Chicken Chili for a Crowd (~16pp)

My last Tamworth chicken made this chili oh-so-worth it.  Next up: Riverslea Farm chickens!  Space is still available for our Tortilla Soup and Stock kitchen session.  Reserve today: gimmetheknife@gmail.com

I dunno, is it really only about the chili?

Noooo.

But an awesome chili certainly helps pop those garnishes!

You can easily halve this recipe.

Here's the slow food version ('fast food' version follows):

Local Bratwurst with Braised Red Cabbage and German Potato Salad

Being of German, Scottish and Norwegian descent, I suppose it was only a matter of time before I discovered bratwurst...Bruce and Mary Jones's 'Patridge Farm' heritage-breed pork beer bratwurst, no less. Say that five times fast. 

I must say, I pulled tonight's dinner out of my...magic hat.  Give a hand to my amazing assistant: The New York Times Cookbook.  I had every darn ingredient on hand.  Yes, I feel very proud.  Very, very proud.

Ale-braised Bratwurst

• 1 lb beer bratwurst (Patridge farm makes theirs with beer; they participate in the winter FM in Rollinsford)
• 1-2 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 bottle of ale (I used Smutty's Old Brown Dog)

Braised Red Cabbage with Bacon, Apple and Chestnut

• 3-4 oz. bacon, sliced/diced (I happened to have some of Patridge's jowl bacon in my freezer, but any ol' bacon'll do)
• lg head of red cabbage, quartered, core removed, wedges sliced into shreds
• small red onion, finely chopped
• 1 lg tart apple, peeled, quartered, sliced thin (I used NH Cider Works/Carter Hill Orchard's mutsu variety. Pretty much a perfect apple.)
• 1 cup good quality white wine (a dry Riesling is the only way to go)
• roasted, vacuum-packed chestnuts, 12-14 whole pieces (optional, for sure)
• healthy pinch of brown sugar
• knob unsalted butter
• splash good quality red wine vinegar
• good salt & freshly ground pepper

Light German Potato Salad

• 3-4 oz. bacon, same as above
• 1-2 Tbsp garlic oil (smash a clove with a knife, add it to a couple Tbsp evoo, bring to a simmer, then shut off the heat and let sit until ready to use) 
• 2lbs new potatoes, scrubbed, boiled or nuked whole until just tender
• 4-5 scallions, chopped
• 1 Tbsp yellow or brown mustard seeds
• 1 Tbsp good quality white wine vinegar or cider vinegar
• salt & pepper

We're going to start with the very opposite of this line up.  First, have a beer and some nuts.  You know it.

POTATOES:  Do these first.  They're easy.  I used my 'potato' option on the microwave.  Fool proof.

When the spudskies are done, quarter/halve them while hot, then toss into a bowl with the chopped scallions.

Use a Dutch oven for everything but the brats.  One pot tonight.  Gotta love it.  Well, almost one pot.

First cook the bacon for the potatoes.  Heat the pot over low heat and add the garlic oil.  Add the bacon chunks and let them be for a few minutes.  Stir every once in a while.  Now wait for it... wait for it... ahh, there it is, that wonderful bacon aroma wafting up into your olfactory senses.  Make sure the bacon goes from this...

to...

...this!  Crispy bits o' love!  Poor little pig.  I love pigs.

Set your bacon aside on paper toweling, then strain off all but a couple tablespoons of fat.  Keep your heat on...medium is good...then add the mustard seeds.  They'll start to pop very soon after adding them.  As soon as they do, kill the heat and add the white wine vinegar.  This will deglaze your pot very nicely.  Use a spatula to scrape every last drip--listen to your mother--of this concoction all over your potatoes.  Season with a pinch of salt & pepper...

Gently stir this all together and then cover with that piece of plastic wrap that you have sitting around somewhere.  See?  Done.  Told ya, easy peasy.  (The bacon bits will be added when you serve.)


