Snow Day

We are getting our first real snow storm of the season. The kids even got sent home early from school today. Such glee! Colorado weather can be so funny. March is on record as being our snowiest month most years. I was so excited to have a snowy day because I thought that gave me one more chance to have chili! Light spring cooking can wait! I have tweaked this recipe a little here, a little there, and I am as happy as can be with it now. I make it alternately with beef or ground turkey. I like both versions equally well. I had ground turkey in the freezer so that made my choice easy this time. There are a lot of variables you can play with to spice it up or down so it is easy to make it suit your taste. We like it in the mild to medium range if I know my kids will be eating it. Otherwise I prefer it to have a solid medium zip to it if I don't have to be concerned with whom I am sharing it. Sometimes I use the mild green chiles in a can or I might use some fire-roasted Big Jim's or Poblanos for a little more heat that I roast myself or get from the farmer's market (I keep a stash in the freezer). I like to add black beans and corn because the contrasting colors are really pretty in the bowl and the veggies just make it even healthier for you. I cook it for hours but it could cook for as little as 90 minutes and still be great. Of course, the next day's leftover's are even better...if you still have any. Serve it hot, over cooked rice or not, with all the usual toppings- sour cream, cheese, maybe some diced avocado, fresh cilantro or onion and warm, freshly baked corn bread. I can't wait for dinner!

My Favorite Chili

2 1/2 pounds ground turkey or lean ground beef
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 cups fresh diced onions

4 teaspoons minced fresh garlic, peeled

1 c. shredded carrot, chopped fine

1 green bell pepper, seeded, stemmed and diced

1-2 tsp. dried red chili flakes, or to taste

1 1/2 Tbsp ground cumin

1/4 c. chili powder (doesn't contribute to heat really)

1- 28 oz can diced tomatoes in juice, coarsely pureed

1 -6 oz can tomato paste

1 Tbsp red wine vinegar

3 1/2 c. chicken broth (substitute beef broth if using ground beef for meat)

1 -15 oz. can black beans or pinto beans, rinsed and drained (optional)

1/2 c. fire-roasted diced green chiles (from a can or your favorite)

salt and pepper to taste

2/3 c. frozen corn (optional)

Season meat with salt and pepper. Brown turkey or beef in in heavy-bottomed Dutch oven (such as enameled cast iron). Remove meat to a bowl using a slotted spoon. Wipe out fat. In same pot, pour in olive oil. Heat until hot but not smoking. Stir in onion, garlic, bell pepper and carrots. Cook over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes, stirring often. Stir in cumin , chili flakes and chili powder. Cook and stir for an additional 5 minutes, stirring often to prevent seasoning from scorching. Stir in tomatoes, tomato paste, vinegar, diced green chiles, broth and beans of your choice. Season lightly with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. Bring to a boil. Partially cover, reduce heat and simmer on very low heat for 90 minutes to 3 hours (I prefer the longer cooking time), stirring occasionally. Stir in corn during last 20 minutes of cooking. When chili is thickened and reduced it is just right! Serve straight from the pot with your favorite toppings.

Beef Stew and Biscuits

Alas, it was too good to be true. Our warm 60 degree plus days of the past couple of weeks were chased away by strong winds and falling temperatures. I guess winter isn't quite through with us afterall. With a chill in the air, I immediately think of tummy-warming comfort food so I got to work making a red wine beef stew I like to call Cabernet Beef along with biscuits from scratch. My kids are crazy about biscuits and love to slather them with butter and drizzle them with honey. It is an occasional treat that makes everyone happy. The beef stew is really simple and can be altered in many ways. Sometimes I put in mushrooms, sometimes potatoes, sometimes carrots. The constants are stew beef and pearl onions. If I don't include potatoes I usually serve it over mashed potatoes infused with garlic and enriched with half and half, cream cheese and sour cream (good doesn't even begin to describe these potatoes. I'll give you that recipe another day. Those are the my good friend the Queen's mashed potatoes). But back to the stew...it cooks all day long in the crock pot, filling the house with a delicious warmth and aroma that is hard to beat. The biscuits, on the other hand, come together at the last minute as long as your oven is already hot. They are cream biscuits which I first discovered thanks to Sara Moulton's long gone "Cooking Live" show on the Food Network (if you never saw that show, she is an amazing teacher. I learned so much about cooking from her). I think, however, that the iconic James Beard is the one usually credited to bringing Cream Biscuits to light. They are light and fluffy. Heavy cream is used as the liquid, and due to the fat content, doubles as the butter, too. You can jazz them up with some fresh herbs if you wish, but I usually make mine plain.

Cabernet Beef

2 lbs stew beef

1 1/4 c. pearl oninons (frozen or blanched and peeled)

1 tsp. concentrated beef base

1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 bay leaf

1 tsp minced fresh garlic

3 Tbsp. cornstarch

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

1 c. dry red wine, like a Cabernet

1/2 c. low sodium beef broth

12 mini (1 .5" diameter) gold fleshed potatoes, scrubbed clean (optional)

2-3 sprigs fresh thyme (optional)

Mix cornstarch together with red wine and beef broth. Set aside. Place all remaining ingredients into your crock pot. Pour in wine-cornstarch mixture. Cover crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until beef is very tender. Serve with warm biscuits.

