Chicken and White Bean Chili
1lb of dried small white beans
8 anaheim chiles(cubanelle is good also)1lb
1/4 cup butter
2 chopped large onions
1/3 cup of all purpose flour
4 cups chicken broth (low salt)
3 cups 1/2 and 1/2
4 cups shredded cooked chicken
1T of chili powder
1 T hot pepper sauce
1 T ground cumin
2 t. salt
1/2 t. of white pepper
garnishes:
1 1/2 cups of monterrey jack cheese
1 cup sour cream
chopped cilantro
tomatillo or green chile salsa

~Put beans in pot and cover with cold water. Let stand overnight. Char chilis over gas flame or broiler. Blacken all sides. Put in paper bag for 10 minutes. Peel, seed and chop chilis.
~Drain beans and return to pot. Add cold water and cover by 3". Simmer for 1 hour until beans are tender. Drain well. Set aside.
~Melt butter in large heavy pot over medium heat. Add onions and saute until tender. Add flour and stir 5min. Do not brown.
~Gradually whisk in 1/2 and 1/2 and broth. Simmer until thickened, 10 min. Add beans, chilis, chicken and next five ingredients. Simmer for 20 minutes.
~Add cheese and sour cream to chili and stir until cheese melts. Garnish with cilantro and salsa.

Notes: I have used the cheese and the sour cream as a garnish and it has been delish. I think it is rich enough...also easier to reheat if you don't add cheese and sour cream.
I also serve with large mouth fritos.
This is my friend Sims' recipe. I am not sure of its origins but it is GOOD!

Chipotle Black Beans and First Posts

My first sojourn to the blog o'sphere. I love the photos! The one of BB and the blender in the soup should be up for an award.

My only noteworthy food epiphany of late is the Chipotle Black Beans recipe from that Bride and Groom cookbook. I'll post the recipe if anyone wants it, but I feel like everyone has the book. I made it for dinner on Monday and I'll damned if my children, all THREE, at them until there were none left. Served them with rice and grilled chicken breasts. You would have thought the beans were ice cream, the way the kids devoured them (and they are seriously picky eaters.)

Is this what I'm supposed to be writing on our blog???

p.s. Barrie, will you post your chicken chili recipe? I am dying to make it.

Thought I posted it, but made a comment instead. This isn't easy.

Vaynerchuk wine site

Have y'all seen this website- daily 15 - 20 minute videos about wine, usually with notable guest tasters. This guy hails from WAY north of the MD line, but seems very knowledgeable about wine and I think it is an entertaining show. Check out his review of the Trader Joe's 2 buck Chuck series.... tv.winelibrary.com

Donna Hay's Salmon with Salsa Verde and Lentil Soup

Salmon Baked in Salsa Verde is simple and yummy. I asked the butchers at the Fresh Market to get the Alaskan Sockeye Salmon frozen in the package. Which is really what they have in the case but not thawed. It is always the freshest, I think.

1 large Filet of Alaskan Salmon 2lbs(made fish sticks for kids with a 1/2 lb

salsa verde:

1/3 cup dill roughly chopped

1/3 cup flat parsley r. chopped

1/3 cup of mint r. chopped

2 cloves garlic r. chopped

1 T of dijon mustard

8 anchovy fillets

3 T capers, rinsed and drained

1/3 cup olive oil

2 T lemon juice

preheat oven to 400. To make salsa verde. Process the first 7 ingredients until smooth in a food processor. Add the oil and the lemon juice until combined. Place the salmon in a baking dish and spread with the salsa verde. Bake for 6-10 min or until the salmon is medium rare. Serve with steamed greens but I chose Lentil and Leek soup. Brush teeth. Repeat.

Lentil and Pancetta Soup

1 T of oil

2 leeks, chopped

8 slices of pancetta(I used the 4 oz box of diced pancetta from the HT deli section)

14 oz of lentils

6 cups of chicken stock

s and p to taste

Place oil in large sauce/soup pan over medium heat. Add pancetta and leeks. I added pancetta and let it brown a bit before I added leeks. Add the stock and the lentils. Let soup boil rapidly for 15-18 minutes.

While soup is cooking, grill or broil two thin slices of pancetta until crisp. Set aside.

Ladle into bowls. Add crisp pancetta to top and serve with lemon wedges to be squeezed over soup or a dollop of creme fraiche.

Crying While Eating

I am reading a fabulous new cookbook that Liz gave to me......The Splendid Table's HOW TO EAT SUPPER........I am going to have a multitude of good recipes from it to share, I am sure. There was mention of a website that I thought some of you would like. The book contends that "Nothing puts a bad mood in its place like cryingwhileeating.com ". Check it out and let me know what you think.

