Category: Soups and Stews

Cajun Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

This classic Cajun stew is perfect for a cold winter’s night – or pretty much any time.  The flavor profile is totally unique; if someone were to ask “What does gumbo taste like?” the answer is “It tastes like gumbo!”  And it is totally delicious.

Time: 90 minutes – 2 hours
Level: Intermediate (bordering on advanced, depending on your roux making skills)
Cost: About $4 per plate
Serves: 4- 6

Ingredients

  1. 4-6 chicken breasts, 2-3lbs package weight
  2. 12oz Cajun Andouille Sausage (I like Aidell’s brand), sliced into 1/4 inch thick rounds (or “coins”)
  3. 1 cup all purpose flour, plus 2 TBSP, divided
  4. 3 TBSP Creole Seasoning
    • Note:  You can use any store bought brand such as Tony Cachere’s, but I prefer “Emeril’s Essence” (also referred to as “Bayou Blast) which you can buy in stores or make it yourself.  When opting to make it myself, I usually make it by the teaspoon rather than tablespoon, but the key is just to keep the ratios the same.
  5. Olive oil:  2 TBSP, plus a few drizzles to coat chicken for dredging
  6. 1 cup vegetable oil
  7. 1 large green bell pepper, diced
  8. 1 large yellow onion, diced
  9. 4 ribs celery, diced
  10. 4 cloves garlic, minced
  11. 3/4 cup okra (optional, some people don’t like it, but it’s what makes gumbo authentic)
  12. Dash Worcestershire sauce
  13. 2 140z cans low sodium chicken broth
  14. Cooked white rice, cooked according to package directions, for serving

Instructions

Add 2 TBSP olive oil plus sausage rounds to a dutch oven or large sauté pan and heat over medium-high heat.  Sauté until sausage is well browned and most of the fat from the sausage has rendered, 5-7 minutes.  Remove sausage with a slotted spoon and reserve in a medium size bowl.

In a another medium bowl, mix 3 TBSP all purpose flour with 3 TBSP creole seasoning.  Whisk to combine thoroughly.  Pat chicken breasts dry and rub each breast with a drizzle of olive oil.  Dredge the chicken breasts in the seasoned flour mixture and add to pan with sausage fat.  Fry breasts in sausage fat on each side, 2-3 minutes or until well browned.  Remove to a cutting board and reserve.

Note:  Don’t overcrowd the pan with the chicken; work in batches if you have to.  Add more fat to the pan between batches if you have to, either by adding extra olive oil, extra sausage fat from the bowl of reserved sausages, or both.  You want to develop a nice fond on the bottom of the pan, but you don’t want to burn anything.

Add onion, green pepper and celery to the pan (this combination is known as the Trinity of Cajun Cooking) and sauté until the vegetables and onion have released most of their moisture and the onions are mostly translucent, 5-7 minutes.  Stir constantly, scraping up any fond (brown bits) from the bottom of the pan to combine with the mixture.

Add garlic and sauté until very fragrant, 1-2 minutes.

Add okra (if using), and dash of Worcestershire sauce.  Add chicken broth to deglaze the pan and stir, scraping up any remaining brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Add sausage and any drippings to the pot.  Cube chicken breasts on the cutting board (it’s okay if they’re still raw in the middle, they’re going to cook in the pot), and add to the pot.

Give everything a few good stirs to combine and bring to a boil; then reduce to a simmer.

While the stock is simmering, make your roux:

To make the roux, heat 1 cup vegetable oil in a medium sauce pot over medium-low heat until it is around 250°F – 300°F.  Whisking vigorously and constantly, slowly add the 1 cup flour to the oil, a few sprinkles at a time, until all the flour is incorporated.  Continue to whisk vigorously and constantly, cooking the flour in the oil.  Don’t stop whisking!  You will notice that the color of the roux changes from white, to blond, to peanut butter colored, to light brown, to dark brown (the color of beef stock).  Once the roux is the color of beef stock, remove from the heat and continue to whisk until significantly cooled.  While you are whisking your roux to cool, off the heat on the simmering pot completely.  (Did I mention don’t stop whisking?)

Note:  None of this is as hard as it sounds.  I got it on my first try.  Go slow, pay attention to what you’re doing and you’ll be fine.  DO follow the instructions below.

Note:  This will take anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes depending on how much heat you are using.  The higher the heat, the more likely it is you will burn your roux and you will have to start over.  If you see black flecks in your roux, you have to discard it and start over, so use lower heat at first.  As the roux begins to darken it is not uncommon for it to smoke quite a bit.  Also, it is incredibly hot, so don’t try to taste it.

