Red Chicken Chili

This past week brought a significant amount of snow, single digit temperatures and below zero wind chills here in the Midwest. Other than dressing in layers or sitting by the fire, it seems the only other way to warm up are savoring either a hot bowl of soup or chili. Great soup and chili recipes are not only soul satisfying, they are labors of love. With the added benefits of infusing intoxicating aromas in the kitchen and yielding plenty of leftovers, investing the time into making them is almost enough to temporarily keep the winter blues at bay. Rather than making some Three Bean Chili, Beef and Bean Chili, Texas Style Chili, Beef Chili, or Chipotle Turkey Chili, I wanted to make a chili that was a little more on the healthy side yet still a comforting, crowd pleasing, deeply satisfying one. Which explains what inspired this Red Chicken Chili recipe.

There are hundreds of thousands of chicken chili recipes out there. You will find white and red versions, quick and slow cooked versions, as well as ground and shredded chicken versions. No offense to white chicken chili lovers, but I happen to like my chili 'red'. And it just so happens I LOVE this Red Chicken Chili. It's a recipe I would gladly enter into a chicken chili contest! But wait, I actually think it might even be a ribbon contender in any chili contest!

Making homemade chili is easy. Once the chicken is cooked, the vegetables sautéed, the spices allowed to toast, and the other remaining ingredients are added in, all you need to do is let it simmer (with occasional stirring) for four hours. Yes, four hours. The low, slow cooking process helps to meld and deepen all of its' flavors. 

If you happen to be a beef loving chili eater, you are going to be more than pleasantly surprised with the flavors and textures of this Red Chicken Chili. You might actually switch from being a beef chili to a chicken chili lover. So how good is this hearty, perfectly spiced chili? It's 'second helping please' good.

Other than deciding which of your friends to invite over for a weekend chili dinner, you only have decide on the array of toppings to serve along with the Red Chicken Chili. Grated white cheddar cheese, sour cream, chopped green onions, sliced or chopped avocado, and/or Fritos Scoops all compliment the chili perfectly. I would have bowls of all of them!

But you don't need to host a gathering to make this chili, you can make it just for you as it freezes beautifully. So when you crave a bowl of hot chili and don't have four hours to spend making a batch, all you have to do is pull some out of the freezer. Does this chili sound even more enticing?

Last, but not least, I promise eating a bowl of this scrumptious chili will not only warm you up, but it will be good for your soul. So what are you waiting for?

Recipe

Red Chicken Chili

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

1 3/4 to 2 pounds ground chicken (see notes)

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 large yellow onion, finely chopped

1 large green pepper (seeds removed), finely chopped

1 large jalapeño (seeds removed), finely minced

2 Tablespoons chili powder

2 teaspoons cumin

1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes or red pepper flakes

15 ounce (425g) can crushed tomatoes

10 ounce (283g) can diced tomatoes with green chiles

15 ounce (425g) can black beans, drained and rinsed

15 ounce (425g) can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

16 ounce (454g) bag of frozen whole kernal corn

16 ounces beer (see notes)

2-3 Tablespoons light brown sugar

2 Tablespoons worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons Kosher salt, plus more to taste

1/2 cup chicken broth (and more if necessary)

Chopped green onions, sour cream, grated white cheddar cheese, chopped avocado, Fritos Scoops

Directions

1. Heat a large Dutch oven. Add in one Tablespoon of olive oil and heat. Add in the ground chicken. Cook until chicken is cooked through. Stir often but keep as many bite sized bits as possible. Transfer the cooked chicken and drippings to a bowl. Set aside.

2. Add 1 Tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and heat. Add in the chopped onions, green pepper and jalapeño. Cook until vegetables have softened and become lightly browned (approximately 10 minutes).

3. Add the chili powder, cumin, and red chili flakes to the cooked vegetables. Stir and cook for 90 seconds to toast the spices.

4. Add in the crushed tomatoes and diced tomatoes. Stir until well blended.

5. Add in the cooked chicken, black beans, dark red kidney beans, corn, brown sugar, Kosher salt, worcestershire, and beer. Stir until well mixed.

6. Place the cover on the Dutch oven. After one hour of cooking time add in the half cup of the chicken broth and stir.

7. Place lid back on but allow the steam to escape so the chili thickens. Stir the chili periodically. Cook for an additional three hours. Note: If the chili is too thick, add a little more chicken stock.

8. Serve with your favorite toppings and enjoy.

Notes: (1) For a very chunky chili, use up to 2 pounds of ground chicken. I used the full 2 pounds in this recipe. (2) Use a lighter beer. I used Stella Atrois. Most bottles of beer are approximately 11 ounces. You will need one full bottle and almost half of another bottle. (3) Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator or freezer so you can enjoy a bowl on another chilly day.

