blue artichoke

GC and I are turning into football fans. Well, GC has always been a football fan, but I've never shown much interest. I like going to games, but I lose interest after a while and find myself watching the caricature of a man in front of me or the shivering body-painted fans in the student section instead of the action on the field. Missouri is having a good season this year, which somehow makes it easier for me to pay attention. Yesterday's game was away, so, again, we had people over to watch the game on our fancy big TV. And, once again, I made a big pot of chili and a pan of cornbread to feed the hungry fans. I also made a batch of Autumn Trail Mix; surprisingly, at the end of the night, all that was left in the bottom of the bowl were M&M's and candy corn. That's the best part!

This time I made a chicken chili, which was pretty good. It isn't as good as the chili I made last time, but different. Like comparing steak and chicken. This is a fast chili, not one that simmers on the back burner all day, so I didn't start it until people came over. In fact, I missed the first half of the game puttering around the kitchen, but my sport-attention-span is short, so I didn't mind. I used shredded chicken left over from making chicken stock, so it actually came together rather quickly. Also, in the excitement of laterals and interceptions, I forgot to add the corn. I bet that would have been nice... This is a really good chicken chili. Best chicken chili I've made so far...

Chunky Chicken and Corn Chili

2 t. veggie oil
2 large onions, coarsely chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 ½ T. mild chili powder
1 ½ t. dried oregano
1 t. ground cumin
1 t. ground coriander
1 t. cinnamon
¾ t. freshly ground black pepper
½ t. salt
1# skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into ½” chunks
2x 8 oz. Cans no-salt-added tomato sauce
2x 16 oz. Cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 c. frozen corn kernels
2 T. light sour cream

In a nonstick Dutch oven, heat the oil until hot but not smoking over med heat. Add onions and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until onions begin to soften, ~5m. Stir in spices and s/p and cook, stirring constantly, for 30s.

Add chicken, stirring to coat thoroughly, and the tomato sauce. Bring to a boil over med-high heat, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until chicken is cooked through, ~5m.

Stir in beans and corn; cook, uncovered, until heated through, ~3m. Serve the chili in bowls and top with sour cream.

Serves 4.
11g fat, 505C, 2.1g saturated fat, 66 carbs, 41g protein, 97 mg cholesterol, 714 mg sodium

Serve with: Red-leaf lettuce salad with a Dijon mustard vinaigrette, followed by an angel food cake with raspberry sauce.
Great Taste – Low Fat: Chicken, Time Life Books

This makes way more than 4 servings. I was afraid there wouldn't be enough, so I added a jar of diced tomatoes, undrained. The extra juice kept the chili from thickening and burning while we waited for halftime to eat. We had six people over, and though not everyone ate, we still have 2-3 servings leftover.

I tried out a new cornbread recipe too. Some questioned the pairing of a sweet, fruity cornbread with spicy chicken chili. I liked it, and others said they did too, but you may choose to serve a different cornbread with the chili. The cornbread is really good, though. I'll definitely make it again, and so should you.

Cranberry Corn Muffins

1½ cups dried cranberries
3 cups flour plus 1 tablespoon
1½ cups milk
½ pound unsalted butter (2 sticks), melted and cooled
3 large eggs
¾ cup honey
1 cup yellow cornmeal
2 tablespoons baking powder
1½ teaspoons salt
Sugar

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. Set aside. Place cranberries and 1 tablespoon flour in a bowl. Toss to combine. Set aside. In a medium bowl, combine milk, melted butter and eggs. Set aside.

Combine 3 cups flour, honey, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. Mix with electric mixer. Add the milk mixture, mix on low speed just until blended. Add reserved dried cranberries, mix to combine. Spoon batter into prepared tins. Brush muffin tops with water and sprinkle with sugar.

Place in oven, bake until golden brown, 25-30 minutes (until toothpick comes out clean). Cool slightly on wire rack prior to removing.

Columbia Daily Tribune, 11.23.05

Instead of muffins, I made a 13x9" pan of cornbread. It took longer to cook, maybe 45 minutes. I don't really remember; I just kept checking in on it and when the top was nicely browned and started to crack, I took it out of the oven. This is a really moist cornbread, and keeps its shape well.

Oh, by the way, Missouri won.

Getting to Know All About You: What's your favorite sport (or team) to watch?