Gourmet cheese straws- revisited

OK I tried the cheese straws again (recipe in our Gourmet Thanksgiving packet) - major improvement over the well-blackened version at Haley's! I skimped a bit on the cheese and shouldn't have- they don't taste cheesy enough. BUT very flaky, tasty and I bet will be a crowd pleaser. Also so easy if you just set the timer!! The two layers started to come apart when I was twisting them but it didn't seem to matter much. The recipe says not to bake too far ahead, but I am thinking a minute or two in the oven, wrapped in foil and they should be good as new for at least a few days!

Sara Wade's Ham Bisquits

I picked up 10 dozen biscuits for Billy's 2nd grade play party from Sara Wade today. With my newly acquired blog skills, I thought I would take a picture of her and post it with her phone number. She flatly refused. She said, "I only do this for family and friends, now who are you? Tell them you made them yourself." I quickly fled the scene and threw out a few names of people that I thought had given me her number. I got my courage up and called her to tell her I couldn't tell my friends that I made them unless I knew how to do it.

So here it is:

Marshall's brand biscuits(at HT in the freezer section)

French's mustard

plenty of salted butter

Smithfield Country Ham sliced very very thin.

She said that she picks them up at the HT the day before she needs them. They thaw in the car ride home. She slices them. A thin spread of french's mustard on one side and thin(look at the picture, its not that thin) slice of butter( I would call that a pat of butter) on the other side. About three very thin slices of country ham(Fresh Market) the size of the biscuits. Pack them back in the tin trays and store in fridge until needed(no more than a day). Cook for 10 to 15 minutes in a 400 degree oven. She said that her sister-in-law("who is not a very good cook") will freeze them assembled and cook them just the same when she needs them on a moments notice.

This is the kind of ham biscuit eastern North Caroleneans grew up eating. My dad turns his nose up at the ones on a parker house roll with cheese, sweet mustard and onion spread. She is the only person I know besides my grandmother, who knows how to do it this way. Enjoy and plan on going to hot yoga the next day if you eat more than two of them. My feet are swelling now since I had to bake and eat three for lunch.

Ladies, I promise I will loose interest in this blog thing but it will be BB heavy if someone doesn't waste time on it like I am doing. I am glad none of my clients are members..they would all know why I was ignoring their phone calls.

xo bb

Easy Pork Tenderloin Stir Fry from Bon Appetit

entire dinner took me about 35 min and was very well rcvd.

1 1.25 lb of pork tenderloin, trimmed, cut crosswise into 1/2" thick round, then cut into 1/2-inch wide strips

1 T cornstarch

2 T Asian sesame oil, divided

1 T minced peeled, fresh ginger

4 small unpeeled tangerines or clementines, cut(with peel) into 3/4" pieces

1/4 cup Asian sweet chili sauce(at HT in yellow and red bottle)

2T soy sauce

1/4 t if Chinese 5 spice powder

6 baby bok choy or 3 large(better with baby), cut crosswise into 1" thick ribbons, tough base removed

5 green onions, thinly sliced on diagonal(used thin onions and cooked them with bok choy when I forgot green onions)

Place cut tenderloin in bowl, sprinkle with S and P and coat with cornstarch. Heat 1 T of sesame oil in large non stick skillet over med high heat. Add minced ginger; stir for 30 secs, Add tenderloin strips; stir fry pork until it is beginning to brown and is almost cooked through, about 3 min. Add tangerine pieces and Chinese 5 spice powder; boil until sauce thickens slightly, tossing to blend, about 1 minute. Stir in remaining 1 T of sesame oil(not necessary), bok choy and rest of sliced onions. Stir until bok choy is wilted, 1 to 2 min. Season to taste. Sprinkle with remaining green onions.

special note: they said you can eat the tangerines with skin...you may like it but it was a tad chewy for me. I guess it is a little like having shrimp tails leftover on your plate. If that bothers you, I think adding the rind chopped finely might give the same flavor with a little juice added?

It is really good and healthy. Also, after buying the Chinese 5 spice and the Asian sweet sauce, I can pull it together pretty quickly. The recipe said nothing about having it over rice. The second time I did it, I used Basmati rice in my rice steamer. Matt loved it.

xo. Kay is home sick so I am blogging while she watches Sponge Bob.

bb

Haley's soup and her vibr....immersion blender

Haley's version with peeled potatoes and zucchini and the blender! A tad more appetizing, wouldn't you agree? I am adding the blender to my Christmas list.

Night Night! I might have an addiction.

bb

Sunday Night Dinner

A few of us met at Park Road Books today to meet Matt and Ted Lee, authors of Simple Fresh Southern and The Lee bros Southern Cookbook. They were signing books for their latest book. We also had ulterior motives to talk them into coming to our next food night at Molly's house. They agreed to as long as we served strong cocktails somewhere around 5 ish. We promised to drive them to and from their talk at Queen's College and make mean, homemade cocktails with a few of our favorite appetizers. Designated drivers please volunteer!

Inspired by the presence of other cooks/kooks, I asked for a Sunday night meal. Haley quickly told us her menu of Chicken Wing salad and potato/Leek soup. Matt had a bloody venison tenderloin thawing and dripping in my fridge....so I thought, the soup sounded great to go with... I took the verbal recipe and ran to the HT with no quantities or brain.