Classic Pound Cake (aka Emergency Pound Cake)

Once upon a time pound cakes were made with a pound of flour, a pound of butter, a pound of sugar, and a pound of eggs. Hence explaining how it came to be known as a pound cake. However much has changed since 1747, when a recipe for pound cake was first published. The concept of the pound cake has remained over the last several centuries, but it's ingredients have been altered in a variety of ways. From the addition of extracts to salt, to the use of buttermilk or sour cream instead of milk, to the use of cream cheese in addition to butter, to the addition of baking powder and/or baking soda, there have been a number of variations to the original pound cake recipe. What makes a pound cake 'great' might vary from person to person. Although I think almost everyone could agree it may be one of the most versatile desserts to have ever been created. Whether it's served simply with a dusting of confectionary sugar, drizzled with icing, frosted, topped with a generous dollop of freshly whipped cream, topped with fresh berries or a berry sauce, used to make ice cream sandwiches, used to make fruit trifles, or used to make a stuffed french toast, pound cake may be the best thing ever invented since sliced bread. 

The inspiration for this recipe Classic Pound Cake recipe (affectionately known as the Emergency Pound Cake) came from a woman named Susan. In her circle of friends, Susan is considered to be an incredible baker. She's the person who makes the desserts and cakes for almost all of their gatherings. Her legendary pound cakes are cut into slices, wrapped, and stored in the freezer. So on days when either she or her friends need a pick me up, slices of her velvety, dense crumbed, deeply flavorful pound cake are ready to be enjoyed or shared. Hence explains the origin of the name Emergency Pound Cake.

I first learned of her pound cake recipe in early December at a fundraising event. Just listening to her friends give it high accolades, I knew I wanted or rather needed her recipe. Through the help of one of our mutual friends, I was able to get it. But in typical fashion, I decided to make two very subtle changes to her recipe (see notes) in spite of never having tasted one she had made. I added a small amount of Kosher salt because in my world all baked goods need it to offset the sweetness and deepen the flavor. Her recipe included almond, coconut, and lemon variations. All of those flavors appealled to me, but I decided to go with an almond version on the first go-round. Rather than using all almond extract, I used a combination of vanilla and almond as I wasn't sure how almond forward the flavor would be if I had used all almond.

There are so many things I loved about this pound cake. To begin with, it's made with ingredients I always have on hand. Which makes it one of those cakes you can make on whim. Three cups of sugar may sound like a significant amount, but this cake has some heft to it and can feed an army. European or European style unsalted butter contains more fat, which yields more flavor. So if possible, use it. Eggs do all the heavy lifting in this pound cake and one of its' essential ingredients. Having your butter and eggs at room temperature are two of the keys to a successful pound cake. Baking powder isn't a typical ingredient in many pound cake recipes, however, just a half teaspoon helps to lift the crumb and prevents it from being grainy. While the recipe didn't specify which kind of milk to use, I presumed it to be whole milk as I wanted to ensure it was a moist cake. So I used whole milk. The higher fat content in whole milk helps to ensure as well as contribute to a more tender crumb. If there was ever a case where the type of ingredients matter, this would be one of them.

A 10 cup capacity bundt pan worked perfectly for this pound cake. Before pouring the batter into the pan, generously butter it to help prevent the baked pound cake from sticking. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees (F) for at least 10 minutes before putting the pound cake in the oven. Always place your bundt pan on a large baking sheet before inserting on the middle rack. Placing your pan on a baking sheet keeps the bundt pan stable and will catch any overflow.

Baking time for the cake is 1 hour and 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few light crumbs. I recommend checking for doneness at the 1 hour and 20 minute mark as some ovens may run a little hot. The pound cake will continue to bake in the hot pan once you remove it from the oven, so you want to be careful to not over bake it. 

The recommended amount of time necessary to successfully remove a pound cake from the bundt pan ranges anywhere from 10 minutes to 2 hours. Everyone has a strong opinion on what works for them. However, the longer the cake cools in the pan the greater the risk of having the sugar in the cake harden and stick to the sides of the pan. For that reason, I recommend giving the baked pound cake a rest time of 15 minutes before inverting onto a platter.

Once the cake has completely cooled, lightly dust with some confectionary sugar. Not only does it give some added sweetness, it will hide any imperfections that may happen during the unmolding process.

So what's the verdict? It's an 11 on a scale of 1 to 10. It's the most divinely delicious pound cake I have ever tasted. The crunchy exterior and the moist, buttery, velvety, dense, tender crumb are what make this pound cake a hands down blue ribbon winner. With the added benefit of slices freezing well (because we all have emergencies in our lives!), I don't think there is another pound cake recipe that comes close to this one. In other words, it's a throw down worthy recipe. Bake one of these pound cakes for your family and friends and will love you more than they already do. The next time I see Susan, I am going to thank her profusely for sharing her recipe with me (even though I ever so slightly tinkered with it). 

