chicken chili

I've heard about "chicken chili" — and have never tried it — and was poking around the internet for a recipe. After some deliberation, I decided that I wasn't buying a rôtisserie chicken or roasting a chicken first. Instead, I started by sautéeing an onion in my crock pot, adding two each chopped poblano and jalapeno peppers (above photo), and then I added the meat of a raw chicken (I kept the bones on the drumsticks and removed them after cooking), a heaping tablespoon each freshly toasted and ground coriander and cumin, a quart of stock (from a previous chicken, this carcass goes into another pot), a cup or two of navy beans that had soaked for less than an hour (given that I planend to cook them overnight) some salt and a ground, dried and toasted cayenne pepper or two. This sat in my crockpot overnigth on low.

And the result was this (above). This provided a fantastic meal (actually multiple; and I froze part of this for upcoming PhD exams when I will only have time to thaw and reheat). Cilantro, black pepper and lime make it complete.

a very rich stock indeed.

Every now and I then I make a truly great stock. It'll be golden (or amber, if beef), rich, clean and will set lightly when cooled. I've taken to not roasting, sautéeing or otherwise pre-cooking anything (unless, naturally, this is leftover from roasting something else). This reduces fat that'll have to be skimmed off anyway. I've also been using a slow cooker, which works splendidly.


Vegetables: carrots, whole parsley, fennel. There's also allspice, salt and peppercorns.


Feet — for gelatin, body and the flavor that comes with the bones — and necks — for that meat flavor and more bone richness. About 3 lbs total.


The feet need to be blanched for five minutes and then the tips and any pieces of the skin that won't come clean get cut off.


Everything gets tossed in the crock pot. High for five hours with the lid ajar, five hours at low.


And it sets like this, no reduction necessary. Rich and smooth when warm, not quite clear but very meaty (I haven't the patience to clarify stock, I usually just strain it three or four times). Some day I'll take this to the next level and make a consommé.

thanksgiving

Cranberry-Walnut Bread — Pumpkin Pie — Parsnip — Apple Pie

Thanksgiving happened — and at my house for the first time. Went with lots of traditions: apple pie (American as... right?), turkey (fresh from Wendell, Mass.), mashed Hubbard squash, mashed turnips.

I brined the Turkey overnight with bay, ginger, peppercorns and allspice berries. It was great. Cranberry-orange relish and cooked cranberries with ginger. The parsnip pie was a new creation: half roasted, half steamed parsnip puréed with a hint of nutmeg, eggs and milk baked in an herbes de provence-laced crust. It was quite good. Almost cheesecakelike in consistency. The potatoes were one-third celeriac, and that went quite well. The dressings were of chestnuts, sourdough bread, corn muffins recycled from breakfast, apples, turkey liver, celery, onions and lots of butter. One also had sweet Italian sausage. Both were very good. The sausage was nice, but I'd say ultimately not necessary.

The pumpkin pie was had sugar pumpkin-half kabocha. Otherwise it's a Tartine recipe. The apple pie was yellow delicious apples from Outlook Farm and straightforward.

Mulled cider with cloves, allspice, cinnamon, star anise whet our appetites.

And Mom made here "Sweet Potato Puff." Dad, his mincemeat pie. Steve made his famous "Cinnamon Salad" (red hots, applesauce, Jell-O). Judi made buttery rolls.

And we all ate a lot. And they did the dishes. Success abounded.

mmn.

I made a braised beef of sorts in the crock pot, a sort of pot-au-feu with wine, chuck roast, parnsips and carrots. It started out like this at eight o'clock, just before work. I seared the roast and topped it with the aforementioned vegetables, onions, garlic, thyme and rosemary.

I got home just past five, reduced the broth by half and made a gravy. The vegetables were perfect and the meat fell apart just perfectly. With that I made a mash of celeriac and potatoes.

And, of course, there's bread. And wine.