Southwest Potato & Corn Chowder

|
By
|
20 comments

Southwest Potato & Corn Chowder

I haven’t been able to stop thinking about this soup since I made it two weeks ago. I thought a potato corn chowder sounded great, and remembered  a poblano potato soup my friend Katie had posted. I didn’t have any poblanos on hand, but I did have a couple bell peppers. So I went with that, added a little bit more corn, and topped with some cilantro before serving for a Southwestern twist.

I used bacon this time around, but I’m thinking that chorizo might be a nice addition and spice it up even more – so I’m looking forward to trying that rendition next time. The tender potatoes and sweet corn, along with the colorful peppers made for a perfect marriage of flavor. And the cilantro on top was just the bright, fresh kick that it needed.

It was reminiscent of my favorite Loaded Baked Potato Soup – but much lighter in flavor without the addition of a bunch of sour cream. We all went back for seconds the first night I made it, and Andrew even went back for a third bowl. I enjoyed leftovers for lunch the majority of the rest of the week – and it was one of those things that I was very sad when it was finally gone. It’s definitely going to be making an appearance on our menu again very soon!

Southwest Potato & Corn Chowder

8 slices bacon, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 orange bell pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp butter
1/3 cup flour
1 tsp salt, plus more to taste
1/2 tsp freshly-ground black pepper, plus more to taste
1 tsp ground cumin
8 cups chicken broth
4 cups starchy potatoes (Russet or all purpose), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 lb frozen corn kernels
1 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup grated Pepper Jack or cheddar cheese, for serving
1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro, for serving

Cook bacon in a large stock pot until crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and reserve.

Reduce heat to medium and add the butter, onions, and bell peppers. Cook 10 minutes, until the onions are translucent. Add the garlic and cook for an addtional minute until fragrant.

Stir in the flour, salt, pepper, and cumin. Cook 3 minutes. Slowly add in broth and bring to a boil. Add the potatoes, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 15 minutes, until the potatoes are fork tender.

Add the corn, as well as the half-and-half to the soup and cook for about 15 minutes more. Season to taste with salt and pepper. If you want a thicker consistency, give the chowder a few mashes with a potato masher to break down some of the potatoes and thicken the mixture.

To serve, ladle chowder into bowl. Top with cheese, bacon, and fresh cilantro.

Source: adapted from So Tasty, So Yummy

Cabernet-Braised Short Ribs and Grits

|
By
|
5 comments

Short Ribs and Grits

We have been eating a lot of short ribs lately. They’re always a delicious comfort food that can be thrown together in the early afternoon, then braise away in the oven for a few hours while you go about doing other productive things in the house…or maybe, take a nap – then wake up to the smell of a delicious meal bubbling away.

This is another recipe I sent over to my friends at Avalon Winery, along with the red wine cupcakes. It was a spin off my first short rib recipe, but I chose to braise them in a delicious Cabernet and a bit of coffee too – for some added richness. The gravy that came out of the bottom of that pan was pure deliciousness. I served them over a bed of grits, as kind of a nod to our trip to Charleston. Grits are the perfect vessel to soak up delicious flavors from gravy, and it’s a nice change from the standard mashed potato that I usually find myself turning to in these kind of applications.

This would be a perfect meal for Valentine’s Day – especially where so many of you guys are buried under a bunch of snow. Just throw the meal together and let it do it’s thing, then go about your business preparing a beautiful table setting. I served with some roasted Brussels sprouts (I have a recipe for that coming soon!) and it really was a delicious and impressive meal that we all enjoyed. Plus, there’s plenty of wine left in the bottle to enjoy with that someone special. Win-win!

Cabernet-Braised Short Ribs and Grits

8 bone-in short ribs
Kosher salt
ground black pepper
olive oil
1 large onion, cut into quarters
2 ribs celery, cut into 2 inch pieces
2 carrots, peeled, cut into 2 inch pieces
6 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 cup tomato paste
2 cups Cabernet Sauvignon (Avalon Winery is my favorite)
2 cups strong-brewed coffee
water, if necessary

For the grits:
1 cup stone-ground grits
2 cups whole milk
2 Tbsp butter
2 cups water
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 fresh ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Season each short rib generously with salt and pepper. Coat a large dutch oven or brasier with olive oil and bring to a high heat. Add the short ribs to the pan and brown well, about 2 to 3 minutes per side.

