Turkey Chili Take Two

Here is another version of turkey chili (see 1/10/10 posting) that makes a warming winter meal. I adapted a recipe in Melissa Clark's New York Times column, A Good Appetite, which was too meaty for my taste. I used the same seasonings and basic ingredients but reduced the amount of turkey and added a variety of veggies. I loved the result. This recipe makes lots of chili. If you don't have 8-10 people coming over for dinner, the chili keeps and freezes well.

2 tbl. olive oil

1 lb. ground turkey

salt and pepper to taste

4 garlic cloves, chopped

2 tbl. chili powder

1 large Spanish onion, chopped

2 red peppers, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

3/4 lb. calabaza winter squash, peeled and cut into small chunks

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped (optional)

1 28 oz. can tomato puree

1 15 oz. can white hominy, drained

2 15 oz. cans pinto beans, drained

1 12 oz. bottle beer

2-3 chipotles in adobo sauce, to taste, minced

1 tsp. dried oregano

2 bay leaves

sour cream or non-fat Greek style yogurt, for serving

5 scallions, white and light green parts, sliced, for serving

1 bunch chopped cilantro, for serving

Lime wedges, for serving

In a large pot over medium-high heat, warm 1 tbl oil. Brown the ground turkey with salt and peer, stirring occasionally until golden, 6-8 minutes. Stir in the garlic and chili powder. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the turkey to a bowl.

Add remaining tbl. oil to pot and saute onions, peppers, carrots, calabaza and optional jalapeno with salt to taste. Cook, stirring, until onion is translucent, about 10 minutes.

Return turkey and any liquid in bowl to pot and add tomato puree, hominy, beans, beer, chipotles, oregano and bay leaves. Simmer chili, partly covered, until it is thick enough for your taste, about 1 hour. Serve hot, garnished with sour cream or yogurt, scallions, cilantro and lime wedges.

Serves 8-10

Notes:I did not have scallions, cilantro or lime wedges. I'm sure that they would add more flavor but the chili was still terrific without these ingredients.

If you don't care for hominy, leave it out. If adding beer isn't appealing, don't add it.

I use canned chipotles packed in adobo sauce. I puree a whole can at a time in the food processor, put it in a small plastic container and refrigerate. It keeps for a very long time. I got this tip from Annie Somerville, author of Fields of Greens. For this recipe, I used 1 tsp. and could have doubled that amount to add more smoky flavor.

Oatmeal Coconut Raspberry Bars

I made these bar cookies as a way to use some of the coconut I inadvertently stockpiled in my kitchen. But the cookies are so delicious that I would go out and buy some more coconut to make them again. They are buttery, crumbly, addictive and easy to make. The recipe was published in the February 2002 issue of Gourmet magazine. Since I used strawberry jam instead of raspberry, I guess I should call them Oatmeal Coconut Strawberry bars. Whatever you call them, they are delicious.

1 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut

1 1/4 cups flour

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) cold, unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats

3/4- 1 cup seedless raspberry jam

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Spread 3/4 cup coconut evenly on a baking sheet and toast in middle of oven, stirring once, until golden, about 8 minutes, then cool.

Blend together flour, sugars, and salt in a food processor. then add butter and blend until dough begins to form. Transfer to a bowl and knead in oats and the 3/4 cup of toasted coconut until combined well.

Reserve 3/4 cup dough and press remainder evenly into bottom of a buttered 13 by 9 inch metal baking pan and spread jam over it. Crumble reserved dough evenly over jam, then sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup (untoasted) coconut.

Bake in middle of oven until golden, 20-25 minutes, then cool completely in pan on a rack. Loosen from sides of pan with a sharp knife, then lift out in 1 piece and transfer to a cutting board.

Cut into 24 bars.

The bars can be made 3 days ahead and kept in an airtight container. They can also be frozen.

Meyer Lemon Marmalade

I was introduced to Meyer lemons by my friend Barbara who lives in Berkeley. Barbara is fortunate to have a Meyer lemon tree in her backyard and she sent me some of her crop through the mail. The taste is like nothing you have ever experienced before. It is ethereal.

My local fancy food store, Union Market, now sells Meyer lemons at this time of the year. One of my favorite things to do with the lemons is to make marmalade. This is a two step process as the lemons soak for 24 hours before they are cooked. I follow the recipe in The Gourmet Cookbook. It may sound a little overwhelming but it is really not a difficult recipe. Just take things step by step and it will all work out. The pleasure of having this heavenly marmalade is worth the time and trouble. The recipe makes 6 1/2 pint jars of marmalade, for hoarding and/or giving away to special people.

