizzling sounds, so I turned it up to 5. But then it seemed to be on too high, so it went back down to 3 ¾.
Then I added some chicken bouillon, so that the vegetables would soften better due to the salt. Knorr brand is the only way to go.
It didn’t seem to be cooking high enough again, so back up to 4.5. That didn’t quite do it, so up to 4 ¾.
At this point I added about 2 tsp. ground Chimayo red chile, and cooked until all was, well, cooked.
Next came the canned goods: a 28-oz can of organic diced tomatoes, and 15-oz cans each (drained and rinsed) of organic black-eyed peas and black soybeans. I usually would have gone for black beans, pinto beans, and/or kidney beans, but none were to be found. Although technically both black and bean, black soybeans taste somewhat different than black beans. More soy-y I guess. They really taste just like edamame. But black. They did work just fine though. I also added:
another couple of teaspoons of ground chile
a teaspoon more of chicken bouillon
1 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
My stove has a number of settings on the burners: Lo, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Hi, and Power Boil. Now, I’m not sure if Hi equates to High on an electric stove, or if Power Boil does. Which means, where is “medium”? Is it at 3.5? 4? I’m not sure. There are some questions the world is not ready for. I turned the burner on to 3.5. But then I became impatient due to a lack of sizzling sounds, so I turned it up to 5. But then it seemed to be on too high, so it went back down to 3 ¾.
Then I added some chicken bouillon, so that the vegetables would soften better due to the salt. Knorr brand is the only way to go.
It didn’t seem to be cooking high enough again, so back up to 4.5. That didn’t quite do it, so up to 4 ¾.
At this point I added about 2 tsp. ground Chimayo red chile, and cooked until all was, well, cooked.
Next came the canned goods: a 28-oz can of organic diced tomatoes, and 15-oz cans each (drained and rinsed) of organic black-eyed peas and black soybeans. I usually would have gone for black beans, pinto beans, and/or kidney beans, but none were to be found. Although technically both black and bean, black soybeans taste somewhat different than black beans. More soy-y I guess. They really taste just like edamame. But black. They did work just fine though. I also added:
another couple of teaspoons of ground chile
a teaspoon more of chicken bouillon
1 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
At this time, my darling daughter made it known that it was time for her to go to bed. So, I turned it all down to 1.5 for baby bedtime. After those proceedings, which took maybe 20 minutes, I added a dash each of ground coriander seed, dried dill, and dried thyme, and maybe a couple of teaspoons dried oregano. Another 2 tsp chicken bouillon went in, along with some black pepper, and 1 tsp yellow curry powder.
Lo and behold, it was not simmering any longer, so I turned the burner up to 5.
After tasting, it wasn’t quite right. It needed more sweetness and acidity. What has both? Nature’s most perfect condiment, ketchup! I put about a tablespoon of that in. I was also informed that we had a hidden can of corn in the cabinet, so I rinsed, drained, and dumped it in.
Now it was boiling too hard, and no one wants splattered tomato all over their kitchen and shirt. So, down to 3 2/3 it went on the burner.
After about a teaspoon more salt, it tasted just right. For today’s chili at least. Served with grated sharp cheddar on top, and with saltine crackers on the side.
Lo and behold, it was not simmering any longer, so I turned the burner up to 5.
After tasting, it wasn’t quite right. It needed more sweetness and acidity. What has both? Nature’s most perfect condiment, ketchup! I put about a tablespoon of that in. I was also informed that we had a hidden can of corn in the cabinet, so I rinsed, drained, and dumped it in.
Now it was boiling too hard, and no one wants splattered tomato all over their kitchen and shirt. So, down to 3 2/3 it went on the burner.
After about a teaspoon more salt, it tasted just right. For today’s chili at least. Served with grated sharp cheddar on top, and with saltine crackers on the side.
CASSIE'S AUTUMNAL VEGETARIAN CHILI
I decided that my chili contribution would be vegetarian, and I wanted to incorporate fall vegetables like winter squash or sweet potato. I’d been searching for a suitable recipe for a few days and couldn’t find one that was exciting enough to get me to go to the grocery store. But tonight I wanted to have chili for dinner, so I took Nathaniel’s “chili of opportunity” concept to heart, as well as a few cues from the recipes I had reviewed (I never would have thought to add coffee, for example, on my own). The result was delicious!
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 butternut squash, peeled and diced
1 large carrot, diced
1 ½ cups tomato sauce
1 28-ounce can of tomatoes
2 cups broth
2-3 chopped chipotles in adobo
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 bay leaf
1 16-ounce can black beans
1 16-ounce can chickpeas
¼ cup brewed coffee
salt and pepper
juice of 1 lime
to garnish:
diced avocado, chopped green onion
Heat the oil in a stock pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, squash, carrot, and
salt. Cook until the onion begins to
soften, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes,
sauce, broth, chipotles, and spices. With the back of a wooden spoon, break up the tomatoes.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and add beans and coffee. Simmer for 30 minutes or so, until the
vegetables are soft and the liquid has reduced.
Turn of the heat, add
lime juice and salt and pepper to taste.
Serve garnished with avocado and chopped green onion.