While the short ribs are browning, puree all the vegetables and garlic in the food processor until it forms a coarse paste. When the short ribs are very brown on all sides, remove them from the pan. Add the pureed vegetables to the hot pan. Season the vegetables generously with salt and brown until they are very dark and a crust has formed on the bottom of the pan, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Scrape the crud and let it reform. Scrape well with a wooden spoon and add the tomato paste. Brown the tomato paste for 4 to 5 minutes. Add the wine and scrape the bottom of the pan with the wooden spoon to loosen the browned bits. Reduce the mixture by about half.

Return the short ribs to the pan and add the coffee, and enough water to cover the meat if necessary. Cover the pan and place in the preheated oven for 3 hours. Check periodically during the cooking process and add more water, if needed. Turn the ribs over halfway through the cooking time.

Meanwhile, cook the grits. Place the milk,water, and the grits into a 2-quart saucepan. Cover, and turn the heat to medium high. When mixture comes to a simmer add butter, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, and reduce the heat to medium. Stir every couple of minutes until the grits have become fragrant, and are the consistency of thick soup, about 8 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring often and ever more frequently, for about 20 minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoon black pepper and cook for about 10 minutes more, stirring constantly to prevent the thickened grits from scorching. If your grits thicken too quickly, or if they are too gritty for your taste, add water by the half cup, stirring to incorporate, and continue cooking until tender. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Set aside and cover to keep warm.

When done the meat should be very tender but not falling apart. Serve the short ribs with the braising liquid over the grits.

Source: short ribs adapted from Anne Burrell

Brazilian Black Bean & Pork Stew

|
By
|
5 comments

Brazilian Black Bean & Pork Stew

We had a considerable amount of snow over the course of the past two weeks, probably the most that the Eastern Shore has seen in quite a few years. Both little ones were home with me, cooped up in the house, for a majority of those days.   Needless to say, comfort food was in order.

I’d had this recipe bookmarked to try since I bought my copy of Slow Cooker Revolution, and would add it to our weekly menu – but it just kept getting pushed back for one reason or another. I finally decided that it would make a great snow day meal, so it finally came together in my crockpot last week – and I’m kicking myself for not getting around to it sooner. I assumed that I wouldn’t really like it…I’m not the biggest kielbasa fan, and it seemed really meaty. Not that I dislike meat, quite the contrary. But, on initial inspection it just didn’t seem like my cup of tea. But, I knew all the little carnivores in this house would adore it. I was right on that count at least, but was wrong in assuming that I wouldn’t love it too!

The flavors were out of this world. Everything blended together perfectly when cooked, creating a symphony of meaty goodness in one pot. The pork and kielbasa were tender, but still retained their shape and texture. And the beans – oh my word, those beans! Absolutely perfectly cooked – nice and creamy, just the way I like them. I served over a bed of cilantro-lime rice, and topped with some sliced avocado and the Brazilian hot sauce they suggest in the book. It kind of reminded me of pico de gallo…but with the addition of green bell pepper, white wine vinegar, and extra-virgin olive oil – it definitely added more layers of complexity.

It made a large batch, so we enjoyed it for dinner one night – and I stuck the other half in the freezer for a quick meal one night when I’m not feeling like cooking. Which, I must admit – is getting more and more often as the due date for baby boy #3 approaches. It’s good to know that such a hearty and comforting meal is just a thaw out and re-heat away!

Brazilian Black Bean & Pork Stew

6 oz bacon (6 slices), chopped
3 onions, minced
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
8 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 cup water
4 cups chicken broth
1 pound dried black beans, picked over and rinsed
1 pound kielbasa sausage, halved lengthwise and sliced 1/2-inch thick
2 bay leaves
1 (3 pound) boneless pork loin roast, cut into 1-inch chunks
kosher salt
fresh ground black pepper

For Brazilian Hot Sauce:
2 large tomatoes, finely chopped
2 onions, minced
1 green pepper, minced
2 jalapenos, minced
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp cilantro, minced
1 tsp kosher salt

Toss pork chunks with 2 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper in large bowl. Set aside.