Note:  Adding the hot roux directly into the simmering pot will create an impressive explosion, sending lava-hot roux and boiling broth erupting like Vesuvius all over you and your kitchen.  I did this on the first go-round; don’t be like me.  Follow the instructions in the next paragraph instead…

Once the roux has cooled, take a ladle full of liquid from the pot and slowly whisk it into the roux, stirring constantly to combine.  Very carefully and slowly, add the roux mixture back into the pot, a little bit at a time, stirring constantly while you do this to combine.

Return pot to a simmer, stirring occasionally, and allow to reduce until thick and hearty, about 45 minutes.  Serve with steamed white rice and a crusty loaf of bread.

 

Chunky Beef Chili

This delicious chili requires minimal effort and can be made on the stove top or in a slow-cooker.  It is spicy, rich and perfect for a cold winter night.  Serve with extra jalapeños, avocados and diced white onions as well as a dollop of sour cream and Mexican cheese.  This chili can be made a day ahead of time, refrigerated and reheated.  It’s even better after all the flavors have had a chance to meld together.  Also, remember:  This is frontier food – it was originally cobbled together from whatever was laying around when high-end ingredients were scarce, so feel free to experiment and have fun.  This recipe is a jumping off point to highlight the basics, where you go from here on your chili adventure is up to you!

 

 

Time: 2 hrs on stove top; 4 hrs slow-cooker on HIGH; 8 hrs slow-cooker on LOW
Level: Easy
Cost: About $5 per plate
Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

  1. 3 lbs beef chuck roast or stew meat, cut into 1 or 1.5 inch cubes
  2. Kosher salt and Pepper, to taste
  3. 8 oz bacon, diced into lardons
  4. 1 cup celery (about 4 stocks), diced
  5. 1 large white onion, diced
  6. 4-6 cloves garlic, minced
  7. 4 jalapeño peppers, diced
  8. 1 large green bell pepper, diced
  9. 1 6oz can Chipotle chilés in Adobo sauce, minced
  10. 1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
  11. 3 TBSP flour
  12. 1 cup chicken broth ( or 1 14oz can if finishing on stove top)
  13. 1/2 cup coffee (liquid, not grounds… I used what was left in my cup from this morning)
  14. Optional (Beans and Tomatoes in chili are actually somewhat contentious.  Read more about the debate here, but remember:  Cooking is about experimentation, having fun, and doing what you want.  So do as you will.

    • 2 14oz cans red kidney beans
    • 1 14oz can petite diced tomatoes
  15. 1/4 cup (or more) Masa Harina (instant cornflour – the key thing here being ‘instant’)

Instructions

Add bacon lardons to a large sauté pan or dutch oven, and cook over high heat until crisp and most of the bacon fat has rendered, about 10 minutes.  Remove with a slotted spoon and reserve.

Season beef cubes aggressively with kosher salt and pepper and cook in the bacon fat until nicely browned.  Remove with a slotted spoon and reserve.

Drain off all the fat in the pan except 1-2 TBSP, reduce heat to medium.  Carefully add celery and onion (take care that the pan is not too hot; you don’t want this stuff to burn!) and sauté until fragrant and onions are mostly translucent, 3-5 minutes.  Add garlic and continue to sauté until fragrant, 1-2 more minutes.  Add jalapeños, green bell pepper, Adobo chiles and Worcestershire sauce and cook another 3-5 minutes, stirring constantly, until peppers are soft.

Add 14oz can chicken broth, kidney beans and tomatoes (if using), and coffee.  Stir in flour and mix everything well.  Add bacon and browned beef.  Liquid should be almost covering the contents of the pot but not quite.  Stir once more to incorporate.

If finishing in the oven:

Preheat oven to 325°F.  Bring chili to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.  Place chili into oven with lid on but slightly ajar (perhaps 1/4″ – 1/2″ gap) and cook until beef is tender, about 4 hours.

If finishing in a slow cooker:

Coat the inside of the slow cooker with cooking spray.  Add all items to a slow cooker; cover completely and cook on LOW for 8 hours or HIGH for 4 hours until beef is tender and falling apart.

To Finish:

In the last 10-15 minutes of cooking, stir in 1/4 cup (more or less) of masa harina until desired texture is achieved.  It should be thick and chunky, not watery soup.  Any Texan will tell you this is the ONLY way to thicken your chili, but if you don’t have masa harina available a slurry of 1/4 cup cornstarch and 1/4 cup cold water will work just fine.