Cream Biscuits

adapted from Gourmet Magazine

1 1/2 c. all purpose flour

1/2 c. cake flour

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1-2 tbsp chopped fresh herbs (optional, dill, thyme, parsley and rosemary are good choices)

1 1/4 c. heavy cream

1 egg

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Into a medium bowl, sift together, flour salt and baking powder. Stir in fresh herbs, if using. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in cream). Stir the mass just until a dough forms. If mixture appears too dry , you may need to carefully drizzle in some additional cream. Gather dough into a ball and knead gently 4 or 5 times on a lightly floured surface. Pat dough out to 1/2 " thickness. With a 3" floured cookie cutter, cut out biscuits, pressing straight down without twisting. Release biscuit to a parchment covered baking sheet. Gather up scraps and pat down again until you have cut out 8 biscuits. Beat egg with 1 tsp water and pinch of salt. Brush tops only of biscuits lightly with egg wash. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until biscuits are golden. Serve warm or at room temp with butter and honey.

Sledding and Hot Cocoa

Two days ago we finally got a little snow...just barely enough for sledding. My daughter got a carpet sled for Christmas, and she has been dying to use it. In fact, she decided that if she didn't get to use it at least once before her February 11th birthday, that the winter would be pretty much washed up. So I promised I'd take her sledding today after school, as it was a balmy 20 degrees F compared to yesterday's 6 degrees F. As soon as she arrived home from school she got into her snow clothes, called a neighbor friend to go with her and off we went. Our window of opportunity was pretty small since it still gets dark fairly early and the deeper cold quickly creeps back in. She and her friend romped merrily on the sledding slope, built a make-shift ramp so they could get some air and went up and down over and over again. When the time came to round them up to go home, a mere 45 minutes later, they were completely rosy-cheeked and red-nosed, frozen to the core. So as soon as we got home it was hot cocoa time. I recently came across this recipe in Good Housekeeping magazine which I adapted to our taste. It hit the spot, topped off by what we have come to affectionately call a marshmallow "fart". That is a spoonful of marshmallow cream, plunged into the hot cocoa. After several seconds of being submerged, it pops off the spoon and up to the surface to the delight of my daughter. It's the little things.......

Hot Cocoa Mix
adapted from Good Housekeeping

3/4 c. cocoa powder (I like Valrhona or Cocoa Barry)
3/4 c. granulated sugar
1/2 vanilla pod with seeds
3/8 tsp kosher salt
3 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 oz. mik chocolate, coarsely chopped

1. Combine all ingredients in the bowl of food processor with metal blade.
2. Process until ingredients are all powdery.
3. Place 3 Tbsp cocoa mix into a microwave-safe mug along with 1 1/4 c. milk.
4. Heat on high for 1 minute; stir. Heat on high for 1 more minute or until heated to your liking. Stir to blend.
5. Store leftover cocoa mix in an air-tight container at room temp for up to 6 months.

Chicken Green Chile

Today it is cold and lightly snowing in northern Colorado. It is so pretty. We just had a week of weather in the 60's so now it's back to winter! Chilly weather really makes me want to eat warm food, especially soup. I just love soup. It is defintely one of my comfort foods, and I love the whole one pot meal bonus that comes along with it. So today I am making my Chicken Green Chile. This was a staple on my winter menu at my now shuttered business for 5 years! Then one day I was out with my hubby for a little light lunch and I ordered a very mediocre chicken green chile soup. As bad as it was, it had one element I really loved in it....rice! So I adapted my recipe to include some rice and then added another off the shelf ingredient, green chile salsa, that just added so much to my old recipe. I love it more than ever now! I'm only sorry my old customers didn't get this version. I can't wait to dig into a bowl with a sprinkling of cheese on top and piece of warm corn bread! Buen provecho!

Chicken Green Chile Soup

1 c. diced onion
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
3 tomatillos, papery skin removed, pureed
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
3/4 c. diced roasted green chiles (I roasted a meaty poblano, you can use canned)
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
2 c. canned diced tomatoes in juice
8 c. chicken broth
2 Tbsp green chile salsa, such as La Victoria Brand*
1/3 c. long grain brown rice (I like Uncle Ben's)
4 c. diced or shredded cooked chicken meat (Rotisserie chickens are great for this)

1. Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a 6 qt. stock pot. Saute onion and garlic until softened and translucent.

2. Stir in pureed tomatillos and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add all remaining ingredients except chicken and rice. Bring to a boil.

3. Stir in rice. Return to a boil, then cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Stir in chicken and cook until just heated through.

5. Serve hot, topped with shredded cheese and sour cream, if desired, and fresh warm cornbread on the side.

*This is a fairly zippy ingredient, rated "medium." If you prefer your chile more mild, reduce or omit this ingredient. You can also pass some on the side for those who prefer even more heat.