ANN'S CHICKEN CASHEW CHILI
from Gourmet Today, edited by Ruth Reichl
4 dried ancho chiles
2-1/2 c. chicken stock
1 T. canned chipotle chiles in adobo
1-1/2 c. salted roasted cashews
1/4 c. olive oil
2 lg. onions, coarsely chopped
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 T. ground cumin
2 t. salt
1 (3-/2 to 4 lb) chicken, rinsed, patted dry, excess fat discarded and cut into 8 pieces
1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro
28 oz. can diced tomatoes in juice
1 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 (19 oz) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
Heat a dry small skillet over moderate heat until hot and toast dried chiles for several seconds on each side to make them pliable. Seed and devein dried chiles and discard stems. Tear the chiles into pieces and transfer to a blender. Add stock, chipotles and 1/2 c. cashews and puree until smooth.
Heat oil in a 6-7 qt. wide heavy pot over moderate heat until hot but not smoking. Add onions and garlic and cook, stirring, until softened, 5-7 min. Add cumin and salt and cook, stirring, for 1 min. Add chicken and stir to coat with onion mixture. Stir in chile puree, 1/4 c. cilantro, and tomatoes with juice. Bring to a simmer and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally to avoid sticking, until chicken is cooked through, about 45 min. Remove from heat and transfer chicken to a plate to cool. Shred meat using two forks and discard bones and skin. Return chicken to pot and stir in chocolate, beans, remaining 1 c. of cashews and remaining 1/4 c. cilantro. Cook over moderate heat, stirring, until chili is heated through and chocolate is melted.
Ann's Version
I stuck pretty closely to the recipe with just a very few small changes. I used 4 c. of chicken stock as I wanted this to be more soupy than stewy, and I used a 5-1/2 lb. chicken (with no salt water injection). I used cumin seed rather than ground cumin since I like the chewiness of the seeds and also think the whole seed is much more flavorful than the ground. Luckily I have lots of beautiful fresh cilantro growing in the garden--it is definitely a late fall and early spring crop in New Mexico and won't grow at all in the summer heat. The chili simmered for about 1-1/4 hrs. since I had a lot of meat in the pot.
The chile smelled incredible as it cooked and tasted even better. The sauce was very mole-like (a good thing!) and it was not too spicy (the only thing I might change for my taste is to use slightly hotter chiles). This was one of the best soups I've made yet and somewhat reminiscent of the Spicy Chicken Peanut soup we made a year or so ago that we all loved so much. It was also quite easy to make--shredding the cooked chicken was the most work. I highly recommend this recipe.
Nathaniel provided yet another chili recipe, sending the following along:
Not to be left out, Alex made her own chili! This was enjoyed by not only her and I, but also in hearty quantities by baby Josephine, despite it being spicier than my chili! Exact burner settings were not obtained, but even so I believe these scant details will suffice.
Vegetarian-ish Chili
She [editor's note: "she" is Alex, not the baby] first put
2 diced organic zucchini (is a singular a zucchinus?)
6 diced scallions
1 pinch crushed red pepper
2 pinches salt
some powdered garlic
2 shakes of dried oregano
1 pinch thyme
2-3 T. olive oil
into a pot, and cooked it all through. In case it matters for pinch size, she has small hands and fingers. And the red pepper was previously crushed; it was not a result of the pinching, however vigorous.
After that was all cooked, she added drained and rinsed cans of organic butter beans, kidney beans (we did have some after all!), corn, and a large can of organic crushed tomatoes. She spiced that up with 1 tsp. red chile powder, 2 bay leaves, 2 tsp. Knorr chicken bouillon (hence the “ish” in the dish’s title), and then some more salt and chile powder (about a teaspoon each), another small-fingered pinch of thyme, and 2 pinches dried parsley. It tasted like tomato vegetable soup at this point. How to make it into chili? Some cinnamon and generous amounts of ketchup.
If this is too spicy for you, apparently you’re wimpier than a 9-month old baby.
ELLEN'S CHILI OF OPPORTUNITY
(Aunt) Ellen was also moved to make chili! I had no idea that chili was so popular. Her tomato-less version sounds particularly good.
I realized I had the opportunity when my sister, nieces and nephew all joined in on this challenge at the same time a co-worker posed a chili cook off in my last week at work. How could I resist?
My opportunity came in the form of cooked chicken breasts, fresh cilantro, chicken broth and wonderful dried green New Mexico chili powder from my sister. I admit to cheating a bit, it needed more white beans and yellow peppers to provide the proper balance so I sent my husband out for those as we needed coffee anyway.
I sautéed chopped onion with the peppers while onion, garlic and tomatillos roasted for about 30 minutes at 400 degrees. When the sautéed veggies were soft I added the roasted ones (after first pureeing in a blender) and cooked it all together for about 5 minutes to meld the flavors. Then I added about 2 tsp of the green chili powder, 1tsp cumin and 2 tsp oregano (using up the last of that jar). Continued cooking that for about another 5 minutes then added a large box of organic chicken broth, the rinsed beans (small white habichuelas, 3 small cans) and the diced chicken breasts.
I let it all simmer for about 20 minutes, then added chopped fresh cilantro and adjusted the salt (which I forgot to mention I first added when sautéing the onions and peppers). Beau and I sampled with sour cream and crumbled tortilla chips (wonderful ones from Mexicantown in Detroit) as garnish. Tastes great per Beau. I think I'll amp up the chilies in the portion I keep for home, for work I'll leave it milder.
Great option for a non-tomato based chili. I'll make it again.