Serve with sliced avocado, diced onion, green onions, fresh minced cilantro, shredded cheddar cheese (or my favorite, finely grated Cotija cheese) and warm corn tortillas

 

Easy New England Clam Chowder

This version of a New England classic is as easy as it is delicious.  Perfect for a cold night, it is garnished with bacon bits and oyster crackers and is best served with a rustic, crusty bread (for dipping) or warm biscuits.
Growing up in Massachusetts my family and I used to take an annual vacation down to a little island called Planting Island just off of Cape Cod.  I remember gathering clams from the muck in the shallow, brackish waters behind the causeway that led to the island.  My cousin would then make a delicious chowder.  This recipe, however, uses canned clams rather than fresh ones because fresh ones are an enormous pain in the rear end to gather, scrub, steam and de-sand.  A true New Englander would probably shoot me, but being a California transplant fresh clams are in short supply and I’ve never noticed an appreciable difference.  Without further ado, here goes:

Time: 60 Minutes
Level: Easy
Cost: $4-6/plate
Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

  • 2 Tbsp butter, divided
  • 4 slices bacon, chopped
  • 1 large white onion, diced
  • 1.5 – 2 cups celery, diced
  • 3-5 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
  • 1 bunch fresh parsley, finely chopped
  • 2 tsp tobasco (optional)
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
  • 2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and chunked
  • 1 15oz can low sodium chicken broth
  • 1 bottle clam juice
  • juice from 4 (4oz) canned clams (3 cans minced, 1 chopped)
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 2 Tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 Tbsp cold water (optional for thickening; this is called a slurry, by the way) OR
  • Optional for roux, if you like a really thick chowder…
    1. 1/4 cup vegetable oil
    2. 1/4 cup flour

Instructions

  1. In a large saucepan, sauté bacon until nearly all the fat is rendered and bacon is well browned (Note:  You’re going to brown it a lot more than you would when you’re cooking breakfast, you want to be able to crush it in your hands to make bacon bits!)  Remove bacon from pan with slotted spoon and set aside on paper towels to drain.
  2. Remove pan from heat and melt 1 Tbsp butter in bacon fat.  Reduce heat to medium and return the pan to the stove
    1. Note:  Make sure the fat has cooled somewhat; you don’t want hot bacon grease splattering everywhere in the next step!  Also, it will burn your ingredients and the whole meal will taste burnt.  This is really important, and is the only place where you can really screw up this recipe.  If you’re not sure how hot the fat is, toss ONE little piece of onion into the fat; if it crackles loudly and grease spatters everywhere, it’s still too hot.  You basically don’t want anything to react when you toss it in the pan.
  3. Add onion, celery and parsley to pan and sauté in bacon fat until onion is translucent, 3-5 minutes.  (This combination of stuff is called a sofríto, by the way).
  4. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, 1-2 more minutes.
  5. If using, add Tabasco and cayenne and saute until fragrant, 1 minute (Trust me on this, use these ingredients – I know it sounds crazy in clam chowder but it adds a nice zing without being overpowering)
  6. Add potatoes, chicken broth, bottle of clam juice, and juice from canned clams.  If there isn’t enough liquid to cover the potatoes by at least 1/2 inch, add warm water until the potatoes are submerged.  Cover, bring to a rapid boil, remove cover, reduce heat to a simmer, and allow liquid to reduce and sauce to thicken until potatoes are cooked through, 20 – 30 minutes (test the potatoes by sticking a fork in them).
  7. Once sauce has reached desired consistency and potatoes are done, stir in clams, cream, and remaining butter.  Bring to a simmer and allow to cook for 5 minutes more (clams don’t take long to cook).
  8. If your chowder isn’t thick enough, add the slurry of cornstarch and water OR
  9. Optional, if you like a really thick chowder:  Heat 1/4 cup vegetable oil in a small saucepan and slowly whisk in the flour all while continuously whisking.  Incorporate the flour and continue to stir, until the mixture becomes a light blond color.  Remove from heat and continue to whisk vigorously.  After 1-2 minutes, add 1/4 cup of the soup mixture to the roux and continue to whisk vigorously (did I mention to whisk vigorously?  Don’t stop whisking!)  Once the soup mixture is incorporated into the roux, add the contents of the sauce pan back into the chowder and stir.  It will thicken tremendously.
  10. Turn off heat and stir for 3 -5 minutes to aid the cooling process and help flavors marry.

Serve into bowls and garnish with reserved bacon bits and oyster crackers.  Serve with bread or biscuits.

New Mexico Style Chicken Chili Verde

I’ve been making this for 20 years – it was the first thing I ever learned to make.  I hope you enjoy it as much as my family, friends and I do.
I was inspired to figure out how to make this on a high school trip to New Mexico.  Being from New England, I was used to a lot of “beef-and-potatoes” – fairly bland stuff.  I’ll never forget getting off the plane in Albuquerque, NM at the age of 16 and heading straight to a little hole-in-the-wall joint in Gallup called Sadie’s.  It was my first exposure to (somewhat) spicy food and I never knew that food could taste like this.  I’ll always remember my friends being scared to even try it, but I couldn’t resist wolfing it down even though it made my eyes water and my nose run.  These days, I don’t find it that spicy – and it’s really not – only for a New England boy who never knew that food was supposed to taste like something.