CABBAGE:  This dish isn't hard, either.  And, it's quite lovely.  I love the word lovely.  Say it with me: lov-uh-lee.  Lovely.

First, turn your oven on to 425.

To begin, wipe the pot clean using that nicely greased paper towel that your 1st batch of bacon is sitting on.  :~)  Over very low heat, add the 2nd batch of chopped bacon.  No garlic oil, no butter, just bacon.  Cook until the bacon starts to brown, 7-8 minutes.  Add the onion and turn up the heat to med-high.  Cook until onion softens.

Once the onion has softened, add the cup of white wine, then the apples and brown sugar.  Stir to combine all those luscious (oooooh, you know I love that word) flavors together...

Speaking of wine...

This dry Riesling, purchased at Ceres St. Wines, was modestly priced (~$25), and soooo worth it.  It complemented dinner with a capital 'C'.  Pale yellow in color, with bright aromas of kiwi and bacon.  I mean, lemon zest.  One might say it has a "supple" texture on the palate, with a bit of sweet apple for fruit.  Yes, I like that word, too.  Supple.  Very much.  This is a nicely balanced wine, and its dry, spicy finish was perfect with all the buttery, bacony, bratwursty flavors.

Next, add all that gorgeous cabbage...

Just stir it all in...

Add in the chestnuts, too.  I left mine whole, but chopped works.

Cover your pot and place in the oven.  Cook for 20-25 minutes, then lower heat to 350 and cook for another 35-40 minutes.  Check occasionally, stirring to prevent sticking.  When done, you'll add that little knob of butter and splash of red wine vinegar.  But before you worry about butter and vinegar, let's tackle the bratwurst, shall we?


BRATWURST:  This part is so simple it's ridiculous!  Pluck your 'wurst links from their packaging and add to a heated pan in which you've brought 1 Tbsp of butter to foam.  Have that bottle of beer opened and handy...

Fresh pork bratwurst from Patridge Farm.  Their version is made with ale and mild spices (sausage recipes include liquid, from cream to wine).  Bratwurst recipes abound, indicative of the many regions in Germany from whence they originated, and there are just about as many cooking methods, from frying to simmering in liquid to grilling.  Some sources suggest pricking the casing before cooking to avoid splitting, while others state pricking is the best way to dry out your sausage.  I chose not to poke holes in mine.  I'm a non-pokey kinda gal when it comes to sausage.  Russets in the oven, on the other hand....

Once they're browned, add in a cup of ale/beer/lager/whathaveyou.  The beer will foam up quite spectacularly, but no worries, it won't boil over.  It's only a cup's worth after all.

  
Bring the beer and brats to a boil, then lower heat to simmer.  Cover, let cook for 12-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, let's get back to that cabbage dish.  If it's finished cooking in the oven, add the butter and red wine vinegar, stir well, and leave covered until you're ready to plate...

Bring on the plates and forks, and don't forget the mooseturd!

Yum!  Yumyumyumnomnom....  The sweet and tangy braised cabbage was splendiferous with the mild, smooth, buttery sausage. All was very tender, very tasty.  The potato salad, hiding there in the background with its crunchy bacon bit topping and all those tiny pops of flavor provided by the mustard seeds, was killer.  How could it not be when garlicky bacon fat was drizzled all over young potatoes and scallions?


Dessert anyone?

What?

Pumpkin Stew

Digging into this stew is fun and tasty.  The cooked, sweet pumpkin flesh easily pulls away with each spoonful of goodness, and provides lots of nutrients, flavor and rich, comfort-food texture.  The crunchy, seasoned pumpkin seeds make for a wonderful contrast, but might be too much of a chew for some once they soften in the stew and thus lose their crunch. 

October--the perfect time to pick up a couple o' pie pumpkins from your local farmstand to make stew with!  To make the dish pictured, choose a couple of small-ish pie pumpkins.  Create lids, leaving stems intact.  Scoop out all the seeds and set aside in a bowl of fresh water.