1 1/2 pounds Meyer lemons

4 cups water

4 cups sugar

Halve lemons crosswise and remove seeds, reserving them (they provide pectin). Tie seeds in a cheesecloth bag. Quarter each lemon half and thinly slice crosswise. Combine lemons with bag of seeds and water in pot and let stand, covered, at room temperature for 24 hours.

Sterilize jars and lids and wash screw bands.

Chill two small plates for testing the marmalade. Bring lemon mixture to a boil over moderate heat. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until reduced to about 4 cups, about 45 minutes.

Stir in sugar and boil over moderate heat, stirring occasionally and skimming off any foam, until marmalade tests done, about 15 minutes: Begin testing for doneness at 10 minutes; remove pot from heat while testing. Drop a spoonful of marmalade onto a chilled plate and refrigerate for one minute, then tilt plate; marmalade should remain in a mound and not run. If not ready, put pot back on heat and test again at 15 minutes.

Drain 1/2 pint jars on a clean kitchen towel for 1 minute, then invert. Ladle hot marmalade into jar, leaving 1/4 inch space at top, then run a thin knife between the marmalade and sides of jars to eliminate air bubbles; discard cheesecloth bag.

Seal, process jars for 10 minutes, remove them from water and cool filled jars. Let marmalade stand for at least one day to allow flavors to develop.

Notes: If you have never processed jams before, please consult a basic cookbook on how to sterilize jars and process the filled jars. If you have a jar that is partially full, do not process it. Cover it with the lid and screw band and refrigerate. Use this jar first.

Lee, who has been making jams for years, keeps her jars in the freezer until she is ready to use them. I have started to do this too so that I can stop worrying about whether I processed the jam successfully.

Wild Mushroom Soupy Stew

This Soupy Stew is the essence of mushrooms. Aside from the mushrooms, the ingredients are few but the taste is magnificently mushroomy. The idea came from a recipe in The Fig Table by Todd English and Sally Sampson called Wild Mushroom Ribollita. But that dish included bread cubes, parmesan and mozzarella cheese. For my taste, allowing those wonderful wild mushrooms to shine was the way to go.

There is not a lot of liquid in this recipe so I call it a soupy stew. If you wish, add more chicken broth. If you don't have all of the mushrooms listed, go ahead and make the dish with what you have on hand.

1 1/2 oz. dried porcini mushrooms, soaked in hot water for 20 minutes

21 tb. olive oil

3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2 onions, thinly sliced

1/2 pound button mushrooms, trimmed and sliced

3/4 pounds shitake mushrooms, trimmed and sliced

1/2 pound oyster mushrooms, trimmed and chopped

1/2 pound portobello mushrooms, including stems, chopped

1 Idaho potato, diced

1 tb. chopped fresh rosemary leaves

6 cups chicken broth or canned low sodium broth

Drain the dried mushrooms, retaining the soaking liquid. Strain the liquid through a coffee filter to remove any silt and set aside.

Place large pot over medium high heat and add the oil when hot. Add garlic and onions and cook until the garlic is toasted, about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms, mushroom soaking liquid, potato and rosemary and cook until mushrooms have softened, about 20 minutes. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Lower heat and cook for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Serves 6

Note: The dish can be made a few days in advance and reheated.

The additional steps in the original ribollita recipe are: After the mushrooms have cooked for 1 hour, add 3 cups bread cubes, 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese and 2 balls (4 ozs each) buffalo mozzarella cheese, chopped.

Stir to melt cheeses. Place in shallow bowl and serve immediately garnished with diced tomatoes and chopped fresh basil leaves.

Mrs. Kolbert's Coconut Bars

This recipe appeared in the Christmas issue of Gourmet Magazine in 1993. After holding on to the magazine for 16 years I finally found the time to make this very simple, homey bar cookie. The impetus was my discovery of bags of flaked coconut sitting in my cupboard. Has this ever happened to you? You see an item in the supermarket and think it would be a good idea to buy it in case you need it. You have a problem when you do exactly the same thing several times. Not only do I have sweetened coconut but I have three bags of unsweetened coconut in my freezer. What to do? Yes, these sweet, adorable cookies present a lovely way of reducing the coconut overstock in my kitchen. But there is no need to wait until you have a coconut glut. Make these and enjoy their old fashioned goodness any time.