Recipe

Classic Pound Cake (aka Emergency Pound Cake)

Inspired by Susan

Ingredients

1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature (recommend using a European or European style butter)

3 cups (600g) granulated sugar

5 large eggs, room temperature

3 cups (390g) all-purpose unbleached flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

1 cup whole milk

1 Tablespoon Vanilla

1 Tablespoon Almond Extract (or 1 Tablespoon Coconut Extract or 1 Tablespoon Lemon Extract)

Confectionary sugar, for dusting

Optional: Serve with fresh fruit, a fruit sauce, freshly whipped cream, ice cream, or a dollop of your favorite icing. But honestly, it's pretty gosh darn good served 'plain'.

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees (F) for at least ten minutes before baking the pound cake.

2. In the bowl of standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter (about 1-2 minutes).

3. Slowly add in the granulated sugar, beat until creamy (about 2-3 minutes).

4. Add in eggs, one at a time. Beat until incorporated.

5. Sift together the flour, baking powder and Kosher salt. Don't skip the sifting.

6. Add in the sifted dry ingredients in three additions.

7. Add the vanilla and almond extracts to the milk.

8. Slowly pour the milk mixture into the batter. Beat just until well blended.

9. Generously butter a 10 cup capacity bundt pan. (I used this one from Nordicware). Note: Instead of using butter to prepare the pan, heavily spray with Baker's Joy.

10. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Smooth the top of the batter with an off-set spatula.

11. Place bundt pan on a baking sheet. Place in the middle of the oven.

12. Bake 1 hour 25 minutes or until done. Note: Check for doneness at the 1 hour and 20 minute mark. Cake is done when a skewer inserted in the cake comes out clean or has a few crumbs attached.

13. Remove cake from oven and place on a cooling rack.

14. After 15 minutes, insert a knife along the edges of the pan. Then invert cake onto a serving platter.

15. Allow the pound cake to cool completely before dusting with confectionary sugar.

16. Cut into thick slices and enjoy. But cut several slices, wrap in parchment or sandwich paper, then place in a freezer ziplock bag. Place your 'emergency' pieces of pound cake into the freezer.

Notes: (1) Susan's recipe called for 3 Tablespoons of either Almond, Coconut or Lemon Extract. I reduced the total amount of extract to 2 Tablespoons and divided it between 1 Tablespoon Vanilla and 1 Tablespoon of Almond Extract. If I was making a coconut version, I would use 1 Tablespoon Vanilla and 1 Tablespoon of Coconut. And if I was making a lemon version, I would use 1 Tablespoon Vanilla and 1 Tablespoon Lemon Extract. (2) Additionally, I added 1/2 teaspoon of Kosher salt to the recipe. (3) I used the vanilla and almond extracts from Nielson-Massey and Gold Medal unbleached all-purpose flour.

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Happy New Year! In 2024 we will have one additional day to live our best lives. Which may or may not include include savoring something sweet. Now considering some of you are starting the new year eating cleaner, it might be considered a form of sabotage to have the first post of the year be a recipe for something wickedly rich, decadent, and delicious. Alternately it might also be one of those good intentioned gestures encouraging and helping you to truly live your best life! If you have ever had Sticky Toffee Pudding before, you know it's one of those desserts you wouldn't ever want to live without. It's definitely a dinner party worthy dessert, but it's also humble enough to be considered comfort food at its' finest. 

Some (like me) might have thought that Sticky Toffee Pudding has been around for centuries. Surprisingly (for me) it hasn't. Rather it has been around for either a little more than 120 years or slightly more than 70 years, depending on which source you want to believe. Three different regions of the United Kingdom lay claim to having invented this decadent, mouthwatering, scrumptious dessert. But whether it was created in 1907 (in Yorkshire), in 1960 (in Cumbria) or in 1967 (in Scotland) doesn't really matter. What matters is that it made its' way here to the states and has recently begun to garner the attention it deserves. If for some reason Sticky Toffee Pudding hasn't made way into your life, let me help you give it a grand entrance. 

In spite of its' relatively short history, there are a plethora of Sticky Toffee Pudding recipes out there. Some include the addition of spices (cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg), some include molasses or treacle, and some are made with self-rising versus all purpose flour. This recipe doesn't use any of those ingredients. Maybe someday I will tinker around and include some of them, but at the moment, I am deeply, madly in love with the version here. 