Rub pumpkins with olive oil, put tops back on, taking care to line up ribs for best fit.  Set aside while making the filling.

For the filling, use whatever moves you.  I went for a gumbo-style stew without the shellfish.  I even had gumbo filé on hand, a fine powdery seasoning made from dried Sassafras tree leaves (one of my favorite trees here in the northeast!) used for thickening stew, as well as, creole seasoning from a batch of homemade spice rubs (it's easy to make your own blends of seasonings; see my recipe below).  Leftover roasted potatoes were way too tempting to leave out, so they were also added.  For this carni version, I used bone-in chicken thighs and local andouille sausage from Brookford Farm.  Great stuff, but this could e-a-s-i-l-y be made for vegans and vegetarians by simply omitting the meat and beefing up (sorry, pun intended) with all kinds of root veggies.

What makes a true gumbo authentic is the chocolate-colored roux.  The French typically use a very light roux for thickening soups and stews.  For this roux, though, the same ingredients are cooked for a much longer period of time.  One might think they were about to burn their roux!  Have no fear, it makes for a killer stew!

The BEST soup for a cold!

It seems lots of people have come down with a head cold this past week!  Thanks to those of you who helped spread it our way.  Being the good person that I am, I'll give you my antidote: a light and refreshing, yet dark and rich, chicken tortilla soup.  An elixir, if you will.  With a bit of chili for aiding the nasal passages, lime for counteracting congestion, and some chard for its superb phytonutrient, anti-inflammatory and antioxident properties, this tortilla soup definitely has what any doctor could order.  Store bought stock?  Blech!  It just isn't the same.  Make your own stock -- it's easy to do, much healthier for you, way tastier, and it can be done in an hour, tops!

Tips and hints are in green.

STOCK:

• 1 whole chicken, ~3-4lbs, rinsed
• flavors: 1 med. onion, handful of leek greens, 2-3 carrots, 2 celery stalks...all coarsely chopped
• 2-3 bay leaves
• 2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
• tbsp coriander seeds
• tbsp cumin seeds
• tsp peppercorns
• sprigs of parsley, thyme...

Fresh black trumpet mushrooms - the season is now!

From the chanterelle family, black trumpets result in the silkiest texture when cooked.  Wash the stems under a stream of running water, then saute in a bit of olive oil over medium-high heat.  A hint of salt is nice, followed by a splash of a good, deep red wine such as a zinfandel.  Finish with a pat of butter stirred in off the heat.

A trip north this past weekend resulted in a great visit to the Tamworth farmers' market, and an awesome score of freshly foraged wild mushrooms, deep green bunches of celery, and succulent red bell peppers as big as Italian eggplants -- perfect timing for turning a recent purchase of New Roots Farm grass-fed ground beef and Barker's Farm heirloom potatoes into a luscious, comforting Sunday night dinner!  Tonight's dish: Pan seared grass-fed beef burgers with a luscious black trumpet mushroom-zinfandel sauce, garnished with Sun Gold cherry tomatoes and accompanied by buttermilk mashed potatoes with leeks, red bell pepper, celery leaf and aged sheep's milk cheese.  Phew, I'm out of breath.

Perfect, Simple Rack of Lamb

Riverslea Farm lamb - a must try!

Grilled rack of lamb: incredibly tender and juicy, perfect for creating a rich crust, and it takes no time to french the rack (aka, trim and expose the bones, which your butcher can always do) and cook.   Pick some of your favorite herbs, then finely chop and add some olive oil, and you've got a delicious paste to flavor your rack with.  Serve alongside your favorite summer veggies and celebrate good, slow, local cooking!  Or a special someone's birthday.  :)

Total prep time: ~20min for frenching rack; plus ~30min for prepping coals
Total cooking time, depending on size of rack: ~20min
Resting time: 8-10 minutes

Most racks easily serve 4.