1 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar

1 cup plus 3 tbl. flour

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut

1 cup chopped blanched almonds

2 large eggs, beaten lightly

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl with a fork, stir together 1/2 cup of the brown sugar, 1 cup of the flour, and the butter until the mixture is combined well. Press the mixture evenly onto the bottom of a 13 by 9 inch baking pan (it may look as if there isn't enough dough but work on spreading it evenly and it will cover the bottom of the pan). Bake in the middle of the oven for 10 minutes.

In the bowl with the fork combine the remaining 1 cup brown sugar, the remaining 3 tbl. flour, the coconut, the almonds, the eggs, the vanilla, and the salt and blend the mixture well. Spread the coconut mixture evenly over the crust and bake for 20 minutes or until it is pale golden. Cut the mixture into 48 bars and let the bars cool completely in the pan on a rack.

Makes 48 small bar cookies

Notes: The next time I make these I will make 24 larger cookies. These were so small that I ate 6 of them in a flash. They can be frozen in airtight containers for 1 month. I froze half of my batch and Henry and I ate the rest very quickly.

Green Pea Soup

Hadassah invited us to her home for brunch yesterday afternoon. The meal she served was eclectic-herring, smoked salmon, pastrami, pate, chick pea salad, cheeses, stuffed eggs, potato salad and stuffed grape leaves. We were an international group and this was an international menu. Before the serious eating began, Hadassah served a delicious and delicate soup. We all asked for the recipe, which I just received.

3 cups chicken broth

1 tbl. flour

2 tbl. butter

2 cups green peas (Hadassah uses frozen peas)

1 small onion, cubed

1 cup cream or half and half

salt and pepper to taste

In the blender put 1 cup of broth, butter, peas and onion and blend til smooth and well blended (about 20 seconds). Turn into a pot and add the remaining broth.

Cover and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add the cream (or half and half) and bring to a second boil, stirring constantly. Serve with croutons.

Notes: The soup can be made a day or two in advance and then reheated.

French Apple Tart

My niece Liz brought this apple tart to our last family gathering. It was an incredible hit. Not only is the tart beautiful and delicious but Liz insists that it is not at all difficult to prepare. Since the dough is not in a tart pan but rolled freehand, the tart has an appealingly rustic appearance. If you are one of those pastry dough phobics (as I am), this recipe would be a good one to start with. Thanks to Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics cookbook for this one.

Pastry:

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1 tbl. sugar

12 tbl (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, diced

1/2 cup ice water

Apples:

4 Granny Smith apples

1/2 cup sugar

4 tbl (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, small diced

1/2 cup apricot jelly or warm sieved apricot jam

2 tbl. Calvados, rum or water

For the pastry, place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse for a few seconds to combine. ad the butter and pulse 10 to 12 times, until the butter is in small bits the size of peas. With the motor running, pour the ice water down the feed tube and pulse just until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a floured board and knead quickly into a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Roll the dough slightly larger than 10 by 14 inches. Using a ruler and a small knife, trim the edges. Place the dough on the prepared sheet pan and refrigerate while you prepare the apples.

Peel the apples and cut them in half through the stem. Remove the stems and cores with a sharp knife and a melon baller. Slice the apples crosswise in 1/4 inch thick slices. Place the overlapping slices of apples diagonally down the middle of the tart and continue making diagonal rows on both sides of the first row until the pastry is covered with apple slices. Sprinkle with the full 1/2 cup of sugar and dot with the butter.

Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the pastry is browned and the edges of the apples start to brown. Rotate the pan once during the cooking. If the pastry puffs up in one area, cut a little slit with a knife to let the air out. Don't worry! The apple juices will burn in the pan but the tart will be fine. When the tart's done, heat the apricot jelly together with the Calvados and brush the apples and the pastry completely with the jelly mixture. Loosen the tart with a metal spatula so it doesn't stick to the paper. Allow to cool and serve warm or at room temperature.

Serves 6

Notes: If the dough is a bit ragged, don't worry about.

The instructions re the apples sound more complicated than the reality. I'll try to get a photo to show you how to layer the apples or find the recipe on Foodchannel.com and see the photo. Or just do your own thing. The taste will still be wonderful.

This recipe got rave reviews on the foodchannel website. One reviewer cheated by buying prepared puff pastry and using that instead of making her own pastry. Whatever works is fine.