Your Cooking Coach
Show MenuHide Menu

Archives

January 2012
M T W T F S S
« Dec   Feb »
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
3031  

Turkey Chili with Ancho Powder- It’s a real winner!

   

turkey-chili-with-ancho-powder An old recipe revisited for the Super bowl.
I have been looking for a chili recipe that delicious yet a little different. I saw this on tv the other day and have come up with my own version. I love ancho chili powder! I use it as often as I can, in salsas, guacamole and stews, etc. Ancho powder is ground ancho (poblano) peppers. It has a mild to medium smoky flavor that goes well with cumin and chili powder in this recipe. Before grinding the cumin seeds, I roasted them first. The roasted cumin has a deeper smokier flavor. I used cannellini beans for the color and their creamy consistency. Since there are no tomatoes, the ancho chili and cumin flavors come through very well. The corn and yellow peppers give it nice sweetness. Also adding the half and half gives a really nice richness, you can substitute milk instead. In case you want more tartness, add a splash of fresh limejuice at the end. Overall it is a delicious recipe. I plan to make some corn bread and serve it with the tomatillo guacamole. You can make this in advance, as the chili sits, the flavors will have a chance to marry! Of course wine or beer should be served!

  • 2 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 medium yellow bell pepper, chopped
  • ½ cup shredded carrots
  • 2 teaspoons roasted ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1-2 teaspoons ancho chili powder (depending how spicy you like)
  • 2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 pound ground dark meat turkey
  • 1 19oz can cannellini beans, drained
  • 1 cup frozen roasted corn
  • 3 cups chicken broth
  • ½ cup half and half
  • ½ cup cilantro, chopped for garnish

Preheat a large heavy pot and add the olive oil. Add onion, garlic, bell pepper and carrots. Saute for a minute on medium high heat. Add the cumin, chili powder and ancho chili powder and salt. Next add the ground turkey and cook on high heat breaking the meat apart. Next add the beans, corn and chicken broth, bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook for at least 30 minutes. Take the back of a wooden spoon and mash some of the beans in the chili- it will thicken it up. Once reached the desired consistency add the half and half and check for seasoning. Cook another 10 minutes and add the cilantro on top.
Serve with corn bread.

Mexican Pork and Tomatillo Chili

   

Mexican Chili2

I posted this recipe last year and think it would be delicious for the Super bowl coming this weekend. Try it and let me know what you think…

I love Mexican cuisine, especially since it is full of very strong, bold flavors. I make all sorts of preparations including tacos, enchiladas, salsas, guacamole.. the list goes on. I especially love using tomatillos and all the different Mexican chilies out there. For this preparation I used a poblano pepper- which looks like a large jalapeno pepper closer to a regular green pepper. It sometimes has a bit of heat and once its roasted, the sweetness comes out.

I roasted tomatillos, garlic, green onions and the poblano chili with a drizzle of olive oil and salt. I then made a thick sauce by blending all the roasted vegetables and I had a fabulous start to my chili. I had a pork shoulder with bones cut into small flavors for the dish. Any stew meat can be used as long as it can stand up to 2 to 3 hours of cooking. The house smells wonderful while the delicious chili is on the stove. The result is tender, juicy, falling off the bone meat flavored with the most yummy sauce.

I served the chili with corn bread, guacamole and Spanish rice. It was a big hit with everyone, especially since it wasn’t too spicy.
read more …

Orange and Beet Salad

   

Orange and Beet Salad I finish this week off with another delicious and beautiful looking salad. I love using beets in salads, especially the roasted variety. There are times when I am simply too lazy to roast the beets.. or I just don’t have the time. I buy the already cooked variety from Trader Joes. They are delicious as well.. but nothing like roasting your own.

For this salad I roasted a few plump beets. I wrapped each one in aluminum foil and placed them in the oven. Remember to place them on a cookies sheet first to avoid any leakage. Beet juice can be impossible to get off surfaces. I then segmented some oranges- which has been my ingredient of choice ever since they have come in season. I have been putting them in everything I can.

I placed the colorful beets and oranges on some mixed greens and made a delicious salad with orange juice and balsamic vinegar.

The salad was so beautiful looking that I didn’t want to disturb it and eat it. Once I did, I realized how delicious it was…
read more …

Cucumber Salad

   

Cucumber Salad I decided to continue the vegetarian theme. This vibrant looking salad is delicious and extremely flavorful. It would be perfect with the lentils from yesterday. Although the salad is made with rice vinegar which has more of a Chinese or Japanese flavor.. but I think it would stand up very well with the delicious cumin and mustard seeds flavors.

The trick is to first buy an English cucumber instead of the regular variety. The English variety is leaner and longer and has less seeds. I cut it in half length wise and then scoop the seeds out with a spoon. In order to get the cucumbers super crispy, one can sprinkle some salt on them, place them in a colander over a bowl. The salt will extract the extra moisture out of the cucumbers and make them crunchy. This step is optional and skipping it will not lessen the flavor.

The salad has very few ingredients including the rice vinegar, serrano chilies and cilantro. Try this simple yet delicious salad…
read more …

Lentils with Baby Spinach

   

Lentils with Baby Spinach Here is another vegetarian dish. This could be almost a one pot meal. All you need is some brown rice or quinoa.. well, those are the healthy options. One could also serve this with a rice pulao with lots of cumin and sautéed onions. Either way, this is a delicious dish that is very simple to make and very nutritious.

I love combining the orange and the yellow variety- the names of the lentils are below (actually I am not very good at remembering lentil names .. so I recognize them by color and shape). Anyway, I love combining the two and cooking them with a bit of garlic. I usually cook the lentils in water, but they can be made with chicken or vegetable broth.

Once the lentils are tender and cooked, I added baby spinach to the mix. I finished the dish with a tempering of cumin and mustard seeds.

It is one of my staples, especially when I don’t have a lot of time to cook…
read more …