This dish, save for the olive oil and seasonings, was made from foods grown/produced within 15 miles of our home: Riverslea Farm lamb; Applecrest Farm green beans; Meadow's Mirth new baby potatoes; McKenzie's Farm cherry tomatoes (40 miles from home, but still a NH farm...); New Roots Farm garlic; and, rosemary, thyme and mint from our garden. 

 A hardwood-charcoal grill was used for this recipe, but a gas grill would work just as well as long as you're able to create a cool area from a hot area.  Follow these tips for ensuring a pleasingly successful rack of lamb:

Earth Day Local Food Celebration...Grecian Style!



Parsley, thyme sprigs, peppercorn, bay leaf, a few cloves and a garlic clove or two nicely round out almost any stock. This lamb stock became the base for one of the bechamel sauces (I made 3 versions of moussaka for this occasion, detailed a little more in a caption below).

Paella Again!

Fresh, local lobster warmed in saffron butter, center; Maine shrimpies, PEI mussels and MA littlenecks intertwined with roasted red bell pepper strips, and served over pea-dotted paella with local sausage and chicken!

Special friends from Colorado visited a couple of nights ago. After having taken part in a paella party last weekend--which was lots of fun--such delicious food and a great bonfire--I just had to make paella in a nod!

Home-cured Corned Beef - Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Click on the picture for better resolution.  Irish soda bread from Me & Ollies is delicious: lots of savory, sweet and salty flavors, especially of caraway, raisin and baking soda.  Curing method adapted from America's test Kitchen cooks.

Grassfed flat-cut brisket cured for 6 days in the fridge.  First, poked a couple dozen skewer holes in each side.  Next, rubbed in kosher salt, cracked black pepper, paprika, pinches of allspice and thyme, and crushed bay.  Weighted it down and turned it over every day.  Thoroughly rinsed before cooking.

Braised in water with fresh bay leaves, mustard seed and peppercorn for ~3-1/2 hours.  Added carrots, whole baby potatoes, parsnips, cubed turnip and red cabbage--all from local farmers!--during the last 45 minutes (cabbage added during last 15 minutes).

Was super fork tender, moist and meaty, with hints of the bay and mustard poking through.  Not too salty--just succulent the way corned beef should be!  Yum!

Did you know?  Corned beef got its name from the Old English who used the term 'corn' when they referred to large, coarse grains.  The large granular salts used for curing meat thus resulted in "corned beef."

Sunday Dinner: grassfed pot roast!



Pot roast is not a dish you start cooking at 4 o'clock in the afternoon.  Allow yourself up to 4 hours for prepping and roasting time when scheming dinnertime!  Pictured here accompanying our succulent roast are Meadow's Mirth's deliciously sweet carrots, and Heron Pond Farm's red-skin potatoes and parsnips.



When it comes to everyday cooking, I often find myself torn between ‘the way my mother did it’ and ‘the way [xyz chef] does it’.  What’s the happy medium?  The way I do it!  It is perfectly reasonable and acceptable to take inspiration from both sources, or from numerous sources, to make a dish your own—that’s what cooking is all about (well, that, and “passion and sharp knives!” ;~)

I used a 3lb beef shoulder roast for this recipe (once cooked, enough for 4 people and a little leftover lunch), obtained from our freezer where we have many other cuts from a side of beef we purchased from a relative who raises only two cows a year here in NH.  Shoulder roasts are one of the best cuts for pot roasting, that is, braising in a dutch oven.  A top blade (aka ‘shoulder’) roast comes from above the shoulder blade; it is part of the ‘chuck’ which is the first 5 ribs in the forequarter.  It needs to be tied to fit in the pan, but that’s not a big deal (truth be told, any roast should be tied to maintain an even shape for cooking).
 