In addition to aiding in the breaking down of the dates, cooking them in baking soda 'brings out the inherent toffeeness of the dates as well as softens their skins.' (Taylor and Arguin). It may sound a bit unusual, but it works. Medjool dates have a rich dark color and rich caramel flavor making them the most optimal choice. And the dark brown sugar is another one of the keys to a moist, dense, chewy Sticky Toffee Pudding. The batter is comprised of two components: the cooked dates and the sugar/butter/flour/eggs/baking powder/salt/vanilla mixture. When making the Sticky Toffee Pudding, begin with cooking the dates as they need time to cool before getting mixed in to the batter.

While the Sticky Toffee Pudding bakes, make the luscious sauce. Once the cake is finished baking, you will pour one cup of the sauce over a skewer holed cake. Then return to the oven for another 3-4 minutes of baking. 

The remaining sauce will be used when serving the warm Sticky Toffee Pudding. Serve pieces of the sauce drenched pudding with a large scoop of vanilla ice cream or better yet, some salted caramel gelato. 

Whether or not Sticky Toffee Pudding makes it way as one of the 'it' desserts of 2024 is anyone's guess. However, if any dessert should go viral this year and remain viral for years to come, it is this heavenly, luscious, scrumptious Sticky Toffee Pudding. In other words, you absolutely must have it in your life. But I have a word of caution for you. Do not tell your family and friends what is in this cake until they have had their first bite or maybe until after they have cleaned their plates. Trust me when I tell you there won't be any crumbs or sauce left behind as it may be one of the most irresistible desserts to grace your table. And at the end of the night everyone will leave as immensely happy (unsuspecting) date loving people!

Recipe

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Serves 8-10

Ingredients

Caramel Sauce

1 3/4 cups (350g) dark brown sugar

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

3/4 cup (170g) unsalted butter (preferably European or European Style)

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt

Sticky Toffee Pudding

12 ounces (340g) Medjool dates, pitted and coarsely chopped

1 cup water

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 3/4 cups (228g) all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

1 cup (200g) dark brown sugar

3/4 cup (170g) unsalted butter, room temperature (preferably European or European Style)

3 large eggs, room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla

Vanilla Ice Cream or Salted Caramel Gelato

Directions

Caramel Sauce

1. In a medium sized saucepan, melt the butter.

2. Add in the dark brown sugar and heavy whipping cream. Bring to a boil.

3. Turn the heat down to a low simmer. Stirring frequently, continue to simmer for 5-8 minutes, until the sauce has thickened and a bit sticky. Note: To check for doneness, dip a spoon in the sauce. Swipe your finger down the center of the spoon. If the finger swipe remains, the sauce is done.

4. Stir in the vanilla and Kosher salt. Remove from the heat. Set aside.

Sticky Toffee Pudding

1. In a medium sized heavy bottomed saucepan, combine the dates and 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil.

2. Reduce heat to simmer and cook until dates are soft and most of the liquid is absorbed (but the mixture remains moist). This takes about 3-4 minutes.

4. Remove from the heat and stir in the baking soda.

5. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and let come to room temperature. Or to speed up the cooling process place the bowl in the refrigerator.

6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F). Line a 9" square baking pan with parchment paper. Generously butter the paper. Set aside.

7. Sift flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

8. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment beat the butter until creamy (about 2-3 minutes).

9. Add in the dark brown sugar and beat until light and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes). Scrape down the bowl as needed.

10. Beat in the eggs one at a time.

11. Mix in the dry ingredients, mixing just until combined.

12. Add in the cooled dates and vanilla. Stir to combined.

13. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking pan. Smooth top with an offset spatula.

14. Place pan on a large baking sheet. Bake for 35-38 minutes until browned and slightly firm to the touch but still spongy. Note: A toothpick inserted in the center of the cake may have a few crumbs attached, but it should not be wet.

15. Remove from the oven and generously pierce the top of the cake with a skewer. Pour one cup of the caramel sauce over the top and  and return to the oven.

16. Bake for an additional 3-4 minutes or until the caramel sauce bubbles.

17. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack. Let cool to slightly warm or room temperature.

18. To serve, pour some of the sauce on a plate, place a square of the Sticky Toffee Cake on top, then top with Vanilla Ice Cream or Salted Caramel Gelato. Top with a little more of the sauce.

19. Store any leftover cake covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

20. Important note: If cake has been chilled or is at room temperature. Reheat in the microwave until warm before serving. It's absolutely scrumptious served warm.

Notes: (1) 12 ounces of coarsely chopped Medjool dates equals two cups. (2) If at all possible, buy your dates from a Mediterranean store. Especially one that imports Medjool dates. (3) The Sticky Toffee Pudding and Sauce can be made early in the day. Reheat pieces of the pudding and the sauce before serving.