Haley emailed me a list of quantities and I told her I could wing the rest. right!?!

She needs to post the exact recipe...but this is what I did and how it looked.

3 leeks

1 large carrot

1 zucchini

1 large celery stalk

4 medium yukon gold potatoes

8 cups chick stock

4 T half and half

a squeeze of a lemon.

I thought the skin on the potatoes looked thin enough and I didn't even contemplate skinning the zucchini. Haley told me told me to use an immersion blender. I didn't have one so after sauteing veggies, adding stock and potatoes...cooking. Feeling lazy and not wanting to transfer a vat of hot soup in stages into my Cuisinart, I reached for my handheld blender(which I have used twice) and proceeded to stick the blender in the soup. Kitchen, dogs, my hair, every crevice near the stove was blasted with potato leek soup.

Soup & Salad Sunday Supper

What an exciting trip to Park Road Books for the Lee Brothers book signing! They seem to be on board to join us for cocktails at our December meeting before their talk at Queens College. Kudos to Barrie and Katherine for their charm. I brought nothing but was nervous and sweaty, per usual. After an hour of non-stop food talk, I came home to start preparing our Soup & Salad Sunday Supper. I made my old standby Potato Leek Soup and tried a new recipe from my "new" Ellie Kriegrer cookbook (and when I say "new" I mean a newly purchased Christmas gift for someone....maybe one of you....that I am carefully using until the time when I have to wrap it up). I thought I would share the recipes since I wanted to finally figure out this blog thing. Hope you are all having a nice Sunday night and have a wonderful Thanksgiving week. I think we should have mandatory blog posts of all our Thanksgiving meals (complete with pictures). Mine will be lacking since I have the vegetarians coming.

Ellie's Buffalo Chicken Salad

1lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded, cut into strips

2 TB Frank's Hot Sauce

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 heart of romaine, cut into strips

4 stalks celery, thinly sliced

2 medium carrots, coarsely grated

2 scallions, thinly sliced green parts only

1/2 cup blue cheese dressing (recipe follows)

Preheat broiler.

In large bowl, toss chicken strips with hot sauce and oil. Arrange chicken on baking sheet and broil until cooked through, 4-6 minutes, turning once.

In large bowl, combine the romaine, celery carrots and scallions and toss with dressing. Divide on plates and top with warm chicken. Serve with extra hot sauce.

(I did not toss it together with dressing as instructed......I should have....would have been better)

Ellie's Blue Cheese Dressing

1/4 cup nonfat plain yogurt

1/3 cut lowfat buttermilk

2 TB mayo

1 TB white wine vinegar

1/2 t sugar

1/3 cup blue cheese crumbled

Salt and pepper to taste

Strain yogurt in a strainer lined with doubled up paper towel for 20 minutes in refrigerator.

Whisk buttermilk and yogurt into mayo until smooth. Add vinegar and sugar and continue to whisk until well combined. Stir in the blue cheese and season with salt and pepper.

(I liked the dressing.....lighter than normal blue cheese I make with sour cream....but it was good.)

Adrienne's Potato Leek Soup

3 leeks, white and light green parts only, sliced

2 carrots, chopped

2 celery, chopped

1 zucchini, peeled and chopped

4-5 white or yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes

8 cups chicken broth

1/4 cup light cream or whole milk

lemon

Salt and pepper to taste

Saute leeks, carrots, celery and zucchini in olive oil until soft (10 minutes or so). Add potatoes and cover with chicken broth. Bring to a boil and simmer until potatoes are soft. Take off burner and blend using an immersion blender. Add cream and warm through but do not boil. Add Salt and Pepper to taste. Ladle into bowls and squeeze a little lemon in each.

More on cheese plates... I heard Martha Stewart use a catch-phrase today that I liked. Her reminder jingle for cheese assortments is "Something old, something new, something stinky, something blue." Pretty good, huh?!

Finding Your Inner Child

Hosted @ Katherine's with Mary Bradley. My, oh my did we cook up some eatin' this night. Julia Child was our inspiration and we experimented with the "proper" French cheese plate, garlic soup, beurre blanc (well, we tried), citrus souffle and melt-in-your-mouth Camembert quiche. See everyone in their vintage aprons!

AC shows off one of the wines from Charlotte's newest wine house, Bond Street. So, so good.

September 24, 2009

Celebrating Stitt!

Hosted @ Haley's with Molly Macon. Frank's newest cookbook, Bottega, provided us with simple, luxe dishes. Salad with pancetta and soft scrambled eggs; surprisingly decadent (yet jaw-dropping simple) strawberry sauce over ice cream. Too much wine (!), but oh, was it great wine. Haley's handmade focaccia accompanied calendars flying and iPhone screens shifting as we planned the next few months of exploring great food, unique wine & divine friends.

May 27, 2009