The Prep time in this dish is a bit long since there’s a lot of chopping involved; use a sharp knife to make things a bit easier.  As always, give yourself a good head start on the prep.  If you have, say, 15 extra minutes, roast your chiles (only the Hatch/Anaheim ones) ahead of time.  It will bring out their sweet smokey spicy flavor.

Time: 60 – 90 Minutes
Level: Easy
Cost: $6-8/plate
Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 5-6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
  • 1 large Spanish or yellow onion
  • 1 bunch fresh cilantro, finely chopped (reserve some for garnish, if you like)
  • 4 Hatch Chile Peppers (Anaheim Chile Peppers will also work), roasted and peeled (optional), diced.  Note:  Alternatively, pre-diced, canned green chilies work fine as well – you’ll need 3, 3.5oz cans 
  • 4 jalepeño peppers, stems and seeds removed, minced
  • 1 large green bell pepper, diced
  • 2 tsp hot sauce (or to taste, optional – I use Dave’s Insanity Sauce)
  • 3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced
  • 1  can/box (32oz) of low-sodium chicken broth
  • 2 cans (14oz each) white beans (NOT cannellini!), drained.
  • 3 tbsp cumin powder (you read that right, it’s not a typo, I mean Tablespoons)
  • Optional: For serving – tortilla strips, corn bread, sour cream, shredded Mexican Cheese


Optional Preparation Step (not required but it makes a big difference): 

chilesRoast your Hatch/Anaheim chiles over high heat on the grill, or under a broiler set on high – I do mine on the grill over Mesquite wood.  Wait for the skins to blister and are mostly blackened (yes, don’t be afraid to burn them, that skin is coming off anyhow), then flip and repeat on the opposite sides.  Once thoroughly roasted, place them in an airtight container (Tupperware, or simply a large bowl with a plate on top)- this will steam them in their own heat.  After about 20 minutes, remove the chiles from the container and transfer to a cutting board.  Peel the skins off and remove seeds and stems; if you blackened your chiles well, the skins should come off quite easily; if not, you can try peeling them under cold running water.  Consider using rubber gloves for the peeling process if you’re using Hatch Chiles- hot pepper hands are the worst!

Main Preparation Instructions

Dice onion; mince garlic; chop cilantro (this mixture is also known as a sofrito) – combine and reserve in a medium size bowl and set aside.  Dice Hatch (or Anaheim) chiles, jalapeños, bell pepper – combine and reserve in a separate bowl.  Dice chicken, set aside and reserve.  Open two cans of white beans, drain.  Locate cumin, set aside.

Cooking Instructions

In a large stock-pot (or very large skillet or saucepan), add butter and olive oil and melt over medium high heat.  When butter is just barely melted, reduce heat to medium and stir gently to coat the bottom of the pot.  Carefully add onion and cilantro and sauté until onions are mostly translucent, 3-4 minutes.  Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, 1-2 more minutes.

Note:  It is very important not to burn the garlic-onion-cilantro mixture (the sofrito).  If you don’t have a lot of experience gauging how hot the oil/butter mixture is, you can test it by dropping ONE tiny piece of the diced onion into the pan.  If it sizzles loudly, crackles, or jumps out of the pot spattering hot oil everywhere, it’s too hot.  The onion should only react slightly.  If it turns out it’s too hot, remove the pan from the heat for a minute or two until it cools down a bit.

Stir the sofrito continuously to ensure nothing gets stuck to the bottom of the pan and sauté until mixture begins to meld together, 3-5 minutes more.  (Did I say don’t let it burn?).

Add Hatch/Anaheim Chiles, jalapeños, and bell pepper and continue to saute until no longer stiff and crunchy, another 5-7 minutes.

Add hot sauce, if using.

Add chicken to pot and mix everything together well.  Continue stirring until chicken turns white all around.

Add cumin and mix in well.

Add chicken broth and beans – there should be enough liquid to cover everything in the pot once it’s been stirred together.  If there isn’t, add a bit of water until everything is covered by at least 1/4 inch of liquid.

Cover, and bring to a rolling boil.

Remove cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and allow to simmer down, 1 hr and 20 minutes, or until desired consistency is achieved.  (Now is a good time to crack open a beer).

Just prior to serving, turn the heat off and stir continuously for 10 minutes, or until your arms fall off.  This will make it so that the chili is cool enough to eat; it also will break down the chicken into nice ‘strings’ giving it the consistency of pulled chicken.  It also aids in the final thickening to give it that nice chili texture.

Note:  If the chicken isn’t breaking down to the desired texture, you can speed the process up using a potato masher.

Serve with Tortilla strips, sour cream, cheese and cornbread.