Sunday, November 28, 2010

White Turkey Chili

I made the White Turkey Chili while cooking the chicken thighs with yogurt and mustard. This is from Bon Appetit. November 1996. Here's the link: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/White-Turkey-Chili-4560
I have made it many times including for my book group. Always a big hit! I made it one night ahead. I will serve it with warm crusty bread and unsalted butter.

White Turkey Chili my way
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup minced red onion
2 garlic cloves, pressed
4 teaspoons ground cumin
3/4 pound ground turkey

26 ounces chicken stock
1/4 cup pearl barley
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
1 teaspoon dried sage
1 15- to 16-ounce can butter beans rinsed, drained
1 15- to 16-can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), rinsed, drained
Several dashes of hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco)

Chopped green onions
Grated cheddar cheese
Sour cream

Heat oil in large heavy saucepan. Add onion and garlic. Saute for about 5 minutes until soft and fragrant. Add cumin and stir for about 30 seconds. Add ground turkey and saute until no longer pink.

Add stock barley and herbes. Cook approximately 40 minutes until barley is tender.

Add beans and simmer another 15 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and Tabasco. Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to simmer before serving.

Serve chili, passing green onions, cheese and sour cream separately.

Enjoy!

Chicken with Yogurt and Mustard

This is one of my go-to chicken recipes. It is from Chef Laurence Jossel formerly of Chez Nous and now with Nopa. There are few ingredients and it is easy but has great flavor.

Chicken with Yogurt and Mustard my way

8 ounces plain non fat Greek yogurt
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
1 teaspoon dried thyme
4 skinless, chicken thighs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large baking ceramic baking dish mix yogurt and mustard. Season with thyme, salt and pepper.

Drag chicken through yogurt mixture on both sides. Bake uncovered in the middle of the oven for 45 minutes. Turn chicken over and bake until done, approximately 15 more minutes.

I served this with roasted brussel sprouts tossed with olive oil, kosher salt and pepper. It is also good with roasted sweet potato slices.

Enjoy!

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Split Pea Soup with Ham

Mike and I have had colds lately so we've been laying low. Mike requested split pea soup so here it is. I had no leftover ham and all the hams at the store looked like they had been injected with water and chemicals so I bought 2 slices of organic non cured ham (no nitrates!). If you prefer use smoked turkey.

Split Pea Soup with Ham

14 ounces organic green split peas
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 red onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, split, cored and pressed
2 carrots, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
approximately 8 cups chicken stock
2 large slices ham, chopped
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons thyme
kosher salt and pepper

Heat olive oil in large pot. Add onion and cook until it begins to soften. Add garlic and cook until fragrant. Add carrots and celery and cook about 3 minutes. Add chicken stock and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Add peas and cook approximately 60 minutes. Add the ham and thyme and season with salt and pepper. Cook until peas soft and ham heated through, about 30 minutes. Taste and season accordingly.

I'm serving this with warm crusty bread and red wine.

Enjoy!

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Fresh Pasta with Chicken Livers

I know that everyone does not love chicken livers like Mike and I do but remember they are high in iron, low in fat and very inexpensive-besides delicious. As far as substitutions, if you are like my mom use calves liver instead. I'm not sure what else you could substitute possibly sausage. But if you're open to new things please give it a try. I made a chicken dish on Monday from Food and Wine by Grace Parisi and guess what? This is one of hers too. It is from the December 2010 Food and Wine issue. http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/fresh-fettuccine-with-chicken-liver-sauce

I bought fresh pasta from Marin Pasta Works here in San Rafael. The shape I bought, tripoline, was a wide-ish noddle with 1 ruffly edge. You could use fresh fettuccine or tagliatelle. Here's their link: http://www.marinpastaworks.com/

The recipe called for shallot but I missed that somehow and didn't have any on hand so I used onion.

~1/2 pound chicken livers, trimmed
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon extra olive oil
1/2 large red onion, minced
1 garlic clove, halved, remove core and pressed
1 teaspoon dry thyme
1/4 cup dry white wine
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
10 ounces fresh tripoline
2 cups quartered grape or cherry tomatoes

In a medium bowl, cover the chicken livers with the milk and let stand for 30 minutes. Drain and pat completely dry.

In a large skillet, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the chicken livers and cook over high heat until lightly browned on the bottoms, about 2 minutes. Turn the livers. Add the onion, garlic and thyme to the skillet and cook until the onion and garlic are fragrant and softened, about 2 minutes. Add the white wine and cook, scraping up any bits stuck to the bottom of the pan, until the liquid is evaporated and the livers are cooked through, about 2 minutes. Cut the livers into small bite size pieces. Add the butter and season with salt and pepper.

In a large pot of generously salted boiling water, cook the pasta until just al dente. Using tongs add the pasta to the chicken liver pan, reserving 3/4 cup of the cooking water. Add the tomatoes and the reserved pasta cooking water. Bring to a simmer over moderately low heat, tossing until the pasta is coated with the creamy sauce. Transfer to bowls and serve right away.

Mike was saying Wow! 10 minutes after he had finished his meal. We had it with a bottle of Vina Robles Signature 2007 Estate Cuvee, a blend of Petit Verdot and Petite Sirah. Incredible!

Enjoy!

Monday, November 15, 2010

Curried Chicken, Brussels Sprouts and Butternut Squash Roast

Mike and I love roasted vegetables, especially brussels sprouts. We also love butternut squash so I was very excited to see this recipe in the November 2010 issue of Food & Wine. I am also a fan of Grace Parisi who came up with this recipe combining my favorite fall vegetables. Here's the link: http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/curried-chicken-and-vegetable-pan-roast

Roasted Chicken and Vegetables my way

1 small butternut squash, trimmed, peeled and cut in 1-inch cubes
1 pound brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
1/2 large red onions, cut into thick slices
4 tablespoons olive oil
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup plain fat-free Greek yogurt, plus more for serving
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
2 large garlic cloves, pressed
1 tablespoon curry powder
4 skinless chicken thighs
Warm naan, for serving

Preheat the oven to 450° and position rack in the middle third. In a very large bowl, toss the butternut squash with the brussels sprouts, onion slices and 3 tablespoons of the olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Spread the vegetables on a large, sturdy rimmed baking sheet.

In the same bowl, combine the cup of yogurt with the ginger, garlic, curry powder and the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Add the chicken and toss until thoroughly coated. Arrange the chicken on top of the vegetables. Roast for about 30 minutes, rotate the pan, cook another 15 minutes until the vegetables are tender and browned, and the chicken is cooked through. Transfer the chicken and vegetables to plates and serve with warm naan and yogurt.

I love one dish meals and this is a winner!

Enjoy!