Seven blade roasts are another excellent option for braising, but they can be difficult to find.  This cut is also found in the shoulder blade area.  Lastly, a chuck-eye round is superb for pot roasting.  Chuck-eye roasts are basically rib-eye roasts, in that the cut is found in the center of those first 5 ribs.  Each of the cuts mentioned has very good meaty flavor, a fair amount of fat, and results in being a luxurious pot roast.

Recipe for the roast I made follows...

Malfatti for the New Year!

'Malfatti' recipe by Chef Anna Klinger of Al Di Là in Brooklyn, New York

No, I did not take a picture of these babies once cooked and with their brown sage butter all over them, presented on my beautiful little recycled glass appy plates adorned with golden orange and blue diamonds.  I was too busy slinging food to 30 guests at our New Year's Eve party!  But I do remember how I made them, and that they were melt-in-your-mouth delicious!  A vegetarian delicacy that was the envy of all!  :)

You'll need:

Stuffed Cabbage Leaves

The cabbages around here are looking huge and firm and healthy these days, so what better way to use the leaves than rolled up with a hearty filling! I've had a package of New Roots Farm's heritage breed pork sausage in the freezer since...January, I think...not to mention a pound of Wee Bit Farm's grass-fed ground beef, and it also just so happens that the wild rice and shiitake mushrooms I cooked up the night before never made it to their dish, so, cabbage rolls or bust!


For a meatless version, which is simply a delicious dish in and of itself, go with lots of fresh, crunchy, colorful veggies such as finely chopped celery; grated carrot; corn kernels; peas; blanched, diced green beans (or even canned beans, such as black, pinto or kidney); chopped bell peppers (any color!); summer squash or zucchini (particularly yummy when in season!); chopped water chestnuts (not exactly local); or even non-crunchies such as chopped spinach, swiss chard and bok choy.

Experimenting with rice is fun, too.  You can easily substitute short-grain brown and long-grain white rices for the wild.  You can also use a combination of all types!  Whatever moves you!

For a listing of other essential ingredients, keep reading...

Enchiladas Verdes and Friends

Today marks one week before we fly off to Sacramento for our 5-day tour of Amador wine country. Our wine touring companions, aka the "crew," were over for dinner and to review my menu for 14 that I posted a few blogs back. I think we got it all figured out...what with all the wine flowing the way it was (we're in training afterall! ;~)

Dinner: enchiladas verdes (authentic corn tortillas filled and rolled with tender, juicy, organic chicken, local monterey jack and cilantro, and smothered in an organic poblano and tomatillo sauce). It's a dish that I have a love-hate relationship with at this time of year: love the dish, hate the fact that poblanos and tomatillos can't grow in New England in February. I know one thing, though- I am going to stockpile, blacken and freeze poblanos this summer, like I did with all my excess sweet peppers last summer. No more of this 'poblanos from 3000 miles away' crap. Simply char your whole peppers, let cool, and then wrap tightly in baggies. I individually froze mine for easier use. While the crunch factor will be lost, you'll still have all the flavor, and then some. It's totally worth it.

The recipe I used was nabbed from an ATK episode--last season's, I think, and still unavailable online unless you register with ATK--and I haven't yet turned it into my own, so I thought I'd simply share pix of my nicely blackened organic poblanos that go into making the sauce. I complemented the sauce, too, with my very last pint of locally grown husk cherry salsa (our CSA grows husk cherries). Husk cherries, btw, are small tomatillos - found in the same genus as tomatillos. Sadly, the six of us ate the entire pan of 12 enchiladas before I remembered to take a picture! What a dummy, eh?

The peppers need to have that beautifully charred skin removed because it's bitter. After stemming and removing the seeds, coat the halves in olive oil and broil for as much as ten minutes right underneath the heating elements. Add seeds back in to the sauce if you want heat. Overall, expect a nicely tart yet sweet flavor from the peppers and tomatillos. With cumin and garlic and cilantro, it really tastes fresh and light, and is sure bet for entertaining.



For the complete recipe, simply register with ATK's site "for free" here.