Cook bacon in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.

Place pork chunks into skillet with rendered bacon fat, cook for about 4 minutes on each side until nicely browned. Remove and set aside.

Add onions to the pan with the drippings and cook for 4 minutes, until starting to soften. Add garlic and cook for an additional minute. Add tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, and coriander and cook until tomato paste is starting to brown – about 5 more minutes. Stir in water, scraping up any browned bits; transfer to slow cooker.

Stir broth, beans, kielbasa, pork, bacon, and bay leaves into the slow cooker. Cover and cook until pork is tender – 9 to 11 hours on low or 5 to 7 hours on high.

To make the hot sauce, combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Let sauce stand and room temperature until flavors melt, about 30 minuntes. Hot sauce can be refrigerated in air-tight container for up to 3 days. Makes about 3 cups.

Discard bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with Brazilian Hot Sauce.

Source: adapted from Slow Cooker Revolution

Mushroom Risotto

|
By
|
3 comments

Mushroom Risotto

Last week I’d made a delicious roasted chicken for dinner, and being the frugal girl that I am – couldn’t let that chicken carcass go in the trash can without making a batch of chicken stock with it first. When menu planning for that week I took stock of what I had in the pantry before heading to the store to do my weekly grocery stock-up. I had a full package of arborio rice, and a bunch of samples of different varieties of dried mushrooms that the good folks at Marx Gourmet Foods had sent me – so I put mushroom risotto on the lineup.

I ended up making it on a cold, rainy evening…and this filling meal couldn’t have been more perfect. I’ve gone on before about how wonderful dried mushrooms are to keep around. They add so much flavor to whatever dish you use them for, and they never go bad in the pantry. While I’d say porcini is my hands down favorite, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the matsutake. They were lighter in flavor, almost floral. I’d imagine they would be absolutely perfect in a big batch of homemade ramen noodles! But, if you can’t find them – don’t sweat it. The dried porcinis alone, combined with the earthy flavors of the sauteed fresh mushrooms will give more than enough flavor to this dish!

The stirring necessary is a little bit time consuming, but take if you take the time to enjoy a glass of wine (that you’ve been forced to open for the dish!)…it makes it a little more fun, and the time pass quicker. And the result you’ll get in the end is so worth it! A thick, rich, and creamy dish – that is just bursting with flavor. Great for my gluten-free friends, and could easily be made into a vegetarian dish by using vegetable broth instead of chicken stock. I’ve only made one other risotto in the past, but I’m looking forward to trying some different recipes in the future!

Mushroom Risotto

1/2 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
1/2 ounce dried matsutake mushrooms
1 cup boiling water
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
3 shallots, minced
4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, sliced
6 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon thyme, minced
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1 cup white wine
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock (warm)
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (grated)
salt & pepper to taste
2 Tbsp parsley, chopped

Cover the dried porcini mushrooms in the boiling water and let sit 30 minutes. Strain through a coffee strainer to remove and grit, reserving the soaking liquid. Pour reserved liquid into chicken stock warming on stove. Roughly chop the dried mushrooms and set aside.

Melt the butter and olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the shallots and saute until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the fresh mushrooms and saute until they turn tender and have released their liquids and are starting to brown, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and thyme and saute until fragrant, about a minute longer. Add chopped dried mushrooms and toss to combine. Remove the mushroom mixture to a bowl and set aside.

Add the rice to the hot pan and toast until it starts to turn translucent, about 1-3 minutes. Add the white wine to deglaze the bottom of the pan, stirring with a wooden spoon until the wine has been soaked up by the rice.

Add the warm stock to the sauce pan 1 cup at a time while stirring constantly, until most of the liquid is absorbed. Repeat process until you’ve used all the stock and the rice is nice and tender to the bite.

Add the butter and Parmesan and stir until it’s combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley just before serving.

Source: adapted from Back to Basics by Ina Garten