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 06:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Yesterday was chili weather: cold and rainy. GC invited some friends over to watch the Missouri-Oklahoma football game and I decided to make a pot of chili and a pan of cornbread to feed everyone for dinner. This was a last-minute decision, so I headed out to the grocery store to get the fixin's. I think everyone in town had the same idea, because the bean aisle was packed and there was a crisis in the spice aisle when it was discovered that there was only one more jar of chili powder left. I also got some tortilla chips and Rotel to make Rotel dip, as every good Southerner would do when lucky enough to find a 1-1/4# block of Velveeta in the fridge. What do you do when you have a living room full of red-blooded American men shouting at the tv? Feed them cheese.

The chili was awesome. Or, at least I think it was. I don't have much to compare it too, for I only started eating chili about a year ago. As a kid, I took the beans song to heart ("beans, beans, the musical fruit..." ) and decided that I simply disliked beans, even though I'd never eaten any. I knew I disliked toots. A few years ago, I eased my way into eating beans, starting with chickpeas, moving on to black beans and refried beans in Mexican restaurants, then opening up to all kinds, though I'm still undecided about pinto beans. My introduction to chili was at a chili cook-off in Richmond, where most of the chili samples were too hot to taste anything but burning. Yesterday's chili, though, was only mildly spicy, so I could actually taste individual flavors. GC and the rest of the guys liked it a lot too, but I've found that hungry guys almost always compliment free food, so I might just have to start a Chili Snackdown to see how this recipe really stacks up. In the meantime, you try it out and tell me how it compares to your favorite chili.

Chunky Two-Bean and Beef Chili

1 tablespoon canola oil, divided
Cooking spray
1 ½ pounds beef stew meat
¾ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups chopped onion
½ cup chopped green bell pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
2 teaspoons finely chopped jalapeño pepper
2/3 cup cabernet sauvignon or dry red wine
1 ½ tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 ½ teaspoons ancho chile powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground red pepper
½ teaspoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon ground coriander
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, undrained and chopped
1 (15-ounce) can dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15-ounce) can hot chili beans
Reduced-fat sour cream (optional)

Heat 1 teaspoon canola oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle beef with salt. Add half of beef to pan; sauté 8 minutes or until browned. Remove from pan. Repeat procedure with remaining beef.

Add remaining 2 teaspoons oil, onion, and bell pepper to pan; sauté 3 minutes. Add garlic and jalapeño; sauté 1 minute. Add wine, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Return beef to pan. Stir in sugar and remaining ingredients except sour cream; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 1/2 hours or until beef is tender, stirring occasionally. Garnish with sour cream, if desired.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: about 1 1/3 cups)

CALORIES 390 (26% from fat); FAT 11.4g (sat 3.2g,mono 4.8g,poly 1.1g); PROTEIN 31.3g; CHOLESTEROL 71mg; CALCIUM 94mg; SODIUM 825mg; FIBER 10.1g; IRON 5mg; CARBOHYDRATE 37.5g
Cooking Light, SEPTEMBER 2007

Chili just isn't complete without a pan of cornbread.

Rosemary Corn Bread

2 (8 ½ oz) boxes cornbread mix
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 (8 oz.) container plain yogurt
2 (7 oz.) cans whole-kernel corn, drained
1 T. dried rosemary leaves

Heat oven to 400. Lightly grease a 13x9” pan; set aside.

Stir all ingredients together. Spoon into pan.

Bake 25 minutes or until just golden. Remove to a wire rack to cool. When cool, cut lengthwise into 3 strips and then crosswise into quarters. Cut each square into 2 triangles. The corn bread can be made ahead to this point. Remove from pan, wrap in foil, and freeze for up to 3 months.

To serve, thaw and reheat in the foil in a 325F oven for 10m or until heated through.

Serves 10.
Real Simple, November 2003

Now, I have had more than my share of cornbread, and can say with confidence that this is awesome cornbread. I used Jiffy Corn Muffin mix, which I think is the best commercial cornbread mix available. I ground up the dried rosemary in my spice blender because I hate biting into those long rosemary needles; grinding also helps distribute the rosemary flavor.

Missouri lost the game, so people left our house disappointed, but not hungry.

Getting to Know All About You: What's your best company dish?

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 12:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)