Turkey Chili

Wednesday night, I made another recipe from the Clinton St. Baking Company Cookbook.  This time it was turkey chili, a perfect winter time dinner.  Being a vegetarian, I decided to make two versions, one with turkey, and one with only beans.  I just halved the recipe to for each version.  This recipe has a lot of chopping and a lot of spices.  My suggestion is to have everything ready before you start cooking.  Dice all of your vegetables and measure out all of your spices.  This makes the process that much easier, because once you start cooking it goes rather quickly.  Overall, I thought the chili was good.  I definitely will take note of all the spices used, because it had great flavor and a nice heat.  I will probably start using these spices, instead of a packet of chili seasoning from now on.  Also, the crushed tomatoes add a nice thickness, instead of tomato sauce.  And finally, adding the canned beans towards the end allowed the beans to have a bit more of a bite.  I will probably cook my chili down a little longer next time and add some corn to the vegetarian version.  I also made the Clinton Street's guacamole, which I will share soon.  Adding it to the top of the bowl, gives it a limey kick.

Cooking two pots.

Ingredients for Turkey Chili from the Clinton St. Baking Company Cookbook, serves 8 to 10:

-1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
-1  medium Spanish onion, diced
-2 medium carrots, diced
-3 stalks celery, diced
-1 medium red bell pepper, diced
-3 cloves garlic, minced
-1 pound ground turkey (replace with two 15-ounce can of beans of your choice for vegetarian version)
-1 1/2 tablespoon chili powder
-1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
-1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
-1/2 tablespoon cumin
-1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
-1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
-2 bay leaves
-2 shakes Tabasco sauce
-1 tablespoon tomato paste
-1/2 tablespoon chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
-3 cups crushed tomatoes
-2 cups chicken stock (replace with vegetable stock for vegetarian version)
-2 cups (15-ounce can) cooked kidney beans in liquid
-1 1/4 tablespoons salt
-1/4 tablespoon ground black pepper

Optional garnishes:
-Guacamole
-Shredded cheddar cheese
-Jalapeno sour cream
-Tortilla chips


Okay, get to chopping all the vegetables, this takes a bit of time.  Then, in a large stockpot over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil and cook the vegetables and garlic in the oil until tender.  Don't be afraid to caramelize the vegetables a little bit.

Add the ground turkey to the mixture, breaking up the ground meat with a spoon until the turkey is cooked and colors slightly.  Add the herbs and spices, Tabasco, and tomato paste to the mixture and stir until combined.

Roughly chop the peppers from the adobo sauce and mix into the crushed tomatoes, then add both to the pot.  Pour in the chicken stock, bring to a boil, and simmer for 15 minutes.

Add the kidney beans and their liquid to the stew and cook for 5 minutes or until the beans are warmed through (this is where I added all my beans for vegetarian version).  You can continue cooking if you want a thicker consistency.  Season with salt and pepper.  Remove bay leaves and serve warm with your choice of garnishes.

Veggie version.

Lime-Chili Pumpkin Seeds

If you have some pumpkins left over from Halloween, do not let it rot away on your porch or window sill, cut off the top and scoop out the seeds and toast them.  I have had a teeny pumpkin sitting on my kitchen window sill for two months now.  It traveled in my suitcase all the way from my best friend's backyard in Minneapolis, to my apartment in Harlem.  I felt foolish even taking it on the plane, and even thought about throwing it away behind her back.  But I am glad I thought otherwise, because it landed in perfect condition, and every time I see it I think of her.  Although I wanted to carve it, I just did not find the time, so toasting the seeds was as good as I could get for Halloween.  My coworker gave me the great suggestion of using lime juice to flavor the seeds before baking, so I thought I would share the recipe with you.

Here are the ingredients for Lime-Chili Pumpkin Seeds, for about 1 cup of seeds:
-Pumpkin seeds, rinsed and dried completely
-1 to 2 teaspoons chili powder
-1 to 2 teaspoons of salt
-1 teaspoon olive oil
-Juice from one lime

I have found that it is easier to scoop the seeds out with your hands instead of using a spoon.  Your delicate little fingers separate the pumpkin strands from the seeds as you pull them out.  Rinse them in a colander and make sure you get all the extraneous strands of pumpkin off.  Lay out the seeds on a paper towel, and let them dry completely.  I usually do this over night.  My coworker, suggested this to be a good time to sprinkle with lime juice so that the juice will soak in an dry out on the shells.  I had already dried mine out, so I just splashed the juice right before I put them in the oven.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Take your dried seeds, and mix with salt, chili powder, olive oil, and lime juice (if you have not added the juice already).  Feel free to add more or less chili powder, depending on what you like.  I will definitely add more next time.

Spread onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, and bake for 10 to 15 minutes.  Take out once the seeds are crisp and toasted.  Let cool for a few minutes, then serve warm or at room temperature.

If you want to do something with the actual pumpkin, try David Lebovitz's roasted pumpkin recipe.  Click here.

Obama Rama

Since this is President Obama's first real week in office. Here is my first post on my blog. For Inauguration Day I insisted on having an office potluck while watching the inauguration together. There was a lot of delicious food - especially a quinoa salad (which will be featured on a later post). Also, my coworker Shari brought me this awesome cupcake from Eleni's NYC (pictured above). I couldn't eat it that day for I felt it was sacrilegious, but I didn't feel bad the next day. For the evening I had a Chili and Cornbread Party in honor of Obama. After doing some research I found out that Obama's favorite food is chili (based on a bunch of random things I read online). Honestly, if it isn't - I don't care because it is a fav of mine. Chili is so easy, quick, and filling. It is also great for leftovers (which is something I hate). I also made Jalepeno Cheddar Cornbread courtesy of Ina Garten. It isn't that traditional, but still really flavorful and easy to make!
Here is the recipe for the chili (the picture above is double the recipe):

Ingredients:
-1 Can of black beans (drained and rinsed)
-1 Can of red kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
-1 Can of Cannellini beans (drained and rinsed)
-1 Can of fresh corn (drained and rinsed)
-2 Cans of stewed tomatoes (chopped if you want smaller chunks)
-1 Large can of tomatoe sauce
-1 Packet of chili mild seasoning (I like it hotter, but for guests I kept it mild)
-1 Long hot pepper (chopped and seeds removed depending if you want a milder version)
-1 Large sweet pepper (chopped and seeds removed)
-2 Cloves of garlic (minced)
-1 Large onion (white, yellow, or Spanish - chopped)
-Olive Oil (or whatever oil you have)

Directions:

-Saute onions in a couple tablespoons of olive oil until translucent on medium heat.
-Add garlic and peppers and cook until soft
-Add everything else and simmer until the flavors meld (about 1/2 hour).

Note: I love to serve this with Fritos and extra sharp cheddar shredded on top. It is a must for the ultimate chili experience. Oh yeah, and you can also add meat, but I don't think anyone missed it - but they could have just been being polite :)